Chapter 4009 — Trouble Arrives
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Ordinarily, it was not Hong Zhong alone—others too rarely struck out on their own. In a boundless sea teeming with countless terrifying sea beasts, to wander at random was simply to gamble with one's life; no number of capable hands would avail.
This time, however, the others departing from North Island were plainly playing by no ordinary rules. The flying spirit beast beneath Wei Zhao's feet was no slow creature, yet in mere moments it had lost the others' figures entirely.
Had it been Manager Hao's party alone, it might be dismissed—but a dozen other houses were all shunning the usual path at once. That was far too odd; plainly they had agreed on it beforehand.
"What are they preparing to do?" This time even Hong Zhong was at a loss. They were all in the same trade, and he knew something of these men's dispositions—they were hardly the sort to relish a gamble.
Yet even with doubt gnawing at him, Hong Zhong could not rashly change course. The others had strength in numbers and could afford a little recklessness; but were he to follow suit, he would be dead for certain.
For the next quarter hour or so, the way was all calm winds and still seas—but both Hong Zhong and Wei Zhao could guess it was only temporary; it could not stay placid forever.
Sure enough, amid that uncanny calm, the long-brewing crisis descended all at once.
The flying spirit beast held an altitude of fully a hundred zhang above the sea, with thick cloud layers overhead. Higher than this, one would easily lose one's bearings; lower, one would easily fall prey to sea beasts. It was, on paper, the safest limit of altitude—and yet at just this height, from below came an ambush without the slightest warning.
"Hold fast, Young Master Lin!" Before Wei Zhao could react, Hong Zhong had already swung a palm downward, and with a crack that rang out of empty air, a ring of spray burst suddenly from the thin mist below.
"What was that?" Wei Zhao watched in secret alarm. From first to last he had felt no threat at all—even after witnessing the exchange, he still had not grasped what had happened.
Hong Zhong explained: "That was a water arrow from a flying arrowfish. They can glide up thirty or forty zhang into the air, then unleash their water arrows—piercing power and lethality both are fearsome. And since the arrows are transparent and silent, an ordinary person cannot sense them at all. Without prior guard against them, a single slip and you are struck. In this boundless sea, they rank among the more common threats."
"So that's it." Wei Zhao understood. Without Hong Zhong, that single water arrow would have sent them all plunging to the seafloor, food for fish.
Yet before Wei Zhao could count his blessings, a frigid killing intent suddenly rose from beneath them—and this time, even he could feel it plain and clear.
Looking down, he saw the mist below had been punched through with dozens of holes. The water arrows, which could not ordinarily be easily sensed, now flickered faintly in the air by reason of refracted light—dozens upon dozens of them, dense and thick, each one as deadly as the last. The sight fairly made the scalp prickle.
Even Hong Zhong could not help a twitch of his eyelid at the sight. He said in a low voice: "A school of flying arrowfish, of all things? How could our luck be this poor?"
Flying arrowfish were vicious, bloodthirsty sea beasts by nature, and in ordinary circumstances they always moved alone. Only under special conditions—mating season, for instance—would they gather into a school. Following the standard charted route, the odds of encountering a flying arrowfish school were about the same as winning the lottery in the mortal world. (To be continued) R752