Chapter 389 - 282: Underground Matters, The Water Ghost’s Haunting

Chapter 389: Chapter 282: Underground Matters, The Water Ghost’s Haunting

"There’s very little Exotic Beast Meat. It’s just ordinary beef, mutton, and pork."

After asking for the details, Tang Wen followed the direction the White Tiger pointed and identified the ships it was referring to.

Although he trusted the strength of a Fifth-Grade White Tiger, he still asked, "This is an important dock for the Boat Gang. They have a Fifth Grade overseeing it, and the number of Sixth Grades is in the double digits. How did you get close?"

A White Tiger that large might not attract much attention flying quickly through the sky.

But once it got close to the ships to peek at the cargo, any sailor who wasn’t blind would surely have spotted it.

Hu Ershiyi didn’t speak, but it raised its head smugly.

Hu Qi explained, "His Transformation Technique is very well-practiced."

Transformation Technique?

Xia Qingge sized it up.

Tang Wen, on the other hand, subconsciously thought: ’Can I learn that?’

As if seeing what Tang Wen was thinking, a hint of helplessness flashed in Hu Qi’s amber eyes. "Humans can’t learn it. The Transformation Technique relies on ancestral memory. It’s passed down from elders to their kin in dreams, without any Contemplation Method or written records. How could you possibly learn it?"

Tang Wen had no choice but to give up the idea.

’So White Tigers have ancestral memory. No wonder even the weakest adult White Tiger has Extraordinary strength.’

They were clearly an Extraordinary species!

The two of them watched as Hu Ershiyi generously demonstrated its Transformation Technique.

Its body shrank, defying all logic, until it was the size of an ordinary housecat.

WHOOSH. It leaped onto Hu Qi, letting out a couple of soft meows.

Xia Qingge couldn’t resist reaching out to pet it, but it dodged her with an agile flash.

Tang Wen asked in amazement, "It can change its size and even hide its aura?"

"Everything has its pros and cons. I’m not a Fourth Grade. After shrinking my body, my strength drops to about the Peak of Sixth Grade," Hu Ershiyi said, washing its face with a paw. It looked even more like a little white cat.

Xia Qingge made another, more cunning grab, but the little white cat twisted its body at a sharp angle and leaped straight off Hu Qi.

"In the camp below, there are only two Senior Fifth Grade guards. Sister Qi and I can definitely overwhelm them! Why don’t we launch a sneak attack, kill one first, and the other won’t possibly escape the two of us working together."

Though it was just a cute little cat waving its paws, Twenty-one’s plan was incredibly violent!

This was right up Xia Qingge’s alley. "Good! Let’s have a good, satisfying fight!"

"No!" Hu Qi and Tang Wen stopped them at the same time.

Xia Qingge put on a stern face. She wasn’t actually angry, but mainly wanted to display her queenly authority and give Tang Wen a little Intimidation.

Unfortunately, it had no effect.

On the contrary, the rapid switch from "brainless warrior beauty" to "classy, cool older sister" type only made Tang Wen’s weakness for beautiful women even "stronger."

’Why do I feel like she’s trying to seduce me out of nowhere?’

’Right, it must be because I haven’t gone to Sister Bing or Li Zi to... ’condition’ my body these past few days. My ’fire’ is too strong.’

’I can only blame my body for being too strong.’

The proposal from the two warmongers to cause a huge scene was rejected.

Tang Wen conducted a serious analysis, then left the two tigers and one human behind to infiltrate dangerous places like the dock’s taverns, brothels, and massage parlors to do some on-the-ground investigation.

He discovered that the grain and goods here were being sent to Sanlian City.

The ships being loaded at the docks were filled with raw materials like grain, cloth, and iron ingots.

As for the merchant ships returning from Sanlian City...

He snuck aboard one to take a look and found they were carrying full-length mirrors, enamel basins, mosquito nets, tobacco leaves, tea leaves, and other higher-value processed agricultural products or primary industrial goods.

"This trade is imbalanced."

The level of civilization in Sanlian City was far higher than in Ganshan City.

He began to look forward to the alliance with the Bai Family.

By establishing contact with the White Tiger Tribe, he had gained military support.

Openly, no one would dare to oppose him.

After allying with the Bai Family, Tang Wen wanted exclusive rights to operate Sanlian City’s businesses.

Or even exclusive control over a trade route.

When that time came, wouldn’t both the Huang Family and the Boat Gang have to work for him?

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Tang Wen used Instant Step to arrive on the white cloud.

His feet landed as if stepping on a wad of tough cotton.

"What’s this?"

"I was bored, so I reinforced it with Spiritual Power."

"What kind of technique is this?" Tang Wen wanted to learn it.

Hu Qi didn’t want to get into it with him and quickly changed the subject. "Have you thought of a plan?"

Tang Wen wasn’t in a hurry either. "I have. A haunting on the water."

"What?" The two tigers and Xia Qingge looked up at the same time.

"You and Twenty-one get dressed up and go cause some trouble tonight. Don’t kill anyone, just scare them! Scare the sailors, frighten the Martial Artists and the Extraordinary, but don’t scare the Sixth Grades!"

Xia Qingge was eager to try, but hearing they weren’t supposed to touch the Sixth Grades, she grew dissatisfied. She crossed her arms, making the mounds on her chest seem even larger. "You think I’m afraid of a Sixth Grade?"

"Exactly! Scare the Sixth Grades and beat up the Fifth Grades!" Hu Ershiyi waved its pink little paws.

Tang Wen shook his head firmly. "We’re not here to kill people."

"Wouldn’t we get more if we killed them and then robbed them?!" Xia Qingge lifted her head.

"You need to think about it differently. If you rob them and they’re still kept in the dark, running around like headless chickens trying to catch some female water ghost, doesn’t that make your methods seem even more impressive?"

"Hmm?"

Xia Qingge and Hu Ershiyi exchanged a glance.

In just half a day, the human and the tiger, finding they had compatible tempers, had already become good friends.

Hearing Tang Wen’s explanation, it did seem more interesting than just a straightforward fight.

Seeing the two were tempted, ℯℯ𝘭.

Tang Wen struck while the iron was hot. He tossed the white clothes, white gauze, mosquito nets, and cosmetic rouge and powder he had bought below to Xia Qingge.

While her curiosity was piqued,

He pushed his luck and coaxed her into dressing up as a female ghost with blood-red lips, a pale face, and a white dress with white gauze.

With no mirror at hand, she couldn’t see what she looked like, so she didn’t complain.

The idea of pretending to be ghosts wasn’t Tang Wen’s original thought; he had heard stories about Water Ghosts in the tavern below.

A few streetwalkers had also said that people drowned at the dock every month, so there had to be life-stealing Water Ghosts.

Since the legend of the Water Ghost had so much currency, he naturally had to take advantage of it.

「Nightfall.」

Moonlight spilled onto the lake, the water shimmering and glittering.

The ships that had been loading and unloading cargo during the day fell silent.

Except for the night watch, only a single, lonely lamp was lit.

Meanwhile, the pleasure boats that had floated quietly on the lake during the day were now adorned with festive lanterns and colorful ribbons.

The decadent sounds of string and wind instruments began to drift across the water.

The pleasure boats bobbed, rocking gently in the water.

The atmosphere was set perfectly.

"They sure know how to have a good time!"

Tang Wen had only been to a brothel on land; he had never experienced one on a boat.

He had a mind to go experience it—er, to go *critique* it.

But he had important business to attend to and could only go to the deserted ships to play ghost!

"AHHH!"

A bloodcurdling scream, accompanied by the sound of a splash.

The scream echoed across the quiet dock. Lights on several neighboring ships lit up one after another, and a few specially-made mirrors reflected the bright light over, serving as simple, primitive searchlights.

"Hei the Third?! What the hell are you screaming about in the middle of the night?"

"Yeah! Why are you screaming so scarily?"

"That son of a bitch, he must be trying to scare us on purpose."

The men who made their living on the nearby boats were all fairly familiar with each other.

They would greet each other during the night watch, just in case something really happened and no one was there to help.

"Hei the Third, stop your damn scary screaming! Have you been sneaking drinks again?"

The men on the docks had a decent sense of brotherhood.

A few of them called out several times. When they got no response, they couldn’t rest easy. Signaling to each other, they carried their soot-blackened, glass-covered kerosene lamps and boarded the large ship Hei the Third was guarding.

SWISH!

A white figure flashed by.

White clothes, white shoes and socks, a white face.

Not a single part of its body wasn’t white.

Only its lips were bright red, a smear of fresh blood at the corner of its mouth.

"What was that thing?"

"A white-robed Water Ghost!"

The ship’s hold fell into chaos.

CRACK!

A kerosene lamp fell to the floor, and flames shot up.

Footsteps pounded like a frantic drumbeat as they scrambled to run outside.

WHOOSH!

The ground beneath their feet lurched. The ship was moving.

"Run!"

"There’s a ghost! There’s really a ghost!"

It wasn’t just this one ship that moved.

An eerie wind began to blow.

Many of the ships docked at the pier—loaded with grain, iron ingots, armor, and weapons—all began to move at once.

A white shadow, moving at a speed beyond the reactions of ordinary Martial Artists and the Extraordinary, flitted swiftly across the cargo ships.

"The Water Ghost has tiger claws!"

"Nonsense, the Water Ghost was clearly a well-endowed woman!"

"..."

Those who saw it all cried out in alarm.

The ships drifted out to the center of the lake.

Before the people on the shore could figure out a way to rescue them,

several of the ships began to take on water from the bottom, sinking with a swirl.

Panic spread through the docks, quickly alerting the Fifth Grades.

But a thorough inspection revealed nothing.

Beneath the lake’s surface, they only found the wreckage of a few ships, their cargo still inside.

As for the remaining dozen or so ships, they were nowhere to be found.

A white mist rose, and a lakeside breeze blew past.

The two Fifth Grades suddenly shivered and exchanged a look. ’So many large ships vanishing into thin air... Could it really be the work of a Water Ghost?’