Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Below the waterfall on the back mountain, the sound of the water is like thunder.

Xilun sat cross-legged on the black stone platform, shirtless, letting the icy torrents pound against his shoulders and back.

Three silver basins were placed around the stone platform. The water in the basins had long been covered with a thin layer of frost, and the frost patterns spread along the rim of the basins, like white vines growing silently.

Of the Yin Spirit Source Water that Rhodes had painstakingly searched for, only half a bottle remained.

Xilun raised his hand, his fingertips prying open the bottle stopper. A wisp of gray-blue cold mist immediately escaped, like cold air that had been sitting at the bottom of a well for many years. As soon as it saw the light of day, the temperature around it plummeted.

There wasn't much water, but it felt surprisingly heavy when it landed in my palm, as if I were holding a small, condensed mass of the dark night.

Without hesitation, he tilted his head back and drank it down.

The next moment, a chill ran down my throat and into my chest and abdomen, like a thin, cold iron wire passing through my lungs and reaching my spine.

If an ordinary person were to swallow such a thing raw, the sheer chill from the impact on flesh and blood would be enough to rupture their internal organs. However, Xilun merely frowned, then closed his eyes and slowly began to circulate the Profound Yin Breathing Technique.

call--

Suck--

The white waves of the waterfall cascaded down, but the energy within him seemed to be collapsing deeper.

The originally dark blue aura became more and more solid with each breath, its color gradually losing impurities, turning from deep dark to clear, from clear to pure, and finally slowly emerging as a pale blue that was almost like the sky.

It's not that the color is changing, it's that the "quality" within the aura is changing.

Xilun's chest heaved, and the water mist around him was drawn invisibly, flowing towards his nose in wisps, then turning into a pale blue mist with each exhale, slowly spreading between his lips and teeth.

Layers of ice crystals formed on the edge of the stone platform, and the water underfoot made a faint crackling sound as it froze.

After an unknown amount of time—

Suddenly, Xilun raised his right hand, palm facing forward, fingers clasped together.

Clang!

A small section of the waterfall cascading down in front of them was frozen solid, like an icicle hanging in mid-air. Although it only lasted for two breaths before being shattered by the subsequent torrent of water, the moment the ice shattered still made the servants waiting in the distance change color.

Xilun opened his eyes, his gaze calm.

[Skill: Proficient in Xuan Yin Breathing Technique]

[Progress: 0/1000]

He looked down at his palms, the skin on his palms faintly glowing with a bluish light, and a very faint white mist swirling between his knuckles, as if he were holding a handful of cold wind just dug out from the polar snowfield.

Even without deliberately exerting force, simply pressing your hand on the black stone will immediately cause a ring of white frost to appear on the stone's surface.

This method is indeed domineering.

It enters quickly, but it also consumes quickly.

Xilun stood up, shook the water droplets off his hands, but there was no sign of relief in his eyes.

Yin Spirit Source Water is extremely rare to begin with, and now with news of the war spreading and prices of all kinds of supplies skyrocketing, it's quite remarkable that Rhodes was able to find even half a bottle.

But this amount of resources is far from enough.

If he continues practicing like this, he can only last a few more times before he has to stop.

He had just put on his coat when he heard hurried footsteps coming from the other end of the mountain path.

Rod, holding an umbrella, strode closer, raindrops hitting the edge of the black umbrella and splashing up a dense layer of water droplets.

He was usually calm and composed, but his expression was clearly not good at the moment. He bowed slightly as he approached, then lowered his voice and said, "Young Master, news has come from the ocean-going docks."

Silen wiped the water from his forehead and said calmly, "Mr. Lund?"

"And that's not all." Rod paused. "Around Pier Seven, there was a sudden downpour that started in the afternoon and hasn't stopped yet. The weather station says the cloud cover is strange, not like normal sea rain..."

What's even stranger is that the rain seemed to cover only that one area; everywhere else was just gloomy, but the Seventh Pier looked as if the entire sea had been turned upside down.

"This kind of thing happened once ten years ago."

Xilun stopped what he was doing and turned to look at him.

"Seventh Wharf?"

"Yes."

"What about ten years ago?"

Rhodes had obviously already asked, and immediately replied:

"I asked around, and several older dockworkers said that it happened about ten years ago, around the same time and in the same place, near Pier 7."

Many people died that night, and the matter was suppressed; there are few records of it outside, only the people at the old dock remember it.

Xilun narrowed his eyes.

Ten years ago.

It's been ten years since then.

He almost instantly recalled the warning he had received a few days earlier—if he received any news about Lund, he should not rush to the beach.

At that time, he felt it was like a test, a scare tactic, or someone deliberately reaching into the fog and gently nudging him.

But now, with Lund's disappearance, the torrential rain at Pier 7, and the resurfacing of events from ten years ago, that vague sense of unease is no longer just a simple intuition.

It started like a needle, piercing my mind, getting deeper and deeper.

As he walked, Xiren put on his vest, his voice low: "Who else sent messages?"

Rhodes followed beside him: "Savi came by once, soaked to the bone, and said that Lord Lund did indeed go to the ocean pier to investigate matters, and later went into the No. 3 cold storage at Pier 7 with a woman named Sarah."

After that, he didn't come out again. Savi had originally planned to wait outside, but when the evening rain started, the entire dock area was blocked off, so he had to find a way to get into the city to deliver the message.

Did he say anything else?

"He said Sarah asked him to pass on a message." Rhodes' Adam's apple bobbed. "She said, if you really care about Lord Lund, don't go to the beach alone."

Xilun didn't say anything.

His steps were steady as he descended the mountain, but the hem of his clothes was stretched straight in the wind.

Rhodes glanced at him, then whispered:

"There's one more thing. Someone at the old dock said that this kind of localized torrential rain doesn't seem like a normal weather phenomenon, but rather... something has awakened on the seabed."

That thing isn't just stirring up waves; it's altering the surrounding weather. If that's the case, it's probably beyond the reach of ordinary second-tier beings.

Xilun hummed in agreement, his tone calm: "It could also be the resurgence of some kind of creature that can influence the weather."

Rhodes's face darkened further.

He knew that when his young master said those words, it meant he had already considered the worst-case scenario.

Sure enough, when they reached the platform halfway up the mountain, Xilun suddenly stopped.

The wind, damp and cool, blew in from the mouth of the waterfall, rustling the leaves.

He stood on high ground, his gaze passing over the layers of rooftops of the mansion, as if he could already see the sea churning in the torrential rain in the far distance.

Rod whispered, "Young Master?"

Xilun frowned, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his cuffs, the uneasy feeling in his heart growing heavier and heavier.

He knew Lund all too well what kind of person he was.

He was a lazy person who rarely said anything nice, but once he encountered real danger, he would actually go further in.

The fact that he's been dragging this out without any news suggests either he's trapped by something, or... he doesn't want anyone else to go in and die.

But the more this happened, the more unable Xilun could let go.

After a moment, he spoke, his tone now firm: "I need to go to the ocean pier to book me a ticket."

Rod was startled, then looked up: "Young Master—"

"I'm leaving tonight."

"But if even Lord Lund can't solve this, I'm afraid your presence won't be of any use."

Rhodes rarely spoke so harshly, "The situation in the North District is only slightly more stable now. Tussor is keeping an eye on things, Scarlet is keeping an eye on things, and the well at Black Dove Church may not be completely dead yet. It would be too risky for you to leave the city at this time."

Xilun turned and glanced at him.

That glance, neither cold nor harsh, made Rhodes's next words catch in his throat.

"I know," Siren said, "but I have to go, no matter what."

Rhodes fell silent.

He knew that since Xilun had said that, it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather that he had already made up his mind.

Xilun continued walking forward, his voice steady and clear:

"Rena stays behind to keep an eye on the pharmacy, the south warehouse, and the old parish. Kusso garrison, add two shifts of guard at night, especially the cellar and the back hill."

Have someone pack my gun into a box, and also prepare two pistols, a Soul-Suppressing Nail, a Tranquilizing Potion, and a Mind-Cleansing Incense—one set of each.

"Yes."

"Also, bring the silver cylinder that contained the contaminated residue."

Rhodes was startled: "Young Master, you've been carrying that thing with you..."

"It is precisely because it is dangerous that we should bring it with us."

Xilun raised his hand to fasten his cufflinks and said calmly, "If there really is something on the beach that is the same kind of thing as the one in the well at Black Dove Church, it might come in handy."

Upon returning to the mansion, Reina was already waiting in the side hall.

She had obviously heard the news as well, and the first thing she said to Xilen when she entered was, "I'll go with you."

Xilun shook his head: "You stay behind."

"The ocean pier is in complete chaos right now; you'll have to go there alone—"

"It's precisely because of the chaos that you should stay."

Xilun interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for argument, "Once I leave the city, someone in the North District will definitely try to probe us. Tusol might not dare to come openly, but the Oin lineage won't stay quiet; the Black Swan Pavilion has been unusually quiet lately. Keeping an eye on these things is more useful than coming to the docks with me."

Rena gritted her teeth and finally agreed.

Xilun entered the study, took out a copy of "Prayer of the Holy Bud" from the locked cabinet, and gently pressed his fingertips on the paper.

He had recently become increasingly proficient in that technique, but the more proficient he became, the more precious it felt—it wasn't a simple purification, but rather a bit of "life" squeezed out from the depths of filth.

If pollution does indeed spread along the coast, this measure could be crucial.

Half an hour later, it was completely dark.

A black carriage emerged from the side gate of the mansion, its wheels churning across the damp street as it sped toward the train station.

Xilun sat in the carriage, a long gun case lying across his lap. Outside the window, the streetlights receded one after another, like yellow dots floating in the dark night before the rain.

He closed his eyes, his echo chamber slightly open, to listen to the subtle sounds of the entire city.

In the distance, people in a tavern were discussing the torrential rain at the seaside, their voices filled with alarm.

A truck driver was cursing the muddy road, saying the damp smell tonight was eerily strong.

In another high-rise building, an old-fashioned barometer ticks away, its pointer slowly sliding toward the abnormal zone.

All the noise eventually coalesced into a vague unease, as if something was rising from the sea, looking inland across the vast darkness of the night.

Xilun opened his eyes, his gaze devoid of emotion, only colder.

At the ocean-going terminal—

The torrential rain had completely overwhelmed the night.

Below the No. 3 cold storage at Pier 7, black water overflowed the railway tracks, reaching above ankles and calves, and was slowly climbing up the abandoned maintenance line.

Sarah, holding a gun, was pale. Pete, dragging his half-injured leg, desperately tried to close the side gate, but just as the gate was halfway down, a muffled "bang" came from below, as if some huge object had hit him underwater.

The next instant, the entire ditch shook!

Lund stood at the end of the broken track, the black box spread out at his feet, several sections of the black steel gun barrel joined together in his hands.

He stared at the churning black water ahead, his gaze gradually darkening.

In the middle of the black water, a spliced ​​human face with white eyes on its forehead surfaced, followed by more pale arms, broken necks, and rotting faces appearing and disappearing underwater.

They didn't really come together to form a complete "person," but rather seemed to be forced together around something, forming a blurry outline.

And at the deepest part of that outline, a huge, pale, fleshless limb slowly rose up.

Like a hand.

It doesn't look like a human hand.

In the palm of his hand, there was a closed eye.

"Ten years..." Suddenly, overlapping whispers came from the water, like dozens of drowned people talking together. "Someone else, carrying the scent of that knife, came up to me again."

Lund raised his gun, the tip trembling slightly in the dim light.

The rainstorm intensified.

I finally woke up completely that night by the sea.

As the steam train passed through the night, a terrifyingly low layer of dark clouds pressed down on the horizon.

The car window was repeatedly battered by the rain, and the headlights reflected on the glass, blurring into elongating, dark yellow streaks.

Xiren sat by the window, a long gun case beside him, his black overcoat buttoned up tightly, and he was as quiet as a piece of cold iron pressed down in the carriage.

He remained silent, and naturally, no one dared to provoke him.

On this southern train, there were already many merchants and dockworkers returning from the coastal area. Everyone looked damp and shaken. The hushed conversations in the carriage kept drifting back to the strange rain at the seaside.

"I've worked at the docks for twenty years, and I've never seen rain like that..."

"It's not just big, it's evil! Truly evil! At six yards, it's just windy, but at seven yards, it's like the sky is leaking."

"I heard that cold storage room number three collapsed?"

"I don't know if it collapsed or not, but the police and the dock patrol team went there and then came back."

Why did you withdraw?

"Who knows... Some people say there's something in the water, others say it's the old story from under the old bridge that's resurfaced."

Xilun, who had been resting with his eyes closed, twitched his eyelashes slightly when he heard "the old story under the old bridge".

He didn't interrupt immediately, but simply pushed the echo out an inch further.

The sound suddenly became clear.

They were two elderly porters, one thin and the other hunchbacked, their clothes smelling of a mixture of sea salt and engine oil.

The hunchbacked man lowered his voice, as if afraid of being overheard: "Ten years ago that night, I was near the No. 7 approach bridge. At first it was just raining, but then suddenly there was a sound in the rain, like a child singing... no, it was even more delicate than a child's singing, it was mind-boggling."

The skinny man's face turned pale: "Don't even mention it."

"Later, the sea under the bridge swelled up, as if something was about to sit up from the water. I saw a white eye, just for a moment."

Then it exploded, flames shot high into the sky, and half of the approach bridge collapsed.

The next day, they sealed it off, saying the boiler pipes had exploded. Bullshit! Could a boiler explode and produce that kind of smell?