Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Chapter 92: Hibernation, Dragged Underwater, Drowned Alive

"Every few months, you can catch dozens of treasure fish here, resell them on the black market, and that's a fortune in silver coins! Where else can you find such a good deal!"

"With this money, I can buy all the necessary materials and get baptized!"

"But----"

Another rough, deep voice rang out, revealing a clear hesitation and unease.

"But we've already been discovered twice, Buck."

The burly man called Hall sighed.

"Last time we came, we only encountered a lone man, so killing Shen He was fine. But this time—this time we were discovered, and we ended up tying up three people!"

"If this continues, more and more people will die, and sooner or later the Metropolitan Police Department or the dockworkers will track us down. At that point, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"

Upon hearing this, Xilun had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

He raised his head slightly, his eyes peering out from the water's surface like a periscope.

Only half of his head was above the water, and not even a ripple from his breath disturbed the surface.

Using the faint light ahead, Xilun could see the situation inside the cave.

This is a natural underground cave, and the space is quite large.

A small sampan, about half the size of Mark's fishing boat, was moored on the water, just big enough to pass through the narrow canal.

There were two people standing on the boat.

The high-pitched voice belonged to a tall, thin man named Buck, who was wearing a tight black leather suit, with two exquisite pepper pistols hanging from his waist, and was playing with a bloodstained dagger in his hand.

The man with the gruff voice was a short, fat man named Hall. He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, carrying a heavy iron rod in his hand. His face, though full of fat, revealed his guilty conscience.

Xilun's self-light moved away from the two men and swept across the cabin.

Several people were lying haphazardly at the bow of the boat.

The most conspicuous thing was the body of an old man, his white hair soaked in blood, who looked like an old fisherman who had worked hard for many years.

Even in death, the old man's hands were still tightly gripping a tattered fishing net, with a few black scales shimmering faintly inside.

Beside the old man's body, a young man and a young woman were tied back to back, their mouths stuffed with rags, their eyes wide with terror, their bodies trembling violently.

Xilun's eyes turned cold.

The situation is now clear.

These two guys, Buck and Hall, also stumbled upon this treasure trove of black trout.

They intend to monopolize this place, exchanging the treasure fish for wealth and baptismal resources.

But secrets don't stay hidden forever, and the old fisherman, along with his two children (or apprentices), also found his way here.

The two sides bumped into each other.

To keep the secret, Buck and Hall didn't hesitate to kill one of them on the spot and tied up the remaining two to silence them.

"What's there to be afraid of!"

On the boat, the tall, thin Buck spat and twirled his dagger in his hand.

"In this greywater river, who doesn't have a few lives on their hands? The bold get rich, the timid starve. If you're scared, you shouldn't have tried to steal fish from me!"

The burly, fat Hall was speechless for a moment.

Buck looked at the ship's cargo hold full of spoils, the twenty or thirty black trout leaping about in the buckets, his eyes gleaming with fanatical greed.

The scales of the black trout shimmered with an alluring luster in the dim light.

As Xilun lay quietly underwater, a look of intense excitement and craving flashed in his eyes as he gazed at the full bucket of black strips.

This is an enormous sum of money.

If he can get his hands on it, his future cultivation will be smooth sailing.

"Alright, alright, stop making that face like your father just died."

Buck seemed to agree that the risk was indeed considerable; he licked his chapped lips and hesitated for a moment.

"You're right. If we run into a tough opponent again, we brothers aren't strong enough to beat them, so we'll be doomed here."

He waved his hand, as if he had made up his mind.

"Alright, let's clean the net today, scoop up all the fish, and then tie these corpses to stones and sink them tonight."

"Let's take the fish and leave. If it doesn't work out, we can just resell them somewhere else and lay low for a while."

Hall breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly: "It should have been done a long time ago."

After they finished speaking, the two began to retrieve the net that was hanging in the water.

He then grabbed a few more black strips that had slipped through the net and threw them into the wooden bucket.

Siren sat quietly in the water, like a lifeless reef.

His brain was racing, searching for a solution.

There are two people on the other side.

He carefully observed the other party's actions as they closed the net.

Whether it was the tall, thin Buck or the short, stout Hall, their breathing was extremely rhythmic when they were carrying heavy objects, and their muscles were tensed to a degree far beyond that of ordinary people.

These two are definitely skilled martial artists, and their skill level is quite high.

Especially that Buck, with his light steps, long breaths, and two muskets on his person.

If Xilun were to surface rashly and take on two opponents in the narrow cavern, with them firing from above, he would have little chance of avoiding injury.

We must find an opportunity to defeat them one by one.

Right here underwater.

Inside the underground cave, only the echo of water droplets falling could be heard.

A dim kerosene lamp hung on the mast, casting the shadows of the two people on board into varying lengths as the ship swayed.

The two men worked together to drag the last fishing net onto the deck.

"Splash!"

Water splashed everywhere, and four or five more plump black trout fell into the bucket.

The tall, thin Buck straightened up and rubbed his sore shoulders.

He glanced at the bucket full of spoils, couldn't help but swallow hard, and his eyes gleamed with desire.

He turned his head to look at Hall, the short, fat man sitting at the bow of the ship panting heavily, and suddenly kicked the deck with his foot, his tone laced with a hint of malice.

"Hey, Hall."

"You'll be in charge of the boat in a bit, raise the sails, and we'll have to go downstream."

Hall was wiping sweat with the towel draped around his neck when he heard this, and looked up with a reluctant expression.

"What are you doing? I've been working hard all day, and that damn winch is incredibly heavy."

He glared at him with his bull-like eyes and retorted with dissatisfaction, "Why don't you take charge of the boat and I can rest for a while?"

Buck chuckled, the sound of which was particularly jarring and vulgar in the empty cave.

He reached for the flintlock pistol at his waist, his gaze sweeping greedily over the young woman tied up in the corner.

The woman's clothes were soaked with water and clung tightly to her body, revealing her exquisite curves.

She was shrinking back in terror, tears streaming down her face with the river water, and desperate sobs coming from her mouth.

"Anyway, we'll kill and sink this man and woman when we get to the deep water later."

Buck rubbed his hands together and slowly walked towards the corner of the cabin, his eyes filled with lewdness.

"Since we're all going to die anyway, I might as well let this woman have a taste before I die. Consider it a reward for my hard work fishing tonight."

He pulled out a dagger, waved it in his hand, and threatened the man who was struggling desperately.

"After I'm done having my fun, I'll send them on their way, clean and tidy. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Hearing this, the fat Hall on the other side was stunned for a moment.

He glanced at the woman in the corner, who was disheveled but still beautiful, his Adam's apple bobbing violently, and a clear hint of envy and desire flashing in his eyes.

But seeing Buck's impatient look, he knew he couldn't win, so he could only spit in frustration.

"Damn it, you're getting off easy, you skin and bones."

Hall stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "Hurry up! If the man isn't dead when you're done, let me have him. I'll go hoist the sails and untie the ropes."

With that, Hall turned and walked toward the helm at the stern.

Buck laughed and disappeared into a dark corner of the cabin, followed by the sound of tearing fabric and a woman's desperate groan.

Xilun heard all of this clearly underwater.

He felt neither anger nor any impulse to act heroically.

His heartbeat remained steady, and his blood flowed coldly through his veins.

He saw only one excellent opportunity—the enemy had split their forces.

Siren's body, like a weightless ghost, slid silently underwater toward the stern of the ship.

His eyes gleamed with a cold light in the dark water.

On the water.

Hall walked to the stern and reached out to untie the thick hemp rope that was tied to the rock.

"What a fucking bad luck, I get to do all the dirty and hard work."

He muttered something as he pushed the rudder hard, trying to turn the ship around.

However, as soon as he exerted his strength, Hall realized something was wrong.

"Um?"

He frowned, his thick eyebrows furrowed, and gave it another push.

The steering wheel, which usually only requires a little effort to turn, now felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead.

Moreover, the small board moves extremely slowly in the water, almost as if it were glued on.

"Why is the boat moving so slowly today?"

A hint of surprise rose in Hall's heart.

He stroked his chin, pondering as he walked to the ship's side.

"Why does it look like over a hundred pounds of stones are tied to the keel of a ship?"

Could it be that when we were hauling in the net earlier, a piece of the net got tangled in the propeller or the rudder?

With a question in his mind, Hall knelt on one knee on the slippery deck.

He leaned his massive body out of the boat, most of it suspended in the air, craning his neck and straining his eyes to peer into the dark water.

The water was as calm as a mirror, reflecting his fleshy face.

"I can't see anything at all—and I don't see any seaweed tangled around it either—"

Hall looked at it thoughtfully, and even reached for the bamboo pole next to him, preparing to poke it underwater.

At the very moment when his gaze was most focused and his body weight was completely pressed on the water's surface.

A sudden change has occurred!

The once calm and still water surface suddenly broke apart without warning!

There was no huge splash, nor any deafening sound.

There is only one hand.

A pale, slender hand, with a dark golden glow at its joints, suddenly shot out from underwater like an iron pincer reaching out from the abyss of hell!

"Snapped!"

A dull, muffled sound of flesh hitting flesh.

Xilun's hand precisely grasped Hall's thick neck, which was sticking out of the ship.

The terrifying grip strength brought about by the Iron Wall Breathing Technique erupted without reservation at this moment.

Even a man of Hall's incredible strength couldn't withstand the power of an expert.

Xilun's five fingers were embedded in Hall's flesh like steel nails.

Pull downwards with a sharp jerk!

The immense pulling force instantly disrupted Hall's center of gravity.

"Thump!"

A slightly muffled splash.

Hall didn't even have time to utter a cry of alarm or a warning before he was pulled off the deck by an irresistible force, like a weight, and slammed into the icy river water.

The river water instantly submerged his head.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness and coldness left Hall's mind blank.

He instinctively opened his mouth as if to call for help.

"Gurgle!"

A mouthful of cold, murky greywater, mixed with the stench of silt, was poured directly into his throat, causing a burning pain in his lungs.

Although Hall made a living on the water year-round, he was somewhat skilled in swimming.

But this situation of being dragged into the water without any warning was completely beyond his comprehension.

Underwater, he tried to open his eyes in terror.

But the river water was too murky, causing his eyes to ache and making it impossible for him to see anything except a blurry black shadow below him.

He couldn't breathe through his nose, his mouth was full of river water, and his chest was spasming violently from the instinctive urge to cough.

What terrified him most was the hand that had grabbed his neck. Although it loosened its grip, two iron-like hands immediately seized his ankles!

The force was extremely heavy, carrying an undeniable will to die, constantly dragging him deeper into the riverbed.

"Waaaaahh ...

Hall struggled frantically underwater, his thick arms paddling like a windmill, trying to surface.

But no matter how hard he tried, the dark figure below remained as steady as a mountain.

That weight, that force, it definitely wasn't from being entangled in seaweed.

That's a living thing!

Hall's body trembled violently in the icy water.

Extreme fear gripped his heart.

He was secretly alarmed, and countless terrifying legends circulating among sailors flashed through his mind.

"Could it be—could it be that I've been possessed by a water ghost?!"

He lowered his head, enduring the stinging pain in his eyes, and stared intently at the dark shadow below.

Indeed, it turned out to be the outline of a human figure!

The other person just floated quietly on the bottom of the water, their hands gripping their neck as if rooted to the spot, without making any unnecessary movements.

It's just sinking.

Hall was unable to speak, and could only roar wildly in his heart, secretly lamenting his misery.

He kicked wildly underwater, even using his other foot to kick the other person's arm.

But the other person's arm was as hard as a piece of cast iron, and kicking it only made my toes hurt, without doing anything else.

The oxygen in the lungs is being consumed rapidly.

The intense struggle caused the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood to spike dramatically.

Hall's face turned purplish-red, and it felt as if thousands of needles were pricking his chest.

He was about to give up.

But at that moment, a glimmer of ruthlessness and a sense of luck flashed through Hall's mind.

"You're a human being too! You can't keep holding your breath forever, can you?"

He was thinking frantically to himself, "Any human who engages in strenuous underwater activity depletes their lungs of air faster than I do!"

"When you can't hold your breath any longer and need to go up for air, I'll take the opportunity to break free and climb up!"

Hall stopped struggling in vain, trying to conserve his energy.

He clenched his teeth, his cheek muscles bulging, forcibly enduring the burning sensation in his lungs that felt like they were about to explode.

He is waiting.

Wait until the other person can't take it anymore.

A minute passed.

The underwater scene was eerily still, with only the thunderous pounding of Hall's heart echoing in the water.

The dark shape below remained completely still.

Two minutes passed.

Hall's vision began to blur, and tiny specks of gold began to shimmer in the underwater darkness.

His brain experienced waves of dizziness due to lack of oxygen.

"How is this possible—how can she not be breathing?"

Hall's mind began to crumble. Extreme terror made him struggle frantically again, his hands flailing wildly in the water, trying to grab onto anything he could use for leverage.

Three minutes later.

This is the limit of normal human energy.

Hall was increasingly suffocating; his entire face had turned a deep purple, his eyes bulging and bloodshot.

His limbs began to twitch uncontrollably, a dying signal from oxygen deprivation in his brain.

The "water ghost" below remained like a cold, unyielding stone, showing no sign of rising.

"Monster—this is a real water ghost—"

Hall was in despair.

Another ten seconds or so passed.

The extreme lack of oxygen finally and completely destroyed Hall's will and physiological defenses.

He could no longer bear the excruciating pain, and his throat instinctively loosened.

"Glug glug glug one"

A string of bubbles burst from his mouth and shot straight to the surface of the water.

At the same time, he swallowed a mouthful of icy river water.

The water flowed back into the trachea and alveoli in an instant.

The intense choking sensation caused him to let out a silent scream, his body arching violently like a shrimp.

His pupils began to dilate, and the glimmer of hope in his eyes quickly faded and disappeared.

The struggles became less and less intense.

Finally, his limbs twitched involuntarily.

Hall's body stiffened abruptly, completely losing all life, and he floated in the water like a rag.

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