With half a game of chess, I vanquish all demons!

The sailors gathered around, excitedly chatting with Zhao Yao.

"Go! Go! Go!

Get lost, stop crowding around.

The middle-aged man chased the crowd away with a look of disgust.

Zhao Yao stood aside and casually asked:

What do you do for a living?

"Trading merchants."

The middle-aged man grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth:

"We buy and sell everything, making a hard-earned living by running around."

Before he finished speaking, a young man rushed out of the cabin.

The young man, clutching a jade pendant, his face flushed with excitement, shouted:

"Big brother! Big brother! Look at this!"

The bounty offered by Tianming Tower has been withdrawn!

The bounty on that dragon has been withdrawn!

"What?"

The middle-aged man snatched the jade pendant and brought it close to his eyes for a closer look.

The jade plaque was smooth, and the characters on it were clear. It was a bounty notice from the Heavenly Destiny Pavilion, showing a dragon with its claws outstretched, and next to the dragon were the four large characters "Evil Dragon Cloud Dragon".

On the edge of the dragon painting, four characters were written in vermilion ink: "[Bounty withdrawn]"

"Are they really leaving?"

The middle-aged man's eyes widened, and his voice rose an octave.

"They've withdrawn! They've withdrawn!"

The young man rubbed his hands together excitedly:

"It's all over the group chat, the dragon is dead! It was killed!"

I heard it was a scholar who did it, his name was... Zhao Yao? Yes, Zhao Yao!

Zhao Yao stood aside, gazing at the jade tablet and listening to their conversation, his heart churning with mixed emotions, and an urge to complain welled up within him.

This jade pendant, which looks like a cell phone, seems to belong to the Heavenly Dao Division, doesn't it?

Yan Rouyun said that this thing is widely circulated, but not this widely, right?

You can see this thing just by bumping into any boat captain?

Zhou Quan was still causing me trouble like he was a precious treasure?

It's been circulating all over the group chat. Could it be the name of an app in some Heavenly Dao Jade Tablet?

Noticing Zhao Yao's gaze, the middle-aged man smiled and explained:

"Young man, this kind of thing isn't commonly seen on land, is it?"

If you ever encounter a large ship belonging to the Heavenly Dao Division, you can ask them for a piece.

Look…

As he spoke, he picked up the jade tablet and showed it to Zhao Yao.

There is a noticeable scratch on the back of the jade pendant.

The middle-aged man continued:

"Although the Heavenly Dao Division is in charge of all the heavens, it does not concern itself with worldly affairs."

But in the end, it is because we, the people of the Demon-Slaying Realm, have taken care of us.

These discarded jade pendants were useless to them, but they were extremely useful to us, people who make a living at sea.

Hehe~ It helps alleviate our loneliness, we communicate with each other, and every day feels more energetic.

Zhao Yao nodded, indicating that he understood.

That's right.

At sea, there's a huge difference between having a mobile phone with internet access and not having one.

The two came to their senses.

On the deck, the news spread instantly, causing an uproar.

"Really? That's a dragon!"

"The Heavenly Destiny Tower has already withdrawn the bounty, so how could it be fake?"

"Who is so powerful? Can a scholar slay a dragon?"

"Who cares who he is, good riddance! That dragon was spewing cold air and hailing in Wangzhou City, and many families suffered as a result."

"That's right, my relatives said that the demonic dragon kills people indiscriminately, and even the most powerful people in their area..."

"That Zhao Yao, I heard, is from Zhaoqian Village, and is a student of Magistrate Zhou."

"Tsk tsk tsk, a scholar slaying a dragon, who would believe it if word got out..."

An old sailor remained silent, took a string of firecrackers from the stern, hung it on the mast, and lit it with a flint.

crackling sounds~

crackling sounds~

Firecrackers exploded on the sea, and red paper scraps fluttered down onto the deck, just like during the Chinese New Year.

The sailors stopped their discussion, looked at the silent old sailor, and fell silent.

The old sailor had suffered the calamities of other demonic dragons, which led to the destruction of his family; everyone else had heard his story.

Hearing of the demise of a demonic dragon, the old sailor remained silent, but felt a surge of joy in his heart.

That string of firecrackers was not only his heartfelt wish, but also the heartfelt wish of countless ordinary people.

Zhao Yao stood on the periphery of the crowd, watching these strangers rejoice because of what he had done, and a feeling he couldn't quite describe welled up inside him.

The firecrackers quickly burned out, and only then did the middle-aged man remember that Zhao Yao was still there. He patted him on the shoulder and laughed:

"You flatter me, you flatter me. The demon dragon is dead, and the brothers are happy, but we're just celebrating in different ways."

"understand."

Zhao Yao nodded, glanced at the flags to the side, and casually asked:

"Are you from the All-Heavens Merchant Alliance?"

The middle-aged man's eyes flickered, and he chuckled awkwardly.

"The All-Heavens Merchant Alliance? I suppose so."

Zhao Yao nodded and did not ask any further questions.

……

After sailing for half a day, fog suddenly rose on the sea.

The fog came strangely; just moments before, the sky was clear and blue, but in the blink of an eye, everything was shrouded in white, obscuring even the bow of the ship. The sailors furled the sails, slowed the ship, and cautiously looked around.

Zhao Yao stood at the bow of the boat, his gaze piercing through the thick fog, and saw something unusual on the distant sea.

There, dozens of dark figures were swimming rapidly from underwater, their bodies slender, their fins like knives, and they made almost no splash when they broke through the water.

Zhao Yao walked up to the middle-aged man and whispered:

"Fishman".

The middle-aged man's expression changed, and he lowered his voice to ask:

"Can you see clearly?"

Zhao Yao nodded, his gaze sweeping over the dark figures. Thinking of the legend of the fishmen, he already had a guess about their purpose.

He turned and glanced at the middle-aged man, then said directly:

"They're probably after the dragon's corpse."

"Dragon corpse?"

"Where would we get a dragon corpse from on this wrecked ship?"

The middle-aged man felt bewildered, but then his mind raced and his eyes widened suddenly.

He stared at Zhao Yao and gasped.

"You, you..."

Zhao Yao didn't explain, but simply patted him on the shoulder and pointed southeast:

"Sail the boat in that direction."

He could see in that direction a deserted island, its surface rugged and barren, appearing and disappearing in the mist.

He then instructed:

"Once you get there, leave and don't look back."

"Brother, you..."

The middle-aged man couldn't help but want to say something.

"Don't worry, just listen to me."

Zhao Yao's tone was calm, yet brooked no argument.

The middle-aged man opened his mouth but didn't ask any more questions. He turned around and ordered the sailors to start adjusting the course.

Call ~

The bow turned, and the ship headed towards the deserted island.

On the high sea, the fog grew thicker and thicker, and the dark shadows in the water gathered in greater numbers, numbering no less than a hundred. They followed closely behind the ship, unhurried, as if waiting for something.

Clang~

When the ship docked, Zhao Yao leaped onto the reef.

He turned around and waved to the people on the boat:

"Quick, let's go!"

The middle-aged man stood at the stern of the boat, hesitated for a moment, then took out a small flag from his pocket, threw it to the ground, and planted it in the ground.

He took a deep breath, looked at Zhao Yao, clasped his hands in a fist and said:

"Brother Zhao Yao, take care!"

Call ~

The sailors steered their sailboats, avoiding the fishmen behind them, and slowly sailed away from the deserted island, soon disappearing into the fog.

Zhao Yao stood on the reef, turned his gaze from the small boat to the dense black shadows on the sea.

His gaze was deep and thoughtful; he was ready.