"Then how did the Hua clan become a reclusive family?" Leng Ruoli asked curiously.
"Because after that internal strife, a capable person emerged within the Hua clan who hid the entire clan, severing ties with the outside world ever since," the Shui family head replied.
"Oh, I see!" Leng Ruoli, though understanding only half of it, felt these matters were not closely related to what she wanted to know, so she wasn't very interested.
"Does the Shui family head know the current specific location of the Hua clan?"
The Shui family head pondered for a moment before answering, "Wait for me at the East City pier tomorrow morning, and I'll take you in. However, I need to prepare something before that."
"Alright, we'll listen to the Shui family head." Leng Ruoli couldn't hide her happiness upon hearing his words. Did this mean the Shui family head really knew where the Hua clan was?
Afterwards, the Shui family head chatted with them about many people and events within the Hua clan. It wasn't until the sun was about to set, with a few bright stars twinkling in the sky and a full moon slowly rising, that Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan bid farewell to the Shui family head and his son.
Finally, the Cold King and his consort boarded the boat arranged by the Shui family, preparing to return to the East City pier. Unexpectedly, halfway to their destination, the boatman suddenly jumped into the sea and fled, leaving the Cold King and his consort bewildered on the boat, unaware of what was happening. Soon after, the small boat they were on began to take on water.
Although she and Jun Mohan could both swim, their skills weren't particularly good, especially with nightfall approaching. Earlier, they had heard Shui Yihe mention that as dusk approached, the tide would rise. Fortunately, Leng Ruoli had scuba diving oxygen tanks in her portable system space. Upon discovering the boat leaking, she immediately retrieved two scuba tanks from her space, giving one to Jun Mohan and keeping one for herself. Once ready, they both jumped into the sea.
"Jun Mohan, who do you think wants to harm us?" Leng Ruoli asked while swimming.
Jun Mohan remained silent for a moment before replying, "This boat was arranged by the Shui family for us. It's likely the Shui family is behind this."
"Shui Yihe or the Shui family head? Or someone else?" Leng Ruoli speculated idly.
"It's not Shui Yihe. I suspect it's Shui Minglou!" Jun Mohan said the last three words almost syllable by syllable.
"Good heavens. How could it be him? I had a rather good impression of him today. Why would he want to kill us?" Leng Ruoli asked, utterly confused.
"Actually, this Shui Minglou is extremely calculating, he's just good at hiding it," Jun Mohan replied with a calm tone.
"Damn it. If it really is Shui Minglou, he's too well-hidden. Let's go, we'll swim back to Bailin Island now. I want to see what kind of scheme this Shui Minglou has that he managed to fool us." Leng Ruoli's tone was somewhat annoyed. She then pulled Jun Mohan's hand and swam towards Bailin Island. They managed to reach the shore of Bailin Island just before the tide rose.
This time, they didn't land directly from the small pier. Instead, they climbed ashore from a jagged, rocky beach on Bailin Island. Although there were a few Shui family members stationed there, the guards were much more lax than at the pier. No one expected anyone to have the ability to climb over these sharp and formidable rocks to reach the island. Thus, the guards were either sleeping on large rocks or sitting in small groups on the beach, drinking and playing dice.
After Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan climbed ashore, Leng Ruoli immediately stored the diving gear back into her space. Then, the two of them smoothly slipped into the small woods on Bailin Island. Once they confirmed they were safe, they hid in her space to change into dry clothes. Afterward, Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan quietly made their way from the Shui mansion's backyard to Shui Yihe's courtyard.
At that moment, Shui Yihe was busy tending to a potted plant on his desk inside his room. He looked up and saw Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan standing outside the window, stunning him for a few seconds. He thought he was seeing things.
"Huh? Didn't you two leave? Why are you back?"
"We wanted to ask you. Why did you and your father try to harm us? You had the boatman abandon us at sea and sabotage our boat, forcing us to swim back to Bailin Island," Leng Ruoli said expressionlessly as she and Jun Mohan jumped through the window into Shui Yihe's room.
"What? The boatman who ferried you ran away? That's too absurd. My father arranged that boat for you. Could this matter be related to..." Shui Yihe's voice trailed off as he realized something was amiss.
"You don't think my father did this, do you?" Shui Yihe looked at them with furrowed brows.
"Whether it was him or not, you'll know soon enough," Leng Ruoli said with a light tone, glancing at Shui Yihe.
"Alright, I'll go ask my father right now what happened." Shui Yihe, suppressing his anger, reached for the door to leave. However, Leng Ruoli stopped him in time. She then whispered a few words to Shui Yihe, who nodded before opening the door and walking out. The Cold King and his consort quietly followed him.
Moments later, Shui Yihe arrived at Shui Minglou's courtyard. Shui Minglou was chatting with Madam Shui in his own courtyard. Seeing Shui Yihe rush in with a blank expression, disturbing their conversation, he became annoyed.
"Shui Yihe, you're old enough to announce yourself when you come in. Do you need someone to teach you basic manners?" The Shui family head reprimanded his unpromising son.
But Shui Yihe ignored him and directly asked, "Did you arrange for something to be done to the boat carrying the Cold King and his consort?"
Upon hearing this, the Shui family head paused slightly. He carefully looked at his son and said calmly, "Where did you get this information? Do you have any proof?"
"I ran into Old Liu on the way. He tried to avoid me like a mouse seeing a cat. I found it strange, as the fastest round trip from our Bailin Island to East Sea City pier takes half an hour. For Old Liu to return to the island so quickly, it naturally raises suspicion," Shui Yihe retorted.
"What's strange about that? Perhaps they switched to another boat halfway?" the Shui family head replied unhurriedly.
"Father, you can fool others with that statement, but you can't fool me," Shui Yihe said, his lips curling into a cold smile.