"My lords and ladies, has any among you ever traveled this sea route before?"
Someone asked with a worried expression.
To their surprise, they were met with nothing but shakes of the head.
Out of all these people, not a single one had ever traversed this sea route!
It was as if this was a completely new and unfamiliar path, absent from maritime charts and uncharted in people's memories!
Finally, someone mustered the courage and looked at Ying Chen, "Immortal Ying, may I ask where we are going?"
"If memory serves me right, this is not the sea route back to Xiangjiang, is it? Could you have gotten lost?"
Ying Chen, who had been standing by the window gazing at the dark, deep sea outside, turned slowly upon hearing the question and replied, "Who said we were returning to Xiangjiang?"
"Did you not hear me clearly earlier? I said I would give Master Huo and Officer Lin a chance to be heroes. Of course, not just them, you all have a chance too."
"Therefore, I must keep my promise!"
Hearing Ying Chen's reply, the fear and unease in everyone's hearts instantly intensified.
What did he mean?
Being heroes?
They had no desire to be heroes!
They only wished to be capitalists pulling the strings from behind the scenes, manipulating the heroes!
"Ahem, Immortal Ying... I'll offer a hundred million, can I not be this hero?"
Someone stepped forward and asked sheepishly.
"I'll offer two hundred million! I don't want to be a hero either..."
Someone immediately raised the bid.
"I'll offer three hundred million! Whoever wants to be a hero can be, I certainly won't!"
A third person also stepped forward and shouted.
For a moment, everyone present, as if fleeing from scorpions and snakes, scrambled to give up their chance to be a hero.
Seeing this scene, Ying Chen couldn't help but sigh, "You people have such poor character. Look at Master Huo and Officer Lin, their character is so much higher. They remain silent, looking down upon associating with you all!"
Everyone looked towards Master Huo and Officer Lin.
Indeed, the two were huddled in a corner of the banquet hall, their faces grim, saying nothing.
They seemed disinclined to compete for the "chance not to be a hero."
"We cannot compare, cannot compare... Master Huo is a prominent family of a hundred years in Xiangjiang, the backbone of Xiangjiang, and naturally must bear corresponding responsibilities. Officer Lin is in this line of work, and his duty is even more unavoidable. How can we compare ourselves to them?"
"Immortal Ying, let's continue discussing the price. Just tell us directly, how much money does it take not to be this hero?"
Facing everyone's eager gazes, Ying Chen sneered, "It's hard to say yet. It depends on how many heroes are needed at the time."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed.
This meant that there would inevitably be some unlucky souls among them who would become "heroes" and join Master Huo and Officer Lin in their noble endeavor!
Everyone exchanged glances, then tacitly took two steps back.
They all intended to shrink into the crowd, avoiding becoming the unfortunate one later!
Even, at a crucial moment, recommending a friend was not out of the question.
Better a dead friend than a living oneself, after all.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall instantly fell into a deathly silence and strangeness.
Everyone harbored their own ulterior motives and subtle calculations.
At the same time, they were puzzled: Where exactly was Ying Chen going? And what exactly did Ying Chen mean by "being a hero"?
The cruise ship sailed for another hour or so.
Suddenly, with a clang, the cruise ship seemed to strike a reef, and its speed abruptly slowed.
At the same time, the figure of He Chongxu appeared at the entrance of the banquet hall.
"Immortal Master, we've arrived!"
"If I recall correctly, this should be the place where my martial uncle would disappear for a period of time each year to cultivate in seclusion!" He Chongxu said.
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.
How did this involve the Hidden Dragon Daoist?
So this sea voyage was to find the Hidden Dragon Daoist's place of secluded cultivation!
But... what good would it do to find it?
Could it be that there were hidden treasures there?
"Hmm, then stop the ship!"
"There are still a few hours until midnight, let's wait patiently for now."
"If it truly refuses to appear, then we will have to trouble our heroes, Master Huo and Officer Lin."
After speaking, Ying Chen faced the sea ahead and closed his eyes.
It was unclear whether he was resting or doing something else.
Hearing Ying Chen's words, the previously calm moods of Master Huo and Officer Lin suddenly became anxious.
It was like a prisoner sentenced to death, during the waiting period before execution, they might have already accepted their fate. Eating and drinking as usual, showing no emotional fluctuations.
But on the day of the execution, when the executioner dragged them from their cells and placed them on the execution platform, their mental defenses would completely collapse.
Crying and wailing would be considered minor. The normal reaction would be to be so scared that they soil themselves.
This was precisely the situation for Master Huo and Officer Lin.
Their eyes revealed uncontrollable fear.
Finally, Master Huo could bear it no longer and spoke first, "Let's make a deal! What will it take for you to let us go?"
"Li Fengcheng was willing to pay fifty billion for his life, and I can also pay fifty billion for my life!"
"As long as you agree, I can have the funds transferred immediately!"
"You want stocks, real estate, anything! I can fulfill it all!"
"In the future, you can even become an honored guest of my Huo family, entering and leaving the Huo family at will. And when you encounter difficulties, my Huo family will spare no effort to support you!"
Upon hearing the terms offered by Master Huo, a hint of greed flashed in the eyes of everyone present.
Clearly, Master Huo's conditions were exceptionally generous, to the point that even they were tempted!
Fifty billion, plus the status of an honored guest of the Huo family.
It was important to note that there had only ever been one honored guest of the Huo family!
And that was a century ago!
At that time, that person had committed a crime and was pursued by the entire court. Anyone who dared to shelter him would be considered an enemy of the court.
Yet the Huo family, disregarding all risks, hid that person and spent a fortune to transfer him to the United States.
After that person settled in the United States, the Huo family even provided financial and material support to help him establish a territory there and become a top figure in the local underworld!
This meant that the status of an honored guest of the Huo family was no less valuable than fifty billion!
Perhaps even more so than fifty billion!
And all Ying Chen had to do was spare Master Huo's life.
Everyone believed this deal to be extremely worthwhile, a profit with no loss.
Ying Chen had no reason to refuse.
To their surprise, Ying Chen glanced at Master Huo with a sneer and said, "You think a bit too highly of your Huo family. To others, perhaps your Huo family is lofty, like celestial beings.
"But in my eyes, your Huo family is nothing more than a group of toads in a small pond. Thinking that by controlling a few lotus leaves and roots, you control the whole world."
"Little do you know, in the eyes of true powerhouses, a single stomp could exterminate your entire toad colony!"
Hearing Ying Chen's analogy, everyone was dumbfounded.
Master Huo, on the other hand, trembled with anger, his eyes spitting fire.
This was the most malicious, most despicable, and most infuriating description he had ever heard!
A group of toads?
If the Huo family could only be considered toads, then what were the other families in Xiangjiang?
Perhaps not even tadpoles!
Ying Chen was far too arrogant!
Far too dismissive of the Huo family and Xiangjiang!
Unlike the reactions of others, He Chongxu nodded in deep agreement.
He wholeheartedly subscribed to Ying Chen's theory!
He hadn't known before, but now he had a profound understanding of Ying Chen's strength, knowing that Ying Chen was not exaggerating.
A person who could control the feng shui of Xiangjiang's earth veins with mere footsteps, a person who could single-handedly sink three warships with a formation he laid, was qualified to say such words!
Because only by truly leaping out of the pond could one understand how vast the world outside the pond was and cultivate a deeper reverence for it!
He Chongxu was one who had already leaped out of the pond, while Master Huo's anger stemmed from the fact that he was still within the pond, unable to see the sky and world outside!
"One cannot discuss ice with a summer insect," He Chongxu said, looking at Master Huo and sighing with a shake of his head.
This only made Master Huo even more enraged.
He gritted his teeth, looking at Ying Chen and He Chongxu, "I don't believe you have the ability to kill me and Officer Lin without being wanted by the entire Xiangjiang!"
"If you have the guts, hurry up! Send me on my way quickly! That way, I can quickly see you become stray dogs, living precariously!"
"Hahahaha..."
Master Huo laughed maniacally.
Seeing Master Huo in such a state, everyone couldn't help but sigh.
To drive a magnate of Xiangjiang to this extent, Ying Chen was indeed formidable.
Facing Master Huo's provocation, Ying Chen calmly replied, "No rush."
The next moment, Ying Chen's gaze suddenly flickered, and he looked towards the dark, deep sea in the distance.
"They're here!"
Hearing this, He Chongxu's face instantly tensed, and he also looked towards the distant sea.
However, he could see nothing.
Only the unfathomably deep sea water rippling gently.
"I thought it was something else, turns out it's this sort of thing!"
"Heh, your martial uncle is quite talented. To have forged a master-servant contract with it, and to have broken through to the eighth stage of sorcery using its power."
Ying Chen's gaze locked onto the sea ahead and he said.
He Chongxu was slightly taken aback, "Master-servant contract? I originally thought Martial Uncle was merely borrowing power from it, I didn't expect he had already subdued it."
Who knew Ying Chen would scoff, "Who said your martial uncle is the master? It is the master! Your martial uncle is merely a servant that fed it!"
"It was willing to lend power to your martial uncle only to facilitate your martial uncle collecting food for it!"
"If I'm not mistaken, quite a few feng shui masters have gone missing in Xiangjiang over the years!"
"Hmm? How did you know?" He Chongxu and everyone present were astonished.
"It's very simple, because this is precisely the food it needs! Those missing feng shui masters were all lured away by your martial uncle and became lost souls in this sea!"
Whoosh!
As Ying Chen spoke, the entire hall erupted in an uproar.
No wonder one feng shui master went missing in Xiangjiang every year. Initially, they thought they were in seclusion or had migrated elsewhere.
Only now did they realize: they had all been fed as food by the Hidden Dragon Daoist to some entity!
Everyone's pupils contracted repeatedly, looking fearfully at the dark sea surface.
They didn't understand what kind of existence would require feng shui masters as food!
And since Ying Chen clearly intended to deal with such an entity, would the final outcome be that Ying Chen also became its food?
If even Ying Chen became food, then those present would likely be doomed as well!
Unless that entity was exceptionally picky and had no interest in ordinary people without cultivation.
"Must be picky, must be picky!" Everyone trembled, praying in their hearts.
At this moment, the calm sea surface suddenly let out a great roar of waves.
Simultaneously, a visible ripple of water, like a blade cutting through the sea, spread towards the cruise ship!