CHAPTER 569: CHAPTER 553 HONEYMOON IS GONE

"Spread out and search, and be careful. If something doesn’t seem right, immediately send a signal and run," the captain ordered with a serious expression.

The so-called multinational pirate suppression was only halfway finished, and their vessel was one of the smaller nations’ fleets.

If there were creatures in these waters capable of injuring sharks, they surely weren’t ordinary fishermen, but rather most likely a well-equipped team—possibly the Tianyuan Pirate Group they were searching for.

In recent years, after lying low earlier, the Tianyuan Pirate Group had suddenly rampaged through the East Sea, causing countless headaches for every nation because they had re-established contact with their princess, San Niang.

Actually, the name San Niang wasn’t derived from being the "third leader," but rather a tribute to the Bandit Brotherhood by her mother, who chose to name her daughter San Niang.

A few years back, San Niang went to sea for her Xuanwu cultivation, got in touch with the temporary leader of the Tianyuan Pirate Group, Hai Qianfan, and learned that since her departure, the pirate group had lingered on, keeping the title of the third leader waiting for her return.

There was never a boss or second leader in the pirate group.

What San Niang felt at that moment is unknown, but afterward, the pirate group became an arm of maritime trade extension for the Four Symbols Sect. San Niang delegated the tasks to her subordinate, who engaged directly with the pirates. The pirate group then received military support from the Four Symbols Sect, acquired plenty of technologies and equipment from Xia Country, gained stable sales channels on land, and had intricate relations with many high-ranking officials in Penglai Country. Naturally, they weren’t the same as the nomadic bands of the past. The group flourished immensely within a few years.

One must admit that Zhao Changhe was not wrong to think the Four Symbols Sect was originally from the Demon Sect, and the pirates were never heroic thieves. Nobody knows how many women from various maritime nations had been abducted and forced into brothels on Taiping Island by them. They engaged in murder and plunder without restraint, forming a true dark force causing severe headaches to all nations.

Vermilion Bird had once boasted about their "huge potential influence," which was part of it. Their maritime strength was indeed strong, and they were wealthy—even if the capital was blood-soaked...

But when the maritime nations spoke of suppressing pirates, setting aside everything else, the military capabilities of such small nations were very poor—their ships inadequate, their equipment outdated, and their personnel sparse. If it came down to a fight, the pirate group could even annihilate many small nations. Plus, in their own waters, exploiting geographical advantages, they moved undetected; others didn’t even know where the hidden reefs and currents were located, making the so-called suppression a mere delivery to their door.

If it weren’t for the orders of the Sea God that the small nations worshipped, they would not have involved themselves in this pirate suppression.

In reality, their joint operation was just a guise by the Sea God, meant to mislead the Tianyuan Pirate Group about the timing and movement of the suppression, catching them unawares with an attack launched by the Sea Race.

It was almost a success until, inexplicably, a fleet from the Tang family appeared. Their ship was even fiercer than those of the Tianyuan Pirate Group, and a filthy pig onboard created a mess of the entire situation.

Now, with the Sea Race’s night attack failed and the Tianyuan Pirate Group relocating their base, the next steps in the joint suppression were mainly about finding where the people were...

Finding them was one thing, but fighting them was another. The belief in the Sea God was formidable, but if they couldn’t win, they simply couldn’t. The captain didn’t want his group to be the first to locate them, but with all the clues leading here and the whole ship of Sea God worshippers watching, they couldn’t just say they’d stop searching and head back...

The first night, they found nothing.

The blind man called them a bunch of useless fools. It was just a matter of time before the Four Symbols Sect was completely wiped out. He didn’t even know if they would perform some morning exercises.

...

The morning dawned brightly; San Niang woke up feeling refreshed and cheerful.

Compared to the past few days, this night had been particularly comfortable! The pillow was also very comfortable!

Uh...

As soon as she opened her eyes, she found herself nestled in a man’s arms, one leg draped over him, tightly entwined with her arms fully embracing him, like clinging to a large toy bear.

She cautiously raised her head, hoping he hadn’t woken up.

Just last night, she had told him, "I have revived, and your chance is gone," even making him sleep on the floor—yet here they were, embarrassing for Guigui.

To her dismay, Zhao Changhe, who had been awake for who knows how long, was also looking down at her, entangled like an octopus around him.

San Niang lifted her eyes and met his gaze.

Just as she was about to say something to rectify the situation, Zhao Changhe touched her head gently and said softly, "Good morning."

San Niang was left speechless, naturally got up, stretched lazily, and returned a smile, "Morning. How did you sleep?"

With her previous awkwardness gone, San Niang once again embodied the charm of a mature woman. As she stretched, waves appeared and unabashedly bounced before him, her eyes smoldering with allure. Zhao Changhe swallowed, lowered his head slightly to avoid staring at her, and quietly said,

"The sleep felt pretty good... The previous estimation might have been wrong, I think recovery won’t take ten days to half a month, mostly it’s about getting good rest. Today’s sleep really did wonders."

San Niang felt the same.

It didn’t require ten days to half a month. Both of them belonged to those with drastically freakish recovery powers, their combat strength could double every day. Even now, facing any formidable enemy, they were already sufficient.

Yet, for some reason, both felt a slight regret, though it wasn’t convenient to express it aloud.

Hmm... The house was just set up, and leaving after staying only a couple of days felt like such a waste, right?

Zhao Changhe silently rose from the bed, took yesterday’s prepared coconut milk, and handed a ladle to San Niang. They both drank silently, enveloped in their thoughts.

San Niang, leaning against headboard, finished her drink, passed back the coconut ladle, and naturally tried to lie back down, "You go practice; I haven’t had enough sleep yet."

Lazing around was ingrained in her bones...

"Hold on," Zhao Changhe pulled her back, naturally wiped the coconut milk from her lips, then chuckled, "You should rest more because of your bone injury. I can handle some work. I’ll go fishing, do you want to gather some fresh water while I’m out? Do you need that crystal?"

Removing the coconut from the drink was such a natural move for San Niang that she didn’t even react especially before it was over. By the time she realized it was inappropriate, the topic had already changed to the crystal.

Are you implying Guigui’s thoughts are slow?

San Niang pouted and didn’t bring up the "past topic" again but just followed up with, "I, as the Venerable, have no need for that thing... But you can give it to me to examine, it might be useful for something else."

Zhao Changhe then handed it over directly, "Be careful of the Sea Emperor."

San Niang shook her head, "It won’t pry. Do you think these top God Demons are so bored as to watch us trying to survive on a deserted island?"

Zhao Changhe said, "I know someone even more bored than that. She watches me even when I shit."

San Niang: "?"

The blind man: "¿"

San Niang didn’t know what he was talking about and was too lazy to think about it. She continued, "Anyway, the Sea Emperor would possibly use this thing again to strike us. Since it hasn’t, it probably can’t or has other concerns. I intend to deconstruct it to see if it’s meaningful for my cultivation, and to get a glimpse of what the Sea Emperor’s methods are."

She stuffed the crystal into her ring and added, "Since you’ve learned some Water Manipulation techniques from Hua Zhenming’s cultivation, do you plan to advance further in that area?"

She thought, if you just say you want it, I’m going to tell you to kneel down according to the Holy Sect’s rituals and beg the Venerable to bestow it upon you, hehe.

But what Zhao Changhe said was, "I was just planning to use it as a reference, as an experiential touch to reach the ’Mastery’ level. I haven’t thought about studying it in depth, the Water attribute doesn’t really suit me, right? But about what you said earlier, about me punching under the sea or hitting back against the waves, I do indeed want to experience that when I’m healed. It should be very beneficial for my control over my strength."

"..." San Niang bit her lower lip slightly resentfully, suddenly recalling the time she said she would teach him the Sword Casting Method... At that time, she felt that prolonged teaching and being too close might lead to unintended intimacy. She was so ready to run away that she planned to later throw the Forging Skill book at him to self-study and be done with it.

Including the so-called punching underwater thing, that was also a brush-off from before, not really wanting to teach him seriously, letting him figure it out by punching for a year on his own.

But now, she felt quite unhappy that he wasn’t learning from her.

"You can learn Tang Wanju’s Spring Water Sword Intent, and Yue Hongling’s Sunset Afterglow. Even the Vermilion Bird taught you the Cosmic Star Response Method, so why are you so reluctant to learn mine?"

San Niang leaned against the head of the bed and glared at him for a while, then suddenly reached out and grabbed his collar.

Zhao Changhe: "?"

The next moment, the world spun around, and with no resistance, San Niang pinned him to the bed.

The woman, flirting with her messy hair from waking, leaned in close and seductively said, "You don’t want to learn, is that it?"

Zhao Changhe, dumbfounded: "Ah?"

It’s been so long since he saw this Bandit Brothers’ boss’s demeanor, why suddenly now...

"The power of water isn’t as simple as you imagine, merely punching it is useless. As a disciple under me, how can you not control the Water attribute? It would be embarrassing for me," San Niang tilted his chin, "If you learn it, there’s a reward, piggy..."

Her red lips hovered near his, her chest pressing against him, and Zhao Changhe struggled for only half a second before he surrendered, "I’ll learn."

San Niang bit her lip, her forehead again touching his.

Divine Souls met, Zhao Changhe’s tiny Divine Soul curled up in the corner of the Soul Sea, watching in horror as the big sister floated over and hugged him, rubbing him affectionately: "So cute."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

The profound and immense Water Element Secret Technique transmitted directly through Divine Souls, directly reaching his Divine Soul, and incidentally, the Forging Skill was transmitted as well, which was simpler than anything.

Zhao Changhe felt dizzy and overwhelmed; suddenly burdened with a pile of knowledge that he couldn’t digest in his current weak state of Divine Soul, not knowing how long it would take to fully grasp.

"Just hang in there, good medicine tastes bitter...how about a little sugar now?"

Her seductive whisper tickled his ear, her red lips kissed his ear tip, then his cheek, fiercely sealing his lips.

Zhao Changhe finally lay completely still.

If you had said there was a reward sooner, I would have learned anything you wanted me to.

The blind man, with his arms crossed, thought irritably that he knew these two could turn any situation into a morning exercise session; fortunately, they had come...

San Niang felt this position was more suited to her, the Venerable playing with a little pig, and the little pig worshipping the Venerable were two different things; indeed, the current situation was better.

In the midst of relaxation, she suddenly felt stunned and then a sharp light flashed through her eyes, she abruptly looked up: "A ship is approaching."

The newly energized Xuanwu Venerable was more alert than before; Zhao Changhe felt nothing, but San Niang had already noticed the difference in the waves.

The two quickly jumped up and got dressed, guessing whose ship it might be while looking back at the small cabin they had just built.

There was no thrill of rescue one might expect from a stranded person by finding a ship; instead, they both felt a simultaneous sense of reluctant sigh. No matter who was coming, it was really a pity to leave behind the little shelter they had just erected...