Chapter 246 Re-entering the Blackwater Stronghold

Ning Jinli pondered and analyzed as she spoke:

"The world you live in and the world I live in belong to highly similar parallel universes. The development and changes of everything are almost exactly the same, of course, this is under the premise that no external influences occur."

"However, ever since the spacetime tunnel appeared and we met, external influences have already taken root and sprouted. As the impact and changes I cause increase, the chain reactions that occur in this world will also increase. This is called the butterfly effect."

"The butterfly effect?" Xiao Qidi asked in surprise. "What does it have to do with butterflies?"

Ning Jinli said, "This is a scientific theory that uses butterflies as an example. It says that if a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the same world, it may cause a storm on the other side of the world."

Xiao Qidi was completely bewildered. "What kind of butterfly is so powerful? Is it a mythical beast from ancient mythology?"

"Pfft—" Ning Jinli laughed, "It's an example, roughly meaning cause and effect plus chain reaction. It only describes the cause and effect, not the process. To put it another way, it's like my appearance caused you to destroy Sha Yue and Yu Kingdom much earlier, including the Xuan Kingdom nobles involved in the case in Hewan County, and then your elimination of the Xuan Kingdom noble group. This matter then led to General Xing of Ze Kingdom persuading their ruler to follow suit, which resulted in General Xing being hunted down and his entire family being wiped out..."

Xiao Qidi nodded slightly. "I think I understand now. What you just said about a butterfly flapping its wings causing a storm on the other side of the world is just like how I stepped through the time tunnel into the back door of your factory's small warehouse that day, which led to me witnessing Xing Lie's birth today."

Ning Jinli nodded. "That's roughly the idea. The butterfly effect is very complex. The more causes there are, the greater the chain reaction and the greater the changes. It must be that some linking factor in the process caused General Xing and his wife to get married and have children ahead of schedule, so their child was born ahead of schedule."

Xiao Qidi pondered for a moment and said, "So, in the future, the changes in my world will be so great that they will completely deviate from the development history of your world?"

“Yes, that will definitely happen,” Ning Jinli said with certainty. “It’s only been half a year, and huge changes have already been happening. Before long, more and more historical events in my world will not be repeated in yours. In the end, the development of the two worlds will be vastly different.”

Xiao Qidi looked at the group of people sitting around the fire and asked, "Do you think they are reliable?"

Ning Jinli said, "Based on the information we have and my intuition, I believe it's reliable. However, there's no need to reveal your identity to them yet. Also, I just thought of a good idea that might speed up our moth-wing grass collection..."

She then shared her thoughts with Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi thought it was worth a try.

The two returned to the campfire. Uncle Fu was already snoring with his head down, and the second-in-command of Blackwater Village was also dozing off.

"May I ask your name?" Ning Jinli said with a smile as she sat down next to the girl.

The girl rubbed her eyes, yawned, and said, "Just call me Hei Er. Ever since I followed my brother and led the surviving villagers of Blackwater Bay to become river pirates, we've stopped using our original names. My older brother is called Hei Da."

Ning Jinli followed suit, saying, "My name is Ning Da, and this kid's name is Ning Er."

It was obvious that this was also an alias. The girl laughed and said, "Alright, then I'll call you Big Sister Ning and he Second Brother Ning."

Ning Jinli took out a flashlight used for wilderness survival. "Hei Er, these two are for you."

Hei Er was instantly wide awake, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. "Such a magical treasure, you...you gave it to me?! Are you kidding me?"

Ning Jinli smiled and said, "If you don't like it, then I won't give it to you?"

"I love it! I love it!" Hei Er nodded vigorously, his eyes filled with excitement.

Ning Jinli then handed her the flashlight.

She held the treasure in her hands and carefully kept it close to her body. Then she clasped her hands and said, "Thank you so much, Sister Ning! You and Brother Ning not only saved me, Madam Xing and her son, and Uncle Fu, but now you have also given me this treasure. I really don't know how to thank you enough. In the future, if there is anything Blackwater Village can do to help you, just ask. We will go through fire and water for you!"

Looking at this petite fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl who exuded a seasoned, worldly air, Ning Jinli couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

She's still a child...

In modern terms, that would be the age to go to school.

“Second Sister Hei, take us to Blackwater Village to meet your eldest brother,” Ning Jinli suggested.

Hei Er grinned and eagerly grabbed Ning Jinli's hand, "Okay! Let's go now, my older brother will definitely like you!"

"Cough cough!" Xiao Qidi coughed suddenly.

Hei Er quickly said, "It's not the kind of liking that wants her to be a bandit's wife. My eldest brother is big and ugly, not good enough for Sister Ning. Only a handsome and imposing man like Brother Ning Er is a good match for her."

These words made Xiao Qidi feel particularly comfortable.

Soon, under Hei Er's arrangement, several wooden boats carrying Xiao Qidi, Ning Jinli, Madam Xing and her son, and Uncle Fu followed Hei Er and the cripple into the swampy lake under the morning sun, heading towards the core area of ​​Blackwater Village.

——

Near Blackwater Bay.

The two men in black waited in the dense forest until the sun rose, but there was no sign of their accomplices.

They were also members of the assassins who were hunting down Madam Xing.

Last night, a group of seven tracked the enemy here. They were worried about alerting the bandits of Blackwater Village, but they also didn't want to see their target escape. So, five of them went deep into Blackwater Bay, while the other two stayed here to wait for backup.

One of the men in black said, "We'll leave before those guys return with the target's head, as agreed. Now that the time has passed, they're probably... in grave danger."

Another man in black said, "Those few are highly skilled in martial arts. Could they have perished inside? Why don't we go in and search for them?"

"No, there are pirates in Blackwater Bay. We've probably run into them. No matter how high your martial arts skills are, you can't defeat a large and powerful pirate."

"Then what about our objective? Are we just going to let it go like that?"

"Madam Xing was heavily pregnant, and her attendant was an old man. Only the man and woman who rescued them were somewhat capable, especially the man, who was very strong. But since they had strayed into the territory of the river pirates, their chances of survival were probably slim..."

"But how can you be at ease, Master, without seeing the head?"

"Let's go back and report the situation first. If the master wants to be at ease, the only way is to turn Blackwater Bay upside down. This is beyond the capabilities of the two of us."

After discussing their plan, the two quickly left.

——

An hour or so later, Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi arrived at the Blackwater Village's lair once again.

I rushed over last night to save the White-browed Monkey, and didn't have time to take a closer look. Now I realize that this dwelling, built from the wreckage of many ships of various sizes, is quite peculiar and spectacular.

Surrounded by deep water on all sides, with towering trees growing in the water, their branches covered with countless vines thicker than a person's arm, forming a unified, encircling structure.

Sunlight was now filtering through the branches directly above, casting a veil of light over the peculiar building and making it appear even more imposing and awe-inspiring.

“It’s like a huge work of art,” Ning Jinli looked up and couldn’t help but exclaim. “The pile of ship wreckage, so random and rugged, has a very special kind of beauty.”

Hei Er smiled bitterly, "We call this place Rotten Ship Fortress. It was built bit by bit from scrap materials collected from all over the years. If it weren't for the fact that everyone's homes were gone... who would want to live in a place like this? Perhaps Sister Ning would find it quite interesting, but life here is very hard."

Ning Jinli withdrew her gaze and said softly, "Don't worry, you will definitely have a good life in the future."

"Then I'll accept your kind words, Sister Ning." Hei Er smiled brightly, but there was a deeper bitterness mixed in with the smile. She took it as just a casual remark from Ning Jinli to comfort her and didn't really take it seriously.

A short while later, the small boat docked at the pier below the wrecked shipwreck.

There were many people standing on both sides of the pier.

Hei Er walked onto the dock and saw a tall, strong, burly man with round eyes. He ran over to him and shouted, "Big Brother! I'm back!"

The pirates by the dock shouted in unison, "Greetings, Second Boss!"

Hei Da ran towards Hei Er and then hugged her tightly. "Little sister! I'm so glad you're alright! Otherwise... I really don't know how I would live on, and I wouldn't have the face to see our parents."

As he spoke, tears streamed down Hei Da's face.

"Alright, alright, big brother," Hei Er said, his eyes red-rimmed, "I'm perfectly fine... We have guests coming, don't let them laugh at us."

Hei Da hurriedly wiped away his tears and looked at Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi, who were walking onto the dock afterward.

He had heard a rough account of what happened last night from the brothers who came back to report.

The specific details are still unclear, but since the younger sister said that the two men were her saviors, then they are also his benefactors.

Hei Da immediately knelt down on both knees and kowtowed three times, making the wooden planks on the dock creak. "Gentlemen! I apologize for my previous offenses!"

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and ordered, "Everyone, kowtow!"

As soon as the voice fell, everyone standing around the dock, as well as on the corridors and platforms of other parts of the shipwreck fortress, knelt down on the spot.

The sound of repeated kowtowing echoed continuously.

The entire wrecked ship trembled.

Ning Jinli instinctively hugged Xiao Qidi's arm tightly, fearing that the seemingly flimsy building would be knocked down by hundreds of pirates.

Then, Hei Da said that a banquet had been prepared and invited the two of them to enjoy it in the main hall.

Madam Xing, her son, and Uncle Fu were all exhausted, so they were taken to rest by several women from Blackwater Village.

Hei Er told Ning Jinli that there were many women in Heishui Village, and some of them had formed families and had children there, so they knew how to take care of mothers and babies.

This put Ning Jinli at ease.

On the way into the Rotten Ship Fortress, Hei Er linked arms with Hei Da and explained the situation to him in detail as they walked.

After hearing this, Hei Da's messy brows furrowed into a knot. "Little sister, you were just going to investigate the movements of the local grain transport ships. How did you get involved in the disputes between important officials and nobles? Isn't this just asking for trouble!"

Hei Er stood tall and proud. "Brother, you've always told me that I should help those in need, especially since they are General Xing's family. How could I just stand by and do nothing?"

"Sigh..." Hei Da sighed heavily, helplessly saying, "Yes, yes, little sister is right. However... the plan to rob the grain transport ship at the end of the year has to be abandoned. We need to have all the brothers guard Blackwater Village to prevent assassins from attacking."

Hei Er looked ashamed. "I'm sorry, brother... without that ship of grain, the brothers won't be able to get through the winter this year..."

Hei Da laughed and said, "It's alright, it's alright! We can all eat less food and tighten our belts. That's how we've always gotten through tough times!"

The group arrived at the lobby.

The so-called lobby was actually just the largest cabin on the ship, with a dilapidated long table inside.

There was some coarse food on the table.

"My two benefactors, please have a seat!" Hei Da waved his hand. "I can tell that you two have remarkable appearances and demeanors, and are definitely not from the rough background of us. I hope you won't find the food here too unappetizing."

Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli sat down and glanced at the food in front of them.

There was a pile of flatbreads made from some unknown grain, dark and hard, with a rough exterior as if covered in a layer of sand.

There were also several plates of soup with wild vegetables and chunks of meat of unidentifiable species. It was sticky and had a meaty flavor mixed with a fishy smell, which was particularly refreshing to smell.

The only dishes that looked somewhat appetizing were a plate of wilted, unidentified fruit and a plate of smoked dried meat.

"Wow, what a feast!" Hei Er's mouth watered. He hurriedly ladled out a bowl of meat soup, grabbed a flatbread, and started munching on it. "Big Sister Ning, Second Brother Ning, please help yourselves, don't be shy!"

Xiao Qidi's expression was very complicated.

Ning Jinli asked softly, "Is this all you usually eat?"

While eating, Hei Er said, "We don't usually get to eat this well. Big Brother has taken out all his savings. If he's lucky enough to rob a passing merchant ship or official ship and get something good, he'll first distribute it to the old, weak, women and children in the village, then give some to the people outside Blackwater Bay, and give the rest to the brothers. We two, who are in charge, actually get the worst food and supplies."

"You brat, criticizing me in front of your benefactor?" Hei Da gently tapped his sister's head, then added some food to her bowl.

Seeing this scene, Ning Jinli's nose became increasingly sore.

She lowered her head and rubbed her eyes, then said, "To be honest, we came here to collect some things. If the brothers of Blackwater Village can help us, we can provide you with food."

This was exactly the idea she had previously shared with Xiao Qidi.

There are many people in Blackwater Village, and they are familiar with the environment. If we can get them to help with the work, it will definitely be twice as effective with half the effort. Moreover, it will save these people from having to risk their lives to make a living by robbing passing merchant ships.

"Collecting things?" Blackie was surprised. "What could possibly be in this godforsaken place that would catch your eye?"

Hei Er interjected, "Is it fish, shrimp, turtles, crocodiles, water birds, or other animals? We'll get it for you, whatever you need."

"No, this is what I want." Ning Jinli placed a moth-wing grass that she had picked on her way here on the table.

The two siblings, Hei Da and Hei Er, looked at the moth-winged grass, then at Ning Jinli, their expressions becoming even more incredulous.

"Miss Ning, you...you must be joking, right?" Hei Da looked incredulous. "This kind of grass can neither be used as medicine nor eaten as a vegetable, and it's everywhere. It's really useless!"