On the chained boat formation, the chieftains of Lianjiang Water Village were overjoyed.
The fan that suddenly appeared naturally belonged to Zhong Shiqi, the second leader of the water stronghold.
Zhong Shiqi, known as the "Lancang Scholar," once made a great name for himself with a fan in his hand.
But the joy in the hearts of the chieftains was not solely due to his appearance.
Furthermore, since Zhong Shiqi has appeared, it means that Dugu Wang, the leader of the water stronghold, has also arrived.
All the chieftains couldn't help but glance at Li Hanzhou.
As expected of Fourth Brother, he had already contacted the Boss and the others.
After the fan appeared, a man in white robes indeed came riding on the waves and gracefully landed on the other boat.
At the same time, a wave surged up from the river, and on it stood a tall, imposing man, eight feet tall, rapidly approaching this side.
The waves stopped a short distance away, and the man bowed towards them, saying loudly:
"Sir, why don't you spare my brothers for now and talk to me, Dugu Wang, about this?"
"You are Dugu Wang? It seems the rumors are true; you have indeed already entered the Innate Realm."
Lin Ce looked at the voluptuous man in front of him and narrowed his eyes slightly.
As he spoke, he called out to the other boat.
"Li Qingshan, stop."
The sword-wielding youth was none other than Li Qingshan, a bodyguard from the Sihai Escort Agency.
As he was rampaging and dominating the battlefield, a fan flew over and stopped him.
When Lin Ce's words came, he wanted to charge again, but the white-clad man who came riding on the waves clearly put a lot of pressure on him.
He stepped back with his sword drawn, staring cautiously at the white-clad man in front of him.
"Li Qingshan, Shang Shaofeng, take your men back and hand over the goods. The distinguished guests who entrusted the goods to you are getting impatient."
Lin Ce ignored Dugu Wang and began to relay messages to Li Qingshan and Shang Shaofeng on the other side.
As for Yu Jiu, he didn't specifically point him out, but instead let him continue to lurk underwater as a trump card to protect the caravan's return journey.
The reason the caravan was captured earlier was because the bottom of the ship had been breached.
Now that Yu Jiu, a half-merman, is living underwater, such a thing probably won't happen again.
Without destroying the ships, it would be impossible for the Lianjiang Water Village to overwhelm the caravan with sheer combat power without the leadership of its many chieftains.
However, the incident of bandits from the water village obstructing the caravan did not occur.
Zhong Shiqi, known as "Lancang Scholar," stood to the side, holding an iron fan, calmly watching Li Qingshan.
"This guy seems pretty capable. You can't handle him by yourself, so I'd better stay and help you."
Li Qingshan did not leave immediately, but continued to point his sword at Zhong Shiqi in front of him.
The young members of the镖局 (bodyguard agency) who had just regained their freedom, led by Shang Shaofeng, shouted in unison:
"We'll stand with the chief镖头 (chief镖头 is a nickname for a镖师, meaning a bodyguard or镖师) through thick and thin!"
"We'll stand with the chief镖头 (chief镖头 is a nickname for a镖师, meaning a bodyguard or镖师) through thick and thin!"
The shouts shook the river, and the bandits of Lianjiang Water Village paled.
Dugu Wang, who was confronting Lin Ce, looked towards the direction from which the shouts came, quite surprised.
He had seen many people from security escort agencies, but this was the first time he had ever seen anyone like this.
If you ask what makes this escort agency different from the ones I've seen before, it seems to be... an excessive amount of youthful vigor.
Is it because the members of this escort agency are all too young?
Perhaps that is indeed the case.
It is indeed a rare sight in this martial arts world that everyone from the chief镖头 (head镖师, head镖师, and镖师) to the镖师 (镖师, bodyguards) is young.
"Since that's the case, then you can just stand by and watch, and remember what it means to 'punish those who offend me, no matter how far away they are'."
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his palm and chopped down.
"Chief Escort Lin—"
Standing atop the surging waves, Dugu Wang was greatly alarmed and lunged forward.
But in the end, it was too late.
On this boat, screams rang out as the seventh chieftain of Lianjiang Water Village had his arm severed at the shoulder, staining the Lanjiang River with blood.
Dugu Wang stopped and looked at Lin Ce from afar, then cupped his hands and said:
"Chief Escort Lin, it was indeed Lao Qi's fault for detaining your escort agency's people, but no one from your agency was killed. Although he made a mistake, it did not warrant death. Please be lenient."
The seventh chieftain, his face contorted with pain from having his arm chopped off, gritted his teeth and said:
"Boss, I, the seventh brother, am not one to cling to life or fear death. If I die, I die. Why should I bow down to him?"
"What, you're suddenly getting tough now?"
Lin Ce sneered, "Tell me, who are the people who want to deal with our Four Seas Escort Agency?"
"Pah! If you think I, the seventh brother, am someone who would betray his companions, then you underestimate me."
The seventh chieftain nearly ground his teeth to powder, spitting a mouthful of blood at Lin Ce.
"Seventh Brother, no—"
Dugu Wang was greatly alarmed.
But this obviously doesn't change anything.
Lin Ce's true qi needles were merely integrated into his flesh and blood; he had no means of releasing them externally for protection.
The blood spit out by the seventh chieftain actually landed on him.
"Bang!"
The next moment, he exploded, turning into blood and flesh fragments that flew in all directions.
The other village chiefs nearby were immediately splattered with blood and foam.
For a moment, everyone was stunned.
"What's wrong with your brain... You think you're so magnanimous and tragic? You were the one who attacked our escort agency first, and now it's like I'm the villain?"
Lin Ce shook his hand, his face cold.
The downside of not being able to release one's true energy is that all sorts of dirty things will spill onto the body. Although they won't hurt the person, it's not a pleasant sight.
"Lin Ce!!!"
Atop the towering waves, Dugu Wang gritted his teeth in sorrow, his entire body enveloped in true energy. He took a single step off the crest of the wave and charged toward Lin Ce.
But he eventually stopped.
Because Lin Ce stretched out his hand and hovered it over the head of another water stronghold leader.
He had no doubt that if he dared to take another step forward, another burst of blood would erupt in the next moment.
"ah--"
The chief of the water stronghold roared, and together with the other chiefs beside him, they were about to stand up and launch a counterattack against Lin Ce.
"Don't act rashly!"
Dugu Wang's face was gloomy, but at this moment he could only speak like this.
This development was somewhat beyond his expectations. He thought it was something that could be resolved with a good talk, but he never expected it to have come to this.
"How are you? Are you more awake now?"
Lin Ce stared coldly at the other party.
"You want to scuttle the ship? You want to detain my people? And now you want to negotiate? Who gave you permission to treat me with such arrogance?"
Dugu Wang felt very frustrated.
He forcibly suppressed his anger and said:
"Chief镖师 Lin, I hope you understand that your men were not injured after all."
"What a joke! Just because my men aren't injured doesn't mean it's okay. Whether it's okay or not is for me to decide, not for you to decide."
Looking at the other person, Lin Ce smiled coldly:
"Tell me, how do we resolve this situation?"
"Chief镖师 Lin, please hear me out."
Before Dugu Wang could speak, the "Lancang Scholar" on the other side spoke first.
"How about we each compromise? We'll let your escort agency members leave, and you'll spare my brothers from the water fortress, okay?"
"Let my escort agency members leave?"
Lin Ce glanced at Zhong Shiqi, the "Lancang Scholar," and said calmly:
"What gives you the right to negotiate with me?"
Zhong Shiqi held the fan handle and raised his head.
"Just because I am also a Xiantian (innate) cultivator, today my Lianjiang Water Village has not just one Xiantian cultivator here, but two."
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