Early the next morning, Mu Dai was awakened by movement on the boat. She opened her eyes with difficulty, stretched lazily, and murmured: “So early…”

Her mind suddenly jolted awake, all sleepiness vanishing: she could speak?

Indeed, she tried swallowing, and her throat wasn’t painful anymore.

Never before had she felt that being able to speak freely was such a joyful thing.

Her first reaction was to wake up Yan Hong Sha, but on second thought, she held back: Hong Sha was still upset about her uncle, so she shouldn’t be chattering happily in front of her.

After dressing and washing up, the first person she encountered was Yi Wansan. Mu Dai cheerfully stopped him: “Yi Wansan?”

Yi Wansan glanced at her sideways: “What?”

“Do I seem different?”

Yi Wansan was very vigilant. The last time Mu Dai smiled at him like this, she changed her expression in less than two seconds and gripped his hand so tightly he couldn’t hold a bowl for three days—a painful lesson still fresh in his memory.

He avoided her like the plague: “You’re as beautiful as ever, as beautiful as ever, as beautiful as ever…”

He spoke while hurrying away, waving his hand as if shooing away flies.

Mu Dai was quite dissatisfied and slowly made her way to the pilot house.

Luo Ren was already preparing to sail. Breakfast was set aside—half-eaten compressed biscuits with cold water.

Mu Dai deliberately walked over nonchalantly, coughed twice, and said: “Are we setting sail?”

Luo Ren, focused on the control panel, casually responded with an “Mm-hmm.”

Mu Dai felt quite deflated. Although her voice wasn’t heavenly, after being mute for two days, she expected at least some reaction.

She turned to leave, but Luo Ren reached out to stop her, taking a bite of a biscuit with his other hand.

“So you can talk now? Give me back my whistle.”

Mu Dai reacted incredibly quickly, grabbing the whistle hanging outside her clothes and swiftly tucking it into her collar, covering it with her hand.

He was just teasing her, but this reaction…

Luo Ren withdrew his hand, thinking to himself: What a rascal, quite the rascal indeed.

Mu Dai looked at him defiantly, silently grumbling: Stingy, truly stingy.

The boat returned to that area of the sea. After shutting off the engine and stabilizing, the readjusted Water Eye slowly entered the water.

Yan Hong Sha stared at the gradually lowering chain and suddenly said:

“Mu Dai, I can’t let my uncle’s body just soak in the sea like this. Can we… bring him up?”

Though she addressed Mu Dai, she was essentially asking everyone.

Her feelings were understandable, but the danger was also self-evident. Yi Wansan couldn’t contain himself and said to her, “If a boat can be capsized on the water, who dares to go underwater? Do you want to be tied up next to your uncle?”

Yan Hong Sha’s eyes reddened, and she fell silent. She knew the situation, but couldn’t help speaking up. At least by saying it, even if rejected, she had tried.

Mu Dai patted her back, gently comforting her: “It’s not necessarily impossible. Let’s first see the situation underwater. If there’s only one old oyster, perhaps we can create a diversion.”

She wasn’t certain exactly how to create such a diversion, but had a vague outline: if there was only one old oyster, it surely couldn’t focus on two places at once. If they could find a way to lure it away, couldn’t they seize the opportunity to go underwater?

Yan Hong Sha lowered her head, and after a while, secretly glanced at Luo Ren.

Yi Wansan was not going to dive, and Mu Dai couldn’t swim. If there was any hope, it all rested on Luo Ren.

Would Luo Ren go down?

The Water Eye stopped at a relatively high position to provide a wide viewing angle.

The scene gradually became clear.

Mu Dai felt a chill in her chest and asked: “Are those… bones?”

Yes, bones—white bones, some scattered chaotically on that vast, seemingly flat seabed, others partially buried in the sand, like a soaked scene of carnage.

Luo Ren found it incredible: “So many dead people on the seabed? That can’t be possible.”

He looked at Yi Wansan.

Yi Wansan was also a bit confused: “I don’t know. Although I used to swim in the sea back then, I never went to the seabed. Only true pearl divers would descend to the seabed. At that time, there wasn’t anything like this in the sea. If there had been, the villagers would surely have noticed…”

Did it appear after Five Pearl Village stopped pearl diving? That seemed impossible, too. Mu Dai had previously speculated that there might have been occasional pearl thieves, but that would only account for a few.

Yan Hong Sha suddenly screamed: “That, that! Look! A phone!”

Everyone’s gaze converged on one spot.

It wasn’t a phone, but the old oyster crouching in the sea sand with a brightly colored strap hanging from its edge, connected to a waterproof bag that could emit fluorescence underwater.

The old oyster looked similar to what they had seen in the video, about the size of a small table.

Luo Ren said, “Actually, dealing with it is simple. If it comes ashore to bask in the moonlight or sunlight, when it opens its shell, throw in a grenade with a wire…”

Yi Wansan nodded: “Or, like I did back then, burn it!”

After saying this, they both found it amusing. Talking tough was so satisfying, but in reality, they sighed while looking at the seabed, not even daring to approach.

Only Mu Dai was still staring at the screen, and suddenly said: “Do human bones look like that?”

While speaking, she pointed behind the old oyster: “Those aren’t human bones, right?”

On the screen, the old oyster seemed to move its body slightly, revealing a slanted, curved, pointed horn behind it.

Yi Wansan seemed to have a flash of insight and blurted out: “I know!”

He was somewhat excited: “Back then, the village would worship the sea god to ensure prosperous pearl diving. Every March, they would offer three sacrifices, sometimes ox, pig, and sheep heads. Sometimes, for particularly grand occasions, they would offer whole pigs and sheep, their bellies cut open and filled with stones to make them sink to the bottom. The old clan chief said that if they didn’t sink, no one would know where the sea currents might carry them, and they wouldn’t benefit our Five Pearl Village’s pearl diving grounds.”

So that meant these weren’t human bones?

Not entirely. At least among that mess of white bones, human skulls were visible.

Yi Wansan stared at that patch of sea sand: “Luo Ren, let’s raise the Water Eye a bit, increase the distance. I think I can see some…”

Before he could finish, the old oyster suddenly moved again.

Mu Dai tensed up: “What’s it doing? Is it… coming up?”

Luo Ren pondered: “In the previous cases we know of, apart from Yi Wansan’s father falling into the water during a fight, the old clan chief and Yi Wansan’s mother, including you and Hong Sha, were all in pearl diving boats when they were capsized.”

Luo Ren had lived on an old island, truly in a coastal area, and had been underwater many times, giving him some understanding of underwater matters: “Different boats passing through waters cause different water flow sensations. Some underwater creatures can detect these sound wave frequencies. We can assume it’s as intelligent as a human, knowing whether the sea surface is calm or turbulent, knowing whether what’s passing above is a small boat or a large one.”

Yi Wansan interjected: “But our engine has been off for a while.”

Yes, it was silent, just drifting on the sea with the waves.

Mu Dai was still thinking about Luo Ren’s words.

So, did this old oyster habitually attack pearl diving boats? Five Pearl Village’s pearl diving boats weren’t large, seating at most two people. When diving for pearls, they generally went out in groups, fundamentally different from a single person paddling alone into the sea.

Could this old oyster sense a single pearl diving boat rhythmically paddling into the sea? Like that day when she and Hong Sha were arguing on the boat, but underwater, the old oyster had already quietly approached?

Mu Dai involuntarily shuddered.

Yi Wansan’s voice trembled: “It’s really coming up, really! Retrieve… retrieve the Water Eye.”

The Water Eye rose at almost the same speed as the old oyster. On the screen, it was completely unclear how the oyster was swimming. It just moved solidly up and down, pressing darkly closer, with the phone hanging from its edge by the strap, like a strange tail.

Yan Hong Sha also grew tense: “Our boat is big enough, it won’t be capsized, right?”

Luo Ren smiled slightly and instructed Yi Wansan: “Grab your weapons. If it’s coming for us, it’s time to show our true skills.”

Everyone tensed up. Even Yan Hong Sha laboriously moved her wheelchair toward the back of the boat: she was responsible for the net, having practiced over and over the past couple of days.

Mu Dai leaned against the railing alone, her hand gripping it slightly sweaty.

Why had this old oyster suddenly started moving upward? Was it coming for them? Couldn’t there be another boat that happened to enter this area of the sea?

She took out the thumb-sized monocular telescope and looked in the direction of Five Pearl Village. The sunlight was brilliant, the beach peaceful, and completely deserted.

She then turned to the other side of the boat, in the direction they had sailed from yesterday.

Huh, there seemed to be a small boat bobbing and drifting. The person in the boat was bent over, buttocks raised, paddling vigorously. After a while, they stopped paddling, stood at the bow, closed their eyes against the wind, and struck a pose with arms spread wide in ecstasy.

Mu Dai was dumbfounded, nearly dropping the telescope in her hand.

Cao Yanhua?!

To make this trip, Cao Yanhua had spoken quite badly of Yi Wansan.

When Yi Wansan had told Zhang Shu about the situation, fearing he would worry, he only mentioned that Mu Dai had lost her phone and had a cold, making her unable to speak, so she wouldn’t call for now.

Cao Yanhua had seized the opportunity to embellish in front of Zhang Shu, implying that, as a martial artist, how could she catch a cold so easily? Yi Wansan had always been unreliable. Just take that time at the Xiao Shang River—Zhang Shu had clearly instructed Yi Wansan to follow and protect Mu Dai all the way, but he had personally witnessed Yi Wansan abandoning Mu Dai many times.

His conclusion: Who knows what’s happened to my little master? If I were by her side, it would be different, after all, I am her direct! Disciple!

Nagging every day, sighing at every opportunity, Zhang Shu, partly worried and partly annoyed by his constant chatter, finally sent him out. After all, he wasn’t working diligently at the bar anyway and was affecting the work enthusiasm of new employees.

So Cao Yanhua had come in a rush, making inquiries along the way. In the village where Mu Dai and the others had moored their boat two days ago, he received news: several young men and women from the city had rented a boat, presumably on vacation.

Cao Yanhua was utterly jealous and simultaneously felt a sense of collective abandonment: Little Master, you liar! Didn’t you say you were going to find work? Why are you together with Luo Ren and the others? They planned this without me, liars!

The villagers pointed him in the right direction. Finding walking too tiring, Cao Yanhua sweet-talked someone into lending him an abandoned boat. Although he wasn’t very skilled at rowing, drifting with the sea currents, swaying gently, feeling the sea breeze, his mood inevitably became pleasant.

He drifted for a while, rowed for a while, and after an unknown amount of time, he was so far out that he couldn’t even see the shore. Looking around as far as the eye could see, the sea and sky merged into one color, expanding his chest with happiness, truly inspiring poetic feelings.

Cao Yanhua simply stopped rowing, tossed the oar into the cabin, stood on the bow, stretched his arms, sank his qi to the dantian, and then passionately:

—”Ah, the sea.”

In the distance, in a place he couldn’t see, Mu Dai was jumping on the deck, waving her hands: “Cao Yanhua! Chubby Cao!”

In this vast world, this was his solo stage.

Cao Yanhua coughed twice, changed his posture, and smiled downward toward the boat in acknowledgment.

“This time, being able to receive this trophy from the hands of Big Brother Jackie Chan, I am, in my heart, very excited…”

Luo Ren rushed to the deck, taking the telescope from Mu Dai’s hand.

In the lens, Cao Yanhua was smiling as brilliantly as a flower.

“Becoming an excellent film actor known for Chinese kung fu has always been my dream. Here, I’d like to especially thank my master, Ms. Mu Dai, who is sitting right there…”

Cao Yanhua waved his hand toward the water below.

Luo Ren gripped the telescope, spitting two words through his teeth.

“Oh shit.”

Cao Yanhua’s gaze turned again to the water below, the rippling blue sea.

“Here, I particularly want to recite a poem to express my feelings…”

“The Tang ancestors and Song forefathers slightly fall short in romantic charm. A generation’s heavenly pride, Genghis Khan, only knows how to bend the bow and shoot the great eagle…”

In the pilot house, Yi Wansan cursed loudly: “This son of a gun Chubby Cao isn’t answering his phone…”

He glanced at the screen again, his expression suddenly changing: “The Water Eye can no longer see the old oyster. It’s not below us…”

Luo Ren’s face tensed, and he quickly decided: “Yi Wansan, start the boat, maximum power, head in that direction immediately. Give me the electric barbed rod.”

“That Genghis Khan only knows how to bend the bow and shoot the great eagle. All have passed, counting the romantic figures, still looking at…”

Cao Yanhua’s chubby face flushed red as he emotionally and slowly uttered the final two words: “Today’s… heroes!”

Bang!