When Wen Hanlong woke up from his coma, all he felt was pain everywhere. He raised his hand to block the blinding sunlight, then suddenly sat up in alarm. "Ugh..." The stabbing pain in his chest and abdomen made cold sweat break out all over him. Just then, he heard a pleasant voice: "Don't move around! It took forever to stop the bleeding—are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Wen Hanlong looked up and saw Fang Lingji. Fang Lingji hadn't disguised herself and was washing a handkerchief in a basin—the handkerchief was soaked in blood. She shot Wen Hanlong a glare: "With all those wounds, it's a miracle you're not dead. Lie down and behave, unless you want us to start planning your funeral!"
Fang Lingji was not polite at all—she wrung out the handkerchief and slapped it right onto Wen Hanlong’s forehead, rough and direct. But Wen Hanlong just stared at Fang Lingji, dumbstruck, forgetting to speak. His last memory was drifting in darkness and despair, losing blood, his vision blurring. Now, opening his eyes, he was greeted by light—and Fang Lingji, a girl with maxed-out looks. The contrast was so huge, it felt like he’d gone from hell to heaven. Simply put—he’d been healed.
"Miss, you are...?"
"Save your breath." Fang Lingji called out toward the door: "Master, Senior Sister, this guy's awake!"
Soon, Yang Qi and Luo Yuxi walked in. Seeing Yang Qi, Wen Hanlong struggled to sit up and said, "Yang Qi, you saved my life. I owe you big time. But right now, can you do me a favor? Hurry and turn past Dragon King Bend, go full speed ahead—I have to warn my brothers! If you help me with this, I swear I'll repay you handsomely!"
Wen Hanlong sounded desperate. Yang Qi nodded, "No problem, we'll be at Dragon King Bend soon. But first, tell me—what happened? Who attacked you guys?"
Mentioning this, Wen Hanlong’s eyes glazed over. Then he clenched his fist, as if trapped in some terrifying memory. But his will was strong—after a deep breath, he rasped, "Just one person. Only one person attacked us!"
His eyes were bloodshot and wild, making him look downright scary. As he described what happened, everyone started to realize just how serious things were.
Let’s start from the beginning.
After buying the Aromatic Jade Pendant from the Herb House, the Three Dragons boarded their boat and left Eight Directions City. That big ship was the flagship of the Long River Triad, but usually, each Dragon had their own crew and business, so they weren’t all on the big boat together. Wen Hanlong handed the Aromatic Jade Pendant over to the Long River Triad’s big boss, then went back to his own fleet to mind his own affairs.
A few days later, he caught wind of some wild rumors in the martial world—stuff about Ou Yezi’s death, and tales that rare jade brings rare luck. Then he got a secret order, straight from the big boss himself, telling all Three Dragons to gather upstream on the Long River. Turn past Dragon King Corner, then shoot down the tributary—that’s the shortcut to South Wasteland. Hearing that, Wen Hanlong figured the Aromatic Jade Pendant must be one of those legendary jades. His boss must’ve uncovered some big secret.
Feeling both nervous and excited, Wen Hanlong carefully rounded up his crew and sped toward Dragon King Corner with his personal guards.
Just as they were passing through Three Days Gorge, they got ambushed.
"At first, I didn’t see a soul—not even a shadow. No clue where the guy came from. But now, thinking back, he must’ve jumped down from the cliffs on both sides. Suddenly, I heard a ruckus and screams from one of the boats, then that boat burst into flames, and after that—dead silence. Then it happened to another boat, then the third. In pitch darkness, I couldn’t see the enemy at all, just knew someone was killing our guys, fast and terrifying as hell."
"Every boat had solid fighters, real experts holding the line. My captains weren’t pushovers, but I didn’t even hear the sound of weapons clashing. One boat after another just went up in flames. I knew this wasn’t an enemy I could handle. I ordered the boats to split up—whoever could run, just run. Sampans, water sleds, river ghost sacks, we tried every trick we had—but all I heard was screams, and the river turned blood red."
"When my boat finally made it out of the gorge, all the others had already sunk. No wind, no voices, no screams—just dead silence, nothing at all." Wen Hanlong got worked up, took a couple deep breaths to steady himself, then spat out, "And then I saw that son of a bitch! The guy hopped onto my boat all by himself, yelled out the big boss’s name, then started killing my men—one sword, one kill, didn’t stop for a second!"
Yang Qi patted him on the shoulder, "So that guy was looking for your head boss. What kind of person is he?"
"I couldn’t see him clearly." Wen Hanlong shook his head, looking defeated. "He was too fast, like a ghost—I couldn’t keep up at all. Someone knocked over a torch, my boat caught fire, and in the flames I just saw him in black clothes, with a sword—wherever he flashed, people dropped. I couldn’t stop him, just ran, ran for my life! I put on a regular gang member’s outfit, jumped into the river during the chaos, but still got badly hurt."
He thumped his bandaged body, giving a bitter smile uglier than crying: "Didn’t even see his face. In a split second, I ended up like this—I don’t even know what hit me!"
He’d learned Turtle Breath Technique, so he just gritted his teeth and swam underwater, drifting with the current, barely daring to move. In the end, he hid among the pile of corpses. He’d lost so much blood and soaked in the river so long, he was dizzy and sure he was a goner. It wasn’t until he heard the sound of a boat that he used his last bit of willpower to swim over, climb aboard, and take the captain hostage. But by then, he had zero internal strength left—completely done for.
"Then I ran into you folks. That’s everything I know, every word is true, not a single lie." He grabbed Yang Qi’s hand, glaring and growling, "Now the big boss and the others are in danger. I’m begging you, help me—just find one of our gang’s boats, or even a hideout! Let me get the word out. We can’t let them die so cluelessly!"
Yang Qi looked Wen Hanlong in the eye, then nodded seriously: "Alright, our route’s the same anyway. We’ll go full speed ahead, help as much as we can."
"Thank you, thank you!" Wen Hanlong nodded gratefully, then closed his eyes and passed out again.
Fang Lingji stayed to look after the patient, while Yang Qi and Luo Yuxi headed up to the deck.
"Master, do you think the one who ambushed the Long River Triad was that guy?"
"Very likely. The Long River Triad is a big gang, top dog on the Long River. Someone bold enough to wipe them out like that—there aren’t many in the whole world. Plus, black clothes, night ambush, crazy fast—all matches the description." Yang Qi looked ahead, suddenly took a deep breath, then sighed, "Hundreds of people in that fleet, and they just got wiped out. Only Wen Hanlong barely made it out alive. I know what Wen Hanlong’s capable of, so this killer’s even scarier than I thought. Back in Eight Directions City, he just didn’t dare go all out."
Luo Yuxi couldn’t help but worry: "So what about us…?"
"Don’t be afraid," Yang Qi said, voice steady and full of confidence. "There’s no such thing as an invincible person. If he’s got strengths, he’s got weaknesses too. Hold the line, keep moving forward—we’re getting stronger faster than they are."
"Mm!" Luo Yuxi nodded, looking at Yang Qi’s profile, and suddenly felt at ease.
The speedboat charged ahead. Dragon King Corner was a major bend upstream on the Long River—a Y-shaped fork. The upper branch was the real Long River, flowing east into the sea. The lower branch led southwest into the heartland, called Lu River. Unlike the wide, gentle Long River, the Lu was fast and wild, tough to navigate. Even the most seasoned sailors wouldn’t brag about messing around on the Lu.
But on this speedboat, they had Wen Hanlong. If the average captain on the Long River was considered “pretty good,” Wen Hanlong was a true expert at the helm.
"Hold on tight, we’re about to speed up!" Riding the waves of the Lu, the speedboat surged forward like a log flume ride. Thanks to Wen Hanlong’s skill, the boat stayed steady. If things got hairy, Yang Qi would lend a hand and they’d pull through. The monkeys on both banks never stopped hollering, but their little boat had already sailed past a thousand mountains—now this was what you call riding the wind and breaking the waves.
But nobody’s mood lightened up, because everywhere they looked, it was all blood-red.
Every boat, every man, every hideout Wen Hanlong could think of from the Long River Triad—all painted crimson. The Lu River looked more like a giant artery now, flowing not with water, but with the souls of the dead.
"No, no! Faster, go faster!" Wen Hanlong felt like he was about to explode, pushing on day and night, racing downstream. On the third night, Yang Qi was standing at the bow when his ears twitched—he muttered, "Something up ahead. I’ll check it out first!" Boom—he stomped the deck and flew off the boat, vanishing into the night.
Wen Hanlong was anxious, but could only focus on steering. Moments later, he heard faint screams and shouts—just like when he’d been attacked. His face changed, and he ordered full speed ahead. The speedboat rounded a bend, and what he saw left him stunned.
A massive ship was burning on the water—a three-masted giant, with sails painted with three different dragons. But those sails were now just sparks flying into the night, lighting up the darkness.
"No, no, no! This can’t be happening! How could this happen!" Wen Hanlong shouted, driving the boat forward. But as he got closer, he saw the whole ship tilting and breaking apart, groaning and sinking fast. The sounds of snapping wood, roaring flames, and people’s screams all mixed together—a scene of pure tragedy. The shock of it all left Wen Hanlong blank and numb.
But then someone yelled, "Don’t just stand there!" He turned to see Fang Lingji, sleeves rolled up, grabbing a rope. "There are still people alive—get moving!"
At that moment, a huge bang rang out—the stern of the ship suddenly burst open, massive planks flying everywhere, leaving a gaping hole—someone had just kicked it open!
"Catch!" Yang Qi shouted, and several figures flew out of the hole, arcing through the air toward them. Wen Hanlong mustered his strength to catch them—unconscious gang members, but all still alive.
Splash, splash—everyone still able to move on the big ship jumped into the water like dumplings, swimming for the speedboat. At the same time, Yang Qi grabbed two people and leapt back onto the deck—it was Fang Hailong and Xiang Xiaolong. They weren’t dead, just spent, both soaked in blood.
"Big Bro, Second Bro!" Wen Hanlong rushed over.
Xiang Xiaolong slammed the deck with a thud, cursing, "Damn it, so many of us and we still couldn’t take down that bastard! Next time I see him, I’ll bust his nuts!" He kept swearing, every word nastier than the last. Fang Hailong, at least, said something useful: "Someone just ambushed us, tried to snatch the jade pendant, but the big boss lured him away."
Wen Hanlong blurted, "What about the big boss…?"
"Don’t worry, the big boss is tough—and now he’s learned some moves from the jade pendant, his survival skills are top-notch." Fang Hailong wasn’t too worried. He got his strength back, stood up, and punched Yang Qi on the chest: "Buddy, if it weren’t for you, we’d be toast. I owe you my life."
Yang Qi didn’t stand on ceremony, cutting right to the point: "Who attacked you?"
"No idea, never seen him before. His kung fu was insane, sword skills even scarier, and he was ruthless. But something was off—like he’d just learned it, a bit clumsy. Otherwise, we’d all be dead. Oh, and he wore a black mask—looked like he didn’t even have a face."
Just then, with a thunderous boom, the giant ship burst into flames and sank even faster. Everyone watched it meet its end, silent for a moment. The blazing fire lit up their faces, each one showing a mix of emotions. When faced with unstoppable destruction, nobody’s feelings are simple. But in the end, it all boils down to two choices—give in, or fight back.
And those two choices split people into two very different camps.
The Three Dragons were silent, but you could feel the anger and thirst for revenge building up. Yang Qi knew they were the second kind, so he nodded, "Looks like we’ve got ourselves a common enemy."
"That’s just perfect." Fang Hailong grinned, his eyes sharp as a hawk’s. "But the one who takes him down—it’s gotta be us! We’re gonna get payback for our brothers ourselves!"
"We’ll sort that out when the time comes. Right now, priority is finding your big boss—is your big boss strong enough?" If he was, if he could outmatch the Blade Attendant, Yang Qi figured they’d have a shot at teaching that guy in black a lesson.
"Haven’t you heard of the Dream Dragon King?" Fang Hailong’s eyes flashed with pride. "Our boss is Third Heaven, king-level!"
King-level is way above the Blade Attendant—same league as Lady Sanmiao and the Golden Blade King.
"Now that’s good news." There hadn’t been much of that lately, so Yang Qi took it: "Where do you think your boss went?" The river stretched on, flames roaring, and Yang Qi couldn’t find any trail to follow.
"Our boss is stubborn as a mule—never changes his mind." Xiang Xiaolong slapped his knee and got up: "So he’ll only head one way—South Wasteland."