The heavenly sound of the zither rippled once more across the lake, and all the tourists on boats of every size were utterly enchanted by The Reed Family's masterful playing.

Many young gentlemen, without realizing it, were moved to tears. They were touched by the longing and yearning in the music, and also regretted that the performance was not meant for them.

Everyone knew that today, The Reed Family was to receive a mysterious distinguished guest, and the music was played for him alone, unrelated to anyone else...

On the zither stage of the double-decked pleasure boat, sat the famed courtesan of Jiangnan, Emily Reed, who haunted the dreams of countless men. She was barely in her twenties, dressed in a green gauze skirt, with a white veil as light as mist draped over her shoulders. Her face, beautiful as a fairy, wore not a trace of makeup, and her jet-black, lustrous hair was adorned with no ornaments, simply tied at the back of her head, cascading like a waterfall down her slender, fair neck.

She was pure and immaculate, like a fairy exiled from the heavens, making one reluctant to harbor even a hint of disrespect.

At this moment, this ethereal courtesan, like a celestial maiden, was gently plucking the zither strings with her delicate, boneless jade hands. The intoxicating music flowed out slowly, making Raymond Carter, who sat across from her, lose all sense of time and place.

Old Mr. Carter sat cross-legged on a luxurious low couch, his face enraptured as he stroked his beard, tears glistening in his eyes... He had never imagined that a moment of lustful wandering would lead to such a pure spiritual journey. He had completely forgotten his original intent, letting his mind drift along the river of memories with the music...

He recalled his youthful days, spending fortunes for a single smile. Fame and fortune were but dust, all for the love of a beauty.

He remembered the early days of marriage, when love between husband and wife was deep. Day after day, night after night, wishing to be joined as one.

He thought of romantic nights, with a lovely wife and warm bedding. Pear blossoms could not be contained, and crabapple branches trembled.

He reminisced about days too painful to recall, when lovers were forcibly separated. Alone with his pillow under the lonely moon, longing with no end in sight...

Emily Reed, playing the zither, looked at the entranced Raymond Carter, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips. Raymond Carter was completely lost in that affectionate, slightly shy smile.

...

Meanwhile, the One-Eyed Jack was desperately fleeing in a stolen small boat, pursued by assassins. The boat passed under a stone bridge crowded with pedestrians, and suddenly the waterway opened up before them. The river had flowed into West Lake...

Seeing the small boat enter West Lake, Goblin was not alarmed but delighted. Their boat was much faster, only disadvantaged by its larger size, which made it hard to catch up to the nimble little boat in the busy river!

Now, on the wide lake, let's see where the One-Eyed Jack can escape!

Sure enough, the distance between the two sides kept shrinking—twenty zhang, fifteen zhang, ten zhang...

"Row harder!" Goblin gripped his iron staff tightly, already preparing to jump onto the boat!

But, puzzlingly, the One-Eyed Jack actually threw down his oar, leaving only Old Ferryman to row.

Old Ferryman looked on with concern and said, "Young master, let me help you." As he looked up, revealing a face crisscrossed with scars beneath his bamboo hat, who else could it be but Uncle Paul.

"No. You cover me. If I fail, then we'll talk." The One-Eyed Jack spoke, and it was Grace Brooks's voice. So this One-Eyed Jack was actually his disguise!

"Ah! Young master, be careful!" Uncle Paul said anxiously, but could only give up.

As the small boat drew closer and closer to the double-decked pleasure boat, Grace Brooks suddenly said, "By the way, Uncle Paul."

"Young master, have you changed your mind?" Uncle Paul was overjoyed.

"If I don't make it back before dark, don't forget to tell my sister not to wait for me." Grace Brooks said, completely off-topic.

"Young master..." Uncle Paul's face darkened.

But Grace Brooks said no more. He gazed quietly at the pleasure boat, casting aside all distractions, focusing his entire mind on the action to come.

...

At this moment, the The Carter Family boat cruising beside the pleasure boat spotted the three rapidly approaching boats.

On board, a warrior frowned and ordered in a deep voice, "Block them!"

"Stop the boats! Do not approach!" The The Carter Family warriors shouted loudly at the oncoming boats.

But the others acted as if they hadn't heard, and in a flash, they were right in front of them!

At the same time, Goblin leapt onto Uncle Paul's small boat, making it rock violently!

The One-Eyed Jack was clearly afraid of him and immediately jumped toward the The Carter Family boat! Goblin had gone to great lengths to catch up and would not let him escape again! Without hesitation, he leapt after the One-Eyed Jack!

"Courting death!" The The Carter Family warriors were furious, drawing their weapons to strike at the two intruders!

Just as the blades were about to strike, the One-Eyed Jack's body twisted in midair in a strange way, tracing a graceful arc to narrowly avoid the long blade, and dove toward the pleasure boat on the left!

Although Goblin was a Xuan-rank expert, he did not possess such incredible lightness skills, so he could only swing his iron staff to block the incoming weapons!

The opponents hadn't expected him to be a Xuan-rank, and in their carelessness, allowed Goblin to land on the boat! This infuriated the proud The Carter Family warriors, who launched a frenzied attack on Goblin!

Goblin was stunned—he hadn't expected that all the warriors on this boat were Huang-rank experts, and their coordination and techniques were superb, far from ordinary Huang-rank fighters!

But there was no time to think. He had to use all his skills just to protect himself!