A year after Fourth Uncle bought the Fuyuan, Fang Senyan unhesitatingly cast aside his job and returned. He had already been a Second Mate on a five-thousand-ton Panamanian cargo ship, and the First Mate was due to retire the following year. Despite the Captain’s repeated pleas for him to stay, Fang Senyan firmly refused, returning to the dilapidated Fuyuan to work as a deckhand again. He even poured all his savings into helping Fourth Uncle pay off debts. The shack he now shared with San Zai was built using his final month’s salary before resigning.

Though they hadn't walked far, the shoes on his feet were already soaked with muddy water, and the icy chill seemed determined to seep into his very bones. With every step, a dull clunk-clunk echoed, making each movement a struggle. After a short while, they reached San Zai's shack. Without turning back, San Zai slapped the damp oilcloth twice—a gesture of farewell—then bent down, turned sharply left, and laboriously unlatched the gate of the neighboring shack before slipping inside.

Just as Fang Senyan was turning to leave, the gate of the shack behind him suddenly reopened. San Zai’s damp head poked out, black hair plastered to his forehead, his expression a mixture of envy and awe:

"Brother Yan, that blast from the cannon—it must have been ten feet high! Even Fourth Uncle and Uncle Fa couldn't handle it. How did you manage to accurately target that fat monster?"

Although San Zai was only a few months younger than Fang Senyan, he was far behind in quick thinking and resourcefulness. His worldly experience could not compare to Fang Senyan’s five years spent adventuring outside, so he treated his unrelated brother with deep reverence. Fang Senyan smiled faintly at the question, narrowing his eyes slightly:

"I just got lucky."

Casually flipping on the nearby lamp, Fang Senyan peeled off his sodden outer coat and grabbed a dry towel to wipe the water from his head. He stood about 180 centimeters tall, with a sturdy build, thick, dark eyebrows, and defined pectoral muscles visible beneath his tight, elastic vest, showcasing an outline of bulging strength. Years at sea had given his skin a healthy bronze tone. His closely cropped hair and sharp, blade-like eyebrows unconsciously brought to mind a highly conditioned fitness instructor, yet his slightly thin lips and cold gaze lent him an aloof severity that kept others at arm's length.

Truthfully, this was an extremely crude shack, perhaps only seven or eight square meters, hastily constructed from leftover building scraps and cheap asbestos fiber tiles. The furnishings inside were equally sparse: a single metal-spring cot, a wash basin, and a simple, wall-mounted plastic wardrobe. But stepping inside, there was a peculiar sense of warmth—a feeling of home that no luxury hotel could ever replace.

The only decoration inside was a small picture frame resting on the headboard. Inside the frame was a color photograph, slightly yellowed with age, showing three people: Fang Senyan, Fourth Uncle, and San Zai. It was taken before Fang Senyan’s first voyage. Looking at the image of Fourth Uncle, a look of deep affection and respect entered Fang Senyan’s eyes. It was this simple, honest man who had raised him and San Zai through thick and thin, and crucially, he never concealed the truth of their parentage, not even allowing them to call him "Dad." Fourth Uncle was deeply devoted to Feng Shui; having been told by a fortune teller that his life would be one of lonely wandering, he refused to let the two children be tainted by his bad luck, preferring to live out his days alone.

For a man like Fourth Uncle, who profoundly believed in the importance of continuing the family line, this was an act of both profound foolishness and great love...

Recalling these memories, Fang Senyan felt a pang of melancholy. He was a man of resolute will. Since gaining awareness, he hadn't resented the parents who abandoned him, but his gratitude toward Fourth Uncle was even deeper. Though he called him Fourth Uncle, in his heart, he truly considered him his father. A piece of white paper was taped above the bed, bearing ten crooked characters—Live while you can with joy, die without regret! He had seen these ten characters in a tattered novel, turned them over in his mind until he deeply loved them, and then written them out to stick above his bed.

After staring at the photo for a while, Fang Senyan turned off the light and lay down to sleep. However, after the initial wave of exhaustion passed, his sleepiness gradually vanished. He felt none of the anticipated excitement of having struck it rich; instead, a hard-to-describe restlessness settled over him, as if some major event was about to unfold.

Fang Senyan’s intuition was almost always accurate—this was why he maintained such a good reputation while working abroad. He could often rely on his gut feeling to find the optimal way to handle situations, and those who knew him rarely gambled with him, because even when his luck was bad, Fang Senyan could skillfully minimize his losses. The reason San Zai had asked how he could accurately spear the vital spot of the sperm whale amidst the great storm and waves was fundamentally due to the immense role played by Fang Senyan’s extraordinary intuition.

The torrential rain hammered heavily and monotonously on the shack’s roof. Fang Senyan tossed and turned repeatedly on the bed, unable to shake off his sleeplessness. Finally, he sat up, stripped off his shirt, turned on the desk lamp, and lit a cigarette. In an accidental glance, he thought he saw a flicker of red reflected in the mirror opposite him. Looking down, he discovered several crisscrossing red marks on the center of his chest, looking as if they had been scratched there. He touched them but felt no pain or itch, so he dismissed it.

Feeling thirsty, Fang Senyan got out of bed, poured a glass of water, and sipped it while cooling it. Halfway through drinking, he suddenly heard a loud splashing sound outside—a chaotic sloshing, as if someone were crawling and desperately struggling in the mud and water. Soon after, there came muffled thuds on the door of Fang Senyan’s shack, accompanied by hoarse, slurred shouting!

"They're here!" Fang Senyan tensed, immediately moving to open the door. As soon as he cracked it open, a blast of cold air rushed in, followed by a blood-soaked hand jamming itself into the gap, gripping the doorframe tightly. Then, a person covered head-to-toe in blood and mud stumbled in—it was Gao Qiang, who had been sleeping on the floor at Fourth Uncle’s place. Although Fang Senyan reached out to help him, Gao Qiang collapsed limply onto the floor, his hands clutching Fang Senyan’s ankle, shouting desperately:

"Brother Yan, something's happened!"

Fang Senyan’s dark eyebrows shot up like unsheathed long knives, and a realization dawned on him: It has come. The source of his unease was finally revealed! Though his mind was a storm of worry, he took several deep breaths and shouted:

"What happened?"

"It was that bastard Uncle Fa! Fourth Uncle said he wanted to save the money from selling the ambergris for you and San Zai to use as dowries, so while everyone was asleep, he secretly went to Hua Shan Fei and sold us out! Nineteen jin, seven liang, three qian of ambergris, and Hua Shan Fei only coughed up a hundred dollars!"

Hearing the name "Hua Shan Fei," Fang Senyan’s heart sank. This man was practically the ruler of Qiao Bridge town; anyone trying to set up shop there had to pay him protection money regularly. Moreover, Hua Shan Fei was secretly involved in human trafficking, smuggling, and drug running, with over a dozen thugs under his command, giving him influence in both the underworld and the legitimate spheres. Rumor even had it that Hua Shan Fei was a key member of the "Ghost Kids Gang," the third largest gang in Vietnam, and a trusted subordinate of the boss, "Black Ghost Dong." If that ambergris had fallen into this man's greedy hands, Fang Senyan knew they would only be able to swallow their humiliation with their own blood.

However, Gao Qiang struggled up, took a drink of water, and continued, his voice laced with tears:

"Fourth Uncle was heartbroken, but he knew we couldn't afford to cross Hua Shan Fei, so he took the loss to avoid bigger trouble. Hua Shan Fei even compromised, saying we wouldn't have to pay protection fees in town anymore. But everyone was still uncomfortable and started muttering curses under their breath. One of Hua Shan Fei's men, a guy named Xi Di, overheard it! This guy, Xi Di, seemed even Hua Shan Fei had to defer to him—no one knew his background. He immediately became aggressive, and with that bastard Uncle Fa stirring the pot next to him, Xi Di... Xi Di actually threatened to burn down the Fuyuan!"

Unless you lived by the sea, it was hard to understand the attachment that fishermen held for their boats. For the vast majority of them, their childhoods unfolded watching the boat, and upon growing up, the vessel became their home, workplace, and playground. Even after marrying and having children, they spent far more time on the boat than with their families. In such circumstances, the boat was almost their spiritual anchor; many old men even requested their coffins be built in the shape of a boat upon their death.

For Fourth Uncle, who had drifted through life in failure for half his years, finally scraping together money to buy the Fuyuan meant his connection to the boat surpassed all others! If this Xi Di intended to burn the ship, he might as well have demanded Fourth Uncle's life!

By this point, the veins on Fang Senyan’s forehead were starting to bulge one by one. Gao Qiang continued, head bowed and weeping:

"Everyone heard and couldn't hold back anymore. They erupted, grabbing whatever they could to fight them! But Hua Shan Fei quickly called his men for backup, and the result... alas! However, we managed to slash Xi Di’s face open. That pale-faced brat immediately went ballistic like a rabid dog. When I escaped, I heard him screaming that he was going to burn Fourth Uncle along with the Fuyuan! Uncle Ah Gui from the shack next door tried to mediate when he heard, and Hua Shan Fei knocked out seven of his teeth with one slap! Brother Yan, what do we do?"

Uncle Ah Gui, whom Gao Qiang mentioned, was also a well-respected figure in Qiao Bridge, rumored to have some distant connection to Hua Shan Fei himself. If even he met such an end, one could only imagine Fourth Uncle’s fate. Facing such a desperate situation, Fang Senyan grew calm. He first patted Gao Qiang’s shoulder, then wrapped him in a dry piece of clothing, lit a cigarette, and placed it firmly between Gao Qiang’s lips. He said steadily:

"You go immediately and get San Zai. You two go together; go to the police station and report this right now!"

Since coming in, Gao Qiang had been trembling, whether from fear or cold. Hearing Fang Senyan speak seemed to finally give him a backbone. He took a deep drag of the cigarette, gasped for breath, pulled his clothes tight, and hurried out:

"Okay, Brother Yan, I’m going now."

He suddenly seemed to remember something and nervously asked:

"What about you, Brother Yan? Aren't you coming with us?"

Fang Senyan replied calmly:

"I can't just stand by and watch Fourth Uncle and the Fuyuan burn together! Hua Shan Fei takes thousands in protection fees from us every year, and he took hundreds of thousands worth of ambergris for free—there has to be some reason to it. I think if I go talk to him, I can sort this out. You two hurry. If I can't settle this, I’ll be counting on you two to save me..."

Gao Qiang heard this and thought it sounded plausible. Not being a calculating man, he nodded vaguely, then left to find San Zai. The moment Gao Qiang was out the door, Fang Senyan’s gaze turned icy. He pulled out a blade, sharpened to a wicked edge, from behind the door!

This knife was specifically used on the fishing boats for cleaning and gutting fish. It was about a foot long, forged from scrap steel plates, and the edge had been ground down painstakingly by Fang Senyan himself. The blade was dark and heavy, the edge blindingly sharp, radiating a chilling cold. The handle, with its hard angles, was wrapped simply with a few layers of cloth to prevent slipping.

Fang Senyan’s earlier optimistic explanation was merely a tactic to get Gao Qiang and San Zai away. He knew in his heart that this situation could not be resolved peacefully. The man Xi Di, whose face he had slashed, was the son of Hua Shan Fei’s boss, "Black Ghost Dong!" The only argument that could possibly hold weight with Hua Shan Fei now was cold steel! Live while you can with joy, die without regret! He and Fourth Uncle might not be father and son by blood, but their bond was stronger than that. To give his life now was only right, without hesitation!

To many friends asking about updates: it's hard to explode with content during the new book period. Expect six chapters daily plus irregular bursts! Heh, usually one chapter in the morning and one in the afternoon. One last thing I want to say: Dear friends, I missed you all so much!

(To be continued. For the latest chapters, please visit: .)