Chapter 2355: Chapter 2356: Poison

Ghost Shipyard Island.

The No. 1 dry dock, which had been calm for many years, suddenly caught fire. The flames shot up into the sky, even dispersing a part of the drifting mist. Because of this, the scene was noticed by people at the other docks.

At Dock No. 4, on the Moonlight Osprey, a group of people gathered on the deck.

"The flames reaching the sky... that direction seems like Dock No. 1?"

"That’s Boss Man’s territory. Could it be a fire accident?"

"Even if Boss Man is that foolish, he would have taken some fire prevention measures. I have a feeling that there might be an earth-shattering change at Dock No. 1 tonight." The speaker was the Navigator of the Moonlight Osprey, who looked at the distant sky, where even the mist couldn’t overshadow the sparks, and spoke softly.

"Oh, what do you mean?" someone asked, with others turning their attention to the Navigator.

People who lived by the sea often had faith in the Navigator, as they were the ones who guided ships by observing celestial bodies and ocean currents, a skill that to the uninformed seemed almost prophetic.

Thus, when the Navigator spoke, especially with such mysterious words, it indeed caught everyone’s attention.

"Could it be that you’ve prophesied something?"

The Navigator contemplated for a moment, then assumed a composed posture before addressing their expectant audience: "It’s actually very simple. Because earlier, when I was walking by the river, I saw Captain Baro sneaking toward Dock No. 1."

The crowd: "..."

"You mean the fire at Dock No. 1 was started by Captain Baro?"

"I know Captain Baro is ambitious about Dock No. 1, but does he have the guts to do that alone?"

"Right, we don’t believe Captain Baro has that much ability, does he?"

Seeing the crowd’s skeptical discussions, the Navigator shook his head: "If it was just Captain Baro alone, perhaps he couldn’t cause such damage. But, take a look around, isn’t someone missing?"

Everyone turned to look around.

Not long after, someone hesitantly spoke: "How come we don’t see Mr. Renko?"

Once these words were uttered, there was a moment of silence followed by a burst of discussion on the deck: "Could Mr. Renko have gone with Captain Baro to set the fire?"

"That seems unlikely, isn’t Mr. Renko known for not initiating attacks on other docks?"

"He doesn’t initiate because he adheres to the knight’s code. And what is most important in the knight’s code? Justice! Mr. Renko representing justice to punish the evil Boss Man, doesn’t that align with the code?"

"That’s true, but before... "

"Stop arguing, I think the Navigator is right. I just saw Mr. Renko leave, and the direction was indeed Dock No. 1!"

As soon as these words were finished, people looked at each other, their eyes carrying a hint of suppressed excitement.

They didn’t believe Captain Baro alone could harm Boss Man. But Mr. Renko was different; he was a knight with unfathomable strength. Even if he couldn’t take on the entire Dock No. 1 by himself, he could wreak havoc in cooperation with Captain Baro. Besides, Dock No. 1 was a collection of scattered forces; Mr. Renko could very well conduct a beheading operation, directly threatening Dock No. 1!

With this thought, everyone was somewhat excited. After all, Dock No. 4 wasn’t the best place to live, and even the land wasn’t fertile enough. They secretly wished for Dock No. 1, though they never dared to express it before.

If they could occupy Dock No. 1, they’d be more than pleased.

While the crowd was lost in thought, the Navigator’s eyes showed a trace of concern. The others were still too optimistic; what he referred to as "earth-shattering change" didn’t just pertain to Dock No. 1; it could affect Dock No. 4 as well. What if Mr. Renko fell to the enemy? Or if he made a mistake and walked into a trap? After all, Mr. Renko was strong, but he was still a human.

If they lost Mr. Renko, Dock No. 4 might become prey.

The Navigator didn’t want to share this suspicion with the others, so he could only look at the blazing spot in the distance, praying silently.

Meanwhile, near Dock No. 1.

Several figures quickly fled from the flames, with Renko, wielding a knight’s rapier, leading the way, followed by Baro and Little Birch. Baro was carrying an unconscious woman on his back.

At first glance, they all seemed fine, but upon closer inspection, both Baro and Little Birch were covered with wounds, with Little Birch’s arm twisted at an odd angle, clearly broken.

Renko appeared to be in the best condition, but not long after they left Dock No. 1, he started showing abnormal reactions.

Soon, Renko stumbled, his knee hitting the ground.

"You’re hurt?" Baro rushed forward, attempting to help Renko up.

"No... nothing, keep going..." Renko refused Baro’s help, struggling to stand up with sweat streaming down his face, only to stumble and fall again.

Baro glanced back at the burning dock, vaguely seeing shadows rushing out, and hearing the sounds of fighting.

Gritting his teeth, despite Renko’s refusal, he seized Renko’s arm and quickly darted into the forest.

Dragging Renko along, with an unconscious person on his back, and having already fought in the dock, Baro’s stamina was running low.

After a few steps, he was already gasping for breath.

Behind him, Birch was sweating with anxiety, wanting to help ease Captain Baro’s burden, but with his broken arm, he could hardly exert any strength. Keeping up was already taking all his effort.

The pursuers were close behind, and with their energy drained, they were still far from Dock No. 4... what now?

Just as Birch was on the verge of tears, he suddenly heard a familiar whistle in his ear.

Baro heard it too, and they looked in the direction of the sound.

Behind a large tree not far away, a small head popped out sneakily. Seeing Baro and the others, his eyes glinted with delight.

"Little Flea!" Birch immediately recognized him as his childhood friend, the ship doctor in Dock No. 1.

Little Flea ran over, taking a glance behind. Although he couldn’t see anyone, the sounds of shouting and pursuit had already reached them, estimating they’d be caught up within a minute or two.

Birch asked, "Little Flea, what are you doing here?"

Little Flea shushed him and quickly whispered: "They’re right on your tail. Follow me, I know a hidden stone cave nearby."

With no other option, they couldn’t run back to Dock No. 4. After a moment’s thought, Baro nodded: "Alright."

So Little Flea led the way, with them following behind.

However, the shouting behind them continued, growing ever closer.

"I feel like they’re right behind us, what should we do?" Birch said anxiously.

Little Flea was also nervous. After all, he was the Doctor on the Broken Blood, and if discovered, his punishment might be even more terrifying than Birch’s, because Master Man hated traitors the most.

Little Flea quickly ran over and looked at the ground, saying, "It’s blood! The bloodstain has exposed our trail."

After speaking, Little Flea looked at everyone.

Although Birch’s hand was broken, it wasn’t bleeding. Renko, though pale with sweat beads on his forehead, had no visible wounds on his exposed skin, let alone bleeding.

Captain Baro did have many wounds, some were bleeding, but not enough to form bloodstains on the ground.

Finally, Little Flea’s gaze landed on the woman on Captain Baro’s back.

He had seen this one-armed woman before; she was the one who drifted in from the Outer Sea during daylight. Her appearance was incredibly stunning, a mix of vibrant charm and heroic spirit that was unforgettable to anyone with eyes.

When she was brought to the dock, Master Man immediately called Little Flea to treat her wounds.

So Little Flea knew very well that this woman was wounded all over, the largest wound being the size of a bowl at her shoulder. During the day, Little Flea had treated all her wounds, but now, after some dragging, the bandage on her shoulder was worn, and the blood had seeped out again, dropping to the ground.

Without a doubt, it was the woman’s blood that led to their being tracked.

Birch also noticed the blood that was dripping out. He looked at Baro and said, "Captain, should we leave her here?"

No matter how beautiful the woman was, could she be more important than their lives? Birch thought so and believed that Baro, with his personality, would surely prioritize their lives.

Even Renko, who was being supported by Baro, thought Baro would choose to abandon the woman.

However, Baro’s choice was completely different from what they imagined. He resolutely said, "No, she cannot be left here, and absolutely not left to those beasts!"

"But she’s holding us back now," Birch said anxiously. She was not only holding them back, but also Little Flea, which he didn’t want to see.

"Then I’ll carry her alone. Anyway, I will never leave her." A determined look flashed in Baro’s eyes as he spoke with a strong voice.

Baro’s words were not only delivered to Birch and Little Flea, but the ears of the woman on his back twitched as well.

On the other side, those who heard Baro’s answer frowned. They wanted to ask if Baro was bewitched or something, as he was suddenly acting like a different person. But with time being tight, they couldn’t say much.

Birch helplessly looked at Little Flea.

Little Flea was silent for a moment and said, "There’s a small river nearby. We can follow the river, which might give us some time. Plus, the hiding place I mentioned is also near the river."

"Then let’s do that!" Baro said without hesitation.

Little Flea wanted to say something to Captain Baro, but seeing his unwavering eyes, he remained silent and proceeded forward to lead the way.

Soon after, they reached the riverbank.

They directly stepped into the river.

Birch kept looking back as they walked.

Perhaps they were lucky; after walking along the riverbank for a few more minutes, the shouting from behind gradually diminished until it was nearly inaudible.

At this point, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Not long after, Little Flea led them to a large rock. He fiddled with something, and under what appeared to be an ordinary rock, there emerged a crevice big enough for a person to pass through. Once they crawled inside, they discovered a hollowed interior within the stone, not large but enough to temporarily house them.

Little Flea busily sealed the stone crevice, feeling finally safe and secure.

What Little Flea didn’t know was that when he sealed the crevice, there was a figure emerging from the distant forest.

"Our ship’s Doctor seems to be the traitor..."

"I didn’t expect there to be a crevice here. Why are they hiding inside? What’s going on? I think I saw some flames earlier. Could there be trouble at the Broken Blood? I need to go back and see."

If Baro were here, he would find that the speaker was the half-ear guard they lured away to infiltrate the No. 1 dock.

Half-ear glanced at the stone from afar without approaching immediately, cautiously retreating before disappearing into the dark forest.

...

Meanwhile, inside the stone.

"This place is fantastic; they’ll never find us. Little Flea, how did you discover this... wait, I forgot to ask, why were you in the forest before?" After settling down, Birch immediately approached Little Flea, asking with curiosity.

Little Flea said, "When you were causing a commotion at the dock, I noticed immediately. I had a hunch you might be in trouble, so I preemptively waited in the forest to see if I could assist you."

From start to finish, Little Flea only mentioned "you," clearly indicating that he did everything for Birch. As for the others, they were incidental.

"We’re lucky to have you this time; otherwise, we might have really..." Birch stopped mid-sentence as he heard Renko’s groans nearby. He quickly regained focus, "Right, check on Mr. Renko. I didn’t see him getting hurt at the dock, but why does he look like he’s at death’s door now?"

Little Flea nodded and stepped forward to Renko’s side.

Looking at Renko’s pale face, covered in sweat, he had a hypothesis in mind.

After some examination, Little Flea gently pulled down Renko’s collar, revealing a shallow scratch on Renko’s neck. The scratch was faint, barely bleeding, but from it, a green liquid was seeping out.

"What, what is this? Why is it green blood?" Birch asked in shock, pointing at Renko’s wound.

Little Flea: "It’s not blood, it’s poison."

Little Flea looked at Renko: "Was this cut made by Master Man’s assistant... that man who’s as thin as a bamboo pole, short, dark, and completely blends into a crowd?"

Though Renko was weak, he was still coherent, nodding, "Yes, it’s him. His presence was so faint, and he was so short that I didn’t notice when he approached..."

Even though Renko had been scratched, he didn’t care at the time. Given his physical condition, he wasn’t afraid of such minor wounds.

Little Flea: "I figured. That guy was actually a former Physician on the Broken Blood, but his medical skills were poor. Once I was captured, he became Master Man’s assistant. His medical skills may be lacking, but he has some toxicological knowledge and likes to concoct insidious poisons. You’ve certainly been poisoned by him."

Birch: "What poison?"

Little Flea shook his head: "I don’t know, but I know he primarily studies biological toxins. From what we can observe, the effects match those of a biological toxin. But which one, I couldn’t say."

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