Chapter 416 The Hollow and the Fishmen

This "Thiumnia Silver Barracuda," which the man had described as exceptionally rare, truly looked expensive at first glance—at least in terms of its presentation.

Two chi long, its slender body resembled a forged silver awl, no more than three fingers wide at its thickest point. Its smooth lines tapered seamlessly from its head down to a sharp tail base.

From a distance, its scales appeared as a dazzling layer of silvery white. Upon closer inspection, an iridescent sheen shimmered across its surface, shifting with the angle. A slightly raised, pale gold ridge ran from the back edge of its gills all the way to the tip of its tail, like a metallic thread.

The most distinct feature of the silver barracuda was its eyes.

Large and round, they took up nearly a third of the sides of its head. The transparent corneas resembled crystal spheres, highlighting the dark, slit-like vertical pupils behind them.

These eyes should have been helping it identify prey and navigate through the ocean waters, but now, as they slowly dried out, they could only reflect two blurry silhouettes.

The Thiumnia Silver Barracuda lay quietly on the cutting board. A light tap to the back of its head with a knuckle had drained it of all capacity to resist.

The man held a sharp, cold-gleaming short blade. He gave a gentle thrust directly between its eyes, and the silver barracuda gave one final shudder and lost its life.

His movements were more practiced than those of a fishmonger. Pressing down on the head with his left hand, he gripped the knife with his right, laying it flat against the body, and pushed lightly from the tail toward the head against the grain of the scales.

With a sharp tearing sound, those fine, iridescent silver scales, clinging to a transparent membrane as thin as a cicada's wing, peeled away and gathered over the blade, revealing the tender, faintly pink flesh beneath.

He sliced the belly smoothly along the natural lines of the fins, completely avoiding the organ sacs. Using the tip of the blade to sever the fascia, he reached two fingers into the belly and gently scooped out the entire set of organs intact.

The blade pierced the body again, slicing along the spine. Applying slight pressure with his left hand, he extracted the spine and skull in one piece like a comb.

A minute passed, or perhaps thirty seconds.

His incredibly fluid, skillful motions commanded attention, making time itself seem to slow.

By the time Xia Nan snapped back to attention, only two crystalline, pale-pink fillets remained on the cutting board.

He sliced them simply, not bothering with an elaborate presentation, merely piling the meat neatly onto two plates.

There was no searing, no grilling, nor any complicated preparation.

The man merely sprinkled a bit of coarse rock salt over the surface of the meat before handing a plate to Xia Nan, who stood beside him.

"Give it a taste. I hope it suits your palate."

Although the fish looked extraordinarily appetizing, Xia Nan did not lower his guard.

He first used his Perception to carefully observe both the food and the man's expression, checking for any anomalies. Then, he watched as the man placed a slice of fish into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Only then did Xia Nan focus his attention. Still cautiously keeping his Perception active, he picked up the thickest slice from the middle section and popped it into his mouth.

The texture was unexpectedly bouncy and moist. It felt cool and refreshing on the tip of his tongue. His teeth met no resistance as they sank in, much like biting into firm jelly, yet at the moment of severance, he could feel the satisfying, tender snap of muscle fibers.

There was absolutely none of the fishiness typical of marine life. What burst forth in his mouth was a deep, crisp sweetness. The rough, mineral flavor of the salt crystals added layers to the experience, perfectly marrying the sharp saltiness with the soft, plump richness of the fish.

'He knows how to fish, and he has such great taste in food...'

Though Xia Nan didn't show anything on the surface, his impression of the man before him skyrocketed.

When it came to enjoying good food, an invisible, unspoken understanding seemed to form between them.

Neither of them spoke.

Only after Xia Nan placed the last piece of fish from his plate into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed, did the man offer him a steaming cup of hot water. Xia Nan took a sip, then finally broke the silence, probing, "I hear you came from Barracuda Bay?"

"Just call me 'Ellison'," the man replied with a slight nod, his demeanor exceptionally relaxed and at ease.

From the young man's patient wait earlier while Ellison was fishing, to his earnest focus when enjoying the meal—which displayed a genuine, heartfelt love for fine food—it all made Ellison faintly approve of him, even though he still didn't know this black-haired youth's name.

"There's a fairly large coral reef near Cliff Rock Island, situated right where two ocean currents meet. Fishing here often yields a good catch, just like that silver barracuda from earlier," Ellison replied, blowing out a breath of hot air as he held his cup in his right hand.

To be honest, the moment Xia Nan climbed the reef rock and caught sight of the man's back by the cliff's edge, a rather cliché, highly dramatic, yet not entirely impossible thought had surfaced in his mind.

'Could it be... that this man from Barracuda Bay is actually the very person who supposedly died in the pirate "Algae Scale" Dodd's attack over twenty years ago? The carrier of the [Dream Weaving Corridor] encryption key I've been searching for—Lyle Morton?'

But now, as the man actually pulled back his cloak's hood and sat before him, Xia Nan dismissed the speculation.

For one thing, it had only been twenty-seven years since Lyle Morton disappeared. Many of the elders in Cliff Rock Village, including the village chief, had seen him with their own eyes—some even had close contact with him. There was no reason they wouldn't recognize him.

For another, based on intelligence deducing Lyle Morton's age, if he were alive today, he would be at least seventy or eighty years old.

Yet the man named Ellison sitting across the table appeared to be in his early forties at most, and his youth didn't seem to be the age-defying effect of Transcendent Tier power.

Xia Nan had observed him very carefully.

Although the man exuded a somewhat decadent, free-spirited vibe, his words and actions lacked the heavy twilight weariness that came with decades of accumulated life experience.

Of course, for this man to be fishing right next to Morton's former residence on the island at this specific time made it hard not to suspect that he genuinely had some connection to the missing inland noble.

If Xia Nan were to follow standard intelligence-gathering procedures, his next step would be to approach the topic indirectly. He would make some small talk, use skillful conversation to close the distance between them, and finally, once the man had lowered his guard, subtly bring up the information he wanted, coaxing out the answers in a roundabout way.

But as was well known, he had never been much of a talker.

Compared to flapping his lips, Xia Nan much preferred solving problems with the blade in his hand.

Sometimes, even if he had prepared the right words beforehand, things would go awry during the actual execution for a variety of reasons, often backfiring entirely.

On the way here from Cliff Rock Village, he had mentally prepared several different probing strategies based on Ellison's potential personality and attitude toward him.

But now, after actually interacting with him, Xia Nan's intuition told him that perhaps... he could just be a bit more direct.

"Lyle Morton—do you know him?" he asked.

There was no warm-up and absolutely no preamble.

Almost the instant Ellison finished describing the rich fishing grounds around Cliff Rock Island, Xia Nan threw his heavy-hitting question directly in the man's face.

At the same time, keeping his Perception fully active, his pitch-black eyes stared fixedly at the man, scrutinizing even the slightest twitch of a muscle on his face.

Ellison's reaction was quite interesting.

Clearly not expecting such a straightforward attack from Xia Nan, he was visibly taken aback. His pupils trembled and shrank slightly, as if shocked to hear that name come out of the young man's mouth.

Yet in the very next instant, he immediately reverted to his calm composure.

"I've never heard of that name," Ellison replied.

He was lying.

Xia Nan was almost completely certain of it.

The momentary expression on the man's face just now was definitely not the reaction of someone hearing a stranger's name.

However, while he had always been blunt, he wasn't so blunt as to be completely devoid of emotional intelligence.

Since the man was hiding it so deliberately, putting on an act of ignorance, aggressively pressing him further would likely bring their conversation to an abrupt end.

This was only their first meeting, and he was hoping to pry some useful intelligence from him. There was no need to make the atmosphere so tense.

So, instead of calling him out directly, Xia Nan simply gave an agreeable, slight nod.

Perhaps aware that his change in expression had been noticed by the black-haired youth, the man simply leaned back completely into his chair. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Other than the noisy seagulls shitting everywhere, North Cliff rarely sees visitors."

"I don't know this 'Lyle Morton' you're talking about, and you couldn't have climbed all the way up here from Cliff Rock Village just for me, right?"

Hearing this, Xia Nan nodded. Since he had already been so direct, there was no point in hiding his intent anymore.

"I heard this cabin was Lyle Morton's former residence. He lived here for a long time in the past, so I figured I'd come take a look," he said.

This time, Ellison paused for a bit longer. His slightly clouded eyes were veiled by the shadow cast by his prominent brow ridge, making it impossible to read any shifts in his emotions.

After a long moment, he finally spoke again, "There is nothing you want inside this cabin."

Xia Nan's heartbeat involuntarily skipped a beat. "How do you know what I want?"

"Wealth, authority, power—anything capable of altering one's destiny. Isn't that what people on the sea pursue?"

Ellison retrieved his bone-white fishing rod from the wall and began meticulously organizing his gear.

"You're not the first to come looking."

"Didn't Steven tell you? Over the years, many have come to North Cliff. Driven by greed and carrying cutlasses, they smashed open every floorboard and hollowed out every crevice. Every single place that could hide something has been turned over and searched."

"The cabin standing here now was repaired and rebuilt by me."

"If there's anything inside you happen to fancy, feel free to take it. I don't mind."

Xia Nan looked thoughtful.

"So... the original owner of this cabin left absolutely nothing behind?" he asked.

"Left behind? Left what behind?" Ellison gently shook his head. "A will? A treasure map? Or perhaps a chest full of gold coins?"

"Friend, this is 'Cliff Rock Island'. The greatest wealth here is just the schools of fish down below the cliff."

"If the man who built this cabin truly had something he couldn't bear to part with..." He turned his head to gaze out the window at the endless azure sea. "...he would naturally have taken it with him when he left, or even tossed it into the ocean. He certainly wouldn't have left it for strangers he'd never met."

"Oh?" Xia Nan raised an eyebrow, staring intently at him. "How do you know he would definitely do that?"

"Because..." The man fell silent for a long time.

"If it were me, that's exactly what I'd do."

"..."

Early morning had passed. The hazy mist gradually melted away under the bright sunlight, and the surface of the sea refracted a shimmer resembling fish scales.

A shaft of sunlight slanted in through the window, dispelling the last traces of damp chill from within the cabin.

Draining the now-lukewarm cup of water on the table in one gulp, Xia Nan prepared to leave.

His formless Perception had quietly unfurled the moment he followed the man into the cabin. Taking advantage of the time Ellison spent preparing the sashimi, eating, and chatting, Xia Nan had thoroughly inspected every nook and cranny of the small wooden house.

He had found absolutely nothing.

Still, having finally dug up a lead, he was somewhat unwilling to just give up like this.

Before leaving, Xia Nan asked one last question: "Is there really nothing else?"

"Any place at all where he might have left something?"

Ellison inexplicably hesitated for a second, making Xia Nan feel there was still a chance.

"The waters north of Cliff Rock Island are filled with jagged reefs and dangerous undertows. Even the local residents of Cliff Rock Village rarely dare to venture there," Ellison said.

"I haven't just been fishing here for a year or two. Sometimes, to find the best fishing spots, I have to traverse up and down the cliffs. To some extent, I'm even more familiar with this environment than Steven and the others."

But after glancing at the black-haired youth's exceptionally Fine equipment and sensing a condensed aura that set him apart from ordinary adventurers, he ultimately continued speaking.

"Further north, right at the edge of this reef mountain, about eighty chi down from the cliff's edge, there is a hollow."

"I caught a glimpse of it from afar once during low tide. I could vaguely see signs of human habitation, but because the location of the cave was too dangerous, I didn't approach it."

"I can't guarantee you'll definitely find anything there, but if you're just looking for clues, that hollow might be of some help."

Hearing this, Xia Nan's heart stirred. He had already marked this location as his next objective.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

Ellison lowered his head slightly, hiding half his face in shadow.

"Because you don't look like those pirates or mercenaries. At the very least... you have a lot of patience," Ellison replied.

"But please be careful. The sea-facing areas of North Cliff are often crawling with fishmen. Those little things are vicious and carry crude weapons they scavenged from the seabed. They travel in packs, just like goblins."

"If a confrontation is truly unavoidable, it is best to fight them on the shore. Otherwise, if you let those fishmen dive into the water, not even the most seasoned sailor would be able to catch up to them."

Hearing such a detailed explanation, Xia Nan stood up. With a sincere expression, he extended his right hand toward the man.

"Thank you for the information. My name is Xia Nan. Once you return to Barracuda Bay, you can look for me at the Three-Legged Sea Dog. I'll buy you a drink."

Reaching out to shake Xia Nan's hand, Ellison grinned and chuckled softly.

"It was just a few words. Don't mention it."