After leaving the Huaijiang River, they would join the sea, stretched as far as the eyes could see. Zhao Tianji’s merchant ship was quite efficient, not only was it fast but also easily sailed into the sea.
Ye Zhen stood on the deck, gazing at the horizon. As she got closer and closer to Zhao Jia Island, she felt more and more nervous. She was afraid of seeing her eldest uncle on the island, but she also hoped to know the whereabouts of her father from him.
If the Ye Shi on Zhao Jia Island is Eldest Uncle, how did he escape death? Who saved him?
“Why are you going to Zhao Jia Island?”
Suddenly, someone appeared on the deck, stood behind Ye Zhen, and demanded coldly.
Ye Zhen turned back to see it was Mu Xue. “Naturally, it’s to accompany my master.”
Mu Xue sneered, “Do you think I can’t see it? You are not going to Zhao Jia Island for your master. What is your purpose?”
“What is my purpose for going to Zhao Jia Island?” Ye Zhen asked back in amusement.
“No matter what your goal is, I won’t let you succeed,” Mu Xue declared coldly.
Ye Zhen chuckled and glanced at the Cang Ying* resting on the other’s waist. “You already know the events that took place in Zhao Jia Island that year had nothing to do with my master. There is no need to bear your fangs(always).”
[*short sword/dagger]
Mu Xue had never veiled her hostility for her and Huangfu Chen. She acted as if they were out to destroy Zhao Jia Island(if they were allowed to set foot).
Mu Xue scoffed. “Those are just Huangfu Chen’s words. Who can verify them? But it’s true that my Zhao Jia Island was ambushed. It’s also true that he abandoned my sister. You are his apprentice, so you would naturally share the same hatred with him. In a nutshell, I’ll be watching you.”
Ye Zhen eyed her as if she were a rambunctious child. “Then watch.”
Mu Xue glared daggers at her. She was getting more and more confused as to why the Second Young Master had allowed Huangfu Chen and his apprentice to come to Zhao Jia Island. Had he not learnt his lesson back then? Huangfu Chen was vile to the bones. If it weren’t for him, their private mines would never have been discovered by the imperial court. Although losing an iron mine wouldn’t mean suffering heavy losses, it was still a big loss for Zhao Jia Island.
In order to avoid clashing with Mu Xue again, Ye Zhen did her best to avoid running into her on the ship. On the other hand, Zhao Tianji had Huangfu Chen supervising him every day as he practiced walking. His recovery speed was better than before.
Seeing that he was already able to walk like a normal person, albeit slowly, Ye Zhen said with a faint smile, “Looks like eighty percent of your body’s meridians have been cleared..”
Zhao Tianji snorted. “In a few days, I will be able to fly. What’s more, I might even be able to use Qinggong*.”
[*Qinggong is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art Baguazhang.]
“You still dare to cultivate your inner strength?” Ye Zhen raised her eyebrows. Wasn’t qinggong all about inner strength?
“I don’t practice that set of internal techniques anymore. I don’t only know one set of internal techniques.” Zhao Tianji felt that this little girl was looking down on him, so he coldly glared at her.
Ye Zhen smiled disapprovingly. “Since you know how to use other internal skills, why did you learn a set that would seal all your meridians?”
Zhao Tianji was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, “This is a technique unique to our Zhao family, it is passed down from generation to generation. And as the Island Lord, one must learn it.”
“——”
Ye Zhen and Huangfu Chen exchanged glances. What kind of internal strength would seal one’s meridians?
“I really don’t understand what your ancestors were thinking.”
“Initially, the opportunity to practice this cultivation method belonged to my eldest brother. Perhaps, it’s because I snatched his position as the island master that I became unfit to cultivate it(method).” Zhao Tianji said indifferently, “But it’s already my fortune to be able to stand up again.”
Ye Zhen shook her head and did not say anything. It could be seen that Zhao Tianji respected his big brother a lot. From a devil who killed without blinking an eye to a filial brother, this contrast was hard to accept.
“After this uninhabited island, the next island will be the Zhao Jia Island.” Zhao Tianji pointed to a small island not far away.
“Your island is quite far away.” They had been at sea for almost ten days.
“If not, we wouldn’t have survived until now.” Zhao Tianji sneered. “If there was no one from the island accompanying you, none of you would have been able to set foot on the island, except for him.” He pointed at Huangfu Chen. “He just visited once but is able to come and go as he pleases.”
Huangfu Chen smiled faintly and didn’t tell Zhao Tianji the fact that the map of Zhao Jia Island was in the study room of Niu Jia Village. It was drawn by his great-great-grandmother at the time and included counters to break through the array making it an easy passage.
Ye Zhen smiled and remarked that her master was naturally omnipotent.
Zhao Tianji snorted. “If he was omnipotent, he wouldn’t have been fooled, even his own wife—” Perhaps it was because he knew he had said the wrong thing that he(ZT) shut up abruptly.
Huangfu Chen didn’t seem to mind, he continued to gaze coldly into the distance.
After another two days, they finally arrived at Zhao Jia Island. Ye Zhen finally understood what Zhao Tianji meant when he said that ordinary people wouldn’t be able to enter the island. Not only were there many traps but also bewildering arrays everywhere. If they weren’t careful, they would go the wrong way. The places they passed were dotted with the remains of ships. Liang Yin said those were pirate ships that wanted to enter the island but were caught in these arrays before they could.
No wonder Zhao Tianji was so indignant that her master could come and go freely.
Ye Zhen had no idea how the ships managed to avoid those rock formations. When she tried to take a better look, a huge island suddenly appeared in front of her.
“This is the Zhao Jia Island?” Ye Zhen’s eyes were round in surprise. She had thought it would be a private island, sealed off from outsiders, and expected to see a lot of natives around. To her astonishment…
This is not an island but a small country!
Their ship docked amid a fleet of other merchant ships. The wine shop next door was packed. People were coming and going here, just like the port she had seen in the Jin Kingdom.
No one seemed to recognize Zhao Tianji, they seemed to think they were just ordinary merchants.
“This—” Ye Zhen was so surprised that she was unable to express her feelings. “Is this really Zhao Jia Island?”
Huangfu Chen retracted his gaze and whispered to Ye Zhen, “It’s much more prosperous than when I left.”
When they reached the shore, several carriages had come to welcome Zhao Tianji.
“Welcome back, Island Lord.“ The middle-aged man in the lead bowed respectfully.
Zhao Tianji nodded indifferently. “Don’t alert the others. Let’s go back first.”
The middle-aged man looked up and saw Huangfu Chen behind Zhao Tianji. “You… You still dare to appear here?”
“Yuan Cheng, he is this Island Lord’s guest.” Zhao Tianji said coldly.
“Island Lord, what happened back then—” Yuan Cheng was about to bring up the matter of the ambush*.
[*the island had been ambushed and they all think HFC is to be blamed.]
Zhao Tianji said coldly, “This is not a place to talk.”
Despite his reluctance, Yuan Cheng still invited Huangfu Chen into the carriage and drove to the deepest part of the island.
Ye Zhen turned to Huangfu Chen and whispered, “Master, looks like we are not very welcome here.”
Huangfu Chen smiled faintly. “It’s a little tricky.”
♚♚♚
