But this pirate did not seem to be lying. He was looking at the others, shuddering, his eyes full of fear.
They asked him why there were living things on that island, but he was unable to give them an answer. Clearly such matters were beyond his grasp.
There was nothing else they could drag out of the pirate, and they had no other way to find out the answer, but it was quite certain that the island was fraught with danger. Yuwen Tong instructed that everybody get ready and do only what they were told to do, that nobody take any rash actions after they reached the island.
The pirate, desperate to leave, had been huddling on the floor in fear all along since he had noticed that nobody on board was paying him any attention, a hint of despair in his eyes.
“That island is a horrible place. If you get trapped there, you’ll end up eating each other after running out of food, no matter how many men you bring with you!” said the pirate in a terrified voice, as though some unpleasant memories were coming back to him.
After hearing the pirate’s words, Ji Yanlai said, “The fog that the island is wreathed in is probably some kind of concealment Formation. He said the fog had lifted briefly after the quake. I think it was because the Formation was affected by the quake.”
Ling Zhang had several times used this kind of Formation which gave rise to fog when functioning, so Yuwen Tong, Yuwen Jin and the others were fairly familiar with it. However, it struck them as somewhat incredible that someone had deployed a large-scale concealment Formation around an island on the sea.
“There’s a Formation on our island as well,” said Ji Yin implicitly.
A couple of people couldn’t understand why he brought this up, but the others immediately caught on to what Ji Yin meant.
They didn’t have to worry about the fog, because it wouldn’t be difficult for Ji Yanlai to find a way out.
“Even if the fog is not part of a concealment Formation, I’ll still be able to find us a way out,” said Ji Yanlai, looking at Ling Zhang. “His Highness could do it as well.”
Ling Zhang was astonished. “Me?”
“Your intuition,” said Ji Yanlai.
The look in Ling Zhang’s eyes flickered as he exchanged a glance with Yuwen Tong.
The Force of Blood in Ling Zhang had been strengthening with the progress he had been making in his internal-energy cultivation, and he was indeed capable of finding a way out by following his instincts, though the process would consume a lot of his mental energy.
Yuwen Tong gave Ling Zhang’s palm a little squeeze and said, “So we don’t have to worry about how to get out of there.”
“Clan Leader, if that’s the case, your father should have come out some time ago. How come he’s still trapped on that island and you were suddenly unable to sense whether he’s safe or not?” Ling Zhang inquired of Ji Yanlai, bemused.
Ji Yanlai pondered for a while and then replied, “I think there’s really something very special on that island. I don’t know if that thing is dangerous, but considering my father is trapped or mesmerized by it, it is by no means some common treasure. You need to be extra careful.”
The last remark of Ji Yanlai’s was quite significant. It took Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong only a brief moment to get a general idea of what he meant. The corrupting effect of great wealth is formidable, let alone that of something that had more than just huge monetary value. If some of them failed to resist the temptation and tried to kill each other, things might get ugly.
As this thought crossed his mind, Yuwen Tong summoned the officers and made some arrangements.
…
Even if the fleet kept sailing at full pelt, it would still take them a couple of days to reach the island.
At night, when Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were alone in their cabin, Yuwen Tong asked him, “Where’s that gemstone?”
Ling Zhang was surprised for a moment, then he produced the gemstone he carried with him. There was a patch of milky white substance inside it, but after having it on him for some time, Ling Zhang had felt that the milky white substance had thickened, as though its sentience had been growing.
Yuwen Tong produced his own. When the two gemstones were put together, the two patches of milky white substance started flowing towards each other slowly as though being pulled by some kind of special attraction.
“Keep it with you at all times,” said Yuwen Tong.
Though so far he still hadn’t been able to figure out the secrets of these gemstones, he had a hunch that they were indeed quite unusual, that maybe these stones would really prove to be lifesavers at a crucial juncture.
Ling Zhang understood what Yuwen Tong meant. “I will. You should keep yours with you too,” he said.
Yuwen Tong inclined his head.
“The Clan Leader saw these gemstones as well that day, and I noticed the surprise on his face, which was quite uncharacteristic of him, but he didn’t say anything about it afterward. Do you think we should go and ask him if there’s anything special about these gemstones?” asked Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong responded, “Him not saying anything about it that day was actually a tacit admission that the words of the envoy from that western statelet were true.”
Ling Zhang gave it some thought and felt that Yuwen Tong was right. Now that they’d come to know these gemstones were indeed useful and harmless, there was no need for them to get to the bottom of it.
“We should rest well and recharge in the next few days. That pirate said the island is dangerous. Though we brought some men here, it’s inadvisable to let down our guard. Every one of us should prepare some food and water before departure, just in case,” added Yuwen Tong.
Ling Zhang said, “All right. I’ve been wondering about this for quite some time – that island emerged from the sea only two years ago; it’s isolated and the conditions there are poor, so how come a tribe has moved there and settled on it already? And then there are also those monsters. All these living things need food and fresh water to survive. How have they been getting either of them?”
Yuwen Tong said, “There’s always something fishy behind an oddity. This island emerged without warning, and then rumors suddenly started circulating about gold and rare treasures strewn all over the island. Now somehow we and the Fangcun Kingdom are both going there. If all this is part of someone’s plan, they definitely have some ulterior motive.”
Most people, after discovering good unowned things, would want to take possession of them, especially a large amount of gold, which is very tempting, and rare treasures nobody have ever seen before. How was it possible that someone was telling everybody about the island and trying to draw them to it to take the treasures away?
“You’re right. There’s got to be someone behind this, but given that so many people went in there and only a couple of them made it out alive, it’s sure as hell not because they want the treasures shared that they’re luring people there,” said Ling Zhang.
But what were they up to exactly?
Ling Zhang was unable to figure it out. Surely they were not so psychopathic as to entice people onto the island so that they – the culprit – could watch them kill each other?
Besides, Ji Yanlai’s father was also involved in this matter.
“I don’t know what kind of person Ji Yanlai’s father is, but I hope he harbors no evil intentions,” said Ling Zhang.
It was not that he tended to measure the motive of an upright man with the yardstick of a knave, but that he indeed knew nothing about the former leader of the Millennium Pavilion whom he had only heard some rumors about, though his grandfather seemed to be very respectful to this former clan leader.
Yuwen Tong said, “He gave you that jade pendant, so we owe it to him to help rescue his father, but we should also stay alert. You can never be too careful.”
After hearing this, Ling Zhang fished out that jade pendant from inside his clothes. It was still giving off a strong smell of medicinal herb, and its luster had been getting milder and brighter. Ji Yanlai and his grandfather had both told him that he would be able to slowly unravel the mystery of it after he reached the tenth layer of the internal-energy cultivation method. Now, only one step away from reaching the tenth layer, he wondered whether he could figure out some of its secrets.
Ji Yanlai had once said that he had this jade pendant to thank for his rebirth, and he had never doubted it, but nobody had ever explained to him the reason for the rebirth of his father, a man who had neither the Blood of the Phoenix Clan nor a jade pendant like this.
Would he get an answer from Ji Yanlai’s father after they found him on the island?
Yuwen Tong held his hand, helped him tuck the pendant back into his collar, then settled himself on the bed with Ling Zhang sitting on his lap and slowly stroked Ling Zhang’s loose hair. “There’s no hurry. We have plenty of time to look for the answer. So far neither the jade pendant nor anything else has done us any harm. It’s unnecessary for us to be overcautious.”
Ling Zhang gave a soft “Um” of agreement and then leaned against Yuwen Tong. Looking at the starlight streaming into the room through the window, he said, “You’re right.”
Seen from the sea, the stars appeared to be much brighter than they did when seen from the land. The weather on this day was pretty good, and the sky was studded with twinkling stars, the light of which was being reflected by the rippling surface of the sea, making the two of them feel as though they were among the stars.
Yuwen Tong pulled the blanket on the bed over them both. It was much colder at night than it was in daytime.
Ling Zhang contentedly intertwined himself with Yuwen Tong and they warmed each other with their body heat. At first it was only mutual caress, but gradually they were both turned on. For fear that people might hear him, Ling Zhang clenched his teeth, letting out only faint, muffled groans, but for Yuwen Tong, such sounds were even more provocative. He wrapped the blanket around Ling Zhang’s whole body, gripped the sides of Ling Zhang’s waist with his hands and heavily impacted on him again and again as though trying to merge into him.
Eventually, when the pleasure became unbearably intense, Ling Zhang wrapped his arms around Yuwen Tong’s neck and got Yuwen Tong’s shoulder between his teeth, involuntary sob issuing from his throat.
The impacts became even harder, and Yuwen Tong’s eyes were glinting alarmingly in the darkness like a wolf’s, fire blazing in them.
“Stop … ”
Yuwen Tong kissed Ling Zhang on the sweaty sideburn and croaked, “Hang on a little bit longer.”
Ling Zhang tightened his embrace to a squeeze, gritting his teeth against the urge to shout. While provocative moans were escaping his lips, he was playing vulnerable in spite of himself, trying to have Yuwen Tong show sympathy for him and let go of him. However, these two tactics seemed to be having the opposite effect …
The combination of the necessity to show self-restraint and the different surroundings made this sexual experience considerably more satisfying than any of their previous ones, and Yuwen Tong was on the verge of losing control.
It was quite a long time before the room fell silent again. Ling Zhang was limply lying prone on Yuwen Tong, panting heavily. Beneath the blanket, Yuwen Tong’s consoling hand was slowly fondling Ling Zhang’s back. “It’s okay. Stop crying,” he said before resuming pecking Ling Zhang’s sideburn.
Ling Zhang felt somewhat ashamed. He had sobbed so loud in the last few moments. If anybody had heard him, it would be such a disgrace.
What was worse, there were many people with extraordinary hearing on this vessel.
Ling Zhang buried his face in Yuwen Tong’s chest like an ostrich, unwilling to raise his head again. “I’m positive someone has heard it.”
Yuwen Tong chuckled, “Don’t worry. A gentleman does not to listen to things which do not conform to the rites. They’re all sensible people. You and I both have exceptional hearing as well, and we’ve never heard anything from out of our usual earshot when we’re intentionally dampening our hearing, have we? Besides, our cabin is fairly far away from those of the others, and it was insulated against noise. On top of that, the sound of the waves are pretty loud, so they couldn’t have heard you.”
It was after Yuwen Tong pacified him that Ling Zhang rid himself of the feeling that he would never be able to summon up the courage to walk out of this cabin again. He raised his head and promptly gave Yuwen Tong a dirty look. “It was all your fault.”
Yuwen Tong found himself momentarily unable to breathe and almost lost control again, but he restrained himself, gave Ling Zhang a kiss and said, “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Don’t be mad.”
