Chapter 1395
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Chapter 1395 Deep in the Island
Moon Huai didn’t believe in superstition. He lowered his head, holding the map, and carefully examined it once more before shaking his head and saying:
“There can’t be a mistake. Within this sea area, there is only one island, which must be the Dragon Eye of Great Xia’s national fortune!”
“…Do the guardians of your Great Xia’s national fortune usually eat people?”
Moon Huai didn’t respond. His eyes narrowed slightly, with a faint light flickering from the depths of his green pupils, as he stared intently at the figure adding firewood under the large vat. When the figure turned around, Moon Huai was startled.
“Li Qingqiang?!”
Moon Huai recognized Li Qingqiang. More than forty years ago, they had crossed paths several times.
But hadn’t Li Qingqiang become the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watchers and then died in battle? How could he possibly be here…
Could he have faked his death?
“Li Qingqiang is here… this place must be extraordinary!” Moon Huai stated with certainty. “Those in the pot must be the younger generation of Night Watchers. He’s using some method to condition their bodies, along with the natural overflow of Great Xia’s national fortune to cleanse them, which should be extremely beneficial. If I’m not mistaken, this is special training for elite Night Watchers.”
“Then we…”
“Don’t act rashly. Continue observing.”
One Li Qingqiang alone wouldn’t be enough to guard Great Xia’s national fortune. There must be other powerful figures on this island.
“…Alright.”
…
The island.
Two hours later.
As the flames gradually died down, Lin Qiye and the others emerged from the vat, put on their clothes, and Ghost Jiang Er awkwardly floated out of the coffin, following behind them.
“This bath really does make one feel refreshed,” Cao Yuan stretched his muscles and couldn’t help but sigh.
“Gun Brother, what’s our next training?” Lin Qiye asked proactively.
From being beaten by Tang Yusheng until now, half a day had passed. According to Li Qingqiang, besides potential training, preparation for the “Mind Gate” was also part of the training. Lin Qiye and the others had soaked in the medicinal water for several hours, their bodies had recovered to optimal condition, full of energy, ready to begin more difficult training.
“No rush, no rush.”
Li Qingqiang spoke leisurely, pulling out two decks of playing cards from his pocket and sitting down.
“Texas Hold’em. Do you all know how to play?”
Lin Qiye and the others were stunned.
“We do know how…”
“Come, come, let’s play a few rounds.” Li Qingqiang shuffled the cards quickly with his fingertips and grinned.
“But Gun Brother, aren’t we supposed to continue training?” Baili Pangpang watched the flying cards, feeling the itch to play, but still asked.
“This is your training for today,” Li Qingqiang replied matter-of-factly.
“Training? Texas Hold’em?” Lin Qiye widened his eyes and repeated.
“…If you don’t want to play cards, mahjong is also an option.”
“…”
Seeing everyone’s confused expressions, Li Qingqiang sighed:
“What did you think the preparation training for the ‘Mind Gate’ would be? Torturing you to the brink of death like this morning?”
Cao Yuan looked at the playing cards on the ground and, after hesitating for a moment, still spoke up: “I thought you might have some special method…”
“I’ve already said, breaking through the ‘Mind Gate’ requires opportunity. Before that opportunity comes, all we can do is adjust our mindset… In short, it’s not that simple.” Li Qingqiang waved his hand, and seeing that Lin Qiye and the others were still hesitant, the smile at the corner of his mouth gradually faded.
He put down the cards in his hand, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and spoke calmly, “Of course, if you really want to break through the ‘Mind Gate’ as quickly as possible, there is a way.”
“What way?”
“From now on, pick up your weapons and kill each other… until only one remains.” Li Qingqiang’s tone was very calm. “Killing your brothers who have lived and died together with you, this extreme pain and despair can greatly increase your chances of breaking through the ‘Mind Gate’.
If you don’t think you can kill each other, you can try another approach.
Leave this island, find those closest to you – lovers, children, parents, siblings… anyone will do. Kill them, and perhaps you’ll break through the ‘Mind Gate’.
Without opportunity, create your own… but I must warn you, this doesn’t guarantee you’ll break through. Because when you make this decision, your heart is already prepared to bear everything. The more prepared you are, the more remote your chances of breaking through become.
Years ago, Yiyu, in order to break through the ‘Mind Gate’, killed his entire family with his own hands, but in the end, he still couldn’t cross that threshold.
Do you… want to try?”
As Li Qingqiang’s words fell, the air sank into dead silence.
Under this oppressive atmosphere, Lin Qiye and the others exchanged glances and couldn’t help but swallow:
“Actually… Texas Hold’em sounds good.”
“Yes, yes, haha… are we playing for money? How much?”
“One yuan is fine, just for fun.”
“…”
Seeing Lin Qiye and the others obediently sit down, Li Qingqiang’s face regained its smile.
“That’s more like it… The more you focus on the ‘Mind Gate’, the harder it is to break through. Keeping a calm mind is the best choice.”
As cards were dealt from Li Qingqiang’s hands one by one, the atmosphere in the open space gradually heated up.
…
Deep within the island.
The surging flow of national fortune illuminated the dark underground cave in gold. A figure sat cross-legged in the center of the flow, as immovable as a rock.
Dressed in court ceremonial attire, Gongyang Wan slowly walked from the end of the cave and respectfully bowed to the figure sitting in the center of the national fortune flow:
“Marquis.”
Huo Qubing, sitting in the national fortune flow, opened his eyes and spoke calmly: “Gongyang, how is [Night Curtain] doing?”
“Li Qingqiang has kept them on the island under the pretext of training to break through the ‘Mind Gate’, but they still have doubts. It’s hard to say how long this can be kept secret.”
“They are all clever people. It’s fine for now, but after a while, they will certainly realize something is wrong.” Huo Qubing paused for a moment. “Tell Li Qingqiang and the others… to delay as much as possible.”
Gongyang Wan was silent for a moment, but still spoke up: “Marquis, I don’t understand why we must keep them on this island?”
In the national fortune flow, Huo Qubing shook his head slightly:
“This is the Heavenly Venerable’s wish.”
Gongyang Wan’s lips parted slightly, seemingly surprised. She nodded and didn’t say anything more.
“By the way,” Huo Qubing spoke again, “someone is watching this island.”
Hearing this, Gongyang Wan frowned slightly. “Someone is targeting our national fortune? Why haven’t we detected them?”
“They came prepared. Not only are they extremely skilled at concealment, but they’re also hiding in the sea area a hundred miles away, not approaching at all. They have some means to directly observe what’s happening on the island.” Huo Qubing said calmly. “They think this way they can probe our true situation… Since that’s the case, let’s play along with them.”
