Chapter 302
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This was a piece of sheepskin bearing a painting of half a mountain. Just by looking at the incomplete image and the torn, ragged edges on two adjacent sides of the sheepskin, one could tell it was merely a part of a whole. Zhang Xiaohua first studied the drawn image carefully but failed to see anything peculiar. Then he flipped the entire sheepskin back and forth, examining it thoroughly, yet still found nothing unusual.
“Strange, what could this be? A treasure map? A will? Or just an ink painting?”
Zhang Xiaohua muttered to himself, then summoned his ever-reliable divine sense. Yet even under its probing, the sheepskin emitted no fluctuations. It truly was just an ordinary piece of hide.
Zhang Xiaohua was tempted to tuck it into his robe, but when he looked again at the man’s pale, bloated face, his tightly clenched hand grasping the front of his clothes, and those bony fingers turned white with death, he sighed. A man should act with principle. Seeing how this man still gripped his garment so tightly at the moment of death, it must be something of great importance. If Zhang Xiaohua could find any useful clue from the man’s body, he wouldn’t mind helping return this item and fulfill the man’s final wish. But since he couldn’t tell what use the sheepskin had, it might as well be buried with the man to rest in peace.
After all, the image had already been imprinted in his mind. Whether he kept the sheepskin or not made little difference.
“Hm, I wasn’t trying to peek on purpose, all right? Hero, I only meant to help fulfill your last wish. Even in the netherworld, you ought to feel at ease. You should be thanking me, really.”
With that thought, Zhang Xiaohua placed the sheepskin back into the iron box and returned it to the man’s chest.
Looking around, he dragged the man to a flat spot and murmured: “Hero, this place is backed by the mountain and faces the water—a fine location in terms of Feng Shui. Though I don’t know your final wish, to be buried in peace is surely something you’d want, no? If you don’t object, I’ll take it as your agreement. Alright then, I’ll bury you here.”
With that said, he took out the small sword and was just about to dig a pit.
But suddenly, he smacked his forehead. Didn’t he have a longsword that he’d planned to use as a walking stick in the future? Wouldn’t that thing be even better for digging a hole?
However, the longsword was indeed too heavy. Though Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t afraid of the weight, he found it troublesome to carry around and had left it lying in the cave. Now that he thought of it, he had no choice but to go back and fetch it. But hadn’t he mastered Earth Escape?
With a twist of his body, he vanished on the spot. When he reappeared, he was already at the entrance of the cave. Entering the cave and picking up the longsword from the stone table, another thought came to him. “Ever since I came to this desolate island, why do I keep running into burial matters? First it was Elder Huo’s ashes, now it’s a stranger I don’t even know. Perhaps these two were fated—both buried by my hand. Might as well inter them together. If their spirits are aware in the heavens, heh, two ghosts separated by ten thousand years bumping into each other, wouldn’t they just be thanking me day and night?”
Silently praising his own idea, Zhang Xiaohua carried the longsword in hand, stepped onto the air with his floating technique, and arrived at the place where True Person Fire Dragon’s remains were buried. He first tossed the longsword to the side, then returned to the beach to drag the big man over as well.
Since obtaining this longsword, this was the first time it had seen real use—and it was for digging a grave. Hmm, not bad. To be able to dig a pit was a kind of skill, whether big or small. And truth be told, this longsword was much handier for digging than the short sword had ever been.
Making full use of an item—wasn’t that what the saying meant?
As he dug, Zhang Xiaohua hummed a little tune. Yes, it was that same one—“Sister, you sit at the bow of the boat”—what could he do? His musical repertoire was limited.
Once the large pit was finished and the big man tossed in, Zhang Xiaohua pressed his palms together and muttered: “Hero, rest in peace. Beside you lies a senior from the Immortal Dao who once stirred up the world ten thousand years ago. I can’t say which of your lifetimes that would have been—oh, wait, that’s wrong… Actually, I’ve no idea how many lifetimes back ten thousand years would be for you. But now that you’ve formed a bond with this senior and can be buried side by side, it can be considered a full stop to your life’s story. Alright, I won’t say more. I don’t know your name, nor whether you were a good person or a bad one. But really, is there such a clear distinction between the two? Mm, you don’t have to answer—rest easy.”
With that, he scattered the dirt over the man, slowly covering the grave.
This pit—had been filled once more. Mm, it was rather simple.
With that little episode of digging and burying concluded, Zhang Xiaohua’s cultivation life returned to its usual calm. At first, he’d thought the big man’s injuries were signs of a struggle at sea—perhaps the result of revenge or a treasure-snatching conflict. If that were the case, someone would surely follow up to chase him down. And if someone really did come, maybe Zhang Xiaohua would find a way back. But after waiting two more days and seeing not even a shadow, he couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. Had he guessed wrong? Was the big man merely like himself, swept away by an undercurrent and gone missing, with no one to come looking?
He couldn’t help but blame the man: “You could’ve at least left some clues behind. A person shouldn’t be too clever, don’t you think? Seeing as I gave you a proper burial, the least you could do is lead someone here.”
Complaints were one thing—but cultivation had to continue. The flame of hope he’d just lit was once again snuffed out by the cold reality.
So pitiful!
The ancients really did put it well—ahem, been a while since he last quoted one.
When you think there’s no path left through the mountains and rivers, a village suddenly appears among the willows and blossoms.
That morning, Zhang Xiaohua was in the cave, seated cross-legged in meditation, quietly delving into the Dao of formations. Suddenly, he felt something, and his divine sense spread out like a vast net, sweeping across the waters surrounding the desolate island.
In an instant, Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes flew open in delight. He withdrew the hand seal, and without any regard for his image, floated up from the stone bed, flipping several times through the air in hollow somersaults, laughing wildly—“Hahahaha!”—before landing on the ground. Then, with a twist of his body, he vanished on the spot.
Before long, he appeared atop the mountain, raising a hand to his brow as a sunshade, gazing into the distance.
And there—right where his gaze landed—a massive ship was steadily sailing toward the desolate island!
In that moment, Zhang Xiaohua’s heart was overcome with emotions too complex to name.
Nervous? Elated? Hesitant?
Whatever it was, Zhang Xiaohua was brimming with excitement.
Suddenly, a thought stirred in his mind. He vanished from the mountaintop and returned to the cave, scanning the surroundings. He walked to a corner of the cave, slipped into a hidden crevice, and hurried over to the sea of fire. After confirming that nothing had been left behind, he turned back, formed a hand seal, and sealed off the entrance with a restriction. Then he picked up the longsword from the stone table and plucked the night pearls from the stone walls, plunging the cave into darkness.
Zhang Xiaohua exited the cave, activated the restriction on the cave entrance with another hand seal, and, now reassured, used the Earth Escape technique to return to the very first cave. That cave was dark and cramped, looking nothing like a place someone might live. Zhang Xiaohua frowned and flashed over to the huangjing field. He casually plucked a few stalks of huangjing, didn’t even bother to clean off the dirt or strip the leaves, and returned to the cave, tossing them aside with a flick of his hand. After a moment’s thought, he threw the longsword in there too.
Only then did he return to the mountaintop.
By now, the giant ship was drawing quite close—clearly visible to the naked eye.
Zhang Xiaohua swept out with his divine sense again and couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
This ship was slightly smaller than the one from the South Sea Flood Dragon Palace. There were no flags on its mast, and fewer sailors beneath the deck compared to the Flood Dragon Palace ship. However, within the cabins, there were many martial artists of considerable strength!
This was clearly no ordinary sea vessel—and quite possibly had come looking for that big man who’d washed ashore days ago. The question was, were they here for revenge, or simply searching for a missing person?
Zhang Xiaohua narrowed his eyes, rubbed his chin, and fell deep into thought.
If they were looking for a missing person, that would be easy enough—he’d buried the man properly, and they would surely be grateful. But if it was revenge, then they were likely after the man’s possessions. Zhang Xiaohua had already opened the belongings without much caution—would they be able to tell? He’d best prepare a plan.
“Bah, what’s the point of thinking so much? I’ll just play dumb if it comes to it. Whatever I say, they probably wouldn’t believe it anyway, so why bother worrying over it?”
Having made up his mind, Zhang Xiaohua stopped overthinking it. All he wanted was a ride back—what did their grudges or business have to do with him?
After another while, the sea vessel drew even closer. People had begun emerging from within the ship’s cabin, pointing and gesturing toward the desolate island. Judging by their reactions, it seemed they could now see him. Zhang Xiaohua made a show of waving his hand, gesturing exaggeratedly—and sure enough, he sensed through divine sense that the people on the ship were startled. More figures soon appeared from within the cabin and even from below deck, all turning their gazes toward Zhang Xiaohua standing on the mountaintop, pointing and saying something amongst themselves.
Shortly after, the sea vessel came to a halt.
Zhang Xiaohua’s inward amusement was suddenly laced with a thread of unease. What if the ship didn’t come any closer? What then?
But he was clearly overthinking. Since the ship had already come this far, how could it possibly return empty-handed?
Sure enough, a small boat was soon lowered from one side of the vessel. Two sailors climbed into it, and shortly after, two martial artists drifted down lightly from the ship, landing squarely inside the boat.
Zhang Xiaohua suddenly understood. Of course—the ship was massive and sat deep in the water; there was no way it could come close to the island’s shallow shores. A smaller boat was the only option.
After a moment’s thought, Zhang Xiaohua began descending from the mountain, using his Floating Technique to slowly glide down. It looked just like the lightness skills commonly seen among martial artists.
By the time the small boat reached the shore, Zhang Xiaohua had just descended the mountain.
The two martial artists in the boat were even more impatient than he was. Before the vessel had fully docked, they sprang from it, each performing their own form of qinggong to leap ashore. They first glanced at Zhang Xiaohua’s steps, then exchanged a glance, each showing a faint smile at the corners of their mouths before drifting forward to meet him.
Once they’d drawn near, the two finally stopped, carefully observing the young man jogging toward them.
This was a very ordinary-looking youth, about fifteen or sixteen years old. He wasn’t short—roughly the same height as themselves—but had a sturdier build. A faint trace of fuzz lined his upper lip, typical of boys his age. His hair was messy, clearly just thrown together casually. His hands were empty, and he was barefoot. His eyes were bright, and he wore a long black robe that looked a size too big.
