Chapter 303
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Just as this seemingly ordinary youth ran up to them, the two men exchanged a glance. A pale-faced man, slender and around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, cupped his hands and asked: “Excuse me, brother—can you understand what we’re saying?”
Bang! Zhang Xiaohua, who had just approached full of hope, nearly stumbled to the ground. What kind of question is that? Why wouldn’t I understand what you’re saying?
But when Zhang Xiaohua actually opened his mouth to speak, he suddenly realized what the man meant. “I… I… can… understand.”
Zhang Xiaohua’s speech was a little awkward—naturally so. After all, he had spent over four years on this desolate island with barely anyone around. There’d been no way to practice speaking with others, so how could his speech possibly be fluent? Even reading jade slips aloud was nothing more than muttering to himself. When had he ever spoken to someone in a proper conversation like this?
Hearing Zhang Xiaohua’s halting words, the pale-faced man glanced over at the sturdy, yellow-faced man beside him. They exchanged a look, then smiled and said: “Seems like this little brother has been on this island for quite a few days. Could it be you also encountered a storm of some kind and ended up here? Are you the only one on this desolate island?”
Zhang Xiaohua grinned, baring his teeth. “Yes… I… a few years ago… went out to sea… ran into… a great storm… the ship sank… I passed out… and when I woke up, I had drifted to this island.”
After speaking a few sentences, Zhang Xiaohua’s words began to flow more smoothly.
The yellow-faced man beside him looked honest and sincere. He asked in a gruff voice: “So this island only has little brother you? What is little brother’s name and where are you from?”
Zhang Xiaohua replied: “I’m from Jingyue City. Big Brother, call me Ren Xiaoyao. Since I was a child, I followed others out to sea to make a living. That last time, it was unfortunate—the storm was far too fierce. I’m afraid I was the only one who survived, and I ended up stranded on this island. I’ve been alone ever since. May I ask, who are the two of you, gentlemen?”
The pale-faced man said: “Little brother truly has a great destiny. I am Chai Feng of Luoshui Hall under the Xinrong Sect. This is my senior brother, Bai Yonggui.”
Zhang Xiaohua cupped his hands with a smile. “This one pays respect to two heroes of the martial world.”
Bai Yonggui glanced at him and smiled. “Brother Ren also seems to possess good martial skills. How is it you’ve been out at sea since you were young?”
Zhang Xiaohua said: “You flatter me, Hero Bai. I only learned a little Qinggong to earn a living—hardly worth mentioning. Please don’t laugh at me.”
“What kind of internal technique have you practiced?”
“Wild Ox Strength.”
“Oh? In that case, little brother, if you can perform Qinggong, your internal cultivation must not be bad. May I ask where you learned it from? Do you have a sect or master?”
“Master?” Zhang Xiaohua gave a bitter smile. “To tell you the truth, brothers, I spent everything I had to trade for a manual called Wild Ox Strength from someone who claimed to be from the Piaomiao Sect. That man gave me a few casual pointers. After cultivating it a little, I managed to accumulate a bit of internal force, just barely enough to perform Qinggong. I only picked it up to save my life—never intended to learn much. As you can see, I still ended up stranded here. What use is Qinggong in such a place?”
“Piaomiao Sect??!”
The two men’s expressions changed drastically upon hearing that. In unison, they exclaimed: “Piaomiao Sect? What did that person look like? When did you meet him?”
Zhang Xiaohua’s heart stirred, and he frowned slightly. “Let me think… I was probably seven or eight years old at the time. It was about ten years ago.”
Hearing this, the two men visibly relaxed and exchanged another glance.
Zhang Xiaohua went on: “He was a ragged man, face gaunt and yellow, looked like he hadn’t eaten in ten days. I even fed him for several days out of kindness.”
The two men relaxed further. Chai Feng, the pale-faced one, laughed and said: “Brother Ren, I’d say you were likely swindled. The Piaomiao Sect is a major orthodox sect in the martial world. Even ten years ago, it was still in its prime—how could someone from such a sect be in that sort of miserable state? If it had been in the past couple of years, maybe it could’ve been true. But ten years ago? Definitely not.”
“Why only possibly in the past couple of years?” Zhang Xiaohua was surprised and was just about to ask when—
Bai Yonggui, the yellow-faced man, cut in: “Brother Ren, how many years have you been on this island?”
“About four, I think. Hero Bai, I’ve long lost track. I’ve only counted the seasons—spring, summer, autumn, winter—so it should be four full cycles.”
“What!? That long?”
Both men were astonished, and a glint flickered in their eyes.
Then, Chai Feng asked in a testing tone: “Brother Ren, would it be alright if we took a look at the place you’ve been living?”
Zhang Xiaohua thought to himself, Hehe, I was waiting for this. Knew you’d ask.
But outwardly, he put on a hesitant look. “Heroes, my place is really quite crude and humble—perhaps there’s no need to see it?”
Chai Feng smiled: “No need to worry, Brother Ren. We’re just impressed you’ve survived alone on this island for so long. We’re simply curious about how you’ve managed.”
Zhang Xiaohua nodded and said, “In that case, please follow me, heroes.”
After speaking, Zhang Xiaohua took the lead, displaying his Qinggong as he led the way. Watching the somewhat clumsy figure ahead, both men exchanged a relieved smile and followed behind with casual ease. However, Zhang Xiaohua had long since released his divine sense—he’d seen the expressions on their faces as clear as day, and his heart had grown even more steady.
Sure enough, after inspecting the simple cave dwelling, with no signs of any other people, the two men asked: “It seems little brother truly has been living here alone. But—how have you been filling your belly all this time?”
Zhang Xiaohua pointed to a patch by the lake and replied: “There’s a field of yams over there. They taste quite fresh and sweet. I used to visit the countryside around Jingyue City often and saw others planting them. That’s how I managed to keep myself alive.”
Seeing it was merely yams, the two men didn’t bother to check. After all, they had only heard of such things—coarse food eaten by rural folk.
Then, Chai Feng glanced at Bai Yonggui, and softly asked: “Brother Ren, allow me to ask something. If you know the answer, please speak frankly. If this matter can be confirmed through you, my brother and I will surely offer a generous reward. Of course, if you don’t know, that’s fine as well—we’ll still take you back to the bustling mainland world.”
“Truly? Then, Hero Chai, please ask away. I will answer all I can without holding anything back.”
At this point, Bai Yonggui’s voice already trembled slightly as he asked: “Brother Ren… during your time here, have you ever seen anyone else—or any corpses—washed up on the island?”
As soon as he finished, both Bai Yonggui and Chai Feng stared nervously at Zhang Xiaohua, eagerly awaiting his reply.
“I have!”
Zhang Xiaohua answered without hesitation.
The two men were overjoyed. Chai Feng quickly followed up: “Then Brother Ren, where is that person now? What did they look like?”
“What did they look like? They wore a red cloak… but I don’t remember the face too well—it was all bloated and pale from the water, and I didn’t look too closely.”
“Ah! Then… then where is the body now?”
“Where? It was a corpse—why would I keep it? The current carried it away.”
“WHAT!?” the two shouted in unison. “You let it go!?”
Bai Yonggui took a step forward and seized Zhang Xiaohua’s arm. “When did this happen!? Why didn’t you fish the body out!?”
Zhang Xiaohua feigned a look of pain and said: “Hero Bai, could you ease up your grip a little?”
Chai Feng immediately stepped forward to pull Bai Yonggui back, sighing with some regret as he advised: “Senior Brother Bai, Brother Ren didn’t know how important that person was. It was just a corpse, there’s no need to blame him.”
Bai Yonggui said angrily: “But… but…”
He stammered for a while, yet could not utter a single word.
Just then, Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes rolled slightly as he said: “That person was very important?”
Chai Feng smiled bitterly and replied: “Of course they were. Otherwise, would we brothers—and the others on the ship behind us—risk coming to this desolate island?”
Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “That’s good then, Hero Chai. Since this person is so important to you, I can finally be at ease. Honestly, if I hadn’t spoken up, I suppose you’d have taken me onto the ship anyway. Or perhaps… not at all. After all, I’m just one lonely person with no ability to make the two of you take me along.”
At these words, the two men were both surprised and delighted—delighted that things seemed to be turning in their favor, and that this young man appeared to know something about the one in red; surprised, however, that he was so worldly-wise, not at all like an ordinary naive youth.
Naturally, this surprise quickly dispelled the last of their doubts. After all, a boy who had spent years surviving at sea—how could he be anything but slick and shrewd? How could he possibly be fooled by their earlier empty promises?
This kind of caution from Ren Xiaoyao only confirmed their assumption: he truly was just a sea-traveling youth from Jingyue City.
Having made up his mind, Chai Feng smiled and said: “Brother Ren, it seems you still don’t trust us. Then I’ll make a deadly oath here and now: if we do not take Brother Ren back to the mainland, may I perish under his sword. How about that?”
Zhang Xiaohua glanced at Bai Yonggui. The latter, whose appearance seemed so honest and upright, also nodded immediately.
Zhang Xiaohua considered for a moment and smiled secretly to himself, “Hmph, looks like the two of them are still holding something back. They clearly know I can use Qinggong, but who’s to say I can use a sword? Quite the slippery ones.”
Still, he nodded and said sincerely: “Since the two heroes say so, I naturally believe you. After all, heroes of the jianghu are known for their honor—once they speak, it must not be false. I believe you.”
Then, pointing to a spot not far away, he said: “That man in red, I buried him over there.”
Hearing this, Bai Yonggui was overjoyed and exclaimed: “Excellent! Brother Ren, that was one of my fellow disciples. By preserving his remains, you’ve earned the gratitude of all of Luoshui Hall.”
Zhang Xiaohua said modestly: “It was nothing more than a small effort in your eyes, Hero Bai. Come, I’ll take you there now.”
After speaking, he picked up his longsword from the ground and led the two men to the place where the man in red had been buried.
Zhang Xiaohua pointed at the slightly raised patch of earth and said with a smile: “Hero Bai, look—shall I dig up your esteemed senior brother’s remains?”
Bai Yonggui glanced at the stick in Zhang Xiaohua’s hand and cupped his fists, saying: “Then I’ll trouble you, little brother.”
“No trouble at all, Hero Bai.”
With that, Zhang Xiaohua stuck his rear out and began the laborious task of digging.
Since he had buried the body himself, he naturally knew the exact spot. And his practiced, farmhand-like digging technique dispelled any lingering doubts the two men might still have had. After all, what man of the martial world would have such a knack for digging a hole?
