TM CH33

Chapter 33 Setting Foot on West Island (2)

Days passed in the blink of an eye as they ventured deeper into the dense forest. The further they went, the more traces of human activity began to appear. After an unknown amount of time, a narrow path, clearly man-made, emerged between the dense trees.

The path twisted and turned, its destination unknown.

Rong Qi and Gu Yunxing were both aware that whoever had cleared the path was either an unknown freak lurking on the island or someone who had accidentally drifted here.

Gu Yunxing didn’t move forward immediately. Instead, he began to study the trees on either side, as if searching for something.

Rong Qi: “There’s no need to search. It’s here.”

With a complicated look in his eyes, he pointed to a section of tree branch beside him. He slightly lifted it, revealing three curved lines. It was the water ripple marker of Tianji Sect, a pattern Gu Yunxing had carved countless times on hidden tree branches over the past few days.

Before arriving on the west island, Rong Qi had speculated that Fang Lian might still be alive. But the vast sea made this speculation baseless and purely imaginative. Now, seeing the marker on the tree, that imagination finally became a reality.

Fang Lian was indeed still alive.

It was truly a miracle.

Rong Qi couldn’t quite describe his feelings at this moment.

Fang Lian being alive meant there was still room between him and Gu Yunxing. But it also meant that their alliance was now on shaky ground.

He and Gu Yunxing were both helpless choices for each other in their isolation. After finding his true companion, how would Gu Yunxing treat him?

“The water ripple points west. This path must be a distraction,” Gu Yunxing’s voice cut into Rong Qi’s thoughts. “Let’s keep searching. There should be more markers nearby.”

“You two certainly have a deep bond.” Rong Qi had learned to recognize the Tianji Sect’s marker over the past few days. The possibility that these marks were left by Fang Lian made him reluctant to continue searching. “I’ve heard that the Wulin Alliance also has its own contact marker. As an alliance leader, why would he choose to carve ripple patterns? It seems like they were left specifically for you.”

Gu Yunxing: “The ship only had the Right Protector’s subordinates and crew. Who would he draw maple leaves for?”

Rong Qi raised an eyebrow. “So it’s a maple leaf?”

It seemed that Gu Yunxing had accidentally revealed a Wulin Alliance secret.

Gu Yunxing: “……”

Rong Qi, rarely seeing him at a loss for words, felt his mood lighten. He turned to say, “I’ll take the right side, you take the left.”

The two maintained a distance where they could still see each other and began searching the woods.

Never would he have imagined that, in his lifetime, he, the right protector of the demon palace, would have to do this kind of ‘good deed’ of helping people reunite. Rong Qi couldn’t help but silently curse fate.

But this time, luck wasn’t on his side. After searching for a long while, he found no suspicious marks.

It must be over on Gu Yunxing’s side then.

As he was about to regroup with Gu Yunxing, a slight sound caught his attention. His ears twitched, picking up the faintest noise.

Rong Qi’s eyes sharpened. “Who’s there?”

In the distance, a shadow flashed past and fled deeper into the forest.

“Stop!” Rong Qi shouted.

In the blink of an eye, he glanced at Gu Yunxing, exchanged a look, and immediately used his lightness skill to chase after the figure.

No matter who that person was, if they had seen them and chose to run, they couldn’t be some powerful and mysterious figure. Someone who could hide in the shadows and flee at the first sign of danger must be a clear-headed individual. Most likely, they were just someone who had been stranded here after falling into the sea.

Since the person seemed to be normal, Rong Qi felt no need to hold back. Even if there was a trap ahead, he would wade through it.

Rong Qi’s speed was incredible. In no time at all, he had caught up to the shadow.

The person was wearing a tattered hemp coat, the hem of which was much shorter than the rest, revealing the dark fabric beneath. Rong Qi recognized it at a glance. The person was wearing the uniform of Lihuo Palace!

With a swift kick, he sent the person sprawling to the ground, flipping them over.

The person turned, revealing a face weathered by hardship, eyes squeezed shut in fear. “S-spare me! Please don’t kill me, don’t kill me!”

After so many months, hearing someone plead so fearfully for their life caught Rong Qi slightly off guard. He wasn’t quite used to it anymore. But the feeling lasted only a moment before he stepped forward and pressed coldly, “You’re not from Lihuo Palace. Where did you get those clothes? Speak!”

The man froze. “Li… Lihuo Palace…”

He opened his eyes, revealing a pair of small eyes. After clearly seeing the person who had come, his eyes widened in shock. “It’s you!”

Rong Qi sneered. It seemed his guess was correct. If he wasn’t from Lihuo Palace, then he must be a crew member. Just as he was about to interrogate him, the sound of rushing wind came from behind.

Rong Qi immediately stepped aside, grabbing the man by the back of his collar and dragging him with him. When he turned around, he saw a girl facing him with a sword.

She was wearing a light-colored dress, now stained with dirt and ash. Her face was also smudged with grime, but her eyes remained strikingly bright.

“Quickly release Uncle Zhou!”

A girl? On this island?

Rong Qi struck the man unconscious, then turned to deal with the girl. From their brief exchange, he had already ascertained that neither the man nor the girl was his match.

Rather than question first and fight later, he preferred to win the fight first. It saved him a lot of pointless talking.

In no time, he disarmed the girl and held the sword to her neck.

“Don’t move,” Rong Qi said coldly. “I don’t have much patience. Move again, and I’ll kill you.”

The girl didn’t dare move. “Who… who are you?”

Rong Qi raised an eyebrow. “That’s exactly what I was about to ask you.”

He coldly sized her up. She was a delicate beauty, the kind who might easily draw attention, if not for appearing on a deserted island like this.

“I’m not from this island! And… you’re not either, are you?” The girl looked at him nervously. “Why don’t… you put the sword down, and we can talk things through?”

“Spare me the nonsense.”

Rong Qi had no sense of mercy for pretty faces. His gaze lingered on the girl’s delicate features, and the longer he looked, the more familiar she seemed. A name flashed through his mind, though it felt almost impossible.

“Fang Ruoyao?”

The girl was stunned. “You-you-you… How do you know me?”

So it really was her.

Even Rong Qi found himself briefly stunned.

He had only abducted Fang Lian into the East Sea. How had his younger sister ended up here too?

He had heard of Fang Ruoyao before but had never seen her in person. If her features hadn’t been extremely similar to Fang Lian’s, Rong Qi would have had no way of guessing it was her.

To think he’d once teased Gu Yunxing about some supposed romantic entanglement with Fang Ruoyao — who would’ve thought she had actually sneaked aboard the ship without his knowledge, and was now stranded in the same place as them?

“Where’s Fang Lian?”

Fang Ruoyao’s eyes lit up. “You know my big brother?”

Rong Qi frowned. This girl didn’t seem all that bright.

“Know him?” he said, slowing his words on purpose as he leaned in closer, his tone deliberately low. “Let’s just say that his trip to the East Sea was by this venerable one’s generous invitation.”

Fang Ruoyao’s eyes widened in slow realization. “You’re the demon from Lihuo Palace!”

Rong Qi smiled faintly. “That would be me.”

The fear only just dawned on her. “What do you want from me?”

Rong Qi: “In this deserted place with no one else around, what do you think I want to do?“

Fang Ruoyao’s voice began to shake. “D-Don’t you dare. If you touch me, my big brother won’t let you get away with it!”

Fang Lian? That useless fool?

Rong Qi let out a short laugh, as if he’d just heard a joke. He lifted her chin with the tip of the sword, and when he spoke again, there was a faint trace of killing intent in his voice.

“Let’s hear it. What exactly did you do to my Lihuo Palace disciples? Why was that man wearing our uniform?”

First, two Lihuo disciples had fled to East Island, only to die horribly under pursuit by some unknown freak. Now, this crew member was wearing Lihuo Palace robes. Something had clearly happened here on the west island.

“You’ve scared her.”

The killing aura around Rong Qi faltered. A flicker of annoyance crossed his face, but before he could speak, Fang Ruoyao cried out in delight, “Brother Gu!”

Rong Qi: “……”

Gu Yunxing walked over at a steady pace. Seeing one man unconscious at Rong Qi’s feet and one girl terrified into silence, he couldn’t help but marvel at the destructive presence of this so-called demon.

“Brother Gu, quickly save me!”

Gu Yunxing let out a quiet sigh and said, “Right Protector Rong, please show mercy for this humble Gu’s sake and release Miss Fang.”

Rong Qi had already known the moment Gu Yunxing appeared that he wouldn’t be able to keep scaring her. With a cold snort, he withdrew the sword, feeling rather bored. Without the slightest shame, he claimed the sword for himself.

Fang Ruoyao rushed to Gu Yunxing’s side, her voice trembling with emotion. “Brother Gu, I thought you were dead!”

Gu Yunxing murmured a few words to comfort her.

The two had been separated for so long, and now that they were reunited, it was clear they had countless things to say to each other.

Rong Qi had always had little tolerance for such sentimental scenes. He immediately turned his back on them, unwilling to watch.

Just then, the unconscious man on the ground began to stir. Rong Qi grabbed him by the collar and dragged him forward for questioning.

He hadn’t paid much attention to the crew on the ship. Aside from the captain and his deputy, he remembered no one in particular. Clearly, this man wasn’t either of them. But that didn’t stop the man from recognizing him.

The crew member’s name was Zhou Shun. He had worked the rigging and sails, and had been the first to sense danger during the storm. He was also the first to jump into the sea.

From Zhou Shun’s account, Rong Qi learned that treacherous currents surrounded the west island, sweeping many people from the ship onto its shores. When they first arrived, the survivors split into two groups. One consisted of the Fang siblings, who hid deep within the forest and rarely showed themselves. The other was made up of Lihuo Palace disciples and the remaining crewmen.

But the people from the demon palace were ruthless, and with no one to restrain them in such a desolate place, their behavior grew even more unhinged. Although the crew had originally been hired by Lihuo Palace, they soon found the situation unbearable and gradually defected, choosing instead to seek shelter with the Fang siblings.

Even so, life on the west island was far from easy. The nights were bitterly cold, and for those without internal cultivation to protect themselves, it was pure torment. Within just a few days, many of the crew had succumbed to the cold or fallen ill.

“Then that killer showed up,” Zhou Shun said, his eyes filled with fear. “As soon as he appeared, people started dying. The experts of Lihuo Palace tried to join forces and take him down, but… they were all killed instead. After that, we all huddled together just to survive. But that killer was terrifying. People would just disappear without a sound. Sometimes… he even ate them…”

“That’s right,” Fang Ruoyao said quietly from behind Gu Yunxing, her face pale. “So many people died on this island. But even the ones who survive had it bad. We didn’t have enough warm clothes, so we could only strip the clothes off the dead to wear.”

After the two finished speaking, silence fell over the area like a heavy shroud.

It was a long while before Rong Qi finally asked, “And the others?”

The rest of the survivors were hiding in a cave. But when it came to revealing its exact location, Fang Ruoyao hesitated and quietly glanced at Gu Yunxing, seeking his opinion.

Understanding her concern, Gu Yunxing said, “With a bloodthirsty killer on the island, now isn’t the time for us to clash with Lihuo Palace. Whatever grudges exist, let’s settle them after we leave this place.” As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Rong Qi. “What do you say, Right Protector?”

Rong Qi glanced at Fang Ruoyao’s hand resting on Gu Yunxing’s sleeve and said coldly, “What opinion could I possibly have? Since Miss Fang refuses to tell me, and you, Gu Yunxing, are shielding her, there’s clearly nothing I can do to force the answer.” He met Gu Yunxing’s gaze with a faint, mocking smile. “Naturally, whatever you say goes.”

Gu Yunxing’s eyelid twitched involuntarily.

Off to the side, Fang Ruoyao suddenly understood something. With a surge of confidence, she looked at Rong Qi and declared, “Demon, at least you know your place.”

Rong Qi glanced at her, then stared expressionlessly at Gu Yunxing.

Gu Yunxing: “……”