TM CH36

Chapter 36 Quarrel

Rong Qi once again asked about the details of the shipbuilding. The captain immediately made a bitter face, sighing and lamenting. He was not skilled in shipbuilding to begin with, so it was already a great feat to have managed to assemble the ship to this point. There were certain crucial parts he simply couldn’t figure out.

Rong Qi walked over to the spot where there was a break in the hull, tracing the gap with his finger. He then moved to the front of the ship to inspect the pieced-together section. The more he looked, the more familiar it became.

“What can you see?” Gu Yunxing’s voice came from behind him.

Rong Qi turned his head, finding it was only Gu Yunxing. He gestured for him to come closer.

Gu Yunxing followed his gaze, his attention falling on the section of the boat where Rong Qi’s fingers moved back and forth.

Rong Qi: “Doesn’t it look familiar?”

Gu Yunxing: “Mortise and tenon method.”

Back when they were sheltering in the half-section of a ship cabin by the shore, Gu Yunxing had paid attention to the wood splicing technique inside the cabin. Later, he even applied it when constructing the roof of their makeshift shelter.

Rong Qi bent down and picked up two leftover pieces of wood from the ground. “Then it’s up to you.”

With just a few words, they exchanged the necessary information. Gu Yunxing didn’t decline. He sat down near the boat and took out the cilin from his pocket, starting to whittle according to his memory. Before long, one end of each of the two pieces of wood was carved into a pair of mortise and tenon shapes. Once connected, the two pieces of wood fit together seamlessly.

Gu Yunxing smiled. “How is it?”

Rong Qi took the piece of wood, nodding in satisfaction. “Not bad. I underestimated you earlier.”

What did it matter if he couldn’t carve flowers? From now on, in Rong Qi’s eyes, Gu Yunxing was a master woodworker.

He was just about to say a few more words when he caught a glimpse of the approaching Fang Ruoyao. The words at his lips were immediately swallowed back down. He turned around, not interested in listening to the commotion behind him.

Gu Yunxing watched his retreating figure, finally certain that this demon seemed to genuinely loathe people from the righteous path.

On the other side, the pair of mortise and tenon joints that Gu Yunxing had made gave Zhou Yuan a great deal of inspiration. He turned the two pieces of wood over and over in his hands, muttering to himself, completely engrossed.

Rong Qi didn’t disturb him. He ordered Yan Fan and Zhou Shun to go into the woods to gather materials while he planned to scout the area himself.

Before he left, he turned around and scanned the surroundings, spotting Gu Yunxing talking to Fang Lian about something.

He withdrew his gaze, not informing anyone of his departure. He intended to finish quickly and return before nightfall.

Since arriving on the island, he had only moved around the forest, so the western side of the island was still unfamiliar to him. The existence of that freak always made him feel that something was fishy about the island.

He didn’t believe for a second that the freak had honed unparalleled martial arts skills just by wandering through the wilderness every day. Two ordinary deserted islands couldn’t possibly nurture such a terrifying monster.

What lay hidden in the depths of the forest and within the mountains?

Rong Qi activated his lightness skill and sped toward the nearest mountain peak. When he reached the base, he found the cliffs rising sharply, a sheer drop ten feet high.

Dark rocks stood before him like giant gods blocking the way, causing a sense of unease.

He spun and began his ascent, moving like a sparrow. After some time, he reached higher ground and peered between the jagged rocks, catching a glimpse of the vast mountains ahead, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Beyond the mountains, more mountains rose, layer upon layer. Farther still, his view was obscured, and he could no longer see clearly.

Rong Qi withdrew his gaze, not continuing higher. As the sky darkened, he hurried back to the cave where they were staying.

By the time he arrived, the last ray of light on the horizon was almost gone. Stepping into the passage, he faintly smelled the aroma of roasted meat and could occasionally hear soft whispers.

As soon as Rong Qi appeared at the cave entrance, everything inside fell silent.

Gu Yunxing wasn’t sitting with the Fang siblings. He sat alone in a corner, meditating with his eyes closed. Hearing the footsteps, he immediately opened his eyes.

Rong Qi casually took the roasted meat from the wooden rack, found a spot to sit, and took a bite. His face darkened immediately. The texture was tough and dry, nothing like the ones Gu Yunxing made, which suited his taste.

He chewed reluctantly, finding it nearly impossible to swallow.

Breaking the silence, Gu Yunxing asked, “Where did you go?”

Rong Qi finally managed to swallow the tough meat. “Up the mountain to have a look.”

Gu Yunxing: “Did you find anything?”

Rong Qi thought for a moment. “There’s nothing particularly special.”

The mountains stretched endlessly, with no sign of human habitation. He couldn’t even tell where the freak lived. Maybe next time, he should ask Gu Yunxing to come with him to check it out.

“Nothing particularly special…” Gu Yunxing murmured, repeating his words. There was a hint of coldness in his tone. “The freak’s whereabouts are still unknown, and the Right Protector went out alone. If you happen to run into him, how do you plan to escape?”

Rong Qi narrowed his eyes, sensing something was off. He looked up and saw that Gu Yunxing was staring at him, his gaze deep and seemingly displeased.

He froze for a moment. What was wrong with Gu Yunxing?

Rong Qi quickly glanced around, noticing that most of the others were focused on their food, eating in silence.

He was puzzled, but he wasn’t willing to tolerate this unreasonable reprimand. He said, “Then, should we stay here, curled up, and be too afraid to leave just because the freak hasn’t shown up yet?”

Gu Yunxing didn’t respond. He just stared at him with an expressionless face.

Rong Qi rarely saw him like this, and it sparked a flare of irritation in his heart. “If you have something to say, just say it!”

Gu Yunxing: “The situation on the west island is unclear. The Right Protector leaves alone, doesn’t that raise suspicion?”

Rong Qi: “……”

What suspicious things could he do on this cursed island? He couldn’t be planning to rush straight up to the freak and ‘woof woof’ at it to discuss a conspiracy, right?

Rong Qi said with displeasure, “When I scouted the east island by myself that day, I didn’t see you saying much. Bringing this up suddenly now, are you trying to interrogate me?”

Gu Yunxing: “This humble Gu naturally doesn’t have the right to question the Right Protector’s actions.”

“It’s good that you know!“ Rong Qi’s voice grew colder, “What this venerable one dislikes the most is waiting for death. According to your logic, if that freak finds this place, we still won’t be able to escape.”

He didn’t believe that someone like Gu Yunxing would have no thoughts about the west island. If anything, Gu Yunxing wasn’t the type to hide and cower!

Gu Yunxing: “Is leaving without a word the Right Protector’s way of taking the initiative?”

Rong Qi suddenly threw the piece of meat in his hand into the fire, his voice cold. “Gu Yunxing, if you want to pick a fight, just say so directly!”

The cave fell into dead silence.

Fang Ruoyao gripped Fang Lian’s arm, not daring to breathe. Zhou Yuan and the others looked as though they wanted to bury themselves underground to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Fang Lian coughed softly. As the leader of the Wulin Alliance, he was the only one present qualified to mediate between the Tianji Sect Master and the Right Protector of Lihuo Palace. He spoke up gently, “The two of you, please remain calm… Today, we made a breakthrough in shipbuilding. Let’s set aside other matters for now. How about…”

“Why set it aside?” Rong Qi showed no mercy. “Alliance Leader Fang, tell me, in Lihuo Palace, do I need to report my actions to Gu Yunxing?”

Fang Lian: “……”

“No, there’s no need.” After a moment of silence, Gu Yunxing spoke in a faint tone. Once he finished, he closed his eyes again to meditate, appearing as if he had no intention of saying more.

Rong Qi let out a cold sneer but said nothing more.

The argument had started suddenly and ended just as abruptly.

After confirming that the two prominent figures had stopped speaking, the others finally relaxed. Zhou Yuan and Zhou Shun wiped the sweat from their brows, relieved that the two hadn’t fought. After all, the last time they had witnessed a fight between them, the entire ship had capsized.

For a long while, no one spoke in the cave. Even Fang Ruoyao, usually talkative, had fallen silent.

By midnight, everyone had fallen asleep.

Rong Qi occasionally added some branches to the fire. The flickering flames illuminated half of his face, casting shadows that made it hard to read his expression.

Not far away, Gu Yunxing remained in his meditation posture, unmoving.

Rong Qi waited for a while but didn’t hear anything. Finally, he curled his lip, gave a self-deprecating smile, and simply closed his eyes as well.

Just this morning, when he had left, Gu Yunxing had been all smiles and pleasant words. In the span of just a few hours, he had turned hostile and refused to acknowledge their previous camaraderie.

‘Fighting side by side, advancing and retreating together,’ he had said. It hadn’t been long at all before Gu Yunxing revealed his true colors and wanted to break ties with him.

The righteous sects of the martial arts society, as expected, were all birds of a feather.

The more Rong Qi thought about it, the angrier he became. Suddenly, he heard some movement in the cave. Someone seemed to have gotten up, footsteps echoed, and eventually, they stopped right in front of him.

Rong Qi opened his eyes, feeling no trace of sleepiness. He spoke irritably, “What?”

Gu Yunxing: “Come with me.”

Rong Qi gave a cold sneer, ignoring him

Gu Yunxing stared at him steadily for a while, his tone still somewhat heavy. “I’ve been looking for you all afternoon.”

Rong Qi froze. Looking for him? What did that mean?

Before he could process the thought, Gu Yunxing had already bent down, picked up an unburnt branch from the fire, and began walking down the long tunnel outside the cave.

Rong Qi: “……” He hesitated for a moment before getting up and following him.

The tunnel was narrow and winding, shrouded in near darkness. The wind blew much stronger here than inside, and the flame on the branch flickered wildly, though it never went out.

Gu Yunxing stopped at a fork in the tunnel, planted the torch into the dirt, and sat down. He took a few plants from his pocket and, without looking at Rong Qi, began to fiddle with them on his own.

Rong Qi: “What is this?”

Gu Yunxing: “Hemostatic herb.”

Rong Qi looked at it doubtfully. He could only recognize a limited number of herbs, but he remembered that hemostatic herb didn’t look like this.

Gu Yunxing seemed to know what he was thinking. “The same herb can vary in appearance depending on where it’s found. It’s normal for there to be differences.”

He casually picked up a flat stone and placed the hemostatic herb on it. Then, he took out the cilin, flipped it to use the hilt, and slowly began grinding the herb.

After a moment, a dark red liquid began to drip from the root, falling into the dirt and leaving a small, dark patch. The vivid red liquid soaked into the stone and stained Gu Yunxing’s hand.

Rong Qi didn’t understand why he was suddenly talking about an herb. “Why are you picking hemostatic herbs?”

Gu Yunxing: “This humble Gu has been looking for you today. I searched around the area, and when I passed by, I saw this and picked it up.”

Rong Qi: “You… needed something from me?”

“In the Right Protector’s eyes, must there be a reason to seek you out?” Gu Yunxing’s hands paused slightly. “When they first arrived on the island, someone would go missing every few days. By the time they were found, they were already dead… Rong Qi, do you really not understand what it means to disappear like that?”

Rong Qi opened his mouth, a strange emotion welling up in his heart. “You thought I was attacked like them?”

Gu Yunxing remained silent, a hidden tide seeming to surge in the depths of his eyes.

Meeting that gaze, Rong Qi inexplicable felt a pang of unease. “I’m not one of those useless people. Even if I happened to run into that freak, it’s impossible for me to be taken away without a sound. And besides…”

Gu Yunxing interrupted him. “But I was worried about you.”

Rong Qi was taken aback. He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. After a long pause, he managed to choke out a few words. “I… I’m not Fang Lian.”

Gu Yunxing looked at him. “Rong Qi, between you and me, can’t we even say these words?”