TM CH7

Chapter 7 Rather Freeze to Death

The wild rabbit had already been dealt with by the stream. Gu Yunxing, without hesitation, began to start a fire in front of Rong Qi.

Rong Qi sat beside him, openly observing his movements, clearly intending to learn the skill. After a short while, smoke began to rise slowly, and a little while later, small flames flickered between the branches. Soon, a fire was blazing.

Rong Qi said curiously, “I tried it yesterday, but all I got was smoke, no fire.”

Gu Yunxing said, “Just keep trying, and it’ll work.”

Rong Qi tugged at the corner of his mouth but said nothing.

Although the island was still windy during the day, it was not biting. The two sat propped against the ship’s bulkhead, resting on the soft seaside sand as they waited in silence for their meal to finish cooking.

“I wonder how things are outside.” Rong Qi took the water flask, drank a few sips, then started a conversation with the island’s second living person. “I’ve heard that Tianji Sect is full of experts. This time, with Sect Master Gu taking such risks, I wonder how many of your subordinates will come to the East Sea to search for you?”

Gu Yunxing flipped the rabbit over, his tone casual. “Who in the jianghu doesn’t know that the demon palace is searching for the Tianyuan Manual? There are fourteen immortal islands in the East Sea, and rumors say Fang Yuanqing fled to one of them. So, even if someone came looking for us along the way, they’d only search the fourteen immortal islands.”

He looked up, surveying the desolate surroundings, and gave a bitter smile. “Right Protector Rong, what do you think is the probability that this place is one of the fourteen immortal islands?”

Rong Qi was speechless.

He, of course, knew that this was definitely not an immortal island.

Three years after leaving the palace, Rong Qi had searched all thirteen islands without success, leaving only the furthest fourteenth island, which was also the destination of this voyage.

He had kidnapped Fang Yuanqing’s son, Fang Lian, in hopes of finding a lead to complete the task entrusted to him by Zou Yuchuan. But those fourteen immortal islands had villages and settlements, and boat docks, none of which matched this place in any way.

“What are your plans, Sect Master Gu?” Rong Qi asked, poking at the fire with a twig.

Gu Yunxing answered, “For now, we can only figure out how to survive here.”

Rong Qi clearly wasn’t satisfied with this answer, but he couldn’t think of another solution. He then shared the result of his exploration from the previous day, “The climate here is so harsh that even fruits can’t grow. There are no signs of caves, either. Today, I’ll walk along the coastline and see how large this island actually is.”

Gu Yunxing suddenly said, “It’s done.”

Rong Qi’s attention immediately shifted, his eyes falling on the roasted rabbit in Gu Yunxing’s hands.

Gu Yunxing first sniffed the rabbit, then sighed. “It’s a pity there are no seasonings. It tastes rather bland.”

He divided the rabbit and handed most of the meat to Rong Qi. “I hope Right Protector Rong doesn’t mind.”

Rong Qi rolled his eyes inwardly, taking the rabbit meat and burying his head in it.

It wasn’t particularly flavorful, but being a wild rabbit, the meat was lean and rich without being greasy. When chewed slowly, it released a subtle, savory aroma.

He ate quickly, and even after finishing, he still felt unsatisfied. He regretted not catching another one.

Perhaps he could try his luck while exploring the island in the afternoon.

“I’m leaving.” Rong Qi didn’t linger. He stood up and headed east along the coastline.

He was gone for half the day.

By dusk, Rong Qi’s figure appeared again in the cabin.

Gu Yunxing was resting with his eyes closed, leaning against the wall. His face showed a look of comfort and leisure.

For some reason, the sight left Rong Qi irritated. “Get up!”

Gu Yunxing opened his eyes.

Rong Qi tossed the new catch and firewood onto the open space outside the cabin, then sat cross-legged. The firewood was difficult to carry, so he had tied it with his belt, causing his robe to loosen, exposing large patches of pale skin. The ends of his black hair were damp, dripping water, leaving a dark wet mark on his back.

Gu Yunxing averted his gaze.

“Right Protector Rong seems in high spirits. Did you go for a bath?”

Rong Qi glanced at him, then pointed to the provisions on the ground, signaling that it was Gu Yunxing’s turn to contribute.

Gu Yunxing didn’t refuse. He slowly crawled out of the cabin to prepare their dinner.

“This island isn’t that small. I’ve walked for a long time and still haven’t circled back. Tomorrow, I’ll head west and see if there are any new discoveries.” By evening, the light dimmed, and the sea breeze rustled the canvas behind them, creating a flapping sound.

After a brief hesitation, Rong Qi took down the canvas that Gu Yunxing had hastily hung the night before, re-hung it higher, and secured it properly.

After eating and drinking their fill, the night was nearly fully dark.

The two of them crawled back into the cabin.

Before long, a strong wind blew out the fire outside, and the surroundings were plunged into complete darkness.

There was a trace of worry in Gu Yunxing’s voice. “The wind by the sea is still too strong.”

Rong Qi wrapped his clothes tighter and closed his eyes, saying nothing.

A moment later, he heard the sound of fabric rustling beside him and immediately became alert. “What are you doing?”

It seemed that Gu Yunxing had gotten closer.

In the darkness, he heard Gu Yunxing’s voice close to his ear.

“Our situation is difficult right now. We shouldn’t be too rigid.”

Rong Qi understood the reasoning and asked, “What do you want to do?”

Gu Yunxing: “Right Protector Rong, it’s already night. It would be better if we stayed closer.”

“……” Rong Qi took a moment to understand the meaning, his face darkening immediately. “Absolutely not!”

Having to share the same space with Gu Yunxing was already a test of his patience. He would definitely not take it a step further!

Gu Yunxing said, “It seems that Right Protector Rong has a deep prejudice against this humble Gu.”

“People of the demon palace never sleep soundly with others nearby.” Rong Qi couldn’t imagine such a scenario and said frankly, “This venerable one would rather freeze to death than sleep next to you, Gu Yunxing!”

The harsh words brought him no satisfaction. If anything, they left him feeling like some flustered maiden, which only soured his mood further. “When has Sect Master Gu ever seen tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves cohabitate in the same den?”

This clear and open warning could only come from someone in the demon palace.

Gu Yunxing was clearly rejected but wasn’t upset. “Didn’t Right Protector Rong sleep quite peacefully last night?”

Rong Qi grew wary. “What do you mean by that?”

Gu Yunxing shook his head and said no more. He sat back down, still with that nonchalant attitude, as if his earlier suggestion had never been made.

Rong Qi gritted his teeth and said, “Gu Yunxing, tell me the truth. Do you have a way off this island or not?”

Gu Yunxing: “Right now, this humble Gu can barely leave the cabin.”

“What about after you recover?” Rong Qi pressed. “There are many trees on the island. If I chop them down, can you build a boat? Even a raft will do.”

This was their third night stranded on the deserted island, and it had drained all of Rong Qi’s patience. The vast sea stretched endlessly, and he couldn’t bear the thought of spending the rest of his life on this island, living day after day by hunting.

Every nightfall, the darkness enveloped him, and he could see nothing. Besides the bone-chilling cold, there was nothing else.

“I’ll try,” Gu Yunxing said seriously. “Heaven never seals off all paths.”

Heaven never seals off all paths?

Only those from reputable righteous sects could be so naive.

Rong Qi’s mind was heavy with worries. He spent most of the night circulating his internal energy, but eventually, he couldn’t hold on any longer. He leaned against the cabin wall and fell asleep.

It wasn’t until his breathing had steadied that Gu Yunxing opened his eyes. After a long pause, he sighed.

People from the demon palace were indeed not good candidates for sharing hardship.

The next morning, when Gu Yunxing woke up, he glanced at Rong Qi, who was mostly draped over him. This time, he didn’t bother to adjust him back into place.

Upon waking, Rong Qi’s expression was extremely complicated. He got up in silence and, without a word, stalked off with a darkened face to continue scouting the island.

This time, he headed in the opposite direction, following the coastline westward. By noon, he found that everything around him still looked unfamiliar.

Due to his eye condition, he had only walked for a little over an hour the previous day before turning back, leaving a marker at the farthest point he reached. Today, he walked for a full half-day but still hadn’t come across the marker. It seemed this island was not small, and he wouldn’t be able to circle it.

However, he wasn’t willing to give up yet. Estimating his pace, Rong Qi decided to walk a few more steps to the west. As he move, he mentally sketched out the island’s shape, until the scenery across the sea began to change. He stopped in his tracks.

Perhaps because the midday sun was bright, the sea mist was dispersing. In the haze, a large black shadow began to emerge. When he saw clearly what it was, Rong Qi’s eyes widened in surprise.

To the back of this deserted island, across ten miles of sea, there was another island close by!

The two islands were very close, but the sea was thick with mist. Until now, all he’d been able to make out was a vague blur in that direction. But as the fog thinned, the shapes of distant mountains and trees emerged on the opposite shore. At a glance, the other island appeared smaller than this one.

This discovery was truly an unexpected gain. Rong Qi mentally measured the distance between the two islands and roughly concluded that it would take about half an hour to swim from here to the opposite island.

But Rong Qi couldn’t swim, so he couldn’t explore the other island himself.

Gu Yunxing could, and he was an excellent swimmer.

What would happen if Gu Yunxing found out about the second island?

Rong Qi knew nothing about seafaring. If he hoped to leave, he’d likely have to rely on Gu Yunxing. Putting himself in Gu Yunxing’s shoes, if he knew about the second island, he could easily leave his enemy behind after recovering and go to the smaller island, calmly build a boat, and escape.

What would he do then?

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

No, he couldn’t let Gu Yunxing find out about the existence of the second island until he came up with a plan!