Jadeite Island.
By the sea, great waves scoured the sand, their momentum vast and astonishing.
Fang Qing’s mood was as turbulent as the ocean itself as he thought back on the intelligence he had obtained from Ma Laosan.
“An excellent fate… studying the classics, family tradition?”
“Qi-Gathering method… immortals?”
Clue after clue linked together in his mind, turning into a conjecture: “For the Luo family to rule over a region, there’s an eighty percent chance they have cultivators in the clan… It’s just that their power is inferior to the Black Chong Sect, so when others spread pestilence within their sphere of influence, they can only sit back and watch… But to us mortals, they are still a colossal existence.”
“The ‘immortal’ my Fang family’s immortal ancestor encountered a hundred years ago… couldn’t have been surnamed Luo, could he?”
“The Luo family allowed my Fang family to obtain the Qi-Gathering method, allowing my family to earn silver every year, then establish schooling and nurture a literary atmosphere… and then gather qi for their family… Are they feeding on my family’s fate, or on our literary qi?”
At this thought, he could not help but feel a chill run down his spine.
To the Luo family, the Fang family was practically livestock they had kept in captivity for a hundred years!
“No wonder my Fang family was poor, yet all the children could read. So this was the reason!”
Fang Qing resolved another doubt in his heart.
According to common sense, even if the clan had income from the Qi-Gathering method, it was impossible to pour it all into education.
“In that case… the Black Chong Sect disciples unleashing chong actually disrupted the Luo family’s plans. I suppose the Luo family is somewhat overwhelmed right now as well; otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent only Ma Laosan, a mere mortal, to deal with us…”
“But then again, are the cultivators of Ancient Shu all this sinister? A single scheme spans a hundred years, and even after the plan falls through, even with only two or three strays left of my Fang family, they still pursue us relentlessly… Is it to kill us and silence us, removing hidden dangers? Or to keep raising pigs?”
“Compared to that, Jadeite Island, where everything is laid out in the open, can practically be called a place of ‘simple and honest folk customs.’”
Fang Qing’s expression was grave. “Ancient Shu… I can’t go there anytime soon.”
The Luo family had cultivators!
After Ma Laosan’s death, they would definitely take things more seriously!
And as he was now, his strength was still insufficient!
“If I want to deal with the cultivators over there, at the very least, I need to possess magical power, right?”
“A century of grudges—what my Fang family lost definitely isn’t just a few hundred wisps of ‘Moon Flowing Light’… There must be something even more important!”
Fang Qing clenched his fists. To be penned in and raised for a hundred years—what kind of hatred was that?
One day, he would definitely uncover the truth and repay them one by one!
“The only good news is that Old Uncle wasn’t caught last time… I hope Heaven helps the worthy.”
Fang Qing sighed and returned to Dahuayu Village.
……
As soon as he entered the village entrance, several young men came forward to meet him.
The man in the lead was very tall, with dark skin.
Fang Qing recognized them. They were all village hoodlums, and the leader was named Ruan Qi.
“Fang Qing… Since you left, why come back?”
When Ruan Qi saw Fang Qing, his expression turned somewhat ugly.
“Naturally because I can’t stand seeing you bully an orphan and a lone old man…” Fang Qing shook his head. Over the past three months, he had incidentally heard quite a bit of news in the fishing village.
For instance, every year during the “Sea Dragon King’s Birthday,” each household had quotas and obligations.
If not for him, no one knew what price Old Man Cha’s family would have had to pay.
They might even… have been forced into ruin and death. In a certain sense, this was also devouring a household with no one left to protect it.
“Hmph! I’ll be waiting for you to die on Sea Dragon Reef!”
Ruan Qi’s gaze sharpened, as if he wanted to make a move, yet had some misgivings. He merely sneered.
Fang Qing brushed past him and arrived at Old Man Cha’s home.
“Young brother, you’ve been out these past few days. Have you inquired clearly? No other family can possibly offer conditions better than this old man’s.”
Old Man Cha stroked the copper-mouthed tobacco pipe in his hand, an expectant smile on his face, without the slightest air of someone forced into a dead end.
‘This old man… is rather composed.’
Fang Qing laughed inwardly. ‘If I clapped my hands right now and said I’m not playing anymore, I wonder if he’d cough up blood?’
However, the man had, after all, “saved” him and formed a good karmic tie with him. He certainly could not do such a thing.
“Of course.”
He nodded.
“Very good. This old man will take you to register your household at once.”
A trace of a smile appeared on Old Man Cha’s face. He knocked the bowl of his pipe against the bluestone slab beneath him. “This old man will handle everything. You may rest assured.”
He intended to register Fang Qing under his own household, so that having Fang Qing contribute during the Dragon King’s Birthday would be perfectly justified.
Yes, the so-called “treasure fish” had been a smokescreen Old Man Cha had thrown out from the very beginning.
What he truly hoped for was only for Fang Qing to go to the sacrifice in place of his family. That alone was enough.
If he could obtain a treasure fish, that would be an unexpected joy. If not, there would be no real regret.
With a treasure fish, Zhu’er might have something to fall back on after the Immortal Affinity Assembly. But if their family collapsed before the Immortal Affinity Assembly, then there would be nothing left at all!
“Mm.”
Fang Qing said nothing and merely nodded lightly.
Old Man Cha turned and left. Only after he had turned his back did his eyes suddenly dim, as if with some guilt.
……
“Raise the sails… welcome the Dragon King!”
On the day of the Sea Dragon King’s Birthday.
Accompanied by the desolate, sonorous cry of an old fisherman, dozens of small boats set out from “Dahuayu Village.”
Fang Qing wore a straw rain cape. His face was painted with greasepaint, and unknown feathers were stuck into his hair. Inwardly, he complained, ‘This getup… is really something.’
At this moment, however, he stood with a solemn expression, looking at the “offerings” beside him.
Among these “offerings” were wine and meat, rare good things for fishermen. A faint medicinal fragrance seeped from the surface of the dark wine jars.
What surprised him even more was that after they had sailed several nautical miles, wave after wave of fishing boats appeared, converging like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, forming a large fleet.
“This Sea Dragon Birthday… just how many people are there?”
Seeing this, Fang Qing could not help but draw in a cold breath.
“The nearby Black Fish Village, Upper Red Village, Lower Red Village… they’ve all come.”
“Hmph… Ignorant youngster. This ‘Sea Dragon King’s Birthday’ is a celebration of our Jadeite Island… There are over a hundred ‘Sea Dragon Reefs’ alone.”
Beside him, a dark-skinned fisherman with thin lips mocked him.
Fang Qing recognized him. This person seemed to have been one of the hoodlums who followed behind Ruan Qi back then.
“Over a hundred Sea Dragon Reefs?”
He was inwardly astonished. “This scale… truly is frightening. Jadeite Island is quite large as well… But thinking about it, that’s normal. It’s said that among ordinary people, the ratio of those with immortal affinity is almost one in a thousand. How many children of the right age can a single village have?”
Sea Dragon Reef!
From afar, this reef looked like a giant turtle lying prone, its four limbs extended, excellent mooring harbors formed between the gaps of its claws.
At this time, one fishing boat after another came ashore, and many fishermen formed a long line, gathering toward the center of the island.
‘This island isn’t small either…’
Fang Qing carried the wine, his steps incomparably steady.
Most fishermen had practiced the Thousand-Catty Drop. It was a basic skill.
Everyone moved quickly, arriving at the center of the island, where they saw a stretch of lake water. The evening glow was boundless; ripples glittered, and golden liquid swayed.
“We’re here… Coiling Dragon Lake!”
“The sacrifice… begins!”
Several old fishermen shouted, and the crowd began placing offerings, building bonfires and an altar…
Fang Qing noticed that everyone moved extremely quickly, as if terrified that if they missed the hour, they would not have time to run.
‘Night… as expected, there is great terror!’
He had no mind to appreciate the scenery and merely calculated silently.
Sure enough, once the sacrifice ended, the crowd fled impatiently, leaving only several dozen strongmen guarding the offerings, looking at one another.
In Fang Qing’s eyes, rather than guards, he and the others were more like the true “offerings”!
After all, in ancient times, sacrificing humans was a very normal matter, commonly known as “driving living piles,” “human pillars,” and so on…
The night was deep, and the darkness outside was like a giant beast opening its bloody maw, almost ready to choose someone to devour.
Seeing this scene, Fang Qing silently made up his mind and took several steps away.
“Wait… what are you doing?”
The hoodlum who had been on the same boat as him had been staring at Fang Qing. Seeing that he wanted to leave, he immediately shouted.
“Just walking around… In any case, after dark, no boat can leave Sea Dragon Reef. That’s an iron law… And as long as the offerings don’t leave the area of Coiling Dragon Lake, that’s fine, right?”
Fang Qing did not stop walking and soon vanished into the darkness.
Upon the altar, the enormous torches flickered uncertainly, illuminating the face of the hoodlum who had spoken just now until he looked like a malicious ghost.
His facial muscles twitched a few times, and he sneered, “As expected of an outsider. Leaving Coiling Dragon Lake during the sacrifice… will only make him die an even more miserable death!”
The strongmen from the other villages did not say a word. They merely moved a little closer to the torches.
The night… grew even deeper.
The time it took for one incense stick to burn passed, then a short while, then half an hour…
Rustle!
Rustle!
Suddenly, rustling sounds came from all directions, as if some enormous thing was pressing through the gravel and grass, making the surrounding shrubs let out unbearable groans.
“It’s… it’s here.”
Upon the altar, all the strongmen’s faces turned deathly pale. Perhaps they did not know the owner of this sound, but from that faint rustling, they could already imagine what kind of colossal creature was wandering and drawing near…
Closer, even closer…
Finally…
As the hoodlum was almost suffocating, he saw two points of bewitching blood-red light. They rapidly grew larger, like two red lanterns in the darkness!
Hiss, hiss!
“Ah!!”
……
“No… don’t!”
“Sea Dragon King… spare us!”
“We have always worshiped you devoutly, always worshiped…”
On another deserted island, countless strongmen serving as offerings screamed and fled, yet they could not escape being swallowed by a huge mouth.
If one looked down from the clouds, one would discover that it was actually a great python whose waist was thicker than a water bucket.
It swallowed all the strongmen clean, then swept its tail around, rolling up the wine jars that served as offerings and drinking them like a storm sweeping away clouds. Its movements became increasingly unrestrained and drunken. Then it crawled languidly to a hillside and began to inhale and exhale toward the bright moon in the sky.
Strands of purple mist curled around the great blue serpent, making it appear even more dreamlike and illusory.
“Good! This snake already knows how to breathe in spiritual essence. It has finally entered the ranks and become a yao beast!”
Above the clouds, a massive green leaf was floating.
At the tip of the leaf stood a blue-robed young man. Watching this scene, he could not help but laugh loudly. “Among the one hundred and eight island reefs, ours has succeeded. After we return, there should be no small amount of merit and rewards… If Little Blue proves capable and can stimulate even a trace of flood dragon bloodline in its body in the future, becoming a second-tier yao beast, then perhaps your and my hopes of Foundation Establishment will rest on it…”
“Senior Brother Ye…”
Behind the blue-robed young man stood another young disciple, his face bearing a look of reluctance and pity. “A blood sacrifice every year, all just to raise this group of sea snakes with flood dragon bloodline?”