Qi Shanshan didn’t stand upright again until she had completely bandaged Li Weiyi’s wrist. Only then did she put down her scissors and say, “I’m going to eat her!” Qin Ke, standing behind her, was startled.
Recently, she had often heard members of the expedition team mention that food supplies would soon run out, and before long there might even be horrifying incidents of cannibalism. Qi Shanshan turned around and looked at Li Weiyi, who sat there calmly watching her.
In a slightly irritated tone she said, “I knew you cared so much about your senior, Cai! I’m getting jealous! But don’t worry, she’s very safe.”
Of course, she understood that Li Weiyi hadn’t asked the question lightly. He was testing her. So she answered seriously, adding, “You lot all lack insight.
Just a few days ago I noticed that Xie Tianshu and Kong Fan had been in frequent contact. This morning, after the dark clouds dispersed, when everyone was busy studying the ancient characters, the two of them sneaked into the kitchen shed.”
“I dared not follow them, and I couldn’t be sure what they intended to do, but I knew something was amiss. In case of trouble, I dragged Yutong to hide.”
“It’s best that nothing happens. And if something does, at least we can hide first.”
Li Weiyi noticed nothing amiss in Qi Shanshan’s eyes or expressions. Her reply was flawless. Hastily she stood up and smiled, “Don’t answer so earnestly—it feels like an interrogation.”
“Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing?”
Qi Shanshan looked a bit angry as she walked out of the medical shed. Li Weiyi followed, wanting to apologize. After all, when the bronze ship had just plunged, it was she who had saved half his life.
During their earlier skirmish with the 705 Laboratory, if it weren’t for her smashing the cross pendants to help him, who knows who would have perished between him and Han Qin. Suddenly, Qi Shanshan spun around and collided with Li Weiyi, who was catching up.
She let out a refined “aiyō” and furrowed her brows, patting his chest and saying, “Why are you moving so fast? You bumped into me!”
“I still have something to tell you—your senior’s injuries are very serious. His arm and knee bones are shattered into fragments, and his blood vessels and nerves are severely damaged. With the medical conditions on this ship… you must be prepared that even if he pulls through, he might be bedridden for life.”
Even though the warmth of tender affection was hidden in his heart, and though he saw that she wasn’t really willing to leave, Li Weiyi felt no joy at all. He hurriedly turned back into the medical shed.
He focused a surge of scalding qi from the sole of his right foot into his hand, intending to try and inject it into his senior’s wound. But as soon as his hand made contact, he stopped. The scalding qi could only flow within silver-colored meridians.
His senior’s body had no such meridians. If he injected it in, it would likely inflict secondary injury – like a palm strike landing on his senior’s body.
“My senior has also practiced the Jade Void Breathing Technique. Once he awakens and resumes cultivation with that technique, he might be able to develop that mysterious scalding qi on his own. But…”
“With his legs shattered like this, can his soles still produce scalding qi?”
Li Weiyi felt a heavy oppression in his chest, as if a thousand pounds of stone were pressing down on him. In an instant, many thoughts flashed through his mind—even the idea of giving his senior some Black Flood Dragon Blood, perhaps his injuries could be healed.
But when he thought of the monstrous appearance of Xie Tianshu, he simply couldn’t decide how to help his senior. At that moment, from outside the medical shed, coming from the direction of the bow, a woman’s song drifted faintly.
“A vast river with broad, rolling waves, The wind carries the fragrance of rice blossoms along both banks, My home lies on that shore, I’ve grown accustomed to the boatman’s calls, And the white sails upon the ship...”
Who was singing? Both Li Weiyi and Qi Shanshan were bewildered. Then Qin Ke suddenly thought, “It’s Liu Ying!
Earlier we searched for her but couldn’t find her. We all assumed she had hidden in the Nether Fog of the Graveyard Forest…”
“This is bad.”
Without delay, Li Weiyi and Qi Shanshan rushed out of the medical shed in sequence. Liu Ying, wrapped in a filthy blanket, was sitting on the bulwark at the bow of the ship, her legs hanging freely in the air.
Her face, legs, as well as her exposed shoulders and arms outside the blanket, were all marked with bruises and scars. In her eyes there was only a void of despair—a remembrance of her home, her parents, and a once secure and lawful society.
Her cheeks were streaked with tear marks, and the wind over the sea tossed her long hair upwards, making her sorrowful song even hoarse and low. At last, almost as if she were reciting the lyrics, she murmured, “Everywhere… there is… the peaceful sunlight…” Soon after, rapid footsteps sounded from behind.
Without any lingering attachment, she jumped overboard. Li Weiyi watched her jump off—he could see she was only a few steps away from the bulwark—but soon the railing was empty. Qi Shanshan and Qin Ke, panting in pursuit, caught up with him.
Qin Ke rushed to the edge of the bulwark, but dared not look down, as she could easily guess that Liu Ying was now sinking into the sea, her lost soul being devoured. Tears fell from her eyes like rain. Qi Shanshan walked over to comfort her, saying, “After what has happened, how could she possibly survive?
Don’t worry, don’t be afraid—Weiyi is here, and as long as he is aboard, nothing like this will ever happen again. He will protect us.” Li Weiyi’s heart was heavy with grief and fury.
Gripping his long sword, he walked wordlessly toward the misty Graveyard Forest. Passing by Chen Hong, who was barely clinging to life, he no longer wished to leave justice to his senior. A single punch hammered through Chen Hong’s chest.
Then, as easily as tossing out trash, he picked him up and threw him into the sea. Were they even human anymore? They were less than trash. …
Except for Xie Jin, the other four fugitives were all captured in the Graveyard Forest. Some people buried themselves halfway into the earth, leaving only their mouths and noses exposed. Yet their breathing and heartbeats could still be picked up if one was close enough—nothing escaped Li Weiyi’s keen hearing.
When news spread that Liu Ying had jumped into the sea, Gao Huan and Professor Xu’s several students, in their anger, beat two security members who had bullied Liu Ying nearly to death. In the end, in a collective fit of rage, they pushed these two into the Soul Sea.
In the distance, Li Weiyi faintly heard the sound of camel bells echoing in the Graveyard Forest. Immediately, he practiced the Jade Void Breathing Technique, clearing his mind, so that deep doubts could arise within his heart. As for the other two, they too were given a severe beating.
But they were not thrown into the Soul Sea. Someone suggested that they be used for experiments. After all, after Xie Tianshu’s monstrous transformation, although his appearance became grotesque and terrifying, he had gained genuine transcendental power.
Who knew, he might even live for a hundred or several hundred years, just like the legendary demons. In comparison with such transcendent power and longevity, sacrificing a normal human’s appearance was nothing. A true strong person never frets over their looks.
Li Weiyi did not object. He shared the same view as Zhao Meng. Once someone shows their fangs, they are no longer human!
This is not merely about a dragon slayer becoming a dragon; rather, when facing the enemy, one must spare no mercy, no tenderness, for the opponent will not be grateful. Instead, he will stash away his resentment, waiting for you to falter, and then ensure that you perish without a place to be buried.
Besides, Li Weiyi also wanted to use the experiments with Black Flood Dragon Corpse Blood to determine whether it might be possible to save his senior. … So many events unfolded in a single day. After disposing of all the bodies—whether throwing them into the sea or burying them—everyone was utterly exhausted.
At first, no one could sleep. They lit fires and gathered around them, afraid that further turmoil might erupt. And with Xie Jin still missing like a splinter in their flesh, none of them could feel at ease.
But by the latter half of the night, fatigue finally overcame everyone. Except for the two on watch, the rest slept wherever they could near the fire. Li Weiyi went alone to the other end of the bronze ship, toward the underside of the Black Flood Dragon Corpse.
With his left thumb, wearing his Dragon Pattern Ring, he stroked the severed edge of the corpse where Black Flood Dragon blood had congealed into purple-red ice crystals. In an instant, a layer of white frost formed on his finger. True enough, the Dragon Pattern Ring reacted—the dragon scale patterns on it glimmered faintly.
After Xie Tianshu’s transformation, the first words he had uttered were, “My severed arm—thanks to you, neither the Black Flood Dragon Corpse Blood nor the Dragon Pattern Ring can make it grow back.” At that time, Li Weiyi had already suspected that his transformation into a demon was aided by the Dragon Pattern Ring.
That afternoon, experiments on two expedition team members confirmed his suspicion. The first, who did not wear the Dragon Pattern Ring, drank the Dragon blood and soon his skin cracked open, and he eventually died from massive blood loss. The second, who had donned the Dragon Pattern Ring and drank the Dragon blood, managed to survive.
When the ring was soaked with his blood, he gradually began to undergo a transformation similar to that of a dragon. Of course, no one dared to let him complete his monstrous metamorphosis; just as he was about to succeed, they immediately removed the ring.
The transformation was cut short, and he died in a manner even more gruesome than the first experiment—the flesh and blood almost all exploded.
“No matter what, this is a method to save our senior.”
Li Weiyi murmured. The Nether Fog drifted softly. Before his eyes lay the Grave Sea Stone Forest, bathed in the spectral glow of the distant Golden Crow Corpse’s light—a quiet, eerie atmosphere pervaded the scene.
A familiar scent of perfume wafted in on the wind. Li Weiyi’s sense of smell, though not as extraordinary as that of the Ghost Bear Emperor, far surpassed that of ordinary men. He knew who had arrived!
To wait here was simply to wait for her. Silently, Li Weiyi hid behind the enormous Black Flood Dragon Corpse. Gradually, light, nimble footsteps approached, and a tall, graceful figure passed behind the corpse, striding briskly in the direction of the Nine-Story Ship Tower.
Stepping out from the shadow, Li Weiyi looked toward that familiar, delicate back. The figure had already entered the passageway between the ship tower and the bulwark, moving toward the stern. On the passage of the ship tower, which was about a zhang wide, countless human-shaped stone statues with various expressions were arranged.
In the thick Nether Fog, the scene grew even more terrifying. Yet Qi Shanshan felt no fear at all as she moved through effortlessly. On the first level of the ship tower, every door to the cabins was cast in bronze, over a zhang in height.
They were so heavy that no one could push them open by strength alone. Halfway down the passage, the Nether Fog gradually dissipated. In its place arose a cloudy, gauzy immortal glow, as if smoke and gauze.
This bronze ship—once a vessel of ghostly souls—seemed transformed, as though it had become a celestial jade palace, a palace boat of the immortals. The stern and the bow were like two completely different worlds.
(There is one more chapter, as promised in the review section to our readers.)
(The End of this Chapter)