Chapter 1717: The Strange Island

The innkeeper had a head full of white hair and looked to be in his seventies, but he was in high spirits. Seeing people still poking their heads at the window, he waved his hand to drive these idlers away before walking back to pour water for everyone:

"Are you guests from out of town?"

"Indeed, we encountered a storm at sea and suddenly entered." He Lingchuan smiled in response. "It's not marked on the sea chart. What is this place called?"

"We call this Silver Pearl Island, and it has another name, Storm Island. Because our place is surrounded by a wind wall all year round." The innkeeper gave them bamboo cups; they were tender bamboo segments cut and trimmed, dried for a few days, making simple and drop-resistant cups. "The wind wall wanders on the ocean, and wherever it goes, Silver Pearl Island goes."

Silver Pearl Island always follows the storm.

"You don't see many outsiders usually, do you?"

"Rare indeed! Rarer than a three-legged toad." The innkeeper said clearly, "Most of the time, this storm opens a passage in the middle of the vast ocean, and there isn't even a ghost in sight, so where would outsiders come from?"

He Lingchuan asked, "You don't seem very surprised to see us?"

At least not as surprised as the other Silver Pearl Island people, who were almost ready to come up and touch them.

The innkeeper laughed. "Yes, yes, not only have I seen outsiders, but I've also been to the harbors of your land!"

"Oh? How did you see them?" He Lingchuan casually handed over a tael of silver.

The innkeeper reached out to take it, his attitude becoming even more enthusiastic.

"It was sixty years ago. At that time, the storm happened to blow near a certain bay. After it disappeared, we saw the lights and piers on the shore. I was young then and curious, so I found a boat and rowed over. There were four or five other companions who went to the shore with me, but I came back before the deadline, while three didn't make it and were left on the coast." The innkeeper sighed. "Until now, I haven't seen them again."

"Deadline?" Dong Rui asked. "How long is the deadline?"

"Ten days." The innkeeper pointed into the distance. "The calm you see will only last for ten days. Once the deadline is up, the storm will rise again, and Silver Pearl Island will be isolated from the world."

Silver Pearl Island is an archipelago surrounded by storms. As long as the storm doesn't stop, they cannot connect with the outside world.

"This isolation lasts for another five years, until the next time the passage opens."

He Lingchuan asked him, "What are the Poison Basins on the street and the evil-warding talisman on your shop door used for?"

"To prevent evil ghosts, also called Yakshas, there are green-skinned ones and black-skinned ones!" The innkeeper sighed. "During these few days when the storm disappears, Yakshas may invade, and we must be strictly on guard. Five years ago, I saw a Yaksha eat a person with my own eyes; it was a child from my neighbor's house! With a crunch, half of his head was bitten off."

Dong Rui was curious. "Silver Pearl Island follows the storm, so where do these Yakshas come from?"

"The Wind God says this island is usually protected by storms, keeping evil spirits at bay. Only during these ten days, when the storms that act as a barrier disperse, can the evil ghosts and yakshas from the seabed pass through unhindered and sneak onto the island to eat people." The shopkeeper pointed to the south. "Most of these yakshas come from the Upside-Down Lake."

"Upside-Down Lake?" Everyone looked at each other. "What does that have to do with the Upside-Down Sea?"

"The Upside-Down Sea is the sea where Silver Pearl Island is located, and there is also a lake on the island called the Upside-Down Lake."

The lake is also named "Upside-Down"? "Where is it?"

The innkeeper pointed casually: "Walk eight li east along the coastline from here, and you will see a large round lake. It connects to the sea, and we all call it 'Upside-Down Lake'."

Only one character difference, but the meaning is vastly different. Dong Rui was curious: "Why is it called Upside-Down Lake?"

"It's just a place name, there's a tablet in the lake that says so. We have another lake here called Kidney Lake, shaped like a pig's kidney." The innkeeper laughed. "Once you go there, you'll know at a glance."

Dong Rui continued to ask: "Have you been to that lake?"

"Been there, of course I have. I used to swim in that lake when I was a child. The adults wouldn't let us go into the water, saying there were Yakshas eating people, but children certainly wouldn't listen. However, several children did go missing in those years, and some people caught a few giant sea crocodiles in the lake, so everyone was even more afraid. If the children dared to swim secretly again, they would be beaten once for every time they went into the water."

"Does anyone still go into the lake now?"

"Yes, there are many fish in that lake, and there are always people going to row boats to fish." The innkeeper pointed to the waiter who had just passed by. "A-Yi and his younger brother also often go to the lake to swim."

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui looked at each other. The legendary Upside-Down Sea was actually so approachable that commoners could just go into the water to splash around?

They were even more curious.

"Oh, my great-great-grandmother seemed to have told a story that a child from her neighbor's house had a strange illness that couldn't be cured no matter what. One time, his mother was carrying him on her back and passed by the Upside-Down Lake, sitting on a large rock by the lake to rest. Thinking of the child's illness, she cried, and her tears all fell into the lake. Suddenly, a large white fish jumped out of the lake and slammed into the child. The mother was startled awake, and when she opened her eyes, she saw it was a dream, but the child in her arms was completely free of illness and crying with full vigor."

"Later, the child recovered without medicine and lived to be eighty years old. Others said he had great luck and met the Wind God by the lake to cure his illness in his childhood."

Wanzai Feng suddenly asked: "How did you settle in the center of the storm?"

"We were born and raised here, and we don't have much chance to go out. My ancestors, and their ancestors, were all Storm Island people." The innkeeper coughed. "I've heard many absurd legends, but there are two that are more reliable. One is that our ancestors were fishermen and merchants at sea who were swept into here by the storm and have lived here ever since."

"Another theory is that we have been residents of Silver Pearl Island for generations, from ancient times to the present. But a long time ago, heaven and earth collapsed, and Silver Pearl Island was about to be destroyed. It was the God of Storms who used supreme divine ability to drag the island here, so that the people and the island could be preserved for a long time."

"The God of Storms is the Wind God? What is his Daoist name?"

"Yes, yes, the Wind God's Daoist name is True Person Qianhuan, the Boundless Wind God who saves the distressed and turns the virtual into reality!" The innkeeper pointed to the east. "There is a temple in the center of Silver Pearl City dedicated to the Wind God."

Everyone immediately perked up. Dong Rui asked:

"Is there a statue? What does it look like?"

"Kind-hearted, with wide sleeves and broad robes, and a spirit bun on his head!" The innkeeper said, "The nobles in the city also like to dress like this."

This outfit is not suitable for work at all, so isn't it just for nobles to wear?

He Lingchuan smiled: "Has this immortal ever manifested his spirit?"

The heavenly gods of Beijia also like to use human forms for statues, either kind-hearted or beautiful and noble, and of course, there are ferocious ones, but overall they are human faces; some of the wild gods worshipped on the Flash Gold Plain are beast-headed and human-bodied, or human-bodied and beast-headed.

This is related to local traditional aesthetics and beliefs. When heavenly gods come, they have to be grounded, and it is thought that immortals are no exception.

"Yes, of course there is!" The innkeeper said solemnly, "Not only does the Wind God manifest his spirit, but the immortals under his command also often appear on Silver Pearl Island."

He Lingchuan smiled: "It seems that when I have time, I have to go to the city to worship."

"That's a must!" The innkeeper was also kind-hearted. "Since you are lucky enough to come to Silver Pearl Island, you should worship the Wind God well, so that you will have smooth sailing in the future."

Taking advantage of the time before the dishes were served, everyone first performed a few cleansing spells to clear the sour smell from the cabin and the fishy smell from the fish market off their bodies, so as not to affect their appetite.

More than a month ago, the Emperor Flowing Pulp erupted super-massively, and the spiritual energy in the human world surged. Everyone used their true qi more generously, no longer as calculating as before. He Lingchuan also taught everyone the new divine abilities from Panlong City, among which there were several very practical small divine abilities, and this cleansing spell to remove dirt was one of them.

Otherwise, everyone would have to go to the bathhouse for a scrub, which would not be appropriate on this dangerous island.

As for eating—

Everyone had eaten dry rations on the ship, so this meal was not absolutely necessary, but He Lingchuan believed that many details helped to judge the truth and falsehood.

Ling Guang, as the chief medical officer, jumped down and tested every dish for poison—

Nothing wrong.

Everyone came from the Yangshan Archipelago and had been eating island-style food for several years, but Silver Pearl Island was isolated from the world, and its food was still very different from the outside world. Yangshan people were used to pickled raw fish, but here, the freshly caught oil-sweet fish was deboned and cut into small pieces, mixed with mint, plums, sour berries, and onions, and eaten with sauce.

Extremely sour and fresh, appetizing in one bite.

Then there was shallow-pit roasted meat and taro paste crispy duck.

Before today, He Lingchuan didn't know that taro paste and duck were such a good match.

Salty, fragrant duck oil seeped into the taro paste, wow!

Everyone ate with joy. This meal must be real; the heavy feeling of fullness could not be faked.

Of course, such a meal was not cheap. Local guests who came in mostly just wanted a bowl of red oil sour slurry noodles, slurping them up and leaving.

He Lingchuan originally thought this red oil was red chili oil, but the taste was sour and spicy. After eating two more bites, his tear glands were cleared.

Dong Rui took a bite of the duck and subconsciously asked him: "What shall we do later..."

He Lingchuan gave a light shush: "It was agreed, don't open your mouth to discuss the details of the plan here."

In the territory of True Person Qianhuan, who knew how many ears and eyes the other party had to eavesdrop?

Everyone ate obediently, occasionally chatting about a few jokes, and there was a burst of laughter. This performance was very bold, as if they were sightseeing tourists who had mistakenly entered the Peach Blossom Spring, rather than walking into a dragon's den and tiger's lair.

Wanzai Feng even asked the innkeeper who served the dishes personally: "What is the situation with that Longxiang Restaurant on the street, why is it surrounded and cursed?"

"It opened the day before yesterday, and it was very grand. I went to see it, and there were no empty seats." The innkeeper answered every question, pointing to the waiter on the side. "His cousin A-Yang works as a waiter at Longxiang Restaurant. It is said that they were short of hands that day."

"However, the diners had diarrhea when they went home, and dozens of them went to see a doctor. Alas, the doctors in the whole city were very busy that night, but unfortunately, one of the diners couldn't be saved and died."

Everyone said "oh." If a restaurant kills people, can it still be opened? It's the last day of the National Day holiday,

Eat hard, play hard!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1718 =====