Chapter 254

Three suns in the sky.

The heat waves of midsummer rose along the river surface, reflecting dazzling light amidst the surging waves.

An open space was cleared in the center of the island, where the wounded lay to rest. The surroundings were enclosed with cloth, and looking out, it was full of scorching sunlight. The shadows of the trees fell on the ground as sharp as knives, with clear boundaries.

The cicadas hiding in the cracks of the branches screamed for their lives, their eardrums trembling until they blurred into afterimages.

Except for this island, there was no land for a hundred miles around; it was unknown how they had come over.

Knock, knock.

"A-Shui, are you there? Are you awake?"

"Coming."

Liang Qu waved his hand, and the white mist in the room dissipated, turning into a pool of clear water that he collected into his vortex aperture.

He put on a piece of clothing, opened the door, and raised his eyebrows at Ke Ko Wenbin, who was crouching down and acting suspiciously.

"Brother Ke, you are..."

"Shh, shh, let's go inside and talk, go inside and talk."

Ke Ko Wenbin winked, pushed Liang Qu into the room, and before closing the door, he deliberately poked his head out, looked left and right, and after confirming no one was there, he shut the door.

Liang Qu was confused, not knowing what medicine Ke Ko Wenbin was selling in his gourd, and joked.

"Brother Ke, what do you want to do? I don't care, I'm a bachelor and no one cares, but you are engaged to Grand Secretary Su's granddaughter; it might not be good if news of this gets out."

"Pah, pah, pah, what are you talking about." Ke Ko Wenbin passed Liang Qu, went to the window, looked down, confirmed the environment was safe again, and whispered, "Let's go to the island to fish for treasure together!"

Liang Qu's heart stirred: "Fish for treasure?"

"Yeah."

Ke Ko Wenbin pulled out the low stool from under the long table, sat on it, and sat opposite Liang Qu.

"Tell me, can normal people go to the island now?"

"No."

Liang Qu shook his head.

The entire island chain in the center of the island was shrouded in black mist; let alone the island, the surrounding waters were filled with ominous energy.

All living things, even trees, had their life force drained, withered, and died; it was terrifying.

In such an environment, ordinary martial artists couldn't go up at all; the officials could only wait a few days for the black mist to naturally dissipate before going to the island to calculate battle merits.

"Yeah, so, this is our chance. How hard is it to practice the evil-warding technique? Before today, have you ever used it?"

Liang Qu shook his head again.

Ke Ko Wenbin slapped his thigh hard: "Yeah, such a hard thing to practice shouldn't be practiced in vain; there must be a return!

Brother Xu Yuelong is a Great Martial Artist and can hold on with his strength, but he is the commander and must set an example; he can't be like us. Right now is our chance!"

Liang Qu understood what Ke Ko Wenbin wanted to do.

Everyone couldn't go to the island right now and had to wait for the black mist to dissipate.

Only he was an exception, practicing a rare evil-warding technique and unafraid of the black smoke's erosion.

The battle was over, the black smoke was shrouded, and many spoils of war hadn't had time to be collected and were all piled up on the island!

A chance to get rich!

It was just that he was a bit hesitant.

"Isn't it bad to sneak onto the island?"

"What's bad about it? We aren't going to occupy others' merits; we won't touch the things on the corpses; whoever's it is, it's theirs.

We are going to dig the treasure vault! With so many martial artists, there must be some kind of treasure vault. We won't take much, just two or three items.

Don't be so greedy, only take what we can use, don't go reselling, and if the higher-ups turn a blind eye, it'll pass."

There is nothing new under the sun; if you want the horse to run, you have to give the horse grass.

Ke Ko Wenbin grew up among the children of the nobility and was most clear about that vague "degree."

When they go to the island in two days, some of the supplies will still be intercepted; they are just going to "choose in advance."

"What do you think?"

Liang Qu fell into deep thought.

Before he could give an answer, faint footsteps came from outside the door again, and they didn't pass his door but stopped outside.

Knock, knock.

The knocking sounded again.

"A-Shui, are you there? Are you awake?"

Such a familiar scene...

Liang Qu looked at Ke Ko Wenbin.

"Did you guys come here by timing it? Do you know when I wake up?"

Ke Ko Wenbin scratched his temple and tipped his toes.

At the corridor entrance.

Xiang Fang Su looked left and right, and before his knuckles left the wooden door, the door creaked open.

He withdrew his gaze and was about to speak when he suddenly caught sight of Ke Ko Wenbin behind Liang Qu, and he changed the subject.

"Ko Wenbin? Why are you here?"

Ke Ko Wenbin asked back: "Why can't I be here?"

Xiang Fang Su was speechless.

The atmosphere became eerily silent at this moment.

The tower ship swayed slightly, and the sound of the river tide could be faintly heard.

"How about, come in and talk?"

Liang Qu broke the silence.

Xiang Fang Su hesitated for a moment and followed into the room.

After entering, he found Liang Qu sitting on the edge of the bed; the only stool was occupied by Ke Ko Wenbin, leaving only a chamber pot and a long table.

He thought for a moment, leaned against the long table, and spoke bluntly.

"Ke Ko Wenbin came to find you; this kid is the most insidious, so I won't hide anything..."

"Hey, speak clearly, what do you mean I'm the most insidious?"

Xiang Fang Su ignored Ke Ko Wenbin, who was rolling up his sleeves, and continued: "He came to find you to go to the island, right?"

Liang Qu glanced at Ke Ko Wenbin, feeling embarrassed to say no.

"I just said this kid is insidious!"

Ke Ko Wenbin was furious: "Damn it, aren't you?"

"At least I wasn't the first to come."

Xiang Fang Su spread his hands.

Before the two could argue to a result, footsteps came from outside the door again.

The room held its breath, and the three of them fell silent together.

Xiang Fang Su and Ke Ko Wenbin looked at each other, a ridiculous thought arising.

Could it be that someone else is coming?

Knock, knock.

The knocking sounded for the third time.

Hiss!

Liang Qu helplessly got up to open the door, and standing outside was none other than Ran Ran Zhongshi!

The other two felt a toothache.

Ran Ran Zhongshi didn't speak, just poked his head in to look around.

Seeing Xiang Fang Su and Ke Ko Wenbin inside, he revealed an expression that it was just as he had expected.

"I guessed you guys were here."

The tower ship was for combat transport, not for vacation travel; even if there were single rooms, the conditions were limited.

Cramming four people in at once was truly crowded.

Ran Ran Zhongshi looked left and right.

The bed was occupied by Liang Qu, the chair was under Ke Ko Wenbin's buttocks, Xiang Fang Su was sitting on the long table, and all that was left was a chamber pot.

He chose to stand.

Ke Ko Wenbin chuckled: "Brother Ran, you're in charge of logistics, I didn't expect you to..."

"Eh, eh, eh, stop, I'm different from you guys, I'm just here to pass a message." Ran Ran Zhongshi denied it and said bluntly, "Brother Xu Yuelong said, the big cargo cannot be moved; for everything else, everyone gets two items, no more, any more will be confiscated!"

The other three in the room gasped, and the indoor temperature rose by another three degrees.

Did it mean their plan had been seen through long ago?

Ran Ran Zhongshi sneered; having grown up together, he knew clearly who studied poorly in the clan school and who cheated in which exam. If the elders at home gave rewards, they had to be split equally.

Xu Xu Yuelong was much older and not a classmate, but the elders all knew each other, and they often met when visiting during festivals or sparring, and they often went spring hunting and autumn hunting together.

He knew whether the people under him were going to take a dry or a wet dump just by seeing them stick their butts up.

"Two items it is."

Ke Ko Wenbin and Xiang Fang Su agreed.

Something is better than nothing.

Liang Qu rubbed his hands, also looking forward to it.

He had wanted to ask Yang Yang Dongxiong if he could go beforehand to get a bottom line, but with Xu Xu Yuelong's tacit approval, there was no problem.

That was the second-in-command of the Pingyang Town River Patrol Office; he was acting under orders to pick up scraps!

Moreover, the island where the Perfected Form Grandmaster died might not necessarily be safe; heaven knows if there would be any strange things left on the island.

Being able to pull Xiang Fang Su and Ke Ko Wenbin in was a good thing; two high-level thugs could help endorse it, and if something happened, the tall ones would hold it up.

"When are we going?"

Ke Ko Wenbin looked at the three suns outside the window: "At night, there are too many eyes during the day, and it's hot as hell. It's cooler at night. We'll go ask for a small boat, say we're going fishing, and take a detour to the island to dig for things."

"Then we'll gather after dinner. Remember to bring your gear; the island might not be safe."

"Okay."

After simply discussing the plan, everyone prepared to leave.

"Wait."

Ran Ran Zhongshi called the three who were getting up and whispered.

"My sister's long sword broke a tip last night... understand what I mean?"

"Understand, understand."

"We'll definitely get a good piece for Sister Ying!"

"Alright, nothing else."