Chapter 255: Living Things?

The Three Suns hung in the sky.

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

A clearing had been cleared in the center of the island where the wounded rested. Surrounded by cloth partitions, looking outward, one saw only blinding sunlight; the shadows of the trees fell upon the ground like sharp blades, distinct and well-defined.

Cicadas hidden in the crevices of branches shrieked for their lives, their eardrums vibrating until they blurred into afterimages.

Apart from this island, there was no land for a hundred miles around. It was a mystery how they had managed to get here.

Knock, knock.

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

"Coming."

Liang Qu waved his hand, and the white mist in the room dissipated entirely, turning into a pool of clear water that he drew into his dantian.

He threw on a robe, opened the door, and raised an eyebrow at Ke Wenbin, who was crouching and acting suspiciously.

"Brother Ke, what are you..."

"Shh, let's go inside, let's go inside."

Ke Wenbin winked, pushed Liang Qu into the room, and before closing the door, poked his head out to scan left and right. Once he confirmed the coast was clear, he shut the door tight.

Liang Qu was completely bewildered, having no idea what Ke Wenbin was up to. He joked, "Brother Ke, what are you trying to do? I don't mind—I'm a bachelor with no one to worry about—but you're engaged to Grand Secretary Su's granddaughter. If word of this gets out, it might not look too good."

"Pah, pah, pah, what are you talking about?" Ke Wenbin brushed past Liang Qu, went to the window, looked down, and after confirming the environment was safe again, whispered, "Let's go to the island together and scavenge for treasure!"

Liang Qu's mind stirred. "Scavenge?"

"Exactly."

Ke Wenbin pulled a low stool from under the long table, sat down, and faced Liang Qu.

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

"No."

Liang Qu shook his head.

The entire island chain in the center of the archipelago was shrouded in black mist, not to mention the island itself; the surrounding waters were also filled with ominous energy.

All living things, even the trees, had been drained of their life force and withered away, which was terrifying.

Under these conditions, ordinary martial artists couldn't go up. The clerks would have to wait a few days for the black mist to dissipate naturally before they could go up to tally the battle merits.

"Exactly, so that's why this is our chance! The Soul-Cleansing Art is so hard to practice—have you ever used it before today?"

Liang Qu shook his head again.

Ke Wenbin slapped his thigh hard. "Exactly! Such a difficult thing to practice shouldn't be for nothing. If you practice it, you have to get a return!

Brother Xu is a Great Martial Artist; he could hold his own with his strength, but he's a Commander and has to set an example. He can't act like us. Right now is our chance!"

Liang Qu understood what Ke Wenbin was getting at.

Everyone else couldn't get on the island and had to wait for the black mist to clear. He alone was the exception, having practiced the rare Soul-Cleansing Art and fearing no black smoke.

The battle had ended, the black smoke was shrouding the island, and many spoils of war hadn't been collected yet—they were all piled up on the island!

A chance to get rich!

But he was still hesitant.

"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to sneak onto the island?"

"What's inappropriate about it? We aren't stealing anyone else's merits; we won't touch the things on the corpses—that belongs to whoever killed them.

We're going to dig out their treasury! With so many martial artists, there must be some kind of treasury. We won't take much, just two or three items we can actually use.

As long as we aren't too greedy and don't try to resell them, the higher-ups will just turn a blind eye and let it slide."

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

Ke Wenbin had grown up among the children of the nobility and understood that vague, unspoken "degree" better than anyone.

"What do you think?"

Liang Qu fell into deep thought.

Before he could give an answer, footsteps sounded outside the door again. They didn't pass by his door but stopped right outside.

Knock, knock.

The knocking sounded again.

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

Such a familiar scene...

Liang Qu looked at Ke Wenbin.

"Are you guys timing this? Do you know exactly when I wake up?"

Ke Wenbin scratched his temple and tapped his toes.

At the doorway of the corridor.

Xiang Fang Su scanned his surroundings. His knuckles hadn't even left the wooden door when it creaked open.

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

"Bin? What are you doing here?"

Ke Wenbin retorted, "Why can't I be here?"

Xiang Fang Su was speechless.

The atmosphere fell into an eerie silence.

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

"How about... you come inside?"

Liang Qu broke the silence.

Xiang Fang Su hesitated for a moment before following them into the room.

Once inside, he found Liang Qu sitting on the edge of the bed. The only stool was occupied by Ke Wenbin's backside, and Xiang Fang Su was left with only a chamber pot and a long table.

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

"Ke Wenbin came to find you. That kid is the most devious of us all, so I won't beat around the bush..."

"Hey, make yourself clear—what do you mean I'm the most devious?"

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

Liang Qu looked at Ke Wenbin and couldn't bring himself to say no.

"I knew that kid was devious!"

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

"At least I wasn't the first one here."

Xiang Fang Su spread his hands.

Before the two could argue out a result, footsteps sounded outside the door again.

The three people in the room held their breath.

Xiang Fang Su and Ke Wenbin exchanged a look, a ridiculous thought forming in their minds.

Surely no one else is coming, right?

Knock, knock.

The knocking sounded for the third time.

Hiss!

Liang Qu opened the door helplessly, and standing outside was none other than Ran Zhongshi!

The other two felt a toothache coming on.

Ran Zhongshi didn't speak, just poked his head in to scan the room.

Seeing Xiang Fang Su and Ke Wenbin inside, he wore an expression that said, "Just as I expected."

"I guessed you guys would be here."

The treasure ship was for combat transport, not for vacationing; even with private rooms, conditions were limited.

Cramming four people in at once made it incredibly crowded.

Ran Zhongshi looked left and right.

The bed was occupied by Liang Qu, the chair was under Ke Wenbin's backside, Xiang Fang Su was leaning on the long table, and the only thing left was the chamber pot.

He chose to stand.

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

"Hey, hey, stop right there. I'm different from you guys; I'm just here to pass on a message." Ran Zhongshi denied it flatly and said directly, "Brother Xu said: the big items cannot be touched, but everyone can take two items each. No more than that, or they'll all be confiscated!"

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

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

Ran Zhongshi sneered. They had grown up together; he knew exactly who was bad at studying in the clan school and who had cheated on which exam. If the elders gave a reward, it had to be split evenly.

Xu Yuelong was quite a bit older and didn't count as a classmate, but the elders all knew each other. They often visited during the holidays or bumped into each other during sparring sessions, and they often went spring hunting or autumn hunting together.

He knew exactly what they were planning the moment they stuck their butts in the air.