Chapter 25: Luo Ping Hai

( ) Chapter 25 Luo Ping Hai

On the second morning, everyone got up early, dismantled the tents one by one, and packed them into bundles.

Li Bucai distributed 100 units of Lulu Meat, fresh fish, and a small amount of wild vegetables and wild fruit. The wild fruit here was also never seen before: oval‑shaped, dark brown, about the size of an olive ball, tasting sweet as honey, called Sweet Honey Fruit, the only food that blooms in winter and bears fruit in spring.

He handed the rest to Yan Qiu.

At this moment, the Transport Cloud that would take them to Luo Ping Hai was slowly descending onto the clearing. Qing'er and the others still said nothing.

Li Bucai instructed Yan Qiu and Wu Zhuoyue: "After we leave, you should hurry to finish building the camp. The guards are insufficient now, so tell them not to go fishing or gathering wild vegetables. If you want to eat greens, after the camp is built, you can all go collect them together. During the days I'm away, absolutely do not act alone; wherever you go, you must return to the camp before nightfall. I hope that when I return, everyone will appear before me lively and jumping."

The two nodded calmly; Yan Qiu said in a low voice, "Luo Ping Hai is extremely dangerous, please take great care, Lord. Yan Qiu hopes you return soon."

Li Bucai smiled, patted her shoulder, then patted Wu Zhuoyue, and said, "I really hate leaving you here, but it's not a leisure trip… Their safety now rests on your shoulders; please look after them for me."

"Lord, please rest assured, Yue'er will do everything she can. Lord, you must also promise us to take good care of yourself for the sisters."

"Hehe, alright, it's not early, we should set off."

Then he led Wu Zhuoran and five other girls onto the Transport Cloud; the white cloud rose slowly. Below, the girls waved at them reluctantly. Wu Zhuoyue took out the Short Flute and lightly played a piece titled "A Glimpse of the Horizon":

Gunpowder smoke rises, loyal hearts shine,

Ten thousand waters and a thousand mountains let you fly across, without a second thought.

Clouds soar, entering the night clouds, a lone silhouette proud of the heavens,

In dreams, faintly as if already seen before.

Leaving people, longing endures,

In the heart's sorrow, please do not ask, hard to convey.

The sky vast, clouds endless, cold cicadas mournfully chirp,

When will this idle sorrow here ever fade…

When the tune ends, the white cloud disappears at the horizon.

……

After more than two hours of flight, a deeper blue mass faintly appeared in the azure sky, floating above the clouds like a deep‑blue cloud. As they drew nearer, the deep blue looked like a spherical sea suspended in the air; wind brushed its surface, causing waves to ripple across the sphere, as large as dozens of floating islands of Sky City combined. This was Luo Ping Hai.

When the Transport Cloud approached the water's surface, it began to change direction, circling the curved surface to one side, then after flying a distance, it suddenly accelerated and surged into the sea at incredible speed.

The group held hands. Li Bucai hurriedly shouted, "Hold your breath!"

"Splash—" a sound, everyone fell into the water together; at that moment the Transport Cloud had already vanished. Because of the extreme speed, as they plunged into the water, their bodies were thrust downward by momentum. After a long while, just as they felt they would suffocate, a light breeze brushed their faces, and they emerged from the water layer, a massive floating island appearing before them.

What a wondrous world: a water layer dozens of meters deep floated in the air, encircling the entire floating island like an eggshell, separating it from the outside world. Because the water blocked the sunlight, the illumination was not as intense as outside, only comparable to dawn. Light that penetrated the water was refracted by the surface waves onto the island, creating scattered glints that flickered with the wave's rise and fall, making one feel as if standing in an underwater realm.

At this moment the Transport Cloud reappeared, steadily catching the group and smoothly delivering them onto a clearing at the edge of the floating island.

"Wow, so beautiful!" the girls couldn't help exclaiming.

Stepping onto the floating island, they saw everywhere colorful vegetation with strange shapes, crystal‑clear like coral in the sea, taller and sturdier than mainland trees; all trunks were a translucent pale red— the unique Luo Ping Tree that only grows here.

In the red forest, strings of water bubbles occasionally drifted from the trees upward into the water layer above; the water of that layer originated from here.

"Uh—"

Compared with the scenery, what truly left Li Bucai breathless were the beauties beside him; having just passed through the water layer, their clothes were soaked, turning into sheer veils that clung tightly to their delicate, curvaceous forms, revealing and concealing their natural colors, a pure wild sensuality that was suffocating. Li Bucai hurriedly ordered the girls to change their clothes.

After all, Luo Ping Hai is a dangerous place; the girls dared not act alone. Li Bucai took a white cloth from the bundle, let four of them each hold a corner, cover themselves, then one by one entered, stripped off their wet garments, and put on dry ones.

Li Bucai stayed by the forest edge, and on the white cloth, like a shadow puppet show, the girls' primal silhouettes appeared intermittently, stirring his imagination.

At this moment, a person emerged from the forest and said, "I, Xu Rong, the junior officer, request audience with the Lord, awaiting the lords of the Holy Spirit Sixteen Divisions by order of the Emperor."

The so‑called Holy Spirit Sixteen Divisions are the sixteen territories south of Li Bucai's domain, starting from Holy Spirit Snow Mountain, and north of which the snow mountain separates them from the inland. Earlier Zou Ying had mentioned that Luo Ping Hai harbors countless exotic beasts, requiring multiple forces to cooperate; the sixteen divisions have been merged into one, so they need to rendezvous with its troops.

Li Bucai asked, "What about the people of the other fifteen divisions?"

"Probably they were scattered by the water when crossing the layer; when we returned they were blocked. Sir, don't worry, they may arrive later. You can first lead your own troops to Sand Spring, because most of the water here is undrinkable, only a few clear springs exist, so you should set camp at Sand Spring while awaiting the Marshal's arrival."

"Marshal? The one sent by the Emperor?"

Xu Rong replied, "Yes, this is the first joint operation of the sixteen divisions. If we select a commander from within, first, it might damage the harmony among the lords and be detrimental to the battle; moreover, the Emperor's appointee must be an elite from Sky City, proficient in warfare, and can reduce unnecessary losses for the lords."

Li Bucai thought to himself: It's not that they don't trust our strength. But from the Emperor's perspective, this move is indeed clever; after all, the goal this time is to rescue his Thirteenth Brother, using only people from Sky City. He doesn't know how many will die in this battle, and he fears the loss is unaffordable, so he lets us outsiders charge in. Since the people have already been sold to us, the number of deaths doesn't matter. Yet he can't rely entirely on our troops, because if we rescue Jie En, the credit would fall entirely on us, making the Emperor's men look incompetent. He sends a few people to act as our leaders; in the war, the dead will be our people first, and if we win, the credit goes to their leaders. Damn, this is truly a business transaction.