Chapter 367: The Pirate King

Inside the stone cave, there was a world of its own.

Luo Zijun and Wang Qiangzhuang followed behind Shui Nan; after entering the stone cave, a young attendant dressed in black, carrying a lantern in his hand, came up to greet them.

He did not speak, but led the three of them to a set of stone steps in the corner and walked downward.

The stone steps spiraled and extended downward.

There were no railings on the side, and looking down, there was only bottomless darkness.

If one were to miss a step, one would likely fall and be smashed to pieces.

The further down they went, the darker it became.

None of the four spoke; only the sound of light footsteps and the thumping of Shui Nan's cane against the ground could be heard.

After about a quarter of an hour, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared below.

On the right side, near the wall, a passageway appeared; on the wall at the entrance of the passageway, a Moonlight Stone with dim radiance was embedded.

The young attendant slowed his pace, carrying the lantern, and turned into the pitch-black passageway.

A cold, gloomy aura rushed toward them.

The passageway was winding and twisting; after walking for another moment, a stone door suddenly appeared ahead.

On both sides of the stone door, two guards wearing armor stood watch.

Those two guards were tall and sturdy, wearing pitch-black armor, holding steel spears, and wearing strange Masks on their faces, with only two cold eyes visible.

The stone door was slowly pushed open, and a stone room lit by oil lamps appeared inside.

The stone room was not large; inside, several figures were busy with their heads lowered, some wooden boards were placed on the ground, and some people were measuring while others were drawing lines.

The attendant led the three of them forward, passed through the stone room, and entered another passageway.

Then, a second stone door appeared.

Inside the stone door, there was a larger space, and there were also people busy inside.

When the group passed through the fifth stone door and walked down the steps to a luxurious passageway paved entirely with jade, a golden, glittering gate that looked as if it had been cast from gold suddenly appeared ahead.

At the entrance stood two rows of guards wearing golden armor and holding golden long spears.

The gate slowly opened, and a magnificent, golden palace appeared inside.

In the center of the palace sat a pool; the surrounding railings all seemed to be cast from gold, and even the lotus leaves and flowers floating in the water were of a golden color.

Luo Zijun and Wang Qiangzhuang were stunned by the luxury before their eyes.

When they followed the attendant and Shui Nan into the palace, an aged voice suddenly came from the corner on the right: "I heard you are looking for me?"

The two turned their heads to look; standing in the corner was a tall, red-haired man wearing a deep red robe. His face was so handsome, but for some reason, his entire temperament, his gaze, and his voice all carried an extremely vicissitudinous and aged feeling.

In the corner of the wall at his feet, several large, golden boxes were neatly stacked; the lids of the boxes were already open, revealing colorful treasures inside.

There was gold, jade, coral, agate, various pearls and gemstones, and some jade artifacts with overflowing luster.

At this moment, he was holding a golden wine cup inlaid with two rubies, pouring and drinking by himself; his hands were withered and thin, actually resembling claws.

Wang Qiangzhuang was slightly stunned for a moment, then hurriedly cupped her hands and said, "Could the Senior be that Senior Red Bird who can cross a hundred seas?"

The handsome, red-haired old man did not show any expression on his face; he only glanced at her indifferently, poured another cup of wine, and said in an aged tone, "I am Red Bird."

Wang Qiangzhuang hurriedly said, "Then, Senior, can you help us cross the sea area of the Nine Islands Kingdom?"

Red Bird raised the golden gemstone wine cup, took a light sip of wine, and did not answer her question, but instead turned his gaze to the youth behind her and said, "The reason I was willing to see you today is because this Little Divine Doctor saved many patients on our island. As the Island Master, I should thank him personally."

Luo Zijun cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Senior, we did not intend to disturb the island, but we have important matters and must cross the sea to go to the Daughter Kingdom, so..."

"I will not go out to sea."

Red Bird interrupted him indifferently, raised the wine cup in his hand, took another light sip of the scarlet wine inside, and closed his eyes slightly, as if enjoying the taste in his mouth.

"Senior, no matter what conditions you have..."

Wang Qiangzhuang had wanted to negotiate terms, but her gaze suddenly caught the treasure chests in the corner filled with gold and jewelry, and she immediately choked on her words.

She had originally thought the other party was a pirate and must be very fond of wealth, so she wanted to use money to negotiate, but now it seemed that if she really said those words, it would be purely self-humiliating and laughable.

"I have no conditions."

Red Bird opened his eyes, his gaze looking at her with a sense of vicissitudes: "Little girl, you are not qualified to give me anything, because I do not need it."

After a pause, he pointed to the treasure chests in the corner and said, "Take a box and go; consider it payment for your medical treatment. Tomorrow morning, you must leave here."

Shui Nan hurriedly said respectfully, "Captain, this youth is already my son-in-law."

Hearing this, Red Bird smiled faintly, looked at the youth again, and said, "If he is willing to stay, that is naturally fine."

After speaking, he prepared to leave through the golden gate to the side.