"Alright."Clenching his teeth, Patriarch Seven waved to a Patriarch behind him who took out a bag from a pocket of his robe. Patriarch Seven opened the bag and took out some small stones glistening in a black light that he handed over to the warriors.
Only after they received 1000 small black stones and made sure that were was only several hundred left did the warriors of the Sundown Island said joyfully, "Follow me. I will arrange you to get onboard."
The Liu Family people followed the warriors of the Sundown Island to the dock in the distance. There were more black-armored warriors over there. Just the number of those at the Spirit Sea Realm reached more than a dozen. More than a score of huge battles.h.i.+ps were anch.o.r.ed in the dock. On each one of them, there was a big flag with the word "Sundown" on it.
Lu Li could tell that all the battles.h.i.+ps were wrapped with a layer of black steel just by a few glances. However, he did not know if the s.h.i.+ps were cast with black steel completely.
"Yang Qi, bring them to the Blood Evil Island. They are relatives of Xue the Island Owner. Treat them well."
A Spirit Sea Realm warrior told a middle-aged man on a big s.h.i.+p. That man nodded and said, "All aboard. Get inside the cabin."
Patriarch Seven led his people onto the battles.h.i.+p. After he made sure that there were only more than a dozen warriors of the Xuan Wu Realm apart from Yang Qi, he was relieved.
When the battles.h.i.+p set off, to Lu Li’s surprise, there was no rowing or hoisting the sails. That being said, Iron-armored s.h.i.+ps could even fly. So, it seemed this battles.h.i.+p was also a piece of Xuan Artifact and was propelled by special powers.
The speed of the battles.h.i.+p was not slower than that of a warrior at the middle stage of the Spirit Sea Realm on the run. In just the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the Sundown Island, in people’s eyes, was just as small as a head.
Patriarch Seven had others seated in the cabin as he walked outside to talk to Yang Qi, "Brother Yang, do you have any food and water."
Yang Qi stood on the deck, glancing over to Patriarch Seven coldly, and replied, "Yes. But you need to get them with Xuan Crystals. There are so many of you and you need rations for two days. Altogether, give me 20 Xuan Crystals."
"What?"
Patriarch Seven’s expressions changed suddenly. He could deal with being bullied on the Sundown Island, but there was only one of the Spirit Sea Realm, so why did he dare to be so irrational and bossy?
Patriarch Seven returned coldly, "Brother Yang, do you think we are pushovers? One piece of Xuan Crystal can get us food enough for several years."
"Hmm, hmm."
Yang Qi put on a sardonic grin and said, "If you are unwilling to do it, then find food yourself. I’ll kick all of you off the boat if you anger me. Granted Xue the Island Owner is qualified as someone important, but his importance is not even close to our Island Owner."
Patriarch Seven was furious. In the old days, when did he ever suffer this back in the Wu Ling County? Even warrior of the latter stage of the Spirit Sea Realm dared not to talk to him like this, much less one at the initial stage. Patriarch Seven angrily, "Don’t take it too far."
"What?"
Yang Qi sneered, "Do you want a fight? You can try all you want. But as long as you dare to move, I can make sure that you can live for half a day. Even Xue Chou coming here personally cannot protect you. There is n.o.body who has the courage to mess with the Sundown Island."
Sensing something was up, Patriarch Nine walked out quickly and put on an apologetic smile, "Brother Yang, please forgive us. My Seventh Brother has a temper. Our family has suffered so much, so he is not in a good mood."
Patriarch Seven also understood that they were new to the Thousand-island Lake. They were not familiar with the rules, so they could not act at will. He went back in with a cold face. Patriarch Nine smiled obsequiously and apologized. Then he took out 20 Xuan Crystals to Yang Qi who now looked nicer.
"So the Thousand-island Lake is not an easy place to settle."
Lu Li sighed. Liu Yi sat next to him with her legs crossed and told him in a low voice, "The Thousand-island Lake is known as the paradises for criminals. The killing is more common here than the outside. A slight disagreement will lead to slaughter. The laws of the three Royal Kingdoms cannot be effective here. If it were not for the rules set by Old Man of the Heaven Prison, the Thousand-island Lake would be even more chaotic."
Lu Li nodded and then crossed his legs to continue his healing and cultivation. The rest said nothing either. Patriarch Nine came in and talked to Patriarch Seven and Patriarch Lu. The three looked around, feeling sad and dismal.
There were only about 100 people in total in the cabin. The number of warriors at the Spirit Sea Realm was only 15, including Lu Li and Liu Yi. That was all the Liu Family had now.
Merely 100 people, 15 of the Spirit Sea Realm... Average Second-rank Families would be much more powerful than this. The former Overlord of the Wu Ling County had been reduced to this state…
Then they thought about the old, women, children and the invalid hiding in the valleys. n.o.body could know how those were doing, or whether they would get killed or be taken as slaves. Those were their relatives and families. For a moment, everyone was depressed and sad.
Yang Qi sent someone to give them some dried meat and clean water from the rear compartment. They didn’t have appet.i.te. Only a few grabbed something to eat hastily.
Lu Li had some. He was not feeling any better than the Liu Family people. However, he had buried down his sorrow and forced himself to rise above the situation. It was a difficult journey ahead, but at least he was still alive. As long as he had his life, there was hope.
The battles.h.i.+p moved on. The journey was safe indeed. Many s.h.i.+ps saw the flag on the battles.h.i.+p and they moved away soon. So what Yang Qi said was true. The Sundown Island was something like an overlord in the nearby area.
It was night time. Many crawled up on the ground and fell deeply into sleep. Liu Yi leaned against the wall while hugging her knees in. She looked gloomy. It was unknown what was on her mind. Liu Yi was still wearing her soft armor, but her hair was untied. The elegance and grace of a lady of Liu Family were long gone.
The ten Patriarchs at the Spirit Sea Realm gathered together and discussed in a low voice. They were planning the future road of the Liu Family and how the family would rise again.
Lu Li listened for a while then shook his head. Liu Family had neither enough warriors nor resources. How could it rise again? It would be good enough that they could survive and n.o.body would die later.
The night pa.s.sed uneventfully and the next day was tranquil as well. By the afternoon, the battles.h.i.+p finally was close to a large island.
"That is the Blood Evil Island ahead of us. Get ready."
Yang Qi walked in and told them. Many looked up, showing tension and worry. Patriarch Seven vowed solemnly and spoke in a low voice, "Don’t worry. I once saved Xue Chou when he was pursued by his enemy. He sent someone to invite me here on multiple occasions saying he wanted to extend his grat.i.tude."
Previously, when Patriarch Seven said that Xue Chou was his cousin, he was trying to fool warriors of the Sundown Island. But since Patriarch Seven saved Xue Chou’s life, they must be able to find a place to settle down once they got onto the Blood Evil Island. The Liu Family warriors were relieved.
The s.h.i.+p was anch.o.r.ed at the Blood Evil Island dock. A group of warriors in blood-red armor gathered around. One of the middle-aged man cupped his hands in front of his chest and said, "Friends from the Sundown Island, what can we do for you?"
Yang Qi smiled lightly and replied, "We are making delivery. There is relative of your Island Owner in here."
Patriarch Seven walked out with the other warriors and he said while cupping his fists, "Dear friend, my name is Liu Shanhe. Please let Brother Xue Chou know that we are here. Say my name, and he will understand."
"Ok, wait here please. I will send someone to report now."
The middle-aged man dared not to be careless. He sent someone to report but did not let the Liu Family warriors off the s.h.i.+p. He was keeping a sharp lookout secretly instead.
"Ha, ha, ha!"
In just the time it took for one incense stick to burn, a group of people walked over from the distance. Then man at the front was wearing a golden armor. He was tall and stout, radiant with vigor. However, he had only one eye. The other one was covered by an eye patch—a one-eyed person.
He laughed while he was still walking over from the distance and said, "I was wondering why the Cold-moon Flower was blooming today. I didn’t expect that I was going to receive good news. Brother Shanhe, here you come. I am so sorry that I didn’t go to pick you up."
"Whew…"
Seeing the att.i.tude of Xue Chou, the Liu Family warriors could finally be able to breathe. To enter and be stationed in the Blood Evil Island could guarantee their safety. Now, they have a place to stay at the Thousand-island Lake.