Only during the time they stayed at the Alliance Leader’s Manor could Lian Li see Yun Huizhou practicing his saber skills early in the morning. Occasionally, he would even see him sparring with Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan.
To be honest, no matter how many times he saw it, Lian Li only had four words to describe it.
Gods at war.
After Lian Li finished lunch and walked around the courtyard for a while to aid his digestion, Yun Huizhou came to find him.
“Get ready to leave. I’m taking you to the island.”
At the gate, Yun Huizhou hoisted Lian Li onto the horse in one swift motion, and the two of them sped quickly toward the city outskirts.
Jianggao City had a pier right within the city limits.
However, Yun Huizhou clearly wasn’t taking him via the normal route.
Once they left the city, Ice Treader ran for another hour before they arrived at a small village.
The people in the village were very familiar with Ice Treader and all knew Yun Huizhou.
One by one, they greeted him warmly.
“Young Hero Yun is back?”
“Young Hero Yun, you weren’t gone for long this time.”
“Young Hero Yun? Is this a friend you’ve brought back?”
After Yun Huizhou responded to each of them, he led Ice Treader to the village pier.
A boat was moored at the pier. It looked very similar to an ordinary fishing boat, yet it was much larger. Most of the hull was open and exposed, while the living quarters were a tiny little section, which looked somewhat strange.
The boatman on board wore a straw raincoat and a conical bamboo hat. A scar ran across his entire face. Seeing Yun Huizhou approach, he merely nodded to him and signaled for them to board.
Yun Huizhou and Lian Li dismounted. Lian Li looked at the boat, then at the horse, and asked, “What about the horse?”
Yun Huizhou said as if it were a matter of course, “It’s taking the boat across with us.”
Lian Li: “…Don’t horses get seasick?”
Yun Huizhou replied, “It used to, but not anymore.”
As they spoke, Ice Treader had already obediently boarded the boat and found a suitable spot to stand.
Lian Li finally understood why the size of this boat was different from others; it turned out there was a section specifically for horses.
Following Yun Huizhou onto the boat, the vessel began to move.
The spot where Ice Treader stood was that open area, which could probably fit three horses.
The boat didn’t travel very fast. Lian Li stayed inside the cabin for a while before coming out.
He stood beside Ice Treader, admiring the scenery.
Before long, he started to feel unwell.
Swaying unsteadily, he ducked back inside and found a spot to lie down.
Yun Huizhou: “What’s wrong with you?”
Lian Li: “I’m seasick.”
Yun Huizhou: “…”
The man in the straw raincoat: “…”
Yun Huizhou asked the man in the straw raincoat, “How long have we been on the boat?”
The man replied, “About two quarters of an hour.”
Lian Li calculated the time—roughly half an hour. He asked weakly, “How much longer do we have to stay on the boat?”
The man replied, “Less than a quarter of an hour.”
Lian Li looked at the man in the straw raincoat, his gaze sincere. “If I said I was going to throw up, and I threw up on your boat, would you hit me?”
The man in the straw raincoat: “…”
The man didn’t speak; he looked toward Yun Huizhou.
Lian Li’s gaze also turned to Yun Huizhou. He asked, “Is this your boat?”
Yun Huizhou nodded.
Lian Li: “You wouldn’t hit me, right?”
Yun Huizhou: “I would make you scrub the boat.”
Before Lian Li could respond, the man in the straw raincoat spoke up.
“Last time someone threw up on this boat, you threw them directly into the lake.”
Lian Li was shocked.
Yun Huizhou looked calm. “That person had a sturdy constitution; throwing him into the lake wouldn’t kill him.”
The man in the straw raincoat continued, “The time before that, someone threw up on this boat, and you held their head down and made them eat it back.”
Lian Li was terrified.
Yun Huizhou remained very calm. “That was a bandit who had committed many crimes. I was taking him back to let Junior Uncle test medicines on him.”
The man in the straw raincoat glanced at Yun Huizhou. Because the bamboo hat obscured his face, his expression couldn’t be seen.
Regardless, Lian Li felt that his expression must be quite complicated.
Lian Li’s heart was also quite complicated; he hadn’t expected Yun Huizhou to be so ruthless.
And what was that about catching someone to let Junior Uncle test medicines? What was that all about?
However, before he had time to think further, a wave of nausea rushed to his brain.
His mind was filled with the scene of Yun Huizhou holding someone’s head and forcing them to eat it back, and he suddenly covered his mouth.
Don’t throw up.
Seeing this reaction, Yun Huizhou and the man in the straw raincoat knew he really couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Immediately, Yun Huizhou took a leather bag out of a small box nearby.
Yun Huizhou opened the leather bag and held it to Lian Li’s mouth, saying, “Hey, throw up into this bag. Don’t actually puke on my boat. You don’t really want to scrub the boat, do you?”
Lian Li was in no mood to listen to what Yun Huizhou was saying. He snatched the bag, turned his back, and began to vomit profusely.
Yun Huizhou patted Lian Li’s back with one hand while looking outside to see how much longer it would take to arrive.
After Lian Li finished a round of vomiting, he seemed to have recovered slightly.
He said to Lian Li, “Hold the bag yourself. Don’t get it on me.”
Lian Li nodded haphazardly, not really hearing what Yun Huizhou said, but he instinctively gripped the bag tightly as if it were his lifeline.
Seeing him hold the bag firmly, Yun Huizhou hoisted him out of the cabin, then picked him up and flew toward the nearby shore.
The moment he left the boat, Lian Li instantly felt much better, and his breathing became smooth.
He leaned listlessly against Yun Huizhou until Yun Huizhou landed and called out to him, “Get down. You surely don’t expect me to carry you to see Master, do you?”
Lian Li thought to himself that it wouldn’t be impossible. As long as he wasn’t embarrassed, the embarrassment would belong to others.
But Yun Huizhou clearly had no intention of carrying a man in his arms to see his own Master. He walked to a large rock and set Lian Li down.
Lian Li crouched on the rock, closing his eyes to adjust.
Seeing him like this, Yun Huizhou said, “I can’t believe you get seasick.”
Lian Li had a bit more energy now and said, “I haven’t been on boats much before, so it’s inevitable to be a bit dizzy. I’ll get better after a few more trips.”
However, thinking about the long adjustment period ahead, Lian Li felt like life wasn’t worth living.
What if he accidentally threw up on Yun Huizhou’s boat one day?
Yun Huizhou sat on the rock, glanced at Lian Li’s complexion, and thought for a moment before saying, “How about we take a different route next time?”
Lian Li’s eyes lit up. “A different route? Can we avoid taking a boat?”
Yun Huizhou: “No, you still have to take a boat, but the time will be much shorter—you can get across in less than a quarter of an hour. However, that route isn’t in this direction; it’s a detour. Usually, only horses and livestock that can’t handle the boat take that path.”
Lian Li: “???”
He didn’t want to take the livestock-only path.
Yun Huizhou saw his expression and knew what he was thinking. He continued, “When Ice Treader first arrived, it couldn’t handle the boat either. It adapted by taking that route. You can be just like it.”
Lian Li asked, “Then can I let Ice Treader take me on that route next time?”
Yun Huizhou gave him a sidelong glance. “What? Already thinking of ditching me? I’m telling you, don’t even think about leaving the island for a while. If you don’t learn the Lightness Skill well, don’t even think about leaving.”
