The East Island Matriarch glanced at the West Island Lord and curled her lip. Her eyes held a hint of disdain and annoyance, but she couldn’t let it erupt. After all, she relied entirely on the West Island Lord to procure her medicinal wine.
If she upset him, her supply of wine would be cut off.
The manor had been rented by the West Island Lord for a month. Since they were leaving early, the original staff of the manor would naturally handle the aftermath; there was no need for them to worry about it.
The speed at which the six of them hurried back was not particularly fast. In fact, because of the West Island Lord’s presence, the journey took on the nature of a leisurely excursion.
Lian Li’s soul, which had been devastated by the East Island Matriarch, was finally soothed. Every day, he followed the West Island Lord around like a shadow.
On the surface, the West Island Lord seemed quite annoyed, but in reality, he quite enjoyed Lian Li’s antics.
During the journey, the East Island Matriarch didn’t insist on dragging him and Yun Huizhou into “devil training.” Consequently, by the time they reached Jianggao City, Lian Li was incredibly reluctant for this journey to end.
The East Island Matriarch and the West Island Lord looked at him with half-smiles. Being stared down by two such powerhouses, Lian Li instantly lost his nerve.
He shrunk his neck and slunk back to his horse in a gray funk.
Zhao Honglan did not leave immediately. Instead, he planned to escort Qu Tingquan back to the island and rest for a few days before returning to the Qinghong Sword Sect.
Yun Huizhou and Lian Li naturally had to return to South Island first to see the South Island Lord. they needed to give an account of what they had done during this trip and see if their martial arts had improved.
Qu Tingquan and Zhao Honglan headed for West Island. Watching the two of them board the West Island Lord’s luxurious and comfortable ship, Lian Li then looked at the ship belonging to Yun Huizhou.
He hadn’t felt much before, but seeing it now, calling it “shabby” was being generous.
Yun Huizhou naturally noticed Lian Li’s gaze. He patted the back of Lian Li’s head and said, “Stop looking. When Junior Uncle built that ship, he spent gold. We, who spent silver, certainly can’t compare.”
Lian Li was just feeling a bit envious. Seeing that the West Island Lord’s side was ready to depart, he ducked into Yun Huizhou’s boat.
The East Island Matriarch was the most carefree. She didn’t take a boat at all; instead, she skimmed across the water like a dragonfly, flying all the way toward East Island.
In truth, the other four—excluding Lian Li—could also do this. It was just that they weren’t in a hurry now, and they were too lazy to fly over themselves.
Looking back on this trip, it felt like a lot had happened and a long time had passed, but in reality, it had only been about two months. A significant portion of that time had been spent traveling.
The South Island Lord was still in his usual spot in the waterside pavilion, playing chess against himself.
Upon hearing the commotion of Yun Huizhou and Lian Li’s return, his expression didn’t even flicker.
Of course, even if it had, Lian Li and Yun Huizhou wouldn’t have been able to see it, given that he was entirely shrouded in black robes and a mask.
The two of them straightened their clothes behind the gauze curtains outside the pavilion before walking in and sitting down before the South Island Lord.
The South Island Lord still showed no reaction to their arrival, focusing intently on the pieces on the chessboard.
Lian Li and Yun Huizhou didn’t dare move recklessly. For however long the South Island Lord played this game, they sat across from him with perfect decorum.
Finally, the South Island Lord finished the game and looked up at the two of them.
Lian Li instantly focused his mind, preparing to receive the South Island Lord’s “brainwaves.” However, perhaps because he had only been with the South Island Lord for a year, or because he had been away for a while without communicating with him, his brainwaves were a bit out of sync with the South Island Lord’s.
After staring at the South Island Lord’s mask for nearly ten minutes, he hadn’t received a single piece of information.
He turned to look at Yun Huizhou, wanting his Senior Brother to translate for him; otherwise, he couldn’t gauge whether Master was currently in a good mood.
Although the South Island Lord’s emotions were usually very stable, he had heard the West Island Lord mention that when the South Island Lord heard they had run off to the Southern Border, he had nearly charged over there himself. Lian Li felt that this “stability” probably depended on the situation.
As it turned out, Yun Huizhou was also staring blankly at the South Island Lord, his brow slightly furrowed in a look of utter perplexity.
Lian Li understood immediately—Yun Huizhou hadn’t received Master’s brainwaves either.
In his year on the island, Lian Li had never heard Master speak. Everyone relied on mental communication.
He had once asked Yun Huizhou why the South Island Lord didn’t speak, only for Yun Huizhou to tell him that the South Island Lord simply didn’t like to talk.
The three of them stared at each other for a long time. Finally, Lian Li couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked softly, “Master, is it that I failed to receive it, or did you not speak?”
Yun Huizhou also revealed a confused expression.
The South Island Lord’s head moved slightly. Then, he let out a long sigh and shook his head.
Lian Li tried to interpret this. The interpretation failed, so he asked again, “Master, do you mean you didn’t speak just now, right?”
Then, he saw the South Island Lord nod.
Lian Li: “…”
Yun Huizhou: “…”
So after the three of them had stared at each other for so long, while the two of them were straining to hear Master’s instructions, Master hadn’t said a word.
Sensing that although his two disciples hadn’t spoken, their expressions weren’t exactly pleasant, the South Island Lord took a deep breath.
Then, he spoke.
It wasn’t a mental transmission; he actually opened his mouth to speak.
“Those two from the Spirit Cult… it would be best if they never break through to the Transcendent realm in this lifetime.”
His voice was very peculiar, somewhat raspy, making one’s heart feel itchy upon hearing it.
This was the first time Lian Li had heard the South Island Lord speak. He subconsciously rubbed his ear; it wasn’t just his heart that felt itchy, his ear felt itchy too.
His action of rubbing his ear instantly drew the South Island Lord’s gaze. Lian Li subconsciously looked back, but he could only see the mask covering the man’s entire face.
The South Island Lord saw Lian Li looking over, then shifted his gaze away and lowered his head.
Although he couldn’t see anything, Lian Li felt that the South Island Lord might have just become “withdrawn.”
Lian Li: “…”
Am I the Master, or are you the Master?!
To ease the awkwardness, Lian Li could only bite the bullet and say, “Master, you mean…? Why do you say it’s best if they never break through to the Transcendent realm?”
The South Island Lord turned his head away and didn’t speak. Lian Li thought he was preparing to send brainwaves and focused his mind once more to receive them.
In the end, he still received nothing.
Just as he wanted to continue asking, Yun Huizhou spoke.
He was, after all, the disciple the South Island Lord had brought back and raised since he was in swaddling clothes. Although the South Island Lord’s words were vague and he hadn’t used brainwaves to explain, Yun Huizhou still understood the underlying meaning.
“Master likely means that if they dare to break through to the Transcendent realm, they should be prepared for him to charge straight over and strike them down.”
