Episode 163

  Another huge wave came, covering the sky and earth.

  "Zhū yún, rǔ qiě mò yào dòng, òu! Hāi hāi hāi! Zài guò dé yī xiē shí, fēng bō jìngguò biàn hǎo le!"

  Translation: "Zhu Yun, you just don't move, okay? Cough cough cough! After a while, the storm will pass and it'll be fine!"

  Choked on a mouthful of water, he coughed loudly and shouted at the same time.

  "Brother Jin, waaah... *cough* *cough*... I know!"

  That Zhu Yun cried out in a low voice, and tightly grasped the rope, not daring to let go.

  Suddenly, a flash! Rumbling! The thunder boomed. In the dark clouds that resembled ink between the sea and sky, golden light flashed wildly, bolt after bolt of lightning struck down, followed by thousands of flashes of lightning, the dense clouds rumbled with thunder, the sea and sky were connected by golden light, it was unclear which direction was the sky? Which direction was the sea? Which direction was the dense cloud? Which direction was the huge wave? The two people only felt that their bodies and the boat were rising and falling, left and right, sometimes moving forward, sometimes flowing backward, for a moment their heads were heavy and their feet were light, and then again their feet were steady and their eyes were calm!

  At this moment, the flying boat tilted, and two people had already fallen into the sea, with only the rope around their waists connecting them to the boat. The seawater choked their mouths, one mouthful after another, drowning the two until their faces turned ashen.

  Where is the sky and where is the sea? The clouds rise and fall, between the sky and the sea, all are flashes of lightning, also do not know from where they come, to where they go!

  The sky gradually brightened, and the water's momentum slowed. Although the mountain-like waves were still turbulent, a bright light broke through the clouds, illuminating the dark sea and sky with a faint glow. The storm of cloud and rain was slowly moving away, and after several hours of raging, it had already left no one but two people unconscious and unaware of their surroundings.

  The distant sky was even more desolate and resentful, the clear blue sky was like a wash, with only a few strands of light cloud flying across, as if there were still remnants of the rain that had just passed. The sea surface was calm like a mirror, reflecting the clear sky into the water, making it impossible to distinguish between the sky and the sea. A small boat floated lightly on the water's surface, swaying gently, like a cradle in the hands of an old grandmother from the countryside, rocking back and forth. On the boat, there was one person, lying horizontally, with clear bloodstains visible all over their body. They were simply lying in the boat, moving with it, unaware of life or death. Next to the boat, on one side, a hideous body beyond description floated face up on the surface of the waves. The person's face was sunken and rugged, with deep gullies and ridges, if not for their body being human-shaped, there wouldn't be any hint of humanity! Their entire body was covered in messy clothes, with strips of scars deeply penetrating from top to bottom, from head to toe. These two people were the ones who were not worthy of being compared to Zhu Yun. Both of them had ropes around their waists tied to the boat, rising and falling with the waves.

  "Oh no! My head hurts too!"

  The person in the water suddenly swayed slightly, and then floated up to the surface, slowly approaching the boat. He climbed onto the boat bit by bit. The boat shook violently, startling the people on board awake.

  "Brother Jin, we two are still alive!"

  "Yes! Still alive!"

  "Waaa... it's great to be alive!"

  "Yes! It's great to be alive! Just look, the sky is so beautiful, the sea is calm, no wind, no waves. If only there was something to eat, it would be even better."

  He smiled faintly and said nothing.

  "Brother Jin, in my humble opinion, your smile is no longer as ferocious as it was before."

  He was taken aback and exclaimed in surprise:

  "Was the smile of this family previously so detestable?"

  "Brother Jin, you don't know, but earlier the black shark and all the other fishermen in the village called you a monster."

  "Ugly ghost? Oh! I see, a certain family has an ugly appearance like a ghost."

  The two of them took a short rest before becoming busy again, working diligently for half a day. First, they repaired the flying boat, erected the mast, and secured it in place. Then, they searched through everything on the boat, but found that the water jars had shattered and fallen into the sea, leaving only a few animal skin bags of clean water tied up and intact inside the cabin. The remaining food was now gone.

  "Zhu Yun, I must say that this boat is indeed quite good. If it were a hurricane, it would not have shattered into pieces!"

  "The flying ships made by Fang Cheng have been famous for a long time. Among the countries on the coast of the ancient continent, few can match them."

  This flying boat has gone through violent storms and huge waves without being destroyed. This is no empty talk! Not enough to hear the words, he nodded in agreement.

  In the nameless void, a gigantic ark floated quietly in mid-air. Inside it, within a grand hall, on top of a white jade platform, a figure sat proudly with an air of elegance. A light mist shrouded his face, making it impossible for anyone to see clearly. The person gazed around coldly and said:

  "He has turned the entire region of Fangyuan into a forbidden area, but the ancient continent is vast and boundless. The historian's remnant, alone and in hiding, where can he be easily captured? Pass down the order, expand the hunting range to 100,000 miles around. Search carefully, don't delay."

  Under his command, he promised.

  In less than a month, within a radius of 100,000 miles, every thousand miles or so, there would be several large Fangzhen families with cultivators stationed at docks, post stations, city gates, and inns where travelers gathered, either setting up ambushes or laying down hidden stakes. Day and night, the divine eyes scanned without stopping, or directly borrowed the help of the mortal world's green woods and rivers to search for him, determined to capture Shi Yuzhu before they could rest easy.

  At that time, it was already impossible to drift on the vast ocean with clear water cut off.

  "Brother Jin, without either clear water or rainwater to use, I fear that in three days' time the two of us will starve and perish!"

  "It's fortunate that there are live fish to eat, and in the urgent situation, we can still hold on for a few more days! However, at present, all around is a vast expanse of water, with nothing visible, unable to discern direction, neither knowing where we are nor where we're headed, this is the greatest danger!"

  "Brother Jin, if we continue in the current direction, we will be heading north. The ancient continent should be to the west, and we fear being pursued by gangsters, so we can't get too close to the defensive city. So just turn the boat's rudder northwest, and we'll gradually approach the continent."

  "The wind direction is not favorable, sometimes left and sometimes right. It has been several months since we set sail, but I still don't know what this sea area is like. Sigh! Never mind, just keep sailing forward. The two of us only need to catch fish carefully every day, and collect rainwater when it rains."

  "What Brother Jin said is true! Just hope we won't encounter another storm!"

  "Haha! The situation is unpredictable! We two just need to move forward, what else can we do?"

  As the sun approached noon, the two of them dropped anchor and let the boat drift with the current. Without even removing their clothes, they tied a rope around their waists, held a single-edged sword in their mouths, and dove into the water to catch fish. The seawater was dark and murky, with only slight ripples on the surface. It was clear that this part of the sea was incredibly deep.

  "Brother Jin, have you found any traces of fish?"

  "No! The water is deep here, or there are big fish. If we can catch one, the two of us will have enough to eat for half a month."

  One side swims in the water, while the other carefully searches. This scene has been going on for several months. Although Zhu Yu's injury has healed and he also goes into the water, the fish and shrimp they catch are almost negligible. Insufficient swimming skills have improved, and his strength is great, so most of what the two eat comes from his hands!

  Suddenly, an inexplicable sense of unease arose in his heart and gradually grew.

  "How strange! There is no sea creature in this water that can harm me, how did I become so frightened!"

  "Ah yeah! Brother Jin, come quick! You see! Over there seems to be an island, and on it appears to have grass and trees!"

  "Ah! Too good also! There are trees and clear water! We struggled for several days, finally we're saved!"

  It's better to stop talking, turn back and return home, and quickly swim along the rope towards the flying boat.

  "Hey! Zhu Yun, quickly pull it for me!"

  Insufficient to call out. However, that Zhu Yun seemed as if he hadn't heard anything. Insufficient was not satisfied, and when he arrived at the boat, he saw that Zhu Yun was staring blankly into the distance, his mouth agape, with a look of shock on his face.

  "Zhu Yun, how did you become so amusing!"

  Lacking in wonder

  "Gold... gold! Big Brother Gold! That island, island..."

  Insufficient to observe his fingers in the distance, a face full of surprise and fear, without turning back to look.

  "Good heavens! That island is actually rushing towards us two at a rapid pace?"

  Suddenly woke up with a start and let out a loud cry.

  "No! It's not the small island that's approaching, it's this flying boat that's speeding towards the small island! Fast, fast, fast! Quickly steer the flying boat away from its course towards the sea island!"

  "Ah! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

  Zhu Yun was like a dream, suddenly waking up and hastily turning the rudder to navigate. His eyes saw that the island was getting closer and closer, but it was too late to turn the flying boat around. In an instant, he fixed his gaze on the sea in front of him and steered the boat forward. Suddenly, the two of them felt the boat come to a stop, as if it had collided with something, and then scattered with a loud noise. The sail, mast, wooden boards, and ropes flew out in all directions. At the same time, the two of them floated up into the air, their bodies first curled up like a squatting or sitting position, and then gradually stretched out flat, like a frog stretching out its four limbs, flying towards the island at high speed.

  "Ah!"

  "Ah!"

  The two men shouted loudly and fell on the waves a hundred feet away, and then slid forward again. Another huge wave came from behind the two men and swept them up. Before they could react, they were sent flying onto the sandy beach of the island.