Stranger Danger

There was nothing that could escape the vortex's pull. They were all sucked into the Sunchasing Dragon Whale's maw and disappeared.

Although Ye Qing could not feel the vortex's terrifying pull since he was at the Sunchasing Island, he had no doubt that his struggles would only be a tad better than those preys.

In just the span of a dozen breaths, everything within fifty kilometers of the Sunchasing Dragon Whale had been consumed, leaving behind only a vacuum of sea water.

The vortex disappeared after the Sunchasing Dragon Whale had had its fill. It then closed its huge eyes and napped, allowing the waves to carry it wherever.

Although it was simply floating along the currents, the Sunchasing Dragon Whale was still moving very quickly through the sea and enabling the group to observe more anomalous yet gorgeous mysteries of the ocean.

However, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou were the only ones who remained interested from the start until the end. Li Xian, Old Fang and the other villagers had long since become desensitized to them. That was why they left one after another after Lil Yu let out the first yawn. First, it was Tian Wa and Hu Xiaoyan who took Lil Yu away for bedtime. Old Fang eventually got bored and beckoned Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou to follow him home as well. He took out a few jars of wine and cooked a few dishes as supper. They chatted deep into the night and generally enjoyed a great time.

Time passed quickly. The next day, when the Sunchasing Dragon Whale let out a deafening cry, and the sun once again rose from the east, they found themselves back on the sea surface once more. A new day had arrived.

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou would stay on the Sunchasing Island for another three days. During the day, Feng Qingyou would study with Li Xian, and Ye Qing would practice or take a relaxing stroll around the island. At night, they would dive into the deep sea together with the Sunchasing Dragon Whale and enjoy all sorts of incredible and magnificent mysteries.

The days seemed monotonous and repetitive, but neither Ye Qing nor Feng Qingyou felt bored at all. On the contrary, everyday felt as fresh as the last.

Alas, the happy, leisurely days eventually came to an end. Soon, it was time to say goodbye. It wasn't that Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou were in a hurry to leave though. It was because they both had this premonition that their fate with Sunchasing Island had come to an end; that it was time for them to go.

They had no idea why they were feeling this. Their best guess was that this was the Sunchasing Dragon Whale's warning to them. As reluctant as they felt, they had no choice but to bid the villagers goodbye.

Everyone was reluctant as a matter of course. Lil Yu in particular cried until her face was covered in tears and snot. Alas, there was no ignoring the Sunchasing Dragon Whale's warning. They must leave no matter how they felt about the parting.

So, after saying their goodbyes to everyone, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou finally left Sunchasing Island.

As expected, the second they left the island, both the Sunchasing Island and the Sunchasing Dragon Whale abruptly popped out of existence like a bubble. They had practically disappeared into nothing in the blink of an eye.

"Man, it didn't even give us the chance to wave."

Ye Qing let out a bitter chuckle when he scanned the area and could not detect even a wisp of the Sunchasing Dragon Whale's aura. "I wonder if we can meet them again in the future."

"If fate wills it so, then we will meet again," said Feng Qingyou with a smile as she waved her sleeve and summoned the Cloud Boat once more. Both the vessel and them landed on the sea.

Despite what Feng Qingyou said, both of them had a premonition that their fate with the Sunchasing Island had come to a conclusive end. They felt that they might never meet Li Xian, Old Fang, and everyone else again.

Ye Qing let out a small sigh. It was always sad to say goodbye to someone, but life itself was a never-ending journey of meetings and goodbyes. It was always inevitable.

As long as it wasn't the eternal parting of life and death, they should be happy.

"Do you know where we are right now, Qingyou?"

A moment later, Ye Qing stared at the endless sea around him and asked a question.

Before they ended up on the Sunchasing Island, he could still tell where they were going and where they were roughly. However, this became an impossible task after they spent several days on the Sunchasing Dragon Whale's back. Not only did the Stranger move incredibly fast, it was hardly moving in a straight line. This was doubly true during the night when it dove into the sea and hunted for food. Its movements during that time could only be described as pure randomness. Therefore, it was truly difficult for him to tell where they were right now.

"I don't know either."

Feng Qingyou shook her head and produced a book the next moment. Basking under the sun, she leaned against the cabin wall and flipped through the book without care.

The book was gifted to her by Li Xian, of course. It talked about ways to govern a country, strengthen the army, enrich the people and more. It was a book composed from everything he had seen, heard, and learned across the years. Li Xian called it the "Three Stratagems to Govern The Realm".

As the name suggested, the "Three Stratagems to Govern The Realm" was split into three volumes. They were titled, "Stratagem of the Nation", "Stratagem of the Army", and "Stratagem of the People".

The "Three Stratagems to Govern The Realm" only numbered a hundred thousand words or so in total, but each word was as profound as it was priceless. It was in no way inferior to those famous masterpieces that had been passed down through the ages. In fact, one could call it a peerless masterpiece for governing a nation and keeping the peace.

Originally, Li Xian wasn't planning to give it to anyone. For one, living on Sunchasing Island meant making contact with outsiders only once in a blue moon. Second, the book would be useless in the hands of an ordinary person or worse, devastating in the hands of an immoral character. Li Xian did not wish for his life's work to be trampled upon by others.

However, the few days he spent with Feng Qingyou had been an eye-opening experience. Her erudition and her understanding impressed him so much that he only wished that he had met her sooner. That was why he decided to give her the "Three Stratagems to Govern The Realm" before leaving.

Just the same, Li Xian gave Ye Qing a book called "A Record of Strange and Miraculous Things". It was the book on Strangers, Anomalies, and other mysterious things that existed in the ocean Li Xian had mentioned earlier.

Seeing that Feng Qingyou was reading, Ye Qing did not disturb her. He sat down on the deck and began practicing himself.

His earlier question wasn't anything serious. They had set off into the sea without any clear objective or destination to begin with, and that hadn't changed now. They would go wherever the waves carried them.

A few days came and went. The duo did not encounter any other unusual or strange things during this time. Even the weather seemed to be favouring them as the sky was sunny and calm during the day, and the sea was tranquil and glittering with moonlight and starlight during the night. Ye Qing focused on practicing and refining the Heavens' Eye, while Feng Qingyou was focused on reading. They paid no attention to their surroundings and simply enjoyed the peace and tranquility.

Unfortunately, such times always came and went quickly. On the seventh day, their peace was finally shattered by an uninvited guest.

And who was the uninvited guest? The Ghost Dragon Boat. That's right.

The Ghost Dragon Boat had revived and come back for revenge.

This time though, Ye Qing did not wait for it to come closer. While the Ghost Dragon Boat was still a few kilometers away, he threw a punch at it and...

That was that. The Ghost Dragon Boat was annihilated into powder in one punch.

Of course, Ye Qing could sense that the Ghost Dragon Boat was still alive. Not only that, the curse it inflicted on him was growing stronger.

Ye Qing cared little for it though. The Ghost Dragon Boat wasn't the first thing that wanted it dead, and it would not be the last. He would simply kill it if it showed its ugly face again.

"What a big tree!"

One day, Ye Qing was practicing on the deck when suddenly, he saw a tree. It was a thick, tall tree that stretched all the way into the clouds.

It was a willow tree[1]. It was hundreds of meters thick and several kilometers tall. Its trunk was smooth, straight, and perfectly blue. Its canopy was thick, lush, and so big that it blotted out the sky. Its hanging green branches were glittering with dew.

This willow tree was easily the biggest tree he had ever seen besides the Radiant Tree. Still, the Radiant Tree was much bigger. That was why he was surprised, but not astonished.

1. Salix warburgii to be exact but the English common name won't work (Warburg's willow), so I'm leaving this here. ☜