Chapter 84 - 82: Good Stuff
The island’s name was Fire Mist Island. It was said that when it was first discovered, the entire island was shrouded in a thick, fiery red mist.
Later, it was discovered that a volcano on the island was erupting at the time, which turned the mist enveloping the island a fiery red.
But the name Fire Mist Island stuck.
Jiang Zuo arrived in Wangxiang Sea City but didn’t rush to Fire Mist Island.
The news he had heard had traveled through many towns. If he went rashly, he didn’t know what problems he might encounter.
Jiang Zuo wandered around Wangxiang Sea City, asking about the city and Fire Mist Island.
By occasionally spending a little money on small purchases, he found that the vendors and shopkeepers were quite enthusiastic about sharing what they knew.
Of course, some things couldn’t be discussed openly. For instance, when Jiang Zuo asked about which gangs controlled the area, many people acted as if they hadn’t heard him.
Jiang Zuo wasn’t in a hurry. This kind of information wasn’t hard to find. The shopkeepers were just wary and afraid to speak.
It wouldn’t be too difficult to get a general idea as long as someone was willing to talk.
When he passed the Worldwide Bank in Wangxiang Sea City, Jiang Zuo silently took a detour.
The Worldwide Bank had branches throughout the Mortal Territory and had existed for an unknown number of years.
To be able to operate without issue in all the mortal kingdoms, its background was, without a doubt, connected to the Cultivation Realm.
Mortal silver taels were useless to Immortals. The Worldwide Bank’s greatest function was likely to collect and transmit information.
This was evident from the fact that they even helped people deliver letters.
Although he didn’t know why, things that were useful even to Immortals would occasionally appear in the Mortal Territory.
Just like the Life Essence Returning Skill Jade Stone in his possession.
Jiang Zuo strongly suspected that the two Cultivators he had killed before might have been connected to the Worldwide Bank.
His appearance was completely different now, but Jiang Zuo was still unwilling to go near the Worldwide Bank, just in case something unexpected happened.
「Three days later, in the morning.」
Jiang Zuo boarded a fishing boat headed for Fire Mist Island.
In those three days, Jiang Zuo had gathered enough information about Wangxiang Sea City and Fire Mist Island.
The system in Wangxiang Sea City was quite peculiar for this world and era.
However, the fact that Wangxiang Sea City had developed to its current scale was largely thanks to Fire Mist Island.
The seafood from the waters around Fire Mist Island was exceptionally rich and had the added benefit of nourishing the body.
No matter how large the catch, once transported back to Wangxiang Sea City, it would quickly sell out and be resold to the surrounding inland towns.
Not only that, but Fire Mist Island also had several large mines and numerous smaller ones, containing copper, iron, and even extremely rare tungsten-iron ore.
This generated enormous revenue, and the gangs in Wangxiang Sea City often fought fiercely over control of the mines.
In reality, most of the residents in Wangxiang Sea City worked in service of Fire Mist Island.
And in both Wangxiang Sea City and Fire Mist Island, the territories were already divided up.
Unless a faction felt it had grown strong enough to vie for more territory, Wangxiang Sea City was usually free of large-scale brawls.
Most common folk who went to Fire Mist Island traveled on boats belonging to gangs or fishing crews, working for them.
There were also individuals like Jiang Zuo who wanted to go alone, and their only option was to take a private fishing boat like this one.
Individuals traveling to Fire Mist Island were either hoping to start some kind of business there or were after the Jade Stones the island produced.
Because of the island’s volcano, every major eruption would eject some Jade Stones, scattering them around Fire Mist Island.
These Jade Stones, much like the fish from the surrounding sea, had nourishing and restorative effects on the body. They were extremely popular, and finding even a slightly larger piece could fetch a huge sum of money.
In the past, many people went to Fire Mist Island specifically for these Jade Stones.
But after so many years, the chances of finding Jade Stones around Fire Mist Island were minuscule. It was all down to luck.
"Everyone, sit tight! The boat has to leave with the ebbing tide, or we’ll miss the current and the sea breeze. We’re not waiting for anyone who isn’t here."
The captain was a middle-aged man. He glanced at the rising sun, then untied the rope mooring them to the shore.
There were over twenty passengers on board. Besides the captain, the crew consisted of two sailors.
Among the twenty-odd passengers, most appeared to be ordinary people with little money. The only exceptions were a brother and sister in their twenties with the surname Yu. With their sharp brows and bright eyes, they looked different from the rest.
No one on the boat spoke a word as the fishing boat followed the tide out into the vast sea.
The two sailors quickly raised the sail, and the fishing boat accelerated, pushed by the sea breeze.
If all went well, they would reach Fire Mist Island by evening.
The journey was uneventful until noon, when the captain suddenly stood up and addressed the passengers, "Everyone, we’re about halfway there. According to the rules, you all need to pay an additional fare of one tael of silver."
"What? We have to pay another tael of silver? Didn’t we agree on two taels of silver?"
"This is robbery!"
...
Hearing this, the twenty-plus passengers erupted in an uproar.
"What if we don’t pay?"
Yu Yunhui glared coldly at the captain.
"Nothing will happen. It’s all voluntary. If you’re unwilling, I’ll refund the two taels of silver you already paid, and you can get off the boat right here."
The captain shrugged.
"Yunhui, forget it."
Yu Xuemei shook her head at Yu Yunhui.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Yu Yunhui said no more.
None of the passengers wanted to pay, but they were like fish on a chopping block.
Out here in the deep sea, with no one to turn to for help, what could they do but pay up? Were they really going to get off the boat?
"Everyone, don’t be angry. It’s only one tael of silver. Once you get to Fire Mist Island, you can earn it back with just a little bit of luck. Besides, I’m only asking for one extra tael of silver. That’s not much at all. Anyone else would have demanded more."
The captain said with a grin after collecting the money.
Jiang Zuo paid as well.
’This sort of thing is common everywhere. It would be simple to kill the man, but without a captain, getting to Fire Mist Island would be a hassle.’
The captain kept his word and didn’t ask for any more money.
By the afternoon, an island could be seen in the distance.
The island grew larger, but they sailed for nearly two more hours. It was almost evening when the fishing boat finally docked at a shore.
Even before they docked, Jiang Zuo narrowed his eyes as he looked at the figures on the shore.
"We’re at Fire Mist Island. Everybody off."
The captain herded everyone off the boat, then pushed off from the shore and sailed away.
Some passengers were just beginning to wonder why the captain wasn’t staying the night, with darkness about to fall. ’Is he planning to sail back to Wangxiang Sea City through the night?’
Then they saw five gang members carrying blades walk over.
"Everyone, you’ve landed at our Flying Fish Gang’s dock. According to the rules, you’ll have to work in our gang’s mines for one year. Don’t worry, the Flying Fish Gang is a gang of its word. One year means one year. When the year is up, you’ll be free to leave!"
The leader of the group looked at the crowd and spoke flatly.
"Dock? This doesn’t look like a dock!"
"What kind of ridiculous rule is this? We’ve never heard of it!"
"It’s the captain! He must have been in cahoots with this Flying Fish Gang and sold us out!"
The passengers were in an uproar.
Being extorted for an extra tael of silver was one thing, but now they were expected to work for the Flying Fish Gang for a year for free?
And the Flying Fish Gang made it sound nice, but once they were in the mines, if the gang refused to let them go, there would be absolutely nothing they could do.
"Courting death!"
Yu Yunhui was enraged. These people were completely lawless.
"AHH!!"
Yu Yunhui was just about to teach them a lesson, but before he could make a move, the five members of the Flying Fish Gang let out miserable screams and collapsed to the ground.
"What happened to those Flying Fish Gang guys?"
On the fishing boat, the captain was watching the spectacle from the bow. Seeing this, he couldn’t help but feel it was strange.
THUD!
But just then, he felt the fishing boat jolt violently.
"Captain, this is bad! The boat seems to have hit a reef! There’s a huge hole in the hull!"
A sailor leaned over to look at the bottom of the boat and immediately shouted in a panic.
’Hit a reef?’
’How is that possible?’
’I’ve sailed through this damn area countless times. Where would a reef come from?’
But no matter what he thought, the fishing boat was rapidly filling with seawater, and it was clear it would sink before long.
"They look like they’re hurt?"
"Never mind them, let’s go! Quick!"
Seeing the five Flying Fish Gang members collapsed on the ground, the passengers scattered in an instant, fleeing the dock.
"A master took action in secret!"
The siblings, Yu Xuemei and Yu Yunhui, were both stunned by this scene.
This person had acted silently, subduing five people in an instant, and they hadn’t noticed a thing. It was clear that whoever acted was an absolute master.
But now wasn’t the time to investigate. The person had acted in secret because they didn’t want to be discovered.
The two siblings also followed the crowd and rushed off the dock.
Jiang Zuo also slipped away quietly.
There was a town on Fire Mist Island. Newcomers had no choice but to spend the night in the town.
Jiang Zuo didn’t head there. He looked at a massive sea eagle circling in the distant sky and quietly ran toward it.
’So this is a Seated Mountain Eagle. It’s truly massive. No wonder it can carry people.’
The massive sea eagle’s real name was the Seated Mountain Eagle.
Jiang Zuo roughly estimated that the Seated Mountain Eagle was over a meter tall, with a wingspan of three to four meters. It was enormous.
They were named Seated Mountain Eagles because their nests were built on the island’s highest cliff, on the edge of Eagle Mountain.
Even for a Martial Artist, climbing up would not be easy.
And if discovered, one would be attacked by the Seated Mountain Eagles from the air.
Raiding a Seated Mountain Eagle’s nest would be extremely dangerous.
However, none of this was a problem for Jiang Zuo. To him, a sheer cliff was no different from flat ground.
As the sky began to darken, Jiang Zuo had already climbed to the edge of Eagle Mountain’s highest point.
From here, he could overlook most of Fire Mist Island.
Scattered along the cliff’s edge were six or seven Seated Mountain Eagle nests.
Jiang Zuo’s luck was good. It was currently the Seated Mountain Eagles’ breeding season, and each of their nests held two to three enormous eggs.
Jiang Zuo took a look and estimated that it would be another month before the eggs began to hatch.
Jiang Zuo then went down to the seashore at the base of the cliff. Using his blade, he quickly chopped some wood and built a simple cabin.
When he was looking down from the cliff’s edge just now, Jiang Zuo had thought this spot was good.
It was close to the Seated Mountain Eagles’ nests, the surrounding terrain was remote, and it was unlikely anyone would come by.
After finishing the cabin, Jiang Zuo let Great Black and Xiaoqing out.
"WOOF WOOF!"
With the sea right before them, Great Black and Xiaoqing were ecstatic.
For the past three years, though Jiang Zuo had let Great Black and Xiaoqing out to roam near the seaside town, it was only ever in the deep mountains.
Great Black had been eager to go to the sea, but Jiang Zuo didn’t want anyone to see such a large creature.
Great Black was on the verge of reaching Meridian Passage Perfection, and its size was far too conspicuous.
Jiang Zuo settled down by the sea, and every day Great Black would take Xiaoqing to play all over the beach.
After a few days, however, the beach was no longer enough for the two of them. They simply dove right into the seawater.
Great Black was currently training in the advanced Underwater Breathing Technique, so this was a perfect fit.
"You’re saying there’s something good on the seabed nearby?"
Half a month later, Jiang Zuo was making some small furniture for his future life as usual when Great Black and Xiaoqing returned from the sea. Xiaoqing slithered over and relayed a message to Jiang Zuo.