Continued from the previous chapter
At that moment, North Guardian suddenly ran in with a gust of wind and shouted, "We found an island!"
Murong Yunshu was overjoyed at his words. Perhaps they could not find the one-eyed pirate because he had been swept away to the island by the sea. If that was the case, maybe then Chu Changge was also on the same island. At the thought of this possibility, Murong Yunshu only felt a burst of ecstasy and an upsurge of emotion as her heart kept on beating wildly.
Murong Yunshu stepped out of the cabin, looked at the island ahead, and instructed, "Take the helm and dock."
"Aye." A pirate minion immediately ran off to deliver the message.
As the boat sailed towards the island, Murong Yunshu stood on the boat's bow while looking at it, with her heart inexpressibly excited. She could not wait to grow a pair of wings and immediately fly up to the island to find out.
"Miss, what if Guye is not on the island?" Lu-er asked with some concern.
Murong Yunshu was silent for a long time before answering, "If he's not on the island, then we'll keep on looking."
Lu-er tilted her head feebly and frowned, "The sea is so big, where are we going to find him?"
Murong Yunshu stated, "I will find him." Her tone was as solemn as if she was taking an oath.
"What if we can't find him?" Lu-er asked.
"I'll just keep looking." Murong Yunshu replied indifferently with a rippling persistence always spilling out of her eyes. She would find him, even if the sky was deserted, the earth was old, the seas ran dry, and the stones crumbled. She would keep searching until she died.
"But your body can't take it, Miss. Even if you can bear to drift in the sea for a long time, the baby in your belly can't." That was what Lu-er was most worried about. If Guye could not be found, then he could not be found, and if the Guye was not dead anyway, he would come back for Miss sooner or later. But the child in her belly could not be ignored. Before she left, the physician had told her that Miss must be careful. Miss should not get too emotional or exercise too vigorously. Otherwise, the fetal position would be unstable, and the baby would miscarry. Lu-er dared not imagine what would happen to Miss if she had a miscarriage on her way to find Guye......
Murong Yunshu's reaction was extremely calm, and her beautiful phoenix eyes flashed inexplicably harshly. "If it can't even stand this storm, it is not worthy to come to this world and become our child."
"But......" Lu-er wanted to persuade her Miss, but as soon as her eyes touched Miss' intimidating, persistent face, she could say nothing. Lu-er suddenly realised how unfounded her worries were; asking Miss to give up her search for Guye was like asking her to give up her belief in living. How could one give up one's belief in living?
Looking at the island that was becoming bigger and bigger in the distance, Lu-er sighed in her heart and said to herself, 'Guye, you must be on the island. Otherwise, I am worried that Miss will break down.'
Seeing the island getting closer and closer, one could see the trees on the island from the bow. Suddenly, the winds rose and clouds scudded, with lightning flashed and thunder rolled. A moment ago, it was still a clear sky, but now it was overcast and dark as if it could fall down at any time.
Suddenly, thunder rumbled.
"Ah——" Lu-er jumped up and screamed in shock while pulling at Murong Yunshu's arm. "Miss, it's going to rain. Let's go inside."
Murong Yunshu withdrew her arm and said, "You go in."
"What about Miss?"
Murong Yunshu did not answer, but her expression already told Lu-er that she intended to continue to stand there.
"If Miss doesn't go, I won't go either," Lu-er said.
Murong Yunshu did not say anything. Her eyes were always locked on the island ahead, and her heart could not stop urging: hurry up, please hurry up.
Boom, another sound of thunder. Lu-er's whole body trembled like she had been struck by lightning. But she didn't leave. She held her sleeves with both hands and meditated in her heart: Don't be afraid. No need to be scared. Even if the sky is falling, Miss is still here…...
"Madam, it's not good!" North Guardian urgently ran from the stern of the ship.
Lu-er clearly felt Murong Yunshu's body tremble a little. "Miss......" Lu-er raised her eyes in Murong Yunshu's direction with worry and confusion. What was Miss afraid of?
Murong Yunshu was afraid that something she feared the most had happened. "What's wrong?" She asked. Her face was calm as she turned around, though there was a faint tremor in her voice.
North Guardian informed her, "The oars broke."
At this moment, West Guardian suddenly ran out of the cabin and said as he walked, "Madam, the right side planks somehow cracked, and the cabin is now flooded. It is estimated that it will not be long before the seawater penetrates through them."
The winds rose, and clouds scudded. Lightning flashed, and thunder rolled. Now they had broken oars, and the cabin cracked. This was indeed the wrath of Heaven and anger of men, right? Murong Yunshu closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the sky. She raised her hand to lightly rub her eyebrows. It turned out that this was how despair smelled. It was salty and disgusting.
Lu-er didn't quite understand why Miss had a sullen look on her face after hearing the North Guardian's words, so she whispered to North Guardian, "What happens when the oars break?"
North Guardian explained, "Once the oars are broken, the boat cannot be stirred."
"What happens when there is water in the cabin?"
"The ship will sink."
Sink? The ship will sink? Feeling that it was something unimaginable, Lu-er's eyes grew relatively wide as she exclaimed, "How could this happen?!"
"I don't know." North Guardian hung his head sullenly.
West Guardian raised his eyes to the sky and said, "It's not really that bad. The wind is picking up again now, and the island is just up ahead. Maybe we'll get blown to shore before the boat sinks."
Murong Yunshu turned her face forward as she said, "There is no such good luck." Her voice was filled with helpless despair.
"Why?" West Guardian was puzzled. The sky was getting darker, and the wind was picking up. It shouldn't be a problem for the winds to blow the ship to the shore.
"Because the wind is changing direction." It was East Guardian who said this, and with him came South Guardian. They had been watching the pirate flag hanging in the air when the wind had just picked up. They noticed that the direction in which it was flying had gradually changed from northwest to southwest.
"I heard pirates on board say that the wind will be blowing northwest for half a year and southeast for another half. The wind is now blowing from the northwest, and the southeast wind will not start to blow until next year at the earliest. How can the wind suddenly change direction?!" West Guardian's tone was very blunt as if he were losing his temper with the Heavens.
East Guardian said, "It's the tenth lunar month now, and there are less than two months to go before the year turns over. After this wave, I guess it's going to be the southeastern wind."
Furious, West Guardian kicked the side plank and angrily said, "Even the Heavens are against us! Can't it wait just a bit longer?!"
At this moment, Murong Yunshu, who had been silent for a good while, instructed softly, "Call a pirate minion for questioning."
"Yes."
A short while later, North Guardian grabbed the pirate minion who had spoken first before and threw him to the ground like a piece of rubbish. He ordered, "When Madam asks, answer whatever you are asked. No holding back, got it?"
The pirate minion nodded like he was a pestle pounding garlic.
Murong Yunshu asked, "Has the oar ever broken before?"
The pirate minion nodded. "Yes."
Murong Yunshu: "How was it handled before?"
The pirate minion: "There used to be spare oars. When the oar broke, we would wait for the wind and waves to pass, then go into the water and replace it."
At this moment, North Guardian calmly interjected, "Great. Get someone to change the oars. When the oars are ready, we may be able to reach the island before the ship sinks. "
The pirate minion shook his head sullenly, "All the spare oars were replaced after the last tsunami."
"So, is there any way to repair the cracked ship planks?" Murong Yunshu asked.
"Yes." The pirate minion nodded heavily, "I'm best at repairing ship's planks!"
"Good." Murong Yunshu said with satisfaction, "You go and repair the ship's planks immediately. I will spare your life once the ship's planks are repaired."
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss!" The pirate minion kowtowed three times, then called out to a few pirates as helpers and went into the cabin to work together.
By then, the sea breeze howled, with hints of rain in it, and the boat was gradually blown away from the island.
"It's raining hard, Madam. Please go inside." East Guardian knew it was useless, but he couldn't help trying to persuade. The Leader's whereabouts were still uncertain. If anything happened to Madam and the Lil Leader, he would have to die as an apology to the world. [+]
Murong Yunshu was so immersed in her own thoughts that she did not hear East Guardian's words. After a long while, she suddenly asked, "How many oars have been broken?"
North Guardian answered, "Most of them are broken. There are only four left, and basically, the pirates can't row at all."
"Four......is enough." Murong Yunshu murmured, ignoring everyone's puzzled looks, as she walked back and forth on the deck with great strides with her head down as if measuring the length and width. After walking through a square, Murong Yunshu stopped and asked, "East Guardian, how long will it take to take out the planks I walked across just now?"
East Guardian looked down for a moment and replied, "Half a second."
Murong Yunshu thought about it again and said, "Get some ropes and connect the wooden stakes on the four corners. The ropes should be tightened. When I ask you to take the planks later, you will take them out immediately. "
"Yes." East Guardian had a vague idea of what she wanted to do. He could not help but sigh in his heart: How could Madam, a woman at her young age, have an unchanged expression in the face of a collapsing mountain, undisturbed while facing death, or while destroying the enemy forces one by one? One can't help but be impressed by her.
"South Guardian." Murong Yunshu faced South Guardian and said, "You take down that pirate flag. Carry it with you."
"Yes." South Guardian immediately left after receiving the order.
"West Guardian."
"Here."
"You go and see how much dry food is left and bring it all with you."
"Yes."
"North Guardian."
"Here."
"You go and fetch the four oars that are not broken and carry them with you."
"Yes."
After the arrangements were made, Murong Yunshu looked again at the fading island and prayed silently in her heart. Hopefully, this time it would go well.
"Miss, what do you want them to do with the dry food and oars?"
"Some preparations for abandoning the ship." Murong Yunshu responded indifferently.
*
After struggling for a whole night, the one-eyed pirate finally finished the raft.
"Brother, I have made the raft as you requested, so have mercy and let me in to shelter myself from the rain." The one-eyed pirate pitifully said as he stood in front of the cave.
Inside, Chu Changge was closing his eyes and practising with his internal energy. After a long time, he let out a deep breath, opened his eyes and walked slowly and methodically to the cave entrance. He admired the one-eyed pirate's wretched appearance for a few moments before asking, "Two days ago, I was still your nephew. Why did you suddenly change my status to your brother?"
The one-eyed pirate laughed awkwardly and said to himself, 'I can even call you father as long as you can give me a break.'
"Go and find some wild fruits." Chu Changge said.
The one-eyed pirate immediately groaned when he heard this, "Where am I going to find wild fruits for you in this fierce wind and heavy rain?!"
After hearing his words, Chu Changge's face sank, and he said, "If you can't even find wild fruits, what's the use of keeping you here?"
The one-eyed pirate panicked when he heard this and immediately nodded, "Okay, I'll go and find you wild fruits, right away." With those words, he ran off at once.
Standing at the cave entrance, Chu Changge noticed that some trees had been blown by the wind and fell towards the southwest direction. He was immediately overjoyed and took out the map he had found on the pirate ship earlier. According to the map, where he was now would be one of the many small islands, and no matter which island he was on, Central Plains was to the southeast of him. The wind direction had already started to change, which meant that it wouldn't be long before the southeast wind began to blow. By then......
Thinking of his upcoming reunion with Murong Yunshu, a long-lost handsome smile appeared on Chu Changge's face. His smile looked unusually bright amid the gloomy storm.
Shortly afterwards, the one-eyed pirate wrapped a pile of wild fruit in a wide banana leaf, with a smile piled on his dirty face. "Look, Brother, I've found a lot of wild fruit." And with that, he ran towards the cave.
"Stand still." At Chu Changge's command, the one-eyed pirate immediately put the brakes on. "If you dare to take another half step inside, whichever foot is in front of you, I will cut it off." Chu Changge warned coldly.
The one-eyed pirate shuddered and nodded his head eagerly like a pestle pounding garlic. "I'll just stay at the entrance of the cave. Just staying at the entrance of the cave is fine for me." After saying that, he politely handed the wild fruits to Chu Changge.
Chu Changge took the wild fruits and went into the cave.
The one-eyed pirate stared blankly at him for a long time before calling out, "Save some for me, Brother!"
"Go and pick them yourself." Chu Changge said from inside the cave.
The one-eyed pirate sat on the ground with his legs crossed and sighed to the heavens, 'It's hard to be a pirate. It's even harder to be a pirate who is less skilled than others and even harder to be a pirate who is trapped on the same deserted island with his enemies!'
Fortunately, he had the foresight to steal a few on his way back. The one-eyed pirate inexplicably smiled as he rested his head against the stone wall and looked out at the downpour. His smile was full of sadness and self-deprecation.
Once upon a time, he was a man of iron and clanking bones. And like Chu Changge, he was high-spirited and vigorous. He also considered himself the best in the world. [+]
He really couldn't understand what he was doing by living like this......
Was it for the sake of His Majesty's dying words that was to search for Noble Consort Yue and the unborn prince?
Heh. Every port was now filled with assassins, waiting to take his head as soon as he disembarks. If he couldn't even protect himself, how could he find Noble Consort or the prince?
When His Majesty loved the beauty more than the country, he resigned from his post as Commander of the Imperial Army. He vowed, along with three other great generals, to accompany the monarch for life. As soon as they left the capital, they were ambushed. Pity the three great generals who spent their lives on the battlefield but were beheaded in the wilderness by traitors......
The one-eyed pirate's heart was filled with resentment. His fists clenched as thick blue veins emerged on his forehead. King Jin, the Emperor had already given you the throne. Why do you still want to kill him?
Why do you have to kill them all?
"Aaaaahhhh——" The one-eyed pirate suddenly shouted, jumped up and punched the stone wall. He then continuously beat it like a madman, yelling as he did so, "Aaaahhhh......why do you still have to drive them to their end. Why do you still have to drive them to their end......"
Repressed emotions that have been suppressed for more than ten years, once they went out, there was no stopping it.
Chu Changge was attracted by the one-eyed pirate's roar and saw that he was fighting like his life depended on it. The back of his hand was already severely mangled, so Chu Changge hastily nudged the one-eyed pirate's acupuncture points.
The one-eyed pirate could no longer vent his anger as his acupuncture points had been locked. He shouted to the sky again before he eventually quieted down.
Chu Changge looked at him coldly for a long time, unlocked his acupuncture points, then turned around and walked into the cave.
"Not going to ask me why I'm like this?" The one-eyed pirate suddenly spoke up.
"Everyone has their own story, and I'm not interested in yours."
The one-eyed pirate said, "You showed a lot of interest the last time you heard me talk about your parents making a scene at the Hall of the Golden Chimes."
"A son will surely be interested in knowing the glorious deeds of his parents." Chu Changge answered indifferently.
"Yet I don't think it was your parents who piqued your interest."
"That's your business." After dropping those words, Chu Changge walked deep into the cave. It was true that his initial interest in that matter was not because of his parents' boldness. How could he still not be aware of their character? It would not be surprising if they were to cause a scene in the Heavenly Palace, not to mention causing a scene in the Hall of the Golden Chimes. He wanted to know about that incident because he thought it might have something to do with his birth. And now, he only cared about one thing——returning to the Central Plains and reuniting with Yunshu. As for the rest, he put them all in the back row.
Chu Changge returned to his place inside the cave, sat back on the stone bench, and continued to practice qigong, preparing himself for crossing the sea in the future.
Noob Translator's Musing
Those poor, poor pirates~
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Black Belly Wife