Stranger Danger

"You do not need to be angry for me, Old Fang."

Li Xian was a lot more accepting of the outcome than Old Fang though. "My whole life, I have toiled not for the emperor or the nobles, but for the people. So long as the people know me and trust me, then I have no regrets."

"Your generosity and broadmindedness are something that I may never emulate, mister," Ye Qing praised from the bottom of his heart.

"I have already died once. What else is there to cling onto?"

Li Xian chuckled and raised his tea cup. "On another note, you should try out our tea, Scion Ye, Miss Feng. It is a rare treat you may not find anywhere else!"

"Of course. Thank you!"

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou raised their teacups and slowly poured it into their mouths. An ordinary tea was bitter first before it was sweet; rough before it was smooth. This tea though, it was smooth, mellow, and fragrant right from the beginning. Its aftertaste lingered in the mouth for a long time as well. It was incredible.

Ye Qing could not help but cry out, "What an excellent tea!"

"I roasted and ground a kind of tree leaf on the island to create this. It is a local specialty that you won't find anywhere else, so please, enjoy it to your heart's content," Li Xian said smilingly.

It was at this moment the husband and wife Tian Wa and Hu Xiaoyan walked in carrying wooden plates. The wooden plates were filled with the fruits Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou saw earlier in the forest and the fruits and vegetables they planted themselves.

"Please give them a try. They are all specialties of Sunchasing Island. I promise that they're all a delight."

Old Fang gestured, and Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou obliged. They each picked up a fruit and began eating.

Old Fang wasn't exaggerating. All of the fruits were crisp and tasty, juicy and filled with rich spiritual qi. Outside, these fruits would be praised as one-of-a-kind and priced obscenely. Here on Sunchasing Island though, they were as common as they were countless.

While they were eating, Old Fang briefly introduced the husband and wife's backgrounds to Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou.

Tian Wa and Hu Xiaoyan's stories were nothing special compared to their neighbors. It was neither as tragic as Old Fang's or as extraordinary as Li Xian's. They were just common fisherpeople.

One day, they were out fishing when a storm struck them and brought them to the Sunchasing Island.

At first, they were worried like any other stranded person would. When they realized how wonderful of a place the Sunchasing Island was, they changed their minds. Here, they did not need to worry about food scarcity, work from early morning until late night just to put food on the table, or pay heavy taxes that stripped them to their bones. So, they chose to stay.

On a related note, Lil Yu was born on the Sunchasing Island.

A short while later, Feng Qingyou spoke up. "Oh right. Is it okay if I ask you something, mister?"

Li Xian replied, "Of course, Miss Feng."

Feng Qingyou asked curiously, "You were in your thirties when you cast yourself to the sea, right? It's been over thirty years since. However, you look like you've barely aged. Why is that?"

"To be honest, I don't know why I'm aging so slowly either."

Li Xian did not try to dodge the question. He answered honestly, "It's just something that happens to everyone living on Sunchasing Island."

"Take Old Fang for example. He was in his sixties when he first arrived on this island, and over thirty years have passed since. However, he looks like he's only aged five or six years."

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou were surprised. Old Fang was obviously an ordinary person with no martial cultivation to speak of. It was miraculous for someone like him to age so slowly.

Sensing their attention, Old Fang chuckled. "Not only do you age slowly on Sunchasing Island, you never get sick either. I've never fallen ill since I came to this place."

"In fact, I was old, feeble, injured, and terribly ill when I first arrived at Sunchasing Island. I thought I only had a few days left to live. But to my surprise, not only did my wounds and illnesses disappear completely, I feel myself growing healthier day by day. Today, I feel stronger and healthier than even your average thirty or forty years old lad. I have no doubt that I'll live another decade without problems."

Ye Qing could not help but say, "The Sunchasing Island sounds like a miraculous place."

"Oh, that's not all." Old Fang grinned. "Slow aging isn't the only miracle the Sunchasing Island offers."

"For example, this place is warm and comfortable all year long like spring. Its weather is never harsh or difficult either. There are no natural or manmade disasters, nor are there any dangers or threats."

"Also, the Sunchasing Island never runs out of food or fresh water."

"It really does sound like a hidden paradise."

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou felt more and more that the Sunchasing Island was a magical and mysterious place. "Are you the only ones who lived on this island for all these years?"

"Yes, we are the only ones," Li Xian answered. "You're not the first outsiders who came here though. Sometimes, someone would stumble upon this island or be washed ashore. None of them ever stayed for long though."

"The Sunchasing Island is a miraculous place. Not anyone can come here. Those harboring malicious or ulterior motives cannot even enter Sunchasing Island to begin with, and those who tried to force their way through would be repelled or killed by the Sunchasing Dragon Whale. Moreover, those who are stranded on Sunchasing Island can never return once they leave this place behind. They would eventually forget Sunchasing Island altogether."

"In conclusion, we are the only permanent residents of Sunchasing Island all these years."

"I see," Ye Qing exclaimed in realization. He was wondering how a miraculous paradise like this—one that increased one's lifespan, protected from all illnesses, disasters and threats, and even ensured that its residents were well fed and sheltered—could possibly avoid the attention and desire of others. Now, he realized that it was all thanks to the Sunchasing Dragon Whale.

In the sea, size usually equaled strength. The bigger a sea creature was, the stronger they were. That was the case with the Sunchasing Dragon Whale.

The Sunchasing Dragon Whale wasn't just big and long-lived either. It possessed the blood of an ancient true dragon as well. It was definitely one of the scariest and strongest existences in the sea and possessed all sorts of miraculous powers.

Forget them, Ye Qing doubted that even a Sage was a match for the Sunchasing Dragon Whale in the sea.

On a related note, the reason he and Feng Qingyou managed to enter the Sunchasing Dragon Whale was most likely because it allowed them to. Otherwise, forget landing on this island, they would not even be able to see it.

In conclusion, no one could threaten the Sunchasing Island so long as the Sunchasing Dragon Whale was still alive.

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou would spend the next period of time trading questions with Old Fang and Li Xian. The duo asked questions regarding Sunchasing Island, while Old Fang and Li Xian asked them about what was happening outside. Although they had no plans of leaving Sunchasing Island, that did not mean they were completely uninterested in the outside world.

So, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou briefly told them about the current state of Yan, Chu, Qi and Wei. They also went into extra details on what had happened to Chu.

Of course, they hid the fact that they were the biggest reason Chu was in its current precarious state.

Old Fang and the rest of the villagers did not feel much from their narrations. They simply treated it as an interesting story. Li Xian was furrowing his brows and looking sad and worried though.

In the end, the genius prime minister who was once called Immortal Li and Fateful Li let out a deep sigh. "In less than two years, the world will plunge into chaos, and the people will suffer."

Feng Qingyou nodded in agreement before engaging Li Xian in an in-depth discussion regarding the current trend and state of the world. As they were both people with astounding understanding and knowledge of the world, it wasn't just their perception of the world that was different from your ordinary people. Their foresight and thinking were beyond imagination as well. For example, they were currently talking about things that could change the shape of the world hundreds, even thousands of years into the future.

At first, Ye Qing and Old Fang could still offer their opinion from time to time. But gradually, they were relegated to listeners only. Even longer after that, Old Fang could no longer keep up with the discussion. Ye Qing could, but he could not offer an opinion because the ink in his stomach was limited so to speak. He simply did not know what to say that would contribute to the discussion in any meaningful way.

In the end, the two "illiterates" could only exchange awkward smiles with each other.