Stranger Danger

Having figured out the situation, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou headed to the Flying Stream Islands under Hai Feng's guidance.

They were interested in the local conditions and customs of the Overseas.

The Cloud Boat was fast, but it still took over four hours for them to finally arrive at the Flying Stream Islands.

The Flying Stream Islands was the collective name of a dozen or so small islands and islets. Ye Qing had imagined it to be prosperous and lively, but reality was a lot different. Flying Stream Islands were barren and desolate. The people were housed in clusters of thatched huts, and its populace was so small that one could mistake it for a fishing village. Only on Flying Stream Island—the island where the island lord was living—could one find newer, better streets and taller, bigger buildings. Even so, Ye Qing would not call the architecture exquisite. In fact, they seemed rather coarse.

Then again, this was hardly surprising. For one, the landmass of Flying Stream Islands was pretty small. There were barely any resources they could extract from their puny islands. Their one stable resource was the sea, but it was definitely not a safe place. Locally, they had to contend with all sorts of Strangers. Regionally, they had to worry about the threat posed by the Rakshasa Kingdom as well. The fact that they were surviving and living was good enough. Considering the circumstances, how could they ask for more?

After arriving at Flying Stream Islands, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou turned down Hai Feng's invitation to walk with them and bade farewell. But as soon as they took their leave, everyone including Hai Feng himself abruptly forgot that Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou existed. They remembered clearly how they were captured by the willow people, how the Willow God had died, and how the Willow Island had sunk into the depths of the ocean. They simply could not recall Ye Qing or Feng Qingyou at all.

Worst of all, they felt no incongruity whatsoever.

This was why Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou's arrival did not elicit any attention whatsoever. The natives did not express any surprise or curiosity toward the two strangers that had suddenly appeared in their domain either. They treated them just like any other native living on the islands.

The duo would stay in Flying Stream Islands for two days and explore all of their islands and islets, enjoying the local scenery, conditions and customs.

Although Flying Stream Islands was poor, its people were simple and honest, and its scenery were, surprisingly, not bad at all. For whatever reason, there were many waterfalls and streams to be admired in Flying Stream Islands. Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou enjoyed all of them.

They took their leave after they had had their fill.

......

"So this is the Floating Island. Incredible!"

Right now, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou were standing on a cargo boat and admiring a distant island. It was at least dozens of times bigger than Flying Stream Islands, but its humongous size wasn't why they were impressed. It was the fact that it was floating in the air.

That's right. The island was floating in the air. Although it was only seven to ten meters above sea level, it was definitely floating above the sea without any support. Beneath it, countless boats and ships were coming and going. It was quite the sight.

Since the island was floating in the air, the people gave it an apt name called Floating Island.

Out of the thirty six islands and seventy two islets, the four most famous islands were the Ice Fire Island, the Gold Island, the Bright Moon Island, and the Floating Island.

The four islands were famous not just because they were huge and powerful, but also because they were unique and magical in ways other islands could not compare.

For example, the Ice Fire Island was half-cold and half-hot. Specifically, one side of the island was covered in ice and snow, and the other half was covered in inferno. There was a clear line that separated the two sides, which was why they seemed like two separate worlds despite existing on the same island.

The Ice Fire Island wasn't suited for growing crops or breeding livestock as a matter of course, but it was overflowing with spiritual qi. It was a rare cultivation sanctuary.

As its name implied, Gold Island was an island that was covered in gold. Some sort of mysterious power had given even the flora, fauna, and Strangers of the island a golden appearance and made them look like they were forged from gold.

Because Gold Island was covered in gold, it was one of the wealthiest factions of the thirty six islands and seventy two islets.

Bright Moon Island was shaped like a crescent. It was nothing special during the daytime, but when nighttime arrived, and a moon hung in the sky, the entire island would glow like a moon in the sea. Hence the name.

Bright Moon Island also had an ample amount of spiritual qi and produced a type of ore called the Bright Moon Stone. It was a cultivation resource. Bright Moon Island was also one of the cultivation sanctuaries of the thirty six islands and seventy two islets.

As for Floating Island, whatever mysterious power was keeping it afloat also kept most aquatic Strangers away. That was why Floating Island was one of the safest and stablest islands out of everything.

Stability and security also made Floating Island one of the most prosperous and populated islands of the thirty six islands and seventy two islets.

That was what Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou saw when they finally arrived at Floating Island. The port was built atop the sea surface like a mini island with several large floating bridges connecting it to Floating Island. Right now, the port was parked full of boats and crawling with humans. The cargos were stacked like mountains, and even more strange beasts such as fish, prawns, crabs, birds etc carrying cargo or people were swimming about and waiting for their turn to enter the port in an orderly manner.

Just looking at the hustle and bustle alone, one could definitely say that it rivaled some of Qi's coastal ports and wharfs.

As busy as the port was, everything looked neat and tidy. There were no chaos or disorder just because the amount of traffic was obscenely huge.

It wasn't without reason, of course. There were armed green-robed men in the port carrying out patrols and maintaining law and order.

In the sky, several Strangers shaped like hawks but with only one eye were circling the sky and observing the port from up top.

Besides the blue-robed men and the hawk Stranger, there was a huge tower standing at the entrance of the port. Sitting at the top of the tower was an eyeball the size of an entire house.

The eyeball was covered in blood vessels and organs. From time to time, it would blink like a living being and send out an invisible shockwave that covered everyone and everything within several kilometers. It looked terrifying.

"What are these blue-robed men for, Brother Hu?" Ye Qing asked while glancing at a muscular man standing next to him.

The man's name was Hu Da. He was the steward of this cargo boat. After Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou left the Flying Stream Islands, they ran into Hu Da's boat on a sea region. Hu Da's boat was being assaulted by a bunch of Strangers at the time, and Ye Qing had rescued him. After learning that Hu Da's boat was headed for Floating Island, they decided to change course and follow Hu Da to the Floating Island first. They wanted to witness and experience this miraculous island.

Since Ye Qing saved his life, Hu Da was extremely grateful and respectful toward him as a matter of course. He immediately answered, "These blue-robed men are the Floating Guards of Floating Island. They're responsible for maintaining order in the port and keeping the peace of the island. They are responsible for all sorts of things."

"You may not know this, Brother Ye, but there are a lot of rules one is required to follow in Floating Island. Twelve big taboos, twenty four smaller taboos, so on and so forth. Once you set foot on the island, you must obey their rules. If you disobey even one of them, then the Floating Guards will capture you and punish you no matter who you are. Best case scenario, you have to pay a fine, serve a sentence as a labor worker, or be exiled from Floating Island. Worst case scenario, they will kill you on the spot and hang your head in the markets. They are as strict as they are ruthless."