Chapter 398: 398. Significant progress

Translator: 549690339

The rain outside the window was gradually weakening, and the cool breeze seeped through the open window slits. Min Rou’s face was as dull and gloomy as the sky.

“My maternal grandfather’s surname is He, with a single character for his name: Wei. I have two uncles, and four cousins, all of them were on the island… Maybe they aren’t there anymore, I don’t know.” The tone of Min Rou’s words was slow, and for her, it was difficult to say these things. However, not because she worried that Su Liang would go to the island and harm people, but rather, her intuition told her that those uncles and cousins she did not particularly like might not be good people either.

“Where is the island?” Su Liang asked this crucial question again.

Min Rou frowned in thought, “It is at sea… That is obvious. We disembarked at Nanshan City in Qian Country, but I don’t know how to describe the route from the island to Nanshan City.”

Su Liang could understand. Sailing in the sea without some professional knowledge and high attentiveness, it was difficult even to know the direction.

“But I saw the nautical chart in the hands of the old man who sent us ashore.” Min Rou sighed as soon as she finished speaking. This was one of the most secret things about that island and was not to be revealed to outsiders.

In fact, even if Gu Ling forced Min Rui to confess, even if Min Rui was willing to confess, he would not be able to tell the location of the island at all. This was because he was taken there and had left for the first time in more than twenty years. Moreover, during the journey, he lay down sick in the cabin listening to the sound of the waves, seldom looking outside.

As for Madam Min, He Qianqian was able to move freely aboard the ship, but still could not provide a useful route.

Among the three of them, only Min Rou, who had a good relationship with the old man who sent them away from the island, often went to chat with him. She unintentionally saw the nautical chart when he was away for a short time. She was curious at the time, wanting to know the direction of their destination, so she looked at it for a few more seconds. Afraid that the old man would be unhappy, she managed to return everything to its original state, pretending not to have noticed the sheepskin scroll at all.

At this moment, Min Rou had not realized that one of the reasons their family of three was allowed to leave the island and return to the Min Family was that without someone to guide them, they would not be able to return, nor could they accurately reveal the island’s location to outsiders.

Su Liang was overjoyed. Although she had asked several times and Min Rou refused to say anything, she still felt Min Rou might not be able to tell the exact location of the island. But unexpectedly, Min Rou did know after all.

Su Liang immediately took out the writing supplies and gestured for Min Rou to draw the route she knew as a chart.

Min Rou took a seat, and Su Liang quietly left as she could see Min Rou still frowning in deep thought.

Once downstairs, Su Liang saw that the three children were asleep on the carpet, covered with a thin quilt by Old Mu. Gu Xiaonuan was in the middle, with Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu on either side, both facing Gu Xiaonuan. Ji Xiaoshu’s face still bore a smile, as if he had dreamt of something fun.

Old Mu was sitting cross-legged next to them, closed-eyed and nurturing his spirit. Upon hearing some movements, he opened his eyes and looked at Su Liang, asking softly, “How is it?”

Su Liang nodded as she walked over, “There are gains. She is willing to talk now.”

Old Mu let out a light hum, “That’s more like it. Otherwise, we would have had to use force.”

After looking at the children, Su Liang went to brew a pot of tea and brought it upstairs into the study room. Just then, Min Rou put down her brush.

“Have some tea.” Su Liang placed the teapot on the table but didn’t pour tea for Min Rou. Instead, she took away the map Min Rou had just drawn and sat on the side, examining it carefully.

Min Rou stood up, poured two cups of hot tea, placing one in front of Su Liang and holding the other in her hands.

The teacup was a little hot, but at this moment, she felt cold both inside and out, and desperately needed the warmth.

Su Liang finished examining the map and asked Min Rou, “How many days did you travel?”

Min Rou answered, “We set off early in the morning, after nine nights, we arrived outside Nanshan City in the morning.” She counted days just because she found the journey on the ship boring.

“Tell me about the features and shapes of these islands you passed along the way.” Su Liang placed the map between the two of them. The map was still somewhat vague, and more details were needed to ensure the route wasn’t mistaken.

Min Rou recalled and described the islands she saw along the way to Su Liang.

Su Liang grabbed a writing brush and made annotations on the map.

“Your handwriting is beautiful,” Min Rou said.

Su Liang coughed lightly, “That’s not the point. Don’t get distracted. Think again, is there anything else you’ve missed?”

For some reason, Min Rou felt a little embarrassed, but after seriously thinking about it, she couldn’t remember anything else about the sea journey.

“Alright.” Su Liang placed the detailed route map to one side, then took another blank sheet of paper. On it, she wrote He Wei’s name, annotated his two sons and four grandsons, and also added the names of Min Rou and her parents.

On the other end of the paper, she wrote the names of Yue Mei and Ying Ying.

“There is also an old man who is my master when I was with this sister of mine.” Su Liang described the appearance and figure of Old Bai to Min Rou.

Min Rou shook her head, “I really haven’t met this senior. As for the other two, I only ran into them once. My grandfather He took them to the island and didn’t allow me to ask too many questions.”

Su Liang’s heart sank. Old Bai was not with Ying Ying? Then where was he? Or was he already harmed by Yue Mei?

No, that couldn’t be it… Su Liang knew that Old Bai had a special relationship with Yue Mei and wouldn’t easily kill him. Perhaps he was just not taken to the island but instead, trapped elsewhere.

“Was there a young man with them?” Su Liang asked.

Min Rou thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “Yes, there was a young man, tall and thin, but he held her hand all the time.”

As Min Rou spoke, she pointed at Ying Ying’s name on the paper.

Su Liang thought that it must be Ying Ying’s younger brother, Ying Ye, without a doubt. It seems that Yue Mei took Ying Ying and her brother to the island.

“How was my sister’s expression?” Su Liang asked.

Min Rou answered, “The old lady had a calm expression and held her head high, but your sister looked very cold and haggard. She was always half a step behind her, holding the young man’s hand, who was muttering words with his head lowered. I don’t know what he was saying. I’m sorry, I didn’t know anything at the time, so I didn’t think much about it.”

Looking back, the three of them were clearly out of place. But if Su Liang hadn’t mentioned that Ying Ying was kidnapped, Min Rou wouldn’t have thought of such a possibility without reason.

Su Liang shook her head, “No need to apologize, this has nothing to do with you.” She then briefly recounted her relationship with Ying Ying and Ying Ye, and the relationship between Yue Mei and Old Bai.

Only then did Min Rou understand why Ying Ying was Su Liang’s sister in her words. The story between them was tortuous, bizarre, and intriguing. Although Su Liang spoke in a calm tone, Min Rou found it fascinating as she listened. It was a true story that couldn’t be made up out of thin air.

“Who is the Island Master?” Su Liang asked the core question. The master of the island should be her “fellow townsman” and the root of everything.

Upon hearing this, Min Rou’s gaze fell back on the airplane model Su Liang had brought out earlier, and this basically confirmed Su Liang’s guess.

“The Island Master… He is a very powerful person.” Min Rou seemed unsure of where to start her explanation and paused for a moment before continuing, “His name is Mo Yan, about the same age as my grandfather. I call him Grandpa Mo. I’ve seen something like this in his courtyard, but much larger than yours.”

Finally, Su Liang and Gu Ling’s guesses had been confirmed all along, and the previously inexplicable things all suddenly connected.

There really was a transmigrator who had been living in seclusion on an island in the sea for many years, and now he was out to make trouble.

“What can he do?” Su Liang asked.

Min Rou answered, “I think Grandpa Mo can do anything and everything.”

Su Liang countered, “Can he perform medical skills?”

Min Rou hesitated for a moment, shaking her head, “He probably can’t, or else he would have treated my father. So I take back the statement that Grandpa Mo can do everything.”

Su Liang nodded, thinking that the truly omnipotent one was her own Great God.

“My grandfather said that Grandpa Mo’s martial arts are very high, none can match… but it may not be, maybe Marquis Chang Xin is even stronger in martial arts than Grandpa Mo, I don’t know about that.” Min Rou quickly learned to objectively view her former home and everyone in it.

After writing Mo Yan’s name in the center of the paper and drawing a circle around it, Su Liang wrote two smaller words “Martial Arts” next to it and also circled them.

Min Rou continued, “Grandpa Mo can make many strange things.” Looking at the model on the table, she shook her head, “Maybe it’s because I grew up on the island and haven’t seen much, I thought those things were unique to him, unknown to others. That’s what my grandfather said. But now it seems you can do it too.”

Su Liang drew an empty circle where she would have written “Transmigrator” but couldn’t write it out.

“Other than this, what else has he done?” Su Liang asked.

Min Rou thought for a while and said, “There are many other odd little gadgets, I don’t even know what they’re called. Right, Grandpa Mo wrote a very beautiful collection of poems, which I’ve read before, and he can also play very beautiful music.”

Su Liang was not surprised, as she could do those things as well, but when it came to music, it had to be Gu Ling. She wanted to gather information to determine Mo Yan’s profession before crossing over, but she couldn’t be sure.

Then Su Liang asked another important question, “Your Grandpa Mo, does he have any special features that make you think he’s not an ordinary person?”

Min Rou nodded, “He really isn’t an ordinary person, but which aspect do you want to know about?”

“Not related to martial arts or poetry or playing the qin, there are many people who can do that. Is there something only he can do? And a bit mysterious, like something you can’t understand?” Su Liang wanted to confirm whether Mo Yan truly had a portable space.

Min Rou was stunned, “How did you know?”

That meant there really was one, but Min Rou thought it was an absolute secret and Su Liang would have no way of finding out from such a distance.

Su Liang shook her head, “I can’t explain this to you for now. First, tell me if there is something like that, and if so, what is it?”

“There is something that I have never been able to understand.” Min Rou unconsciously lowered her voice, “Grandpa Mo can make things disappear. Like, just vanish. I accidentally saw it from a distance, he was holding a piece of wood in his hand, it was quite big, definitely couldn’t be hidden on his body, and then suddenly it was gone! You might think I saw it wrong or made it up, but at the time I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, and later I doubted that it had never happened and that I had dreamt it, until after a long time I saw the same thing happen again. Grandpa Mo didn’t realize I was spying on him, but my grandfather discovered and strictly warned me not to mention to anyone what I saw.”

Now Min Rou’s logic was that her grandfather was not a good person, so his words were not necessarily true…

Moreover, today’s events had made Min Rou begin to doubt Mo Yan’s nature as well. Her grandfather was Mo Yan’s number one confidant, without children of his own, and enjoyed a high status on the island, second only to Mo Yan himself. This also meant that Min Rou enjoyed a high position on the island, and Mo Yan liked her very much, treating her like a granddaughter, which was the main reason she had access to some secrets.

At this moment, Min Rou was thinking that the deeds of her grandfather and the other high-ranking death soldiers must have been orchestrated by Mo Yan.

Most unacceptable to Min Rou were the death soldiers, as she had once thought the powerful grandfathers were all good friends and brothers with her grandfather and island master Mo Yan, but now the facts proved that she was too naive.

The secret that she accidentally discovered made her believe that Mo Yan was not a god but rather a demigod or an extraordinary person detached from worldly affairs. However, she never expected him to be involved in worldly conflicts now, and his methods were not at all open and aboveboard.

In other words, the Mo Yan she once admired and respected had “collapsed.”

In contrast, it was the couple Gu Ling and Su Liang who showed Min Rou what true open and aboveboard power was, even though they just met today.

“What was the size of the item that disappeared for the second time?” Su Liang asked.

Min Rou was a little surprised at Su Liang’s focus, “It was a lot of big boxes. I don’t know what was inside them. Together, they must be as large as this room.”

After looking around, Su Liang sighed. As soon as she confirmed that Mo Yan had the space, she knew her previous guess was right. Those supplies from Yin Country were transported by Mo Yan to Liang Country using his portable space. His space must be very large to fit all of this.

Seeing Su Liang writing “portable space” on the paper again, Min Rou asked, “Do you also have such abilities? If Grandpa Mo is an immortal, then you and Marquis Gu must be from the same place as him, right?” The evidence was the similar airplane model and Su Liang’s accurate guesses and understanding of Mo Yan before she even knew about him.

Su Liang shook her head very seriously, “We don’t have such abilities.”

Su Liang was a transmigrator but had no special abilities or space, while Gu Ling, a native, was born with special abilities.

It was also because they recognized that they were both “different” when they first met, which led to their later “collaboration.”

Their enemy Mo Yan, whose motives were unknown, made Su Liang very wary just because of his portable space. What if Mo Yan put a lot of explosives in his space, it would not be impossible for him to flatten Qian Country…

“Does Mo Yan have any children or grandchildren?” Su Liang asked.

Min Rou shook her head, “None. In my memory, he has always been alone. I remember when I was young, I saw a portrait in his study. It was a woman in the painting, dressed somewhat strangely, exposing her arms and legs, and wearing a large hat that only revealed her lower jaw. I asked who the person in the painting was, and he said it was his lover. I asked where she was, and he said she was far away.”

Undoubtedly a transmigrator, had a lover before transmigration, and was unable to forget, so he never married or had children in this world. This was Su Liang’s current hypothesis.

She had thought of Shen Qingxue, who was possibly related to her own life story, and was likely sold to the island by Yue Mei years ago. However, she still couldn’t confirm who Shen Qingxue followed, if it was a coincidence that Su Liang looked like her.

“Tell me more about the people and events on the island. Just say whatever comes to mind,” Su Liang said.

Min Rou told Su Liang everything she knew about the island, including the number of people on the island, who they were, and the terrain and houses on the island.

Soon, Su Liang’s paper was filled with the collected information. She switched to another paper and wrote more than half of it. Min Rou said it was probably like that, and she couldn’t think of anything else for now. If she thought of anything else, she would tell Su Liang.

“Great, thank you,” Su Liang looked at the two papers and the line chart of the ship’s route, feeling that the current problem had made significant progress. She wanted to share it with Gu Ling immediately and discuss it further, but unfortunately, Gu Ling was not home.

After talking a lot, Min Rou was a bit thirsty. After drinking the cold tea, she looked at Su Liang and asked, “I’ve told you everything I know. Can you tell me about your story with Marquis Gu?”

Su Liang raised her eyebrows, “Are you asking out of curiosity or for another reason?”

“It’s out of curiosity, and there is another reason,” Min Rou said with a bitter smile. “I don’t think I know enough about you, and I think if I knew more, maybe it would be easier for me to believe that what I’m doing is right. Actually, I should have asked you earlier, but for some reason, today was supposed to be the turning point when I decided not to trust anyone easily, yet I was still convinced by you involuntarily.”

Su Liang smiled slightly, “That makes sense. I can tell you whatever you want to know.”