Chapter 475: 475. Do you dare to come over?

Translator: 549690339

Xingluo Island has been the most “lively” it has been since New Year’s Eve. News of people successfully leaving the island spread quickly, and more and more people began to head towards the seaside with their luggage in tow.

At first, those in the forbidden area were genuinely unaware of this. By the time Sheng Yue received the report, quite a few people had already successfully left Xingluo Island by boat. The first to leave, Xie Jun and his companions, had already fled far away by this point.

“Young Master Sheng, we must find a way to stop those traitors from leaving as soon as possible!” The one who reported to Sheng Yue was one of the two elders guarding the forbidden area. Although these two were elders, like Mo Yan, they have no descendants on the island. They can be said to be Mo Yan’s “followers”, following him faithfully and without the same level of ambition as He Wei.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Yue casually asked, “Was it really Xie Jun who ran away first?”

The elder frowned, “Yes, it was him! He left last night!”

Sheng Yue’s expression remained calm, “I see. If they have the ability to leave, let them go. Without Master here, we wouldn’t be able to stop them anyway.”

The elder snorted, “It’s easy for young master Sheng to say! How will you explain this when the master returns? Will you just say that you let them go?”

Sheng Yue’s expression was indifferent, “Master has instructed that the most important thing is to guard the forbidden area. Under any circumstances, I will not leave the forbidden area. Anything else doesn’t matter as much.”

“So, Young Master Sheng, are you going to ignore those traitors? Are you seriously letting them go?” The elder asked again.

Sheng Yue nodded, “If you two want to take care of it, you can try. However, if everyone on the island other than those in the forbidden area wants to leave, can you two stop them? Or do you plan to kill them all?”

The elder’s face darkened. Even though the number of masters on Xingluo Island had been dwindling over the past two years, there were still quite a few of them left. They couldn’t possibly handle everyone’s attacks on their own. The only person who could truly deter these people was Mo Yan, but everyone knew Mo Yan wasn’t on the island; the chances of him returning today were extremely slim.

“I need you two elders to keep an eye on the water source in the forbidden area. At a time like this, some people may try to poison or set fire to kill us.” Sheng Yue said.

Hearing this, the elder’s face turned ugly, but he agreed with a grunt and quickly left.

Sheng Yue was still in the cave, but he was not alone. Three children were by his side, two little boys around five or six years old, identical twins dressed in the exact same clothes. Additionally, a one-year-old girl lay sleeping soundly on a small bed beside the pool.

During Old Mu’s previous visit, there had been seven or eight children in the cave. Sheng Yue had chosen these three to “accompany him” afterward. The rest had been sent back to their parents. One of them had already left Xingluo Island with their family by now.

“Master, will there be enemies coming today?” One of the little boys asked Sheng Yue.

Sheng Yue sat cross-legged and raised his only hand to ruffle the boy’s hair, “Perhaps.”

Another boy asked when they would be able to meet their parents. Sheng Yue replied that it wouldn’t be much longer, as long as they behaved and listened well. Afterward, they would be rewarded for their deeds.

The little girl on the bed woke up crying, and Sheng Yue picked her up, gently swaying her. She stopped crying after a while, her small face curiously looking at Sheng Yue. A pot of porridge was being warmed on the stove nearby, so Sheng Yue had the two boys bring a bowl of it and started to feed the little girl.

At this time, the two elders guarding the forbidden area followed Sheng Yue’s instructions and did not care about the chaos elsewhere on the island. One guarded the water source and the other patrolled the periphery of the forbidden area to prevent arson. This was because the island was full of trees and a fire would easily break out.

There were actually two other people in the forbidden area, a cook and a handyman, both mute, who did their jobs without talking.

Early in the morning, as people discovered that Xie Jun had disappeared and a boat was missing, they didn’t notice the increase in boats. This was because Gu Ling and his party had arrived on two boats the night before. After dropping off Gu Ling and Feng Ming, the other four people left by boat and stayed in the nearby waters, not yet landing on the island. This was because Gu Ling anticipated today’s situation and wanted to avoid conflicts with those on Xingluo Island who wanted to escape, as well as to prevent their boats from being stolen. They were few in number and couldn’t defeat the many masters on Xingluo Island in terms of Martial Arts. Also, if they exposed themselves openly, they might be targeted by Mo Yan’s trusted followers. It was not necessarily out of fear, but more so to minimize trouble.

Gu Ling did not ask Feng Ming to “win over” Xie Jun for their own use and to continue winning over more people for one main reason. Firstly, Xie Jun was afraid of death, which Feng Ming had mentioned earlier, and he had no influence on the island. The only people with real influence on the island, besides Mo Yan, were He Wei, who had already been beheaded. At the moment, Gu Ling did not intend to do anything to the masters on Xingluo Island. Just because he didn’t have the time to deal with them doesn’t mean he considered them innocent. Most of the masters on the island had low moral character and were untrustworthy.

Right now, Feng Ming was skillfully searching for food in the City Lord Mansion, intending to put it in the agreed meeting place with Gu Ling. The island was in chaos and no one noticed him. In the future, their small group might still need to live on the island.

By the time Feng Ming entered the City Lord Mansion for the second time, he had already heard people talking about building boats. With so many people wanting to leave the island, there were no boats left to use, so building one now wouldn’t necessarily be too late. After all, there was no movement from the forbidden area, and it seemed they were not planning to intervene.

With the boats gone, the fighting subsided. In terms of leaving, they were actually all in the same boat, and no one wanted to cause trouble. What Xingluo Island had most of were trees, so there was plenty of materials for boat building.

Originally, landmines had been placed in the forest as traps for enemies, but now, to avoid harming their own people, members of the Coast Guard who knew the locations of the landmines dug them up and threw them into the sea.

So, during the day, a strange sight appeared on the coast of Xingluo Island: people everywhere, in groups of three or five, cutting down trees and building boats. These busy people occasionally glanced at the vast sea, with longing for the distance on their faces.

As for looting, it happened, but rarely. The island had formed its own small society, where people didn’t need money for food and clothing. Gold, silver, and jewelry were brought back by people leaving the island, but there was not much of it, and many people living on Xingluo Island had lost their concept of money. Mo Yan held almost all of the wealth on the island, while others had only monotonous days of contentment and dreams of future prosperity.

At this time, Gu Ling had already entered the forbidden area and was in Mo Yan’s study. He knew where Sheng Yue was but decided not to go there immediately.

There was a painting on the wall with a poem written on it, which Gu Ling recognized. Su Liang had told him about it, and Min Rou had mentioned the painting; she had been here before.

Gu Ling lifted the painting to reveal another one behind it, which Min Rou and Su Liang had also mentioned. Mo Yan claimed that the woman in the painting was his lover.

The face of the woman in the painting was not visible, nor were there any similarities to Su Liang. But it was clear that Mo Yan had lifted the outer painting countless times to look at this hidden one, as there was a deep crease in the outer painting.

Gu Ling examined the other parts of the study and found that about half of the books on the shelf were written by Mo Yan about his previous life, many of which Gu Ling had heard from Su Liang.

This was evidently a transmigrator’s room, and a “fellow species” would quickly recognize it when entering.

Gu Ling didn’t discover any hidden mechanisms or passages, and he didn’t know if Mo Yan had the habit of keeping a diary. But when he tried to find something similar, he had no success. It seemed that any important and sensitive items could be kept in Mo Yan’s portable space, which was safer.

Gu Ling’s purpose in searching was to learn more about Mo Yan, especially to confirm whether his portable space was an independent object or existed within his mind.

Unfortunately, he still couldn’t be sure.

Afterward, Gu Ling left Mo Yan’s room and headed secretly in the direction of the cave.

Sheng Yue’s room was not in the forbidden area, as he had never lived here before and now stayed in the cave.

Nearing the cave, Gu Ling heard faint children’s voices, confirming that there were children inside.

Gu Ling, wearing a mask, walked straight into the cave. His footsteps were light, and the children’s voices became clearer as he moved closer – a boy was reciting poetry.

When Gu Ling stopped at the last corner Elder Mu had reached, his shadow didn’t cast onto the ground. He knocked on the stone wall, and after the child inside recited another line of poetry, it became quiet.

A moment later, Sheng Yue’s voice entered Gu Ling’s ears, “Gu Ling, is that you?”

For a moment, there was the feeling of a long-awaited reunion.

Gu Ling remained silent for a while before speaking, “It’s me.”

“I thought you would come, and it’s about time.” Sheng Yue’s voice was calm, “Xie Jun is a coward, he wouldn’t dare to leave for no reason unless someone gave him the courage. I assume Feng Ming has returned too?”

“Yes,” Gu Ling said.

Sheng Yue’s tone shifted, “You must want to go home very badly, so why not show yourself? There are some places here that resemble your home. You know I won’t harm you, and I don’t think I can. At the same time, you still need me. I don’t want to die; I’m just seeking an amulet for myself, which you can understand, I presume.”‘

The next moment, Gu Ling walked around the corner, finally seeing the legendary Transmigration Road and Sheng Yue himself.

Sheng Yue held a young girl in his arms, with two little boys sitting beside him. At first glance, he looked like the father of the three children.

Gu Ling immediately understood what Sheng Yue meant when he said some places here resembled his home. There were not few children on the island, and him keeping these three at his side was clearly an imitation of Gu Ling and Su Liang’s daughter and the pair of young disciples, almost the same age as them.

“They have no mothers, just like me,” Sheng Yue said to Gu Ling.

“You don’t look like a father, but a trafficker,” Gu Ling said indifferently.

Sheng Yue chuckled, but his smile couldn’t be seen, “Please take a seat.”

There were no chairs, so Gu Ling sat down cross-legged on the ground, facing Sheng Yue and the three children from a distance of about three meters. The two little boys looked at him warily, apparently considering him an enemy.

“What do you want?” Gu Ling asked directly.

“I’ve already told you and your wife what I want when I visited your house before,” Sheng Yue said, “At that time, we didn’t discuss real cooperation. Now is the perfect time for that, don’t you think?”

“Continue,” Gu Ling said.

“Since you want to hear my plan, I’ll be straightforward,” Sheng Yue said, “I guess by now Mo Yan has captured your wife, and perhaps even your daughter and those two favorite disciples of hers. Of course, if Mo Yan fails and is killed by Divine Doctor Su, I can only say I admire her. But considering the power of his magic treasure, I think the former possibility is greater. Mo Yan should be back soon with his granddaughter.”

Gu Ling listened expressionlessly, and still did not speak. Sheng Yue continued, “First of all, let me clarify that I haven’t told Mo Yan about who the Transmigrator is. But I suspect that he already knows. If not, that’s even better. When he brings Su Liang back, he’ll definitely control you through her, making you jump into this pool and not allowing you to come out until a miracle happens. If he knows it’s Su Liang, there’s no need to catch only her, controlling her through the child would be enough, and you won’t even have to be bothered. If you appear, he just needs to lift a finger and lock you in an inescapable cage.”

Gu Ling interrupted Sheng Yue, “Is it that ring?” By now, others might not know, but Sheng Yue might as well.

Sheng Yue then talked about the New Year’s Eve night when he saw Mo Yan using the magic treasure to capture someone, “I was indeed paying close attention. He took off the ring and showed it to me, saying it was just a memento and not his magic treasure. His magic treasure, he said, was in his thoughts, a gift from heaven that allowed him to draw anything he touched into it. No one could steal it, and no one else could use it.”

“Do you believe it?” Gu Ling asked.

Sheng Yue shook his head, “No. He said that, maybe just to prevent me from trying to take it. He knows that I can’t be trusted either. He values only my desires, needing me to guard the forbidden area when he leaves. He realizes that I’m not on the same side as you, or else I could have escaped countless times when I was first captured on Xingluo Island.”

“Is Mo Yan immune to poison?” Gu Ling asked.

Sheng Yue shook his head, “I’ve never seen him poisoned, but he claims he isn’t and once said that he envies my physique.”

“Tell me your plan,” Gu Ling said concisely.

Sheng Yue continued, “I’ll be in the open, you’ll be in the dark. We’ll snatch Mo Yan’s magic treasure, at least stripping him of his ability to use the treasure, and then send him into the pool. You know, I want to see a miracle happen too. We’ll have to act on the spot when we see Mo Yan, and what he has and plans to do.”

After Gu Ling listened, he only said two words, “Nonsense.”

Sheng Yue was neither angry nor annoyed, “If I asked you and you answered, it would probably sound the same. If you really have a different idea, I’m all ears.”

“I’ll kill you, take control of Xingluo Island, and negotiate directly with Mo Yan,” Gu Ling said lightly.

Sheng Yue nodded, “It could work, and it would be very beneficial for you. Indeed, it’s a plan I wouldn’t think of. Of course, I don’t agree. This is also nonsense.” With that, Sheng Yue lifted the little girl’s hand in his arms and swayed it towards Gu Ling, his voice suddenly softened a bit, “Do you think that uncle is handsome? Would you like him to hold you?”

The little girl actually reached out her hands, wanting Gu Ling to hold her. Sheng Yue looked at Gu Ling with a calm expression, challenging him in his words, “Perhaps I also have a plan to kill you first – do you dare to come over?”

Gu Ling stood up but did not walk forward. Instead, he turned and walked out, leaving behind three words, “Crazy person.”