Chapter 499: The Great Seagoing Ship Arrives

Zhu Ping’an’s gaze, when it fell upon her, seemed to gleam with a strange, almost frightening intensity—like that of a starving wolf that had suddenly caught sight of prey.

“What are you trying to do?” Li Shu was startled by the look in his eyes. For a fleeting moment, she thought he might be about to do something improper, and instinctively took a step back, her heart skipping.

“Quick—look ahead!” Zhu Ping’an stretched out his arm, pointing toward the vast sea, his voice brimming with excitement he could barely contain.

So that’s what it was—he wanted her to look ahead! But what could possibly be so interesting out there? What could be more worth looking at than me?

Li Shu pouted, silently grumbling to herself, her lips curving in faint dissatisfaction. Still, she followed the direction of his finger, turning around and letting her gaze drift from near to far, sweeping slowly across the open ocean.

At first glance, there was nothing remarkable at all. The boundless sea stretched endlessly beneath the sky, a vast expanse of deep blue, like a sprawling meadow made of water. It looked no different from any other day—calm, ordinary, unchanging.

“There’s nothing there. You’re such a liar.” Li Shu’s lips jutted out even further, her tone laced with mild annoyance.

“When did I ever lie to you? Don’t you see those black dots on the water?” Zhu Ping’an stepped closer behind her, reaching out to gently cup her cheeks in his hands, guiding her face toward a specific point on the sea.

“Ah—who said you could touch me…” Li Shu protested loudly, her voice sharp and flustered, yet her body offered no real resistance. She let him hold her face as he pleased, her cheeks already warming beneath his palms.

“Do you see them now?” Zhu Ping’an asked.

“I see a big-tailed wolf,” Li Shu shot back, rolling her eyes dramatically. Her lips curled into a teasing pout, her cheeks flushed with a faint, rosy hue.

“I mean the black dots out on the sea—can’t you see them?” Zhu Ping’an adjusted her face slightly again, more carefully this time.

Black dots? What black dots?

Li Shu grumbled inwardly, but this time she focused more intently, following his guidance. At first, all she saw was the endless blue horizon. But as she narrowed her eyes and looked more closely, she began to make out something—tiny, dark shapes floating upon the water, arranged in a faint but orderly pattern.

Black dots on the sea… what could they be?

She didn’t need Zhu Ping’an to tell her. There was only one possibility.

Ships.

No matter whose ships they were, no matter their purpose—whether they had come deliberately or were merely passing by—as long as they were ships, they represented one thing:

Hope.

Hope of leaving this isolated island, cut off from the rest of the world.

And yet, at the very moment she recognized them, a strange emptiness bloomed in Li Shu’s heart, like something quietly slipping away.

Leave?

She found herself… reluctant.

Life here had been so good.

Every day, she could be with him from morning till night. They greeted each other at dawn and said goodnight under the stars. They wandered along the shore together, picking crabs and catching lobsters. They fished, chased birds, and even climbed trees to gather eggs. They chatted lazily beneath the warm sunlight. She watched him practice calligraphy, listened as he recited his books, and delighted in the stories he told. They bickered playfully, laughed often. She cooked for him, carefully preparing meals she hoped he would like. Together, they had even decorated their cave dwelling, turning it into something warm and beautiful—a small, shared world of their own.

Ships…

Just go away.

Don’t come any closer.

Or at least… come a few days later.

As Li Shu stared at the distant black dots, her heart whispered those words again and again, a silent prayer she dared not speak aloud.

“You see them now, right?” Zhu Ping’an released her face and asked again.

“I see them, I see them—ships! Ships are coming!” Li Shu put on an expression of pure excitement, her voice bright and cheerful, as though she were overjoyed. But deep inside, her feelings were anything but.

From where Zhu Ping’an and the others stood on the island, the ships were visible as dark specks. But from the ships, it was another matter entirely. The island was large, and even those with sharp eyesight would struggle to spot the tiny figures of Zhu Ping’an and the others upon it.

At a time like this, the beacon tower became crucial.

Zhu Ping’an was just about to add more damp wood into the beacon, hoping to produce thicker smoke, when Li Shu suddenly spoke.

“Zhu Ping’an, what are you hiding in your pocket? It’s so hard—it poked me.”

Zhu Ping’an blinked, confused. “There’s nothing in my pocket.”

“How could there be nothing? It definitely poked me,” Li Shu insisted, dragging out her words, clearly dissatisfied with his answer.

That’s impossible…

Zhu Ping’an felt wronged. He hadn’t put anything in his pocket at all. Slightly speechless, he lowered his head to check—and then froze.

At some point, without him noticing, a certain part of him had… pitched a rather conspicuous “tent.”

Can’t you behave yourself for once?! Don’t you understand propriety?!

Zhu Ping’an’s face flushed deep red as he stared at the embarrassing evidence.

At that exact moment, Li Shu turned her head.

Naturally, she saw it too.

Something that obvious—it would have been impossible to miss.

“Shameless!”

Her cheeks burned crimson, a mix of embarrassment and irritation flooding her expression. She shot him a fierce glare, then lifted her foot and stomped down hard on his, grinding it with extra force as if to vent her indignation.

This girl really doesn’t hold back…

Caught completely off guard, Zhu Ping’an let out a loud yelp of pain.

“What happened? What happened, Young Master?”

The startled cry drew out the round-faced maid from the cave. She hurried over in a fluster, her steps quick and clumsy, repeatedly asking what was wrong.

“There—there are ships! Ships on the sea!” Zhu Ping’an, of course, couldn’t possibly admit that he had just been punished for indecency. Bent over in pain, he pointed toward the ocean, his face twisted as though he were suffering from severe constipation.

The maid froze for a moment—then let out a cry far louder than Zhu Ping’an’s. Overcome with excitement, she threw her arms around Li Shu, jumping up and down in delight, tears of joy nearly spilling from her eyes.

While the two of them celebrated, Zhu Ping’an seized the moment to gather more damp firewood and stuff it into the beacon tower. He piled in as much as he could, even adding wet leaves and tangled vines until the entire structure was packed full.

Heaven itself seemed to cooperate. At that moment, there wasn’t a breath of wind on the island. Thick, black smoke billowed upward in a towering column, rising straight into the sky like some monstrous apparition being born.

Watching the dense plume spiral heavenward, Zhu Ping’an nodded in satisfaction. With smoke that thick, there was no way the ships out at sea wouldn’t notice.

—

On the deck of a ship that had drifted across the vast ocean for two days and two nights, a dark-skinned, sturdy young man stood at the very front. His hands gripped the railing as he gazed into the distance.

His face bore the marks of exhaustion, yet his eyes were sharp and alert, burning with determination.

A few companions of similar age stood beside him, their expressions filled with concern.

“Brother Dachuan, go rest in the cabin for a while. You haven’t slept in two days,” one of them urged.

“I’m fine. I’m not tired. I’m used to going into the mountains with my father—I can see far,” the dark-skinned young man replied, shaking his head. His lips were dry and cracked as he spoke.

Someone quickly handed him a goatskin water pouch. He accepted it without ceremony, thanked them briefly, and took several long gulps before returning it. Then, without hesitation, he fixed his gaze back on the horizon.

After only a couple of moments, his eyes suddenly widened.

As if possessed, he shoved aside the people next to him and rushed toward the mast. In a few swift movements, he climbed it like a monkey, gripping tightly as he raised himself higher to get a better view of a distant island.

“Smoke! There’s smoke on that island!” he shouted excitedly. “It must be Zhidi and the others!”

In an instant, the deck erupted into chaos—people rushing about, voices rising in a clamor. Sails were hoisted, oars churned furiously through the water, and the ship surged forward at full speed toward the island.

It didn’t take long.

Soon, the ship reached the island’s edge. Without regard for hidden reefs or potential damage, the leading vessel charged straight ahead, reckless and unyielding, as if nothing in the world could slow it down.