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Based on the sea charts Seven Blood Eyes had given out during wartime, Xu Qing knew that though the place was called an island, it was vastly larger than the home of the Merfolk. Actually, it was about ten percent the size of the continent of South Phoenix.

Xu Qing and the Captain were on that warship. After going through lengthy discussions, they had finalized their plan.

“Only ten more days,” the Captain said, “and we’ll arrive in Seazombie territory. Your plan is okay, Xu Qing. Except, we’ll need several days, and I’m worried your plan doesn’t allow for enough time. Also... why do you seem so excited about all the prep work for this plan of yours?”

The Captain seemed both hesitant and suspicious.

In terms of plans, their discussion the first day had revealed that the Captain actually didn’t have any. He had just intended to charge into Seazombie territory and figure things out as they developed.

Xu Qing couldn’t agree to that.

After some thought, and determining what his goal was, he came up with the idea of trying to get to the nearest zombie ancestor statue as quickly as possible. After setting that goal, the plan fell into place quickly. The fastest way to get to that statue would be to have a Seazombie cultivator personally escort them there. That way, there wouldn’t be any time wasted.

As for how to get that escort, Xu Qing and the Captain had already decided that it would be: injury!

If Third Princess was ‘injured’ and had struggled to get back safely, then it would be a given that she’d be sent for healing. And given her status, the obvious location for healing was a zombie ancestor statue. After all, the Captain’s intelligence report made it clear that the statues were used for two main purposes: zombification of new Seazombies, and astonishing healing.

That was why the Captain was still a bit hesitant and suspicious, and had asked the question he just did. “If the healing finishes in a day,” he continued, “people will notice and get suspicious.”

Xu Qing shook his head. “Not if we keep adding injuries daily for the rest of the journey. Old injuries added onto new ones will seem more realistic!”

The Captain still wasn’t convinced, and was fairly certain Xu Qing was using public authority to avenge private wrongs.

Xu Qing looked the Captain in the eyes and didn’t make any attempt to look away.

Seeing that, the Captain sighed and remembered the advice he had given Xu Qing some time ago. Because of that advice, he wasn’t really sure what Xu Qing was thinking. [1]

That said, the Captain was a ferocious, determined person. Thus, it was no surprise he suddenly pulled out a dagger and stabbed himself viciously in the gut with it. Instantly, his artificially blue blood spilled out, staining his garment.

“What’s the big deal about something as trivial as that?” the Captain asked, continuing to munch on his apple.

Xu Qing shook his head. “Captain, self-inflicted wounds look completely different from real wounds. For the good of our plan, you’re going to have to suffer through a bit of humiliation. Don’t worry, I’ll help.”

The Captain stopped mid-bite, his eyes widening into a glare.

Xu Qing looked back at him seriously, straight in the eye. After a moment of silence, the Captain sighed, tossed his dagger to Xu Qing, and then held his arms out wide.

“Bring it on.”

Grinning, Xu Qing gripped the dagger, walked forward, and slashed the Captain’s stomach. Then he pulled the dagger back for a moment before stabbing the Captain. It was a great feeling. Then the Captain gasped as Xu Qing slashed the dagger across his right thigh. As the blood bubbled out, Xu Qing used the Seaforming Scripture to strike the Captain in the chest.

A boom rang out, and blood sprayed out of the Captain’s mouth. As his face became deathly pale, Xu Qing’s dagger flashed left and right, until the Captain was covered with blood, and looked completely bedraggled.

“Okay! Enough! Enough, Xu Qing!!”

Xu Qing was a bit disappointed. Those handful of dagger attacks had felt wonderful. After stopping, he looked at the Captain’s left leg, and decided he would focus there tomorrow.

When the Captain noticed Xu Qing studying his leg, his eyelids twitched. “Deputy Director Xu, as a dao protector, it makes very little sense that the princess would be so badly wounded while you don’t have a scratch on you.”

Xu Qing’s smile faltered.

“Therefore,” the Captain continued, a slight grin appearing on his face, “for the good of our plan, you’re going to have to suffer through a bit of humiliation. Don’t worry, I’ll help.”

Heart filling with anticipation, he took the dagger back, then viciously stabbed it toward Xu Qing’s thigh.

Xu Qing’s instinct was to evade the blow, yet he couldn’t refute the Captain’s logic. Taking a deep breath, he simply looked the Captain in the eye as the dagger stabbed into this thigh.

Xu Qing gritted his teeth.

Next, the Captain excitedly stabbed Xu Qing three times in the stomach, slashed the side of his neck, and inflicted numerous superficial wounds over spots where vital organs were.

After Xu Qing was dripping with blood, he suddenly took a step back, glared at the Captain, and hoarsely said, “Your right leg is pretty badly injured, but not your left. That doesn’t make much sense.”

As the words left his mouth, a dagger suddenly appeared in his hands, and he stabbed it toward the Captain’s left leg.

A moment later, the Captain gritted his teeth and stabbed Xu Qing again.

And thus, the two of them exchanged dagger attacks back and forth. Sometime later... they stopped. Both of them lay on the deck gasping for breath, covered in numerous appalling wounds.

Voice tremulous, the Captain said, “Xu Qing... I don’t think we need to do this every day. I’m the princess. You’re the dao protector. We’re supposed to be fleeing after having been attacked, right?”

After a bit of thought, Xu Qing said, “Yeah, maybe we should flee for seven or eight days, then get ‘attacked’ one more time. What happens if the Seazombies figure out who we are after we arrive? Do you have an escape plan?”

Hearing this, the Captain’s eyebrows shot up. Grabbing back his half-eaten apple, he took a bite and smiled complacently. “Deputy Captain Xu, I do indeed have an escape plan for that scenario. But you don’t need to worry. When risking one’s life, it’s better to keep things exciting by not revealing all the details. So you should probably be ready to take care of yourself.

“Given that you work for me, I suppose I can tell you some details. That said, it’s one of my biggest secrets and so it’s worth, um, 1,000,000 spirit stones!”

Xu Qing had been thinking about selling an entropic teleportation talisman to the Captain. But when he looked over and saw the lowbrow look on the Captain’s face he decided not to. There wasn’t any need.

The Captain was shocked that Xu Qing didn’t ask any follow-up questions. Given that, he came to the conclusion that Xu Qing must have his own life-saving techniques. But even if he did, the Captain couldn’t believe that they were as amazing as his own.

“When the time comes, you’re welcome to use it,” the Captain said. “All you need is 1,000,000 spirit stones.”

Time passed quickly. Seven days. They were now only three days away from Seazombie territory.

Xu Qing and the Captain spent time meditating and occasionally reviewing their plan. Also, in the interest of making sure the plan went smoothly, the Captain explained some things about the Seazombies.

“... and that’s about all there is to say about the Seazombies,” the Captain said. “Now let me tell you more about Third Princess. You have to feel bad for the girl. The truth is that she hates the Seazombies more than anyone in Seven Blood Eyes. That’s why I told you she would help us.”

The Captain glanced into his bag of holding to check on Third Princess.

“She was born to Devakind parents. Her father had astonishing cultivation aptitude, and was named a chosen among Devakind. He was thought to have the potential to follow the path of the Ancient Emperors and Imperial Sovereigns.

“However, he eventually rebelled against his people and intentionally zombified himself. Considering his shocking cultivation base, he met the approval of the Seazombie patriarch, and was named as the first Seazombie king.

“As the Seazombie king, he cultivated a very unique Seazombie technique called The King Severs Love. And he cultivated it to the highest level, gaining enlightenment of a ‘will domain’ called... Forgetting Grief! It was all part of his plan. When he rebelled against Devakind, he took his wife and three daughters with him, and zombified them along with himself, all for the purpose of sacrificing them to his pursuit of the dao. Simply put, whenever the Seazombie king reaches a cultivation bottleneck, he can sacrifice a loved one to break through it. Over the years that have passed, he’s already sacrificed his wife, his firstborn daughter, and his second daughter. Only his third daughter is left, and the only reason she’s still alive is that her father hasn’t reached a cultivation bottleneck.

“That’s why I wanted to include her in the plan. The girl seems foolish, but that’s only because of the sheltered life she’s lived. The truth is that she hates her father down to her core, far more than anyone from Seven Blood Eyes could hate him. Therefore, she’s always getting into trouble. My plan was to get her to swear an oath to help me, with the promise of taking her with me afterward, and helping her truly free herself. I told her over and over again not to stir up any trouble, but that obviously didn’t work. The girl feels like her fate has already been sealed, and that fatalistic outlook has seeped down to her soul.

“As a matter of fact, my intelligence reports indicate that she’s already been killed seven or eight times in the past few years. Sadly, her father extracted half her soul and keeps it on him at all times. Because of that, he can recreate her any time he wishes, and therefore, even if she dies somewhere far away, it doesn’t mean much to him.”

Hearing this story from the Captain, Xu Qing felt quite moved.

“My intelligence report also contains a line attributed to the Seazombie king,” the Captain continued. “Listen and tell me what you think.

“Red dust scatters on a scroll painting;

“The ink can’t trace out the years that pass;

“They leave behind a burst of loneliness;

“How can I forget my grief?”

As the words echoed across the deck of the warship, they seemed to contain with them an unspeakable grief.

Xu Qing didn’t say anything.

Everyone in the world had their own story to tell about what happened after the broken face of the god arrived. And those stories always seemed to be tragedies. Seeking the dao by killing loved ones seemed like a bitter and desperate thing. But Xu Qing had seen things like that from the time he was young. It wasn’t anything unusual. Even still, Xu Qing took out a medicinal pill and tossed it to the Captain.

The captain caught it in surprise. And when he realized what it was, he said, “What’s this for? My wounds aren’t that bad! I don’t need this.”

“Give it to Third Princess,” Xu Qing said quietly.

“Little Ah Qing!” the Captain said, smiling enigmatically. “I had no idea you were so kind and gentle!” Hefting the pill, he continued, “Hold on, do you like her? Are you actually thinking of becoming her consort?”

Xu Qing looked placidly at the Captain. Seeing the rakish expression on the Captain’s face, he declined to comment.

“When you look at me like that, little Ah Qing, are you really looking at me? Or are you looking at your beloved Third Princess? Aiya, if the female disciples back in the sect knew about this, I think they’d all start weeping.”

The more the Captain talked, the happier he seemed. Eyebrows dancing, he put away the medicinal pill and took out a tangerine, which he started to peel. Noticing Xu Qing frowning slightly, he was about to keep on in the same vein.

However, Xu Qing interrupted him. “Princess, we arrive in Seazombie territory in three days. I think you need some fresh wounds.”

Before the Captain could say anything else, Xu Qing walked over, produced a dagger, and plunged it into the Captain’s stomach. The Captain gasped, grimaced in pain, then took out his own dagger and glared at Xu Qing.

“As the princess’ dao protector, you also need a few wounds!”

He prepared to launch a stab, but Xu Qing dodged out of the way.

“Princess, your cultivation base is only in the great circle of Qi Condensation, which means you heal slowly. As your dao protector, I need to spend more time on the lookout for trouble, not wasting time healing you. That means your wounds will get worse as we travel. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, my wounds heal much faster. If I have too many wounds, it won’t be realistic!”

The Captain was temporarily struck speechless.

Seeing that, Xu Qing jumped forward and stabbed him several more times.

Cradling his abdomen, the Captain jumped backward and glared at Xu Qing. However, when he noticed Xu Qing’s earnest expression, he sighed. “Despite being chased, the princess and her dao protector would still have time to rest. Besides, given how close we are to Seazombie territory, our pursuers would eventually give up the deadly chase out of fear.”

Xu Qing thought about it for a moment. “That’s true. However, given how close we are to the ancestral land, the princess definitely needs to be seriously wounded and even on the brink of death. Otherwise, they might not send her immediately to the healing area.”

The Captain looked bitterly at the wounds he already had, then looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing’s very serious expression caused the Captain to hiss out a sigh and then close his eyes.

Feeling wonderful, Xu Qing inflicted another four or five dagger wounds, until the Captain was obviously seriously hurt and very weak. Only then did the session of ‘deadly pursuit’ end.

In this manner, time passed.

1. The advice referred to here was given in chapter 129. ☜