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墨書 Inktalez
“Damn it, what the hell is this godforsaken place? I thought I could make a fortune on this trip, and now look where we are—stranded on this deserted island. Forget about treasure; I don't even know if we'll make it out alive,” Mantou cursed angrily, wiping the rainwater from his face and glaring with fiery eyes.
Mai Lao glanced at him and said, “I’m really sorry that things turned out this way. I didn’t expect it either.”
“What good is your apology? The fishing boat sank! The stuff we painstakingly salvaged from the Qing Dynasty Shipwreck is gone, and now we’re left empty-handed. Not to mention we’re facing life-and-death issues here. Can your apology make up for all this?” Mantou’s anger escalated as he shouted directly at Mai Lao.
“Calm down, brother. Mai Lao has his difficulties too; he didn’t want this to happen. Who knew that the entrance would suddenly turn into a massive whirlpool? At least we’re still alive—that’s something,” I said, reaching out to pat Mantou on the shoulder.
Mantou swatted my hand away and glared at me. “Don’t come at me with that nonsense. You’re just as suspicious, always mumbling about something mysterious. Who knows what schemes you’re plotting?”
“What do you mean by that, Mantou?” I asked, noticing his expression suggested that Changshan had said something to him or that he had realized something.
“You know exactly what I mean. On the night Scarface died, what were you and Jiao Ba up to?” Mantou’s tone was accusatory, as if he were interrogating me.
“I already told you! Jiao Ba and I went to the cafeteria to grab a bite,” I replied, glancing at Jiao Ba beside me.
“Yeah, I went with Brother Yi to eat,” Jiao Ba chimed in.
Mantou scoffed. “Eating? Do you really think I’m an idiot? You two could have eaten any other time but chose that moment instead. I think you were looking for that coffin. That coffin could move from the deck to the cabin; it must have been you two.”
“Mantou, stop slandering us! We didn’t move that coffin! If you want to accuse someone, I’d suspect you!”
His words ignited my anger; it seemed he had been doubting us all along. I couldn’t just tell him I disappeared to catch a figure in black; who knew what he was thinking?
“What did you say? It was me? You’re full of crap! Clear your words!” Mantou shot up as if ready to fight at any moment.
“Mantou, what are you doing? Sit down,” Big Guy said, reaching out to pull him back.
“Don’t touch me, Jin! Others might fear you, but I don’t. If you don’t clarify things right now, we’re not done here,” Mantou shook off Big Guy’s hand and pointed a finger at my nose threateningly.
“Alright, enough arguing! Save your energy. Instead of fighting among ourselves, let’s figure out how to get out of here. We’re a team; let’s not create internal strife,” Jenny said slowly from behind.
Ignoring Jenny’s words, I locked eyes with Mantou and stood up as well. We faced each other against the heavy rain. “Are you trying to intimidate me? What will happen if it doesn’t end here?” A flash of lightning illuminated the sky followed by a loud thunderclap, as if announcing our standoff—ready to explode at any moment.
"Enough, Mantou. If you're angry, come at me. This has nothing to do with Loyalty and Righteousness. It was my mistake that led us to this desolate island. I give you two choices: one, you can kill me and take your revenge; two, we all work together to find a way off this place." Mai Lao drew his knife and held it out in front of Mantou. This was the first time I had seen Mai Lao in such a state, leaving no room for anyone to argue.
Mantou looked a bit awkward, staring at Mai Lao without knowing what to say. At that moment, Big Guy quickly stepped in to ease the tension. "Mantou, let it go. Mai Lao didn’t mean it. Who could have predicted that there would be a huge whirlpool beneath that Ghost Ship? Don’t hold a grudge."
With a sudden sigh, Mantou said, "Fine... Mai Lao, I have a bad temper. I apologize."
Mai Lao patted him on the arm and nodded. "We're all on the same side; I understand. Let's rest for now and talk when the rain stops."
Mantou plopped down on the ground. After glancing at me, he closed his eyes to rest. I turned to look at Changshan, who was also watching me. I ignored him and leaned against the tree, lost in thought.
"Brother Yi, are you... cold?" Shunzi asked beside me.
"Cold, very cold." I wrapped my arm around Shunzi's shoulders, and Jiao Ba leaned closer to me. We huddled together under the tree, closing our eyes to rest, hoping to get through this night.
The sound of Thunder occasionally reached my ears. In a daze, I fell asleep. I didn't know how long it had been when I heard someone calling my name.
"Loyalty and Righteousness, Loyalty and Righteousness...."
I slowly opened my eyes to see Mai Lao standing in front of me. "What time is it?" I asked him.
"It should be evening now; the storm has passed," he replied, looking up at the sky.
I propped myself up and stood up. "What should we do now?"
"Wake everyone up; we need to assess the situation here and see if there's any chance of leaving. I'll go ahead and scout the path," Mai Lao said as he walked into the forest.
I called everyone up. After resting, everyone seemed in decent spirits despite still looking a bit tired; it was no wonder since sleeping while sitting was quite uncomfortable.
The first thing Jiao Ba said upon waking was, "I'm hungry! Does anyone have food?"
Jenny shot him a glance and replied, "Where would we find food? Just hold on for now."
Ignoring her response, Jiao Ba continued asking others, "What about you guys? Don’t any of you have food? Anything will do; I'm really hungry!"
"We're hungry too, but there's really no food. We're just holding on," Shunzi said, patting his stomach helplessly.
"Damn it, what the hell is going on? We don't even have anything to eat now. How are we supposed to survive here?" Jiao Ba cursed loudly.
I glanced at him and said, "If you have the energy to curse, it means you're still okay. Save your strength."
"Where's Loyalty and Righteousness, Mai Lao?" Li Xin asked me while sitting on the ground.
"He went inside. He should be back soon," I replied just as Mai Lao returned.
"How was it, Mai Lao? What did you find out?" I quickly asked the Supreme Young Master Conquers the World.
"I didn't go far, just looked around a bit. It's too dark inside; I didn't see anything. This place seems like a deserted island," Mai Lao said, looking at everyone with a somber tone.
"This Demon Island isn't a good place. Everyone should be careful," Jiao Ba chimed in indifferently.
"Alright, you can keep quiet for a bit. Mai Lao, we need to focus on survival first. None of us have food, and if we want to leave here, we need to fill our stomachs first," I said, seeking his opinion on what we could do.
Mai Lao sighed and said, "Yeah, we definitely need food. Let's leave the forest and head back to the shore. Hopefully, a passing ship will spot us."
We made our way out of the forest and returned to the shore. Although the storm had passed, the sky remained dim without sunlight or moonlight; it was all gray as if it might collapse at any moment, creating an oppressive feeling that was quite uncomfortable.
The situation on the island was now mostly clear. Besides a few towering peaks and some bushes, there was nothing else in sight—it was practically a deserted island.
Near the shore were some unknown trees that I had never seen before. They were not only unusually tall but also had diamond-shaped leaves. Most of these trees were incredibly thick; it would take at least three people working together to encircle one.
The tide had receded, but waves continued to crash one after another against the rocks, producing a roar that sounded like the earth itself was splitting apart, spraying white foam that instilled fear in our hearts.
"What kind of hellish place is this?" I looked around in frustration.
"Forget about where we are; we don't even have a water source now. Brother Yi, I think we're going to die here," Jiao Ba said beside me, looking dejected.
"What did you say? We don't even have water?" I turned to him in surprise.
"Yes, I just asked them, and there's no water. Who would have thought we would end up in this situation?" Jiao Ba said, standing by the shore and gazing at the vast ocean before him.
"It's alright; we'll find a way," I reassured Jiao Ba, while my mind raced with thoughts about whether we could survive on this deserted island. It all depended on how much luck we had.
I had received specialized training in wilderness survival, but that was just training. This was different; we were truly stranded in a place worse than the wild.
"Mai Lao, we should look around. Maybe we can find a way to leave this place," I suggested, hoping against hope that we might stumble upon something useful or, if we were lucky, witness a miracle.
"Alright, let the others rest here while you and I explore," Mai Lao said, instructing the others to stay put.
The two of us began to walk along the shoreline. We scoured nearly every accessible area around us, aside from the thickets and peaks, but it was all the same—empty and devoid of any resources. The only things lining the shore were those strange large trees.
We eventually made our way around to the back of the mountain, where there was no path left to take—just an endless expanse of ocean. Mai Lao glanced at me, and I nodded. We stepped into the water and continued forward.
At first, the water was shallow, only reaching our waists, but as we ventured deeper, it became increasingly profound. "Mai Lao, let's turn back. Even if we try to go around, it won't help. This island doesn't seem very big," I said, realizing that apart from the ocean ahead, there was nothing else in sight. I had lost all hope.
Mai Lao sighed in resignation. "Let's head back and find a spot to see what resources we still have."
As we turned to retrace our steps, I inadvertently glanced up at the mountain peak. My heart raced—there it was again! A figure stood at the very top of the mountain, seemingly observing us...
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