"Sister, Ayou is awake!" Xiaobai's voice called out, shouting loudly for Ye Ju.
Ye Ju quickly went down to the first-floor cabin. She saw Ayou had opened his eyes, a faint weakness showing on his pale face.
"Ayou, how are you? Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
"I'm fine, Master, no need to worry!"
"Ayou, do you want to cultivate? Once we reach the island, it can heal you, and you can cultivate and become strong!"
"Can I? I want to, I want to cultivate and become strong to protect Master!"
Ye Ju looked at Ayou with satisfaction as he regained his spirits. Soaking in the spiritual spring water and using her healing technique, she was sure he would recover.
Zhao Yangzi looked at fellow Daoist Ye, he wasn't surprised at all. Penglai Immortal Island was rumored to be covered in spiritual plants, so it wasn't strange that it could heal damaged spiritual roots!
Ye Ju personally made a nutritious meal for Ayou to replenish his strength, adding spiritual spring water to the soup to aid recovery. There wasn't much spiritual spring water left; she had stored a lot before, but now it was almost gone. Only a pot remained.
The Purple Bamboo boat was still flying in the sky, moving at great speed. According to Xiaobai, it would take less than a month to reach the deep sea no-man's-land, and after passing that area, they would be close.
Zhao Yangzi also asked Ye Ju, but she could only trust Xiaobai because she didn't know the way.
Zhao Yangzi was also speechless; he had forgotten the way home himself…
Hearing this, Ye Ju suddenly had a surge of familiar memories, in which a person with a blurred face said the same thing to her. It was just a fleeting glimpse.
Ye Ju had no time to dwell on these thoughts because Xiao Mo asked Ye Ju: "There's a storm ahead. The Purple Bamboo boat is small; should we avoid it?"
"Master, I can't control this storm, and it might even worsen it." Ye Ju was speechless. The ancient saying "Jiao dragons emerge from the sea, accompanied by wind and rain" was indeed true.
The might of nature could not be controlled by a small Jiao dragon. Only mythical divine dragons could control wind and rain. Where there were dragons, tsunamis and storms were rare. Local fishermen who went out to sea would always worship divine dragons for favorable weather!
Zhao Yangzi also suggested avoiding it from the side.
The Purple Bamboo boat turned and followed Xiao Mo's instructions. After flying for a while, they unexpectedly encountered the boat of Zhang Sheng and his group. Their boat was leaking because it had been hit by a pirate ship during a fight. It had only cracked at first, but as they sailed further, it couldn't hold. They had dropped anchor to repair it, but the people on board didn't know how. In the vast sea, their cries for help went unanswered. The entire boat's occupants were in despair as the water level rose, and they sat waiting for death when they encountered Ye Ju. However, the Purple Bamboo boat was too small to carry so many people. The only solution was to repair the boat.
Ye Ju looked at Zhao Yangzi. He was a Level Seven Artifact Refiner, and fixing a hole should not be a problem for him.
Zhao Yangzi had broken away from his previous behavior, all thanks to fellow Daoist Ye. It wasn't too much to ask for this one instance.
Ye Ju cast a spell to freeze the seawater around Zhang Sheng's boat and then threw some remaining purple bamboo and firewood to Zhao Yangzi.
Zhao Yangzi was both amused and exasperated. What use were these scraps? He had to take out materials from his spiritual ring.
Zhang Sheng and everyone else bowed down to Ye Ju and Zhao Yangzi, their lives saved, like being reborn. They were all grateful and remained kneeling.
Ye Ju was startled by such a scene and repeatedly urged them to rise. Finally, with a glance from Zhao Yangzi, everyone quickly stood up.
Zhang Sheng, being a martial artist, had an even greater reverence for strength. He felt both respect and fear towards Zhao Yangzi.
Ye Ju and Xiaobai were invited onto the deck and warmly treated by everyone offering them food. The woman named Xing Niang also came over and bowed to Ye Ju, thanking her for saving her daughter.
This time, Ye Ju suddenly became curious, her gossipy nature piqued. She asked what had happened. When Xing Niang was asked, her expression turned to resentment. It turned out her maid, Ying Ying, was responsible!
It turned out she was betrothed to Wang Laowu through a matchmaker, by parental decree. Zhang Sheng was her next-door neighbor. He was skilled in martial arts, well-read, and talented. They had known each other since childhood and were childhood sweethearts. However, Xing Niang's parents, who valued wealth over love, absolutely refused their marriage, causing a rift between the two families and estrangement.
Zhang Sheng was an upright man, and he and Xing Niang observed proper etiquette, never overstepping boundaries. When they learned they could not be together, they accepted it calmly, as their aging parents had threatened to die, and they could not ignore that to be together.
Xing Niang married the wealthy young man Wang Laowu as scheduled, and after marriage, they treated each other with respect, living a happy life. Unfortunately, her maid Ying Ying harbored ambitions of becoming a concubine. First, she spread malicious gossip about Xing Niang and Zhang Sheng, then she incited Wang Laowu to go to another city to trade smuggled salt. Fearing that news would leak, they were robbed by pirates.
After narrowly escaping and returning home, he saw his wife embracing Zhang Sheng in the back. Wang Laowu was already upset with Xing Niang; she had strongly advised him against going out to sea. Now, with all his capital lost, and to witness this scene, he was overwhelmed with anger and collapsed not far from their doorstep. No one noticed. He was eventually discarded in a dilapidated temple like a beggar.
In reality, what he saw was Xing Niang learning from an insider that her husband and Ying Ying had absconded with the family fortune and gone out to sea, abandoning her. She was furious and almost fainted, which was when Zhang Sheng caught her. Later, she discovered she was pregnant.
At this time, Xing Niang was penniless, her parents had passed away, and her dowry and property had been taken. Zhang Sheng, unable to bear seeing his beloved suffer, often came to provide for her.
As for Ying Ying, who had taken the wealth, she had been jealous of Xing Niang for a long time. When she left, she even sent people to spread rumors that Xing Niang had an affair with someone else while Wang Laowu was away, that she had been divorced, and had now gone out to sea with her concubine. Therefore, friends and family believed the rumors, either scolding Xing Niang or throwing dirt at her.
Finally unable to stay, Zhang Sheng took Xing Niang out to sea. After a few years, they had accumulated some assets.
Wang Laowu, in his beggar's life, was unaware of this. He was put on a boat going to mine on the other side of the sea. He escaped through sheer luck and, through a series of coincidences, became a pirate. When he was scouting and learned that the ship they were to rob was Zhang Sheng's, and suddenly saw his wife and a little girl calling Zhang Sheng "Daddy," he was filled with rage and wanted to destroy everything!
The subsequent events were known to Ye Ju. Now that the misunderstanding was cleared, they couldn't understand why Ying Ying was so venomous. Unless Ying Ying was found, they would never know the truth!
Ye Ju felt something was strange after listening. It was so melodramatic!
However, seeing that they seemed to have resolved their misunderstandings, she didn't say much, only lamenting that life was like a play!
For some, a turn of the head meant half a lifetime. Wang Laowu was so miserable, believing slander and ending up in such a plight. His wife and child were no longer his.
After Zhao Yangzi finished the repairs, Ye Ju had just finished listening to the story. Zhang Sheng and Xing Niang both wore sorrowful expressions, while the one-eyed man's eyes were vacant, his soul lost in the heavens!
Ye Ju dispelled the ice seal, and Zhao Yangzi bid farewell and left. Rain had begun to fall on the sea, and the waves were rising. However, they were not a threat, being far from the storm's center!