Indeed!
Where had his father come from?
Jue Mingzi was absolutely certain that the Lonely Isle’s orphaned survivors belonged solely to the musician’s bloodline — and a direct one, at that.
Could it be that his father had come from the Lonely Isle itself?
Had he left the Lonely Isle and drifted out to sea on his own — or had his mother’s whirlpool, summoned all those years ago, simply pulled him directly into the Boundless Deep Sea?
If it were the latter, could the Lonely Isle possibly be located somewhere near this very stretch of sea?
At this thought, Baili Weisheng was suddenly struck with alarm. After all, though Madam Jinjiao’s actions back then had been purely coincidental, they were nonetheless a genuine clue — a clue even more direct than the Song of Parting Sorrow itself!
At this realization, Baili Weisheng grew abruptly alarmed, immediately grabbing hold of Madam Jinjiao’s hand. “Mother, let’s go back to the Boundless Deep Sea and try again!”
But helplessly, Madam Jinjiao shook her head. “Silly boy, Mother’s strength back then was nowhere near what yours is now. You’ve already summoned that whirlpool twice within the Boundless Deep Sea and left through its passage both times, without anything unusual happening at all. What happened back then was likely just a coincidence — your father simply happened to be passing through these waters near Liuxian Island.”
At this, Baili Weisheng calmed down somewhat. “So then, Father had left the Lonely Isle and was drifting out at sea?”
Back then, people of the Lonely Isle, much like ordinary Nanzhao citizens today, weren’t permitted to leave Nanzhao freely — every entry and exit, whether by sea or by land, was subject to strict registration.
The Nanzhao royal family had slaughtered every member of the Lonely Isle clan living outside the isle itself, sealed off the isle completely, destroyed every passage leading to it, and even erased all trace of the Lonely Isle’s very existence!
Strictly speaking, the Nanzhao royal family hadn’t actually wiped out the entire Lonely Isle clan — they had simply cut off the entire island, isolating it completely from the outside world!
No one knew how many people still remained on the isle itself, nor how, cut off from the world for these three hundred years, they had managed to survive. After all, a small island’s resources were always limited!
Even Liuxian Island had to regularly send ships to the Longyuan continent to restock various supplies, or it would never be able to sustain daily life at all!
It had already been over three hundred years since the fall of the Lonely Isle.
How had the people remaining on the Lonely Isle managed to survive, all this time?
And exactly how large was the Lonely Isle, anyway?
All these questions surged into his mind at once, and Baili Weisheng furrowed his brow tightly, growing increasingly restless.
“Mother, did Father really leave nothing behind at all, back then?” Baili Weisheng asked again.
Madam Jinjiao shook her head once more. That man had only ever said he was a martial artist, a wanderer roaming the martial world — beyond that, he’d said nothing else at all.
Back then, to keep the Golden Jiao’s whereabouts a secret, he hadn’t been permitted to leave, and no one had shown the slightest interest in his origins!
After all, for someone destined to remain in the Boundless Deep Sea forever, his identity simply hadn’t seemed important at the time!
Only, no one could have imagined he would carry a bloodline like this.
“Son, does that mean you’re immune to all poisons, just like Xiong Bao?” Madam Jinjiao asked.
Baili Weisheng smiled helplessly. He wasn’t the same as Xiong Bao at all — Xiong Bao’s immunity to all poisons was a divine, natural gift, while his own had come from a failed attempt at cultivating him into a human Gu!
His body had, in fact, long since stopped aging naturally. He was already over thirty years old this year, and yet his face remained forever that of a man barely in his twenties, never aging.
His body had simply frozen in time, somewhere around his early twenties.
As long as his soul remained intact, he was, in a certain sense, essentially immortal.
Listening to Baili Weisheng calmly recount these truths, Madam Jinjiao’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. Though she didn’t want to admit it, her son, as things stood now, could genuinely be described as some kind of monster!
Neither a human Gu, nor an ordinary person!
What would become of her son in the future? No one could say!
Baili Weisheng looked at his mother, her eyes brimming with tears, and swallowed back whatever else he’d meant to say.
His body had once suffered a devastating blow, and it was his golden scales that had protected him — he himself remained deeply uncertain about his own body, even now.
“Alright, alright, you’re tired too, go get some rest. Once we find the Lonely Isle, everything will finally come to light. It’ll be alright!”
Baili Weisheng, of course, remained optimistic as ever, urging Madam Jinjiao along with a smile.
Madam Jinjiao nodded, and without another thought for Meng Duo’er, quietly left the room.
After Madam Jinjiao departed, the room fell into an even deeper silence. Baili Weisheng let out a soft breath, then turned around, suddenly remembering there was still Meng Duo’er to deal with.
His mouth twitched several times as he stood there, staring at the sleeping figure of Meng Duo’er, utterly at a loss for what to do, for the longest time.
Jue Mingzi had already said she’d be fine — so surely she really would be fine. Why not just let her sleep straight through until morning?
Baili Weisheng reasoned it through this way, nodding to himself with great seriousness, and truly did turn to leave.
But the moment he stepped outside the door, he ran straight into Baili Xiaosheng, who was standing guard right outside!
The girl was still dressed in her medicine-apprentice’s outfit as always, her hair done up in two little bun-shaped buns, wearing a silver mask, her big, watery eyes staring straight at him.
Baili Weisheng looked down at her and gently tapped the silvery-white mask, saying with a helpless smile, “Silly girl — didn’t I tell you, for a real man, a couple of scars are nothing at all?”
After treatment with Jue Mingzi’s medicine, most of the scars on her face and body had healed quite well — except, stubbornly, for two knife-scars right on her cheekbones, which simply wouldn’t heal.
The cuts were too deep — so deep that even the human-skin mask couldn’t fully conceal them, leaving it looking somewhat unnatural.
Baili Xiaosheng immediately rolled her eyes. “I’m with you every single day — can’t have you losing face because of me, can I?”
Seeing her joke around and roll her eyes at him like this, Baili Weisheng knew the girl’s spirits had recovered fairly well.
He tapped her little head and said with a smile, “Is dressing up as a boy really that fun?”
After all, this girl had quite fine natural features, remarkably delicate and pretty. At her young age now, it wasn’t obvious, but in a few more years, even in a gender-neutral medicine-apprentice’s outfit, anyone would be able to tell she was a girl.
But if she kept wearing the mask, that would be a different matter entirely.
“It’s great. Being a girl is such a hassle. Besides, doesn’t Master prefer boys?” Baili Xiaosheng said with a smile.
“Did I ever say that?” Baili Weisheng looked at her, puzzled, having long since forgotten whatever he’d said years ago.
Baili Xiaosheng just smiled and didn’t answer.
Baili Weisheng sat down on the stone steps, looking Baili Xiaosheng up and down thoroughly. She immediately grew wary, backing away several steps. “What are you up to now?”
“Heh heh, come here, I’ll tell you a secret.” Baili Weisheng grinned mischievously — master and disciple, the two of them, looked less like teacher and student and more like old companions who’d kept each other company for years.
Baili Xiaosheng backed away even further.
“I’m serious, it’s definitely good news — the best news imaginable. Come here.” Baili Weisheng promised with great earnestness.
“Just say it, then.” Baili Xiaosheng said, looking utterly indifferent.
“Girl, you’re my disciple, that’s exactly why I’m telling you this from the bottom of my heart. Xiong Xiaobao might be a bit young, but that kid is solid and dependable — you’ve got the advantage of proximity here, better seize the opportunity quickly. Become Prince Yao’s daughter-in-law, and you’re guaranteed a lifetime of wealth, glory, and power.” Baili Weisheng said this with the utmost seriousness.
Well, honestly, he genuinely believed this!
This disciple of his was pretty good too — he wouldn’t want to just hand her over to anyone, but to Jun Beiyue’s family, he could reluctantly accept it.
At this, Baili Xiaosheng looked as though she’d been struck by lightning, staring at Baili Weisheng in open-mouthed disbelief.
“Master is completely serious!” Baili Weisheng emphasized.
But Baili Xiaosheng suddenly burst out laughing. “Master, you’re getting more and more ridiculous!”
“I mean it, truly!”
“Come on, your good disciple has already made your bed, and warmed it up nicely too. Time to sleep!”
Baili Weisheng couldn’t be bothered to argue further, resting his chin on his hands, not moving at all.
“Let’s go!” Baili Xiaosheng immediately came over to pull him along. Whenever she traveled with him, she always took care of his daily needs — making his bed, warming it up beforehand on cold nights, then keeping watch nearby on a heated bench, half-sleeping, half-standing guard.
Baili Weisheng was about to get up, but then sat back down, saying helplessly, “You go on to sleep. The one inside still hasn’t woken up. I’ll keep watch here for a while.”