When the golden light dispersed, the crimson-stained seawater drifted far away on the deep current, and calm gradually returned around Baili Weisheng. He saw Nangong Jun, eyes closed, face pale, slowly sinking through the water.
His body still gleamed with golden scales, noble and untouchable, and even Baili Weisheng couldn’t help feeling a sense of awe. But he knew—he had to act now!
“This is too much. I never said I’d agree to this!”
Baili Weisheng clicked his tongue. He knew full well that what lay before him was already a corpse—if he didn’t strip away the golden scales quickly, they would lose their power.
“Quickly!” Suddenly, Nangong Jun’s voice came from behind him. Baili Weisheng turned to look and saw Nangong Jun’s spirit.
In the real world, seeing a spirit would surely feel illusory, insubstantial. But the Lishang Illusion Realm was itself an illusory space, and here, a spirit didn’t seem illusory at all.
Behind him, Nangong Jun’s spirit looked just as real as a living person. Baili Weisheng sighed helplessly and could only move forward toward the corpse.
Nangong Jun kept smiling the whole time, even while looking at his own corpse.
Even watching Baili Weisheng cruelly tear the golden scales from his own corpse—which was essentially like flaying skin—he still smiled with gentle warmth.
What kind of person had to be, to have seen through everything and let go of everything so completely, to remain so calm and composed?
It had to be said, the golden scales were a wonderful thing for Baili Weisheng.
The moment he obtained the golden scales, Baili Weisheng felt reborn, an instant refreshing sensation, as if his whole body were filled with power.
“You’re not losing out,” Nangong Jun said with a smile. “Once you go out there, for centuries to come, no one in the dragonkin clan will be your match!”
A complicated look flickered through Baili Weisheng’s eyes. He sighed and said seriously, “Much obliged!”
“Just keep my secret—that’s thanks enough,” Nangong Jun said.
“Get out? We don’t even know if we can get out yet. Didn’t you say the Prince of Nanzhao’s musician sealed the exit back then?” This was the question Baili Weisheng cared about more.
“Let’s go, there’ll be a way,” Nangong Jun said. Only then did Baili Weisheng remember—this fellow had been the accompanist to the Prince of Nanzhao’s musician. He would understand the Lishang Illusion Realm better than any of them.
“What about…” Baili Weisheng pointed at the slowly sinking corpse, unable to bring himself to say the words “your corpse” to Nangong Jun.
“Just let it be,” Nangong Jun said, perfectly at ease, and shot upward.
Baili Weisheng watched his retreating figure, a flash of admiration in his eyes—this fellow really was interesting. Soon, he chased after him.
After Baili Weisheng and Nangong Jun reached the shore, they saw Jun Beiyue sitting alone by the water.
Seeing them, Jun Beiyue immediately stood up—his estimate hadn’t been wrong; the two golden dragonkin working together really could subdue the Great Gu Master.
“Where are the others?” Baili Weisheng asked.
“Worried something might have happened to you two, they went to find the Prince of Nanzhao’s musician,” Jun Beiyue said.
“What could possibly happen! The bottom of the sea is our world!” Baili Weisheng said proudly.
Jun Beiyue didn’t bother arguing with him, but he clearly sensed something was off—this fellow seemed noticeably more energetic, his once deathly pale face now glowing with color, even more handsome than before!
Could something have happened underwater?
Seeing Baili Weisheng in good spirits, Jun Beiyue didn’t press further, only asking, “Is the Great Gu Master in the sea?”
“Yes, trapped with the golden scale phantom. She can’t come up,” Nangong Jun said with certainty.
Only then did Jun Beiyue relax. “Let’s go.”
Along the way, Baili Weisheng told Jun Beiyue the full story of the solitary island matter—though for many of the questions, it was Nangong Jun who answered.
Nangong Jun led the way, guiding them toward the center of the small island. They moved quickly and soon reunited with Ziqing and the others.
The moment Xinyun saw Nangong Jun, she rushed excitedly to stand before him, but could only stare at him, unable to say a word. After a long moment she finally managed, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Nangong Jun said, still smiling warmly, his manner the same as always—neither overly intimate nor distant.
Baili Weisheng, standing to the side, couldn’t figure out why Nangong Jun was keeping this from Xinyun. But this sort of thing—he never liked thinking too much about it. He didn’t even like overthinking his own affairs, let alone other people’s!
Marriage, romance, all that—the only thing he cared about was his disciple and Xiong Xiaobao.
“Are you all right?”
Ziqing came over too, asking Baili Weisheng, while Xuanyuan Lige also studied him carefully.
“I’m fine, the Great Gu Master is trapped at the bottom of the sea, don’t worry,” Baili Weisheng said, feeling that Xuanyuan Lige’s gaze seemed rather strange—could it be that he could somehow tell he was now wearing an extra layer of golden scales?
They didn’t linger. While it was still daylight, they hurried onward toward the Prince of Nanzhao’s musician.
Along the way, Xuanyuan Lige also learned all the secrets of the solitary island. Like everyone else, beyond his shock, there was only helplessness.
Jun Beiyue said only one thing: “The Nanzhao royal house deserves to be destroyed!”
Indeed—amid the monumental secret of the solitary island, the Nanzhao royal house, which had seemed the most hardline in its stance, was in fact the most foolish, the one who knew the least!
Such a royal line had no right whatsoever to hold a place on the Longyuan continent!
Hearing Jun Beiyue’s words, Baili Weisheng suddenly recalled the time discrepancy between the Lishang Illusion Realm and the outside world. He nearly blurted it out, but held it back!
If he told Jun Beiyue and Ziqing now that they’d been in the Lishang Illusion Realm for so long, and that outside, several years had likely already passed, the Nanzhao royal house might well be destroyed already—Baili Weisheng couldn’t even be sure whether this couple might lose their minds over it!
They’d left without a word, leaving such an enormous burden on Xiong Xiaobao—not for one or two months, but for several years!
Baili Weisheng instinctively clapped a hand over his own mouth.
He felt he needed to calculate the time properly first—figure out exactly how many years had passed outside—before he could think about how to break this to Ziqing and Jun Beiyue.
The group walked on, chatting and laughing along the way.
For all this long while, this was, without a doubt, the most relaxed moment they’d had.
Along the way, Xinyun’s attention was entirely fixed on Nangong Jun, seeming like a completely different person. What others saw was infatuation; what Ziqing saw in her eyes was reluctance to let go!
They were going to find the Prince of Nanzhao’s musician to open the exit!
They were going to leave! Nangong Jun had wanted to leave back then—of course he’d want to leave now, of course he’d want to go back and find that woman waiting to be married.
Over twenty years wasn’t short, but if it was true love, Ziqing believed that woman must still be waiting for Nangong Jun.
The Prince of Nanzhao’s musician lived in a cave halfway up the mountain at the center of the solitary island. They’d thought they could arrive before nightfall, but helplessly, night had already fallen by the time they reached only the foot of the mountain!
“Let’s rest for the night. Going up in the dark, there’s no light in the cave anyway,” Nangong Jun said flatly.
“Is the Prince of Nanzhao’s musician really so weak he can’t even light a lamp?” Ziqing asked.