Chapter 4335 — Bound for the Xianpeng Isle
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Live, of course I want to live!" the black-robed man answered without hesitation. Who would choose to die if there were any way out? He still wanted to live well, to enjoy a few hundred more years.
"You want to live? Very well. I have little taste for killing in any case, so I'll grant your wish." Wei Zhao gave a slight nod.
"Truly… truly?" The black-robed man was overjoyed and hastily kowtowed in thanks. "Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Senior! Your great kindness I shall never forget so long as I have teeth in my head. We shall meet again, we shall surely meet again!"
As he spoke, the black-robed man scrambled to his feet and turned to leap into the sea. Compared with staying aboard, he would rather jump—even if he drowned for want of swimming skill, he dared not remain on this ship a moment longer. What if this murderous fiend had a change of heart and decided killing him was, after all, the better choice?
"Come back!" Wei Zhao's voice went cold at once, and the black-robed man gave such a start that he froze mid-step, trembling as he waited to learn his fate.
"D-does Senior have further orders?" the black-robed man asked, forcing down the shudder in his heart.
"Did I ever say you could leave?" Wei Zhao sneered, his expression unfriendly.
"B-but…" The black-robed man's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. He stammered for a long while without producing a word, one thought alone filling his mind: Damn it all, this is the end—the murderous fiend has gone back on his word after all!
"Sail this ship for me!" Wei Zhao ordered coldly. The whole reason he had kept this man alive was to have him steer the vessel.
After all, he had never sailed alone in his life. Even if he could learn to handle a boat—and with his abilities that would come easily enough—handling a boat and navigating the sea were two different matters. Should some mishap arise along the way, he might not be able to cope on his own; he needed an old hand at his side. This black-robed man, a pirate by trade, was surely an expert, and thus exactly the right choice.
"Eh? Sail?" The black-robed man had thought his end had come, and at Wei Zhao's words he was overjoyed. So it was not to be a killing after all! So long as he could keep his miserable life, never mind sailing—he would eat dung if he were told to. He nodded again and again and asked hastily, "Yes, yes—where does Senior wish to go?"
"The Xianpeng Isle," Wei Zhao said, then sat himself down to one side. The Fang Family Estate on Xianpeng Isle had been the destination of that ill-fated convoy. Wei Zhao had now seized the cargo ship back from the pirates, but he had no intention of keeping it for himself, so he might as well see the good deed through to the end.
"The Xianpeng Isle?" The black-robed man was slightly taken aback, but he dared not ask more, lest Wei Zhao take offense and change his mind again. He bobbed and scraped and hastened to do as he was told.
Of all the islands in the Weihu Sea, the Xianpeng Isle lay closest to the Southern Isle. It was shrouded in miasmal fog the year round, and few people lived there; there was no profit to be had. Not only ordinary traders but even pirates shunned the place—after all, it was easy prey to attacks from the Southern Isle's spirit beasts, and dangers lurked on every side.
But now that the word had come from Wei Zhao, the black-robed man could only grit his teeth and obey. Going to the Xianpeng Isle merely meant running some risk; defying Wei Zhao meant being killed on the spot. Which to choose was plain enough.