The Fairy: From the Traveling Merchant

Chapter 932 Night

Although Kashima belongs to Yingzhou, it is still nearly two days' journey from Xiongshan Port on the main island of Yingzhou, so Zhao Chen planned to take Danfei to buy ferry tickets first.

—Kumoyama Port is not the closest port to Kashima, but it is the location where Danfi has reserved a backup plan.

However, when Zhao Chen and his companion arrived at the ticket window, they were told that there were no boats going to Xiongshan in the next few days.

Zhao Chen frowned and asked about tickets to other ports, but there were still none... or rather, the shipping routes from Xiong Island to Yingzhou mainland were currently closed to navigation.

"Why is that?" Zhao Chen asked, puzzled.

The dock workers were also unsure, and hesitantly replied, "It's said that the Dao Xian Sect and the Great Xia government are organizing a joint exercise. Several ships that tried to force their way through the checkpoint were detained, but nobody knows the specifics."

An exercise? Upon hearing this explanation, Zhao Chen and Dan Fei exchanged a glance, both disbelieving.

Not to mention that a real exercise would definitely be notified in advance, the fact that the ship that broke through the checkpoint was detained rather than driven away shows that something unusual was going on.

Zhao Chen thought for a moment and asked again, "When did the exercise begin? Or rather, when did Kashima discover that it could not sail with the main island of Yingzhou?"

After thinking for a moment, the staff member said, "It seems to have been around noon yesterday... or maybe in the morning?"

This coincides with the time when Danfei set sail... Zhao Chen glanced at the Empress beside him and noticed that she also had a thoughtful expression.

The two then chatted with the staff member for a few more minutes, but when they couldn't get any more information, they left the ticket office and went to a restaurant not far from the pier.

Since Zhao Chen was not short of money, he requested the most luxurious private room and ordered several of the most expensive local specialties.

The dishes were served quickly, and the protective array in the private room activated on its own, isolating the inside from the outside.

Only then did Danfei speak up: "It's very likely that some sea monster from the outer sea sensed me and was discovered by the official and Dao Xian Sect patrol fleets when it entered the island chain."

In other words, the combined fleet most likely averted Danfi's doom.

Zhao Chen took a bite of the local specialty, charcoal-grilled venison. The meat was tender and succulent with a charred aroma. He immediately realized that the spirit deer of Deer Island truly lived up to its reputation. Putting aside how much it helped with cultivation, the taste was really good.

After expressing his admiration, he continued Danfei's words, "The sea has been cut off for nearly two days. The combined fleet must have deployed 'Dongxuan' level forces, yet they still couldn't take it down quickly. That sea monster is very strong."

Danfei nodded, cut off a piece of venison with her knife and tasted it, then said, "That sea monster may possess the attribute of 'immortality,' making it difficult to truly kill, and it also likely has a certain range of 'pollution'... Otherwise, it wouldn't have detained those ships that forcibly broke through the checkpoint."

"Luckily, we were intercepted by the combined fleet. I don't know what to do if we encountered such a monster..." Zhao Chen wiped his mouth and said thankfully.

He might not lose a head-on fight, but the entire crew of the "Seeking Immortals" ship would likely be "contaminated." At that point, his identity as "Young Master Wang" would certainly not be able to suppress the influence, and he would inevitably have to change his identity and run away.

He also refused to include anything with widespread pollution in his "Jade Pool Chess" secret realm.

Upon hearing this, the Empress pursed her red lips, thinking to herself: Is it a relief? No... this feels more like compensation given after using me!
But I couldn't refuse, nor did I want to... Besides, it was I who "took the initiative" to approach Zhao Chen. As she was pondering, Zhao Chen asked, "So what do we do now? Should we wait for the results on Deer Island, or should we bypass the blockade zone, fly across this sea area, and circle around to Xiongshan Port?"

He winked at Danfei, then said meaningfully, "Anyway, we won't encounter any more danger, right?"

Hearing Zhao Chen's words, Danfei was quite surprised. She looked at the man in front of her with a complicated expression, and after a long while, she asked, "You guessed it?"

"Having been 'arranged' so many times, I've inevitably gained some insights." Zhao Chen chuckled self-deprecatingly, poured himself a cup of aged "Qingping Suiyu Brew" he had brought from "Fengyin Pavilion," and silently drank it down.

Danfei watched Zhao Chen pour himself a drink in silence for a while before saying, "Although Deer Island is isolated, it is already part of Yingzhou. Protected by the Daoist sects, my enemies dare not act recklessly here. It is indeed safe."

This was clearly an attempt to downplay the issue, but Zhao Chen didn't call it out. He put down his wine glass and said with a smile, "It's getting late. Tomorrow morning I'll take you on a cloud-riding flight to Xiongshan Port."

"Thank you." Danfei thanked her softly, her lips trembling a few times before she finally couldn't help but remind her, "Taixiao Daojun's power overwhelms Xuantian, and the Dao Immortal Sect holds a transcendent position. If you wish to get rid of..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the hidden meaning was self-evident.

Zhao Chen smiled and nodded, thanking the other party for their kindness.

In fact, his journey to Yingzhou was not only to keep his appointment with Hongyue, but also to find the "divination" supernatural power named "Taixiao," so as to introduce variables for his future escape from control.

This is also the main reason why he chose to seek the ethereal "Mirror of the Heavens and Earth" instead of pursuing the more likely supernatural powers such as the "Sound Heard in the Nine Heavens" of the Kunlun Langfeng lineage and the "Eye of the Tathagata" of the ancient Buddhist sect.

After all, according to the information he had gathered, the strength of Dao Lord Taixiao was among the top of all Dao Lords and evil gods, enough to serve as a "tiger skin" and stir up the "water" behind Zhao Chen even more!
However, what truly surprised Zhao Chen was that he wasn't "stopped"...

Seeing that Zhao Chen seemed to have a plan in mind, Danfei stopped talking. She was seriously injured and her cultivation level had dropped so low that she could no longer use magic. She had no ability to help him and might even become a burden and a weakness.

And so, each lost in their own thoughts, the two stopped talking and instead began drinking together in tacit agreement, one glass after another, sip after sip, rising and falling, until dawn...

……

On the other side, Ren Lan, the youngest disciple of the Fengyin Pavilion Master, also learned about the "exercise" from the ticket office staff, but she obviously lacked the knowledge of Zhao Chen and Dan Fei and immediately believed it to be true.

However, instead of waiting for the air route to reopen on Kashima Island, she made a similar decision to Zhao Chen and the other person: she would use her flying artifact to secretly watch the "exercise" site.

Clearly, her choice surprised Bai Xue and Dong Caiyu, the supernatural cultivator "Shuoyun Zhuifeng" who was stationed on Lu Island. When the two went to check on Ren Lan's situation in the morning, they found that she had already disappeared without a trace.

"What do we do now?" Dong Caiyu's heroic face was full of solemnity. You must know that Ren Lan is the most likely among the next generation of disciples to achieve supernatural powers. If something happens to her, she will not be able to explain it to the sect leader.

After pondering for a while, Bai Xue shook her head and said, "Regarding Ren Lan, the Pavilion Master seems to have his own considerations. All we can do is say four words: 'Do not interfere.'"

"No need to interfere?" Dong Caiyu pondered these words, then nodded and said, "It seems that our little junior niece has her own destiny."

(End of this chapter)