I'm a pure and innocent boy, how did I end up becoming the King of Ryukyu?

"That's something! Let's try going full speed ahead!"

Zheng Yi got excited and immediately increased the speed of Shadow Isles to the maximum.

The island glides slowly forward, appearing to move at a slow speed. This is purely due to the island's sheer size, which creates a visually deceptive effect of appearing "clumsy and sluggish."

Just like an elephant can reach speeds of 40 kilometers per hour, which is similar to that of top human sprinters, but it still gives people the feeling of running slowly.

Zheng Yi quickly did the math in his head: the island's speed would jump to thirty knots, comparable to that of a conventional aircraft carrier.

He paused for two seconds, then bowed deeply to the air.

"Once again, praise to Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian!!"

This isn't a fiefdom; it's a hidden fortress, an unsinkable aircraft carrier!

Having just gotten involved with a transnational criminal organization, and possibly even being targeted by the FBI, who might have silently taken out two soldiers, it would be a lie to say that he had no concerns whatsoever.

Now that we have this Shadow Isle, if things come to light, we can take our families to the island for refuge, and at least our safety will be guaranteed.

Although it is much smaller than Pi Island, which was historically garrisoned by Mao Wenlong, Zheng Yi said he was already satisfied.

Some things aren't better the bigger they are.

For example...

Well, it's mainly because he's poor.

Pi Island covers more than 30,000 acres and is garrisoned by 30,000 soldiers. Including their families, the population is nearly 100,000. The annual cost of food and supplies, converted to purchasing power, is approximately one billion yen.

Even if Zheng Yi sold his blood and kidneys, he couldn't raise even a fraction of that amount.

However, historical records state that Pi Island was "all sand and stone, with no arable land," and its food supply depended entirely on sea freight from Dengzhou, making it a money-devouring beast that needed external support.

Looking at my own Shadow Isle, with its beautiful mountains and clear waters and fertile land, it's clear that it's perfect for growing vegetables and crops.

The Chinese farming spirit flowing in Zheng Yi's body and etched into his DNA instantly stirred.

"Wujing greets Your Excellency!"

Master Bai Ling's voice interrupted Zheng Yi's thoughts.

He originally wanted to rent a boat on the spot and rush over to "see the house in person", but then he thought that the mess at Lingquan Temple had not yet been cleaned up, and the newly hired Master Bailing also needed to be taken care of first, so he suppressed his excitement.

"Wujing, go to the dock and buy some things while I wait. I'll go to Bianshan Village, settle everyone in, and then come meet me."

The old monk, who had just changed into a clean set of plain clothes and hadn't fully adapted to his new identity, nodded slightly and turned to leave without saying a word.

In the twilight, his back was straight and his steps were steady; there was no trace of the disheveled state he had appeared yesterday.

Zheng Yi also took off the monk's robe he was wearing, casually put it into the game's inventory, deactivated the [Spiritual Transformation] buff, and hurried towards Bianshan Village.

They hadn't gone halfway when a figure rushed towards them in a flurry of activity.

Unable to put her mind at ease, despite the little fat boy's orders to stop her, Youji insisted on turning back to look for the person.

"Fukuzumi! Are you out of your mind?!"

The girl rushed to him, her eyes still a little red, her lily-like face smeared with rain and mud, her dark hair wet and disheveled over her shoulders.

Zheng Yi stared at her face for two seconds and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Hmm, she looks more like Teacher Chu Renmei now.

Seeing him still smiling, Youji became even angrier. She raised her hand and pinched his ribs, puffing out her cheeks angrily: "The septic tank explosion at Lingquan Temple made such a big commotion, and you didn't even run away, you dared to stay there! Did that crazy old monk give you a hard time?!"

"Ouch—it hurts!"

Zheng Yi shrank back as his neck was twisted, inwardly cursing.

I've practiced in the secret realm hundreds of times, strengthening every part of my body, but this area is completely missing!

Despite his complaints, he maintained a calm and serious expression, pointed to the lingering smoke on the distant hilltop, and made up a story: "No way. The explosion ignited the warehouse storing diesel fuel next door. Even with the rain, it would have caught fire. The fire spread too fast, so Master Shouzhen and I stayed behind to put out the fire. We were busy until now and only just managed to get away."

At present, all people know is that Master Bailing colluded with the right wing and wanted to destroy the remains of the victims. They are unaware that the entire temple is a mixed bag, and only a few errand boys are innocent.

They had no idea about any criminal organization or any mythical mutants.

Zheng Yi could lie without batting an eye, and he filled in the details so perfectly that even an unsuspecting person would praise him as a brave and righteous young man.

Upon hearing this, Ishikawa Aya, who was following behind Yuki, trembled slightly with her eyelashes, and a hint of suspicion flashed in her eyes.

She felt something was off, but seeing Zheng Yi's ridiculously calm demeanor, she couldn't connect him with the "instigator of the septic tank bombing." In the end, she pursed her lips and didn't expose him.

The group chatted all the way back to the village and stayed overnight at the home of the old village chief, Takamatsu Ishikawa.

The news of the explosion at Lingquan Temple had already spread like wildfire throughout the village.

The villagers gathered under the big camphor tree at the village entrance to chat, coming up with eight hundred outrageous versions of the story, from "a meteorite falling from the sky and hitting the septic tank" to "a young monk smoking in the latrine and igniting the biogas, which exploded the latrine." They said whatever was absurd.

Ishikawa Takamatsu didn't want his old friend to be gossiped about by the villagers after his death, so he gave a vague laugh to the villagers who gathered around and brushed it off for the time being.

After a quick half-night nap, the group returned to Lingquan Temple the next morning when the rain had lessened.

The wooden building in the front yard was burned to a charred ruin, and a strange, lingering smell still lingered amidst the mess.

Zheng Yi silently gave the cleaner a thumbs up in his heart—as expected of a professional, the scene they cleaned was ridiculously clean, and apart from Ishikawa Aya having some doubts, no one else could find a single flaw.

The Zen temple was destroyed too thoroughly to be repaired; it can only be demolished and rebuilt in the future.

Fortunately, the stone tower behind it was sturdy and was not affected by the fire.

The group carefully repositioned my Madam Rugu's remains, and then Ji and Tetsuya respectfully stepped forward to pay their respects. The chubby boy, unusually, put away his playful grin and bowed his head earnestly, kowtowing three times.

Ishikawa Takamatsu stood to the side, looking at his daughter's young face in the photo, and sighed silently, his expression full of complex emotions.

After returning to the village, the group had a reasonably delicious lunch at Ishikawa's house.

Having discharged too much electricity yesterday, Zheng Yi's glycogen stores were depleted, and even his fat layer had thinned considerably. As a result, he and Che Ye, two big eaters, devoured all of their grandfather's rice reserves from the past six months, leaving the old man stunned.

Cheye is one thing, but he weighs over 180 pounds, maybe even 190 pounds.

Where did all the rice that Zheng Yi ate go?

I hope it doesn't clog the toilet!

The old man was very worried.

After lunch, Yuki said she planned to stay in the village to spend more time with her grandfather during the Silver Week holiday. Zheng Yi nodded and casually mentioned that he had to rush back to Kumejima to take care of some things and would have to leave in the afternoon.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Tetsuya, who was shoveling rice into his mouth, slammed down his chopsticks, his eyes shining like 2000-watt light bulbs: "Brother! Take me with you! I want to see the world too!"

"What are you going to do? Stay here and keep your sister and grandfather company." Yuki frowned and glared at him. "Besides, what kind of world could a rural place like Kumejima have!"

"Cough cough cough!"

Ishikawa Takamatsu, who was standing next to him, choked on his food and coughed incessantly.

Yuki quickly patted his back, laughing it off and saying, "Oh, Grandpa, Benzan Village is a mountain village, not a small island! We have a big temple here, Kume Island has nothing but coconut trees!"

"Hmph, when you were little, you loved to soak in the sea hugging a coconut, and no one could pull you out!"

"Huh? Is that so? I don't remember anything about it."

"That was when you were two years old, back then..."