Chapter 115

Chapter 115: A Silver Tongue That Twists the Truth
Boss Wu exchanged a glance with the other three. In the end, he was the one who spoke: “We came here this time to search for the Merfolk Clan’s ancestral grounds.”

Yu Zhao immediately thought of the blue heart on the fifth floor of the Merfolk Pavilion and asked calmly, “The Merfolk Clan? Didn’t they die out hundreds of years ago?”

Boss Wu shook his head and said, “That is what the rumors say. Whether it is true or not, no one knows.”

From his tone and expression, Yu Zhao could tell that he also had doubts about it. [Then why would he travel all this way out to sea to search, unless…]

Lady Hua stepped forward and said, “Let me explain. Three months ago, I accidentally obtained a map of the Merfolk Clan grounds. It not only marks the location of their ancestral land, but also shows the routes inside.”

She went on, “The Merfolk Clan’s bodies are strange and mystical. Their tears do not rot for a thousand years. And that is not even counting the supreme treasures they may have left in their ancestral land.”

“Fellow Daoist Yu, you were born noble and do not know how hard it is for rogue cultivators like us. Even if it is a dragon’s pool or a tiger’s den, we are willing to risk it,” she said.

Zhao Xian and his wife and Boss Wu nodded deeply in agreement.

They also knew full well how dangerous this trip was, but fortune lies in danger. If they did not gamble with their lives, how would great opportunities ever fall into their hands?

Yu Zhao neither agreed nor disagreed with Lady Hua’s story, weighing in her heart how much of their words could be trusted.

In truth, she was not very interested in the treasures the Merfolk Clan had left behind. She was more curious about whether there were still any intact Merfolk living in this world.

The Merfolk Clan had disappeared from the Cultivation World hundreds of years ago. [So where had this map suddenly come from?]

Yu Zhao looked at Lady Hua and asked, “May I borrow the map for a look?”

It sounded like a question, but her tone was firm and left no room for refusal.

Lady Hua gave a bitter little smile, took out the map, and handed it to Yu Zhao with both hands as she said, “Please, Fellow Daoist Yu.”

When Yu Zhao’s fingers touched the map, her heart stirred. [What a fine, smooth feel.]

The map was made from a strange material that was somewhere between cloth and animal hide. It was smooth to the touch and carried a natural coolness.

Yu Zhao slowly unfolded the map. Ji Han Zhou leaned over curiously to look at it together with her.

The map was just as Lady Hua had said. It showed the outline of the island with detailed routes marked inside. In the lower right corner, a blue scale was inlaid into it, throwing off dazzling light as the angle changed.

Seeing the map, Yu Zhao was half convinced.

She handed the map back to Lady Hua and asked, “What rules did you set before? How will the treasure be divided once it is found?”

Lady Hua explained, “I am the strongest, so I take one share. Boss Wu provided the ship and handled the contacts, so he also has one share. As for Zhao Xian and his wife, the two of them count as one share, and the three Long brothers count as two shares.”

Yu Zhao said, “All right, I will not ask for more. My junior brother and I will be the same as the three Long brothers and take two shares.”

Everyone knew that when real profit was involved, verbal agreements were like waste paper and did not count at all.

But Yu Zhao still wanted to state the ugly words up front: what should be hers, no one else should even think of stealing.

Lady Hua and Boss Wu had no objection. Even if Yu Zhao had wanted three shares, they would not have been able to say anything against it.

Zhao Xian and his wife both felt a bit sour inside.

They were also a pair, yet Yu Zhao and her pretty-boy junior brother could take two shares, while the two of them, both Golden Core cultivators, only had one share. The gap was far too big.

Yu Zhao did not care what they were thinking. If they had opinions but did not dare voice them, then they could just hold it in.

Of course, even if they did say it, she would not listen. In the Cultivation World, whoever had the bigger fist was the one people listened to.

After settling the issue of how to divide the profits, their group finally started to officially search the Merfolk Clan grounds.

Lady Hua explained, “Merfolk live on the sea floor. This island was built to hide things from cultivators’ eyes and ears. We have to find the passage into the undersea world first. Only then can we truly enter the Merfolk Clan’s ancestral land.”

The map only showed the routes inside. It did not mark the entrance, so Yu Zhao and the others could only spread out and investigate on their own.

Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou searched in the same area.

Ji Han Zhou was the weakest of this group, so Yu Zhao could only keep him under her own eyes, watching over him at all times so he would not fall victim to someone else’s sneak attack.

After suffering several blows, Ji Han Zhou’s state of mind had grown somewhat. He adapted well and carefully examined the rocky cliffs, as if he wanted to check every crack in the stone inside and out.

Three hours later, they had circled the island once and still found nothing.

The island was just like it had seemed during their earlier investigation, lifeless and still, with no spiritual energy and no hint of life.

Logically, if the Merfolk Clan had set up a passage to the sea floor on this island, they should have left at least some trace.

Ji Han Zhou furrowed his brows, feeling that there had to be some place he had overlooked.

[What was the Merfolk Clan’s way of life?]

[They lived under the water.]

[Then could the passage into their ancestral land be not on the island, but under the island?]

Ji Han Zhou felt as if he had discovered a shocking secret. His eyes shone with amazing light.

Boss Wu had sharp eyes. He spotted Ji Han Zhou’s strange look at once and, smiling, called out, “Young Brother Ji, did you discover something?”

As soon as the others heard this, they all turned their eyes toward Ji Han Zhou.

Ji Han Zhou thought that he had been too careless and quickly smoothed out his expression, but everyone had already seen his change.

Lady Hua said with a bright smile, “Young Brother Ji, we are allies now. Since you have a clue, there is no need to hide it. Share it, and we can all analyze it together. That way we can find the Merfolk Clan’s ancestral land sooner. Fellow Daoist Yu, would you say that is reasonable?”

Yu Zhao also smiled and said, “Lady Hua is absolutely right. Junior Brother Ji, Senior Sister really has to say a few words to you. Your biggest problem is that you are too modest! You must be thinking that the clues the other seniors did not find were found by you, so you feel embarrassed to say it.”

She went on, “This is where you are wrong. All the seniors here are broad-minded people. They definitely will not mind. Just say it openly and let the seniors hear exactly where they lost to you.”

Ji Han Zhou was stunned.

Lady Hua and the others were all stunned as well.

[What a sharp tongue that could twist black into white, turning Ji Han Zhou’s attempt to hide clues into “protecting their face” and “thinking of the bigger picture.”]

[Why does she not go be a storyteller instead?]

Lady Hua and the others were so angry they almost ground their teeth to bits, yet they could not find words to refute her.

Ji Han Zhou held back his laughter and explained his earlier idea.

When everyone heard it, everything became clear.

Of course. They had followed their fixed way of thinking and assumed the passage would be built on the island, never thinking that given the Merfolk Clan’s habits, under the island would suit them better.

After a burst of excitement, their expressions slowly grew solemn.

On the island, whatever accidents happened, they could still respond in time. But if they were deep under the sea, they would have to guard not only against their allies, but also against unknown underwater creatures. The risk would rise again.

But as the saying went, fortune lies in danger.

Since they had already come, they absolutely would not allow themselves to turn back. Even if they died, they would die on the road to searching for treasure.