TL: Zhao

　　Editing: Krisaia

　　By the time Mrs. Qiang was brought out of the room on a stretcher, her clothes were stained by foul liquids and the loud noises were still being produced. The vice-captain looked at her miserable state, visibly terrified, and gossips soon began to spread on the s.h.i.+p after a sailor unwittingly revealed what he saw.

　　Li Yiming stared into the foams and froths in silence as he pondered over what had just happened.

　　He had tried every single telephone number he could think of: Qing Linglong, Qing Qiaoqiao, Eyegla.s.ses, Big Beard, and Liu Meng, but not a single one of them could be reached. The only possibility he could think of was that they entered the very domain that would decide their fate. Li Yiming was fully aware that it would serve to nothing to go back now.

　　The only thing that slightly calmed his worries was that when he called Liu Meng's home, Liu Meng's mother told her in an irritated voice that Liu Meng had departed with Li Huaibei.

　　"Don't disappoint me…" Li Yiming whispered to himself. By now, he had witnessed the powers of all four sages he had met, and he knew that unlike him, Li Huaibei was a full-fledged sage whose powers largely surpa.s.sed his own.

　　"Deep in your own thoughts?" A pleasant voice was heard. Li Yiming took a deep breath upon hearing the voice —dealing with this guest was going to take more energy than he would have liked.

　　"The stunt with Mrs. Qiang… did you do it?" The newcomer reached his sides.

　　"My friend." Li Yiming turned back and answered calmly.

　　Fang Shui'er wore a golden dress with braces. Her voluptuous hair touched her shoulders and billowed in the wind. As another gust approached, the dress was pushed tightly against her body, revealing near-perfect curves.

　　Li Yiming examined Fang Shui'er silently. From appearances alone, Fang Shui'er was truly splendid; she possessed Liu Meng's sensuality, Qing Linglong's air of maturity, and even Qing Qiaoqiao's innocence. Li Yiming struggled to grasp how all of these different traits somehow blended into a perfect mixture embodied by Fang Shui'er.

　　"Chen Quan? He's a…"

　　"He's not one of us. He knows a few things." Li Yiming took a step forward to block some of the wind for Fang Shui'er.

　　"I'm here to relax a bit. The captain is an old friend of mine."

　　"Relax?"

　　"You've heard of what happened in Tianshan, haven't you?" Fang Shui'er tone suddenly changed; her temperament turned from that of a mighty empress into that of an ordinary girl complaining about something mundane. Li Yiming was certain that this was Fang Shui'er's true self.

　　Li Yiming did not answer Fang Shui'er's question. 'Tianshan? But I thought all of the guardians were dead…'

　　"So you've heard of it. Of course you have. Three hundred… twelve guardians, and not a single survivor." Fang Shui'er stared into Li Yiming's eyes, and despite his decision to stay silent, she obtained the answer she sought.

　　'So it did spread out…' Li Yiming did not think that his silence could actually fool Fang Shui'er in the first place, who was a master of cunning and reading people's expressions.