Cultivating immortality in the seas, I created an immortal island of eternal life.

The subsequent visits went more smoothly than Gao had anticipated.

After Lao Hong, I went to two more places.

The family consisted of a husband and wife, both honest and simple fishermen. They couldn't speak fluently when they met strangers, answering whatever they were asked, and then rubbing their hands with their heads down as if they had done something wrong.

The other family was a widowed woman who was very friendly to Old Man Ma, offering him water and food.

Old Ma gave a few perfunctory replies, and then came out after asking his questions.

Neither of them has a problem.

Gao Yao stood at the stern and watched as Old Man Ma, leaning on his cane, jumped onto the boat. The boat swayed slightly, and Gao Yao steadied himself by holding onto the gunwale with one hand.

The sea breeze blowing in from the east billowed his gray cloth jacket, revealing the pipe tucked into his waistband.

"Uncle Ma, do you know that woman?" Gao Yao asked casually.

Old Ma rested the oar across his lap, took out his pipe, lit it, and took a puff: "Her husband went on a boat with me, but he died later, leaving her all alone. Life hasn't been easy for her."

Gao Yao didn't ask any more questions.

The fog on the sea had mostly dissipated, and the sun was high overhead, its heat making one's scalp ache.

Two boats, one after the other, rowed towards a reef island. The monotonous, repetitive sound of the oars cutting through the water was drowsy in the sweltering midday heat.

"Next one." Old Ma flipped through the task book, "Number 23, Class A, surnamed Zhou, also lives alone."

The island where Old Zhou lived was even smaller than Old Hong's. It consisted of only a few reefs surrounding a narrow, shallow beach. There wasn't even a decent shack; they just built a makeshift shelter in a leeward spot to barely keep out the wind and rain.

Old Ma steered the boat closer and called out twice, but no one answered.

"Where is he?" Old Ma hopped ashore, leaning on his cane, and peered into the shed. "He's not here."

Gao Yao also came ashore and stood at the entrance of the shed, peering inside.

It was very dark inside, and you couldn't see anything. There was only a musty smell mixed with the stench of rotten fish.

"Set sail?"

Old Ma shook his head, squatted down, and touched the ground with his fingers.

There were footprints at the entrance of the shed, but the edges were already blurred.

"It's been a while." He stood up, dusted off his hands, and said, "Let's go and scout out other places."

The two ships left the small island and continued north, stopping and starting along the way.

As the sun began to set, they arrived at the seventh house.

The island was larger than the previous ones. A not-so-new fishing boat was moored on the shallows, with fishing nets and fish baskets piled up in the hold. The shack was built in the center of the island, backed by a huge reef, with shelter on three sides, and looked more sturdy than the previous ones.

As soon as Old Man Ma brought the boat to its dock, the door to the shack opened.

The man who came out was a middle-aged man with tanned skin. He was wearing a faded gray cotton short jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his two strong arms.

He had a scar on his face that stretched from his left eyebrow to his cheekbone, making him look somewhat ferocious.

"Old Ma?" He clearly recognized Old Ma, then his gaze shifted to Gao Yao. "And this is?"

"Outer sect disciple, Gao Yao." Old Ma leaned on his cane as he came ashore. "It's a sect mission; I have a few questions for you."

The scarred man quickly ushered the two into the shack.

The shack was neater than Gao Xiang's; the bedding on the wooden bed was folded neatly, and there were several rough earthenware bowls on the low table, with some unfinished water still in them.

There were some fishing gear piled up in the corner, which looked old but were neatly arranged.

"How have you been lately?" Old Ma didn't sit down, but stood at the door.

"The usual." The scarred man poured a bowl of water for the two of them.

"Is everything normal?"

"There's something I'm not sure if it's unusual."

Old Ma glanced at Gao Yao, who then opened his task book, ready to take notes.

"you say."

"That island to the north, number 19, Jia," the scarred man pointed in the direction. "It's inhabited by a man surnamed Liu, who also lives alone. I went there to collect seashells the other day, and he seemed a little different than usual."

"Why is it different?"

"He stopped talking and wouldn't respond when I greeted him. He just squatted by the door with his head down, I don't know what he was doing." The scarred man frowned. "I ran into him twice more later, and it was the same thing."

"And he doesn't turn on the lights at night, so the island has been pitch black lately."

Old Ma and Gao Yao exchanged a glance, then Old Ma asked, "Anything else?"

"Anything else?" The scarred man paused. "It just feels a bit off, I can't quite put my finger on it."

Gao Yao suddenly became alert. He didn't speak or light any lamps at night, and his voice sounded somewhat like the ghostly thing that had come to the island that day.

"We know about this." Old Ma patted the scarred man on the shoulder. "Don't make a fuss about it, and don't go back there. The sect will handle it."

"Okay." The scarred man nodded.

The two said goodbye and left. When they walked out of the shack, the sun was already setting in the west, and the sea was tinged with orange-red.

Gao Yao stood by the boat, not in a hurry to get on.

"Uncle Ma, this needs to be reported." He lowered his voice.

"Who should I report this to?" Old Ma stood on the shore, leaning on his cane, and took out his pipe to light it, seemingly having no intention of leaving.

"What else can I do?" Gao Yao stared into Old Ma's eyes. "You want to investigate yourself?"

Old Ma didn't reply, he just kept smoking.

The sea breeze blew in from the east, dispersing the smoke.

"Those things are beyond our capabilities. What if they really are..."

"I know," Old Ma interrupted him, twirling his pipe in his hand. "But have you ever thought that if we report every time something like this happens, we'll never know what's really hiding over there?"

Gao Yao remained silent for a long time.

"I don't want to go to the island." Seeing that Gao Yao didn't speak, Old Man Ma softened his tone. "I just want to take a look from afar, circle around the sea, and see what the situation is like on that island."

"If there is a real problem, it's not too late to report it then."

"What if we get discovered?"

"Just run if you spot something," Old Ma pointed to the sea. "The boat's out at sea, not on an island. If something catches up, just jump into the water. They can't possibly chase you there, can they?"

Before Gao Yao could say anything more, Old Man Ma had already jumped onto the boat, leaning on his cane.

"Let's go, take one last look before it gets dark, and then head back."

Gao Yao stood there, looking helplessly at Old Ma's wrinkled face. Once the old man made up his mind, not even nine oxen could pull him back.

After much hesitation, he decided to accompany the other person.

After all, what happened in the autumn examination was less of a transaction, but in the end, the other party helped him again.

Gao Yao jumped onto his boat: "We agreed to just take one look and not go ashore."

"I won't go to the island," Old Man Ma nodded.

The two ships, one after the other, headed north.

The scarred man stood at the entrance of the shack, watching the direction they left in. He stood there for a while before turning around and going back inside.

......

Island No. 19 (甲字号九岛) is not far away; it took less than 15 minutes to row there.

Gao Yao could see the outline of the island from afar. It was similar to Turtle Reef Island, with only a shack built in a sheltered spot.

It was getting dark, and there were no lights on the island.

He anchored the boat about a hundred feet from the island and did not go any further.

Old Ma also stopped beside them, and the two of them floated on the sea, looking at the island.

The island was unusually quiet.

There were no lights, no human voices, and not even a single seabird in sight.

"Something's strange," Old Ma said in a low voice. "It's time to haul in the nets and head back to the island, but there's been absolutely no movement on the island."

Gao Yao didn't reply; his hand had already reached into his robes and grasped several talismans.

To be honest, he regretted it; he shouldn't have agreed to come with Old Man Ma.

A hundred feet seems far, but to those things, it's just a few steps.

"I've seen enough, let's go." Gao Yao was about to turn the boat around.

A voice came from behind me.

"Leaving already? Aren't you going to stay a little longer?"

Gao Yao froze, then abruptly turned his head.

Sometime later, a boat appeared behind them.

There was a person standing on the boat, wearing a gray cloth jacket, with a scar on his face.

It's that scarred man from earlier.

Gao Yao cursed inwardly.

"You..." Old Man Ma saw it too, and his hand gripping the oar tightened.

The scarred man grinned, his smile so stiff it seemed inhuman: "Old Ma, weren't you going to investigate? Why are you hesitant to go ashore now that you're right in front of me?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than several more boats appeared on the sea.

They surrounded us from all directions, as if they had been lying in ambush all along.

People stood on each boat, dressed in all sorts of clothes, some dressed as fishermen, others in the attire of sect disciples.

Their faces were not clearly visible in the twilight, but Gao Yao could sense through his divine sense that those guys did not look like living people.

There was no breathing, no body temperature, and not even a heartbeat.

"Damn it!" Old Ma cursed, throwing off his oar and preparing to fight.

Gao Yao was about to throw out the talisman, but he knew in his heart that with so many ghostly things against them, they wouldn't even have a chance to escape.

But strangely, the ships circled around but didn't come any closer.

The scarred man stood at the bow of the boat and said something abrupt and unrelated to the previous sentence: "Don't be nervous, we're not here to cause you trouble."

Gao Yao was taken aback.

"Someone wants to see you," the scarred man continued, his voice still stiff. "Come with us, and you'll find out when you see them."

"I'm not going," Gao Yao refused decisively.

Are you kidding me? Going with this bunch of freaks is just suicide.

You have no choice.

The scarred man shook his head, and as soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding boats moved forward a few feet at the same time.

Old Ma's eyes narrowed: "Young Gao, I'll hold them off, you run."

Gao Yao shook his head. "Where do you want to run to?"

There are boats all around, and who knows what's lurking in the sea? Even if you jump in, how far can you swim?

"What exactly do you want?"

"I told you, someone wants to see you," the scarred man repeated. "You'll know when you see him."

"Who?"

The scarred man didn't answer, but simply turned to the side, gesturing for Gao Yao to look.

Gao Yao looked in the direction he indicated.

Something is rising from underwater.

A carp, a semi-spirited fish, not very big, with grayish scales.

There is a scar on its head, extending from between its eyebrows to its dorsal fin, like a centipede crawling on its head.

It's a scarred carp.

Gao Yao stood there, stunned, his mind blank.

Old Ma was also stunned, looking at the fish and then at Gao Yao.

"Do you recognize this?"

Gao Yao didn't answer, he just stared at the fish and the scar on its head.

He released the fish that day not because it was smart, but because its tenacity in trying to survive in the cracks reminded him of himself.

I just felt that the fish resembled me. Since I could survive, why couldn't I spare its life too?

But now, the fish he released has brought with it a group of inner demons, blocking his way out.

Gao Yao felt a tickle in his throat and thought the world had become so absurd that he couldn't even imagine it.

Scarface Carp wagged its tail again, as if urging something.

The scarred man spoke again: "Come with us, we won't hurt you."

Gao Yao didn't move, and neither did Old Man Ma.

Suddenly, the scarred carp swam over and circled Gao Yao's boat.

It swam slowly, its tail swaying gently, in a leisurely manner.

Gao Yao looked at it and suddenly asked a question.

"Where do you want me to go?"

Scarface Carp stopped, glanced at him, and then swam north.

......