Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

But looking at the warm firelight shining through the window, he said nothing, silently picked up the raincoat, put it on, and turned to leave.

The rain continued, and thunder roared.

He reached the mountaintop again, but all he could see was pitch blackness.

The raincoat and straw hat kept all the rain out, and only the splashing water wet his feet.

In the distance was Tasha, and closer still was a simple matchbox gleaming with light.

He curled up, burying his head in his knees.

Chapter 452 Take Me Home

The next day, morning.

Feeling the light shining on his face, Nagatoshi rubbed his eyes, crawled out of his sleeping bag, and sat up.

Jiang Bai was already up. It wasn't raining yet, and he was washing up outside.

Changci came outside and was somewhat surprised not to see the person from yesterday. "Brother Jiang Bai, has that person from yesterday left?"

Jiang Bai pursed his lips, "They left a long time ago."

Hearing that he had left, Changci was somewhat happy.

He genuinely disliked being with that person, especially since they liked to say such offensive things.

"Go wash up. There's hot milk and corn in the stove. Once we've eaten, we can continue our journey."

"Uh-huh!"

Before long, Jiang Bai arrived at the dungeon that Chang Ci had mentioned. The dungeon was quite hidden, located underground, with only one entrance large enough for one person to pass through.

Jiang Bai took out the Four Directions Instrument and compared it. At this position, the pointer was pointing completely downwards, which meant that the client's remains were very likely here.

Jiang Bai cleared away the vegetation growing at the cave entrance, opened the simple wooden gate, bit a piece of illumination crystal in his mouth, and went down the wooden stairs that were already covered with mold.

Nagatoshi also wanted to go down with him.

"Wait for me outside."

Upon hearing this, Changci stood guard at the cave entrance, waiting for him to come out.

The dungeon had clearly been deserted for some time; in addition to the damp, musty smell, there was also a putrid stench that grew stronger the deeper one went.

If I'm not mistaken, this stench is from the decaying body.

Soon, he reached the bottom of the ladder and entered a large space.

Apart from various fungi and mushrooms growing in the dark, the only other thing in the space was a corpse leaning against a corner.

Because the dungeon was not well-ventilated, the corpses did not decompose quickly, but the sight of them rotting and infested with maggots would make most people vomit.

Gudong, who was sleeping in the pocket, suddenly poked his head out. Although he doesn't have a nose, he seemed to smell the stench, and his two round eyes turned into Xs, sliding into the pocket like jelly.

Jiang Bai held his breath and kept moving around to confirm whether the corpse in front of him belonged to the client.

After the pointer remained firmly pointed at the body no matter how he moved it up, down, left, or right, he put on gloves and went forward to check if the deceased had left anything behind.

He found a note with only a few simple words on it:

take me Home.

"Will do."

Jiang Bai put the note away, took a sip of strong liquor, and then sprayed the liquor all over the corpse in front of him, setting it on fire to burn the flies and maggots clinging to the rotting flesh.

The body was then placed in a body bag, ready to be taken outside for cremation.

As I climbed out of the dungeon, fresh air filled my nostrils once more.

Changci's gaze fell on the body bag on Jiang Bai's back, from which a putrid smell emanated.

"Has it been found?"

"Yes, it's inside."

Wen Bing probably only chose this secluded place to prevent her body from being damaged.

It has to be said that this job is not something that ordinary people can endure.

Changci was thinking about how to comfort Jiang Bai so he wouldn't be too sad, but Jiang Bai wasn't sad at all; he only felt relaxed after completing the mission.

He took several deep breaths of fresh air, found a flat spot, took off the body bag from his back, constructed an incinerator using rock elements, and began direct cremation.

In order to cremate the body, he filled his Sanqing Bell with a lot of coal.

However, as he accumulated more and more belongings, the Sanqing Bell, which had been sufficient before, was clearly getting too big. He would ask the old man to help expand its space when he returned.

Although we haven't seen the old man display this skill, as the ancestor of all immortals, he must be able to do this kind of thing!

After placing Wen Bing's ashes in an urn, Jiang Bai and Chang Ci turned around and headed towards Haiqi Island.

Although Haiji Island is adjacent to Bayun Island, the two islands are quite far apart and can only be reached by boat.

Compared to the distance to Narukami Island, Umijima Island is clearly closer.

"Do you know where I can get a boat?" Jiang Bai asked Chang Ci.

“The pirates should have them. We can go to them and have them send us there,” Changci said.

His mother was able to leave with the help of pirates, so they should also be able to get pirates to help them get to Haiqi Island.

However, Choji didn't really want to go to Haiji Island; he preferred to go to Liyue.

He looked at Jiang cautiously, "Brother, are you going back to Liyue from Haiqi Island?"

Jiang Bai saw through his thoughts at a glance. "A friend of mine has trade dealings with Haiqi Island and regularly sails from Liyue to Haiqi Island. I'll ask her to take you to Liyue. As for how to get to Sumeru after you get to Liyue, you'll have to figure that out yourself."

Nagatsugu patted the bundle on his back, his excitement undisguised. "No problem!"

"The pirate uncles are in the Wuming Fortress area. Let's go there now!"

Wumingzhai is located next to Bayun Island. It consists of several flat areas that rise above the sea and some ruins that have been submerged by the sea, making it very suitable for pirate activities.

After traveling for several days, the two bypassed the military camp on Haiqi Island and arrived at the west side of Tengdou Fortress.

Although Jiang Bai intends to investigate who destroyed the island's protective charms, he lacks official status and is in great danger of contacting the military without authorization. He could easily be mistaken for a spy or agent of the shogunate.

According to Manyo, during his time joining the resistance, he became friends with Goro, the general of Umijima Island, and the leader of Hokuto also knew the current human priestess who was in charge of the Coral Palace.

Before leaving the ship, Jiang Bai asked them to mention him when they met the living, divine witch, just in case.

With an identity backing you, things will naturally become much easier.

Jiang Bai took out his binoculars and looked at the situation at Wuming Fortress from a distance. Several ships were moored in Wuming Fortress, and some pirates were active in the open areas.

"Let's go, let's go straight there."

Jiang Bai picked up Changci, spread his Wind Wings, and flew towards Wumingzhai.

He made no attempt to conceal himself, and the pirates on the island noticed him immediately, drawing their knives and becoming alert.

However, seeing that he was holding a small child, the pirates did not attack immediately.

"Don't misunderstand, I have no hostility." Jiang Bai landed at the edge, raised his hands, and indicated that he had no hostility.

The pirates relaxed a little, but they didn't put down their weapons. Their eyes darted around Jiang Bai and Chang Ci beside him.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here!"

"My name is Jiang Bai, and this is Nagatsugu from Hishimura. I don't know if you two know each other?"

"Nagaji? You're Nagaji?" The leader of the pirates looked at Nagaji in surprise upon hearing this.

"You know me? Have you met my mother before?" Changci was somewhat agitated.

Seeing that they recognized them, the pirates put away their weapons. "It seems you are indeed Changci. Your mother entrusted us to look after you and left you a letter."

Chapter 453 What exactly are your intentions!

"I believe you!" Nagatsu couldn't wait any longer.

The pirate captain rummaged around for a moment, then pulled out a letter and handed it to him.

His name was Muto, and he was a minor leader among these pirates. Although he was a thief, he was quite righteous. When Hishimura was in trouble, he sold a lot of grain to Hishimura at cost price.

He's considered one of the friendliest pirates in this area.

While Changci was reading the letter, Jiang Bai also glanced at it. It was just everyday stuff, a message to let her know she was safe. The letter also deliberately mentioned that Changci shouldn't go looking for her.

Of course, Nagatoshi couldn't possibly not go to see her.

My father disappeared in the chaos of the accident at the Snake Bone Mine; all that was found was a bloodstained broken axe.

On this island ravaged by evil spirits, there is almost no chance of survival.

Even though he believed his father was still alive, the lack of news about him for so long made him realize that his father was most likely dead.

He only had his mother left as a relative, and she was infected by the evil spirit. He had to go to Xumi alone to receive treatment. Under these circumstances, how could he not stay by his mother's side?

He has lived on the island for so long without being affected by evil spirits. Uncle Baoben said that he may have inherited his mother's constitution and has a natural resistance to evil spirits.

In this way, he can also serve as a reference point, allowing the doctor of Sumeru to better treat his mother.

After reading the letter, Nagatoshi wiped away his tears and carefully put it away.

"Thank you, uncle."

Muto waved his hand, "Your mother asked us to take good care of you. We were delayed by some things and were planning to come find you in a while, but we didn't expect you to come here by yourself."

His gaze fell on Jiang Bai, and he looked at him warily. "Who is this? Why are you following him? Where are you going?"

"This is Brother Jiang Bai, he's from Liyue. We're going to Haiqi Island, could you please take us there, uncles?"

The pirates clearly showed their disgust at the mention of Haiqi Island. "What are we going to Haiqi Island for?"

"Is there a way from Haiqi Island to Liyue? I need to go to Sumeru to find my mother!"

Upon hearing Nagatsugu's words, Muto immediately disagreed, "Didn't your mother tell you not to go see her? Why aren't you listening to her!"

"What are you doing going to such a far place when you're just a kid? You don't know anyone there, you might get sold out!"

"That's right, we promised your mother we'd take good care of you. From now on, you'll stay with us until your mother comes back to find you!"

The pirates, one after another, all disapproved of Changci's decision to go find his mother.

Putting aside the question of how far it is from Inazuma to Sumeru, he's just a little kid; who knows when he might have an accident on the way.

Who can rest easy about this?

Their cold gazes fell upon Jiang Bai, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords.

"How did you know that Haiqi Island had a way to get to Liyue? We've never heard of it! What are your intentions in enticing Choji to go to Sumeru?!"

Although Jiang Bai didn't like that look, he knew the other party was worried about Changci and had no intention of getting into a conflict with the pirates.

We still need them to go to Haiqi Island, so we can't afford to offend them.

Have you heard of the Dark Star?

"The Death Star?" Muto was taken aback.

Pirates, of course, are thieves on the sea. How could they not know the name of the Death Star?

These were relatively unknown pirates who would avoid the flag of the Death Star.

Judging from their reaction, Jiang Bai knew they knew. This made explaining easier.

"It seems you know. The Death Star travels between Liyue Harbor and Haiqi Island from time to time. I came from Liyue on the Death Star."

Jiang Bai reached out and pulled Chang Ci in front of him. "Also, it was Bao Ben who asked me to take this child away from here. Finding his mother is his own wish, and it has nothing to do with me."

Changci nodded repeatedly, "That's right, it's me who's looking for my mother. Brother Jiang Bai isn't a bad person."

Although the pirates in front of them knew Nagatsugu and had promised to take care of him as instructed by his mother, it didn't mean they were good people.

Pirates, plundering and pillaging passing ships, are all perfectly normal things for them.

When the evil spirits erupted, the village of Hishiki bought its food from them, and the price was naturally not cheap.

The cases of Nagatsu's mother and Nagatsu are just isolated incidents; we should still be vigilant and cautious.

“I know you pirates aren’t a charity, so I’ll pay you.”