Afanti gasped. Xie Lanzhi tossed him the bow and arrows, then turned and walked back with her hands behind her back.
The old man approached, and seeing Xie Lanzhi's utterly bored expression, he knew this ancestor was up to her old tricks again. Behind him, Afanti was deathly pale, clearly quite frightened.
"Greetings, Manager Lan. Where are you headed?" The old man's smile was clearly malicious. Afanti was extremely wary. Yang Gao had been tricked by this treacherous old man.
Xie Lanzhi looked extremely bored. She spread her hands and said, "There's nothing on the island. Asking me to stay for two days is simply wishful thinking."
Upon hearing this, Afanti felt a chill run down his spine. Was she going to continue playing aerial darts?
Seeing that she had taken the bait, the old man figured he might as well use her: "Manager Lan, since you want to pass the time, why don't you let my grandson practice with you?"
Xie Lanzhi gave him a careful look.
I finally agreed.
The old man told her to go back to her house first, and he would go and call his grandson over.
Afanti breathed a sigh of relief; as long as he wasn't made things difficult, he was fine with it. However, he remained suspicious of the old man's motives.
Xie Ying felt her strength returning considerably and thought to herself, "Those two pills really worked!" She believed that by tomorrow, she would be fully recovered.
However, she had to be wary of the old man.
However, the old man soon returned and told her that Manager Lan had taken a liking to her and wanted to have a friendly spar with her.
Xie Ying knew this old man had no good intentions. He was worried that she would become a burden during their escape, since he was seeing her regain her strength. That's why he wanted her to conserve her energy, but he was also afraid she would slip out of his control once she regained it. So he plotted to make her a punching bag for that Manager Lan.
Xie Lanzhi scoffed, "Just a friendly spar?"
The old man said, "Sparring is fine, but we must not harm our esteemed guest. If we want to stay on the island, we can only rely on her."
Yang Gao wasn't listening to him for the time being. He needed to find another backer to stay on the island. Once he got rid of a shady boss like Manager Lan, even Yang Gao would have to bow his head. It would be much easier for him to do things on the island then.
Without a word, Xie Ying immediately went to find the tiled house. She wanted to see who this person was that made the old man so obsequious.
Just then, Afanti met her and guessed that she was the old man's grandson. Without saying a word, he led her to the tiled house.
Next to the tiled roof was a sloping staircase, and the two people went around from the back to the front door.
For Xie Ying, this tiled house was a relatively luxurious place compared to the thatched huts on the island.
Then, Afanti's voice, in a fawning tone, rang out: "Shopkeeper Lan, your companion has arrived."
"Let her in." The voice inside was languid and weak, as if it had no energy left.
But Xie Ying was completely stunned when she heard the sound.
Was that the Marshal's voice just now? But then she thought about it again and realized that didn't make sense. Why would the Marshal come to Twin Islands for no reason? She shook her head, thinking that it was probably just a similar voice, and the Marshal couldn't possibly be here.
When Afanti ushered the stunned woman into the house, she stepped onto the soft Persian carpet and looked up. A person lay casually with their legs crossed on a wicker chair, propping their head up on the armrest, exuding a somewhat carefree and unrestrained air.
A loose, pale gold mask covered half of his face, and although his eyes were closed and most of his face was obscured, the marshal's physique and aura, even in his leisure time, could never be faked.
She won't become a different person unless she goes to war!
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-02-02 20:29:34 and 2022-02-03 20:26:07!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Xinxin (2 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 184 Twin Islands Surveillance and Scheme
"I, I..." Xie Ying began, never expecting to stutter at such a crucial moment.
Hearing the familiar voice, Xie Lanzhi's clothes twitched slightly, but she didn't open her eyes. She continued to feign sleep. About fifteen minutes later, after Afanti outside couldn't stand it any longer, she finally drawled, "So you're the target the old man sent me?"
Xie Ying was a little nervous; she felt like her brain wasn't working properly. Why would the Marshal have come all the way to Twin Islands? Could it be because she had been kidnapped and brought to the island, and that's why the Marshal had followed her?
Thinking of this, she said with a tone of self-reproach, "Yes. I..."
Unexpectedly, Xie Lanzhi put her foot down, stood up, still with her arms crossed, and looked Xie Ying up and down. After glancing at her, she said with satisfaction, "Looks sturdy, you can spar with me."
"Yes." Xie Ying lowered her head and bowed respectfully, but before she could straighten up, a hand suddenly pressed on her shoulder, and in the next moment, her feet left the ground as the marshal lifted her up and threw her directly towards the door.
Xie Ying steadied herself in time, landing on her toes and assuming a defensive stance. Afanti had assumed the Black Gold Shopkeeper wasn't satisfied with the old man's grandson, but he hadn't expected a fight to break out so quickly.
Afanti quickly moved to a different spot to watch the battle.
It must be said that Xie Ying's skills are also remarkable.
Even without her internal energy, Xie Lanzhi's fierce strength was still formidable. She stepped onto the stair railing, jumped down onto the sand, and used both fists to send Xie Ying staggering backward.
Xie Ying felt that the marshal was serious. Was she blaming herself? Blaming herself for acting rashly and going to the meeting alone.
Xie Lanzhi's punches were all heavy, and soon Xie Ying felt her arms go numb and her legs tremble uncontrollably. She could only defend herself. Xie Lanzhi then punched even harder, her fists flashing and dazzling.
Xie Lanzhi deliberately said, "How boring."
Xie Ying was taken aback.
She added, "The thought of having to stay on this godforsaken island for another two days makes me incredibly bored."
Taking a moment to kick Xie Ying's arms as she blocked, she asked Afanti, who was hiding nearby, "Can't your island lord come out of seclusion earlier?"
When Afanti was called out, he quickly replied, "Honorable shopkeeper, the island lord will emerge from seclusion in two days, which is the earliest possible time."
"So, you were still able to communicate with the island lord during that time?" Xie Lanzhi quickly seized on a point and asked him.
Afanti suddenly became hesitant, and nodded: "When Manager Lan came, the island lord received the message, and then went back."
"If you wish to contact us, you will have to wait two days."
Xie Ying received the message, and her eyes flickered slightly.
That means the owners of the twin islands are still on the islands.
An elderly man who was coming from a short distance overheard this and gave a strange smile.
Xie Lanzhi pulled her leg back and said to Xie Ying, "Not bad skills, and you're quite resilient. I'll allow you to be my sparring partner for the next couple of days!"
One sentence turned him from a punching bag into a sparring partner. Yang Gao, who originally wanted to take revenge on the old man and was about to attack Xie Ying, happened to pass by and overheard this. His face turned dark.
Xie Lanzhi noticed Yang Gao in the blink of an eye, and Yang Gao immediately clenched his buttocks and ran away.
Xie Lanzhi didn't mind. She said, "You can come and serve me tonight. I happen to need someone to bring me water to wash my feet."
Xie Ying lowered her head, clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Yes, Manager Lan."
The quick agreement aroused the old man's suspicion. However, the old man had to deal with another matter first: Yang Gao, that reckless brute, mustn't ruin his plans. He couldn't kill Yang Gao before meeting the island lord.
At night, the sea transforms into an endless, dark abyss; the unknown ocean always inspires a deep-seated fear.
Xie Ying was about to go in with the foot-washing water when the old man suddenly appeared and stopped her. He also poured some powder into the foot-washing basin. Xie Ying's hand immediately loosened, and the basin fell, but the old man caught it, and not a drop of water spilled.
He handed it back to Xie Ying, giving her a stern warning: "Your task is simple: leave behind the black gold."
"How could I dare? If we were discovered, we'd all be in deep trouble." Xie Ying said this on purpose, but in reality, she was worried that the old man had poisoned something that might harm the marshal.
The old man sneered, "You've only known her for a day, and you're already siding with her?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Ying quickly looked up and stared at him.
The old man said, "It seems I was right."
"Could it be that inside...?" The person inside immediately shouted impatiently, "Where's my foot bath water?"
"Who's dawdling outside? Do they have a death wish? Or do they want me to throw them into the sea to feed the sharks?"
Xie Ying was just in time to be a little scared, and the old man was somewhat suspicious, but not as certain as before that she knew the Black Gold Shopkeeper.
“Go,” the old man said. “After the island lord comes out, we will still need her to establish her authority on the island.”
Whether Xie Ying knew the other party or not was no longer important. What mattered was that the Black Gold Manager could bring him profit. Once he was done using him... The old man's eyes suddenly turned sinister. He stared into the room. "Arrogant and disrespectful bastards deserve to die."
Xie Ying carefully carried the basin of water into the house. Xie Lanzhi was already lying on the carved wooden bed in the inner room, holding a book of folk tales, utterly bored.
Xie Ying placed the basin of water in front of the bed, blinking repeatedly to hint to the marshal that there was something wrong with the water. Whether Xie Lanzhi saw it or not, she grabbed a rat by the tail and submerged it in the basin.
The mouse immediately squeaked loudly. Xie Lanzhi put on a boring act with a blank expression, but her voice was vivid: "Ah! How can there be a mouse? Quick, quick, catch it for me!"
"Throw him out!"
Then the mouse that had been soaking in the foot bath water was knocked unconscious with a slap.
Xie Ying: "......"
The old man outside listened with a hint of disdain. "She really is a woman. She's even afraid of mice." He turned and left, leaning on his cane.
After there was no movement outside, Xie Lanzhi threw the mouse on the blanket and watched as red spots began to appear on its body.
Xie Ying immediately said, "It's a red sore."
It was still triggering allergic reactions to the sores. Xie Lanzhi thought to herself, "The ancients already possessed relatively advanced techniques for producing highly toxic drugs. However, they weren't widely used. It must be related to family tradition."
She asked, "Do you know who that old man is?"
Xie Ying shook her head regretfully: "His name is Qian Gui. I guess it's an alias."
"Ever since he saw my brocade pouch, he has been taking me everywhere by force."
Now that things have come to this, Xie Lanzhi doesn't want to reprimand the younger generation for fighting alone. There's no need. Because Xie Ying has already successfully played... Aqina's last stand-in.
She said, "You just need to maintain the status quo."
She didn't say anything more. Xie Ying was smart enough to guess what she meant.
As expected, Xie Ying nodded solemnly. Xie Ying took the foot-washing water out to pour it out, while the old man behind her, leaning on his cane, appeared and disappeared like a ghost.
He glanced at Xie Ying, then turned and left. It was as if he was constantly monitoring her.
Xie Ying felt very uncomfortable. She followed the old man back, who pointed to the soup that had been prepared for her. Xie Ying didn't want to drink it. She picked up the bowl of chicken soup, clearly suspecting that something had been added to it.
The old man saw that she no longer trusted him because of the drug he had given her, even though she had never trusted him in the first place.
The old man then pointed to the tung oil on the table and told her to remember to apply it.
Xie Ying remained silent. Over the past few days, the two had gradually come to understand each other.
Gunshots suddenly rang out from another forestless island, prompting gunners from both islands to rush towards the location with torches in hand.
After hearing the gunshot, Xie Lanzhi wondered if something had happened to Ce over there.