The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Chapter 93 Encountering Otherworldly Beings in an Arctic Research Town

Earth, Minqin County, Northwest Desert, Country C.

"Captain Zhang, you came straight here after returning from the Arctic. Is there something suspicious about this desert?" Jing Yun asked.

“That’s right, the last time tunnel on Earth,” Zhang Zhaoyi affirmed.

"You found out in the Arctic? What exactly happened in the Arctic?" Jingyun pressed.

"We found that otherworldly pirate ship in the Arctic. When we arrived, there was no one on board. Drones conducted a large-scale search, but as you know, thermal imaging is practically useless in the Arctic. So we had to tow the ship back to Ny-Ålesund. We planned to rest briefly at Yellow River Station before returning. But something happened along the way."

"What is it?" Jingyun pressed.

"As the ship sailed toward Ny-Ålesund, we saw the ghost again."

"A ghost? You mean the one we encountered before?" Jingyun asked, puzzled.

“That’s right, but this time, it’s changed,” Zhang Zhaoyi explained. “Its size has become enormous, almost obscuring the entire sky. Its body emits a ghostly blue light, like flames from hell. Our ship looks so tiny in front of it, as if it could be swallowed up at any moment.”

"Then how did you escape?" Jingyun asked nervously.

“We were terrified, but I knew we couldn’t just sit and wait to die. I ordered the crew to accelerate at full speed, trying to escape the ghost’s pursuit. But no matter how hard we tried, the ghost always seemed to catch up with us easily. Its speed was beyond our imagination.”

"Just when we thought we couldn't escape, we encountered a fishing boat. The captain killed a large number of fresh fish and stabbed them into the air with a fork covered in fish blood. Just like that, the ghost disappeared," Zhang Zhaoyi continued.

"Just like that? You drove away that terrifying ghost with fish blood?" Jingyun said incredulously.

“Yes, we found it incredible at the time too. But the facts were undeniable; the ghost did indeed disappear under the influence of the fish blood. We took the opportunity to speed up and escape back to Ny-Ålesund,” Zhang Zhaoyi explained.

"And then what? Did you discover anything about this?" Jingyun pressed.

"The captain told us that those ghosts are called time ghosts. The way they smear their harpoons with fish blood is a method passed down from their ancestors to deal with ghosts, which is said to be a pact with the gods."

"A time ghost? A pact with a god?" Jing Yun frowned. "This sounds like a myth, it's unlikely to be true, right?"

"Maybe, maybe they're just aliens with technology far superior to ours," Zhang Zhaoyi sighed. "We didn't get any other useful information from the captain. So we continued on to the Yellow River Station. The fishing boat captain also went off to fish with his crew."

"Wait, isn't it the fishing ban period?" Jingyun asked.

“The Aiqi Ying people are natives, they're not restricted,” Zhang Zhaoyi replied. “Later, we encountered otherworldly beings in New Ålesund. The captain of that pirate ship was named Qin Changkai. He was rescued by researchers near Noah's Ark. The researchers had just gone to replenish plant seeds. One of them spotted him, barely alive. He said he had a companion named Li Hongbo, but they had gotten separated.”

"Qin Changkai?" Jing Yun repeated, "He's the captain of that pirate ship?"

“That’s right, it’s him.” Zhang Zhaoyi nodded. “He told us that his companion, Li Hongbo, was a wizard who made a mistake on his way to another world to search for treasure, and ended up in an extremely cold place. Only the two of them survived.

"Wizard? Treasure hunting in another world?" Jing Yun's eyes widened. "This sounds even more outrageous than Time Ghost."

“Yes, at first we didn’t quite believe him either. But as we learned more, we found that what Qin Changkai said didn’t seem to be unfounded,” Zhang Zhaoyi continued. “He described his time world in detail, which is the Floating World Continent we studied before. Then he told us that before he got separated from Li Hongbo, Li Hongbo told him that there was a way back in the desert.”

"They got separated. Only the two of them are still alive. They got separated in the freezing cold?" Jingyun expressed his doubt.

“That’s right. In the blink of an eye, Li Hongbo disappeared. He thought Li Hongbo had used some kind of witchcraft again, but in the end he was certain that they had just gotten separated.”

"And then what happened? Did Qin Changkai find his way back?" Jing Yun pressed.

“No, he kept searching, but never found him. He said he had been wandering on the ice field for a long time until he was discovered by the scientific expedition team.” Zhang Zhaoyi sighed. “He told us that he was willing to help us find Li Hongbo because he believed that only Li Hongbo could take them back to their original world.”

"So what happened next? Did you find Li Hongbo?" Jingyun pressed.

"Obviously, no. We can only continue to question Qin Changkai and Li Hongbo about everything they told him about the desert. In the end, we narrowed it down to two places: either the desert in North Africa or the desert in northwestern my country."