The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Chapter 25 Sighting of Nanzhao Kingdom Warships During a Naval Voyage

After listening to Luo Yifei's account, Qi Yuan had many guesses about what had happened to An Ying and Li Hongbo. He also knew that Luo Yifei was probably deliberately hiding something, but he didn't say it.

Instead, he said, "Li Hongbo's version is essentially the same as the version circulating in the martial arts world. It's been a thousand years, and those details are probably fabricated by later generations, so they have no credibility. We've been to the Lanting Post Station in Lanting County before, including the main pavilion in the middle. All the buildings were built later, and the underground tunnels and such are no longer there."

After Qi Yuan finished speaking, Luo Yifei did not respond. After a moment of silence, Bi Li asked, "Luo Yifei, you mentioned someone named Shen Lixi. Is that the person you're looking for? We still don't know how he disappeared?"

“Four years ago, after we returned to the Western Continent, Shen Lixi was unwilling to give up on that book, so he volunteered to go to Mount Emei again to find it, and he returned on time no matter whether he found it or not. This time he set off with a few others, and I didn’t come with them. Later, when the year was up, they didn’t return home. So I came out to look for them,” Luo Yifei replied.

"Did you come alone this time?" Qi Yuan asked.

"Yes," Luo Yifei replied affirmatively.

"Didn't anyone from your family accompany you?" Qi Yuan continued to ask. After his secret meeting with Lin Quan, the leader of the Red-Clothed Cult, he naturally knew that Luo Yifei came from Lin Quan's hometown. Throughout their conversations, he had been using Qiao Zhi's stories about the West to guide Luo Yifei in portraying himself as a Westerner. He knew that once some evil cults discovered Luo Yifei's true identity, Luo Yifei would likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

"No, I came out alone," Luo Yifei replied. He had already figured out where he came from based on the map Wen Bin had given him, and he also learned about the local customs and culture from Qiao Zhi's account. Now all he had to do was play the role of a Westerner, find Shen Lixi and the others, and bring them back to Earth.

"You ran away secretly, didn't you? Your parents probably don't know you're on Dongda Road," Qi Yuan continued.

"I left an email... a letter home." Luo Yifei did send an email to his father and call his mother, saying that he had gone on a trip and asked a friend to send home photos of the scenic spots regularly via email.

“Ji Mi and the others will go to An Island with Dugu Xin. We’ll try to find out why he’s chasing Li Hongbo.” Qi Yuan didn’t press Luo Yifei further, but instead shifted the focus to the initial topic of Dugu Xin chasing Li Hongbo.

The group chatted as they went, completely unaware that it was getting dark. The fishing boat had been at sea for a day.

After dinner, the group went back to their respective rooms.

Luo Yifei lay on the bed in the cramped room, feeling uneasy. He knew his father would figure out where he had gone from the email he left behind. But he didn't know if his father would come looking for him, whether the Phoenix Squad's research project would ever be restarted, or when he would finally find Shen Lixi and the others.

Unable to fall asleep, Luo Yifei got up and went to the deck of the fishing boat. The sky was full of stars, the brightest of which was Yeqi Star, and no other stars could be seen around it.

Lost in thought as he gazed at the stars, Luo Yifei unconsciously lowered his head and suddenly noticed a dark shadow in the distant sea. He couldn't tell if it was a reef or another ship.

Luo Yifei went back to his room and retrieved his binoculars. Visibility was poor at night, and even through the binoculars, he could only make out the outlines of three ships. However, the outlines of these ships startled Luo Yifei; they were too similar to the outline of the ship he had seen on Earth, suggesting they were the same type of ship.

Luo Yifei quickly recovered from his surprise and went into the cabin to wake Qi Yuan, asking him to come and see the three boats.

Qi Yuan took the binoculars and looked at the dark shape in the distance.

"It's not very clear, but judging from the outline, it could be a warship from the Nanzhao Kingdom," Qi Yuan said.

"Li Hongbo is from the Nanzhao Kingdom, right?" Luo Yifei asked.

"Why do you keep asking about Li Hongbo? Do you think he has clues about your friend?" Qi Yuan asked.

"I'm just grasping at straws because I'm desperate, I really have no leads!" Luo Yifei said helplessly, without revealing that his interest in the fishing boat was actually related to a shipwreck on Earth.

"Once we get to An Island, I'll ask my friends in the martial arts world to help me find some clues. Don't worry, they'll investigate secretly and won't cause any trouble for your friends." Qi Yuan once again mentioned that he would ask his friends in the martial arts world to help him find people.

"Alright, then I'll trouble you." Luo Yifei finally stopped insisting that he didn't need the Jianghu Intelligence Network's help. He figured he could only ask Qi Yuan to help him look for it.

The sea breeze brushed against their faces, and the dark figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

"You said last time that all the intelligence in the martial arts world is gathered by a sect called the Wind Whisper Society?" Luo Yifei asked as if talking to himself. He knew that everything came at a price, and he wondered what price the Wind Whisper Society would have to pay to find Shen Lixi.

“Yes, the Wind Whisper Society has the best intelligence network. They know about any news or disturbances immediately. Many sects in the martial arts world have members who have joined the Wind Whisper Society to exchange information.” Qi Yuan didn’t say anything more. He had already told Luo Yifei about this before, but he was worried that it would cause trouble for Shen Lixi, so he didn’t want to go to the Wind Whisper Society.

The two gazed at the stars in silence for a while longer, as the sea breeze gradually picked up.

"Let's go back, it's windy, don't catch a cold," Qi Yuan said to Luo Yifei.

Luo Yifei nodded, and the two returned to the cabin together.