Chapter 4011 — A Rough Journey

Though Wei Zhao could in an instant draw both crates of goods into the jade pendant's space, that thing was his greatest secret, and he had no intention of exposing it outright. For the time being, he did not plan to tell Hong Zhong about the jade pendant.

After a while, the turmoil finally passed. The school of water-arrow fish gave up the chase, and the sea demons that had appeared from nowhere at last vanished without a trace. The sudden crisis was, for the moment, over.

Looking at the empty expanse behind them, Hong Zhong and Wei Zhao wore not the slightest expression of relief; they stood in silent speechlessness.

They had not even caught sight of the Far North Island, and already his two lieutenants and two crates of auction goods were gone, all of it. Dead before the campaign had begun—the journey had not even started, and already they had been thoroughly disgraced.

After a long while, Hong Zhong finally recovered his composed, seasoned expression and said in a low voice, "Young Master Lin, this old man has dragged you into trouble this time. I am truly sorry."

"What are you saying, Manager Hong? It is already a favor that I was permitted to come along; how could you call it dragging me into trouble? Mishaps are simply unavoidable. You are too hard on yourself, Manager Hong," Wei Zhao said quickly.

But Hong Zhong shook his head. "It was no mishap. What happened this time was absolutely premeditated by someone—and I can be almost certain it was Manager Hao and his lot who pulled the strings."

"How can you tell? They merely left a step ahead of us. There is no reason to be sure our misfortune was not an accident, is there?" Though Wei Zhao harbored the same suspicion in his heart, he still asked.

"There are things you do not know, Young Master Lin. The water-arrow fish and the sea demons are both rarely seen sea beasts, and the two are as incompatible as fire and water; their territories never so much as border each other. Under normal circumstances, one could make dozens of crossings without meeting either, let alone both at once. There is only one explanation for that—someone deliberately lured them here with something," Hong Zhong said with certainty.

The journey was a rough one, but two hours later Wei Zhao and Hong Zhong finally arrived at the Far North Island.

Along the way, Wei Zhao had truly come to know the deadly perils of the vast sea. Even though they had followed what was by all accounts the safest route on the map, in those two hours they had still come under no fewer than three attacks—one from the air, two from the surface of the sea.

By Wei Zhao's judgment, each of those three attacks had been utterly lethal; any one of them would have been more than enough to slay the flying spirit beast beneath them in an instant. Only because Hong Zhong intervened in time to suppress each one had they escaped disaster.

So it was just as Hong Zhong had said: perilous as the sea was, a single dependable expert at the helm was enough to guarantee safety.

Descending from the back of the flying spirit beast and taking in the scene before him, Wei Zhao could not help drawing a deep, sharp breath. The Far North Island was not large, yet at its very center stood a magnificent, dazzling palace, half-hidden within seven-colored auspicious clouds, dreamlike and illusory, as though a paradise on earth.

"A mirage?" Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow. Truthfully, encountering the legendary seven-colored auspicious clouds in a place like this was still quite a surprise to him.

Beside him, Hong Zhong chuckled. "That is the mark of the Far North Island. Because of the climate, this place has always been wrapped in cloud and mist year-round. After it was developed into a den of gold, the clouds were artificially turned into seven colors—you will not see such a rare sight anywhere else."

Wei Zhao nodded. Judging at least by this outward appearance, the name "Northern Den of Gold" was well deserved.

Beyond the resplendent palace, the Far North Island's defenses were extremely tight—three rings deep and back, all clad in full black armor, every one of them at least at the mid Foundation Establishment stage or above, with the captains and leaders higher still. Even the guard force at Shangguan Lan'er's birthday banquet some time ago had been a notch inferior by comparison.

"Let's go." Hong Zhong called out and took the lead toward the palace. Since he was an old acquaintance, the guards did not come to question them and simply stepped aside to let them pass.

Yet Wei Zhao, following behind Hong Zhong, still felt countless gazes sweeping back and forth over him from within and without. The slightest hint of anything amiss, and the surrounding guards would likely have him subdued in an instant; the pressure was no less than that of the Law Enforcement Hall.

Entering the palace, they found a whole hidden world within—pavilions and terraces, water pavilions, birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, utterly unlike the grand scale the exterior suggested. Yet this contrast brought no discomfort at all; on the contrary, it made the place seem a cut above ordinary palaces in taste and class.

Wei Zhao paid a little attention and noticed that besides being serene and pleasing to the eye, these pavilions and water terraces faintly concealed some profound formation. He could not help secretly marveling: whoever designed this palace was unquestionably a talent.

Following Hong Zhong through several pavilions and towers, they came to an open space where the view suddenly opened up. It was surrounded by lake water, and at its center stood a giant pavilion, simple yet grand in bearing, bustling with the noise of many voices—dozens of people were already seated there, and among them, sure enough, was Manager Hao, whom they had met just recently.

"Is this the auction site?" Wei Zhao asked. This leisurely scene, resembling nothing so much as a spring outing, was quite a ways off from the solemn, stately auction he had pictured.

"Indeed. In the past the auction was always held in this central pavilion, and this time should be no exception. But there never used to be so many people—why have even they come?" Hong Zhong frowned, and after he made out the identities of those seated, his brow knitted even tighter.

"They?" Following Hong Zhong's gaze, Wei Zhao realized that although these people sat together talking loudly, they had in fact divided into several circles among themselves.

The largest circle held twenty or thirty people—none other than Manager Hao and the rest of the party Wei Zhao had seen setting out from the North Island. Besides them there were several smaller circles; though fewer in number, their presence was enough to hold its own against the others.

One of them numbered only five or six, yet each radiated an exceedingly fierce and savage air of danger, like a vicious beast choosing whom to devour. Even though everyone around them was an expert, they could not help feeling a chill run down their spines by instinct.

"Heh heh, even our South Island spirit beast clan has sent someone. This North Island auction is getting interesting," Ghost Thing's voice suddenly sounded in Wei Zhao's mind.

"So they really are spirit beasts in human form. No wonder their aura is so dangerous." Wei Zhao had long suspected as much and nodded.