Chapter 9: Deep Sea Mysteries (7)
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“Splash, splash…”
Outside the cave, the rain poured down like a waterfall.
Even though the cave entrance was elevated a bit, the rain still made a valiant attempt to flood in, turning the ground near the entrance into a soggy mess.
“Ah… ah…”
The screams mixed with the sound of the rain were quickly diluted, fading away into the vast mist of rain.
“Nightmare Island… Nightmare Beast?”
White Peach was squatting on the ground, her originally beautiful face looking like it had just met a horror movie director after a bad breakup.
Luo Ying was holding onto her shoulder for dear life, worried that one moment of distraction would send this confused lady running into the downpour, never to be seen again.
The Fatty jumped, completely thrown off.
“Bro, what did you do?
Why is she suddenly like this?”
Lin Nan sighed, “I just wanted to test the waters. I didn’t think I’d hit the nail on the head.”
“What do you mean?” Fatty asked.
“I think her memories were artificially adjusted to be from half a month ago or even earlier, back when Master Sister and the two of us hadn’t arrived at the Flowerless Palace yet.
So when I asked her when she last saw Master Sister, she said it was at Half Moon City.
But the enemy forgot one crucial detail: even if they can muddle White Peach’s memory and make her think everything is as it was before, the existence of Nightmare Island is a big ol’ plot hole.
In White Peach’s mind, the Nightmare Island has Nightmare Beasts, etched in stone like a history lesson. If she hadn’t stumbled into us, she would never have gone to the island.
She would have stuck to the original plan, skirting the island wide and clear, heading right into the ocean over there.
You see, when the Nightmare Beasts roam, Nightmare Island is usually cloaked in black mist, making it impossible to peek at its true form.
Because of her happy reunion with her best bud Luo Ying, White Peach got all giddy and forgot the legends about Nightmare Island. Then, after a series of fish-catching adventures and being ambushed by rain—well, that memory just got tossed aside.
If I didn’t bring it up, the enemy wouldn’t want to expose the subconscious memories they were trying to suppress.
So, I just need to remind White Peach why Nightmare Island, usually shrouded in eternal mist, suddenly looks like your average boring island. She’ll realize something’s off with her memory by herself.”
Fatty, “…”
Luo Ying, “…”
At this point, Luo Ying was pretty sure her attempts to regain control of the conversation had flopped again. Maybe she wouldn’t get a chance to lead ever again!
White Peach’s screams slowly quieted.
Now, she sat dazed on the ground, staring blankly at Luo Ying, trembling as she asked, “Where am I? What am I doing?”
Luo Ying squatted down and looked at her calmly, “You’re fine now. Just take a bit of a breather and maybe you’ll remember all those things you were supposed to forget.”
Fatty swallowed hard, looking like a kid wanting to ask a question but terrified of getting ghosted again.
Lin Nan couldn’t watch anymore and shoved him forward from behind, “Second Palace Master, remember him?”
White Peach slowly lifted her head, beads of cold sweat trailing down her pale face.
“Fatty! Hey? What happened to your hair?”
In this moment, Fatty was about to burst into tears from excitement.
“Your Highness, you finally remember me!”
White Peach managed a tired smile, “Yeah, my memory was a bit scrambled. I’m really sorry about that.”
Fatty opened his mouth, ready to spill that he was actually a dude, but the words just wouldn’t come out.
Lin Nan frowned, wanting to help him, but Fatty tightened his grip on Lin Nan’s arm, shaking his head and whispering, “She’s still not fully back. I don’t want to trigger her again.”
“Fine…”
Lin Nan decided to let it slide.
Sure enough, White Peach soon closed her eyes tiredly. The mental struggle and confusion often drained a person more than physical exertion.
The rain outside continued its relentless “pitter-patter.”
And at one moment, as Luo Ying was supporting White Peach, she suddenly looked up, alertly saying, “It seems like someone is rapidly approaching!”
The other three heard this, and even White Peach struggled to stand, drawing her trusty kn*fe.
No one comes knocking when there’s a storm unless they have a good reason, and who in their right mind would brave this downpour with a dozen friends in tow?
The four of them stood ready for action.
Uninvited guests seemed to pause in the rain.
“Whoosh, whoosh…”
Dozens of silver needles came flying through the curtain of rain, abruptly appearing in front of the four.
Thank goodness they were prepared,
Luo Ying flipped her wrist, and the Dark Light Sword wove a shimmering curtain, blocking most of the silver needles from reaching them.
A few stragglers were swiftly taken down by the others.
Lin Nan whispered, “We have to get out of here. Staying in this cave is like being a live target. If we don’t move, they can come up with countless ways to deal with us.”
Fatty panicked, “But the rain is so heavy! What if we get separated?”
“If we get separated, we’ll meet at the three-masted ship. We have to leave this island as soon as we can.”
Luo Ying nodded, “Okay.”
White Peach looked a bit astonished that Luo Ying was taking orders from a disciple, but now wasn’t the time to question those details.
“We’ll stick in pairs, try not to scatter. Fatty, you protect the Second Palace Master,” Lin Nan commanded.
Fatty was overjoyed, bouncing behind White Peach like an overzealous puppy.
White Peach flicked her kn*fe blade, coldly declaring, “Pudgy, stay close! I won’t let a single one of these brash fools slip by!”
“Let’s charge out!”
With Lin Nan’s order, all four launched themselves toward the cave entrance.
And right on cue, the enemy seemed to have calculated everything perfectly.
A massive net suddenly dropped from above, aimed at the four.
Luo Ying and White Peach, as if transported back to their glory days in Half Moon City, exchanged glances and instantly devised a battle plan.
“Yinghua! Dark Light Slash!”
Luo Ying danced through the air, countless rays of dazzling light converging above and colliding with the descending net, erupting in a flash of brilliant colors.
Taking advantage of the moment the net suspended in mid-air,
White Peach zipped away like a shooting star, reappearing moments later with four iron hammer pendants that had been at the edges of the net.
No longer held by its weight, the net was blown off to the side by the rain and wind, landing softly in the mud like a squashed bug.
Realizing their surprise attack had failed,
A dozen women in ponchos shrieked and charged forward, wanting to give it one last try.
But before Lin Nan and Fatty could even react,
Luo Ying and White Peach, a duo of pink and white, transformed into ruthless reapers of life.
When they finally stopped, the ground was littered with over a dozen corpses, the bl**d quickly washing away beneath the relentless rain.
Lin Nan and Fatty exchanged glances, both equally shocked.
These two women were definitely not to be underestimated.
Night fell,
And the rain continued.
But when the four rushed to the place where the three-masted ship was supposed to dock, they were horrified to find the ship had vanished!
…
P.S.: A day without a ticket makes me jittery!
