Chapter 102: Chapter 91: Qiu Qianhai’s Letter
Ji Yuan took the shell from the small-framed man, his expression somewhat dazed.
How long has it been since he received any news from Qiu Qianhai?
It’s been over a year.
Since their farewell outside Jingde Square, Ji Yuan had inquired several times but never heard anything about Qiu Qianhai again; initially, even Limp Li would come to ask.
But after several fruitless inquiries, he stopped coming.
Additionally, recently, the Qin Family has become increasingly cautious. Stories are already circulating in Zengtou City that Blind Qin has passed away... Ji Yuan estimated that under such circumstances, the Qin Family certainly wouldn’t have the appetite to deal with Qiu Qianhai.
Therefore, Ji Yuan hadn’t bothered investigating further.
He guessed that Qiu Qianhai found a place to retreat and break through to the late stage of Qi Cultivation; once he breaks through, he would return to find him.
Sure enough, now he has finally returned!
But, thinking about it, if he truly broke through to the late stage of Qi Cultivation, he could come back openly and confidently. If not, just like last time, he should have put a shell at my doorstep himself.
Why send someone else to deliver it?
"Who sent you with this?"
Ji Yuan looked up at the small-framed man, frowning and speaking in a deep voice.
The small-framed man shivered in fear and quickly replied, "To answer the senior, the shell was left with me by someone two years ago."
"Two years ago?!"
Ji Yuan sensed something was off; he had met Qiu Qianhai a year ago, two years ago... at that time, he had just left Zengtou City not long ago, presumably going to Black Water Square.
"Are you from Black Water Square?"
"Yes."
The small-framed man didn’t know how the senior in the late stage of Qi Cultivation saw through him, but he nodded again and continued, "Two years ago, that person left this shell with me and gave me twenty Spirit Stones, saying that if he didn’t come back to fetch the shell after two years, I should deliver it to House No. 36 in Zengtou City, and then... then have the senior give me twenty... oh no, just ten Spirit Stones."
"Ten Spirit Stones are enough."
"Two years... are you saying that in these two years, you’ve never seen him again?"
"No, after giving me the shell, he never showed up again."
Ji Yuan took a deep breath and faintly guessed what was happening... this person in front of him is most likely Qiu Qianhai’s contingency plan.
He likely thought he wouldn’t live long and feared he couldn’t even get the news of his death out.
In other words, he feared that nobody would know if he died.
That’s probably why he thought up this method.
Two years... so, since they parted a year ago, Qiu Qianhai hasn’t returned to Black Water Square to retrieve the shell.
Could he have forgotten?
Not likely, though he appears impulsive, he is a meticulous person; Ji Yuan discovered this long ago when they were mining together.
If he had retreated to break through to the late stage of Qi Cultivation, he would have returned to Black Water Square ahead of time to retrieve the shell.
He couldn’t possibly forget.
But since he hasn’t returned... that indicates, he’s most likely in trouble!
"Did he say anything else?"
Ji Yuan pressed the question.
"No... nothing else, after giving me the shell and the Spirit Stones, he left." The small-framed man never strayed from the topic of Spirit Stones.
It seems he traveled all the way from Black Water Square to Zengtou City for those few Spirit Stones.
Furthermore, Qiu Qianhai probably promised him twenty Spirit Stones, but upon seeing Ji Yuan, he hesitated and only dared to ask for ten.
"Got it."
Ji Yuan casually gave him ten Spirit Stones, "This matter is settled, you can leave."
"Thank you, senior, thank you, senior!"
The short man initially thought he had made the trip in vain, expecting to leave empty-handed.
But unexpectedly, Ji Yuan still gave him Spirit Stones!
Indeed, an unexpected joy.
After watching the small-framed man leave, Ji Yuan returned home with the shell.
Qiu Qianhai is likely in trouble, life or death unknown... who could have done it?
The Qin Family is the most likely, but not definitively so; he could have died at the hands of a Demon Beast, or other unforeseen events, all possibilities.
But why send a shell back via someone else?
Sending a shell meant, according to previous agreements, meeting at Qiuyu Island.
Of course, it’s also possible he feared that sending a message might be exposed... in any case, going to Qiuyu Island to check is necessary, since there are no other clues now.
Thinking of this, Ji Yuan instructed Tu Yue to watch over the house.
He then summoned the Flying Boat, heading straight for Qiuyu Island.
Half an hour later, Ji Yuan returned to the long-missed small island.
Earlier, while soaring through the sky, he had confirmed several times that there were no strangers on the island, and now, walking across Qiuyu Island, Ji Yuan hasn’t found anything unusual.
The sand on the shore remains soft, and the island’s reeds are still dense.
Has Qiu Qianhai left any clues here... If only there was Divine Sense, with it I wouldn’t need to search, a simple scan would reveal everything.
Ji Yuan circled a few times, nearly setting the reeds ablaze.
Just as he was about to leave, his gaze suddenly fell on a stone by the shore.
The stone was roughly the size of a millstone, relatively neat; if someone rested there, they’d likely choose to sit on this stone to take a break.
However, Ji Yuan remembered that when he came last year, the stone wasn’t there.
And at this location... he glanced back towards Zengtou City; this spot should be where he parted ways with Qiu Qianhai two years ago!