Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 573: The Lake at the Island’s Heart

Xia Chichi had not been part of any of the earlier battles that had taken place between the Sea Tribe and the pirates, so this was her first time encountering these fishmen. They looked like monsters and even reverted to their original forms before leaping back into the sea. She wondered if they were edible...

Whatever this island had been originally, it was now clearly the territory of these fishmen. Whether the Sea Emperor was on the island or lurking beneath the ocean, she could not say for sure.

She had initially expected to come to a remote island with unique features for secluded cultivation, but it was turning into a solo raid through enemy lines.

A wry smile tugged at her lips. She realized that her value right now mainly lay in luring the Sea Emperor out into the open. Whether it was Hai Pinglan or Xia Longyuan, both seemed to have their own schemes, hoping that once the Sea Emperor showed himself, he would be caught between two powerful foes.

But the question remained, what was it about her that would draw the Sea Emperor out? Was there not some powerful leader among the fishmen, perhaps some king powerful enough that the Sea Emperor would not even need to appear?

She felt a small flicker of realization. It’s possible that this isn’t a part of Xia Longyuan’s plan at all...

If Xia Longyuan truly intended for her to lure out the Sea Emperor by killing the fishmen, he would have sent someone more reliable, like Cui Wenjing when he was still around, or perhaps Tang Wanzhuang, Maquis of Wuping Qin Dingjiang, or Huangfu Yongxian. They were all loyal and experienced leaders who were either a part of or had ties to the imperial court. They were trustworthy, well-trained, and accustomed to executing plans flawlessly.

Was Xia Longyuan worried they’d fail, or that it would compromise the empire’s standing? But since when has he concerned himself with such things?

What was the point of using “training and breakthrough” as an excuse to send her here? He could not control her thoughts, nor could he control the Four Idols Cult. If she deemed the place too dangerous, she could simply choose not to come. Any grand scheme would be for nothing, and it was pure chance that she ended up here anyway, forcibly brought along by Hai Pinglan. Originally, she had intended to rendezvous with her darling husband in Penglai, something that had obviously no longer happened. Her arrival here was hardly part of anyone’s well-laid plans.

The only possible explanation was that there was something here that could only be unlocked by her or someone from the Four Idols Cult.

If that were the case, even if she intentionally walked into the fishmen’s tridents, Xia Longyuan or Hai Pinglan would surely intervene to save her.

Suddenly, Xia Chichi let out a chuckle, a carefree sound that echoed as she headed leisurely toward the distant mountains.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several arrows came at her from the left and right, aimed straight at her face despite the wide-open space where no enemies could be seen.

Xia Chichi remained perfectly still, even raising her neck slightly as if offering herself up for slaughter.

The arrows seemed to hit an invisible barrier, grazing harmlessly past her, not even ruffling her clothes.

Her sword, Iceheart, moved without any discernible prompt. It launched a sudden strike, its blade singing through the air as it cut across the distant landscape, followed by cries of pain.

Then a familiar voice roared in her ear, Xia Longyuan’s anger almost tangible, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

Xia Chichi chuckled playfully. “Just as I thought.”

Xia Longyuan roared in frustration, “And what if you had been wrong? You would be dead!”

Xia Chichi sneered and said, “Is one worthless life really all that important? If my death could make the plans of the so-called greatest man fall apart, well, wouldn’t that be quite something?”

“You!” Xia Longyuan, perhaps for the first time in decades, found himself so utterly stifled that he could not find the right words to rebuke her. Eventually, it all boiled down to an exasperated phrase from the Zhao Family dialect. “Man, you’re a freaking motor-mouth... and you’ve also got a black heart.”

Xia Chichi, of course, did not really understand it entirely, but she still replied, “Who’s really the one with a black heart between us? You’re the one using your daughter as bait!”

“Forget it. I can’t be bothered to argue with you,” Xia Longyuan muttered to himself, thinking that the Four Idols Cult truly lived up to its reputation as a demonic cult. The way that their saintess so easily disregarded her own life was unsettling, to say the least. Not only that, but who knows what she might have done with that Zhao brat all those years ago? She clearly has no concept of self-respect, acting like a headstrong delinquent.

But who was to blame, really? He had never been a part of her upbringing. She truly was a child with a mother but no father to guide her, and that was not even an insult. He certainly could not fault the Luo Family’s family head either; the man had been looking up at the grass for years now.

All he could do was let out a heavy sigh, the only overt manifestation of the frustration he was forced to swallow. “Regardless of any of the schemes at play, as your father, I wouldn’t just let you get hurt. But you must take responsibility for your own life. My watching over you from afar may not be as immediate as you think. If something goes wrong, it’ll be too late for regrets, so be careful.”

His voice gradually faded and disappeared, leaving behind only silence.

Xia Chichi was stunned for a while, taken aback by Xia Longyuen referring to himself as her father. The words evoked a complexity of feelings within her.

Perhaps Xia Longyuan’s intervention had not necessarily exposed his presence, and maybe it did not affect his broader plans much, but he had indeed taken a risk. He had acted out of fear for her safety.

One could argue that she should not read too much into it, that he was merely concerned about his plans going awry. But everyone had their schemes, and it was Xia Longyuan, not Hai Pinglan, who had acted.

This instinctive, subconscious reaction could reveal something deeper—perhaps Xia Longyuan was not as ruthless as people imagined or even as cold-hearted as he himself believed.

Xia Chichi pursed her lips and turned her gaze back to the scene.

The fishmen who had fired the arrows lay dead, but there was no sign of their bodies. Bloodstains inexplicably appeared from entirely unrelated directions.

Everything here was a chaotic visual illusion, and relying on her own abilities to get through this place would indeed be a rigorous challenge. It was a test of her perception, of her understanding of light and space, a journey to sharpen her insight into the essence of things.

With a light tap of her toes, Xia Chichi propelled herself onward, gliding gracefully under the moonlight.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Once more, countless arrows came flying at her like a dense swarm, stronger and more numerous than before. It seemed like a larger fishman force had noticed her intrusion and was mobilized for a full-scale attack.

Xia Chichi moved with an almost imperceptible shift of her feet, dancing effortlessly between the arrows.

The path of the arrows was strange beyond belief. When Xia Longyuan had intervened, it had seemed almost effortless for him to ward them off, but now that it was her turn, she realized just how difficult they were to dodge. What appeared distant would suddenly be at her throat, while what seemed within reach would miss entirely.

For an ordinary person, being caught in such a storm of arrows would have spelled their death. But Xia Chichi moved lightly, her silhouette dancing between the descending arrows.

Under the dim moonlight, her white garments glowed like snow, her movements resembling the dance of a fairy.

Even the distant fishmen were entranced by her ethereal beauty, which seemed to transcend species.

A commanding voice called out, “Who dares trespass on Skyrim Island[1]?!”

“Oh, so this place has a name? Skyrim... A fitting name. I’m looking for the edge of the sky,” Xia Chichi said with a playful smile. “I heard there’s a place here where you can watch the sun rise... What do you say? Name your terms.”

“You wish to go to Sunrise Altar? That’s simple.” The fishman leader’s voice came through the sea mist, drifting and difficult to locate. “You can watch the sun rise from my bed or from inside my stomach—your choice.”

Xia Chichi’s smile remained, but her voice turned cold as frost. “I see, so you wish to die.”

Whoosh!

Iceheart suddenly stabbed into the empty air beside her, slicing open a crabman far in the distance.

Xia Chichi’s movements were swift, ghostly. She shifted instantly to her right. A heavy clang followed, and a massive double-bladed halberd[2] smashed down where she had just stood, carving a deep gouge into the earth.

Yet despite her quick movements, the halberd still grazed her arm, leaving a wound that dripped blood.

This battle... is going to be incredibly difficult.

Even the native fishmen had not fully adapted to the distorted environment of the island, so how could any human, no matter how talented, truly be prepared for it?

“Stay here!” The fishman leader’s halberd swept toward her again. Xia Chichi’s eyes flashed coldly as she raised her sword to parry, using the force to leap away toward a large tree nearby and crashing into it.

“Stop her!” Voiced shouted in panic all around her.

Xia Chichi collided with the tree trunk, vanishing from sight in an instant.

To the eye, the land ahead seemed to stretch into a range of distant mountains, but upon her impact, the mountains themselves seemed to vanish. In reality, the island was much smaller than it seemed. At the very least, the island was far from the vast expanse it appeared to be.

There were indeed some trees, though they were sparsely distributed. At the heart of these scattered woods lay a central lake, around which the trees seemed to stand guard. On the lake stood a platform of unknown material adorned with a sculpture of the Azure Dragon rising from the water and ascending to the heavens.

Is this the Sunrise Altar that fishman was talking about?

Standing at the edge of the lake, Xia Chichi noticed that the strange distortion in her sight seemed to ease. Although her vision was still yet to be entirely clear, she could make out the surrounding scenery in a dreamlike haze.

Around the lake, countless fishmen had lit bonfires and seemed to be conducting some sort of special ritual. Many fishermen—human captives—were strung up at the center of the lake, flayed open and disemboweled, their blood staining the water red.

These fishermen almost certainly came from the group of fishermen who were praying outside. Who knew how many of them had been captured and brought here as sacrifice?

Xia Chichi’s gaze grew colder, filled with icy resolve. Even without any other motivation, a race that was fundamentally at odds with humanity could not be allowed to thrive.

With the ritual disrupted, countless fishmen let out shrill cries, charging at Xia Chichi from all directions. Behind her, the fishman commander was also furious, the halberd in his hands swinging directly at her neck once more.

Simultaneously, a figure rose from the lake. It was a water construct. It sent a torrent of water toward Xia Chichi’s chest.

Surrounded on all sides, Xia Chichi spun swiftly, attempting to evade, but suddenly, her head buzzed, a mysterious whisper echoing within her mind, and everything around her grew increasingly blurry.

An unknown force intervened, quickly dispelling the effect.

“Damn it...” Although it seemed that Xia Longyuan had intervened again, the brief moment of hesitation was enough—the torrent of water reached her, and she had no time to dodge.

Xia Chichi raised her sword across in a desperate parry, but a polearm still managed to make its way toward her neck.

She rolled quickly, the weapon grazing her head, slicing away a few locks of her hair. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Around her, countless blades and tridents stabbed down fiercely. Xia Chichi swung her sword while rolling, narrowly escaping death, moment after moment.

Is Xia Longyuan going to intervene now? Or maybe Hai Pinglan?

Clang!

Xia Chichi strained against the incoming trident, the stench of the fishman’s breath almost overwhelming her. “No one can save you, beautiful one—surrender to your fate and become my meal!”

With no one coming to her aid, Xia Chichi instead made her move. Iceheart’s blade suddenly extended, edge jagged with icy spikes, impaling the fishman’s mouth.

Taking advantage of the wounded leader’s howl of pain, Xia Chichi rolled away again, then sprang up to perch upon a tree branch.

She could rely on no one. She had to rely on herself.

Her eyes landed on the sculpture on the lake. Deep down, she knew that it was connected to the Four Idols Cult. She could feel an intimate call from it, a resonance imprinted deep in her blood.

But how can I get close to it?

Surveying her surroundings, an unending sea of fishmen gathered beneath the trees, lunging at her from every direction, while in front of her, the tenacious polearm lingered like a deadly shadow. The water figure seemed to have used a special trapping technique, sealing off the surrounding area with water bubbles.

Xia Chichi deflected the polearm again, her lithe waist arching back under the force.

What should I do?

The fishman leader grinned menacingly, baring its sharp teeth once again.

Suddenly, a powerful force tore through the air. An enormous bolt, like a gigantic arrow, pierced through the fishman leader’s head, shattering it to pieces.

A ballista bolt! Where did it come from?

Xia Chichi’s eyes widened and her spirits instantly lifted. She watched as the bolt continued on its trajectory, taking out several more fishmen before burying itself into a massive boulder.

Then, from the spot where the bolt had landed, a blood-red saber flashed, slashing straight for the water figure in the lake. “Fuck off and die!”

Even Xia Longyuan, who was preparing to intervene from the distant imperial palace, was left dumbstruck. When did this guy get here?

Xia Chichi stared at the figure in a daze. The smile that spread across her face was breathtakingly beautiful, lighting up her entire being.

1. The original term here (天涯) refers to the edge of the world, and it literally translates as “the end of the sky.” We decided to translate the name rather than transliterating it as Tianya, since there are multiple references to its meaning, and give a little nod to one of the GOAT games while we’re at it. ☜

2. The weapon being referred to here is the Fang Tian Hua Ji (方天画戟), a kind of polearm. Feel free to search it up for a clearer image. The name actually comes from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and the weapon itself hasn’t seen much historical use. ☜