Chapter 1514: Chapter 570: Oddities (Part 3)
"I am truly ashamed," Leng Wushuang said.
"Releasing the captives now is naturally the right thing to do."
"Hmm... Earlier, I heard from Leng Yan that your esteemed guests came to the island to gather supplies.
"We have some surplus provisions on the island.
"I will prepare a few carriages full as a token of my regard. Please, you must accept them."
Su Mo hurriedly declined twice, but Leng Wushuang insisted firmly. Su Mo, unable to refuse, had no choice but to nod and agree.
Seizing the opportunity, he asked:
"Does Lord Leng know who would harm your beloved daughter so ruthlessly?
"If there’s anything I can help with, I am willing to offer my humble aid."
Leng Wushuang smiled slightly:
"Your kind offer is appreciated, but the affairs within this island, I have a plan in mind and need not trouble you.
"I wonder if your esteemed self has time?
"Would you stay the night so I can host a banquet in your honor and express my gratitude?"
Zhen Xiaoxiao, who was drowsy, perked up upon hearing this.
However, Su Mo simply laughed:
"To be honest, we still have important matters to attend to, and it would be inconvenient to impose any longer.
"Since there’s already a lead on your daughter’s circumstances, we will depart by morning."
Zhen Xiaoxiao’s ears drooped down again, looking listless and sleepy...
"Well..."
Leng Wushuang wanted to persuade him further but seeing Su Mo’s indifferent yet firm demeanor, he simply nodded.
He immediately instructed his subordinates to prepare some grains, meat, and fresh water.
They loaded several carriages to be given to Su Mo.
Before long, Mingyue Taoist, Lei Zhenming, Gu Renzheng, Lingxiao Sword Elder, Shi Shengtian, Gu Qingsong, and others were also released.
After meeting with Su Mo, each of them looked a bit embarrassed.
They, who proudly claimed to be veterans of Jianghu, never imagined that on this little island, they would be outfoxed.
Getting caught in a gutter with a sailboat was quite embarrassing indeed.
Especially Shi Shengtian...
For the honorable Nanhai Martial Elder to end up like this, he wouldn’t dare boast for at least half a year.
No more words were needed at this point.
Su Mo led the group to bid farewell to Leng Wushuang and his companions.
Leng Wushuang personally led his men to escort them through the maze outside and to the shore.
As they looked up, over three hundred warships blocked out the sky.
Leng Wushuang broke out in a cold sweat.
He couldn’t help but say:
"Your esteemed self indeed showed mercy. With so many ships and people...
"If you truly had malicious intent, even if we were to fight with all our might, we wouldn’t be able to withstand it."
Su Mo laughed quietly:
"At first, we thought it was a deserted island, but unexpectedly, there were inhabitants here.
"How could we be unreasonable?"
After a few playful remarks, Su Mo and his companions boarded the ship to leave.
Leng Wushuang saw them off from the shore.
In just a moment, the island gradually faded from sight.
At this point, Su Mo turned to look at Gu Qingsong and Shi Shengtian:
"Brother Shi, with your martial arts and skills, even if there were a maze on the island, it might not have trapped you, right?"
"Well..."
Shi Shengtian snorted:
"Naturally... I was caught due to other reasons."
Gu Qingsong couldn’t help but ask:
"It’s quite strange to say, was it because you discovered something that you left without a word?
"We searched for you multiple times afterward but never found a trace. I wonder what did you discover?"
"..."
Shi Shengtian blinked and nodded repeatedly:
"Yes, I found someone secretly spying, so I went to investigate."
After saying this, he felt a pair of eyes staring intently at him.
He turned to see Shi Cheng looking at him.
He couldn’t help but glare at him:
"What are you looking at?"
"...Dad, did you get lost again?"
Shi Cheng spoke quietly.
Everyone present looked at each other in astonishment.
Shi Shengtian’s face turned a series of colors, and he glared at Shi Cheng fiercely:
"You brat, spouting nonsense, how could I get lost?"
However, seeing his expression, everyone understood.
This old man truly got lost...
But they couldn’t understand; he was with Gu Qingsong the whole time, so how did he get lost?
Instinctively, they looked at Gu Qingsong and found him equally baffled.
Su Mo instinctively patted his head, remembering how Shi Cheng got lost in the red spider lily field on Longmu Island and triggered a mechanism, causing the entire island to sink.
Because of this incident, he inexplicably took the blame for "One Sword Breaks the Demon Island."
No matter how he explained, no one believed that the island’s sinking had nothing to do with him.
Only now did he realize that not only was Shi Cheng directionally challenged, managing to lose his way even in a straightforward tunnel,
But Shi Shengtian also had such a talent?
As this thought occurred, Su Mo suddenly recalled what Shi Shengtian had said earlier.
When he clearly walked east, yet ended up in another place,
When he clearly headed toward the Martial God Temple, but inexplicably ended up outside,
This marvelous "going east, ending west" mechanism left Su Mo puzzled at the time.
He thought it was the work of some array.
Now, Shi Cheng’s words enlightened him.
This fellow... Just got lost, didn’t he?
With numerous traps and mechanisms inside the Martial God Temple, his inherent tendency to get lost made it all the more mysterious, didn’t it?
Shi Shengtian wanted to explain, but everyone ignored him, leaving him unable to argue his case.
In a huff, he dragged Shi Cheng into the cabin.
The saying goes, you’ll spank your child when it’s raining and you’re bored, after all, there’s nothing else to do.
Su Mo didn’t pay attention to how Shi Cheng ended up; instead, he glanced at Mingyue Taoist and the others:
"Were you all well on that island?"
Mingyue Taoist clasped his fists:
"Thank you, Young Alliance Leader, for your concern. This journey indeed made fools of us.
"However, on the island, we were not mistreated, just detained."
"Oh."
Su Mo nodded and, after a few more casual exchanges with Mingyue Taoist and the others, they parted ways.
Mingyue Taoist and the others returned to their respective ships.
Watching them depart, Su Mo pondered and then said to Little Situ:
"Check these supplies Lord Leng gave us for any issues."
"Alright."
Little Situ agreed.
The items were currently on this ship, making it easy to inspect them.
Afterward, Su Mo instructed the people on board to do as they pleased while he took Yang Xiaoyun to the study.
Closing the door, Yang Xiaoyun came to his side and whispered:
"What’s wrong?
"Is there an issue with the island?"
"Indeed, there’s a problem, and it seems like a significant one."
Su Mo nodded.
"Care to elaborate?"
Yang Xiaoyun was instantly eager to hear more.
Su Mo chuckled softly:
"Firstly, Little Situ mentioned that smile flowers thrive in cold and damp conditions, commonly found in swamps.
"But the island’s climate seemed quite favorable.
"The island is small, likely incapable of supporting such extreme climates needed to grow smile flowers.
"Moreover, they have been settled here for centuries.
"Even if they brought some back then, they would’ve used them up by now.
"So, where did these smile flowers come from?"
