"Brother Yong, have you really thought this through?" Yong Peng's wife, Ah Tang, had essentially recovered after Jiang Chen's treatment.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Yong Peng's face. "Ah Tang, are you afraid?"
But Ah Tang only offered a calm, composed smile. "Brother Yong, as long as I'm with you, Ah Tang isn't afraid of anything."
"And you children— are you afraid?" Ah Tang gently stroked her two well-behaved little ones.
"Father, Mother, we're not afraid!"
Yong Peng took a deep breath. "Ah Tang, I've made up my mind. We have to leave. I don't want Zhen'er and Li'er to spend their entire lives locked up here. They did nothing wrong, and neither did we. Just because our ancestors made mistakes, are we all supposed to be confined to Winterend Island generation after generation? Are we to live without freedom forever, never seeing the world outside?"
Yong Peng refused to accept it. He himself could resign himself to his fate. But he refused to let his children live their entire lives on Winterend Island—without freedom, without hope, struggling through an existence that offered nothing.
A life without hope, a life without freedom— even if one somehow clung to it, what meaning could it possibly hold?
"Brother Yong, I support you." Ah Tang nodded firmly.
The family was still discussing matters when Xing Hui suddenly appeared in their courtyard.
"Commander Yong, Young Master Jiang sent me to ask whether you'd like to leave Winterend Island on his sky-boat. If you don't want to, he won't force you. But if you do, you need to decide immediately. Time is short!"
Yong Peng was stunned. "What did you say?"
Xing Hui nodded. "I made myself perfectly clear. Time is limited— make up your mind quickly."
As he spoke, Xing Hui pointed upward. Sure enough, hovering amid the clouds above, barely visible, was a sky-boat lurking in wait.
Yong Peng gritted his teeth. "Ah Tang, talk about a pillow appearing just when you're sleepy! Do you remember Young Master Jiang, the one who treated you? He's truly been a great benefactor to our family. If it's him, then there's hope!"
Yong Peng naturally knew that Jiang Chen had gone to the Black Nightmare Mountains for the trial. However, after the recent upheaval, many had already traced its origins back to the Black Nightmare Mountains.
Perhaps Young Master Jiang had found some great opportunity in those mountains?
Yong Peng didn't hesitate. Within moments, he had brought his wife and children aboard Jiang Chen's sky-boat.
Jiang Chen hadn't gotten to know many people on Winterend Island, nor did he have many attachments. After seeing the entire Yong family board, he offered a faint smile. "Good— everyone's here. Let me ask you one more time: you won't regret leaving Winterend Island, will you?"
Xing Hui said excitedly, "How could we ever say such a thing, Young Master Jiang? Taking us away from Winterend Island is an act of rebirth— how could we possibly regret it?"
Yong Peng was equally moved. "Young Master Jiang, I'm ashamed. I assumed our acquaintance was shallow at best, yet here you've shown such loyalty. My entire family owes you an enormous debt of gratitude."
Jiang Chen replied coolly, "The way you've cared for your wife and children, Commander Yong— I found that admirable. So I figured I'd give you all a ride along the way."
He said nothing more. He had a feeling those three foolish birds would catch up soon enough. At once he called out, "Everyone, hold on tight— the sky-boat is about to accelerate!"
Jiang Chen had no intention of letting those three persistent shadows keep trailing behind him.
Once the Star Origin Sky-boat unleashed its full speed, the acceleration was truly staggering. Before long, the vessel reached the border. At that point, the border region was swarming with dark figures— word had clearly gotten out, and the fastest among them had already arrived at the perimeter, ready to flee at a moment's notice.
The problem was that aside from a few key outposts equipped with boats, most of the border was treacherous open sea, with no means of crossing.
As was well known, the waters surrounding Winterend Island within a two-thousand-li radius were impassable by flight for ordinary cultivators. Even attempting to fly would involve tremendous resistance and drain. Worse still, the spatial currents were chaotic and unpredictable— it was all too easy to become disoriented, or to circle endlessly through a pocket of turbulence without breaking free. With some luck, if the currents weren't too severe, one might still manage to fly through.
But if the turbulence was heavy, only the most powerful Celestial-level experts could make it through unaided. Below that threshold, the chances were virtually nil.
Flight was unreliable, but what about swimming? Brute-forcing a crossing through the sea was equally impossible.
These surrounding waters were notorious for their danger. Beneath the surface lurked untold numbers of terrifying deep-sea monsters.
In truth, flight was a matter of luck— if fortune smiled, the odds of getting through were reasonable. But swimming? That required not just luck, but raw power. If your strength wasn't sufficient and you encountered one of the more formidable undersea beasts, becoming its meal was practically a foregone conclusion.
Xing Hui and his daughter gazed through the sky-boat's transparent canopy at the dense crowd gathered below the border, their hearts swelling with gratitude for their extraordinary fortune.
Sitting inside the sky-boat versus standing down there— the two perspectives could not have been more different.
From within the sky-boat, crossing this stretch of sea was virtually without risk.
For those below, even if they managed to break past the border, even if Winterend Island put up no resistance whatsoever, the number who could successfully escape would— at best— be four or five out of ten.
And that was the most optimistic estimate.
Commander Yong said nothing, but the way he gripped his wife and children's hands revealed that his state of mind was no different from Xing Hui's at that moment.