After allowing Wei Dingwu to say farewell to his family, everyone left the island where Nanyu City was located. Seeing Wei Dingwu’s downcast appearance, Wei Fangwu continuously comforted her at her side.
Liu Wenli, with some curiosity, asked Wei Fangwu,
"I see you don’t seem to miss it at all?"
"Why would I miss it? It hasn’t been the Nanyu I remember for a long time."
Wei Fangwu laughed and said, while Liu Wenli squinted her eyes and looked at the lazy Wei Fangwu, and after a moment, said,
"I’ll go with him to find the old master first."
Returning to Pearl Town, Cheng Yong said to Feng Yuan and his company, at this moment he needed to take Xiao An to report the results of the trade negotiations. Although Xiao An felt that his presence wasn’t of much use, Cheng Yong still insisted on taking him to meet the old master, even going so far as to claim that Xiao An was too young to explain things clearly.
"You’d better not spread any false news, or the old master probably won’t let you off easily."
Feng Yuan said to Cheng Yong with a mischievous smile. He had yet to understand the other party’s purpose. But was the old master Xia Yu really that foolish not to believe Xiao An’s words and send him anyway?
"It seems it’s not just the Maritime People..."
Looking at the bustling Pearl Square, Mo Li exclaimed. At this time, the square was crowded with people coming and going, and people dressed in the garments of the Maritime People and the Aquatic People mostly viewed each other with disfavor. For now, the only reason they didn’t act recklessly was the presence of several stern-looking old masters standing by.
Mo Li didn’t quite know what to say about this; those old masters could be guessed at a glance to be the heads of the Shell Coin Bureau. Aside from them, there wasn’t a single person who looked like a town official maintaining order.
"Gathering so many people, I somewhat doubt how many towns capable of trade are needed to manage this."
Feng Yuan said with a slight frown. Even if the trade was experimental, a single small town was unlikely to be able to absorb the resources of so many places. Mo Li glanced at Feng Yuan and asked,
"Having second thoughts?"
"Not really, it’s just a bit of a hassle and not that easy to manage."
Scratching his head, Feng Yuan said that during this period, Divine Beasts didn’t hold as lofty a status as they would in later times. Enlisting their help wouldn’t be very effective. As for ordinary Spirit Beasts, Feng Yuan didn’t have the ability to command them.
"Maybe we should just forget it?"
Liu Wenli glanced at Feng Yuan and suggested. Shaking his head, Feng Yuan looked at those people and said,
"This is their last chance, and dawn is near..."
"In that case, I’ll take you back to the Divine Land first and then..."
"What are you talking about."
Mo Li pressed down on Feng Yuan’s shoulder, looking intently at him and said,
"It’s just returning later than planned. I also really want to know why you care so much about them?"
"Are you sure it’s alright? I estimate they can’t set off immediately today..."
"That won’t be an issue. The old master has already instructed that if you say you’re ready to depart, we can prepare to set out immediately."
Feng Yuan looked at those Aquatic People and Maritime People. The town mayor shook his head and said,
"We can’t fully oppose what those old masters decide. Anyway, we’re all going together, so there’s no question of anyone getting an unfair advantage."
"If that’s the case... let’s set off early tomorrow morning, with Delong Tower leading the way."
"Have all the people you summoned arrived?"
Feng Yuan looked at the mayor curiously, who sighed and said unwillingly,
"How could they? You just can’t wait that long. If we were to gather everyone scattered across the sea, it would take at least a month or two to accomplish, and doing so would be quite problematic."
"So, will there be others coming?"
"None if we set sail. But the latest ones should arrive by tonight."
The mayor thought for a moment and said. Although Xia Yu had issued a call to all, it was only meant to bring people nearby, while those on the islands or too distant would be dealt with by correspondence. The Black Sea was vast, and no one knew where the farthest ones had gone. It’s quite possible some had ventured near the Northern Ice Plains to fish."
It was simply unrealistic to expect them to hurry over in a few days. However, this kind of thing, if left unaddressed, would leave lingering issues even if the Maritime People and the Aquatic People reconciled, so the necessary negotiations were unavoidable.
Perhaps to extend the hospitality of the hosts, or maybe to showcase the prowess of Pearl Town, a grand banquet was held that evening in Pearl Square. Although it paled in comparison to the banquets of Great Li and Nanyu, the seafood still left everyone delighted.
"Why have you come to hide out here?"
Liu Wenli looked at Feng Yuan with some puzzlement. At this moment, he was lying on a lounge chair, humming an indiscernible tune. Perhaps because the temporary camp wasn’t located next to Pearl Square, although a bit of the hustle and bustle from Pearl Square could be heard, the camp still seemed relatively deserted and quiet by comparison.
Feng Yuan glanced at Liu Wenli and said,
"What about you? Don’t tell me you came specially to find me, I won’t believe that."
With a finger dipped in a bit of bee honey from the jar in Amon’s hand, Liu Wenli smiled faintly and said,
"Why? You don’t have confidence in yourself?"
"Because you’re smart."
After staring at Feng Yuan for a while, Liu Wenli sighed and said,
"Even so, how can one know without trying?"
"As shrewd as you are, you would do something that has no benefit?"
Leaning in toward Feng Yuan, Liu Wenli said with a smile,
"That may not necessarily be the case, if we only did what’s right, it would be too boring. Moreover, who can truly understand what is right and what is wrong?"
Turning his head away, Feng Yuan didn’t look at Liu Wenli again. He pet Xiao Ji, who was lying on his stomach, and said calmly,
"Then you’re just wasting your effort."
Liu Wenli moved in front of Feng Yuan, looking at his expressionless face, and said,
"You’re similar to him, although I don’t know what exactly you’re afraid of."
Feng Yuan scoffed and said,
"No, it’s better not to know such things. Some secrets only drive people apart when revealed."
Liu Wenli got up and walked slowly to the banquet table while Feng Yuan gazed out the window and said,
"Didn’t you take a liking to Ding Wu?"
Hearing Feng Yuan’s words, Liu Wenli, as if she’d heard something amusing, looked at the cup in her hand and said slowly,
"I wasn’t aware that two women could fancy each other."
"Besides, I just find her interesting, somewhat like my former self."
"Strange, where did that guy go?"
At the banquet, Guo Huai had finished his grilled scallops when he suddenly realized that Feng Yuan had vanished without a trace. Looking around, he only saw Mo Li pulling Mo Ling along, eating something, Hua Yiyou sitting beside Wei Fangwu, seemingly in the midst of a conversation, and Ding Wu appearing to be competing with someone from the Maritime People?
Seeing Ding Wu swinging the Greatsword and knocking the weapon out of the Maritime Person’s hand, cheers erupted from the Aquatic People under the ring, while the Maritime People seemed to be scornfully gawking at something. After searching all around and not finding Feng Yuan, and figuring that the other wouldn’t be in any danger, Guo Huai couldn’t be bothered to look for him and continued to search for interesting foods at the long tables set up in Pearl Square.
"This thing is pretty good, I think you might like it."
After accepting the plate handed to her by Yao Yin, Mo Ling said with some confusion,
"Is it just you alone?"
"What else? These kinds of banquets are no fun without like-minded people together, right?"
As Yao Yin spoke, she turned to look at Mo Li, who smiled brightly and nodded. Mo Ling, delighted, pulled Yao Yin and started wandering through the banquet, leaving Mo Li behind.
"Why is that Illusory Sound Parrot out here by itself?"
"Who knows, that Illusory Sound Parrot is just as mysterious as Feng Yuan. It disappeared for a while before and no one knew where it went."
Guo Huai said somewhat irritably, while Yao Yin next to him chuckled, watching the jubilant Illusory Sound Parrot mimic the Maritime People’s voices and argue with them. Mo Ling said with some confusion,
"It can actually understand what they’re saying?"
"I don’t know, but by the looks of it..."
Watching the Maritime Person who was red-faced from arguing with the Illusory Sound Parrot, Guo Huai was speechless. As for why those old geezers didn’t intervene? One reason was that no one knew where the Illusory Sound Parrot came from, and the other was that it was just a quarrel – nobody actually believed it would escalate to the point of fighting. Or perhaps it was because that parrot evidently was no ordinary creature; if it really came to blows, it wasn’t clear who would win or lose.