Chapter 33: Rescue

Under the brilliant starry sky, a small bamboo raft was floating on the pitch-black sea.

More than a month had passed since Zuo Qingcang set out to sea.

He lay on the raft, staring blankly at the stars in the sky, lost in thought.

Ever since coming to this world, Zuo Qingcang had been on the move, struggling and fighting for his life. Only after lying on this raft did he have the time to carefully observe this starry sky.

But from the first day he observed the stars on the raft, he had noticed something unusual.

In the northwestern night sky, the Big Dipper was clearly visible, the Milky Way hung like a ribbon across the night, and Vega and Altair faced each other on either side of the Milky Way.

To the northeast of Lyra was the cross-shaped Cygnus.

These constellations, along with Deneb in the Milky Way, formed the Summer Triangle, an important feature of the summer night sky in the Earth’s northern hemisphere.

“Here… is Earth?”

No matter how many times Zuo Qingcang looked at the stars before him, he could only come to this conclusion. But if this really was Earth, then why were this planet’s history, geography, and environment all completely different? Or was this the so-called Parallel World? The same planet, but with a completely different history and landscape?

Zuo Qingcang could not be sure.

And this wasn’t the only bewildering thing. Since that time he came back to life in the Ancient Tomb, Zuo Qingcang found that his physical strength had greatly increased. Even the previously blocked Innate Primordial Breath in his lower body had suddenly opened up, taking another solid step in the Martial Arts.

Even more unbelievable was that his left eye, which had been gouged out by Shen Zong, had grown back. Or perhaps it shouldn’t be called growing back, but Zuo Qingcang didn’t know how else to describe it.

According to his reflection on the sea surface, his new eye was pitch black, with no white part at all, like a black pearl.

Not only was its appearance different, but this newly grown left eye was even more powerful than the original. It could focus according to Zuo Qingcang’s will, allowing him to see tiny details like a magnifying glass, or see distant scenes like a telescope.

It even had Night Vision and Infrared Vision. When he used the Infrared Vision to look at himself, he could see that his body, which had the Innate Primordial Breath flowing through it, was like a big fireball, constantly radiating heat all around.

This left eye didn’t feel like an eye to Zuo Qingcang; it felt more like a machine.

‘Just wonder if this newly grown eye still has the Life Grove ‘Night Sea’ in it.’

Thinking about how Shen Zong had taken his eye and his Life Grove, a trace of hatred appeared on Zuo Qingcang’s usually cold face. Unfortunately, he hadn’t practiced Dao Arts and had no Spiritual Power to use, so he couldn’t detect whether his new left eye contained any Spiritual Power.

Of course, what Zuo Qingcang didn’t know was that the reshaping of his eye was complete, almost no different from his previous eye. Its functions were only more powerful, and this naturally included all the organs within the eyeball.

As for the two books stolen from the Ancient Tomb, they were entirely written in the ancient script of the Yun people. Zuo Qingcang couldn’t understand them at all. He would have to wait until he reached shore and find a chance to learn this ancient script.

Just then, Zuo Qingcang’s left eye twitched slightly, and he saw a faint light flickering on the northern coast. As the pupil of Zuo Qingcang’s left eye continuously contracted, the scene on the distant sea gradually appeared before him.

“Seems like a fishing boat.”

…

More than an hour later, several men on the fishing boat were shouting and yelling as they ‘fished’ Zuo Qingcang out of the sea. By this time, after over half a year on a deserted island and more than a month floating on the raft, not only was Zuo Qingcang’s hair like weeds, but his whole body was as dirty as a wild man’s. His skin was tanned exceptionally dark by the scorching sun.

But precisely because of this, with his hair covering his face like messy weeds, no one noticed the peculiarity of Zuo Qingcang’s left eye.

A big man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a full beard asked, “Damn, kid, you’re so filthy. How long have you been drifting at sea?”

“About two months,” Zuo Qingcang lied a little. “I encountered a shipwreck, was stranded on a deserted island, and barely managed to escape. I’m extremely grateful for your rescue.”

The bearded man waved his hand carelessly and said boldly, “On the sea, helping each other out is the norm. You’ve been in the sea for too long; you must be cold and hungry. Come on, go rest in the cabin first. Have a bowl of hot soup and an egg to warm up, then get some sleep. You’ll be fine.”

“Xiao Lan, take care of this brother.”

As he spoke, a girl about fifteen or sixteen years old came out of the cabin. The girl had a slender figure and wheat-colored skin. Her height far exceeded the standard for this era, reaching about 1.75 meters. Under a short blue skirt were a pair of straight, long legs.

Because she had been working at sea for a long time, the muscles in the girl’s wheat-colored legs were more developed than those of an ordinary girl, making them look very round and even more tempting.

Although her skin had been exposed to the sun for a long time, because of her youth, the skin on her limbs and face was still delicate. However, compared to the girl’s hot figure, her face could only be described as cute. Even so, she was a rare little beauty.

But Zuo Qingcang only glanced at her briefly, said thank you, and followed the girl down into the cabin. Meanwhile, his left eye, without moving his head, swiveled around, continuously gathering information about the several people on the boat.

Under the gaze of his Infrared Vision, everyone on the boat, including the girl and the other fishermen, were just ordinary people with strong bodies. Only the bearded man, who seemed to be the captain, had his right arm constantly emitting faint sparks of fire. Though very weak, it was indeed Innate Primordial Breath.

‘Innate Primordial Breath, and it seems he has practiced a little too.’ Zuo Qingcang thought as he walked into the cabin. ‘The other fishermen also seem to have practiced Martial Arts.’

Just as Zuo Qingcang was thinking this, Xiao Lan, who was skipping along ahead of him, said, “You rest here for a while. I’ll get you something to eat.”

“Okay. And could you please bring me a small knife and a few pieces of cloth?” Zuo Qingcang pointed to his head. “My head is about to grow maggots.”

“Got it.” The girl laughed, her voice like a string of silver bells, and then left.

The girl named Xiao Lan seemed innocent and cheerful. Even though Zuo Qingcang was just a stranger and filthy all over, her face showed no signs of disgust or dislike, which made Zuo Qingcang feel favorable towards her.

A short while later, Xiao Lan brought a bowl of hot soup, a pair of scissors, and a few pieces of cloth into the cabin. There was an egg soaking in the soup.

Zuo Qingcang first drank the soup and ate the egg, then washed his face. After that, he wrapped his left eye with a cloth and picked up the scissors to start trimming his hair.

Xiao Lan sat to the side, watching Zuo Qingcang cover his left eye with the cloth, and asked curiously, “Is your eye injured?”

“It’s blind. I covered it so I wouldn’t scare you.”

A moment later, Xiao Lan watched as the weeds on Zuo Qingcang’s head were shaved off piece by piece, gradually revealing his original appearance. She suddenly murmured, “You’re really good-looking.”

Zuo Qingcang smiled and said, “Oh? Really?”

In front of ordinary people, Zuo Qingcang seemed to have turned into an ordinary young man, completely hiding the icy coldness inside.

“I’m going to wash the bowl.”

Seeing Zuo Qingcang’s smiling face, Xiao Lan seemed to think of something, blushed, and ran off holding the bowl. But after a few steps, she suddenly turned back and, fighting her blush, asked, “By the way, I still don’t know your name.”

Zuo Qingcang thought for a moment. The name Liu Zhicheng might attract attention from the Great Qi side, and the name Zuo Qingcang might also draw Shen Zong’s interest. So he paused before answering, “My name is Zuo Zhicheng. Zuo as in left, Zhi as in ambition, Cheng as in sincerity.”