A vague outline emerged from the mist ahead.
It looked like an island.
The island did not appear large. Its gray shadow showed through the wall of fog, revealing undulating eaves, crooked houses, and pitch-black tree shadows.
"An island?" Jin Shanba froze for a moment. "There's an island in Rakshasa Lake?"
He rubbed his eyes hard.
He had spent twenty years in this frozen wilderness. Although he had only come to Rakshasa Lake once, he had heard plenty of things about this place. Yet he had never heard of an island in the lake.
"You didn't know?" Jiang Qiao asked.
"Never heard of it." Jin Shanba shook his head, uncertainty in his voice. "Maybe I'm just ignorant..."
"Rakshasa Lake is too vast, and it's a hellish place like this."
"No one would dare claim they've explored the entire lake."
"But logically speaking, if there were an island, those great families' sailing records should have mentioned it."
"They haven't concealed much about their maps of Rakshasa Lake. They're even willing to share them with adventurers, since they need adventurers to find Night Pearls for them."
"Interesting." Jiang Qiao narrowed his eyes.
The boat continued onward, drawing closer to the island.
But as the distance gradually shortened, Jiang Qiao noticed something was wrong.
The island was changing.
Its outline shifted between clear and blurry.
When it was clear, they could see the mold stains on the walls of the ruined houses, even make out the cracks in the stone-paved roads.
When it was blurry—
The entire island looked like ink soaked through with water.
Its edges scattered, as if it could dissolve into the mist at any moment.
"A mirage?" Lei Yu could not help asking. "Or some kind of supernatural hallucination?"
No one answered.
Neither Jin Shanba nor Liao Yang—
Could