Three Hundred Years Ago

After warmly shaking Song Shuhang's hand, the old man in ancient costume looked satisfied and left lightly, leaving Song Shuhang alone, bewildered in the wind.

Seeing Song Shuhang's stiff expression, Tubo asked in confusion, "Shuhang, what did the old man say to you last?"

"He didn't say anything, the old man just told us to have a good time on the island," Song Shuhang replied.

"That's all you said?" Tubo was even more puzzled. "Then why do you have that 'lost your virginity' look on your face?"

"..." Song Shuhang patted Tubo's shoulder forcefully. "Tubo, you must pay close attention in Chinese class later. Your analogy just now was extremely inappropriate."

Tubo: "..."

At this moment, Gao Moumou spoke up, "Speaking of which, Shuhang, do you think what that old man said earlier is reliable? Is it really possible to leave this island by making a deal in the Ancient City's tower?"

Even if Gao Moumou hadn't encountered supernatural events like this before, in movies or games, wouldn't it be incredibly difficult to leave such a situation or scenario so easily?

Song Shuhang laughed and said, "Whether it's true or not, we'll know once we go and see for ourselves."

They were determined to leave this strange island... so regardless of whether the old man in ancient costume was telling the truth or not, they were going to try their luck at the tower.

Everyone nodded silently, their gazes fixed on the tall tower in the Ancient City.

At this moment, the female office worker asked curiously, "What do you think the people inside will trade with us for something of equal value once we get to that tower? Will we have anything suitable to trade with?"

After the plane crashed and everyone barely managed to crawl out of the wreckage, they immediately encountered a strange troop of gorillas. Many people still had their luggage on the plane, and they had hardly any personal belongings with them.

As soon as the female office worker finished speaking, many passengers' expressions changed!

The flight attendant immediately checked her belongings and pulled out a business card, shopping card, handkerchief, cell phone, and some miscellaneous items such as keys.

She looked like she was about to cry, "Will the trading area in the tower accept these things?"

Not only her, but many passengers, after touching themselves for a long time, also showed expressions of wanting to cry—clearly, their belongings weren't much better than the flight attendants'.

That mysterious tower isn't a junkyard, so can these things be used for trade?

A female passenger asked timidly, "How about we go back to the plane and bring our belongings back?"

"How are we going to get there... Don't forget there are giant eagles in the sky, and giant lizards in the jungle." The man who had been breakdancing in front of the gorillas earlier said with a wry smile, "And don't forget those eerie gorillas. Those gorillas seem to be very intelligent; our belongings on the plane might already be theirs."

Everyone sighed deeply when they thought of the group of gorillas.

"Don't overthink it. After we eat something to regain our strength, we'll go check out that tower. Maybe the things in the tower's trading area are exactly what we have?" Song Shuhang said calmly.

In fact, ever since entering the Ancient City, Song Shuhang had been pondering... why would this Mysterious Island, or rather, 'Heavenly Island,' allow so many ordinary passengers to enter?

At first, he suspected that it might be because of him that Heavenly Island wanted to bring him aboard, while the other passengers were just innocent bystanders. It wasn't that he was narcissistic; after all, he was the only cultivator on the plane, and if Heavenly Island really had a target, he was the most likely one!

But then I thought about it again and realized that wasn't right.

If Heavenly Island really just wanted to bring him to the island, they could have simply taken him aboard the plane.

Even if that's not possible, Heavenly Island could simply make all the passengers on the plane disappear, leaving Song Shuhang alone! Heavenly Island could easily do that!

So, did Heavenly Island have some special purpose in selecting this group of passengers and bringing them to Heavenly Island?

So, what could be the special purpose behind it?

At that moment, when he heard the old man mention the trading area in the tower, a thought struck him.

Could it be that the passengers who stayed behind carried something that would interest 'Heavenly Island'?

"But we don't have anything else of value on us." The flight attendant looked at the odds and ends in her hands, completely disbelieving that anyone would want to trade these things.

"Don't panic. Let's go check out the tower first. Maybe we have some treasures we don't even know we have hidden on us?" Song Shuhang comforted him.

All the passengers quieted down and silently recovered their strength.

Afterwards, passengers would occasionally glance at Song Shuhang Song Shuhang —the martial prowess he displayed when he killed the giant eagle was so awe-inspiring that it made the passengers very excited.

Just like Joseph, they wished they could learn even a trick or two from Song Shuhang.

However, they didn't have Joseph's thick skin, and for a moment they didn't know how to establish a relationship with Song Shuhang.

But it doesn't matter, since they already know about Song Shuhang's existence. Once they have a chance to leave this island, there will be plenty of opportunities to build a relationship with Song Shuhang.

That's what many people think.

Gao Moumou, Tubo, and a few other roommates who were close to Song Shuhang didn't want to make things difficult for him at this time. After all, they would have plenty of time to spend with Song Shuhang the future.

***************************

About ten minutes later, the old man in ancient costume reappeared.

He was wearing a chef's apron, gripping two large cleavers in his hands, covered in blood, and wearing a terrifying smile.

When the female passengers saw the old man in ancient costume, they immediately thought of scenes from various horror movies and screamed in fright.

The old man in ancient costume remained unfazed, his terrifying smile still intact. He spoke like an NPC: "Respected heroes, those three hairy beasts have been dealt with. I will have them brought up now. Please enjoy!"

As he spoke, five strong men appeared behind him, carrying two large pots of delicious-smelling meat soup that made one's mouth water just by the aroma.

Seeing this, the passengers behind him breathed a slight sigh of relief, but still watched the old man in ancient costume with Vigilance.

Song Shuhang's lips twitched—this old man was definitely doing it on purpose, with a twisted sense of humor. He was sure the old man was feeling incredibly pleased to see the passengers in such a panic.

The five strong men put down the large pot and served each of the hungry passengers a full bowl of meat soup.

The passengers were already hungry and exhausted, and the broth seemed to have a magical allure. After receiving the broth, they didn't even consider whether there was anything wrong with it, and began to gulp it down...

Song Shuhang wanted to remind Tubo and Gao Moumou, but before he could say anything, Tubo and the others had already started drinking the meat soup.

Song Shuhang sighed, took a bowl of meat soup, and looked at the old man in ancient costume. "Old man, you should eat some too."

The old man in ancient costume grinned, then gritted his teeth and said, "What a pity, I only eat vegetarian food! I don't eat meat!"

Why make such a fuss about being vegetarian?

Song Shuhang smiled and gently placed the broth aside.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems with the broth. Consider this broth my compensation to you," the old man in ancient attire said in a low voice.

"I still don't dare to eat it," Song Shuhang answered honestly. Without knowing the old man's background, how could he possibly eat his food?

"Then forget it, but I'll still save the broth for you. You can have it whenever you want." The old man in ancient attire seemed to have anticipated that Song Shuhang refuse the broth, so he simply put the bowl away.

Then, he took off the blood-stained chef's apron and threw it aside.

After the passengers had finished their meat soup, the old man in ancient attire smiled and said, "Have all the heroes rested enough? Well then, I will lead you to the Ancient City tower to conduct the transaction!"

The passengers couldn't help but pat their bellies; it was just an ordinary bowl of meat soup, but after eating it, they felt an unprecedented sense of fullness.

Moreover, they seemed to be suddenly filled with energy, and they felt that they could run 10,000 meters without any problem!

What an amazing meat broth!

Following the official road of the Ancient City, led by an elderly man in ancient attire, the group entered the inner Ancient City and finally arrived at the foot of the tall tower.

Along the way... the number of residents in the Ancient City made the passengers feel a little uncomfortable. The population was really too small, even the inner city was sparsely populated, and the huge Ancient City seemed like a dead city, with only a few scattered figures occasionally seen.

This is quite unusual for passengers who are used to living in China's crowded cities.

Soon, the group arrived at the foot of the tower.

The elderly man in ancient attire, his hands tucked into his sleeves, said, "Everyone, this is all I can do for you. Please go directly through the entrance to the tower, where someone will greet you."

"If all goes well, once the transaction is completed, you will all be able to obtain a way to leave this place."

"Finally, I wish everyone success in trading for the items they desire," the old man in ancient attire said with a smile.

"Thank you for your kind words, sir," Song Shuhang replied.

Then, he led Gao Moumou and the others into the ancient pagoda.

*********************************

As everyone stepped into the ancient tower, they suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness, like when an elevator is descending.

A moment later, the scene before everyone's eyes suddenly changed, transforming into a huge gem palace!

Everything in the hall was made of various gemstones and diamonds. Even the tables were made of countless gemstones piled up. Some of the cup-shaped objects were hollowed out from a single, enormous gemstone.

A terrifying aura of immense wealth washed over us.

When the flight attendant saw the scene before her, she bitterly touched the items in her arms. She realized that even if she sold herself, she couldn't afford the smallest diamond in the hall—the smallest diamond there was the size of a fist.

How can anyone have a pleasant transaction like this? What can she possibly offer in exchange?

It wasn't just the flight attendant who felt this way; most passengers also felt a sense of helplessness.

"Welcome to Starry Sky Home! Here, we adhere to the absolute principle of 'equivalent exchange,' ensuring customers can buy with confidence and sell with peace of mind!" A clear voice echoed throughout the Gem Palace: "At Starry Sky Home, we are absolutely honest and trustworthy, offering genuine products at fair prices. We guarantee authenticity! If you find anything fake, we'll compensate you tenfold!"

Song Shuhang: "..."

This kind of overused advertising slogan makes the "Starry Sky Home" seem like it instantly dropped a hundred thousand levels in terms of sophistication.

"Next, please relax a little, and a trading interface will appear before your eyes. Following the principle of equivalence, we will show you the items you can use to trade, as well as the items we will use to trade with you. Absolutely equivalent, absolutely fair!" the clear voice replied.

Upon hearing this, everyone took a deep breath and tried to relax.

Then, suddenly, trading windows made up of light screens appeared in front of them—screens that only they could see.

Suddenly, the flight attendant exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? You only want my pendant?"

She looked down at her chest. The pendant was just a small wooden fish carving that she had found for thirty yuan in an antique shop. She didn't even know what it was; she just thought it was cute and bought it.

Unexpectedly, the item this "Starry Sky Home" wanted her to trade was a small fish wood carving.

Could this little wooden fish carving be some kind of treasure?

Then, she looked curiously at the items that 'Starry Sky Home' had put up for trading the small fish wood carvings.

[One Youth Beauty Pill. Note: Do you want to be as cute as a twenty-year-old girl at fifty? Do you want to maintain the radiant appearance of a thirty-year-old at seventy? Don't hesitate, one Youth Beauty Pill can significantly delay the aging process. You deserve it!]

If someone had tried to sell a "Youth Beauty Pill" to a flight attendant in the past, she would have definitely called them a fraud. But in this situation, she had no choice but to believe it, because everything that had happened today was completely beyond reason.

Then, she looked at another item the other party had used in the transaction.

[One amulet for Calamity-Dispelling Talisman. Note: This amulet is for warding off disasters and resolving difficulties. Wearing this amulet will save you from a life-or-death crisis.] This note is much more respectable.

There were only two items to be traded, and after thinking for a moment, the flight attendant resolutely chose the 'Youth Beauty Pill'.

For flight attendants, a chance to save their lives versus beauty... indeed, youth and beauty are more precious.

"Congratulations, you have successfully traded an item at 'Starry Sky Home'. Would you like to leave Heavenly Island immediately, or wait 24 hours?" a voice from the Gem Palace announced.

At the same time, the flight attendant found a crystal-clear pill emitting a unique fragrance in her hand.

She turned and glanced at where Song Shuhang, seemingly seeking his opinion.

After a moment's thought, Song Shuhang replied, "This Heavenly Island is fraught with danger. I recommend that everyone leave as soon as possible if possible. After all, I am only one person and cannot be in two places at once. If we encounter another crisis like the giant eagle, I cannot guarantee that I can protect everyone."

Everyone's expression changed when they recalled the giant eagle disaster at the city gate.

"Mr. Shuhang, see you in real life." The flight attendant nodded vigorously. She first swallowed the fragrant pill in one gulp, and then chose to leave 'Heavenly Island' immediately.

Song Shuhang nodded slightly.

But will we meet in real life? When we do meet again, you probably won't remember what happened on this Heavenly Island.

Erasing memories is not a difficult task for powerful cultivators.

Judging from the experiences of Senior Nine of Kyushu No. 1, it's clear that memories of Heavenly Island wouldn't be retained...

After leaving Heavenly Island, the flight attendant and he were in a state of 'not recognizing each other'.

At this point, the flight attendant chose to return immediately.

Then, a flame-like light erupted from her body—wasn't that the light that emanated when everyone vanished as light particles on the plane and at the doorway?

The flight attendant immediately panicked.

The voice from the Starry Sky Home explained, "Don't panic, this is just a way to send you back. It won't cause you any harm. Once you recover, you'll find yourself back in your warm home."

Upon hearing this explanation, everyone immediately recalled the "Yes" or "No" choice on the gate... It turns out that the choice was truly about sending warmth, care, and sending people back to their hometowns.

Joseph breathed a huge sigh of relief—so, his daughter was also taken home while on the plane?

Several others, like Joseph, breathed a sigh of relief; apparently, they all had relatives or friends who had disappeared on the plane.

After the flight attendant started it, the other passengers began to make transactions.

The variety of goods traded was astounding, exceeding people's imagination.

What someone traded was their leather jacket...

Someone exchanged their engagement ring...

Interestingly, the man who could breakdance traded away a birthmark he'd had since childhood... and what he received in return was a thick, solid gold necklace, the kind you'd wear as a dog leash. He'd been wanting to have surgery to remove the birthmark for a long time. Now, not only did he save on the surgery fees, but he also got a huge gold chain in return—he made a fortune!

Tubo stared blankly at his trading targets.

What he was to be traded for was—a syringe of blood.

What he could get in exchange was a pot of meat soup, the same kind that the old man in ancient costume had given everyone before, and that was the only option.

"Fresh blood? Broth?" Tubo asked, puzzled.

However, he did not immediately agree. Instead, he exchanged a glance with Gao Moumou and then turned to look at Song Shuhang.

Seeing his roommates' worried expressions, Song Shuhang smiled and said, "You two shouldn't dawdle any longer. Let's finish this deal first, and then leave Heavenly Island."

"And what about you?" Gao Moumou asked, judging from Song Shuhang's tone, it seemed he wasn't planning to go back with them?

"Don't forget Zhuge Zhongjie and Zhuge Yue, I need to go find them first." Song Shuhang replied with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll come back to you as soon as I bring back the two Zhuge."

"You must come back soon," Tubo said.

Song Shuhang nodded with a smile.

Tubo took a deep breath and pressed the trade button. Then a pot of delicious meat soup appeared in his hands... and then flames burst forth from his body, and he disappeared.

Gao Moumou, Mei Yi, and the Lu Fei sisters also made the deal and disappeared along with Tubo.

In the end, only Joseph and Song Shuhang remained in this 'Starry Sky Home'.

"Master, I'll go with you!" Joseph said excitedly. He had made up his mind to follow in his master's footsteps closely and watch him display his divine power.

"You should go back first," Song Shuhang said with a smile. "Otherwise... we won't be able to be happy neighbors then."

Upon hearing Song Shuhang's words, Joseph sighed. It was unclear what he had traded, but his figure vanished as he turned into particles of light.

In the end, only Song Shuhang's lonely figure remained in the Starry Sky Home.

Song Shuhang sighed heavily, and then he suddenly gave the middle finger to the Gem Palace of the Starry Sky Home.

Then, with his hands in his pockets, he left the 'Starry Sky Home' without hesitation.

As you exit the Jewel Palace, you feel that elevator-like sensation again.

The next moment, Song Shuhang appeared at the entrance of the tower.

"Hey, little friend Song Shuhang, why did you come out instead of exchanging items?" When the old man in ancient costume looked at Song Shuhang, he was not surprised and said with a silly smile.

"Why ask such a question when you already know the answer?" Song Shuhang raised an eyebrow. "The Starry Sky Home has no intention of sending me back, does it?"

Just now in that gem hall, everyone had a trade window pop up on their character. But Song Shuhang didn't have a trade window pop up—even though he had many treasures on him.

If there wasn't someone pulling strings behind the scenes, who would believe it?

"Hehehe." The old man in ancient costume chuckled happily, then took out the bowl of meat soup and asked, "Want some?"

As Song Shuhang approached the broth, he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's not beat around the bush. Old man, who are you, and what do you want with me?"

"If I told you... the problem actually lies in this soup. You didn't drink the broth, so you can't trade with 'Starry Sky Home,' would you believe me?" The old man in ancient costume chuckled.

Song Shuhang rolled his eyes.

"Drink it while it's hot. Don't worry, if I had any ill intentions towards you, I could have made you absorb this bowl of broth using any method imaginable," the old man in ancient attire said with a smile.

Song Shuhang grinned, grabbed the bowl of broth, and took a big gulp. "Now you can tell me, who are you? What do you want from me?"

"Young man, that's a good question!" The old man in ancient attire smiled slightly.

Then, the old man pointed to his head, and his originally gray hair disappeared, revealing a completely bald head.

His previously hunched back straightened, and his appearance changed rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and his handsome features could not be hidden between his heroic eyebrows and bright eyes.

"That's right, young man... Benefactor. I am the one who slapped your Jiudeng three hundred years ago!" The bald girl who appeared in front of Song Shuhang her hands together and smiled at him.

"Pfft..." Song Shuhang spat out the meat soup in his mouth.