The setting sun sank westward, bathing the deserted island in a faint orange-red glow. The shadows among the mountains had already darkened, while the sea breeze drifted gently by and the sound of waves striking the shore came like a lullaby, making Zhang Xiaohua, hidden beneath a rock, drowsy and unwilling to wake. By the time he opened his eyes, dusk was near.
He rose, stretched lazily, and leaped up to higher ground. First, he gazed out across the sea, but saw no trace of any ship. Then he looked around the vast deserted island and let out a long whistle, a surge of bold spirit rising from his chest.
"Though this deserted island is vast, there are no human traces here. I am alone. I'd like to see just how long I can live here!"
"I'll be spending my days here from now on. I just wonder whether Qin Shiyue will be able to find this place. Forget it. If someone finds me, I'll only be escorted back to the Heavenly Dragon Sect anyway. Better that they do not come. It would be best if some other ship came instead."
"Alas, I wonder how Father and Mother are doing. It would have been better if I'd escaped back in Jingyue City. No, that would not have worked either. If I had fled then, the Heavenly Dragon Sect would certainly have searched everywhere for me. If they found Guo Village, that would have been terrible. After all this turmoil, if Qin Shiyue cannot find me, he will probably think I was buried in the belly of a fish. At least my family will not be implicated. That is not bad either, though Father and Mother will worry about me for a long time."
After Zhang Xiaohua's burst of lofty spirit