When the utterly ordinary-looking youth ran up before them, the two exchanged a glance. A pale-faced, lanky man of twenty-four or twenty-five cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask, brother, can you understand what we're saying?"
With a clatter, Zhang Xiaohua, who had approached brimming with hope, nearly fell to the ground. What kind of question was that? Why wouldn't I understand them?
But when Zhang Xiaohua opened his mouth, he truly understood what the man meant. "I... I... understand."
Zhang Xiaohua's speech was somewhat halting as well. Naturally—he had spent more than four years on this deserted island, with no one around and no possibility of speaking with anyone. How could he possibly still be fluent? Even when he read the jade slips and talked to himself, he had only muttered under his breath. When had he ever spoken so loudly with anyone?
Hearing Zhang Xiaohua speak this way, the pale-faced man turned to look at the brawny, yellow-faced man beside him. After exchanging a glance, he smiled. "It seems this little brother has lived on this deserted island for many days. Did you also encounter some storm or the like and end up stranded here? Are you the only one on this island?"
Zhang Xiaohua bared his teeth. "Yes... I went out to sea... several years ago... and encountered... a great storm. The ship sank... and I lost consciousness too... When I woke up, I had drifted to this deserted island."
After speaking a few sentences, Zhang Xiaohua's words gradually became more fluent.
The yellow-faced man beside him looked very honest and simple. In a deep, muffled voice, he asked, "Are you the only one on this deserted island, little brother? What is your surname and name? Where are you from?"
Zhang Xiaohua said, "I'm from Jingyue