Situ's words jolted Su Huilan awake. She had always felt that something was interfering with her conscious judgment, like tentacles writhing and influencing her decisions in her mental world.
She considered herself to have fairly strong Mental Power, and since she could still experience auditory hallucinations, it wasn't surprising that Alice could see the resurrected Halsey. It was very likely just a dream she had under hypnosis!
However, Mrs. Larry seemed quite clear-headed at the time. Although her willpower was much stronger Alice's, she was still just an ordinary person, which was somewhat unreasonable.
Qingmu, however, found it unlikely. The Itza People didn't possess the Sacred Staff and couldn't manipulate the island's Mental Power Field; they relied solely on the combined spiritual power of the three tribes of savages. How could they possibly be so strong?
"If they're really that strong, those priests wouldn't even need to agree to negotiations; they could just form a thousand-strong formation and push over there," he said.
Situ said, "It must be that the altar has some kind of channel connecting to other spiritual energies, which is why their Mental Power Formation cannot leave the altar."
Qingmu squinted, looking at the three Sun in the sky. "Could there be a third-party force?"
"It's hard to say." Situ also looked up.
Su Huilan unconsciously looked up as well. Whenever she saw three Sun in the sky, she felt that the world was particularly unreal.
Duwa had remained silent until now, said, " The Itza People didn't seem to be faking it when they negotiated with us; at least, there was no element of deception in their words."
Situ nodded. "That's what I was wondering about too. Ideally, the Itza People could unite. They know Ramla better than we do. Activating five altars is no small task, and we'll have a hard time completing it without their help. Besides, there are only three tribes here. Aside from the fact that the Tuoxiao Tribe, representing fire, has already been dealt with by Ronald Cohen, we still have to face the Chayak Tribe, representing ice."
Qingmu said, "Right now, it's all just speculation. We can't just wait here; we have to get ashore and help them."
As he spoke, he pulled a willow twig from the inside pocket of his trench coat and handed it, along with the Soul of Wood, to Su Huilan, saying, "Hold this for me, I'm going to get the boat." Without even taking off his slippers, he jumped off the gunwale, splashing water everywhere.
Before Su Huilan could react, two things appeared in her hands.
The ebony staff was a bit heavy, and holding it gave me a strange feeling, as if it were alive. Fortunately, it wasn't as hot as the Soul of Fire; it just gave me a sense of ancient and weathered oppression, as if I were in a dense primeval forest.
However, Su Huilan's attention was entirely focused on that willow branch.
While on Tubuai Island, she knew that Qingmu had this willow branch in his backpack. She also knew the significance of breaking off a willow branch in China culture and guessed its origin.
She never expected that after experiencing so many dangers, losing her bag long ago, and even almost losing her life, Qingmu would still keep this willow branch on his person.
The willow branches were still green, as if they had never left the earth, showing no signs of drying out. Several tender buds had just sprouted from the branches, slightly open, like a baby's mouth, searching for its mother's embrace.
Su Huilan actually felt a warmth from the willow branches, like the feeling she had when she was a child, watching the snow melt in front of her house and welcoming the first spring breeze.
She suddenly remembered her home, her father, and everything on Earth.
A tear slid down her cheek and landed on the back of her hand, glistening in the sunlight and reflecting the green of the willow branches on her hand.
For the first time, she felt the power of life.
The distant lakeshore was lined with lush forests, but those trees, grasses, and flowers had never given Su Huilan the same feeling. They were things from another world, not belonging to her, and she did not belong to this world.
In a daze, she understood why Qingmu had always carried that willow branch. But for some reason, a faint sense of loss rose from the bottom of her heart, leaving her feeling lost and helpless.
When she came to her senses, Qingmu had already swum far away and quickly disappeared from sight. Only the ripples he had created were still surging towards the Swordfish.
When Qingmu reappeared in sight, he was already standing on a raft, soaking wet, his hair plastered to his face, his trench coat wrapped around his waist, and he was holding a long pole. This reminded Su Huilan of the stone monkey in Journey to the West who traveled across the ocean to seek immortality from a master.
The raft was moored against the side of the destroyer. Qingmu used a pole to hold the gangway and called up, "Come on down!"
Without him saying anything, Situ and the other two were already heading down the gangway.
Su Huilan stepped onto the raft, returned the Soul of Wood and Willow Branch to Qingmu, and couldn't help but laugh at his disheveled appearance, saying, "It's rare to see you in such a different state."
Qingmu and the other two boarded the raft, then shuffled to the stern, poked the raft with their poles, and pushed it away.
Hearing his footsteps, Su Huilan noticed the slippers on his feet and said, "Are those slippers glued to the soles of your feet? They won't fall off while swimming!"
Qingmu downplayed the issue, saying, "It will float even if it falls."
Su Huilan suddenly remembered that this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. When she was swept here by the floodwaters from the Sangqi Tribe across that waterfall that flowed backwards, her flip-flops hadn't fallen off. But since they had just experienced such a dangerous situation, no one had noticed.
She glanced at Qingmu, then at Situ, and then at Duwa, whom she had only recently met. Suddenly, she felt as if she were surrounded by monsters, with not a single normal person among them. But then she thought, was this really a normal world? Even she herself wasn't necessarily a normal person!
She pursed her lips, asked no more questions, and looked towards the shore. The most important thing now was to find Mrs. Larry and Alice.
Perhaps because of the intense sunlight, when she turned around, she saw that Qingmu was no longer so wet and had returned to his original state.
Su Huilan felt a little dazed, wondering if the guy had actually gone into the water, or if it was just her imagination. But if so, where did they get the raft they were on?
Just then, they saw a small boat emerge from the opposite shore of the lake. A crow cawed in the sky, and the Boss Coal came into view.
" Guagua, caw, they've been kidnapped by savages! Guagua, they've been kidnapped!" Crow cawed as it landed on Qingmu's head.
"Speak slowly and clearly. What did you see?"
"Quack! I saw Mrs. Larry and Alice tied to two very tall pillars, with firewood piled up below them. The savages are going to burn them! The savages are going to eat people! Quack! They're about to become kebabs and sauce!"
Where?
"Croak at the altar!"
"You mean it was tied to two very tall pillars?"
"Yes, quail."
Qingmu certainly knew that savages ate people; he and Su Huilan had witnessed them roasting people over fires to eat them. But why tie them to such a high pillar?
"Has it been lit?" he asked.
"There wasn't a quail when I left, so I don't know if there is now!"
What were the savages doing when you saw them?
"Caw! Hmm..." The Crow tilted its head and thought for a moment, "Could it be a pre-meal prayer?"
"Oh no!" Situ exclaimed, " The Itza People want to sacrifice them to their gods!"