Blue-Green Village
The arrival of the treasure ship made the entire Blue-Green Village lively. Originally, the villagers just wanted to go up and broaden their horizons, but they were surprised to find several familiar faces on the deck that were immediately recognized.
"Hey, isn't that the Fang family's kid? Didn't they take their ship to the deep sea? What are they doing here?" someone exclaimed.
As this person pointed it out, more and more people recognized the familiar faces waving at them from the ship.
"The one on the far left looks like the Zhang Household father and son. I remember they left with the fleet many days ago. Aunt Zhang came to the dock a few days ago to ask if they were back today?!"
While everyone was still in surprise and confusion, Sang Ying and her group's treasure ship had already arrived at the dock.
Because the water was shallow, the treasure ship would run aground if it got too close, so Sang Ying and the others decided to use another small boat to put Zhang Ping'an and the others on board and send them back to the Blue-Green Village dock.
As for Sang Ying and the others, since this area was near the sea and there were no powerful sea Demon Beast around, Sang Ying simply took them on her sword and flew all the way to the dock.
The Qian Household's small boat continued to follow behind them. Seeing Sang Ying and her companions' flying swords swiftly passing overhead, the young master of the Qian Household shouted, "Wait for us! You're flying so fast, we can't keep up!"
Upon hearing this, Dong Fuzhu immediately urged Sang Ying to speed up, and even turned back to lightly strike the small boat where the Qian Household was, splashing seawater directly onto the boy's face.
The boy screamed in anger, but by the time he came to his senses, Zhang Ping'an and the others' small boat and Sang Ying's flying sword were already just shadows.
"Young Master, what do we do now?" Steward Qian asked.
The boy wiped the seawater from his face and said angrily, "What else can I do but keep up with them! Trying to shake me off? No way!"
Steward Qian immediately agreed and instructed the others to row the boat quickly, but the smile on his face was so obvious that it was impossible to ignore.
Zhang Ping'an and his group were among the first to arrive at the dock. A dozen or so people jumped out of the small boat and immediately embraced their relatives and friends who were waiting for them on the shore.
They had been through so much on this voyage, nearly drowning in the raging waves. How could they not be overjoyed to return safely and see these familiar faces again?
In contrast, Zhang Ping'an was much calmer. After looking around and finding that his mother and sister were not among the crowd, he explained to his Sang Ying and the others who had just arrived, "My benefactors, my father and I would like to go back quickly to let our families know we are safe. Would you be so kind as to come back to the village with us for a while? We are so grateful for your help that we were able to save our lives. Please give us a chance to repay your kindness."
"Yes, benefactor, come with us to the village for a while. I was hoping my son could kowtow to you all!" Another person squeezed out from the crowd and continued, following Zhang Ping'an's words.
A group of people were very enthusiastic, and the family members of the rescued person who rushed over after receiving the news were also there to persuade them. They surrounded Sang Ying and her group with great enthusiasm, as if they would not let them leave until they agreed.
Dong Fuzhu and Green Lotus were all cultivators, and they were usually wary of unfamiliar cultivators. They had never experienced such enthusiasm before, and were a little unaccustomed to it.
Sang Ying originally planned to find a place for her junior brothers and sisters to rest. They were born on land and had been in the sea for so long, so they were not used to it.
Seeing how much the people of Blue-Green Village hoped they would stay, Sang Ying also somewhat tempted.
She turned to look at the others, wanting to hear their opinions, and they all said they were fine with going anywhere. However, Sang Ying could clearly see the expectation in their eyes for Blue-Green Village.
"Alright, then it would be impolite of us to refuse. Please allow us to see the scenery of Blue-Green Village." Sang Ying had no choice but to agree.
However, she didn't forget the Qian Household who were following them, especially the young master of the Qian Household. They had destroyed Zhang Ping'an and the others' boat and killed several of their companions. This debt definitely needed to be settled.
A group of people entered the village in a lively manner, and the news of the fleet's return had already been spread far and wide by the impatient children.
Sang Ying and the others followed Zhang Ping'an and the others all the way here, and the first place they went was Zhang Ping'an's house.
The dull earthen house had an old-fashioned feel, and the few rooms, neither too big nor too small, contained only some simple furniture.
As soon as Sang Ying entered, she smelled the scent of fresh grass. She glanced at the patch of spiritual vegetables growing in the corner of the wall and had a sudden realization.
Zhang Ping'an and her husband called out to their mother and sister from afar. Zhang's mother came out of the room in surprise and, seeing that her husband and son had really returned, her eyes immediately reddened.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Come in, come in quickly! Mother will cook you some spirit vegetable porridge!" Spirit vegetable porridge is a rare treat in the Zhang Household nowadays; usually, only the sick Zhang Ru'an can drink a bowl of it from time to time.
Now that Zhang's mother is saying this, it's clear that she really misses her son and husband these days.
Zhang Ping'an stopped his mother from pulling him into the house and pointed to Sang Ying and the others not far away, saying, "Mother, wait a moment, our benefactor is with us too."
Following the direction her son was pointing, Zhang's mother finally spotted Sang Ying and the others.
One of the rescued survivors who had come along joked, "Ping An, it seems your mother wasn't prepared to entertain guests. Why don't we let our benefactors come with us and go to our house first?"
"Oh, that won't do! We must invite our benefactor to come and sit at our home!" Before Zhang Ping'an could even object, Zhang's father quickly tried to persuade him to stay.
Sang Ying smiled and declined their offer. They were fairly familiar with Zhang Ping'an, and their main purpose in coming was to help take a look at Zhang Ping'an's sister's strange illness.
After all, the inexplicable disappearance of Spiritual Qi within her body always reminded Sang Ying of the Black Sheath Gu Worm.
However, according to Zhang Ping'an, Zhang Ru'an's condition should be different from that of the Black Sheath Gu Worm. We'll have to observe him first to find out the truth.
However, Sang Ying refused, but Green Lotus, Red Lotus, and Dong Fuzhu could follow the others around.
After a brief discussion, only Sang Ying and Jiang Zhuoxue stayed at the Zhang Household.
With more than half the people gone, Zhang's mother breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that she didn't want to entertain her husband and son's saviors; it was just that their house was too small, and if there were too many people, they probably wouldn't have enough chairs to sit on!
Just as Zhang's mother was greeting the guests, a soft voice called out from a room with a curtain hanging over the door, "Brother, have you and Dad returned?"
Zhang Ping'an gave Sang Ying and Jiang Zhuoxue an apologetic look before plunging into the room.
Upon seeing this, Zhang's father and mother sighed simultaneously, and a look of sorrow returned to their faces.
A note from the author:
First chapter