"Alright, now that you two have rested, please keep your promise and leave immediately!"
Hearing this, which was clearly an arrogant order to leave, the young guard finally couldn't contain his anger any longer. He rushed forward and blocked the middle-aged man's path, saying, "You old man, I've tolerated you for too long. Do you know who my master is? You'll be terrified if I tell you, he is the current ruler of Dongning Kingdom..."
Just as the young guard was about to reveal his identity, no longer willing to swallow his anger, a thunderous roar came from behind him, interrupting him: "Shut up! Don't say another word!"
“Master, this old man has been extremely wicked from the very beginning. If it weren't for the help of the young lady we met at the beach, which allowed you to stay here and recuperate, you would likely be in grave danger. He not only…”
The young guard turned around, wanting to try to defend himself, but was choked by that incomparably noble and dignified face and could not utter another word.
“Since the old man has chosen to live in seclusion here and does not wish to be disturbed, I will take my leave now. I am deeply grateful and hope we will meet again!” The middle-aged man stepped forward, respectfully clasped his hands in thanks, and took his leave.
"It should be a farewell between us, never to meet again!" the white-bearded old man said with a cold laugh, seemingly without any politeness.
As the saying goes, "Mountains and rivers will always meet again, and the future is always promising." The middle-aged man smiled to himself, then slowly walked out of the wooden house with his young guard.
Watching the departing figures of everyone, the little maid, Lü'er, said with a displeased and forlorn expression, "They're all gone."
The white-bearded old man seemed to still be immersed in his memories from many years ago. He remained silent for a long time, and finally exhaled a deep breath. Looking at the vast sea under the azure sky in the distance, he also let out the same sigh.
"Yes, they're all gone! The encounters between people in this world are always so subtle. No matter how far apart they are, even if it feels like a lifetime has passed, those who were meant to come and those who weren't, have all been here; those who were meant to leave and those who weren't, have all left in the end. In the end, nothing has really changed, only this vast ocean remains unchanged, eternally unchanging."
Suddenly, Greenie seemed to have guessed something. She turned to look at the white-bearded old man's profile and asked suspiciously, "Grandpa, you've never been a heartless person. Do you... know this gentleman? Otherwise, why would you treat him like this? Has he offended you before?"
Upon hearing this, the white-bearded old man's brows, which had just relaxed, suddenly furrowed again, but he remained silent.
Greenie paused, then exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness is truly amazing! I never imagined that she actually obtained that incredibly precious dragon saliva from the Sea Goddess, and it's the finest of the finest!"
But the joy was short-lived, and a wave of sadness washed over her. Greenie murmured, "Grandpa, Greenie misses the princess. Will Greenie ever see her again?"
The girl's repeated mutterings went unanswered until she finally fell silent and returned to quiet.
Suddenly, a refreshing sea breeze, unlike anything he had ever experienced before, swept by, instantly waking the white-bearded old man from his deep reverie and lifting his weathered white beard.
He gently closed his eyes, and memories flashed before him, like smoke and mist, stirring up ripples in his heart that had been sealed away for most of his life.
After a long while, he took a deep breath of the incredibly fresh air and asked the little girl beside him, "Greenie, smell this. This sea, this island, seems to have never felt this fresh in a very, very long time..."
Hearing this, Greenie was quite puzzled and tried sniffing as well. Finally, when she also focused her mind, closed her eyes, and took a breath, perhaps because children's sense of smell is more sensitive, she immediately raised her face with joy and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Grandpa is absolutely right, there is a sweet smell in the air."
The white-bearded old man seemed to have suddenly realized something, smiled meaningfully, and said, "It seems that it's time to restore this Azure Island to its original name!"
"The original name of Azure Island? Wasn't this place called Azure Island before?" Greenie blinked her big, bright black eyes at the now clear blue coastline, looking quite surprised.
The white-bearded old man looked at her innocent face, then gazed at the horizon where the sea met the sky, and proudly introduced, "Little girl, remember this, 'Phoenix Island'... is the real name of this treasure island!"
“Phoenix Island…” Greenie murmured to herself, as if she had remembered something.
The white-bearded old man stroked his white beard and said leisurely, "Yes, Phoenix Island. It stands like a pillar that calms the sea amidst the vast blue waves, and like a piece of exquisite jade supported and protected by the azure sea and sky."
"The phoenix has returned, but the azure is gone. So that's how it is." As the little girl uttered these words in sudden realization, the grandfather and granddaughter smiled at each other in silence.
The laughter traveled through the jungle, across the islands, and across the ocean, reaching far, far away...
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man and the young guard were traveling downstream in a small boat.
As they got further and further away from the island, the middle-aged man stood upright at the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back, staring intently in its direction as if deep in thought.
At the other end of the boat, the young guard, rowing, continued to mutter angrily, "Damn it, utterly despicable! How dare someone be so disrespectful and arrogant to the Emperor! One day, I'll teach this ignorant, arrogant old man a lesson..."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, did you hear what this servant said...?"
Suddenly, the young guard's call pulled the middle-aged man from his deep thoughts.
He then slowly shifted his gaze to the young guard, shook his head, and said, "You've been nagging all the way here, haven't you had enough? In any case, he saved my life this time, what else is there to complain about?"
"Him? Is Your Majesty referring to that old geezer?" The young guard sneered.
"Could it not be him?" the middle-aged man asked doubtfully.
“That cold-blooded old man wouldn’t do that. Has Your Majesty forgotten what I just said? If it weren’t for the girl we met at the beach this morning, we definitely wouldn’t have been able to get out of that mysterious forest, let alone find a place to rest,” the young guard explained.
"That young lady... are you referring to the woman with flowing hair and dressed in white who appeared at the beach with us to watch the sunrise?" the middle-aged man asked, quite surprised.
Because he still feels that meeting that woman was like a dream, so unreal.
"Yes, that girl is truly kind-hearted! Even the divine medicine Dragon Saliva that Your Majesty took was obtained by that girl alone, climbing up the steep cliffs by the sea to the top of Dragon Saliva Cliff to beg the Goddess of the Sea," the young guard exclaimed.
"What? That woman in white climbed to the top of the extremely steep Dragon Saliva Cliff to get medicine for me?" The middle-aged man was instantly stunned.
The young guard nodded as he recalled, "I overheard the little maid in the wooden hut saying that the Dragon Saliva Divine Medicine is extremely rare. It comes from a very rare and precious dragon in the sea, and it needs to be soaked in seawater for hundreds of years to achieve its best medicinal effect. It is the finest of the fine. That woman is truly lucky to have obtained such a precious divine medicine."
The young guard was still immersed in his memories of admiration for the man when the middle-aged man suddenly raised his voice and ordered him, "Quickly, transfer it back to me! Quickly..."
The young guard immediately stopped what he was doing and asked, puzzled, "Your Majesty, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly trying to reverse it?"
The middle-aged man said urgently, "I want to thank that woman in person! Quickly, transfer it back to me! Hurry up..."
Instantly, he looked up and saw that the ship was about to dock.
The young guard suddenly understood, breathed a sigh of relief, and said earnestly, "To be honest, Your Majesty, that woman has already left Phoenix Island..."
"They've left?" the middle-aged man asked in surprise.
The young guard nodded, and as he brought the boat to shore, he said, "Yes, they've left. I heard from that little girl that the woman wasn't originally from the island. She left after delivering the medicine to the cabin."
"Have you inquired where she went after she left?" the middle-aged man asked as he was helped off the boat.
"I asked, but the little girl seemed to know nothing about it," the young guard said helplessly.
For a long time afterward, both of them fell silent, lost in their own thoughts.
The young guard followed closely behind the middle-aged man, who was frowning and scratching the back of his head, seemingly pondering something that he still found unbelievable.
Suddenly, he began to mutter to himself, "They look so alike, so incredibly alike! How could there be two people in the world who look so identical? Even if she isn't the Empress Dowager, she must have a deep connection with her."
The middle-aged man also lowered his head and pondered the past for a long time before recalling, "When she appeared back then, I felt that the whole world began to shine. Her every smile and gesture was more than just captivating. It was also her eyes, her virtue, courage, beauty, kindness, and gentleness. It is no exaggeration to say that she embodied all the beauty of women in the world."
Upon hearing this, the young guard stared blankly at the long-unseen joy on his master's face. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "Your Majesty, should we send a group of people to thoroughly investigate that wooden house? Perhaps that old man is up to some trick again?"
After pondering in silence for a long time, the middle-aged man slowly replied, "Alright, but remember not to disturb them."
"Yes, sir!" The young guard, sword in hand, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and gladly accepted the order.
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