Finally, dawn broke.
In the wooden house by the sea, faint murmurs could be heard from the woman on the cot, who had been unconscious and asleep for an unknown amount of time, as if she were in a nightmare.
"Wei Mingxuan, Wei Mingxuan, where did you go?"
"Your Highness, Yun'er is so sorry. It's all Yun'er's fault. Yun'er is a sinner, Your Highness..."
Suddenly, his eyes moved slightly, and he slowly opened them.
The woman sat up and carefully looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Dressed in flowing white clothes with her long hair casually draped over her shoulders, she walked barefoot on the floor, her heart filled with curiosity. She got up, walked towards the door, pushed it open, and stepped out of the wooden house.
As soon as I stepped outside, I spotted the red sun where the sea met the sky in the distance, seemingly preparing to burst forth.
A thin layer of clouds drifted by slowly, veiling the red sun with a light mist.
Fearing she wouldn't have enough time, she lifted her skirt and began to run, like a pure saint. She crossed the soft, green meadows in the woods, stepped over the babbling brooks, and searched happily amidst the energetic singing of early birds.
Then, half-hidden, the red sun slowly peeked out of the water, its golden light scattering like layers of golden fish scales across the sea.
The autumn wind blew away the thin veil, and the few fishing boats that made their living by fishing and went fishing at dawn would occasionally tear open the curtain on the tranquil sea, and then close it again, revealing layers of golden folds.
Finally, a red sun leaped out of the sea, its golden rays instantly transforming into countless sharp swords that shot towards every corner of the island.
At this moment, in this scene, bathed in the perfect morning light, with a gentle sea breeze, fragrant flowers and singing birds, the landscape resembles a newly painted ink painting...
Faced with such breathtaking and alluring scenery, the woman was instantly stunned.
She then slightly raised the corners of her mouth, forming a beautiful arc, and gently closed her exceptionally beautiful phoenix eyes. It seemed as if she had never taken such a serious and focused breath of the fresh and clean air around her before.
After a long while, she opened her eyes and gazed at the boundless sea before her, murmuring to herself, "Such a paradise on earth, what kind of place is this?"
Little did he know that his every move was being watched by two other men who were also there to watch the sunrise over the sea.
A moment later, a voice suddenly sounded softly: "Master, look at that girl in front, doesn't she look like... doesn't she look like..."
Before he could finish speaking, a man of medium height stood upright with one hand behind his back. He wore a yellow robe, with a piece of exquisite jade tied at his waist. He had an ancient and simple appearance, and a faint smile on his face that was hard to detect, but he looked more like a surprised middle-aged man. He quickly reached out and blocked all the rest of his words.
Suddenly, the surroundings became very quiet, very quiet.
The middle-aged man found it utterly unbelievable. He stared wide-eyed at the white-clad woman in front of him, who was looking around, his mouth trembling slightly.
Just as he had been staring intently at its back or profile for a long time, seemingly finally mustering up the courage to take a few steps forward and get a closer look at its face,
For some reason, the middle-aged man suddenly felt dizzy, so he quickly raised one hand to support his forehead, and then he began to stagger.
Suddenly, everything went black, and he was about to collapse when a young man who looked like his guard, holding a long sword, rushed forward to support him, shouting urgently, "Master, wake up! Master, what's wrong with you?"
Suddenly, a burst of noise reached the woman's ears. Disturbed, she frowned, her expression showing some displeasure.
Turning around at the sound, she saw that someone had fainted. She quickly lifted her long skirt and ran to the two men.
She quickly crouched down, carefully observing the middle-aged man's condition as she asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
The young guard was stunned when he saw the woman's face as she approached. He hurriedly said, "My master was talking to me just now, but I don't know why, he suddenly fainted."
The guard seemed to be on the verge of tears: "Master, what's wrong with you? You absolutely can't be hurt, otherwise how will I explain it to... to that whole family when I get back?"
He sniffed and asked the woman, "Does the young lady know of anyone nearby who knows medicine? My master is old and has been traveling for days, and he didn't sleep a wink last night. He can't be hurt, he can't be hurt..."
The woman scrutinized the middle-aged man for a while, and after listening to what the guard said, she seemed to have already made a judgment in her mind.
"Shut up, you're such a nagging servant. Even if your master is alright, he's about to get into trouble because of your nagging."
So, while scolding him, he reached out and placed his fingers on the middle-aged man's sleeve, carefully taking his pulse.
"Does the young lady know medicine?"
The young guard was about to speak again when the woman frowned and glared at him, so he immediately shut up.
The woman switched hands and took the pulse again, saying earnestly, "Your master needs to rest and recuperate."
Upon hearing this, the young guard looked around and saw that apart from the vast sea, there was no one else around.
So, the brow that had just relaxed a little immediately furrowed again: "This area is a desolate wasteland for miles around. Where can we go to recuperate? What should we do? My master is the current ruler of Dongning Kingdom..."
Seemingly realizing he had misspoke, he hurriedly changed his tune: "My master is a famous merchant in Dongning Kingdom. His life is extremely precious. If anything were to happen to him, I could be beheaded ten thousand times and still not be able to compensate for it!"
The woman glared at the guard, then shook her head helplessly and said, "Your master isn't as serious as you think. I haven't even said anything yet, and you're already overthinking things. How can you be so worried?"
The guard seemed not to be listening to the woman at all, and just went along with his own thoughts: "My master is unconscious, how can I not be worried?"
Suddenly recalling the woman's words, he fell silent again, asking with some doubt, "It's not that serious? Is that true? You mean..."
At this moment, the woman had already taken his pulse. While covering his sleeve, she explained, "You don't need to tell me. I can tell from your master's pulse that it's a pulse of wealth and nobility. And based on what you just said, I think he's just too old to endure the hardships of trekking through mountains and rivers and sleeping in the open. Plus, he was exposed to the sea breeze all night at the beach, so cold air has seeped into his body. You should quickly find a place for him to rest properly and eat some hot porridge. He'll recover soon."
The young guard's face immediately lit up with joy and disbelief as he asked, "Is what you're saying true? You're not lying to me?"
"Hmph... He's so old, he should be pampered like a flower in a greenhouse. If he can't handle hardship, he shouldn't be brought out to this desolate place to show off." The woman stood up and warned the person in front of her disdainfully.
Upon hearing this, the young guard suddenly flew into a rage and berated the woman: "Shut up! What do you know? Our...our master heard that there was a high chance of a major plague outbreak on Azure Island last night, so he disregarded his family's objections and traveled all this way to check the truth!"
"Oh? A merchant actually cares about matters of state that should be the concern of a monarch. It seems your master is truly worthy of praise and respect!" the woman said with a cold smile.
But in his heart he was thinking, "Hmph, who would believe you're some kind of merchants? Whether you're merchants or officials, what does it matter to me?"
Upon hearing this, the young man finally stopped arguing with her, but helplessly said to the middle-aged man in his arms, "Master, oh master, there's no village or shop in sight here. Where can we find a place to stay?"
Seeing that he was rambling on and on about a lot of useless things, the middle-aged man couldn't let it go any longer, so he said with a pained expression, "Alright, since we're all traveling together, come with me. I know a place where your master can rest for a while."
After the woman finished speaking, she turned and walked back the way she came.
The young guard's eyes lit up immediately, as if he couldn't react for a moment.
They had thoroughly surveyed the area on their way here and found no one had settled there. Yet this woman was saying… could it be that she really…?
As she was pondering this, the woman suddenly realized that he hadn't followed her.
He then stopped, turned around, and shouted at him, trying to scare him: "Are you coming or not? The humidity is highest here at dawn, and the miasma is also the fiercest. If you don't leave now and keep delaying, your master will really lose his life in this wilderness!"
"Let's go, let's go, we're leaving now..."
Upon hearing this, the young guard suddenly came to his senses, hurriedly picked up his master, and rushed after him.
Meanwhile, from the opposite direction, on the other side of the sea, an old man and a young boy were rushing back to their cabin in a great hurry.
"Oh no, oh no!"
The little maid, Greenie, stepped into the wooden house first, but as soon as she stepped inside, she ran out again and shouted anxiously in the direction the white-bearded old man was returning.
"Oh dear, my little darling, why have you suddenly become so impulsive? What's wrong with you now?"
On the way back, the white-bearded old man, leaning on his cane, was already pondering the strange events of the previous night. Upon hearing the sound, he immediately stopped, panting heavily, and impatiently scolded the old man.
However, Greenie seemed unable to speak at this moment. She held onto the old man's arm with one hand, while pointing back at the wooden house with the other...
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