Chapter 28 Conversation and Decision
A month ago, Chen Xuanlin was a gentle, elegant, and calm middle-aged man.
But the Chen Xuanlin before Chen Gan'er, with his temples graying and his eyes thick with wrinkles, looked like a typical man in his fifties.
In the space of a month, Chen Gan'er had watched Chen Xuanlin age from the appearance of a forty-year-old to the present age of a mature man.
Chen Gan'er opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say. He stood at the doorway for a long time.
Chen Xuanlin smiled and said,
"It's only been half a day, and you don't recognize me, brother? Please sit down."
After a while, Chen Gan'er finally sat down across from Chen Xuanlin.
However, the initial excitement he had felt from receiving the spirit stone was gone.
Chen Xuanlin, on the other hand, looked quite open-minded and said,
"Appearances are just a matter of appearance. Why bother? As long as the Chen family can be revived, my life span is of no consequence."
"As for you, I'm limited by my cultivation techniques and can't personally help you. You've had to go to Tingquan Island and fight alone,"
Chen Gan'er muttered.
"With the undead spirits summoned by my clan brother here, how can you say he didn't help us?"
Chen Gan'er glanced up at Chen Xuanlin's face, which was already showing signs of twilight.
"Brother, your cultivation techniques... should be abandoned."
Chen Xuanlin shook his head.
"My island is still weak, and the Sea of Death is treacherous. If I rely on you alone, it will be difficult to survive. I hope you can become stronger, so I can concentrate on teaching."
Chen Gan'er knew full well that Chen Xuanlin had no choice but to practice such a cultivation technique with such severe side effects. After all, Sanyin Island still needed the support of the two of them.
Chen Xuanli waved his hand and said,
"Alright, tell me about your experiences on Tingquan Island."
Chen Gan'er responded and began to recount his journey to Tingquan Island, from seeing Liu Miao's expression to his secret crossing to Tingquan Island.
From the fierce battle with Liu Shixing, to the blood-drawn pattern within the Tingquan Island prison, to Liu Miao's description of the strange wooden sign and his speculation about the existence of the gray fog,
they recounted everything, including the strange expression Liu Shixing had on his face after biting off his tongue and using the wooden sign, and the inhuman smile Liu Miao occasionally wore after implanting the wooden sign.
Finally, Chen Gan'er solemnly recounted his agreement with Liu Miao.
He finished, saying,
"At the time, I noticed Liu Miao's behavior was somewhat strange. To prevent any trouble, I privately agreed to his request. Please don't blame me, brother."
Chen Xuanlin smiled warmly and said,
"Gan'er, you've done well this time. I'll have someone record your agreement with Liu Miao within the clan. If we ever reach the shore again, we'll fulfill it."
Chen Gan'er nodded, adding,
"Brother, the strangest thing I've noticed about this trip is that after the totem wooden sign was integrated into Liu Miao's body, he felt like a completely different person. His personality and moods have changed drastically."
"What's even stranger is that when Liu Miao and I discussed our agreement, he actually mentioned the name of our island."
Chen Gan'er and Chen Xuanlin knew the island they were meeting was called Tingquan Island because of the message on the Dead Sea Message Monument.
But Liu Miao and Liu Shixing had been in Chen Gan'er's sight since they landed. How did he know the Chen family's island was called Sanyin Island? After
Chen Gan'er finished speaking, Chen Xuanlin remained expressionless and said,
"I think it's because of the totem wooden token. Since Liu Miao said it came from the gray fog, it's possible that the person behind the totem wooden token wasn't Liu Miao who wanted to convey the message, but the being behind it." "
You also said that after the totem wooden token merged with his body, his personality changed significantly. So, it's not certain whether the current Liu Miao is still the real Liu Miao."
Chen Gan'er said thoughtfully,
"After Liu Shixing activated the wooden token, he had multiple opportunities to kill Liu Miao and me, but he didn't. Finally, I found my chance."
"Now that I think about it, Liu Shixing's words before his death, 'You didn't win, you were just chosen', also seemed to have a meaning."
Chen Xuanlin also sighed:
"It seems that the gray fog is unstable again. If we don't strengthen our strength, we will be nothing but fish in a cage under the great changes."
Chen Ganer could sense the recent unusualness of the Dead Sea, and Chen Xuanlin could naturally sense the abnormality of the Dead Sea in recent days.
On the uninhabited island next to the shore, we encountered a two-headed monster; on the Tingquan Island next to the shore, we encountered the Liu father and son with wooden signs hidden in their flesh and blood; and there were also floating corpses in the Dead Sea. There
was even the Chen family sacrificial spirit that suddenly woke up, all of which hinted at the abnormality of the gray fog in the Dead Sea. Every time there was a great change in the Dead Sea, countless islands would become uninhabited islands and suffer the disaster of genocide.
But for the islanders of the Dead Sea who were trapped on islands by the gray fog and could only live on the islands for generations, there was no other way except to do everything they could to strengthen their strength.
Chen Ganer said again:
"Brother Xuanlin, that totem wooden token on our island..."
Chen Gan'er was referring to the wooden token on the floating corpse. Previously, the token had behaved normally, nothing remarkable about it, so it had been stored in the warehouse.
Now that he'd learned of the token's strangeness, Chen Gan'er had deliberately reminded Chen Xuanlin of it.
Chen Xuanlin frowned for a moment, then said,
"We should keep that token."
Chen Gan'er was startled. "Brother, that's something that can communicate with the strange beings in the gray fog. This..."
Chen Xuanlin looked at Chen Gan'er and said sternly,
"I'm aware of its dangers. I also know we could easily be seduced by those beings, but this also offers a way out."
"If what Liu Miao said is true, and we can truly borrow its power, who knows, it might one day be of great help to our clan."
"Tingquan Island borrowed its power to exchange blood for slaves, for example. This move has already interfered with some of the rules of the Dead Sea. It's truly groundbreaking."
"What's more, our Chen family is in such a situation now, what else do we have to lose?"
Chen Gan'er wanted to say something, but finally said:
"I naturally know how shocking it is to replace the slaves with blood, and I don't want to refute my brother's decision. I just want to remind him to be cautious."
"Everyone says I'm reckless, but my brother is sometimes bolder than me."
Chen Xuanlin turned his head to look at the quiet night outside the window, as if he wanted to see through the endless gray fog in the darkness, and said:
"I naturally know that as the clan leader, I should act more cautiously, but since the sacrificial spirit awakened, I have a sense of urgency in my heart. This sense of urgency keeps driving me to work hard to develop the Chen family."
"It's as if it's too late if we don't develop the Chen family."
Chen Gan'er could only sigh when he heard this:
"As the clan leader, my brother, don't be too anxious and take the responsibility alone. As a clan elder, I should do my best to share your worries."
At this time, clan elder Chen Qiuluo also pushed the door open and walked in, his face full of smiles. He said:
"Clan leader, the harvest from the landing has been counted. Our Sanyin Chen clan suffered no casualties during this landing, and we have harvested a rich harvest."