I Start with a Mysterious Island-Chapter 150 - 149: Nowhere to be Found
"CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP."
Early birds flitted past the window, leaving a trail of crisp, pleasant chirps.
The brilliant golden morning sun squeezed into the room through a gap in the curtains.
A figure pulled the curtains open, and the bright sunlight from outside rushed eagerly into the room.
"The weather forecast said it would rain this morning. How is the weather so nice? There’s not a single sign of rain."
Standing by the window, Lin Li rubbed his eyes, looking at the cloudless azure sky. He muttered to himself, then turned and left the bedroom to wash up in the bathroom.
Before heading out to the wilderness to hunt Mutant Beasts today, Lin Li had to first return the silver van he had rented to the dealership.
The rental period for his van was up today. He had been short on cash before and had no choice but to rent a van from the dealership for transportation.
Now, while Lin Li couldn’t be called rich, he at least had over two hundred thousand in available cash.
Therefore, he decided to return the van whose lease was up and buy one of his own.
...
After breakfast, Lin Li went out.
It was early in the morning, and many people were exercising in the residential district.
It was mostly young people, and among them, a large portion were students still in school.
Some of these students were out exercising of their own volition, while others had been dragged out by their parents.
In this day and age, once parents learned their child had awakened their Spirituality and had the potential to become a Cultivator, they would never let that talent go to waste.
They didn’t expect their children to become incredibly powerful Cultivators, but if there was a chance to become one at all, they would seize it.
Because when it came time to find a job, having the status of a Cultivator would give them a competitive edge over others.
"Keep it up, Xiaoqi! Just one more lap, and then we’ll go home for breakfast," a woman in a black sweatsuit encouraged her daughter, who was jogging around the district.
"Mom, I’m so tired! I can’t go on," a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in a white sweatsuit, gasped out as she ran slowly. She had only recently awakened her Spirituality.
"Hang in there, Xiaoqi. Every drop of sweat you give now is one less tear you’ll shed in the future," the mother in the black sweatsuit said, sharing her life experience with her daughter.
"HUUFF..." Seeing that her mother had no intention of letting her stop, the panting girl could only grit her teeth and push through the final lap.
As Lin Li walked past the mother in the black sweatsuit, he looked at the girl gritting her teeth as she ran in the distance and was immediately reminded of his own similar experiences.
Of course, unlike the girl, he had been doing it voluntarily back then, with no one pushing him from behind.
’If I hadn’t suddenly obtained the cheat that is the Mysterious Small Island, I never would have had the chance to become a Cultivator in this lifetime...’
’I need to hurry up and return the van, then go to the dealership and buy my own. After that, it’s off to the wilderness to hunt Mutant Beasts and ripen that new little red fruit on the Magical Little Tree as soon as possible.’
Seeing others training so hard, striving to become Cultivators, only added fuel to the fire of determination burning inside Lin Li, who was already a Tier Two Cultivator.
Tearing his gaze away from the girl who was about to finish her last lap, Lin Li walked quickly toward where he had parked.
A short while later, a silver van drove toward the main gate of the Ping’an Garden District. After leaving the community, it sped toward the vehicle rental shop.
...
「Spirit Realm, Dongwu City of the Chu Kingdom.」
A colossal sun, far larger than the one on Blue Star, hung high in the sky.
Since it was early morning, the heat radiating from the sun toward the earth was not yet intense.
Within a magnificent mansion, there was an antique-style study in the southeast corner.
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK..."
The servant Xiaoliu, dressed in a short tunic, stood outside the antique study and knocked. After waiting a moment and getting no response, he grew curious.
’Strange, is the Young Master not in the study?’
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK..."
Xiaoliu raised his hand and knocked on the door again. This time, a sound came from within.
"Ngh... YAWN~"
Following the sound of a yawn, a voice from inside the study called out, "Come in!"
Hearing the person inside invite him in, Xiaoliu pushed open the study door and walked inside.
"YAWN~" Zhou Tianci couldn’t stop yawning, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.
"Young Master, if you’re tired, you should go back to your room and sleep!" Xiaoliu said, his face showing concern as he watched Zhou Tianci yawn repeatedly.
"I just got up and finished breakfast. If I go back to sleep now and my father finds out, he’ll definitely give me a lecture." Zhou Tianci shook his head, rejecting Xiaoliu’s suggestion.
Xiaoliu scratched his head and didn’t press the matter. He knew that if the master found out, not only would Zhou Tianci get a scolding, but he, as the personal servant, would also be implicated.
"How is that matter I had you take care of?" Zhou Tianci asked after taking a sip of tea.
"Er..." Xiaoliu hesitated, then reported to Zhou Tianci with a pained expression.
"Young Master, I’ve had people searching everywhere for his whereabouts. We’ve used all our connections, both legitimate and otherwise, but several days have passed, and it’s like he vanished into thin air. There isn’t a single clue."
"The only thing we know for sure is that after our conflict with him that day, we fled first. He was then chased into an alley by the Guards, and after that, all trace of him was lost."
After hearing Xiaoliu’s report, Zhou Tianci didn’t fly into a rage and berate him for failing the mission. Instead, a hint of delight appeared on his face.
They had spent several days searching for the man named Lin Li, using a great deal of manpower and resources, but had found nothing.
Xiaoliu had initially sworn to Zhou Tianci that he would be able to find the man, so he had been extremely anxious on his way to the study to report his failure.
He never expected that after he finished his report, the Young Master wouldn’t fly into a rage. This came as a huge surprise to Xiaoliu.
But soon enough, Xiaoliu, who had served Zhou Tianci for many years and was skilled at reading people, saw the delight on his master’s face and immediately guessed why he hadn’t been reprimanded.
...
