“If you were Jiang Wang, how would you break this impasse?”

Inside the bamboo tower, Granny Bizhu tore off small pieces of meat, feeding the fish, while simultaneously questioning and answering herself.

“Unless the Qi army comes to attack, a prison break is impossible. He has already witnessed the defenses of the Prison Sea, he won’t come seeking death.”

Bloody chunks of meat fell into the fish tank, instantly devoured, leaving not a trace of blood.

“So, he has no other choice but to try and rely on a figure of authority within the Fishing Sea Tower, that is, me. Attempting to leverage the Sea Sacrifice rules through me. That’s why he’s contacted me again and again.”

“In Qi, he’s just a minor, officially titled Baron, his territory merely a town. He doesn’t have much to offer. But he shares a life-and-death friendship with Chong Xuansheng of the Chongxuan family. How many resources can Chong Xuansheng mobilize? How much is the Chongxuan family willing to invest in this matter? That is the key question.”

Granny Bizhu continued, “But the boy’s attitude is also clear. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to save Biqiong, but if she truly cannot be saved, he only hopes that her final journey will be a comfortable one. This attitude is predicated on him knowing that this matter is almost impossible to accomplish. Therefore, I should give him a glimmer of hope.”

Her withered fingers slowly tore at the fresh meat, the blood naturally staining her palm red.

But she didn’t care at all.

“Among worldly matters, only ’emotion’ is difficult to fathom. Yet young people never understand, and often become deeply mired in it. He must have fallen in love with Biqiong, to act so selflessly. I only need to give him a glimmer of hope, and he will strive to push it forward.”

As Granny Bizhu spoke, she directly took a chunk of meat from the bamboo basket beside her, a piece as large as two adult fists, and threw it into the water.

“Actually, perhaps his greatest value is himself. After all, even Hai Zongming is immensely covetous of him,” she added.

From the lush aquatic plants at the bottom of the huge fish tank, a five-colored fish suddenly darted out.

Red, black, yellow, green, blue, five colored stripes tightly pressed together, like a dazzling coat wrapped around it.

Its body was only three fingers long and two fingers wide, appearing harmless.

But as soon as it shot out, the fish that had been gathered together scattered in all directions, as if fleeing for their lives.

It didn’t chase after them, but simply grabbed the chunk of meat that fell into the water and began to chew.

It was extremely small, but its eating speed was very fast, chewing and munching rapidly, and in less than three breaths, it devoured the chunk of meat, much larger than itself, completely.

Granny Bizhu reached into the water, and the five-colored fish swam up, slowly sucking on her finger, sucking the blood clean.

And Granny Bizhu merely sighed, “Such a good child.”

It was unclear whether she was referring to the five-colored fish or Zhu Biqiong.

***

Illusory Realm of Emptiness, in the Star River Pavilion.

Chong Xuansheng gently rubbed his forehead. “She’s still sticking to that narrative?”

“Yes,” Jiang Wang sighed.

During this period, he had maintained frequent correspondence with Chong Xuansheng. Occasionally, when letters were insufficient to explain things clearly, they would consume spiritual power to meet in the Star River Pavilion.

Not long after the trip to the Prison Sea, Granny Bizhu had proposed a method to rescue Zhu Biqiong.

She stated that she would propose a motion at the Sea Sacrifice, requesting leniency from the sect. However, her power alone was insufficient to influence the Sea Sacrifice. Therefore, she needed others to respond.

Granny Bizhu herself would mobilize her connections to ask allies for help, while also requesting that Jiang Wang do everything possible on his end. The most important thing was to persuade Hai Jingping, an Elder of the Fishing Sea Tower.

This year’s Sea Sacrifice at the Horizon Platform was ostensibly presided over by Chongguang Zhenren, the First Elder of the Fishing Sea Tower.

But in reality, the specific affairs of the Sea Sacrifice were handled by four Elders with real power: one Middle Position Elder and three Lower Position Elders.

Hai Jingping was precisely the only Middle Position Elder among them, a God Advent expert.

“Interesting.” Chong Xuansheng had gained a considerable understanding of the situation in the Near Sea Islands during this time, so he asked, “Do you remember that Fishing Sea Tower true disciple who competed with Xu Gao’e for affection?”

“Of course, it’s only been a few days?” Jiang Wang said, “His name is Yang Liu, a bit effeminate. From what I can see, he’s not a bad person.”

“Yang Liu’s master is precisely Hai Jingping!” Chong Xuansheng said.

“Wait a minute.” Jiang Wang frowned. “This Hai Jingping, he’s not related to Hai Zongming, is he?”

“Just the same surname, no real relationship. Even if that old woman wanted to bury you, she wouldn’t dig such an obvious pit. But…”

Chong Xuansheng said, “This shows that she knows your movements very well, and is aware of your interaction with Yang Liu. And she can roughly guess my Chongxuan family’s intelligence capabilities at sea.”

He spoke with a self-deprecating tone: “Not overestimated.”

Because information like the relationship between Hai Jingping, Yang Liu, and even Hai Zongming, wasn’t difficult for any force rooted at sea to discern. Winterless Island was certainly no exception. However, the Chongxuan family was powerless when it came to the more secret matters within the Fishing Sea Tower.

“I didn’t hide much in the first place,” Jiang Wang said.

“It’s fortunate that you brought Jiang Wuyou along.” Chong Xuansheng slowly said, “I communicated with the Palace Master of the Hua Ying Palace and received information from her. Granny Bizhu originally had a chance to be responsible for the specific affairs of this Sea Sacrifice, but she declined herself. The reason given was to avoid suspicion.”

Jiang Wuyou’s foundation was in the military. Once he went to sea, he went directly to Decisive Brightness Island, naturally he had some influence at sea, even… able to obtain information from within the Fishing Sea Tower.

Decisions regarding the positions of Elders with real power like Granny Bizhu were not the kind of information that could leak from ordinary sources.

“What exactly does Granny Bizhu want to do?” Jiang Wang asked.

Chong Xuansheng said, “What she wants to do is not the most important thing. What’s most important is, do you still have expectations of her?”

“Zhu Biqiong trusted her so much, and was harmed by her to the point of being imprisoned. Yet, all she could think about was that she was sorry for her. I can’t help but wonder, is she actually a good teacher? Have we actually misunderstood her?”

As Jiang Wang spoke, his eyelids drooped slightly. “Alright, I admit it. The longer I stay in the Near Sea Islands, the more I realize the terror of the Fishing Sea Tower, the more I realize how impossible what I’m trying to do is. If it were just me alone, it would be fine, but now I’ve dragged you all into this, and I’m worried about burdening you. I can’t help but have some weak fantasies, fantasies that there might be some concessions from within the Fishing Sea Tower.”

“Treating her well in the past doesn’t mean she will treat her well forever. Whether it’s more important to be a good teacher, or to strive for a good future for oneself, that old woman will have her own considerations.”

Chong Xuansheng didn’t judge his so-called ‘fantasies’, but rather, he reaffirmed Granny Bizhu’s nature and then said, “We are your help, not your burden. If it comes to the point where you need to worry about us, have Jiang Wuyou and I failed too much? My Chongxuan family has two Marquises in one generation, noble for generations. My current order of succession to the title is even before Chongxuan Zun. Jiang Wuyou is the Palace Master of the Hua Ying Palace, and will possibly control the most powerful authority in the world in the future. Why would you think that we could be burdened by you?”

He stared intently at Jiang Wang, appearing somewhat angry. “Think more about yourself. The worst thing that could happen to Jiang Wuyou and I is that we would take a few steps back on the road to vying for power, but you, Jiang Qingyang! If you encounter the worst situation, you will die!”