Qi Jiao whirled around abruptly. All she could hear was the rustling in the woods, and then a tall and imposing figure emerged.
Tears welled up in Qi Jiao's eyes. She turned back and dashed towards Pei Xia.
Pei Xia was filled with shock and joy. He never expected that Jiao Niang would find this island!
He strode forward and embraced Qi Jiao tightly. All his words were condensed into one affectionate utterance, "Jiao Niang."
Qi Jiao half - laughed and half - cried. She lifted her head from his embrace. "We all thought you had perished..."
Pei Xia soothed her gently and kissed away the tears on Qi Jiao's cheek.
He felt her dress. It was completely soaked.
Pei Xia felt heartache. He bent down to wring out the hem of her dress and then took her hand and led her over.
Uncle Ye and the Ye brothers heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Pei Xia safe and sound.
Ye Yun quickly took out the flint to start a fire.
It was already late at night, so they had no choice but to stay on this island for one night.
Qi Jiao noticed that Pei Xia was only wearing a snow - white inner robe. She scurried onto the boat and found an old robe for him.
But Pei Xia cared about Qi Jiao. He said he wasn't cold and told her to go to the cabin to change out of the wet clothes lest she catch a cold.
Most of Qi Jiao's clothes were soaked, and they clung to her body uncomfortably.
She went onto the boat to change into dry clothes and took the wet ones down to dry on the beach.
The bonfire was warm, and with the sea breeze blowing, the clothes would be dry before dawn.
Fu Chengyi came to his senses at this moment.
He had been on his family's merchant ship for business. Unexpectedly, a spy from a rival family had sneaked onto the ship, knocked him unconscious when no one was looking, and pushed him into the sea.
After that... he lost consciousness until he woke up.
Fu Chengyi saw Qi Jiao and Pei Xia being so affectionate, their eyes lingering on each other as if there was no one else around.
He couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
He had ended up on this lousy little island and had to watch this loving couple be all lovey - dovey.
He felt like dying!
Ye Geng and the others had started a fire. Fu Chengyi wasn't cold, but his teeth were on edge, and so was his heart.
Qi Jiao caught a glimpse of Fu Chengyi's expression and found it amusing.
She had found several sets of old clothes on the boat earlier, so she threw one at him.
Fu Chengyi was satisfied and grinned slightly.
Qi Jiao was concerned about Little Pearl and Le Bao. "You've been busy for so long. You must be tired. Go back to the sea and rest. Don't worry about me here."
Le Bao readily agreed. "We'll just hunt and rest in the nearby waters. We'll come back to take you tomorrow."
Qi Jiao was deeply touched. "Thank you for your hard work."
Pei Xia also came to express his gratitude. He bowed deeply to Little Pearl and her mother. "We owe you so much today. Thank you for bringing Jiao Niang here safely. I don't know how to repay you."
Little Pearl and Le Bao laughed heartily. "You humans always love these formalities. Jiao Niang is our sister. Don't be so polite!"
Pei Xia couldn't help but smile.
Le Bao and Little Pearl quickly dived into the sea and disappeared.
Back at the bonfire, Pei Xia recounted how he had found Fu Chengyi.
"I was swimming back while holding onto a floating log. Unexpectedly, I saw the Fu family's merchant ship. I was just about to call for help when a living person was thrown off the ship. I had no choice but to act discreetly and quietly rescue the person. With him in tow, it was very strenuous for the two of us. We had no choice but to drift on the plank until we found this island. We landed and waited for passing ships to rescue us..."
Pei Xia made it sound easy, but Qi Jiao couldn't even begin to imagine how dangerous it had been.
If the villains on the ship had discovered him when he rescued Fu Chengyi, both of their lives might have been in jeopardy.
They had been drifting on the sea, and fortunately, they hadn't encountered any fierce marine creatures like sharks.
Fortunately, with the help of Le Bao and her mother, Qi Jiao had managed to find them in just half a day.
All in all, Pei Xia had been quite lucky.
Even luckier was Fu Chengyi.
After listening to Pei Xia's account, Fu Chengyi immediately knelt down in front of him. "Brother Pei, I can't express my gratitude enough. You saved my life. I, Fu Qilang, will always remember this."
Pei Xia took a step back. "What are you doing? Life is at stake. We must be fated to meet."
Speaking of fate, Fu Chengyi blushed.
When he was awakened by Qi Jiao, at first, he thought she was a ghost sent to claim his life. Later, when he realized he was still alive, he regarded Qi Jiao as a life - saving fairy.
His heart was immediately filled with excitement.
Who would have thought that life was so unpredictable? The fairy already had a husband. Alas!
Fu Chengyi was an open - minded person. Soon, he started chatting with them about all sorts of things.
Qi Jiao was hungry. She simply gathered materials on the spot and picked up a lot of crabs, clams, and whelks on the ebbing beach.
She roasted them on the fire, and the aroma of the seafood filled the entire beach.
Everyone was hungry, and they quickly ate everything up.
Pei Xia squeezed Qi Jiao's hand. "Wait for me here. I'll be back soon."
With that, Pei Xia walked into the woods.
Qi Jiao was worried that there might be fierce birds or beasts in there, so she repeatedly told Pei Xia not to go.
Unexpectedly, before she could call out a few times, Pei Xia came back.
He was carrying two round things.
He brought them over and showed them in the firelight. Qi Jiao almost jumped up in surprise.
"Coconuts!"
Pei Xia smiled. "I just went to search the island to see if there was any fresh water. Unexpectedly, I found these. They seem to have water in them when I shake them. I don't know if they're drinkable."
Qi Jiao nodded. "They're drinkable! This thing is called a coconut. It's a great treasure!"
Pei Xia saw the stars in Qi Jiao's eyes and knew that coconuts were a major cash crop.
He looked at her with a smile and handed the coconut to her.
Qi Jiao asked Ye Geng for a sharp knife. She told Pei Xia to peel off the outer skin of the coconut, then make a small hole in it, and pour out the liquid to drink.
Fu Chengyi found it very strange. After confirming with Qi Jiao that he could drink it directly, he tilted his head and took a few gulps.
After drinking, his eyes sparkled. "Could it be that we've reached the Penglai Fairy Island? I've also had a taste of the celestial nectar today."
Ye Yun laughed heartily. "Mr. Fu is really good at joking."
Uncle Ye also tasted it and thought it was delicious. "When I was young, I went to Qiong Island. There were coconut trees everywhere. The locals ate the coconut meat and drank the coconut milk. It's exactly this taste."
Qi Jiao winked at Pei Xia. "Let's pick more and take them back tomorrow."
Pei Xia gently stroked her hand. "I'm in for another treat."
Qi Jiao said, "Of course!"
Finding the coconuts today could be considered a blessing in disguise.
Qi Jiao leaned on Pei Xia's shoulder. Sleepiness overcame her, and she soon fell asleep.
At night, Uncle Ye advised Pei Xia to go and sleep on the boat.
Uncle Ye and Qi Jiao's father and daughter each occupied a cabin.
As for Pei Xia and the Ye brothers, they took turns keeping watch.
Fu Chengyi didn't feel right about going directly to the boat to sleep, so he kept watch with them.
Soon, the sky in the east began to turn pale, and the rosy dawn spread across the sky and sea.
As soon as it was dawn, Pei Xia went to the island to pick several big baskets of coconuts.
The Ye brothers and Fu Chengyi also came to help and carried them onto the boat together.
After Qi Jiao woke up, she told Uncle Ye to wait for them on the boat.
She went to the island for a stroll on her own.
On this trip, Qi Jiao discovered bananas and durians.
She rubbed her hands excitedly. Fortunately, she had four laborers at hand.
"Pick all these and take them back."
Finally, when the small fishing boat could no longer hold anything, Qi Jiao stopped. She called out to Le Bao and her mother, "Let's go. It's time to go home!"
On the way back, Le Bao and Little Pearl still led the way.
To thank them, Qi Jiao asked Pei Xia to cast the net all the way.
With her special constitution, Le Bao and Little Pearl feasted on the way.