Li Ying casually picked up Mao Mao, who was rubbing against her to show affection, and held it in her arms.
The little cat was lazily licking its paws. There were still some pastry crumbs on the tips of its long, thin whiskers. Presumably, when A Man was entertaining Mian Mian, this gluttonous cat had also brazenly joined in and grabbed a share.
Lu Xunguang knew Mao Mao's personality well. Seeing it so relaxed at the moment, he himself relaxed a bit more.
Noticing the thoughtful look on his face, Li Ying calmly leaned over and whispered all her speculations into his ear.
Sure enough, even Lu Xunguang, who was usually so composed, couldn't help showing a look of astonishment on his face upon hearing this.
"A Ying, is this true?"
Li Ying just smiled without answering. Their eyes met, and the flickering arc of light in her eyes was like the hidden underground fire in the night, captivating.
As they were talking, the boat had passed through the overlapping clouds. Perhaps because the sun was gradually rising, the boatmen all felt a slight warmth on their bodies.
Everyone stood on the deck, feeling restless and looking out into the distance with longing eyes, trying to make out the hazy peak in the dust and smoke.
Li Ying, however, was unhurried. She simply covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve to block out all the tiny volcanic ash floating in the clouds.
"Master, Mistress, there's something very strange here! We mustn't leave the boat and go ashore!"
The old boatman had originally planned to anchor at a shallow beach. But when he opened his eyes wide, what he saw was not the familiar, soft golden sand beach, but a strange and mysterious jet - black color instead.
Looking along the inky - black gravel, at the end of his sight, there was no sign of any grass. It was like a netherworld where the sun never shone. Moreover, one could even faintly see the scarlet and blazing flames of purgatory, like a giant snake hiding in the abyss, ready to strike.
Li Ying, however, looked delighted. She let out a long, satisfied sigh.
The heat on the island was overwhelming. The volcano that had erupted the day before must be located here.
By now, the surging magma had cooled down a lot. Seeing that Mao Mao was still as lazy as ever, there presumably wouldn't be any danger for the time being.
The black sand beach under their feet was the result of the island's volcano erupting and subsiding countless times over the past thousands of years. It had devoured everything and then disappeared silently, leaving behind volcanic rocks and ash.
The ancients regarded volcanic eruptions as a punishment from heaven. How could they dare to get close? They were afraid of incurring a terrible disaster. Naturally, they had no way of exploring the extremely rare resources left behind by the volcano.
Li Ying clapped her hands. Ignoring the boatmen's objections, she gracefully leaped onto the island.
"Everyone, there may still be hidden volcanic vents in the sea. The waves along the black sand beach are extremely strange. If we stay here, there will be endless hidden dangers. It's better to anchor the boat and go ashore quickly."
She gave a warning. The boatmen were still a bit hesitant at first. But seeing that Lu Xunguang didn't even think twice before following her, they had no choice but to pack up their personal belongings and carefully follow them.
"If I'm not mistaken, the sunfish that was stranded in the fishing village before must have sensed the precursor of the volcanic eruption. That's why it rushed ashore in a panic."
"The night when the storm was raging, we were thousands of miles away. By chance, we saw the eruption of this active volcano from afar."
As Li Ying and Lu Xunguang walked, she casually explained. Her bright eyes were constantly looking around, as if she was searching for something.
"Lu Lang! Look quickly!"
Suddenly, she reached out and urgently tugged at Lu Xunguang's sleeve. Her voice even carried a rare hint of extreme joy.
Lu Xunguang looked in the direction of her slender finger like a green onion. After climbing onto a ruin of volcanic rocks and looking into the distance at the volcano crater that was still faintly smoking, at their feet, there was unexpectedly a vast expanse of lakes.
The lakes, big and small, were like the tears of ancient gods left in the mortal world, or like the broken dressing cases of goddesses.
They were green, emerald, and peacock blue, glistening like jade, with a divine and flowing light.
Lu Xunguang unconsciously held his breath.
The boatmen who were following behind him had been whispering to each other. But when they came closer, they were all stunned and fell silent.
They had all seen the sea before.
The sea in the fishing village was a seamless expanse of blue, like a huge, unpolished gem.
But the lakes in front of them were not even one - ten - thousandth as vast as the sea. They were calm and without waves.
If the vast sea with its rolling waves was like a gorgeous and vibrant elder sister in her prime, then the blue lakes here were like quiet and reserved younger sisters with bright and lively eyes, to be admired from afar but not to be desecrated.
"Is this... Is this not a fairyland?"
After a long while, a few boatmen murmured as if waking up from a dream.
Li Ying smiled slightly. Holding Lu Xunguang's hand, she calmly walked down the mountain and directly came to the largest blue lake.
She bent down and gently scooped up a handful of water from the lake with her fair and jade - like hand. The water slipped through her fingers like flowing moonlight.
"Lu Lang, look what this is?"
In her palm, there was a handful of pure white snow.
"Salt? It's actually salt! Mistress... This!"
The servants of the Lu family also quickly recognized what was in her palm. Their faces all showed expressions of ecstasy.
Salt! It was such a precious thing!
It was the foundation related to the national economy and the people's livelihood!
"Near the volcanoes on the islands, salt lakes are very likely to form. Due to the different salt content and concentration, the salt lakes will show completely different colors in the sunlight. If we launch a hot - air balloon and overlook from a high altitude, we can even see golden and orange colors, truly a riot of colors."
Li Ying explained with a smile. Lu Xunguang lowered his eyes and was about to bend down to touch the water of the salt lake when she gently stopped him.
"Lu Lang, the salt lake has a very high salinity. You have so many small wounds on your body. If you touch it rashly, it will be extremely painful."
Lu Xunguang naturally waved his hand indifferently. He tentatively submerged his hand in the salt lake and then raised his eyebrows.
"This lake water is so strange."
Li Ying smiled.
"Yes, this is another advantage of the salt lake."
"If we refine lake salt from here and supply it to the capital and even the whole country, it will surely please the emperor."
"Also, because the concentration of the salt lake is extremely high, as long as you relax your body, even those who can't swim will float on the lake like a goose feather when they immerse themselves in it."
She smiled with her eyes bent, and Lu Xunguang immediately understood what she meant.
The Lu family wanted to secure their position as imperial merchants with this salt lake, but they also had to guard against the emperor's jealousy and prevent him from seizing this place in the name of "official salt".
Turning this salt lake into another "resort" where tourists flocked would be the best idea.