Four days after the storm, when the sea had returned to a near-perfect tranquility, the sailor in the watchtower shouted with a voice full of relief.
"Land! Land ahead!"
The entire crew rushed to the deck. On the horizon, faint but unmistakable, a green line appeared—the first island in the chain of southern archipelagos that was their destination.
Captain Deni checked his map carefully, comparing their position with the navigation logs. Through his Wenjing Realm, Li Yuan heard satisfaction in the Captain's intention—they weren't too far off course even though the storm had pushed them a few kilometers to the east.
"We'll be docking at Kesara Island," Deni announced. "The port city there is big enough for supplies. We need fresh water, food, and materials for sail repairs."
"How long will we stay?" Taren asked.
"Two days, maybe three. Depends on how fast we can get what we need." Deni looked at Li Yuan and Yara. "You two still want to continue south after this?"
Yara nodded firmly. "Yes. My sister's trail leads further south from Kesara."
"And you?" Deni asked Li Yuan.
Li Yuan felt the faint call still pulling him—not to Kesara Island, but further. But there was something else too, something he felt as they got closer. Something that was... not right. Not a clear danger, but a kind of imbalance.
"I will see," he answered carefully. "Maybe I need to stay in Kesara longer."
Yara glanced at him with a curious expression, but didn't ask.
Kesara Island emerged from the morning fog like a dream slowly becoming real. White sandy beaches, dense tropical forests in the interior, and a port city spread along a natural bay.
But as the ship got closer, Li Yuan began to hear something through his Wenjing Realm—even from a distance, he could hear the echo of intentions from the island. And what he heard put him on high alert.
Fear. Fear that was spread like a fog throughout the settlement. Not the acute fear of immediate danger, but a chronic fear—the kind that comes from living under constant threat.
The ship docked at a relatively empty pier. Only a few other ships were there—far fewer than expected for a harbor that was supposed to be bustling according to Captain Deni's map.
"Strange," Kofi mumbled while observing the quiet pier. "Last time I was here—three years ago—this place was full of merchants."
Amara nodded with a serious face. "Something has changed."
They disembarked in small groups. Captain Deni took Kofi and Amara to look for supplies. Taren was assigned to guard the ship. Li Yuan and Yara were given the freedom to explore—with instructions to return before nightfall.
As they walked through the streets of the port city, the difference from Sea Wind City was striking. There was no warmth here, no friendly conversations in the market. People walked with their heads bowed, speaking in whispers, and always glancing behind them as if afraid of being heard.
The market was almost empty—only a few merchants with minimal goods. And most notably: there were no children playing in the streets.
"Something is wrong here," Yara whispered to Li Yuan. "Very wrong."
Li Yuan nodded. Through his Wenjing Realm—as they passed close enough to the residents—he heard fragments of their intentions:
Don't talk too loudly. They can hear.
It's been three months since the last payment. How much longer until they come again?
The children must stay inside. It's safe inside.
"Who are 'they'?" Yara asked in frustration after trying to talk to a few merchants who only shook their heads and turned away.
"I don't know," Li Yuan answered. "But whatever it is, the whole island is afraid of it."
They found a small tavern that was still open—a dark place with only a few customers sitting in the corners, speaking in voices that were barely audible.
The tavern owner—a middle-aged man with a tired face and wary eyes—served them with mechanical movements.
"We just arrived," Li Yuan said in a voice loud enough to be heard but not threatening. "We're looking for information about this island."
The tavern owner glanced nervously at the door, then whispered quickly. "Go. Get your supplies and go. Don't stay here."
"Why?" Yara asked.
"Because..." The owner hesitated, his eyes again glancing at the door. Through his Wenjing Realm, Li Yuan heard the conflict in his intention—the desire to warn the strangers versus the fear of the consequences of speaking.
"Because of the Sea Emperor," the man finally whispered. "He claims these islands as his territory. Every month, we have to pay tribute—food, goods, sometimes people. If we refuse..."
He didn't need to finish the sentence. Through his Wenjing Realm, Li Yuan heard the memory in his intention—villages burned, people killed, children taken.
"Who is this Sea Emperor?" Li Yuan asked in a voice that remained calm but with eyes that became sharper.
"A pirate. The leader of a fleet that controls these waters. No one can fight them—they're too many, too cruel." The tavern owner poured water for them with trembling hands. "This island was once prosperous. Now... now we just survive from day to day."
Yara gripped her mug tightly. Through his Wenjing Realm, Li Yuan heard a growing anger in her intention—a personal and deep anger.
"Pirates," she whispered in a voice as hard as steel. "Slave traders. They're all the same."
Li Yuan looked at her and understood. This wasn't just about an oppressed island. This was about the possibility that Yara's sister—Mina—might have fallen into the hands of people like this.
"Where is their base?" Yara asked the tavern owner with an intensity that made the man back up a little.
"No one knows for sure. They have several islands as bases. They move." The tavern owner shook his head quickly. "And even if you knew, what could you do? They have dozens of ships, hundreds of men."
"When is the next payment?" Li Yuan asked.
The tavern owner looked at him with wide eyes—through his Wenjing Realm, Li Yuan heard a new fear: Why is he asking? What is he planning? This will bring trouble.
"Three days from now," the man finally whispered. "They come every full moon. And the full moon is three days from now."
Li Yuan nodded slowly, already making calculations in his mind.
Yara looked at him with sharp eyes. "You're thinking of staying, aren't you?"
"I'm thinking of observing," Li Yuan corrected carefully. "To understand the situation before making a decision."
"This isn't your fight," Yara said—but through his Wenjing Realm, Li Yuan heard a different intention. She didn't really want Li Yuan to leave. She wanted help, but felt guilty asking for it.
"No," Li Yuan agreed calmly. "But sometimes, when I see something that is wrong, it is hard to just walk away."
They spent the rest of the day exploring the island—not conspicuously, just observing. And what they saw confirmed the tavern owner's story.
Villages that were once bustling were now almost empty. Fields that were not tended. People with hungry faces and eyes devoid of hope.
This wasn't the Kael and Valen tribes with their internal conflict. This wasn't Sea Wind City with its functional diversity. This was a community living under external oppression—predators who took without giving, who destroyed without building anything.
And Li Yuan felt something familiar settle in his chest—not hot anger, but a cold realization that he couldn't walk away from this.
Not because he was a hero. Not because he felt an obligation to save every suffering community.
But because he had lived long enough to know what happens when predators are allowed to operate unchallenged. And because—despite all his principles of non-intervention—there was a line that even he couldn't allow to be crossed without a response.
That night, when they returned to the ship, Captain Deni was already waiting with a grim face.
"We're leaving tomorrow morning," he announced. "I heard about the situation here. I don't want my ship or my crew involved in trouble with pirates."
"That's wise," Li Yuan said calmly.
But Yara looked at him with eyes that already knew what he was going to say next.
"But I will stay," Li Yuan continued. "Just for a few days. To see what I can learn."
Captain Deni looked at him with an expression that was a mix of respect and concern. "This is not your fight, Li Yuan."
"No," Li Yuan agreed. "But sometimes, we choose our fights not because they belong to us, but because no one else will fight."
A silence fell on the ship's deck. The crew looked at Li Yuan with varied expressions—Taren with frightened admiration, Kofi with quiet understanding, Amara with eyes that were still full of questions about who this wanderer truly was.
And Yara... Yara stepped forward with a clear determination on her face.
"I'm staying too," she said in a firm voice. "If there's even a small chance that these pirates know something about Mina, I have to find out."
Captain Deni looked at both of them with a tired expression. "You two are crazy. But I can't stop you." He sighed deeply. "I'll be back in a month—regular trade route. If you're still alive and still here, you can get back on board."
"Thank you," Li Yuan said with sincere simplicity.
And as night fell over Kesara Island—an island living in fear, an island waiting for either liberation or destruction—Li Yuan and Yara stood together on the pier, looking out at the dark sea where, somewhere out there, the Sea Emperor and his fleet were preparing for their next arrival.
Three days.
Three days to understand the situation, to find a weakness, to decide if there was a way to help without creating a bigger catastrophe.
Three days before the truth about who Li Yuan truly was—and what he could do—might have to be revealed.