Chapter 901: Yonaguni
“There is a yakiniku restaurant in about 700 meters. They serve Ishigaki beef in an Okinawan style. What do you think?” Zhang Heng turned to ask Han Lu after thanking the old couple.
“Sure,” Han Lu said. After that, she no longer talked to the bewildered local guide that stood beside her. She then curiously asked Zhang Heng, “I have no idea that you can converse in Japanese. What is going on…”
“Oh no… I learned it myself.” Zhang Heng knew what Han Lu meant. So, he quickly explained.
“You know too many things. Don’t you need to sleep?”
“I need to sleep too, but I have 48 hours to spend every day.” Zhang Heng waved his hand, stopped a taxi, put all the clothes and shoes he bought into the trunk, and opened the rear door.
“Hehe.”
Han Lu thought that Zhang Heng was telling a joke. She merely shook her head and got into the car.
Zhang Heng had got in the co-drivers seat and told the driver where they wanted to go when he received a WeChat message. When he opened the message, he thought it was Fan Meinan who replied but saw a photo from the bartender instead. Judging from the setting of the shot, it should be in the bar’s lounge.
There was no one in the photo. Only a blade was placed in its holder. Zhang Heng figured out that the blade in the picture was the Ordinary Blade that he had spent many game points on so the bartender lady could find someone to recast it for him. After doing some calculations, Zhang Heng realized that six days had passed since the end of his last quest. According to the bartender’s promise, she was supposed to update Zhang Heng about the blade two days ago.
Since the swordsmith needed to place the entire blade into the furnace for recasting, Zhang Heng did not insist on retaining its original shape. And now, the look for the blade was similar to the Heng Dao from one of the four types of blades made in the Tang Dynasty. Zhang Heng had wanted his new blade to look like a Heng Dao since the Changdao was mainly used to deal with cavalry. The Zhang Dao was too short, however. As for the last blade, Yi Dao was usually used for decoration. So, Zhang Heng chose the Heng Dao as his new blade’s final form since it was most commonly used by the soldiers in the Tang Dynasty.
The shape of the Heng Dao was very similar to the Tachi, except that the blade was straight and extremely tough. However, its sharpness couldn’t be compared to a Tachi; hence Zhang Heng found a balance between the two blades. But strictly speaking, Zhang Heng’s new blade neither adopted the crafting technique of the Tang Dao or the Tachi. It did, however, inherit some of the characteristics of the blades in terms of their appearance.
The light in the photo was kind of dim. However, Zhang Heng could still see some of the extraordinary features of the new blade. Although it didn’t look that flashy, Zhang Heng felt that his blood flow speeding up after staring at it for a while. After completing so many quests, Zhang Heng believed that he controlled his emotions well, and it was rare that he would be affected by external factors. It was rare that he had a physiological reaction to a photo.
For some reason, Zhang Heng also felt a strange sense of familiarity from the blade. So, he sent a message to the bartender. “Is this a success or a failure?” he asked.
The latter replied after a while, “Well, it’s your blade. I’m not particularly eager to instill my opinion on an item that the owner has not claimed. So, let’s wait for you to see it for yourself. Also, remember to bring me a souvenir from Japan.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Zhang Heng was relieved after listening to what the bartender told him. Since I had casually asked for a gift, it meant that the blade’s recast had probably had a decent outcome. There was a high chance the blade would turn out to be a Grade-C game item, meaning that the 4,000 game points he spent on recasting the blade could’ve been well worth it.
If he wanted to examine the blade, Zhang Heng had to wait until he returned to China. After lunch, Zhang Heng and Han Lu returned to the hotel to clean up and check out. After that, they headed to Naha Airport.
Yonaguni Island was where the two were heading, and it was located within the Yaeyama Islands of the Ryukyu Islands, at the westernmost point of Japan. However, the island was actually closer to Taiwan, which was only about 60 nautical miles away. And they could even see the mountains on the opposite side.
Since the island was sparsely inhabited, Naha had no direct flights to Yonaguni Island, so the two had to fly from Naha to Ishigaki Island. From Ishigaki Island, they would board another flight for forty minutes before they reached their destination.
Getting to such a spot turned out to be quite the hassle. When they arrived at the island, however, they realized that all the hard work that they put in was worth it. Yonaguni Island was quite small, with an area containing less than thirty square kilometers. Having a population of less than two thousand, the island boasted a pristine and well-preserved ecology.
Other than being surrounded by hallowed waters for diving, it also ranked the world’s second-best marlin fishing waters. This island would attract throng sea fishing enthusiasts each year, including marlin fishing competitions held from time to time. Still, the island was visited by few tourists, where one could walk a long distance without seeing a soul. Zhang Heng and Han Lu were surrounded by large empty beaches and black volcanic rocks. And they also spotted wild Yonaguni horses that were free to roam around the island. They were not afraid of people.
The waters surrounding this island were as clear as a transparent sapphire without any impurities. Zhang Heng felt like they had arrived at the edge of the world. Han Lu was tired of walking, so she found a place to sit and rest while the sea breeze embraced her. And she also saw a lighthouse nearby. She then stretched her body comfortably.
“I’ve wanted to come here a long time ago. This is what I call a vacation. I don’t need to think about anything else, and I can avoid seeing the people I don’t like.”
“Yeah.” Zhang Heng nodded, removed his shoes and socks, and walked among the rocks in his beach pants.
“What are you doing?”
“Preparing for dinner.”
“Dinner? Here?” Han Lu was taken aback. She thought Zhang Heng must be joking. “But we have nothing here, and it’s almost dusk now. We won’t be able to get back to our hotel before dark.”
“Don’t worry, there are horses everywhere on this island, and they are short-bred. It means they have a good temper. We can look for two horses and ride back to the hotel later.”
“…”
Han Lu clearly did not believe Zhang Heng’s words. However, she watched on curiously as he prepared their dinner by the beach.
Zhang Heng did all these things on a whim. He remembered the first dungeon he entered and survived for more than five hundred days alone on the deserted island. Right now, his circumstance was different from the deserted island. Although he prepared no tools for dinner preparation, he saw myriad things he could use here on this beach. Besides, he had even brought a fishing rod.
Zhang Heng first collected some oysters from the reef as a starter. After that, he spotted some Gazami Crabs in the sea. A crustacean that had a large body packed with flesh, it was known as the best-tasting sea crab that could be found on the beach. As for king crabs and snow crabs, they usually hid under the deep sea. Zhang Heng also managed to reel in a few fish as the main dish. He skewered them with wooden sticks and grilled them on the fire.
Soon Han Lu smelled the roasted seafood. She took a few whiffs, and her stomach started to grumble. However, she still managed to keep a sane mind. She then asked, “Are you sure these things are not poisonous?”
“Don’t worry. I picked non-toxic fishes, and they are very meaty as well,” Zhang Heng replied. After that, he handed Han Lu two oysters.
“It’s okay to have them raw.