The island lay in the far reaches of the East Sea, with the Tang family fleet setting sail from the southwest, and Xia Chichi and Hai Pinglan from the northwest. The two groups would not cross paths on their journey, each taking a route as different as chalk from cheese.
Throughout the voyage, Xia Chichi remained in seated meditation with her eyes closed, which appeared to earn her a measure of admiration from Hai Pinglan.
He could see that the young girl initially had no desire to join him; her role as bait was plain for anyone to see. At first, it seemed she might've considered jumping ship to escape, but she held back.
If Hai Pinglan intended to use her as bait, running away was truly an impossibility. Instead of maintaining the facade of "allies" on equal footing, she would become a prisoner. Why bother?
She might as well cultivate on the ship openly and straightforwardly. When she needed resources and elixirs, she asked directly, and Hai Pinglan provided amply.
