Rebirth from the Ashes

"I'm fine." Fu Qingye shook his head in rejection. There was no point in changing into a clean set of clothes in this weather as he would be drenched anyway. He stood firm on his ground. "Xixi, go back with Li Yuan. I'll let you know the second I receive any news."

"Let's go together." Li Yuan held the girl's hand tightly. Having read her mind, he jumped in to answer for Shen Xi.

Fu Qingye glanced at the pair, finally relenting with a nod. His tone and eyes softened at the sight of Shen Xi. "Do you have a raincoat? Put it on. It's cold out there. I don't want you freezing."

They had raincoats in stock. Kun Lun had the foresight to have them in hand upon receiving a storm alert.

Li Yuan grabbed one and handed it to Fu Qingye. "You better listen to Xixi and get a change of clothes."

Gazing at the worried look on Shen Xi's face, Fu Qingye quietly took the raincoat and went to get changed.

Li Yuan covered the girl from head to toe with the raincoat. The raincoat was customized to provide full coverage against the rain. The face was the only area equipped with see-through plastic.

After putting her in the raincoat, Li Yuan helped her put on some boots before dressing himself in one.

Getting soaked in midwinter was not fun at all.

With Fu Qingye emerging in a set of clean clothes, the trio set out on their quest.

The island discovered by the rescue team was 200 nautical miles away. The turbulent weather made it impossible for helicopters to fly. The high risk left them no choice but to take the boat.

The speedboat reached the island in half an hour at maximum speed.

They had only come ashore when another speedboat raced over from the other side.

As the vessel approached them, Shen Xi noticed that it was Lu Li with a child in her arms. The child was Lu Guoguo. Furrowing her brows, she looked at Fu Qingye. "Qingye, why is she here?"

How did Ms. Lu find out that something happened to Qingli? Why did she bring along a child? The violent storm could put them in danger.

"I didn't tell anyone." Shaking his head, Fu Qingye appeared confused.

However, he always had the feeling that Ms. Lu was more than met the eye. Perhaps she got the news through her own resources.

Li Yuan might know something. He looked at Shen Xi and said, "I got Fang Chu on the case, and he found out that Ms. Lu has a gift for computers. She has built quite a network online and is linked to many experts."

Shen Xi got the vague hint. "Hacker?"

Having said that, she knew that Fang Chu was a hacker and a kick*ss one too. Could Ms. Lu be a hacker too?

"Yes." Li Yuan nodded.

"A good one?" Shen Xi asked.

"According to Fang Chu, she's better than her by a little," Li Yuan answered.

Shen Xi wanted to laugh. When Fang Chu said a little, he actually meant that she could kick his *ss. He barely acknowledged anyone's potential. It seemed Shen Xi's future sister-in-law was pretty bad*ss!

While they talked, Lu Li's speedboat had come ashore. Wearing a black raincoat, Lu Li carried her daughter as she charmingly leaped off the boat.

The trio was still in conversation.

Lu Li rushed over and cut to the chase. "Do you have any of Fu Qingli's personal belongings?"

Shen Xi turned to Fu Qingye.

Fu Qingye whipped out the blood-stained fabric and gave it to her. "This was hanging on the ship's rail when Qingli fell."

Lu Li grabbed the piece of cloth and placed it under Lu Guoguo's nose. "Sniff and remember the smell."

Shen Xi was dumbstruck by the event. Was Guoguo a dog? What was with sniffing and remembering the smell?

"Mommy, it smells like Daddy," Lu Guoguo said after earnestly taking a whiff.

Putting the fabric in her pocket, Lu Li explained, "Guoguo's very sensitive to smell. She can smell him if he's near."

Fu Qingye was caught in a daze too. However, there was no need for further questions with Lu Li putting it out there.

Lu Li pushed the raincoat away from Lu Guoguo's face before patting her head.

They had to count on Lu Guoguo to track the man down. Still, it remained a question whether Fu Qingli was dead or alive once they got to him.

Although she had no feelings for Fu Qingli, he was still her children's father. Guoguo and Lil' Zhen would be sad if the person or body could not be found.

Lu Guoguo bobbed her head while sniffing around in the air. "Mommy, the stench here is stronger than before."

Nodding her head, Lu Li looked at Shen Xi's group. "He must be on the island. Guoguo said the smell was growing stronger as we were on our way."

Fu Qingye gratefully nodded and extended his arms. "I'll carry Guoguo."

"It's fine. Let's move quickly to find him." With Lu Guoguo in her arms, Lu Li advanced following the little finger pointing ahead.

Even a minute delay in this weather could be a matter of life and death. The clock was ticking.

Lu Li held Lu Guoguo as she paved the way.

Shen Xi, Li Yuan, and Fu Qingye trailed behind and soon reached the center of the island.

The island appeared small, but the walk was long among the exposed boulders and scrubland. The fallen trees, courtesy of the strong winds, only made it more difficult for them to move on.

They stopped in front of a huge rock after walking for half an hour.

Lu Li took a glance at the trio and uttered, "He must be around here. Let's split up."

The four adults took four separate directions and continued their search. Having received a location from Fu Qingye, the rescue team who was scouring the island quickly made their way over.

Shen Xi had only walked for less than five minutes, around a several-hundred-meter radius when Lu Li called them over. Fu Qingli was found.

She ran over to find a rock that could shelter the rain. Leaning against the rock was Fu Qingli covered in blood.

Next to him was Fu Hannian's cold body. The seawater had washed all color off him.

Lu Guoguo was crying.

Hugging the little girl, Lu Li covered her eyes to stop her from looking. Lu Li had examined. Fu Qingli was breathing.

Hang on. Specifically speaking, Fu Qingli was barely conscious when she and her daughter got to him. Fu Qingli lost consciousness the moment he realized it was them.

It was hard for Lu Li to imagine how an injured Fu Qingli was able to hold out despite floating at sea for several nautical miles amid the storm during winter.

The man had terrifying willpower.