Chapter 639: Grandfather

After a good while, the burly man finally reacted and sneered.

"The owner of Bright Moon Pavilion is very mysterious; hardly anyone in this world knows his true identity. We mostly deal with his trusted subordinate, Jin Ge."

"You know Jin Ge?"

Ji Youzhi was quite surprised. Knowing Jin Ge would make things much easier. He had been afraid they wouldn’t be able to name the owner of Bright Moon Pavilion, and in that case, he would have no way to set foot on Yunzhou Island.

"Of course, we know him! Wait a minute... Looking at you, don’t tell me you know Jin Ge too?"

One of the burly men looked at Ji Youzhi skeptically.

"Jin Ge is my third brother’s subordinate, and my third brother is the owner of Bright Moon Pavilion! It seems it was a misunderstanding among our own people, like family not recognizing family!"

These words from Ji Youzhi left the two burly men looking puzzled.

"You’re saying the owner of Bright Moon Pavilion is your third brother? What proof do you have? Also, if you’re the brother of Bright Moon Pavilion’s owner, why isn’t your ship one of Bright Moon Pavilion’s?"

The two men appeared to be quite shrewd, not simply believing Ji Youzhi’s words.

"My third brother’s ship sank half a month ago. It was returning to the North after collecting fabrics from the South when it encountered a tornado in the Yunhang Sea. We had urgent business and had to set sail, so we just rented a random ship."

"Bright Moon Pavilion’s ship sank? This..."

The two burly men looked at each other, hesitation written all over their faces.

"Da Jiang, Dahai, what are you talking to them about? Have you forgotten the island’s rules? Why haven’t you driven them away yet?"

Just as the two burly men were hesitating, a group of people approached from a distance.

There were about a dozen people in the group, and an elder in his fifties or sixties was at the center, surrounded by the others.

"Island Master!"

Da Jiang and Dahai quickly bowed and called out, "Island Master!"

Hearing the title "Island Master," Ji Youzhi became somewhat nervous.

According to his mother, the Island Master of Yunzhou Island was his maternal grandfather. With his grandfather right in front of him, should he reveal his identity? Or should he listen to his mother and keep it hidden?

"What’s going on? Who are these people?"

Island Master Yun Yi, surrounded by the crowd, walked closer. His sharp gaze fell on Ji Youzhi’s face.

"Island Master, they claim to be from Bright Moon Pavilion," Da Jiang quickly answered.

"People from Bright Moon Pavilion?"

Yun Yi looked Ji Youzhi and his companions up and down, his eyes narrowing slightly. Eventually, his gaze settled on Xiaosuisui’s face.

"This little doll, why does she look so much like Wan’Er when she was young?"

Upon hearing the Island Master mention the only Young Mistress of Yunzhou Island, Da Jiang and Dahai immediately fell silent.

They knew their Island Master was thinking about their Young Mistress again!

"Little doll, what’s your name? What is your relationship with the owner of Bright Moon Pavilion?" Yun Yi stared at Xiaosuisui, asking only after a long pause.

Xiaosuisui quickly replied, "Hello, Grandpa. My name is Xiaosuisui. The owner of Bright Moon Pavilion is my third maternal uncle. His name is Ji Youcheng!"

Hearing Xiaosuisui call this man ’Grandpa’ made Ji Youzhi’s face twist as if he were constipated.

"AHEM... Suisui, you can’t call the old Island Master ’Grandpa’."

"Hey, hey, hey... What’s this young fellow saying? If this little baby doesn’t call me Grandpa, what else would she call me?" Hearing Ji Youzhi’s remark, the old Island Master immediately protested.

"Yeah! Seventh Uncle, if I don’t call him Grandpa, what should I call him?" Xiaosuisui looked at Ji Youzhi, winked, and asked.

"You should... you must call him Great Grandpa!"

When Ji Youzhi said this, everyone was stunned. The old Island Master before them looked to be only in his fifties or sixties. It was natural for Xiaosuisui to call him "Grandpa," but to add "Great"...

"Hey... you brat, are you deliberately trying to take advantage of our Island Master?" Dahai pointed at Ji Youzhi’s nose and scolded him loudly.

"I... I’m not! In terms of seniority, if anyone should call him ’Grandpa,’ it should be me. This child is my niece. So, she should indeed add ’Great’ and call the Island Master ’Great Grandpa’!"

Ji Youzhi’s explanation was quite a stretch. Yun Yi was about to retort when he heard a sweet voice call out, "Hello, Great Grandpa!"

"Great Grandpa! My name is Suisui. Great Grandpa, can our ship dock here? We really want to come ashore and rest for a bit! We’ve been drifting at sea for several days, and we really miss the feeling of solid land."

At Xiaosuisui’s words, Yun Yi’s old heart pounded with excitement, and he quickly said with a laugh, "Good, good, good! Dock your ship, dock your ship! You can stay as long as you like! Child, come, let Great Grandpa hold you!"

As Yun Yi spoke, he reached out his hands to Xiaosuisui. She scampered over and immediately hugged Yun Yi’s thigh.

"Great Grandpa, you’re so nice!"

Yun Yi bent down, scooped Xiaosuisui up, and held her in his arms.

"HAHAHA! This little darling has such a sweet tongue! Look at this little face, she’s the spitting image of my Wan’Er. Thinking back to when my Wan’Er was little, her words were just as sweet. More than thirty years have passed. If my Wan’Er were still alive, her grandchildren would probably be this big by now."

Yun Yi was deeply sentimental.

He didn’t realize that his sentimental words made Ji Youzhi’s heart tremble. Listening to his grandfather’s tone, could it be that the old man thought his mother was already dead?

Just as Ji Youzhi was thinking this, he heard Xiaosuisui ask Yun Yi, "Great Grandpa, who is Wan’Er? Is she your child?"

"Wan’Er... ah! She’s my eldest daughter, a little ingrate. She was always dreaming of going out to sea, to the Central Plains. I tried to stop her, but she jumped into the sea. And once she jumped into the sea, poof! She couldn’t be found!"

Hearing Yun Yi ramble on about his own mother like this, Ji Youzhi felt a storm brewing inside him.

He quickly stepped forward and asked, "Grandpa Yun, surely you don’t believe your daughter died after she jumped into the sea?"

"BAH! BAH! BAH! Who said our Young Mistress died? You’re the one who’s dead! Our Young Mistress is an excellent swimmer. Even if everyone else in the world died, our Young Mistress wouldn’t die!"

Upon hearing Ji Youzhi’s question, Dahai was the first to jump up and refute him. He glared fiercely at Ji Youzhi several times.

Ji Youzhi sheepishly rubbed his nose, not daring to say another word.

The Emperor leaned in and whispered to Ji Youzhi, "This old fellow is your maternal grandfather? He looks so young! Why don’t you ask clearly? What if he’s your uncle or something? Don’t get it wrong!"