The smell emitted from his body was slightly prominent and sticky.
Qi Hang could only run to the well outside the house to fetch water and wipe his body.
It was very dark outside, and the village was silent. Not a single light was on.
Patches of dirt were cleaned by him, revealing the white and tender skin underneath.
He was instantly shocked.
What surprised Qi Hang was not that he had skin that most women envied, but the unexpected rise of night vision after he consumed the essence of the ocean.
Raising his arm, a bright scene was reflected in his eyes, creating a stark contrast with the dark environment around him.
That was not all.
He exerted some strength, and the muscles on his arm immediately bulged, thick and firm. The strength in his entire body was stimulated by him, and for a moment, he had a strong urge.
Qi Hang suddenly had an idea. He really wanted to swim in the sea.
However, looking at the flashing lightning in the distance, he eventually gave up on this idea.
The weather on the island was unpredictable. If he encountered a storm, even if he had the help of the Heart of the Ocean, he would still be in great danger.
After cleaning himself up, Qi Hang returned to his room. He spread the quilt on his bed and fell into a deep slumber.
...
The next morning.
Qi Hang got up energetically and stretched his body comfortably.
He had a lot to do today.
The house needed to be taken care of. Both the inside and outside of the house had to be cleaned and the unwanted items had to be moved and discarded.
It did not seem like a huge load of work, but it was enough to keep Qi Hang occupied for the entire morning and half the afternoon. He did not even have the time to eat.
He was so exhausted that he was sweating profusely. His clothes were soaked through. Looking at the slightly dilapidated but clean and tidy house, an earnest smile appeared on his face.
There was also another unexpected gain from cleaning.
In the backyard, there was a small fishing boat that had been placed there because it was damaged.
This was a treasure. For the residents of the island, this was their only source of livelihood.
It looked usable with some minor repairs and a change of engine.
However, due to the wind and the Sun in the past few years, it did not look very good. It looked as if it had been neglected for a long period of time.
A serious problem was placed in front of Qi Hang.
He did not have the money to repair the boat.
He had just graduated a little over a year ago. Although his work was considered smooth, with his expenses on food, housing, water, and electricity, he could hardly save up any money.
Even if he emptied his wallet, he could only squeeze out about two thousand yuan.
However, the engine of an assault boat was close to two thousand yuan.
Not to mention, he had to spend money to repair this broken boat.
"Forget it, let's go to the beach and find some food."
Qi Hang shook his head and temporarily put this matter aside. He set off for the beach.
On the way, he passed through half of the village. As he looked, he realized that most houses had their doors tightly shut and there were no signs of movement in the house. The outer area of the houses was similar to his house before he cleaned it.
There were less than one-tenth of people in the entire village, and most of the incense sticks were gone.
Qi Hang soon arrived at the beach.
As a child who grew up on an island, he had some knowledge about beachcombing.
Moreover, he had the Heart of the Ocean, and he had inherited an extremely comprehensive knowledge of fishing and detailed information on marine creatures. He knew their habits like the back of his hand, so he definitely would not starve himself.
However, it was only 3:30 in the afternoon and the tide had not completely receded. If he wants to do some beachcombing, it would be best to wait a little longer.
"Woof!"
"Woof woof!"
A dirty head suddenly popped out from behind a reef not far away.
Although it was a little far, with Qi Hang's improved eyesight, he looked...
It was a big black dog.
"Little White?" He shouted uncertainly. This dog's head was full of filth and wounds. Even if he could see it clearly, he was uncertain.
"Woof!"
Little White jumped onto the reef excitedly, sticking out its tongue and wagging its tail at Qi Hang.
Obviously, it recognized its master.
Qi Hang could not help but feel happy.
Little White was the little black dog that he raised at home before he departed to his university. The reason it was named Little White was because it was very active when it was young and loved mud pits. When the mud on its body dried, it would become lumps, dyeing its black fur white.
After the accident at home, he had never returned to this sad place. However, he did not expect this little guy to still remember him after several years.
Though the current Little White looked a little miserable.
Its entire body was covered in fine wounds. One of its feet did not even touch the ground. It was curled up and stuck to its body. Its entire body was as thin as firewood. Most of its fur had fallen off, leaving only a piece of skin hanging on its body.
Qi Hang even felt that if he appeared a few days later, he might miss the opportunity to meet his partner, who had been by his side for so many years.
He could not help but squat down and clap his hands at Little White as he did a few years ago.
"Little White, come here!"
"Woof!"
Little White carefully climbed down from the reef and limped towards him.
However, it unexpectedly stepped on something and slipped. With a plop, Little White fell into the sea.
The salty and bitter seawater soaked into its wound, causing it to whine in pain. It tried to prop itself up, but it fell again.
However, a pair of fair and strong hands appeared in time to hold it up.
Qi Hang was also stunned. He did not expect himself to move so fast. In the blink of an eye, he had covered a distance of dozens of meters.
However, the most important thing now was to save Little White.
Looking at the wound up close, Little White's injuries were much more serious than what he had seen before.
Many of the badly mutilated areas had festered. In the more severe wounds, there were even maggots the length of a thumb.
It was hard to imagine how determined Little White was to have survived, to endure such painful torture every moment until now.
Qi Hang no longer hesitated. He took out the Heart of the Ocean from his clothes, drew out a drop from the remaining ocean essence, and fed it to Little White.
A gentle light appeared once again.
Amidst the dark blue ocean, the wounds on Little White's body could be seen to be healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The wounds were rapidly healing, forming scabs, falling off, and new skin was regenerated.
Even hair had grown out and covered its entire body.
From its appearance, other than being a little thin and weak, it did not seem to differ greatly from a normal dog.
Little White, who was on its last breath a second ago, recovered its strength in an extremely short period of time. After consuming the ocean essence, it jumped up vigorously and shook its body crazily, causing Qi Hang's body to be soaked with water.
After that, it rubbed against Qi Hang and stuck out its tongue, wanting to lick his cheek.
Qi Hang pushed away the dog's big face with a look of disgust. "That's enough. Don't think that I don't know that you've eaten the maggots on your body."
Little White looked at him innocently. Suddenly, it sniffed and barked lightly. Then it plunged into the sea like a strong swimmer and quickly swam into the distance.
"Hey, Little White, where are you going? It's not safe there!"
Seeing Little White swim further and further away, Qi Hang gritted his teeth and dived into the water as well.