After circling the island for just over twenty minutes, Zhang Yang had a rough idea of the place and returned to the helicopter, where Li Wei still wore a distinctly disappointed expression.

What Zhang Yang sought was not here.

"Mr. Li, don't worry. This is only the first island we've searched. I believe the venerable Elder Qiao is blessed with good fortune and we will certainly find what we need!"

Back in the helicopter, Zhang Yang glanced at the somewhat dejected Li Wei and offered a soft reassurance.

Li Wei turned back and nodded firmly. Zhang Yang was right; this was only the first island, and they still held great hope. He had let concern cloud his judgment just now. This matter weighed on him even more heavily than Zhang Yang, as Elder Qiao was his maternal grandfather, a man of immense importance to him.

The helicopter continued to circle. The ocean was vast, and the difficulty of locating an island they had never visited, only seen recorded, was easy to imagine.

The morning slipped by quickly. The helicopter landed three times in total; one landing was skipped, requiring Zhang Yang to jump down instead, as the terrain was unsuitable for setting down.

On all three occasions, Zhang Yang ultimately confirmed they were not the island described in his ancestor’s records.

At noon, the helicopter flew back to Chuan Shan Island to refuel and resupply. Zhang Yang and the others disembarked to grab a bite to eat.

Li Wei’s spirits were noticeably low. The other helicopter also returned. Taking advantage of the midday break for lunch, Zhang Yang meticulously reviewed the aerial footage captured by the other team.

The second helicopter had only conducted aerial surveys, saving considerable time, and had photographed many islands.

He marked the islands that seemed noteworthy or warranted a closer inspection, and then Zhang Yang and his group re-boarded the helicopter.

Time was pressing; they couldn't afford to waste any more time while Elder Qiao waited back at the hospital for the Soul-Returning Grass needed to save his life.

As they flew in the afternoon, Li Wei silently prayed—praying that Zhang Yang would find the island he spoke of, the location of the medicine that could save his grandfather.

Alas, fate did not grant him his wish this time. They descended five more locations in the afternoon, and it wasn't until dusk that they returned, having still failed to find what Zhang Yang was looking for.

After surveying over a hundred islands in one day and landing on several, they ended up with nothing. None of these islands possessed the characteristics noted in Zhang Yang’s ancestor’s records, leaving everyone feeling profoundly disappointed.

Once darkness fell, everyone was forced to return. This time, they stayed on Chuan Shan Island instead of heading back to Shanghai.

If they didn't find it today, they would continue tomorrow. However, after a day wasted, everyone’s morale was low. According to Zhang Yang, Elder Qiao could only hold on for three or four more days at most; if they didn't recover the necessary item within that window, Zhang Yang would be unable to sustain Elder Qiao’s life any longer.

In the evening, Zhang Yang once again pored over the aerial footage, searching for features that resembled his ancestor’s descriptions. They planned to head straight for those promising islands at first light tomorrow. The aerial surveys would continue until they found what they needed.

They were entirely unaware that while they searched so quietly, a sensation had erupted back at the hospital.

Elder Qiao’s body had managed to survive past the dozen or so hours they had predicted. He remained stable and unaffected after a full day and night—a feat many experts regarded as miraculous. Foreign experts, in particular, developed a keen interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

They incessantly inquired about TCM, and one expert even joked about switching professions to study it.

This, of course, was said in jest; no one that age would casually change careers. But it showed the profound impression Zhang Yang had made. At the very least, everyone now respected Zhang Yang and endorsed his methods.

Meanwhile, back at the activity command center, Zhang Yang's sudden request for leave had caused an uproar.

Because of this incident, the leaders from Tongji Medical College convened a comprehensive discussion among the supervising teachers from all participating schools.

Some insisted that such unauthorized leave be severely punished, nullifying all of Zhang Yang’s achievements. Wang Jinhui from Jinling University was the staunchest advocate for this measure. Without Zhang Yang’s performance, Longjing University’s overall score would not only miss first place but would likely fall behind even his own school’s ranking.

Others argued for a more lenient approach, noting that Zhang Yang had requested leave to save a life, which deserved understanding. They were all members of the medical community, where saving lives was paramount. A doctor lacking medical ethics would not be a good practitioner.

This latter sentiment wasn't overwhelmingly strong, however, as personal envy often breeds selfishness, especially given Longjing University’s possession of a student like Zhang Yang. Zhu Daoqi felt helpless amidst the conflict. Just as they were about to pass a resolution to penalize Zhang Yang, the personnel from the activity command center abruptly shifted their stance.

They began speaking in Zhang Yang’s defense, praising his actions in saving a life during a crisis. Not only did they refrain from punishing him, but they also awarded him a commendation.

This sudden reversal left even Zhu Daoqi perplexed.

Later, after discreet inquiries through various channels, he discovered that both the Ministry of Health and the General Administration of Sport had intervened, both departments demanding that the event organizers publicly commend Zhang Yang for his actions.

When the two major authorities spoke, no one dared to disobey.

As for why the two departments supported Zhang Yang, only Gu Fang understood fully. He had accidentally overheard Yin Yong's complaint, noted the details, and arranged for someone influential to speak up on Zhang Yang’s behalf. Zhang Yang had left the activity precisely because of Gu Fang’s grandfather. Zhang Yang's willingness to participate proved how much he valued the activity, and naturally, anything Zhang Yang valued, they could not afford to ignore.

However, Zhang Yang remained oblivious to all this; no one informed him of these maneuvers.

The very next morning at dawn, the helicopter took off. Armed with yesterday's aerial records, they bypassed aimless searching and headed directly for the most promising locations.

This significantly sped up their progress. By morning, Zhang Yang had landed on eight islands, inspecting each one, but all were dismissed. By this point, they were already over three hundred nautical miles from Chuan Shan Island—a distance that, according to the speed of ancient seafaring vessels, was approaching their maximum sailing limit.

This puzzled Zhang Yang immensely. How could his ancestor have maintained such a rapid pace? Did he already know the location of that specific island?

Unfortunately, Zhang Yang could never find the answers. His ancestor had passed away long ago and could not rise to explain his reasoning.

During the midday break, Li Wei appeared even more subdued.

After a day and a half with no good news, his heart felt heavy. The hope he initially held was not as strong as it had been. After all, Zhang Yang himself had only referenced an ancient text stating that an island somewhere held what they needed—whether it truly existed remained uncertain.

This implied that even Zhang Yang lacked absolute certainty. The ancient text was over a century old; the likelihood of finding anything intact now seemed slim.

"The island down there, let's check it out!"

Shortly after the helicopter reached open water in the afternoon, Zhang Yang pointed at a relatively small island below while looking at his map.

This island had been identified from the aerial surveys and was the ninth one they were slated to land on that day.

The island featured a large clearing suitable for landing. Within moments, the helicopter touched down.

Shouldering his backpack, Zhang Yang and Long Feng walked forward, with Li Wei trailing closely behind.

They began their inspection, looking for the distinctive features noted by the ancestor, while Zhang Yang also instructed Wuying to alert him immediately if he detected anything. The Soul-Returning Grass, being something inherently spiritual, should not escape Wuying’s senses.

"Wait a moment!"

After walking only a short distance, Zhang Yang suddenly raised his hand, halting his steps. He turned toward another direction.

There was a small cliff face there, completely covered in thick vines.

Long Feng and Li Wei followed his gaze to the cliff, but they could discern nothing unusual from its surface.

Zhang Yang turned and walked directly toward the rock face, drawing a military knife from his belt to begin hacking away the dense vines covering it.

Seeing this, Long Feng and Li Wei quickly moved to help him clear the foliage from the stone wall.

"There are characters on the rock face?"

Long Feng suddenly exclaimed, sounding quite surprised. Beneath the vines he cleared, the distinct marks of carving were visible. The etchings were not overly sharp but were clearly recognizable as script—specifically, traditional Chinese characters.

"There really are characters!"

Zhang Yang’s eyes widened, his face alight with surprise and excitement. The records left by the Zhang family ancestor mentioned that after landing on this island, he was overcome with poetic inspiration and carved one of his poems directly onto the cliff face. For a master of Internal Strength, writing on stone was effortless provided they had something sharp in hand.

"There are characters, Zhang Yang, real characters! Someone has been here!"

Li Wei’s previous gloom vanished instantly as he shouted loudly. If someone had been here, it meant they might have found the exact location Zhang Yang sought.

"I see it! Scrape it clean, let me see if it matches the content I read in the ancient text!"

Zhang Yang’s movements accelerated unnaturally. Long Feng took out his canteen and splashed water onto the stone to better reveal the carved inscription.

"What sea, what scenery... when ordinary eyes recognize it..." Long Feng murmured, recognizing the traditional script. Like Zhang Yang, he was fluent in traditional characters, as many family texts and codices were written that way. Zhang Yang had specifically copied many texts in the past to convert them into simplified characters for easier reading by later generations.

"‘The day of seeking fragrance by the sea, boundless scenery instantly renewed.’ Yes, this is it! The ancient text described exactly this line!" Zhang Yang exclaimed excitedly. This was the poem carved by his ancestor. Although not all of it was perfectly clear, most of the visible portion matched the record.

If there were characters, and the content matched, they could confirm this was the place recorded by his ancestor.

"There's a signature here—Zhang Zigu?" Li Wei called out again. He had managed to clean off the area where the signature was inscribed. These three characters were quite clear and were instantly recognizable.

A smile gradually spread across Zhang Yang’s face. Yes, they could now be absolutely certain. Zhang Zigu was the style name of his ancestor. The ancestor's given name was Gong, and his style name was Zigu. With the name matching, this had to be the spot.

Guaranteed First Chapter. Little Yu got a bit carried away yesterday and apologizes to everyone again.

Little Yu knows many friends were dissatisfied with the outstanding chapters, and he understands that the promise to make them up was never fulfilled. However, friends can rest assured that now that Little Yu is home and settled, making up the owed chapters is absolutely no problem.

At least six updates today! (To be continued)