Even so, the sound of that fishing boat filled us with excitement. It meant a savior might have arrived.

So, we followed the sound, running toward the shore. As we ran, the torch in my hand was extinguished by the rain.

I didn't care about anything else; I dropped the torch and sprinted forward. Simultaneously, I heard rustling footsteps closing in on us from all around.

Luckily, Andrei still had a flashlight in his backpack. The flashlight beam didn't penetrate the thick fog very well, but wherever it shone, that rustling sound would abruptly stop.

With the flashlight cutting a path, we avoided being surrounded. It was then I noticed dark, spreading stains of crimson blood on the ground where the light fell.

Seeing the blood being washed away by the rain, I knew it had been spilled recently. Could it be that Xiao Feiyang had already...

I shook my head, trying to quell the frantic thoughts, and continued running forward. After only a few more strides, I saw a dark shape lying motionless on the ground not far ahead, the blood emanating from beneath it.

My heart lurched, and I couldn't bear to look. But then Andrei shouted from behind, "Keep running!

That's not Xiao Feiyang, it's a sea cow." Indeed, when I reached the object, I saw it was the corpse of a sea cow. Then, more sea cow bodies appeared before me; it seemed that entire group I had seen before had perished here.

And their deaths were gruesome—all of them had their stomachs ripped open. Though I felt a pang of sorrow, I was also relieved not to have found Xiao Feiyang.

"Woo..." The fishing boat's horn sounded again, and we saw several bright searchlights slicing beams through the mist on the sea not far away. We ran toward the lights, and the rustling sounds behind us ceased.

Reaching the shore, we indeed found a medium-sized fishing boat anchored near the coast. All the searchlights on the vessel were blazing, and a dozen or so people stood on the deck.

As soon as they saw us appear in the beams, the people on the boat immediately waved, many jumping up and down, looking visibly overjoyed. I glanced back one last time; still no sign of Xiao Feiyang.

I figured our only option now was to get on the boat and find more people to search the island. So, Andrei and I climbed aboard using the retractable ladder.

Once on deck, a middle-aged man with a grizzled beard and wearing a fur vest approached Andrei, speaking a stream of Russian. Andrei laughed happily, opened his arms, embraced the man, and excitedly replied with words I couldn't understand.

The two men were clearly delighted to converse. Just then, BEY walked over and said to Andrei and me, "I was right to guess—you did come to the relic island.

After I returned to the village, I told my father I had met Teacher Andrei and told him about your peril at sea. Father immediately dispatched a boat to search for you, and they arrived here just as dusk settled." I nodded, urgently telling BEY, "This isn't the time for chatter.

We are still missing one person; he was captured by the Sea Women on the island, and we must go back for him now!" "Missing someone? You mean him?" BEY turned around and beckoned.

Then, two young Russians in leather vests emerged, escorting a slumped, listless man. I looked, and it was Xiao Feiyang.

Seeing Xiao Feiyang’s vacant eyes devoid of spirit, I asked, "What happened to him?" BEY explained, "Just as our boat arrived here, we saw this man running alone on the shore, seemingly fleeing something. I recognized him as a companion of Teacher Andrei, so I rushed off the boat to stop him.

In response, he let out a shout and collapsed, but he didn't lose consciousness—he just became completely vacant-eyed and unresponsive to any questions." Hearing this, I felt a strange unease and went forward to pry open Xiao Feiyang's eyelids. I saw his sclera were webbed with angry red veins, and his pupils were erratically dilating—a clear sign of extreme shock.

Could it be that he had witnessed the true forms of those Sea Women and been terrified into this state? I considered it; that seemed to be the only possible explanation.

I tried speaking a few words to Xiao Feiyang, but he gave no reaction, so I had to ask BEY to help usher him into the cabin to rest. Looking back at the small island shrouded in thick fog, I let out a slight breath, thinking how fortunate it was that we could depart so quickly, or this truly would have become a terrifying nightmare.

As I thought this, the surrounding Russians suddenly broke into noisy discussion, pointing toward a spot on the island and exclaiming in awe. Startled, I followed the direction of their pointing fingers and saw a faint glimmer slowly ignite atop the dilapidated lighthouse at the island's center.

Then, centered on that lighthouse, pinpricks of light began to bloom slowly within the island's dense fog. The sight was reminiscent of a vast city at night as countless windows gradually illuminate.

However, the city’s evening is accompanied by clamor; this island was deserted, silent, making the scene exceptionally eerie. "Have our ancestors manifested?

Or..." BEY stared at the scene in astonishment, unable to speak. "No!" I interrupted BEY.

"It's the Sea Women. Look at the lighthouse!" I said this because I saw several clawing, monstrous black silhouettes moving near the summit of the collapsed tower, their postures definitely not human.

"Start the engine! Let’s get away from this cursed place..." Apparently, Andrei had seen it too, shouting in Chinese.

Seeing that no one around understood, Andrei repeated the command in Russian. At that moment, BEY's father ordered his tribesmen to their posts and started the vessel.

Our boat gradually pulled away from the shore, and the fog-shrouded island grew more distant, but I still couldn't forget the terrifying spectacle that had just unfolded. Even in the rain, I kept watching the island recede.

Andrei stood on the deck beside me, watching it too. After a long while, he asked softly, "We have to come back here.

Are you scared?" I didn't answer him, as I had no answer to give at that moment, but I suspected this island concealed many secrets. Seeing my silence, Andrei stopped speaking.

Our ship moved farther and farther away until the island was small enough to be just a fingertip in the distance. Only then did I slowly turn and walk toward the cabin.

By that time, all the lights on the island were fully lit, making it look like a ghost city on the dark sea. Our boat sailed for about four hours before finally reaching the home Andrei had long yearned for—the Chukchi Peninsula.

Chukchi people are generally divided into two groups: reindeer herders and hunters/fishers. Andrei's village was near the sea, classifying them as hunters/fishers, though they also kept domesticated reindeer, making them slightly more affluent than the Chukchi who specialized solely in herding.

I had expected their village to be a place without even electric lights, but after disembarking, I discovered that although they lived in thatched huts, rudimentary utility poles had been erected throughout the settlement, and many houses glowed with dim, yellowish light. Standing on the pier, I looked into the distance and saw that the village comprised perhaps a hundred households, nearly all of whom had come to the harbor to greet us, appearing incredibly warm and welcoming.

However, I couldn't understand a word they said. Though they bombarded us with enthusiastic questions, I could only offer a foolish smile in response to every one.

Andrei, on the other hand, was beaming, embracing everyone individually, exchanging laughter and conversation. Later, we were escorted to BEY's home.

His house was more luxurious than the standard dwellings, boasting its own yard in front and being significantly larger inside, containing a living room and four or five additional rooms. I even spotted an old-fashioned radio sitting on the table in the living room.

BEY led us to sit at the living room table, and then a kind-faced woman approached, carrying steaming hot bowls of meat broth.

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