From Worthless Son-in-Law to Island King

Chapter 5: Stranded Together

Pain.

That was the first thing Joseph felt.

Seawater closed over him, icy enough to cut straight to the bone. His entire body ached, and the pressure in his skull was so intense it felt as though his head might split apart.

Then the memories came.

They poured into his mind in broken fragments—memories that did not belong to him.

How to find food in the wilderness.

How to identify medicinal plants.

How to build a shelter.

How to treat wounds and illness...

The flood of knowledge churned violently through his head, threatening to tear him apart from within. Joseph struggled to make sense of it, but every time he tried to focus, the fragments slipped away.

He had no idea how long the agony lasted.

Eventually, a strange warmth spread through his body, slowly driving back the cold.

Joseph’s eyes fluttered open.

With great effort, he pushed himself upright.

The luxury liner was gone.

Before him lay a long, desolate beach strewn with jagged rocks, driftwood, and pieces of wreckage. A bitter wind swept in from the sea, and each wave that rolled ashore washed freezing water over his legs.

Joseph lowered his gaze.

The jade pendant was still clutched in his hand.

Fighting through the pounding in his skull, he tried to piece together what had happened.

He remembered rushing forward to save Alice. Then someone had struck him from behind, and everything had gone black.

Just before he lost consciousness, the ship had begun to shake violently.

He remembered seeing Alice run toward him.

Then she had fallen.

The liner must have struck a reef.

It had sunk.

“Alice!”

Joseph sprang to his feet.

There was no time to wonder how he had survived. If the waves had carried him to this island, there was a chance they had brought Alice here as well.

Finding her was all that mattered.

He raced along the shoreline, stumbling over rocks and shattered pieces of the ship. He searched among the wreckage, calling Alice’s name again and again, but there was no answer.

The farther he ran, the tighter the dread in his chest became.

What if she had not made it?

What if she was still somewhere beneath the waves?

Just as despair began to take hold, a flash of white appeared in the surf ahead.

A woman’s body rolled in with the retreating tide.

“Alice!”

Joseph sprinted toward her.

A large piece of wreckage had pinned her against the sand. Her face was deathly pale, her eyes closed, and her breathing so faint that it was almost impossible to detect.

Joseph grabbed the wreckage and heaved with all his strength.

To his surprise, it lifted far more easily than it should have.

He was too frantic to notice.

The moment he gathered Alice into his arms, information surfaced in his mind as naturally as instinct.

Water in the lungs. Minor abrasions. Unconscious, but still alive.

No immediate threat to her life.

Joseph did not stop to wonder how he knew.

He laid her flat on the sand and began first aid. After several tense moments, Alice coughed violently and spat up mouthfuls of seawater.

Only then did Joseph allow himself to breathe again.

He lifted her into his arms and carried her toward a cave he had noticed while searching the shoreline.

It was small and cramped, but it offered shelter from the wind.

That was enough for now.

Joseph lowered Alice carefully onto the ground, then went straight back outside.

The temperature was dropping fast, and the wind showed no sign of weakening. Both of them were soaked through. Joseph could endure the cold for a while, but Alice had always been physically delicate.

If she remained in wet clothes, she could easily fall ill.

He gathered dry branches and leaves from around the cave, then crouched near the entrance and tried to start a fire.

It took several attempts, but at last, a thin curl of smoke rose from the kindling. A tiny flame followed.

Joseph fed it carefully until it grew into a steady fire.

Watching the flames dance, he gave a faint, self-deprecating smile.

He had spent his early childhood in the mountains before being sent to an orphanage. Later, he had developed a fascination with wilderness survival books and television programs.

He had never imagined those things would one day keep him alive.

Once the cave had begun to warm, Joseph turned his attention back to Alice.

Her clothes were still drenched.

He hesitated for a moment before reminding himself that leaving her like this would be far more dangerous. With an awkward sigh, he began removing her soaked outer clothing.

The task proved much harder than expected.

“Why does women’s clothing have to be so complicated?” he muttered.

After struggling for some time, he finally managed to remove the last of her wet outer garments.

Then he looked up—and froze.

Alice lay before him in nothing but her underwear.

Her pale skin seemed almost luminous in the moonlight filtering into the cave. Her slender waist, long legs, and graceful curves were fully exposed to his gaze.