85 Chapter 84: Seeing the Sea (1/2)
I had expected someone to be seasick or something, but I was to be disappointed. Despite the ship gently rocking across the turbulent waves, none of the passengers on board showed any signs of nausea or discomfort.
To my surprise, I wasn't seasick either. In fact, I spent most of the journey comfortably asleep on a couch, waking up to train, practice or eat. Both Zhao Shi and Da Ge turned out to be great sparring partners, and I receved a lot of excellent advice from the two experienced veterans. If I were to join the Blood Blades, they would most likely be my seniors.
As it turned out, there was quite the group of seasoned mercenaries and aged martial artists who signed up for the mission. There were a couple of old men, who depite the age and white hair, were as muscular as someone half their age and as large as bears. There was a middle-aged mercenary with a scar across his face and an eyepatch, presumably to hide his wounded eye. He claimed that he had lost it during a fight with a demonic sect, but who knew if he was telling the truth. Accompanying him was a handsome spearman, and a lady in a seductive cheongsam and hat who smoked a similar pipe to Captain Chuan Zhang's. There were also a team of three muscular guys from the Iron Mountain Sect, who somehow reminded me of the seniors who attacked me all those years ago in Wu Ling Academy, back when I was still in middle school.
Adding the four of us, the team totaled twelve. And that didn't include the Mo Bi Di Ke's crew, who numbered twenty. I was amazed that just that handful of them were able to keep such a large ship running at maximum efficiency.
These guys were amazing seahands. That was for sure.
”How long until we reach the Void Ring?”
The spearman, whose name was Qiang Zhe, complained.
”A…few days more…I supposed.”
Mo Fa, his beautiful companion lazily replied as she blew rings from her pipe and leisurely gazed at the skies. Qiang Zhe muttered a complaint under his breath, but he obediently slumped down on the couch placed strategically across the deck.
”Why are you in such a hurry?” Du Yan chuckled, his scarred face twisting into an amused smile. He focused his single eye on Qiang Zhe before glancing appreciatively at Mo Fa, who had laid out to sunbathe in one of the white sun-chairs spread out on the deck. The only thing missing was a pool, but why would you need a swimming pool on the deck of a ship when we were surrounded by nothing but the sea?
”I just want to get this mission done and over with,” Qiang Zhe grumbled. ”And I need the money badly.”
”Qiang Zhe…got into debt,” Mo Fa explained. ”His…bad gambling habits…sort of kicked in.”
”Hey! No one asked you!” Qiang Zhe hastily snapped, but it was too late. The two old men were shaking their heads.
”Younglings these days…they're really hopeless.”
The bald one, who sported a rich, white beard and mustache that were at odds with his shiny dome of a scalp, was Lao Tou. As expected of someone of his age, he was always looking down conscendingly on the younger generation.
”Kids will be kids,” Lao Ren replied with a laugh. He had longer hair, his neat, white hair tied stylishly into a bun by a ribbon, making him look like a xian of old. He gazed at us indulgently and chuckled.
”We're not kids!” Qiang Zhe protested.
”In their eyes, we probably are. They're about twice…or thrice our age.”
Du Yan shook his head wryly. Lao Ren grinned.
”You got that right!”
”Well, we're just kids,” Zi Xiao Ji remarked cheerfully. ”I'm only sixteen this year.”
I glanded at Zhao Shi and Da Ge, but neither of them joined the conversation. Da Ge was the oldest of us, in his mid-twenties or so. I wasn't sure how old Zhao Shi was, but at the very least she was a few years older than me. I should leave it at that, though. You know what they say, never ask a lady what her age was.
Since nobody asked me, I kept my mouth shut and retreated to the background. I preferred to keep a low profile if that was possible.
”Ha ha ha ha, glad to see that all of you are still in high spirits.”
Chuan Zhang walked up to the deck, having emerged from his cabim after supervising the ship. The ship was on autopilot anyway, so he didn't have to stand in front of it all the time. Furthermore, the First Mate, Hai Yuan, was taking his shift, so Chuan Zhang was free to go wherever he wanted for the moment, anyway.
”We'll be reaching the Void Ring soon. So be prepared, everybody.” Chaun Zhang dropped his voice. ”This area is famous for all the disappearances of planes, ships and people. Every year, countless transports vanish in this zone, never to be seen again.”
Sounded like the Bermuda Triangle in my original timeline…except that the Bermuda Triangle had been proven to be a baseless myth. There were no more disappearances that happened within the Bermuda Triangle than any part of the sea, and many of the rumors had been outright exaggerated or fabricated.
I doubted the same was true for this timeline. The reason was simple. The Void Ring was full of sea monsters and aquatic magical beasts. Evend ragons occasionally emerged from the depths to attack full battleships, and those divine monsters were capable of sinking entire fleets if there weren't any strong martial artists among the crews.
I hope we don't run into any dragons…
That remained to be seen. Hopes were flowers that grew on trees…in other words, things that rarely happened when you wished for it. Or maybe I was getting that whole idiom wrong. Who cares? You get what I mean, right?
The weather seemed fine, bright and sunny as the ship sailed underneath a clear skies. There was not a cloud in sight, and not liking the withering, superheated rays of the merciless sun, I retreated into the cabin. Getting a tan was not one of my objectives. Having purchased a pair of cheap swords for this mission, I took them out and began practicing Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship while doing my best not to accidentally wreck the ship from within.
It was during that particular practice session when I felt the ship jerk somewhat to a stop, and overheard a panicked cry.
”Sea monster!”
The flustered voice belonged to one of the crew, and shortly after the warning, the alarm rang. Keeping my balance aboard the shuddering ship, I immediately raced out of the deck to see what was happening.
As the sailor had warned, there was an enormous sea monster right next to the ship. It resembled a gigantic goldfish, with razor-sharp fins and rows of piranha-like teeth in its mouth. Sunlight reflected off its glittering, crimson scales, giving the beast an angry look.
”That's a Sea King!” one of the sailors yelled.
”Prepare torpedoes!” Captain Chuan Zhang ordered, but one of his sailors cut in.
”It's too late, Captain! The Sea King is too close!”
”Hah, don't worry about it. That's what we're here for!”
Gleeful at finally having something to do, Qiang Zhe produced his spear and leaped forward. Seemingly hovering in the air, he slashed with his spear and unleashed an immense arc of blood-red qi that clashed against the Sea King and sent it flailing backward.
”Sea King? I'll show you who rules the space around here!”
The Sea King bellowed as Qiang Zhe slashed it again, opening up another line of blood. The sea around the thrashing magical beast turned crimson as it floundered about helplessly. Enraged, it sought to bite Qiang Zhe out of the air, but he seemed to kick off on thin air and zoomed away, evading its attacks.
Unfortunately, the ship was not as lucky.
”Brace for impact!” Hai Yuan hollered.
”Damn it…” I cursed under my breath and glared at Qiang Zhe. The bastard was so busily showing off that he didn't care that he was putting the rest of us in danger. Using Jin, I advanced forward and spun around in midair to deliver a devastating roundhouse kick that would have made any Lunar Rabbit proud.
Bam!
The Sea King jolted as my foot connected with its scaly cheek and the immense magical beast was flung back into the sea.
”Geez! Brother Wu! Why did you do that?!”
”…huh?”
As I landed back on the deck, using my footwork to return myself to safety, Zi Xiao Ji pouted and whined.
”You do realize that I just saved everyone…”
I shut up when I realized how absurd my reply was. Nobody on the ship, aside from the hapless crew, needed saving. Hell, given Hai Yuan's skills and Chuan Zhang's strength – as well as their decades of experience – they should be able to protect the relatively amateurish new crewman who had just recently joined their ranks. Everyone here was a seasoned warrior, with enough strength to chop the poor Sea King several times over.
”…never mind. What's the matter?”
”We finally have a chance to eat something new!” Zi Xiao Ji complained. ”Aren't you tired of eating the same old rations over and over again? Let's catch that Sea King and have the chef cook it for tonight's dinner! With that size, I'm sure it'll be able to provide several meals! And it'll be a refreshing change of menu!”
”The young lady has a point!” Lao Ren guffawed. ”I was getting sick of the same old meat and vegetables…no offense to you, Chef Chu.”
Chef Chu, a relatively new addition to Chuan Zhang's crew, was too green to protest at their seeming rebuke of his culinary skills. He was crouched under a table, holding his head and looking as if he was on the verge of tears.
”Hey, Chef Chu, if we catch that Sea King, will you be able to cook it? You can cook seafood, right?”
Du Yan jerked a thumb toward the wounded Sea King, who had emerged from the sea once more and seeking revenge.
Chu stared at us, amazed that we could still think and talk about our stomachs during a time like this. Gulping and not trusting himself to speak, he nodded.
”Then it's settled! Let's go grab ourselves some seafood!”
Du Yan drew a sword and began advancing toward the edge of the ship. Meanwhile, Zi Xiao Ji turned to her bodyguards.
”Zhao Shi, Da Ge, can you capture that giant fish?”
I couldn't believe she was asking the two Blood Blades so innocently. Zhao Shi smiled and nodded, drawing her short sword.
”Leave it to us!”
”You got it!” Da Ge agreed.
The two of them shot off the deck, passing the stunned Du Yan, and launched themselves at the flailing Sea King. Engaging in movements too fast for the human eye to follow, Zhao Shi carved a bloody path through the surface of the shrieking Sea King, slicing away the scales and sending chunks of flesh dropping into the sea in big splashes.