125 Set Sail (1/2)

”What do you mean?” Tai questioned, confusion visible on his face.

”The ship.” Ed answered while pointing at it. ”You're not telling me you sailed a wooden ship halfway across the Pacific Ocean, are you?”

”Oh, I see.” Tai nodded while pounding his fist into his hand. ”It's exactly as you see it. It's made of oak. In fact, some of my sect members helped build it as a gift to me.” He stared lovingly at the ship. ”It's served me well since then.”

'Is he screwing with me?' Ed eyed the other espers, and none seemed to think anything was unusual about it. ”What about the mutants?” He questioned. ”Surely they'd tear the ship to shreds while you sail?”

”Mutants?” Tai tilted his head in confusion. ”What do you mean? Wooden ships don't get attacked by mutants. Isn't that common knowledge?”

”What?!” Ed replied in shock. ”Why wouldn't they attack wooden ships? That makes no sense!”

”Sure, it does.” He scoffed. ”Why would a big fish attack a random floating log? It's basically the same thing.”

”No.” Ed shook his head. ”Mutants aren't all stupid. While that might reduce the number of attacks, it wouldn't eliminate them entirely. It's just asking for something to go wrong!”

”Ah, true.” Tai agreed. ”But you do realize that I have hundreds of powerful espers with me, right? We have no need to fear anything on the seas. Even if we're attacked, we'll easily be able to handle it.”

”But what about when you arrived here?!” He questioned while looking around, only spotting twenty or so Asians. ”You would've only had a small crew. How'd you manage it?”

”Oh, that.” Tai smiled. ”I had an escort ship come with me that already returned to China.” He waved his fan. ”Enough chitchat about pointless nonsense. Let's set sail.” He began leading his men onto the boat.

Ed stared speechlessly. 'I thought for sure there was something special about it... Some mystical Chinese cultivator secret or something...' He woodenly followed behind the others, begrudgingly joining them on the ordinary boat.

Flair and Tao were still on the boat, resting in the shade of an umbrella.

Tai eyed the newcomers and glanced at Ed. ”That mutant? Did you bring it for the chimera conversions?”

Tao's head perked up, and he released a loud growl, staring menacingly at Tai.

”Humph.” Tai snorted. ”You want to fight the master on his own ship?” Seven flames began circling around his body.

”Knock it off, both of you.” Ed scowled as he pushed Tai, sending him stumbling several steps forward. ”The croc is my pet. If anyone hurts him, then I'll make them wish for death.”

Suddenly, Tao's blue body began to shrink in size. He hurriedly scurried towards Ed, climbing up his head. Tao stared down at all the espers shorter than Ed, including Tai, with disdain visible in his eyes. ”Humph.” He snorted while laying his head down to rest.

”That's quite the interesting pet...” Tai said while hiding his facial expression behind his fan. ”And who's the girl?”

”Research assistant.” He replied. ”Same goes for her. Anyone touches her, and they'll regret it.” He looked over the various espers. They were all prisoners of the cage, and even after the spiders killing them, there were still almost 700 of them. He would hardly trust the many unfamiliar espers that had been locked up for unknown crimes.

”Relax.” Rubi laughed while walking over, her tall muscular body and spiky red hair towering over everyone in height. ”These espers all saw you fight during the escape. I doubt any of them would be stupid enough to offend you.” She glared towards them threateningly. ”Right guys?” She smiled.

”Of course!” A large pudgy man smiled while nodding.

”Aye!” A blond girl nodded. ”I'll protect the girl from these disgusting men!” She eyed the various men with disgust evident on her face.

An intimidating black man with large muscles grinned. ”Anyone touches the gator, I'll chop them to pieces!”

Ed stared at the group, his eyebrow twitching from annoyance. ”This is going to be a long trip.” He sighed while covering his eyes and shaking his head. Exasperated, he had Tai assign him a room, and he immediately entered secluded meditation.

...

Ed sat with his eyes closed and his legs crossed atop a small bed. His mana ebbed and flowed as he searched for the next meridian. Time slowly passed. Minutes turned into hours, and hours into days. Ed's frown grew increasingly deep as his secluded meditation continued.

'I can't find it!' He finally opened his eyes, frustration covering his face. 'Why can't I find the eight storage meridians? The Mortal Dragon Technique said I should be able to find them as soon as I breakthrough the 12 organ meridians!'