Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 76 Thousand Mile Ship

"Old man, I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious yet." Ren Yuan kept the secret and said, "I can't always be the one answering your questions. It's time for me to ask you a few questions, right?"

"Well, that's fair." Zu Chongzhi nodded and said, "Ask ahead."

"Where is this place, what's going on with this ship, and why are you on it?" Ren Yuan asked three questions in one breath.

"This place is called Yunmeng Lake. You can think of it as the border between reality and dreams." Zu Chongzhi replied, "This boat is a thousand-mile boat invented by me. It has no sails or oars, is self-propelled, and can travel a thousand miles a day. It can also travel through dreams and reality, and cross the Yin and Yang worlds."

"Is it so amazing?" Ren Yuan exclaimed: "I have heard that the old man is not only a master of mathematics, but also a great inventor. He can actually create such a magical machine. His reputation is well-deserved!"

“Haha, thank you for the compliment.” Zu Chongzhi smiled and twirled his goatee, saying seriously, “But strictly speaking, this is no longer a machine, but a magic weapon.”

"Magic weapon?" Ren Yuan said with a look of sudden enlightenment: "So the old man is also a cultivator."

"Isn't that nonsense?" Zu Chongzhi said proudly, "I was born in the sixth year of Yuanjia, which was still the Song Dynasty."

"Great!" Ren Yuan gave a thumbs up and asked, "How old is the old man this year?"

"Ninety-seven." Zu Chongzhi said proudly.

"That's not bad..." Ren Yuan said.

"What do you mean by okay?" Zu Chongzhi glared at him in dissatisfaction and emphasized: "Looking at the entire Southern Dynasty, I am already the longest-lived person!"

"Oh." Ren Yuan thought that the cultivator from the Southern Dynasty was really a coward, but he didn't dare to anger Zu Chongzhi too much, so he asked hurriedly, "I just thought that after practicing, I could live a hundred years."

"Haha, what are you thinking about?" Zu Chongzhi pointed upwards and said with a self-deprecating smile, "If that were really possible, why would I have to hide in this godforsaken place for twenty-five years?"

"Can you explain it in more detail?" Ren Yuan's heart was pounding. He felt like he could finally understand some of the truth about the world.

Zu Chongzhi shook his head and said, "I can't tell you. If I tell you, you'll be discovered."

Ren Yuan's pupils shrank, and he couldn't help but think of the monster.

Could it be that this world is nothing more than a large-scale immortal land?
"I can't answer this question for you. Please change the question." Zu Chongzhi said apologetically.

Ren Yuan looked at the sloppy 'Old Ginseng' in surprise. He didn't expect that Zu Chongzhi was such a nice person.

"Then why can I get on this ship through something?" he asked.

"Why don't you just say it's the Immortal Pillow? You're quite cautious." Zu Chongzhi sneered and said seriously, "The pillow belonged to an old senior, and he was the one who arranged for me to hide here."

"Then according to what you said, that old senior should have passed away, right?" Ren Yuan was deeply disappointed. Combining what Zu Chongzhi said above, we can know that the practitioners here are all under 100 years old, and Zu Chongzhi only went on the boat to live in seclusion when he was over 70 years old.

So the old senior is most likely dead... and should have nothing to do with Master.

"No, he's still alive." Zu Chongzhi shook his head and said, "Or rather, he can't die."

"Oh?" Ren Yuan's heart moved, and he looked at Zu Chongzhi eagerly. "Can you tell me the name of the old senior?"

“I can’t say either.” Zu Chongzhi shook his head.

"Will he come to hunt us down too?" Ren Yuan asked in a deep voice.

"That won't happen," Zu Chongzhi replied, "but I promised him that I would never reveal his identity."

"..." Ren Yuan almost suffocated to death, and said speechlessly: "You can't say anything about feelings, right?"

Zu Chongzhi smiled meaningfully and said, "Don't worry, kid. Now that you're on the boat, why don't you go explore on your own?"

"Your ship can't even move, and you're still exploring..." Ren Yuan said, feeling helpless.

"Who said it can't be moved? I've already told you that my thousand-mile boat has many wonderful uses." Zu Chongzhi said with a smile: "Although most of them can't be used with your ability, it is still possible to travel a thousand miles a day." Ren Yuan was overjoyed when he heard this, and bowed and said: "Please teach me, old man."

"Hehe..." Zu Chongzhi laughed dryly.

"Don't worry, I will definitely give you the answer after I teach you how to sail." Ren Yuan patted his chest and explained, "I'm not deliberately keeping you in suspense, I'm just afraid that you won't be able to bear it after you know the answer."

It would have been better if he hadn't said that. Zu Chongzhi was so provocative that he scratched his ears and cheeks and completely lost his composure.

"Boy, you really found my weakness." He glared at Bai Renyuan unhappily and said, "But are you sure you want to drive the boat yourself? This is not an easy job."

"It's true..." Ren Yuan thought, he didn't even have enough time to practice, how could he have the time to sail every day?
"How about this, you bring in the corpse of the zombie outside." Zu Chongzhi said, "I will be the captain who obeys your orders."

"Oh, the old man is such a good man!" Ren Yuan was so moved that he cried, and asked, "But the thing is already broken into pieces. I'm afraid even if I bring all of it in, it won't look like anything."

"Throw all the dead skin and flesh off the boat and leave only the bones." Zu Chongzhi said.

"Okay." Ren Yuan hurried out of the cabin to collect the bones.

However, he put all the meat he had cut from the bones into a jar and prepared to take it out for harmless disposal.

When he put the bones into the cabin, Zu Chongzhi smiled and said, "You are quite particular, kid."

"I'm afraid that all the fish in Yunmeng Lake will become zombie fish," Ren Yuan said with a smile, "Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility."

"Hehe, interesting. No wonder, no wonder." Zu Chongzhi was amused by him.

Ren Yuan was posing as a skeleton, and he laughed at himself: "Grandpa thinks I'm weird, right? Others think so too."

"Then you won't change?" Zu Chongzhi opened his eyes slightly.

"Why should we change it?" Ren Yuan said nonchalantly, "What if everyone else is wrong?"

"Hahaha, great, great!" Zu Chongzhi couldn't help but laugh out loud, patting Ren Yuan on the shoulder and saying, "I didn't expect to meet someone of the same mind. We can become friends regardless of age difference."

"I am extremely honored." Ren Yuan was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

"Okay, get out of the way." Zu Chongzhi asked Ren Yuan to stand aside, stretched out his finger and pointed, and the bones that had not been sorted out instantly formed a complete black skeleton.

Zu Chongzhi clapped his hands again, and the skeleton stood up.

Then he flicked two sparks from the oil lamp, which flew into the hollow eye sockets in the skull, where warm yellow flames began to dance.

"He is your ship owner now. You must obey his orders from now on." Zu Chongzhi pointed at Ren Yuan and gave another order.

"As you command." The skeleton nodded, then turned to Ren Yuan and bowed, "Greetings, Captain."

The voice was surprisingly clear and melodious, and I didn't know how this skeleton could make such a sound. Ren Yuan nodded and said, "You can go out first."

"Yes." The skeleton bowed slightly, and when he turned to leave, he did not forget to close the door. His politeness was definitely higher than that of Mr. Hu Sanye.

"You are really amazing!" Ren Yuan sincerely raised two thumbs up. He was no longer a novice and understood the value of this move. It was really like "hanging a thermos bottle on an eagle's tail - the level is soaring to the sky".

"It's just a trifle, not worth mentioning." There was no trace of pride on Zu Chongzhi's face, and it was obvious that he really thought so.

He couldn't wait to ask again: "Can you tell me the answer now?"

"Okay." Ren Yuan nodded and said, "It will teach you that a circle can never be cut completely!"

"A circle can never be cut completely?" Upon hearing this, Zu Chongzhi fell into a long silence.

(End of this chapter)