Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 391 Xinghai Bay

When some mermaids on the small island saw the big ship coming, they gathered on the shore and looked forward to it.

Even when those mermaids with human bodies and fish tails came ashore, they were still quite agile in their movements.

When Lu Zheng took a look, he saw some mermaids who were tall and burly, wearing heavy armor. They were obviously the garrison force of this island.

Judging from the fine workmanship of the armor, which is similar in style to the armor worn by soldiers of the Chu State, it is very likely that it was purchased from Chu.

The entire island is not big, only a few miles in radius, and can be seen at a glance.

Some simple stone houses can be clearly seen on the island. They are the residences of these mermaids. It looks like an ordinary small village.

Because the island is small, many daily necessities have to be supplied from outside.

Whenever a large ship of their own kind arrives, these mermaids are very happy.

When the ship docked, the mermaids on board began to carry some supplies to the island.

The mermaids on the island also handed over the mermaid pearls they had recently collected.

Qing Wan observed curiously and saw some little mermaids playing in the water.

She couldn't help but whisper, "It seems like the conditions here are very poor. They live worse than ordinary people."

In Qingwan's opinion, these mermaids are at least monsters, more capable than ordinary people, but they don't seem to be living a very good life.

Even though they handed over the valuable mermaid pearls, the daily necessities allocated to them were not sufficient.

Lu Zheng didn't know what to say after hearing this. After all, this was the distribution rule within the mermaid tribe, and he was afraid that those pearl-diving mermaids didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "At least they have demonstrated their value here. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't get anything. The living environment in this place is not good..."

The environment of Yunmeng Lake is not good. The conditions on many islands are very poor and they cannot be self-sufficient at all. If ordinary monsters want to survive here, they have to stick together.

The mermaids who can collect pearls here at least don’t have to worry about food and clothing, and their safety is also guaranteed to a certain extent.

The large ship stopped at the island to deliver some supplies, and some mermaids began to reinforce the ship with tools.

After experiencing turbulent water currents, the entire ship needs to be inspected and reinforced, and now we have some free time.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan stayed on the boat and waited quietly, observing the mermaids from time to time.

At this moment, a mermaid emerged from the water and shouted to its fellow tribesmen in the dark. The words had a special accent that was a little difficult to understand.

Fortunately, Lu Zheng's realm is not low, and his ability to understand language is different from ordinary people.

The mermaid was saying that there were fish stealing pearls underwater and that someone was needed to help.

On the shore, the mermaids wearing armor heard the words, and three of them, wearing armor and holding a meter-long harpoon, jumped into the water.

With a few splashes, three figures quickly disappeared into the water.

Qing Wan couldn't help but watch curiously and couldn't help wanting to go into the water to see what was going on.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng extended his spiritual sense into the water to track the mermaid.

But a hundred feet deep underwater, there was a strange fish several feet long swimming rapidly. It looked like a snake eel, with gray-white scales all over its body, and it exuded a strong demonic aura.

In this area of water, there are always some monsters that are attracted by the scent emitted by the pearl shells.

In addition to being wary of other people or monsters, the mermaids on the island also have to guard against monsters in the water that might steal their food.

The three mermaids swam flexibly in the water, and their speed was no slower than the demon fish that came to steal the pearls.

The three mermaids quickly approached the demon fish in a double-teaming posture, with the steel forks in their hands flashing coldly.

Soon, the two sides started fighting.

The demon fish had a mouth full of sharp teeth. It turned its head and bit a man's arm, even piercing through his armor.

A mermaid suddenly thrust out a steel fork, directly poking two bloody holes in the demon fish.

The demon fish felt pain and wanted to escape, so it twisted its body and swam quickly to one place.

The three mermaids pursued the beast relentlessly; they could not let it go.

After the first theft of the pearl, there will be a second time. The spiritual energy in the mermaid pearl is very attractive to these monsters.

After a while, the water not far away began to surge.

The three mermaids swam towards the shore dragging the corpse of the demon fish.

The other mermaids couldn't help but cheer when they saw this.

Qing Wan blinked. She could see that even though the fish was dead, the aura it emitted was stronger than that of the three mermaids who had attacked.

The mermaid carried the fish ashore and cut it up and ate it right on the beach.

Of course, the best part of the fish was given to Mu Bing and others who had the highest status in the clan present.

However, Mu Bing and the others were at a high level and had no interest in this kind of monster meat. They just symbolically accepted the offering to clarify their noble status in the tribe, and then rewarded the meat to their subordinates.

Looking at this set of operations, Qing Wan whispered: "Just like a human..."

Then, the mermaids divided the whole fish and ate it raw, as if it were raw meat and drinking blood.

Qing Wan couldn't help but feel that the habits of these mermaids were different from those of humans.

After half a day, the ship was repaired and reinforced and continued its journey to Xinghai Bay.

Once we reach this area of water, it is not far from Xinghai Bay.

The ship was traveling at a rapid speed, enjoying smooth sailing. As dusk fell, a large island came into view. Mu Bing looked at the island and explained it to Lu Zheng and the others, "That's Xingdao up ahead. If we go this way, we'll end up at Xinghai Bay."

Xingdao, an island with a radius of a thousand miles, can be called a piece of land. It is the main gathering place for many monsters in Yunmengze.

The island has a harbor that is hundreds of miles deep and extends into the heart of the Star Island. Its widest point is over a hundred miles.

If you look down from the sky, the entire Star Island looks like a big hole has been torn in it, and that big hole forms the Star Bay.

From a distance, Lu Zheng could still see some ships coming and going.

His eyes sparkled, and when he looked at Star Island again, he discovered that the entire island was filled with demonic energy, creating a special aura.

There were also subtle differences and changes in the thick demonic aura, which should be caused by the different demon tribes on the island.

Near the island, the air around it was filled with a faint demonic aura.

Birds of a feather flock together. The place where demons gather is filled with strong demonic energy and is obviously not suitable for human survival.

Qing Wan felt a little uncomfortable when she sensed the demonic energy.

Although she is a grass spirit, her demonic energy is pure. The demonic energy here is mixed and turbid, which is not beneficial to her practice.

Of course, this level of impact has almost no impact on Lu Zheng and the others.

Before, they were able to adapt to the Chu land which was filled with the aura of Shintoism, let alone this kind of demonic aura.

When the boat approached the bay, Mu Bing pointed to the water ahead and said, "That's Xinghai Bay."

Qing Wan looked closely and saw that the color of the water in front of her was obviously different from the color of the Daze Lake where they were now. It was light blue and light green respectively.

The colors of the two bodies of water are completely different, and can be said to be clearly separated.

“It’s really different…”

Qing Wan was amazed. She had heard the children on the boat talk about the special features of Xinghai Bay before, and now she saw that it was true.

Soon, the ship crossed the dividing line between the two waters and entered the waters of Xinghai Bay.

Qing Wan lowered her head and looked at the different waters with curiosity in her eyes.

Lu Zheng only took a glance and knew the difference.

Lu Zheng said, "This should be considered salt water, or sea water. It has a high salt content and contains special spiritual energy..."

This is a very open area of water, and it is not wrong to call it a sea.

But compared with the entire Yunmeng Lake, Xinghai Bay seems too small.

Qing Wan was slightly surprised when she heard this and asked, "Sea water?"

She had only seen and heard of the sea in books. So this is sea water?

Mu Bing beside him smiled and said, "Speaking of which, Xinghai Bay is a bit special. The water here is indeed similar to seawater, and different from the water in Daze Lake."

Qing Wan was very curious. She cast a spell and used a jade bottle to collect some water from Xinghai Bay. She dipped a little water in it to taste it, and then spat it out.

"It's so salty!" Qingwan's eyebrows twisted.

Mu Bing smiled faintly and said, "It is said that in ancient times, a sea dragon tribe settled here. Because they missed their homeland, they turned the water of this Xinghai Bay into sea water. However, the legend cannot be verified, and few people believe it..."

Qing Wan couldn't help but ask: "Are there still dragons here?"

Mu Bing whispered, "There are no real dragons, but there are monsters with the blood of dragons and pythons living here. They claim to be descendants of the dragon clan and have dragon blood, but I think they are just trying to flatter themselves."

Actually, Mu Bing is a pure-blooded mermaid.

Those mixed-blood snakes and dragons don't have much ability, their bloodline is not pure yet they brag about themselves, she actually looks down on them.

Lu Zheng, who was standing next to him, had some thoughts in his mind. There were many sea monsters here. Combined with the rumors he had heard and the books he had read, he was afraid that sea monsters had really come here before, and there might even be dragons among them.

Soon, the big ship docked at a pier of the mermaid tribe.

Mu Bing asked other tribesmen to handle matters on the boat, while he personally took Lu Zheng and the other two off the boat and headed to the nearest city to rest.

A city built of stone, it looks very old. It is a city belonging to the mermaids. Identity must be checked when entering and leaving.

With Mu Bing leading the way, Lu Zheng and Qing Wan didn't need to protect themselves.

After entering the city, Lu Zheng found that the layout of the city was not much different from that of an ordinary city.

However, most of the buildings in this city are made of stone, and there are not many commercial shops and wide streets, so the layout seems a bit crowded.

The main purpose of this city is to provide people with a place to live and shelter from the wind and rain.

Of course, the status of the demons who can live in the city is not low.

Outside the city, there are some simple dwellings where the most ordinary monsters live.

I have to say that in this world, no matter whether they are humans or monsters, as long as there are many of them, they can be divided into different levels.

Soon, Mu Bing brought Lu Zheng and the others to a mansion and arranged a courtyard for them.

The yard is located on a higher ground, facing Xinghai Bay, with a clear view of the nearby waters.

Moreover, the yard is arranged with a spiritual energy formation, and the entire yard is filled with pure water spiritual energy, isolating the chaotic demonic energy outside.

Mu Bing also selected two mermaid maids to wait outside the courtyard for Lu Zheng and the others to serve, which was a very thoughtful arrangement.

Qingwan lay on the windowsill, looking around curiously, sizing up the Xinghai Bay.

(End of this chapter)