Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 35 Sheltering Ship Lights
Almost at the moment Cheng Lang emerged from the water, Yafusuo, who had been standing at the bow of the boat, noticed his presence.

"Captain! The captain is back!" Yafuso shouted in surprise.

Before she finished her words, the vine goblins, all with bloodshot eyes and wearing large cloaks because they were docked, rushed out of the cabin with surprised shouts of "Oh, oh, oh" and hung everywhere, waving their arms enthusiastically at Cheng Lang.

Cheng Lang swung the whip more and more skillfully, wrapping it around the side of the ship and pulling himself up. Before he could stand firmly on the deck, he immediately noticed that the vine goblins that had died in the previous battle with the demon hunting ship had been resurrected, and the Valkyrie had completely completed its self-repair.

"You're all waiting for me?"

Cheng Lang asked with some emotion. At this time, there were not only 72 vine goblins of all sizes, but also Yafuso and her grandfather Gerta, as well as Yunji and her brother Shenba who were picked up not long ago, welcoming him back on the deck.

"Whoa whoa!"

The gorillas were the first to speak, and at the same time, they took off their coconut shell helmets in unison and tapped them with their fingers. The meaning was very clear, "Boss, you want to drink?"

“Something serious seems to have happened on the island.”

Gerta was the second to speak, "Yesterday, the guards came and told us not to leave the dock."

"And Uncle Senfa and Uncle Lu Ting, they also came several times to see you, but we refused them on the grounds that it was not convenient for you to meet guests now." Yafuso followed.

"Shenba and I want to help find you, but they won't let us." Yun Ji said, pointing around.

"I'm fine, just delayed by some unexpected events."

Cheng Lang smiled and said, "Yafuso, please help me get some food. If you haven't eaten yet, bring some more to the conference room. We can have a drink together later."

Cheng Lang walked towards the stern deck as he spoke. "I'm going to take a shower and change clothes first. Great Sage, prepare the oak barrels. I'll pour you some wine later."

"Whoa whoa!"

The goblins cheered jubilantly, holding up their coconut shell helmets, and jumped one after another into the gun deck and then into the cargo hold.

Before Cheng Lang even entered the stern deck, a row of oak barrels specially used for storing wine had been placed on the open deck.

He hurried back to the room and immediately shouted after closing the door, "Magic Mirror, come out."

"Oh! Dear Captain! You are finally back!" The magic mirror's surprised and flattering expression immediately appeared in one of the mirrors.

"Why can't I contact you?" Cheng Lang asked unhappily.

"I am not sure as well"

The magic mirror quickly explained, "At a certain moment, I lost contact with the mirror on your body. Dear Captain, there must be something on your body that is blocking our connection."

"Something that blocks our communication?" Cheng Lang subconsciously thought of the oil lamp.

“There is something”

As he spoke, Cheng Lang untied the cloak tied around his waist and took out the ice core, Vermillion Bird Stone, and the oil lamp that was still not extinguished.

“There’s something wrong with this oil lamp.”

The magic mirror immediately said, "It has obscured your existence. No, not only you, but also the areas illuminated by its light that I cannot see."

"Do you know what it is?" Cheng Lang asked as he walked towards the bathroom.

"Let me think about it. I'm sure I know it. Let me think about it."

As the magic mirror chanted, it moved from the mirror in the room to the mirror in the bathroom blocked by the curtain.

"Oh! I remember now!"

The magic mirror shouted in surprise, "This is the light of the Queen's shelter ship! Captain! Respected, honorable Captain! This is the light of the Queen's shelter ship!"

"What is that?" Cheng Lang asked while washing the sea water off his body.

"The Queen of the Sea is Poseidon's first wife. She is a very kind sea monster."

The magic mirror explained, "It is said that the Queen of the Sea created a ship lantern to protect the weak sirens and humans at sea. Even Poseidon cannot notice the area covered by the lantern."

"So it's also armor?" Cheng Lang asked a stupid question.

"There was no armor in that era."

The magic mirror explained, "But that ship lantern is no less powerful than the armor. If we hang this lantern on our ship, even with Poseidon's curse, the Sirens will no longer notice our presence."

"How big an area can that small flame cover?" Cheng Lang couldn't help but say.

“It’s not covered with light.”

The magic mirror said, "If it's just hung on a person, it can only cover a small area. But if it's hung on a ship, it will at least cover the same area as the sea fog we summoned."

"So exaggerated?" Cheng Lang asked in surprise.

"If the shrouded sailors, ship's heart, or the protected sirens or humans are willing to donate a small amount of blood as lamp oil, it can completely cover the donor's scent at sea."

The magic mirror said excitedly, "Of course, it can only conceal the breath, but it cannot make you invisible."

"But we can," Cheng Lang said subconsciously.

"Yes, we can."

The magic mirror said excitedly, "Dear Captain, you must have spent a lot of money to buy this precious ship lantern, right?"

"Forehead"

Cheng Lang grinned, "Actually, I didn't spend any money, I picked it up." As he said that, Cheng Lang briefly recounted his experience of attending the auction.

“Not many people know about the sheltering ship lights behind the sea.”

The Magic Mirror's tone was filled with doubt. "It's not an armor, so even an armor refiner might not be able to recognize it. I'm already curious about who wants to get this ship lantern and what they want to do with it."

"No matter who it is, let's talk about the other two things first." After taking a quick shower, Cheng Lang wrapped himself in a bath towel and left the bathroom and walked towards the changing room.

"The ice core is indeed as the auctioneer said. As long as a cup of Poseidon's blood is poured into it, it can continuously release low temperatures. But in reality, no one would do that."

The magic mirror said, "Even without the blood of Poseidon, the ice core you brought back can continue to release low temperatures for at least six months.

We can always buy another one later. On the island near the Polar Sea, an ice core of this size is only worth one gold coin at most."

"Is it a loss?"

Cheng Lang muttered indifferently, then asked, "Where's the other piece?"

"As you guessed, it is indeed a piece of Vermilion Bird stone, a specialty of the Vermilion Bird Islands, and it contains a complete Vermilion Bird image."

The magic mirror exclaimed, "A piece of Vermilion Bird Stone this large would have sold for at least five thousand gold coins in the capitals of the six kingdoms of the Xinghai Continent. I'm talking about the price a hundred years ago."

"So expensive?" Cheng Lang asked in surprise.

"Having a complete Zhuying can continuously release light and a small amount of warmth."

The magic mirror explained, "Three hundred years ago, the gunpowder magazines of many royal flagships were illuminated by Vermilion Bird Stone. However, as Vermilion Bird Stone became less and less common, it gradually became a jewel worn by women."

“As long as there is no loss, it’s fine”

Cheng Lang had already changed into a clean set of clothes while he was talking. "Did anything happen during the two days I was away?"

"Apart from several visits from your friends Senfa and Mr. Luting, nothing unexpected happened."

At this point, the magic mirror changed the subject and said, "It's the beautiful Miss Yun Ji who seems to be exceptionally agile."

Hearing this, Cheng Lang looked at the newly hung mirror in the dressing room.

Although there was no sound in the mirror, it recorded very clearly how Yun Ji, who was originally on the open-air bridge at the stern, flexibly grabbed a vine that served as a cable and swung to the open-air deck. She then used the momentum to do a forward roll and ran into the forecastle in the blink of an eye.

“It was the guards knocking on the door.”

The magic mirror explained, and at the same time, the mirror switched to the scene of Yafuso running down from the second deck at the bow with her skirt lifted up, and then running into the forecastle. This little girl was far less agile than Yun Ji.

"Anything else?" Cheng Lang asked without comment. The fact that Yun Ji was put in such a heavy set of armor after being captured made him expect that she would be very agile.

"The vine goblins were resurrected this morning, at the cost of using up all the wine and beer."

The magic mirror thought for a moment and added, "The elven healing potion is much more effective on elves than on humans, so Shenba recovered very quickly. He is almost fully recovered."

"The ship's lantern behind the sea can be hung anywhere, right?"

As Cheng Lang spoke, he had already walked into the compartment of the stairs, fastened the belt containing the boat bottle and other items to his body, and then picked up the boat bottle containing fruit wine.

"Of course, it's okay even if I hang it here."

The magic mirror reminded, "Before that, you can ask everyone to contribute a little blood as lamp oil. Only a few drops are enough, and the effect will be better this way."

"Alright"

As Cheng Lang spoke, he picked up the shelter ship light and left the captain's bedroom. He went up to the open deck and filled the oak barrels with fruit wine with boat bottles while the vine goblins were waiting eagerly.

Without waiting for him to leave, the goblins took off their coconut shell helmets and started drinking. Cheng Lang walked up and entered the conference room where a lot of sumptuous meals were already served.

Placing the oil lamp on the table, Cheng Lang deliberately said, "This oil lamp needs blood to maintain its lighting, so I need everyone to voluntarily donate a few drops of blood."

'Just a few drops of blood'

Gerta nonchalantly picked up the knife and wiped it on the tip of his finger. "Where did it drop?"

"Aren't you worried about the consequences?" Cheng Lang said as he unscrewed a lid on the edge of the oil lamp.

“You don’t have to go through so much trouble.”

As Gerta spoke, he stretched out his finger and let drops of blood drip into the oil lamp.

At the same time, Yafuso frowned, closed her eyes, and wiped her fingers with a dinner knife.

Not slower than her, the big crybaby named Shenba also cut a cut on his hand.

Shaking her head helplessly, Yun Ji also picked up the dinner knife.

"Don't you two think too much about it?" Cheng Lang said, and also picked up the dinner knife and gently wiped it on his fingers.

"That's the shelter ship light behind the sea"

Yun Ji said, "As long as I provide some blood, it can help conceal its aura. Why should I refuse such a good thing?"

"how do you know?"

The person who asked this question was not Cheng Lang, but Yun Ji's younger brother Shenba.

"Left in Dad's Notes"

Yun Ji explained, "When our father was alive, he always tried his best to hide my brother and me. He found the record of the Sea Queen's sheltering ship lamp in the royal library of the Elven Principality."

"Are your parents royal?" Gerta asked in surprise.

"I'm just the administrator of the Royal Library, responsible for organizing the books and maintaining hygiene."

As Yun Ji spoke, she stretched out her finger and squeezed a few drops of blood into the oil lamp, and suggested, "Captain, you can ask your Vine Golem sailors and the ship's heart to contribute some blood as well, and their aura will also be concealed.

Frankly speaking, when I saw the light of the shelter ship, I didn’t want to leave the ship anymore. My brother and I might be safer on this ship than in the pirate city.”

"You also know Vine Goblin?" Cheng Lang was even more surprised.

"The most important thing my father left me is knowledge," Yun Ji answered while sucking the tiny wound on her fingertips.

“You are always welcome to stay.”

As Cheng Lang spoke, he also dripped a few drops of blood into the oil lamp, then took out a tube of elf healing potion and smashed it on a plate.

"You are such a luxurious captain"

Gerta sighed, scooped a small amount of medicine with a spoon, and then pressed his injured finger into the spoon.

"It's indeed luxurious," said Yafuso, but it didn't stop her from following suit.

Following the example of the other person, Cheng Lang scooped some blood with a spoon and poured it on the wound on his finger. He casually picked up a piece of hot bread and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he took a knife and ran onto the open deck impatiently, calling on the gorillas who were drinking to line up and contribute a few drops of blood each.

Finally, he ran into the ventricle and poured some heart blood into the oil lamp. He then hung the lamp, which did not seem to become much brighter, directly in the ventricle.

When he returned to the conference room, Yafuso had already poured a glass of fragrant fruit wine for everyone, including herself.

"To celebrate the return of our captain," Gerta said, "I propose a toast."

"cheers!"

Everyone, including Cheng Lang, cheered and drank the fruit wine in their glasses.

Thus began the first dinner party on the Valkyrie, and the five crew members, including the captain, were toasting each other and drinking happily.

As for everything outside the closed dock, what does it have to do with them?
Of course, just because they think so doesn’t mean that Senfa and Mr. Lu Ting think so too.

"Do you think the chaos at Pier 12 these past two days has anything to do with our friends?"

In the not-so-spacious captain's cabin of the Flamingo armed merchant ship, Senfa lowered his voice and asked Mr. Lu Ting who had been invited.

"Is this important?" Lu Ting asked back.

"I heard the auction house suffered huge losses."

Senfa whispered, "Not only did many people die, but dozens of treasures that were to be auctioned were also stolen, including over ten pieces of armor alone!"

"So what do you want to say?" Mr. Lu Ting asked with a smile.

“I didn’t imply anything.”

Senfa said, "But after meeting our friends, my experiences these days are more colorful than those of the past few decades, Mr. Lu Ting. I even began to yearn for the life of a pirate."

"Many captains choose to become pirates because they are addicted to the huge gains brought by plundering."

Mr. Luting calmly advised, "But the vast majority were eventually hanged, Senfa. I'm not trying to stop you from becoming a pirate, but I hope you'll consider the consequences carefully before making this decision."

“I’m just saying that.”

Senfa murmured longingly, "It would be great if I could bring those stolen items from the auction back to Furnace Port and sell them. I'm sure they'll fetch a higher price than here."

"Wake up"

Lu Ting helplessly reminded, "Senfa, we must leave here as soon as possible."

"I think so too"

Senfa whispered, “All the artillery that can be sold has been sold, and we really should leave as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the guns here are sold for one-fifth less than at Pier 17, and we haven’t made any money on the spoils.”

“We have gained a lot.”

Lu Ting reminded him again, "Let's purchase supplies and goods tonight. I've received news that the ban will be lifted by tomorrow night at the latest. We will leave immediately then."

"With our friends?" Senfa asked.

"It would be best if he could provide some cover for us," Lu Ting said with a smile.

"In that case, I'll go to their shipyard tomorrow morning to take a look." Senfa made the decision without thinking.

　I wish you all a monthly salary of tens of millions in the new year, with girls all around you, a stack of property certificates in your hands, a basket of car keys, and membership in all the pornographic websites.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)