Comprehensive network wizard, magic emperor.

Chapter 42: Those who go out to sea, hurricane is coming

Ever since they met once at the lighthouse, the guests from Hongdu often mentioned the night watchman. As the landlord, Viscount Pearl also wanted to make friends with the doctor, so he appointed his butler and servants to invite him.

The nobleman's carriage visited the cape several times, but failed to invite guests.

The lighthouse keeper either disappeared during the day or was too busy treating the townspeople to spare any time. Even if the butler, doing his duty, stayed until sunset to convey the viscount's invitation, he was still politely declined.

Viscount Pearl waited for news at his manor in the southern suburbs of Stone Tower Town. It was really frustrating that the butler returned empty-handed. After two or three such encounters, he lost interest in making friends with this arrogant doctor.

Although he was the lord of this land, he lived in Hongdu all year round and was not familiar with his hometown. Although he had a housekeeper and servants to take care of the manor, he could only return a few times a year.

He was more surprised than anyone else when news of the shipwreck coins being found in Stone Tower came to light. He had returned this time at the request of a friend to look after the noble lady who had initiated the treasure hunt.

Although he found the news of the treasure in his territory strange and magical, Viren Pearl still embarked on a journey back home to explore the mystery.

After arriving in Shita Town, they followed the clues and found the pawnshop on the old street. They successfully learned from the cautious owner that he had collected the box of ancient coins from a down-and-out old fisherman in a nearby village, along with an old hand-drawn nautical chart.

I still remember that boss in the pawnshop seemed clueless when asked anything.

There is no explanation as to why an old fisherman would have precious gold coins, nor what secrets this nautical chart points to, and even less explanation as to why this old fisherman would sell the precious antiques and nautical charts.

But precisely because they knew nothing about anything, it gave buyers a lot of room for imagination.

After buying the treasure map from the reluctant owner at a high price, Lady Hongdu began to weave stories in the carriage.

She believed that the old fisherman, when he was young, went out to sea and encountered a storm and was blown to an unknown island. He discovered treasure in a shipwreck and swam all the way back to his hometown. Only a box of ancient coins was left on him. He wanted to return to the nameless deserted island so he drew a nautical chart. When he was old, his children encountered misfortune and needed money, so he reluctantly sold the things to black market merchants.

Although everyone in her group thought the lady had an overactive imagination, they couldn't help but believe it a bit. The archaeology professor even corrected the logical loopholes in her story.

If the old fisherman had children, he would never sell the treasure map, but pass the secret to his descendants.

The professor and the student chatted more and more freely, and made the story more vivid.

Even though they know it is fiction, irrational humans are willing to believe the stories they weave. The more effort they put into the false stories, the more real they seem.

The archaeology professor had confirmed that the nautical chart was an old artifact, not a recent forgery. This meant that the shipwreck treasure, whose authenticity was unknown, was already beckoning from the depths of the ocean.

Viscount Pearl was also slightly tempted. What's more, the island indicated in the nautical chart was not far away. It was just off the ocean current route and far away from the fishing grounds. There were countless similar isolated islands on the sea. If you were lucky, you could go back and forth in three to five days. If you were unlucky, it would be nothing more than a circular journey on the sea.

What could happen?
The Viscount suddenly remembered the anxious face of the pawnshop owner on Old Street and his goodbyes before leaving. He couldn't help but shout, "Be careful of the hurricane."

"How do you know a hurricane is coming?" the Hongdu lady at the time asked curiously.

"Well, it's just a hunch. Maybe it's the old man's guidance." The businessman smiled awkwardly. "So it's best not to go out to sea in the near future."

Now is indeed the peak hurricane season. If you want to be safe, you can plan your adventure in winter or spring.

Lady Hongdu was a person who listened to advice and resisted the urge to set sail for adventure immediately.

However, the news of the treasure map spread quietly.

Perhaps the fact that the Viscount and his party spared no expense to purchase the original map gave the explorers great confidence. In less than three days, almost everyone had a replica of the treasure map.

No one knew how much money the pawnshop owner had made; in any case, he didn't show up at the Thursday gathering of the elderly religious followers. When the tourists from out of town went to look for him again, the pawnshop shelves were empty, and his family had vanished. Some townspeople even witnessed the pawnshop owner taking his wife and children out to sea in a boat. No one knew he had absconded with the money; everyone's first thought was that he had gone to steal treasure.

So the influx of passengers flocked to the ports and docks.

After nearly a week of bustling activity, Shita Town returned to its former quietude. Some were reluctant to part with the tourism economy's flotsam, while others felt it was best for these restless individuals to depart.

Viscount Pearl and others were worried that the treasure would be taken away first, and seeing this, they wavered in their initial caution and decided to go to Jinbei City to take a yacht out to sea. After all, it was only a three or four-day voyage, and encountering a hurricane was only a small probability event.

The mayor, however, advised the lord and the distinguished guests to think twice.

"A hurricane may really be coming, my lord. It's not suitable to go out to sea now. Wait another half a month."

"Why do you say so too? Could it be that this is also the guidance of the old man?" Pearl looked surprised.

"The Night's Watch said so."

At the gathering of the elders yesterday, Thursday, the night watchman appeared in the church and all the parishioners stood up to greet him when they saw him.

Unlike the outside world's impression that the lighthouse keeper is just an exotic doctor, as insiders, they have experienced and witnessed the actions of extraordinary people, and their attitude towards Limbaugh is even more respectful.

At the church members' exchange meeting, the night watchman spoke very little and just listened to others' speeches.

However, before the meeting ended, he emphasized to remind everyone to notify relatives, friends and neighbors as much as possible, not to go out to sea in the next few days, to prepare enough food, firewood and drinking water, and to be prepared for flood prevention.

Lady Hongdu couldn't help laughing as she listened to the mayor repeat the lighthouse keeper's words. "Could he be a fortune teller?"

The mayor replied timidly but seriously, "Madam, the Night's Watch survived the shipwreck thanks to the old man's favor. His favor has made him extraordinary. His words should be taken seriously."

"But why does he always avoid my invitations? Do the old man's followers dislike the Holy Father's followers?" Viscount Pearl was obviously quite resentful about the repeated unsuccessful invitations, and he also found his words irritating.

In the end, they chose to take a carriage to Jinbei City and go out to sea on a yacht a day later.

On Sunday morning, strong winds passed through.

The atmosphere was as cold as the mint scent in the nose. From southwest to north, the blue sky was occupied by the iron curtain of dark clouds that slowly advanced. Within a few hours, there was no sunlight. Only a few golden rays could be seen in the distant northeastern sky. The dark land of the archipelago was as bleak as a widow.

A hurricane was approaching, bringing with it the plentiful moisture of the tropical ocean, and it would descend with a furious thud that night. The atmosphere howled mournfully, sending pellets of water splattering against the windowsills and roof tiles. The houses of Stone Tower Town lay silent as a chicken in the torrential downpour.

Pedestrians hurried along the streets, huddled in their homes, livestock confined to their pens, the air thick with sticky, water droplets threatening to drip directly onto the skin. Conversations within the family became shouts, words nearly drowned in the cracks of wind and rain.

The wind at the cape drove the waves high, and the water splashed almost to the lighthouse wall. The accumulated water in the yard formed a dark pond. The white lighthouse emitted bright light, piercing the ocean swallowed by the inky night.

The lighthouse keeper is at ease with his situation. The thick walls block out wind and rain, and the tightly closed doors and windows even have gaps covered with a layer of iron, preventing any water from getting in.

He took his usual neuron-activating tincture and read under the lamp, the stew pot bubbling in the kitchen, the pungent bitterness of the grass seeping into the pale putty of the wall.

The hurricane came, and through the bricks and glass, it laughed warmly and wildly at the tiny humans hiding in the tower.

"(Magic words) Hello." Lin Bo greeted his noisy friend without looking up, and gently turned to the next page of the book.

(End of this chapter)