From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

No one on deck could answer for a moment. Then Edmund took out a mechanical stethoscope from his coat and walked up to Moreau.

"Captain, this equipment can amplify the vibrations transmitted through the steel plates and pipes. I also heard a similar bell sound last night, and at the time I judged that the source was probably in the lower deck at the stern."

Moro glanced at him: "Why wasn't it reported last night?"

"The sound only appeared once at the time, but now the bell is clearer, and we should be able to find the source by following the aftershocks."

Captain Morrow immediately summoned two sailors: "You two follow this Mr. Cole. Wherever the bells are coming from, bring them onto the deck or destroy them."

Edmund and two sailors quickly entered the cabin. Once the listening stone was attached to the bulkhead, the sounds inside the ship immediately amplified.

The collision of engines, pipes, and cargo caused a great deal of disruption, but the aftershocks from the recent bell ringing were still clearly audible.

The three men began moving from the lower deck at the stern. Edmund kept pressing his ear against the surface, changing direction based on the strength of the echo, while the two sailors explained to him which cabins were nearby on each deck.

The lingering sound of the bells traveled along the ship's structure, causing Edmund to misjudge the direction several times. After a series of twists and turns, they finally arrived at a row of crew cabins below the bridge, right next to the cargo hold entrance.

Edmund stopped in front of the third door, pressed his ear against the metal door panel, and felt a spiritual energy slowly gathering inside the cabin.

One of the sailors recognized the doorplate: "This is the first mate's cabin; he's still on the bridge."

Another sailor reached out and pulled the door handle; the hatch was already locked from the outside.

"I don't have time to go back and get the spare key, I'll check the door lock mechanism."

Edmund pulled a thin metal piece from his pocket and inserted it into the keyhole. The two sailors assumed he was about to pry open an old-fashioned mechanical lock, but Edmund had already put his skill into action.

The seal was no longer allowed to be maintained, the latch obediently retracted under the action of the unlocking technique, and the hatch was then pushed open by Edmund.

The empty room was tidy, and the unusual spiritual fluctuations were coming from a rectangular wooden box under the bed.

Two sailors dragged the box to an open space, and Edmund used the same trick to open the brass lock. The three men saw a small brass ship's clock inside the box.

The clock face is oxidized, and the edges bear traces of seawater corrosion. Even without anyone touching it, the internal clappers are slowly oscillating.

Edmund sensed unusual spiritual fluctuations, and his information visions appeared at the opportune moment.

[The ship clock that lost its port]

[A damaged navigational instrument lost in the outer anchorage of Dusk Harbor. It would ring automatically near certain sea areas and in certain foggy conditions, reporting the location of its carrier to the old port. As long as the bell continued to ring, the pilot could continue to track the ship in the dense fog.]

"This clock might contain a device that attracts those things," Edmund noted down the situation at Dusk Harbor, offering an explanation that the two sailors could understand.

He then grabbed the wooden base and slammed the entire ship's clock onto the exposed steel deck inside the cabin.

A heavy thud echoed in the small room as the brass bell detached from its wooden base, its internal clapper and pivot breaking apart simultaneously.

A layer of grayish-white sealing wax hidden in the crevice cracked into several pieces, and the gathering spiritual energy quickly dissipated.

As the bell broke, shouts of joy from the crew soon came from the deck.

Upon hearing this, the two sailors hurried back to the upper deck, saying, "We'll go back and report to the captain first," before leaving their cabins one after the other, unaware of the metal fragments scattered on the deck.

Edmund, however, saw a metal object fall out of the broken wax seal; it looked like an old medal or something similar with rust on it.

He casually put it away before being the last to leave.

After the three returned to the deck, the Grey Swallow's course had stabilized. Edmund could only see the pilot peering out from the edge of the fog before the Grey Swallow left him behind.

As the Grey Swallow sailed away, the outlines of the lighthouse and buildings became blurred, and the pilot boat and the non-existent port were swallowed up by the thick fog.

Everything gradually returned to normal, and about half an hour later, the observer at the bow saw the edge of the thick fog and a few faint stars reappeared overhead.

When the Grey Swallow sailed out of the abnormal sea area, it had already deviated from its original course by a certain distance.

Captain Morrow rechecked the star positions and nautical charts, ordered a course adjustment, and arranged for the crew to inspect all equipment and the ship's structure.

Only after confirming there was no obvious damage did he begin to inquire about the source of the bell's sound.

The two sailors explained what had happened in detail, but the first mate, who had been called off the bridge, looked puzzled.

He claimed that he bought the ship's clock from a secondhand dealer in Eagle Harbour and intended to take it back to Prishny to give to his family, unaware of anything unusual about it.

Captain Morrow did not pursue the first mate's responsibility for the time being, but only ordered the damaged ship's clock to be moved into a metal box and handed over to the shipping company for handling after arriving at Cape Loch.

After all, the fact that an ordinary-looking secondhand item could attract all sorts of strange occurrences is clearly beyond what an ordinary crew member could have prevented in advance.

After arranging these matters, Mauro took Edmund to the captain's office alone.

A typical seaman's office is not large. Morrow sat down behind the desk, which was slightly narrower than his burly frame, and took out a piece of stationery with the shipping company's logo from the drawer.

"Mr. Cole, whatever that bell was, you did help the Grey Swallow avert an accident. The company has a special reward for passengers who assist in handling shipwrecks and equipment malfunctions, and I will give you a certificate."

He picked up his pen, thought for a moment, and wrote:

"Mr. Adrian Cole is a marine electromechanical equipment technician at North Shore Marine Equipment Trading Company. During the unusual fog encountered by the Grey Swallow, he used his professional equipment to assist in locating and eliminating the source of interference, enabling the ship to restore its compass and communication equipment in a timely manner, thus avoiding deviation and grounding. It is recommended that the company reward him in accordance with the maritime assistance and passenger reward terms."

Captain Morrow signed and stamped the document: "We will arrive in Prishny in two days, after which you can take this certificate to the United Shipping Company office to claim a bonus."

Edmund felt a growing liking for the captain. He didn't care much about the bonus the shipping company would give him; the certificate itself was far more important than any prize money.

Adrian Cole was just an ordinary businessman from abroad, and this certificate was enough to create an opportunity for him to get formal contact with the shipping company.

After leaving the captain's cabin, Edmund returned to his cabin. He first put away the certificate, then took out the old medal hidden inside the lost harbor bell from his pocket.

The obverse of the medal features a laurel wreath standing on a wave, surrounded by several barely discernible star-shaped patterns. The reverse is covered in thick rust, making only a portion of the inscription visible.

Edmund patiently wiped away the surface dirt and then used a fine needle from his toolbox to clean the grooves in the text, gradually revealing the first line of incomplete text.

"The Knights of the Laurel - Western Fleet".

The second line only shows vague traces of the job title and number, but at the bottom, a relatively complete surname is preserved: Schenker.

Edmund stopped what he was doing, thinking of the letters he was carrying from Robert Young and the Earl of Twilight Harbor.

Isn't the current Earl of Twilight Harbor named Edgar von Schenkel?