Brain bloom

But even so, it's still unbelievable.

Dandelion suppressed her doubts and asked a counter-question:

"Very few things can be preserved in the sea indefinitely. Even the finest steel will rust and crumble into rust over time. Let alone a living, breathing corpse. Are you sure it's not just bones?"

"It's true, there are sometimes things like this on the seabed..."

Fu Fu explained to himself:

"Princess, the underwater world is actually very complex. It contains things that ancient creatures and sea lords call ruins. I... I am also a very ancient salt spirit! Naturally, I have seen them..."

"remains?"

"Yes, there's a place on the seabed that looks like a human town, and it really looks like someone lives there. There are piles of corpses, and they haven't decomposed at all..."

Dandelion and the two laborers lowered their breaths and treaded lightly. If the sun hadn't shone on the earth, they would have already turned back. Dandelion asked softly, "You suspect that there's a place like this beneath the crack that was cut open by the forest?"

"Ah."

"You'll know once you go and see for yourself."

Hearing this, Su Dai recalled some rumors. She blinked with one hand, but closed her other hand, indicating that she would not discuss it further. She also agreed with her master's opinion; they would know once they went to see for themselves.

……

Although the small dock was destroyed in the previous battle, it was right next to their house, making everything convenient. According to the distance detected by Fufu, Dandelion could simply stand nearby and use magic to retrieve it, following the indicator lights on Fufu's sign.

Dandelion used natural magic to gather materials from the ruins left by the previous battle, reassembling the broken dock and the fragments of the small wooden boat that should have been moored there. She also temporarily used strong vines to finally piece together a sturdy thing that could float on the sea and looked like a boat.

"I'll have to trouble you two." Dandelion said to the two of them from the shore, "You'll be there to help us retrieve what we've salvaged. My magic isn't that strong, but please be careful."

"I smell adventure. This is the crack where the corpse appeared, right?"

“Let’s ignore the crack for now…let’s salvage it first. But undeniably, your work is dangerous.” Dandelion wasn’t lying, because she couldn’t risk it herself.

"I like."

Su Dai rubbed his hands together and boarded the ship. Aisalia kept her hands on the hilt of her sword and boarded the ship without saying a word.

The sea may appear calm, but everyone knows that the undercurrents are turbulent beneath the surface.

Next, Fufu dived underwater to locate its primary target—the large box—before ascending vertically. Its body, filled with twice its usual amount of seawater, emitted a dazzling light, even in daylight.

The dandelion who was trying to retrieve the dandelion regretted not wearing socks, and Mori had taken the staff back. She could only laboriously cast her underwater nature magic without the staff.

Natural magic ultimately belongs to the earth and is difficult to use in the underwater world. He managed to summon a large Venus flytrap—Fufu was a little afraid of this thing.

Dandelion then used a basic, attribute-neutral magic spell, Solidification, to temporarily provide the Venus flytrap with defense before finally getting it into the water.

Thus, without finding any so-called bodies, they successfully retrieved the two boxes that were their main targets and pulled them back to shore.

The dark wood was incredibly sturdy; even the passage of time and the erosion of seawater hadn't damaged the two boxes by an inch. Dandelion hesitated for a moment, not immediately investigating the crack, but prioritizing her main objective and deciding to open the two boxes first.

The pirates seemed to think they were invincible, as the chest wasn't locked, but rather secured with snaps.

Dandelion opened the large box first. There wasn't much to say about that. Apart from some materials whose purpose she couldn't figure out, the rest were treasures. A rough estimate put the total value at around one hundred gold coins—which made Su Dai and the expressionless man gasp in shock.

But Dandelion, having seen and experienced much, restrained herself and didn't show any signs of poverty.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, the small box was opened. Inside, instead of gilded treasure, lay what was clearly the most valuable item on the entire ghost ship.

Volume 1 #094 Eden Bank (Second Update)

Inside the small box were two scrolls of nautical charts written on top-quality parchment and then magically solidified. There were also several thick, ancient books, clearly frequently opened and filled with handwritten notes.

Everyone knows that the ocean is vast and boundless, full of opportunities and risks—but it can also yield rich rewards.

The legendary ghost ship had been adventuring on this sea for a very, very long time. The things the ship had accumulated through countless adventures were now before them, somewhat diluting the gloom brought by the corpses.

"Can we borrow them?" Su Dai, a slave of a lower status, asked hastily, as she was also aware of their value.

"It's not impossible, but I have conditions."

"Oh? I can definitely keep it a secret, Toka who keeps his mouth shut... Su Dai, that's me."

"It's not that simple. Anyone can keep a secret," Dandelion said kindly, her eyes and tone equally gentle. "If you see these things, then I will be your final master."

Aisalia tilted her head, not quite understanding, but Su Dai, who was skilled in writing, quickly grasped her master's meaning.

She whispered her interpretation: "To prevent us from telling anyone, if you no longer need our services, you won't sell us off, but... you'll kill us. So, whether we live or die, she will be our final master."

"That's the idea. If you can accept it, then come and see."

Aisalia was the first to answer. She shrugged, turned her back, and took a step back, clearly not wanting to see. This was understandable, as she was a devout believer who did not seek eternal slavery, but rather redemption from suffering.

She still has to serve the coffin bearers and won't waste her life here.

Su Dai's lips were a little dry on her palms, but after hesitating for a long time, she still gave her answer: "I agree. I acknowledge that you are my last master."

"I accept."

The dandelion untied the sail rope attached to it and opened one of the nautical charts—a map of the entire world.

However, the valuable information lies in the checkmarks and crosses above, as well as the markings of various monsters appearing, natural disasters occurring, abnormal weather, and all other things that need attention.

Its value is something even Fufu can probably understand.

This is a safe nautical chart, and it is so detailed that it is astonishing. If it were copied and sold, it could definitely open up more safe routes for maritime merchants, which is of extraordinary significance.

With excitement, Dandelion immediately unfolded the other sheet.

It is also a map, but it is a map that records the voyage, showing the route taken by the Love and Peace ship at sea.

At first glance, the Love and Peace ship seems to be chasing or searching for something. But what's puzzling is that, despite its voyages covering all the world's oceans and possibly spanning over a century, it still hasn't reached its destination.

"It seems this ship is just sailing around at sea for fun and doesn't have a real purpose?" Su Dai said.

"Then we won't bother to record it on the map."

"...Then it seems they're looking for something special. Otherwise, it's just some sailor's child scribbling on it."

The child of the ghost? Dandelion smiled, put down the maps, and opened one of the books to look for clues—unexpectedly, it turned out to be the naval logbook written by First Mate Iron Hammer himself. What a coincidence.

This book is very old, with a timeline spanning from hundreds of years ago to the present day. The pages are filled with densely packed text, and First Mate Iron Hammer wrote one chapter almost every month, which he actually did for several hundred years.

Especially in the most recent article, First Mate Iron Hammer said he was going to find a leg, using unprecedentedly passionate language, which made Dandelion, who was both amused and exasperated, quickly skip over it.

As she turned back to the title page, her gaze was suddenly drawn to a tender passage of text—

“I’ve been dead for a long time and don’t remember being alive. So, when will we souls disappear, when will we leave the adventure? I don’t know, but I wish it could go on forever… Even if the captain reaches ‘Eden Bank’ and issues the order to disband, I still won’t want to disembark. I just want to continue adventuring with her.”

Dandelion felt conflicted, unable to reconcile the person who wrote these words with the pervert who kept demanding her legs.

It's a bit of a shame, because it seems that the adventure of First Mate Iron Hammer and that ghost ship has been brought to an end by Mori's arrow.

If you have the chance, return this book, full of memories and affection, to him. Before he fades away, reading about those memories is better than crying over the wreckage of the Love and Peace.

"This is...something from that ghost ship?" Su Dai asked softly upon seeing this.

"you know?"

“I am a writer and have collected a lot of material, so I do know this old story that no one cares about—it happened hundreds of years ago.”

"A ghost ship?"

"Yes."

Su Dai's lips, held in her hand, slowly began to tell the story.

"The greatest adventurer of that era lost her entire ship's crew to a contagious disease. Before she died, she made a deal with the devil, leaving her soul behind to become one with the ship and continue her adventures."

When the dilapidated ship once again raised its blood-red sails, the souls of its companions suddenly revived, following beneath the sails. Thus began the adventurous journey of a ghost ship, undaunted by death.

"It seems my family has ruined a legend."

With a helpless smile, Dandelion lowered her head and flipped through a few more pages, discovering that a place name was repeatedly mentioned: "Eden Bank." It seemed that this was what the Love and Peace ship had been searching for throughout its centuries-long adventures on Earth.

But what's really puzzling is that Eden Bank...

What is Eden? This is a completely foreign concept to Dandelion. And what is a bank? That's even more baffling. Literally, perhaps it's a place for trading metals?

Unfamiliar place names, not existing in the common language, are more like loanwords.

It seems that when I return this memoir to First Mate Hammer, I can ask him about it; Dandelion is very interested in this kind of secret.

……

After searching through all these things, it took another hour or so. With the help of Fufu and natural magic, they had basically scooped up all the small items on the seabed and harvested about thirty gold coins worth of stuff. It was quite a good return.

However, beneath the surface of the sea, there remains a lingering shadow—the crack.

"Let's investigate a bit more."

Perhaps it was the substantial profits that made Dandelion less wary. She made her decision and turned to the reliable Salt Sprite.

"Fufu, I'll let the plants stay with you and investigate the surrounding area."

"But...but I'm so scared."

"Nothing to be afraid of! It's just a corpse. Your speed is unparalleled, and the sea is your home." Dandelion gave a thumbs up, put on a smile, and revealed her bright little tiger teeth.

Fu Fu retorted, dissatisfied: "Princess is lying. You yourself are clearly afraid."

After thinking for a few seconds, Dandelion suddenly crossed her arms, her voice tinged with envy—

"Because I don't have your speed. Besides, how many years have you spent in the ocean? Right? Compared to you, I'm as powerless as seaweed, I'd definitely be afraid—but you're different! You are a salt spirit! A gift from the sea! Can a corpse compare to you! Go, this is something only you can do!"

"Then...then I'll go?"

"Work hard."

……

(Two chapters for now. I'll post as much as I can today. Sorry, I don't have any drafts saved up.)

Volume 1 #095 The Ladder (Third Update)

Knowing that he was the bravest little guy here, Fufu shouldered the mission given to him by the princess and finally mustered up the courage that seemed to have come from nowhere, and decided to go into the sea to explore again.

Neither corpses nor strange things could threaten her—she encouraged herself.

Whether they went to see it or not, the crack would still exist on the seabed, right next to their winery. Fu Fu didn't want to feel uneasy while wandering around at night; she was actually quite timid—hmm? She suddenly felt a little confused.

Why is it that someone who is usually very timid now has the courage to go on adventures?