Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 177 - 14 Lurking Shadows
Chapter 177: Chapter 14 Lurking Shadows
The sailors of the Red Flag Gang crowded onto the deck, pointing at the surging white fish bridge and jabbering away excitedly, their faces flushed with excitement.
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“Do you know what ‘Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea’ means?”
Cha Xiaodao asked.
After pondering for a long time, Li Yan replied, “It’s a miracle. It probably lasts about a day each time it appears. Large fleets of assorted ships come to try their luck, and occasionally, an older generation sailor will have experienced it. It’s the most famous legend in the South Seas.”
“Details?”
“I don’t understand either, that’s all there is in Tianbao’s memory.”
As the two talked, the fleet shaped like red arrows began to cross through this bizarre white arch.
“Relax, this is considered a good sign in Tianbao’s memory.”
“Look at the human head on that pole. Do you believe it yourself?”
The two stared intently at the translucent white carp leaping over their heads and necks, ignoring the blinding sunlight above.
Just as the Spirit of the Duck passed through the fish bridge, Li Yan’s blood surged for a moment, and he knitted his brows, reflexively clenching his fist, feeling a cold touch flowing from his lower abdomen to his limbs and bones.
The Power of Gu Huo Bird.
The cold touch neutralized the agitation in his blood, warming Li Yan’s body, and judging by the look on Cha Xiaodao’s face, their experiences were similar.
At that moment, a continuous stream of admiration and cheers came from the deck.
A sailor with a red headscarf ripped off his bandage; his chest had a wound as wide as a pinky finger, inflicted by an official soldier, but now the wound had vanished, leaving only the skin looking a bit more tender than the surrounding area, almost unnoticeable.
It wasn’t just him; over a hundred pirates wounded in the Naval Battle of Humen had their injuries disappear, including old battle scars, persistent bone pains from sailing the seas for years, and bruises on their bodies—all completely healed.
These Red Flag pirates, who dared to fight to the death against the officials without flinching even when slashed, now kneeled thumpingly on the deck, bowing devoutly in the direction of the fish bridge. Some were even moved to tears.
Below the calm sea surface, and above the mast of the Spirit of the Duck, several Lord of the Xiang River birds flapped their wings, overlooking the “red arrows” sailing in the waters.
Suddenly, an immensely huge shadow appeared beneath the “red arrows,” revealed for just the blink of an eye before vanishing once more.
All of this was deeply imprinted in Li Yan’s eyes through the Lord of the Xiang River birds.
Four tower ships and two large ships formed a check-mark shape on the sea, stretching about two hundred meters from end to end, but the shadow could envelop the entire “check-mark” and still have a large surplus. Li Yan estimated the shadow to be at least a kilometer long.
After contemplating for a while, Li Yan had the Lord of the Xiang River birds fly even higher, the small, black birds soaring towards the sky, expanding his field of view.
The red “check-mark” had become indistinct, but the vast darkness enveloping Li Yan’s fleet still occasionally surfaced.
Wait a minute!
It’s not just one!
Gazing into the distance, black shadows of various sizes covered the sea, easily numbering in the hundreds! They spread as far as the eye could see, and that original shadow was now barely noticeable among the many others. Heaven only knew what kind of creatures lurked beneath these shadows.
Probably sea beasts.
Li Yan tried to calm himself.
Ahead of the red arrows, a shadow gradually darkened, and basin-sized bubbles rose to the surface with a gurgling sound.
Using the view from the Lord of the Xiang River birds to see everything clearly, Li Yan’s pupils contracted, “Turn the rudder! Man the cannons!”
Many pirates had not yet reacted, but the red headscarf on the mast, responsible for signaling, responded the fastest.
Flags fluttered, whistles sounded long and clear.
The sailors of the Red Flag Gang, seasoned in naval battles, now displayed astonishing coordination as six warships nimbly pivoted to line up abreast, with no fewer than sixty gaping cannon mouths on the port side aimed forward.
The sea breeze grew fiercer, waves of whitecaps rose and fell, crashing against the ships, the black pointed tops splitting the froth, dark shadows completely enveloping Li Yan and the rest!
Black flame flags, black masts, black sails, black tower decks, black oars. War grids and battlements were arrayed on both sides, covered with holes for swords and guns.
The four-tiered tower ship moved with the waves, bringing with it an air of irresistible majesty.
Below the water was not a sea beast, but a ship!
Looking closer, one could see a massive gash spanning the hull of this enormous tower ship, its dragon bone exposed, many parts of the ship already decayed and moldy, dark green seaweed covering the surface, with yellow fish and shells hopping and skipping across the deck.
[Cloud View]: ???
Note: Only a fraction of the fantastical South Seas is revealed to you when the Heavenly Mother crosses the sea.
It took a while before the sailor beside Li Yan gathered his nerve to approach.
“Tianbao, when the Heavenly Mother crosses the sea, we mustn’t use firearms, or we will incur her displeasure. Look…”
Li Yan said nothing.
Cha Xiaodao asked, “Shall we go up for a look?”
Li Yan gave him a glance, “Do you know what’s up there?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why go up?”
“What if there’s something good to salvage?”
“You also said ‘what if’.”
Li Yan pointed at the black tower ship, “It’s obviously sinister, why ask for death?”
After saying that he waved his hand, “Go around!”
…
The Red Flag Gang’s ships quickly bypassed the massive black tower ship and continued on towards Lantau Island. Cha Xiaodao still couldn’t forget the Cloud View, not understanding why the usually fearless Li Yan had chickened out this time.
Li Yan was impulsive, but not irrational. He was still unclear about what the event of the Heavenly Mother crossing the sea entailed, and “Yan Fu” was marked with ????—it was not a wise choice to blindly step onto a mysterious ship that had surfaced from the sea.
The advantage Patriarch Lv’s Notes had given him were sturdy ships, powerful cannons, and fearless sailors, but these were no help in Li Yan’s exploration of the tower ship.
After all, life is singular. Even a valiant man like Li Yan occasionally felt a profound terror and a sense of loss on the vast expanse of the sea.
Most importantly, in the gaze of the Sudu Bird, those dark shadows seemed almost boundless. Li Yan had a premonition that he would encounter many more enigmatic situations in the future.
All along the way, bizarre incidents had been continuous. While the fleet navigated the sea, they would occasionally hit old wooden barrels drifting from who knows where, mostly empty or filled with rotten seaweed. But occasionally, they contained treasures. Once, they found a barrel full of silver with an old seal no one recognized.
Another time, inside a barrel was a fresh green shell, which Li Yan pried open with his Ring Dragon Sword to find a black pearl the size of a fist inside. Invaluable and also suitable as an offering to the Lord of the Xiang River.
Here, Li Yan also checked the content of the offerings for the Lord of the Xiang River, which simply put, was “sacrificial jade and silk.”
Meats such as cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, or luxury items such as jade, pearls, gold, could all serve as offerings to the Lord of the Xiang River.
