The Informal Tomb Raiding Diary: She is the occupant of the tomb!-Chapter 185 - 186: Peace and Safety to Good People
I’m curious why the crew fear its singing; surely they don’t understand its ’language’.
This humanoid creature spots the beef I’ve taken out and emits a string of syllables.
Its voice is extremely pleasant, nothing in this world can produce such a wonderful, enchanting sound.
I place the beef into a basket on a crab’s back, this thing resembling a ’vegetable basket’ seems to be made of coral.
The white-haired singer points to the clothes on it; the skirt is torn and old, looking like it’ll soon fall apart into rags.
I nod and take it to the ship’s laundry room, where there’s a stack of clean sheets. I take scissors and cut a hole in the middle of a sheet.
I pick up the sheet to demonstrate to it, draping it down from the top of my head, transforming it into a large shawl, easy to put on and take off, and if it feels too plain, it can be accessorized with a belt at the waist, with seaweed, electric eels, or sea cucumbers adorned with jellyfish blossoms, anything goes.
The white-haired singer is very satisfied and emits strings of beautiful syllables. I escort it out of the cabin, and before parting, it hands me something.
It’s a strand of pearls connected by a gold chain. I don’t decline and accept the necklace, waving goodbye to it.
The large crab carries it back to the sea, leaping into the raging waves, and the strong wind outside sweeps in the rain. I quickly close the cabin door and lock it.
Captain Jack’s broadcast resumes; he calls me to the cockpit. I put the pearl necklace into my pocket and brace myself against the wall, moving to the cockpit.
The ship is shaking violently; Captain Jack repeats his call several times before I go over.
He must have seen me escorting away the white-haired singer from the corridor monitor, thus lifting the alarm.
Chen Qinghan arrives at the cockpit shortly after; Captain Jack calls him to act as a translator.
During these days, Captain Jack has learned to pronounce our names in Chinese. While simple communication is possible, detailed conversations still need translation.
Captain Jack not only saw me escort away the white-haired singer but also saw me taking out beef and sheets, which greatly shocked him because he originally thought I would be eaten by the Sea Demon.
That’s right, he calls the singer ’Sea Demon’ and tells me that thing is very ferocious, it will drag people into the sea and drown them alive.
Captain Jack reassesses me; he says he has tested me, so he is sure I’m not a witch or demon.
I can only fib that I have studied beast language. In ancient Huaxia, there were skilled people who not only could understand insect and beast languages but also command them to do things for them.
I learned beast language from such an expert, but unfortunately, I’m not skilled—only able to understand their language, not command them.
The Sea Demon isn’t human, calling it a beast isn’t far off. It’s a bit like the legendary wild man but smarter than one.
It’s an intelligent creature living in hidden areas of the ocean floor, and its species is on the brink of extinction, with only a few left.
Captain Jack asks me what it said; I think the question is redundant. Simply sending it away with beef and a sheet—what it meant isn’t hard to guess, right?
I don’t want to talk too much with Captain Jack, so I tell him the Sea Demon is collecting a protection fee. In the future, when passing here, remember to throw some food and clothing into the sea, and it won’t come aboard.
I also warn Captain Jack not to try to capture it, or it would anger its entire group, bringing them devastation.
Captain Jack is quite savvy; he says he understands that a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. If food and clothing can solve the problem, keeping his crew safe, he has no reason not to comply.
Captain Jack lets me return to my room to rest directly, without sending anyone to follow me.
Outside the cockpit, Chen Qinghan asks me if I’m really okay.
I chuckle; when he sees my smile, his expression finally relaxes. I pull him back to my room, open the bathroom faucet, and quietly tell him the true situation of the Sea Demon.
Actually, the Sea Demon isn’t here to collect a protection fee; it’s here to beg. Singing in the corridor is just like begging in the subway.
The song’s meaning conveys: Kind humans, have mercy, give some food please; a ruthless tsunami has destroyed my home... and took my legs away, please be kind... a bite or two won’t be too little, a bowl or two won’t be too much... may good people have lifelong peace! 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Chen Qinghan listens to my retelling and shows a half-doubtful expression.
"Really, the singing was so pitiful; that big crab is like its guide-crab and wheelchair."
"Then why does it drown crew members?" Chen Qinghan asks.
"It said those people before not only didn’t give it food but wanted to kill it; it was just coming for a bite to eat, but if not given, why beat it to death? It wants to take them to its home to prove it’s not a liar; it’s truly so poor at home that it can’t even cook a pot."
Chen Qinghan’s mouth hangs open, pauses for a few seconds, then closes. I know it sounds absurd, telling others they’d surely think I’m spinning tall tales.
People have only heard about Sea Demons eating people, bewildering minds; they won’t believe there’s a disabled Sea Demon living on begging and performing.
I didn’t tell Captain Jack the truth because if he believed, knowing Sea Demons are nearing extinction, they’d likely turn around and capture it, dissecting and making it into a specimen.
Maybe after encountering too many greedy Tomb Robbers, I can’t guess human hearts with a pure and kind perspective.
Especially Captain Jack, who comes from the Shield organization; what they do doesn’t associate with goodness.
Chen Qinghan stays silent for a few seconds and says: "As long as you’re okay."
Neither his gaze nor his tone implies perfunctoriness; it seems he’s truly believed what I said.
"You believe such an absurd story?" I blink, teasingly say: "Maybe I’m fooling you?"
Chen Qinghan smirks, "Is there anything more absurd than you standing in front of me and teasing me?"
I’m instantly depressed; yeah, if a zongzi can become a civil servant, why can’t a Sea Demon beg?
But thinking of my gains, my mood brightens immediately～
I take out the necklace, swaying it in front of Chen Qinghan, "Its thank you gift to me, saying it’s a toy picked up on a wrecked ship, given to me to play with."
I suspect more treasures reside on the wrecked ship; just that the Sea Demon doesn’t understand their value. Pearls to it are merely secretions of mollusks, and it doesn’t know what gold signifies, so it treats the pearl necklace as a small toy.
The Sea Demon told me many things; perhaps it hasn’t chatted with anyone for too long. Finally meeting a ’kind person’ like me who can understand its speech, it couldn’t resist opening up.
Despite its full head of white hair, resembling an unrefined White Bone Lady, it’s actually a blossoming maiden among Sea Demons.
A childhood tsunami destroyed its home; its parents also died in that catastrophe.
It survived luckily but became disabled, unable to hunt, living off seaweed and begging.
