Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 144 The Call of the Dead

The shipwreck dismantling workshop is not located in this tribal settlement consisting of igloos, but rather in another location enclosed by ice walls, right next to the settlement.

The ice walls here are as tall as two stories, so much so that before entering, Cheng Lang and Shenba both thought it was a small iceberg.

Inside this ice wall, rows of dilapidated sailboats, covered in ice, are placed one after another on the ice surface.

Most of them had their planks removed from various parts of the hull, leaving only the keel, frame, and mast lying on the ground.

Directly in front of the bow, in a shed supported by sails and open to the elements, were neatly arranged the goods that the bear-tribe boatmen had left over.

There would naturally be no gold or silver coins or gold and silver artifacts here, much less the blood of Poseidon or rare items such as armor pieces or armor.

The majority of items displayed here are cannons and shells of various calibers and grades, as well as anchors and locks. The rest are some strange and unusual gadgets.

There are dismantled ice sleds, frozen solid pools and even complete ship chambers. More bizarre, or rather more gamble-like, cargo includes oak barrels and crates frozen in ice, and even corpses completely encased in solid ice.

Along the way, they would often see sailors spending varying amounts of silver coins to open a cargo box or oak barrel, or even patiently pouring hot water to break open the ice covering a corpse.

Some of them unearthed only frozen water, others unearthed dark, water-soaked cured meat or coal, and still others unearthed fine wine or even smuggled goods that could bring them a fortune.

Naturally, very few people could actually produce smuggled goods, so few that Cheng Lang couldn't help but suspect they were shills.

The sailors' corpses, on the other hand, had a decent chance of yielding good loot, but the starting price of 10 gold coins per corpse undoubtedly deterred many people.

Fortunately, these gamblers had good intentions. Judging from the words of these sailors who were willing to bet ten gold coins at a time, although they did have the intention of making a fortune, they would also take the corpses they bought to land.

If the corpses belonged to wanted pirates, they would claim a reward; if not, they would at least buy a coffin and bury the bodies in the dockside cemetery, believing that the spirits of those corpses would protect them in the icy polar seas.

Although he couldn't understand how a hapless soul who died in the icy sea of ​​the extreme could have the ability and confidence to protect the safety of the living, he wasn't stupid enough to voice his doubts.

Of course, he wouldn't do something so foolish, and judging from Shenba's appearance, he probably wouldn't have the guts to do it either.

Continuing their journey in the sleds, they encountered even more thrilling activities. This time, instead of oak barrels or corpses, what was frozen in the ice was a boat—an entire boat.

"This ship was salvaged two months ago; it's the armed merchant ship 'Miracle of Life' from the Principality of Murfita!"

On the ice block encasing the merchant ship, a bear-like man held up a tin megaphone and loudly introduced, "She accidentally left the ice surface and entered the sea of ​​floating ice due to a storm more than nine months ago, and was eventually encased in solid ice and turned into an iceberg."

It took us a full four months to salvage this ship from the iceberg.

Next up is the auction, which only accepts gold coins or Poseidon's Blood, with a starting bid of two thousand gold coins!

"Votkan, you're kidding me."

A man dressed as a captain grumbled, "Even the kids on Iron Oak Island know that the Miracle of Life only has pretty sirens and wandering sailors riding on their backs. At most, there might be some mermaid eggs, which aren't worth two thousand gold coins!"

"Whatever, you poor bastard."

Wojtkan, standing atop the ice block, responded nonchalantly, unsurprisingly eliciting laughter from the surrounding onlookers.

"Two thousand gold coins, anyone willing to give it a try?" Votkan asked again.

"here!"

Beneath the ice, a furry captain waved his hand, “Two thousand gold coins.”

"There really are idiots," the poor man scoffed.

"Poor Ghost"

The casual response from the bidder immediately drew another burst of laughter from the surrounding sailors.

"Someone has already offered two thousand gold coins. Is there a higher bid?" Wotkan, standing on the ice, shouted through a megaphone.

“Five thousand, and shut up, you poor bastard!” another captain shouted, unsurprisingly drawing laughter once again.

"I'll offer ten thousand gold coins, and besides, you're the poor ones!" the poor captain who had first spoken out retorted angrily.

Don't think I don't know what you're thinking.

The second bidder scoffed, “Add one gold coin to the poor man’s bid. Don’t bid if you’re just trying to show you’re not poor, unless you’re also interested in the ship.”

Seeing that his thoughts had been exposed, the poor captain snorted coldly and turned to walk towards other stalls amidst the laughter of the surrounding sailors.

"Ten thousand gold coins for a ship like this?"

Cheng Lang, who had been watching the spectacle, raised an eyebrow; there was too much hidden information in this.

The ship itself may not be worth this price, so the valuable items must be the things on board.

Besides, he didn't believe that all the ships running here were legitimate merchant ships, or rather, what legitimate merchant ships were there?

Even though everyone has a dirty criminal record, they still honestly trade here, which speaks volumes.

So what secret does that ship frozen in ice hold?

While Cheng Lang was pondering, the price of the Miracle of Life merchant ship had soared to nearly 40,000 gold coins.

The exorbitant price finally made all the sailors realize that something seemed amiss, and some of the more perceptive ones had already quietly left the dangerous shipwreck with their companions.

"Let's go too."

Cheng Lang spoke up in time and gave Shenba a wink as he was about to say something.

The little guy driving the sled didn't ask any questions. He immediately patted the war bear's fat butt, made it start walking, and dragged the sled towards the next stall.

The ship being auctioned here is also a ship frozen in ice, but this time only the stern is being auctioned.

Compared to the Miracle of Life, the price of this half-ship is much more reasonable. Although they don't know how many rounds of bidding have taken place, it hasn't reached the three thousand gold coin mark yet, and judging from the emotions of the bidders around them, the price has probably reached its limit.

"Should we buy one? Half a ship would be nice too, there might be some treasure inside!" Shenba whispered in Cheng Lang's ear, trying to persuade him.

"Not buying"

Cheng Lang secretly kicked the other man, but said aloud, "Captain, we only have less than 500 gold coins on our ship. We can't afford to buy these. Please be realistic."

"If we exchange some decent items with the Bear Clan this time, we're sure to make a fortune!" Shenba immediately realized what was going on and began to put on an act.

Or perhaps this big guy isn't brainless; he's just a bit more modern in his thinking.

Seeing the dismantling workshop from one end to the other, Shenba suddenly spoke, causing the little guy driving to stop.

"What good stuff has the captain set his sights on this time?" Cheng Lang asked, feigning helplessness.

"Since I'm already here, even if I don't have any money, I should still buy something to take back, otherwise it would be a wasted trip."

As Shenba spoke, he stepped off the sled. Seeing this, Cheng Lang immediately followed. He knew that the other party must have seen something.

“I just heard a dark elf’s spirit calling to me,” Shenba whispered. “It’s nearby.”

"Are you sure?" Cheng Lang looked at the other person in confusion. "I didn't hear anything?"

I am absolutely certain.

As Shenba rummaged through a stall in front of the dismantled shipwreck, he muttered, "In all my life, I've never heard such a clear call before."

"What did they say?" Cheng Lang asked curiously.

“He said… uh…” Shenba scratched his head, “He said it was so dark, he was so scared, and so cold.”

"Are you sure you didn't mishear?" Cheng Lang asked curiously. There were quite a few sailors around here, so it was inevitable...
"You should know that we can't possibly be wrong about something like this," Shenba said confidently.

"Let's go, which stall is it? We'll buy it there," Cheng Lang said readily.

"The ship on the left, the one with the two anchors tangled together," Shenba whispered.

"Take your time strolling around."

"What if someone else buys it?" Shenba asked worriedly.

"Then let's see who buys it, and then plunder it back." Cheng Lang's nonchalant attitude even made Shenba subconsciously think that maybe they should just wait and see who buys it.

Unfortunately, when the two of them arrived at the stall that Shenba had chosen, the black elf's call to Shenba was still there, and Cheng Lang still couldn't hear it.

“In that pile of oak barrels,” Shenba whispered, “in the pile frozen together on the right.”

"Don't worry"

Cheng Lang pressed down the other man's hand, which he was about to raise, and then raised his voice and said, "Captain, please give up. Your luck has always been too bad. Let's not gamble anymore."

"No, I have to take the gamble and give it a try!" Shenba immediately followed Cheng Lang's lead. "Even if it's just opening a few oak barrels, I'll give it a try."

But we don't have much money.

"I'll give it a try! Even if it's just one!"

As he spoke, Shenba, feigning generosity, asked the stall owners who were watching the commotion, "How much are those oak barrels?"

"Sold as a package"

The stall owner gave them an answer that surprised them: "These are the last things left on this ship, so I'm selling them as a package for 15 gold coins, no bargaining."

"Why don't you just rob it?" Cheng Lang asked, feigning surprise.

"Sir, wasn't I just robbing him?" The stall owner, who was sitting cross-legged in the arms of his war bear, shrugged.

"All of these, including that ship?"

Cheng Lang pointed to the stall, then pointed to the ship behind him that had been dismantled down to its keel.

There wasn't much left to sell at this stall; it only had some swords that looked worthless and a few boxes of grape bullets glued together with asphalt.

"No, no, no, the keel and anchor have already been sold."

The stall owner pointed to the pile of oak barrels frozen together, "15 gold coins, including only those oak barrels, the body frozen with those barrels, and these weapons and shells."

"I want to buy"

"Captain, please let me take a look first," Cheng Lang said helplessly.

"It's only 15 gold coins, why are you so stingy?" Shenba complained.

We're running low on gold coins.

Cheng Lang shook his head with a hint of helplessness. "Fine, we'll buy it then. But I insist on bringing these things back to the ship and opening them in front of everyone. I want everyone to know how stupid our captain has been."

"Alright, alright, First Mate, hurry up and pay, then let's go back and start gambling!" Shenba urged impatiently.

"How did I end up with such a capricious captain?"

Cheng Lang shook his head with feigned helplessness, counted out 15 gold coins from his money bag, and handed them to the stall owner.

After inspecting the gold coins one by one, the latter immediately called his war bear to pull out a sled from the side of the sailboat frame behind him, and enthusiastically loaded all the junk that Cheng Lang and his companion had bought onto the sled.

"Boss, I have one last request."

Shenba and Cheng Lang said in unison.

"Captain, you speak first," Cheng Lang said, bowing slightly.

"Boss, I'd like to challenge you to an arm wrestling match," Shenba said confidently.

"You? Me? Have an arm wrestling match?" The stall owner was initially wary, but soon he and the other stall owners around him who heard the challenge burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright, but let me warm up first."

The stall owner laughed heartily and said, "And you, First Mate, do you also want to arm wrestle with me?"

"I won't do something so stupid."

Cheng Lang waved his hands repeatedly, "I just want to ask, are all the things we bought from this ship? Where did they find them?"

These are not the case.

The stall owner was easy to talk to. "Otherwise, it wouldn't have remained unsold until the end. We found those wooden barrels and the body on an ice floe on our way back from salvaging this shipwreck."

At this point, the stall owner's war bear let out a low roar. Then, the stall owner grabbed an anchor beside him with both hands, shook it with a shout, and began to drag it.

After he had dragged the anchor from one side of the boat to the other, he brushed the snow off his clothes. "Alright, young captain, I'm done warming up. Let's..."

"Never mind, I'll challenge you to a duel another time. I'm in a hurry to go back and see what treasures are in those oak barrels."

After saying that, Shenba turned and left, and before the stall owner and his friends could even laugh, he had already gotten into the sleigh.

"Our captain," Cheng Lang pointed to his head and twirled the finger around in the air.

"Understand!"

The stall owner patted Cheng Lang on the shoulder. "We all understand. We've seen all kinds of captains. There are actually a lot of idiots like this, but you're a very good first mate."

"Thank you for your compliment," Cheng Lang said gratefully.

What's the name of your ship?

The stall owner asked, "Of course, just out of curiosity."

"Red Pearl," Cheng Lang casually made up a name for it. "Goodbye, sir."

"Goodbye, and I hope to see you again." The stall owner warmly saw Cheng Lang off as he boarded the sled pulled by his war bear.

Are there really spirits calling out? Why can't I hear them?

Sitting on the sled, Cheng Lang looked at the corpse frozen to the oak barrels with a puzzled expression. The corpse was lying face down, and it seemed that it had tried to hug the oak barrels with its hands before it died.

That's why his face was completely hidden; the white cloak, also frozen in ice, completely concealed the rest of his body.

After a moment's thought, Cheng Lang took off his cloak, which he used for warmth, and used it to cover the corpse. It was only 15 gold coins; he naturally wouldn't mind such a small amount of trust.

As for his "acting" just now, it was simply his subconscious caution because he was wanted by the police.

Of course, he didn't know that his seemingly unnecessary caution at this moment would inadvertently save their lives during the rest of the voyage.

(End of this chapter)