Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 159 Prophecy Poem from the Dwarven Undead

Outside the Beast Corpse Territory, the rising sun, which had once again risen above the mountaintop, did not dispel the miasma among the mountains. Even so, some old and frail or young and vigorous orcs had already packed simple belongings and begun to move.

On the relatively flat mountain road, a carriage pulled by two black horses seemed tireless, speeding along the barely flat road.

At the rear of the carriage, the canvas canopy was partially open, and through those gaps, pairs of overly curious eyes were peering at the passersby outside.

Inside the carriage, unlike the others who were overly curious, Cheng Lang, Yun Ji, and Yun Lan were gathered around an oak barrel filled with flour, carefully examining the two treasure maps they had obtained long ago.

The mystery of these two treasure maps was solved as soon as they were "found" and they had a clear enough route on them.

But regardless of whether the treasure map depicts a campfire or a well, their routes all point to Dwarf Mountain. However, the routes after entering Dwarf Mountain are exceptionally complex, even dazzling – this part consists entirely of arrows pointing in different directions.

"Can we really find the treasure by following these arrows?" Yun Lan asked again the question that had been bothering her since the beginning of the discussion.

"We'll only know when we get there."

Yun Ji said, "I'm more curious about who left the treasure map and why they used arrows to describe the path inside the Dwarf Mountain."

"Like you said, we'll only know when we get there."

As Cheng Lang spoke, he took a big bite of the bread sandwich with roasted meat that the others hadn't finished eating for breakfast.

His appetite has indeed increased; he ate enough for two people for breakfast alone, but he was actually not full at all.

“I’m starting to worry about whether we’ll have enough food before we reach Dwarf Mountain,” said Yafso, who was sitting next to Yun Lan and looking outside.

Don't worry about that.

"There's a general store in Funeral Valley," Gerta said, sitting closest to the driver's seat. "The things in there are left behind by people who come here to wait for their lives to end. There's not much of value in it, but there's plenty of leftover food."

"Mr. Gerta seems to have been here before?" Yun Ji asked curiously.

"I started traveling with caravans when I was their age."

Gerta pointed to the young sailors huddled together, peeking out. "Back then, my job was to look after the draft horses. We would come to Funeral Valley every few months to trade things we didn't have here for the food that they couldn't eat."

At this point, Gerta smiled nostalgically, "This is almost the safest trade route in the entire Frost Duchy. No one would come here to rob us."

I only studied with that caravan for less than a year, but during that year, I came here almost three times, and each time I brought back a large amount of grain.

"And then what?" Crook asked curiously.

"Later, I went to work in Frostflower Town."

Gerta said with a smile, "I've also been to sea, visiting some ports and islands that aren't too far away."

"I've never seen the ocean before," Crook said with anticipation.

“You’ll see it, you’ll see it and throw up,” Yavso, who had been through it all, said. “You really will throw up, I swear.”

Upon hearing this, everyone obviously recalled the various disgusting experiences they had had along the way, and they couldn't help but shudder in unison.

"Captain, there are people blocking the way ahead," said Shenba, who was driving, sticking his head into the carport.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Lang leaned out to look, then frowned. The two elves with pointed ears were the ones who had stopped the carriage. What was even stranger was that the horses pulling the carriage were gone.

“Ignore them,” Cheng Lang said. “We don’t have any extra draft horses to lend them.”

Upon hearing this, Shenba immediately shook the reins to restore the speed that had just been reduced.

However, before Cheng Lang could even settle back into his seat, Shenba pulled on the reins again, slowing the car down and shouting a warning, "Watch out! They're planning to hijack the car!"

Before he could finish speaking, Shenba had already ordered the carriage to come to a complete stop. He had no choice but to stop, as the two elves had already drawn their spider bows to their fullest extent.

“Please stop, we have a very compelling reason to need your carriage,” one of the elves, holding a spider bow, said apologetically. “I am willing to compensate you.”

I hate pointy ears.

As Yun Ji spoke, she deftly flipped the cargo container onto the roof.

I also hate pointy ears.

As Yun Lan spoke, she waved her arm, causing the spider bows in the hands of the two elves to sprout numerous thorns and spikes.

"I hate it too."

"wait"

Cheng Lang swiftly stopped the two glass bottles that Yafso had just pulled out of her pocket, saying, "Even if you hate pointy ears later, these are enough."

Before he could finish speaking, even Shenba jumped off the carriage, brandishing his enormous scythe and charging forward.

What followed was entirely predictable. Once controlled by the thorns summoned by Yun Lan, the two elves were powerless to resist, even without Yun Ji and Shen Ba.

“Captain, I think you should come down and take a look.” Yun Lan’s voice came from outside.

"Keep your precious spores safe."

Cheng Lang first calmed down Yafso, who was actually the most destructive, before lifting the curtain of the cargo bed and jumping down, slowly walking around to the front of the vehicle.

"What do you need me to see?" Cheng Lang, who had an orc face, asked while also sizing up the two elves.

The two elves looked to be around 40 years old. They weren't in good condition, especially their messy silver hair and dark circles around their eyes.

Despite his exhausted state of mind, Yun Ji, Yun Lan, and even Shen Ba had different priorities that they wanted him to focus on.

Shenba wanted him to see the vanished draft horse and the remaining horse tack, while Yunji grabbed the female elf's wrist, showing her the conspicuous scar that circled her wrist.

As for Yun Lan, what she wanted Cheng Lang to see was the carriage she had opened.

"Which one should I look at first?" The captain, who was used to being a hands-off manager, decided to completely relinquish control. "Or whoever wants to speak first?"

"This is also a horse-drawn carriage."

Shenba said smugly, "The horse has fallen into a deep sleep because its power as an undead has been exhausted. I specifically consulted Master Magic Mirror, so I know how to tell."

"Yes, it is indeed a traveling carriage."

The second to speak was Yun Lan, "And it's the Elven royal family's travel carriage. I've even ridden in this carriage before. Besides, this carriage is severely overloaded."

“They are escaped convicts from the Sin Gold Mine,” Yun Ji concluded. “The marks of their imprisonment haven’t faded yet.” Hearing this, Cheng Lang moved closer and examined the scars on the wrists of the elven man and woman with great interest. The scars contained scattered golden specks, as if gold dust had been sprinkled on them when they were injured.

Please let us go.

The male elf said, "We mean no harm. We just urgently need a carriage, and we will pay you a price that will satisfy you."

Cheng Lang gave the two people a strange look, then walked to their carriage and looked at the horse tack scattered all over the ground, as well as the six palm-sized white horse "models" that Shenba was playing with in his hands.

Without saying anything, Cheng Lang walked over to Yun Lan and looked into the carriage.

Unlike their carriages, this carriage, though unremarkable on the outside with its wooden cargo bed covered by a white canvas canopy, had a small door on the side and was slightly larger.

Looking through the open door, he discovered that the carriage was actually a six-wheeled "bus" covered by a wooden plank and canvas canopy to mislead the viewer.

This black carriage with gold patterns has glass windows on all four sides, a silver oil lamp in each of the four corners, and various patterns with strong elven elements around the carriage.

Even more outrageous is that, looking through the open carriage door, the interior space of this carriage is much larger. There's no doubt that it uses the same "technology" as the hunting tent.

Even though the interior space is much more spacious and luxurious, it is still packed full.

Everywhere you look, there are oak barrels and wooden crates, as well as some cloth and various tools. There are even a few goats and chickens in cages.

What is this for?
Cheng Lang gave the two pointy-eared elves, who looked utterly despairing, a strange look on their faces. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Let's get new draft horses for their carriage, and then we'll find a less conspicuous place to talk."

"It'll be fine soon!"

As Shenba spoke, he had already run back to their carriage with the "horse models" in his arms.

Before long, he ran back carrying several horses, and as if assembling toys, he put them together with the scattered horse tack from the carriage.

As each piece of horse tack was attached, the horse models gradually grew to their normal size.

By the time he finished his work, the large carriage had regained six undead core-bearing horses.

"You just said you've ridden in this car before?" Cheng Lang asked Yun Lan curiously.

"The Elven royal family will use this traveling carriage to receive royal families from other duchies on state visits."

Yun Lan explained simply, "But how did this carriage end up here?"

"Perhaps those two pointy-eared people can explain it to us."

As Cheng Lang spoke, he closed the door of the royal carriage and returned to their car with Yun Lan.

"I'll give this one a try!"

Shenba excitedly boarded the disguised luxury carriage and shook the reins.

As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Although this carriage was pulled by six horses, it was still slower than the one Cheng Lang and the others were riding in.

Although the speed was indeed a bit slow, it could still move. In fact, in order to show his identity, Cheng Lang even chose a deserted section of the road, took out the digging beetle, and had Yun Lan operate it to drill a tunnel in the cliff wall by the roadside, big enough for two carriages to line up and enter. After the two carriages entered, the entrance was immediately sealed off.

Under the stunned gaze of the two pointed-eared elf captives, Yun Lan manipulated the digging beetle to advance in an arc for about a hundred meters, then spiraled upwards, finally opening a ventilation hole just big enough for a child to crawl through.

Only then did Yun Lan put away the digging beetle and return the necklace to Cheng Lang.

"It's your turn."

While the others were hanging the lit oil lamps in various places, Cheng Lang asked, "What are you doing here? Where did the Elven royal family's travel carriage come from? Where are you going?"

"That burrowing beetle just now...it was the Ellin family," one of the elves, still bound by thorns, asked cautiously. "Are they...are they still alive?"

"It's a pity they are dead."

Cheng Lang said, "Aren't you going to reveal anything? Then we'll have to resort to some less-than-friendly methods."

"We won't say anything!"

Another male elf with pointed ears said, "Whatever. You...you're dark elves?!"

"That's right, as you can see, a genuine dark elf."

Cheng Lang shook the mask of hypocrisy he was holding in his hand as he said, "Now you can finally talk, right?"

Look at Cheng Lang, look at Yun Ji and Shen Ba, and even Ya Fu Suo and Kluke. These two elves haven't said anything yet, but they are already in tears.

"We were miners who escaped from the Sin Gold Mine with the Ellin family, using the Gold-Digging Beetles."

The male elf said, "The crime is the same for everyone: harboring or concealing a dark elf. The sentence is 77 years. Everyone gets the same sentence."

"Airlin led us to the shore of the Lake of Tears, and then used the nearly exhausted gold-digging beetle to dig a tunnel for hiding."

The female elf said, "We hid in that tunnel for a long time, evading the most rigorous search, and then, as planned, we hid in the Beast Relic Territory. This is the last safe haven where our children can grow up safely."

"It came at the cost of the Erling family's lives."

The male elf sighed, "They traded their souls to the dwarven undead in exchange for their guidance, which allowed us to escape here alive."

Dwarven Undead?

Cheng Lang and the others exchanged glances, then followed up on the topic, asking, "What did the dwarven undead say?"

The dwarven spirit vanished after leaving behind a prophetic poem.

The male elf and his companion exchanged a glance and began to recite in unison:

The web of fate has been woven; the guilty elves have fled into the realm of beasts, while the free souls have hidden in the miners' lamps.

The web of fate has been woven; the pirates who came ashore made a grave mistake, while the silver-haired elf became a laughingstock.

The web of fate has been woven, but the weaver has become trapped in his own cocoon, while the black termites have drunk their fill of sweet dew.

The web of fate is complete; the second heart has transformed into a rain of blood to nourish the continent, and the one who brought the rain deserves reward.

After reciting the prophecy, the male elf looked at the crowd and said, "Are you pirates who have come ashore? Can you give our children freedom? They just don't have pointed ears, they just don't have silver hair."

(End of this chapter)