Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 197 Sailors Return to the Sea
"Polly?!" Yun Lan exclaimed in surprise when she saw the undead bird.

"you know?"

Cheng Lang and Yun Ji stopped Yun Lan, who was about to reach out, almost simultaneously, and asked the same question in unison.

My pet before I fell into a deep sleep

Yun Lan shuddered as she said this, took a deep breath and said, "It was my then-captain, Yun Lan, who captured it for me in the lush forests of the Elf Kingdom."

"Even after so much time, your memory remains accurate."

The caged ghost bird, Poli, said in a melodious voice, "Princess Bakla, it seems you've already guessed who I am."

“Of course I guessed it, you are Princess Bakla,” Yun Lan said with a smile.

"So you're planning to give me the princess's position?" the undead bird asked.

I don't understand what nonsense you're spouting.

Yun Lan smiled warmly yet distantly, "I'm not your mother, so I can't make you a princess."

"In that case, let's make a deal?"

The little bird said, "How about exchanging the lives of the King and Queen of Rica for Princess Bacla's position?"

"It seems that Drunken Golden Rose is not obeying your orders," Yun Lan said, still smiling.

"So, shall we make a trade?" the undead bird asked.

"How do I need to change it?" Yun Lan asked calmly.

"How about we start by trying suicide?" the undead bird said casually.

“It seems my father and mother have already noticed that you have a problem,” Yun Lan said abruptly.

"Did I give anything away with what I said?" the little bird asked after a moment of silence.

"It's a secret."

Yun Lan suddenly laughed, a laugh that was incredibly bright and confident. "Let me think. Princess Bakla marrying the new king of the Principality of Poiran shouldn't have been your idea, right? Was it King Rika's decision? And...and incidentally, to get rid of that unkillable ghost?"

Seeing that the undead bird remained silent, Yun Lan breathed a heavy sigh of relief and said with absolute certainty, "You have no way to control the lives of King Rika and Queen Rika."
This doesn't make sense. According to the rumors about Princess Bakla's iron-fisted methods, you should have done it long ago—it seems that Princess Bakla's purge of the royal family after returning was a ploy?

Why isn't Princess Bakura saying anything? Princess Bakura? It seems I'm going to disappoint Princess Bakura. Princess Bakura, are you alright? Princess Bakura, are you okay?

As Yun Lan's confidence and eagerness grew, the little ghost bird in the cage fell completely still.

Seeing Yun Lan looking over, Cheng Lang swung his whip through the open hatch and reached into the cage to entangle the motionless ghost bird.

"puff"

With a soft crackling sound muffled by the cold wind, the whip tightened slightly, and the ghostly bird instantly vanished into nothingness.

Swinging her sword sheath to retrieve the undead treasure, Yun Lan breathed a sigh of relief; her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Seeing Cheng Lang and Yun Ji looking over, Yun Lan gently shook her head. Then, a small clump of thorns grew from her outstretched palm, followed by a beautiful golden rose in response.

Tossing the rose, covered in sharp thorns, aside, Yun Lan was the first to leap into the despairing interior of the war machine.

The space inside is less than half the size of the digging beetle; at most, it can only seat four people.

After observing for a while, Yun Lan tore off the small birdcage and said, "Unfortunately, the power seems to come from the undead of Poli, and this war machine can no longer operate."

As she spoke, she put away the dangerous war machine, and a strange scorpion appeared in the small birdcage in her hand.

"I have a feeling this is a trap?" Cheng Lang said, frowning.

“It really does seem like a trap,” Yun Ji added. “It seems like they’re shifting the blame for our conflict with the traveling circus.”

"Princess Bakra"

As Yun Lan spoke, she handed the birdcage in her hand to Cheng Lang, "Or rather, it's Boerlan, no, Boerlan Group."

"Whatever it is, let's get out of here first."

As Cheng Lang spoke, he took out the burrowing beetle. The survivors, disregarding everything else, quickly crawled into the burrowing beetle and let Yun Lan control it to rush towards the other side of the canyon.

"Are we just going to let them leave like that?"

On the other side of the canyon, the woman hiding in the cloak asked, "Didn't you say there wouldn't be any accidents?"

"No surprises are definitely not going to happen."

Before he could finish speaking, a dark, sharp knife had already pierced through the chest of the person who had just asked the question.

Before the dagger could be completely pulled out, the person began to rot from the wound—it was a necromancer's dagger.

"Hybrid grass carp"

The last woman on the edge of the canyon muttered something in the biting wind, threw the undead dagger into the canyon, and turned to leave.

Just as Cheng Lang and his group's trail was being wiped out, Princess Bakla, who was hiding in the Pure Love Inn, was also subjected to a pursuit far exceeding her expectations.

But she was unaware that she had just had a "soul conversation" with the real princess, in which she was at a disadvantage.

Amidst this web of interconnected conspiracies, Cheng Lang and his companions sped across the icy plains of the Gat Canyon aboard their burrowing beetles, inevitably encountering the Gat wolf pack along the way.

Fearing pursuers who might appear at any moment, the group had to abandon their plan to hunt the Gate Wolf pack for souvenirs, and Yun Lan also increased the speed of digging up the beetles to the maximum.

After shaking off several patient wolf packs, the burrowing beetle burrowed into the ice wall at one end of the canyon and then spiraled towards the surface.

Amidst the slightly anxious wait, the digging beetle finally broke through the surface successfully, and everyone saw the very conspicuous lighthouse outside the porthole.

"I think we should leave the mainland and get back to the ship as soon as possible."

Before the digging beetle's elytra unfolded, Yun Ji said, "I have a feeling that if we stay too long, trouble might catch up with us again."

Undoubtedly, the proposal was accepted by everyone, and Shenba was the first to run out of the digging beetle and retrieve the moose cart.

This was undoubtedly a race against time. Before the people who had climbed into the car were even settled, Gerta had already urged the moose to run towards the lighthouse in the far distance.

Meanwhile, in the Elven Duchy, the man in the robes who had met Cheng Lang and his companions once outside the Dwarf Mountain, finally managed to expose the Elven royal family member who had been imprisoned for an unknown period of time after a difficult battle, with the assistance of Marquis Shenqi.

Regardless of the fate of the Elf Kingdom, Rika, who had been eyeing it covetously, withdrew his troops in time and re-erected cannons in the Dwarf Mountain.

At the same time, the Frost Duchy also destroyed all the mine entrances to Dwarf Mountain.

Moreover, the Frost Duchy also set up cannons and mobilized a large number of troops to be stationed outside the Dwarf Mountains, while turning a blind eye to some pirates who had already fled from the heartland to Frostflower Town.

Meanwhile, in Gotland, which appears to be uninvolved in the conflict, Yun Hai, dressed in formal attire, is attending a banquet organized by the Queen of Gotland as a VIP.

Regardless of how the various factions divide up the troubles and wealth spilling over from the Elven Duchy, Cheng Lang and his group, after rushing to Frostflower Town, didn't linger and immediately set sail, practically braving the blizzard to open the locks of the Void Dock. They gazed wistfully at the sunlit world inside the locks, then turned back to look at the blizzard outside before hastily boarding their small boats and rushing inside.

Of all the ships that have changed in such a long time, the one with the most changes is undoubtedly the Thorn.

Now, the ship looks like a fruit tree floating on the sea, its lush branches not only completely obscuring the sails, but also making the hull almost invisible.

"You're finally back!"

Princess Wuying let out a cheer, rode over on her big cat Yedi, and then jumped into Cheng Lang's arms.

At the same time, the lyretail fishmen on Dragonfly Island, and even the lyretail fishmen like Tinesa who stayed on the Thorn, immediately began to play music and sing in unison.

"Dear, esteemed, and dearest Captain, you have finally returned! My longing for you is like water poured from a bottle, or the light emanating from the shattered blood of Poseidon."

"stop"

Cheng Lang still couldn't accept the Magic Mirror's insincere yet overly sincere greeting, which also carried a hint of disgust.

“I know everyone has a lot to say, but I can’t stay in the dock for long, so let’s get the ship out first.”

As he spoke, Cheng Lang swung his whip and entangled it around the mast of the Valkyrie. He swung up first, carrying the little girl Mist Shadow hanging around his neck, and also threw down a few invisible whip ropes, pulling Yun Ji and Shen Ba up as well.

"Our land-based expedition has finally come to an end."

Yun Lan sighed, gently lifted her skirt, and, accompanied by her capable first mate Yafso and the helmsman and butler Gerta, walked across the thorny platform toward the overgrown Thorn. She also asked a crucial question, "First mate, shouldn't we hire a gardener with sufficient artistic taste and aesthetic sense to do some necessary pruning?"

"The trimming is fine."

Yavso nimbly snipped with her large shears, "But your florist has no artistic taste or aesthetic sense whatsoever."

"All right"

Yun Lan said nonchalantly, "At least it won't damage the sails... what about the sails of the Thorn?!"

That's a good question.

Yavso replied in the other person's aristocratic tone, "But perhaps you should ask the ship's heart or those wooden men."

"That's a good suggestion."

Before Yun Lan could finish speaking, she had already abandoned all semblance of ladylike or noble bearing and dashed into the cabin.

Before long, Yun Lan's cheers echoed from the captain's cabin of the Thorn. At the same time, the Valkyrie had also lowered its bridle and anchor, and sailed towards the icy world outside the lock amidst the cheers of the islanders on Dragonfly Island.

Once the two ships were back on the ice and, relying on skis, were once again sailing with the wind, the Valkyrie's conference room began its first meeting since returning to the ship.

"Anyway, we're back on the ship alive," Cheng Lang said, holding a glass of wine. "Thank God, we have to have a drink."

"cheers!"

Everyone responded, even little Wuying picked up a glass of juice, while the Silver Queen picked up a glass of water just to pretend.

After finishing his drink, Cheng Lang put down his glass and asked, "Putting everything else aside, what's the deal with the Thorn?"

As you can see

Yun Lan, reflected in the wall mirror, pointed triumphantly to the mast behind her, "My Thorn has sprouted."

"It's sprouted?" Amidst the bewildered glances, Yun Ji seemed to be the first to realize something.

As for the magic mirror, which already knew the truth, it chose to keep quiet at this point.

"The Thorn Ship was built from a sacred, verdant tree."

Yun Lan explained, "According to my communication with the ship's heart, this ship began to sprout when we burned down the lush sacred tree of the Elf Kingdom."

"At first I thought it was because of the fruit tree branches I grafted."

Yavso continued, "But obviously not. It's because the ship started to sprout, which is why those grafted over were able to survive."

Do you remember the first prophecy we received?

Yun Ji suddenly spoke up and asked, "No, it's the prophecy about the Thorn Ship before the first prophecy."

At this point, Yun Ji put down her wine glass, pondered for a moment, and recalled, "The ship bottle that once held this ship was thrown into the sea by Santa Barbara, who was trapped on Iron Oak Island."

She predicted that the bottle would be sacrificed to a prince flying in the blue sky, drawn by the blood of a mixed-blood sailor, and would be broken by a princess sleeping among the flowers.

She also predicted that there would be a dark-haired captain and a dark-haired female first mate who would help her make flowers bloom from thorns.

In return, the princess will reward her with the last of her reverse scales and a seed from the Evergreen Sacred Tree.

Seemingly having forgotten the last sentence, Yun Ji asked, "Am I remembering correctly?"

Not a single word is different.

Cheng Lang nodded. "From this perspective, this prophecy, which is not a prophecy, has already come true in most aspects."

"That's right"

As Yun Lan spoke, a patch of thorns sprouted beneath her feet, and from this thorny patch, a large number of golden roses bloomed.

"I don't know where the Achilles' heel is."

Yun Lan waved away the thorns and flowers, "But I guess, maybe this ship is the seed of the verdant sacred tree."

“What an unexpected seed,” Yun Ji sighed.

"Do you remember what Miss Yun Hai said back then?"

Yun Lan snapped her fingers and said smugly, "When the Old Continent collapsed, the lifeboats that escaped that continent were made from the Verdant Sacred Tree."

What does this mean? It means my Thorn might just be the next one.

"It's said that the ocean might be about to collapse."

Cheng Lang, Yun Ji, and even Gerta all spoke at the same time, offering a completely different guess.

"It seems we need to speed things up."

Yun Lan lowered her arm and dropped her smug expression. "In short, this is what the Thorn Ship will look like from now on."

"Magic Mirror, it's your turn now. Help us take stock and assess our spoils this time," Cheng Lang said.

"As you wish, my dear Captain."

The magic mirror remained as obsequious and humble as ever, saying, "This is the greatest honor for this humble mirror of mine."

(End of this chapter)