Setting Sail!

The director exhaled a ring of smoke and explained, "The distance between the two islands isn't short. For an ordinary fleet, a round trip could take over a month. If they encounter foul weather, it could take even longer." "However, just yesterday, the Jingyue Armed Fleet's Second Fleet returned from a mission. The leader of the Second Fleet this time happens to be one of the Jingyue Armed Fleet's vice captains, Shui Wuyue. Besides you, he's also the island's only soul-talent Beast Master." "If he pilots his ghost ship, a round trip between the two islands will take less than a week. I asked Captain Shui Wuyue for his thoughts, and he said he's willing to go, but he hopes that the biologist accompanying him will be you." With that, he looked toward a one-armed man sitting on the sofa in the distance. "That gentleman over there is Captain Shui Wuyue." Luo Yu was startled and looked over. Was this Jingyue Island's greatest helmsman, the only ghost ship pilot? Word had it that he was also one of the island's few King-rank Beast Masters, standing at the pinnacle of the island's battle strength. "Scholar Luo Yu, it's an honor to finally meet you." Shui Wuyue stood up. Yu Lei cut in, "Cut the pleasantries. You only heard about him today, so where's this 'long-standing honor' coming from? Get to business." Shui Wuyue chuckled. "Then I'll get straight to the point. When I heard the island had produced another Beast Master with soul talent, I was thrilled. I originally intended to take you on as an apprentice, but Director Yu Lei told me you're an essential researcher for the island and couldn't possibly join the Jingyue Armed Fleet to go off sailing some ghost ship." "Honestly..." He gave a helpless sigh. "Just when someone finally comes along who could inherit my mantle, why did he have to be a brilliant research prodigy?" "However!" Shui Wuyue continued, "I still plan to teach you all the techniques for piloting a ghost ship. After all, you won't find another soul talent on this entire island." "I don't expect anything grand from you—just master it. You're far younger than I am, so after I'm gone, if the island produces another soul-talent Beast Master someday, you can help pass the craft down." "As I see it, this trip to Qianyan Island happens to require someone with a sharp eye to pick out the rock sheep, so you might as well come with me." "Along the way, I'll teach you everything I know. You needn't worry about danger—in these waters, there isn't anything that can hold me back," he said with easy confidence. Hearing this, Luo Yu was genuinely tempted. "Thank you for your generous favor, Senior, but I'm still just a Trainee Beast Master. I can't pilot a ghost ship yet. Isn't it a bit early to learn now...?" Shui Wuyue replied, "I have soul-strengthening resources. Once you use it, you'll be able to pilot a ghost ship ahead of schedule, without waiting until you become an official Beast Master." "This stuff is yours." As he spoke, he produced a mysterious liquid droplet sealed in an hourglass-shaped container and tossed it to Luo Yu. "If you're willing to come, I'll wait for you at the harbor tomorrow. I checked this route, and it's quite suitable for practice. Oh, and ask Yuwan if she'd like to join us. We're still short a navigator and a trader, and it would be best to bring an interpreter as well. Even though that girl has mental talent and has mastered telepathy, her spiritual power is far too wild. She's never been able to communicate properly with mutated beasts... Better add another person." With that, he left the office, leaving Luo Yu staring blankly at the director. "Is this uncle... always this carefree?" Luo Yu said helplessly. "He gave this to me... just like that?" He looked down at the droplet in the hourglass container. "Soul fluid—a rather precious soul-strengthening resource," Yu Lei said with a smile. "He's probably just too eager to find a successor. After all, the two of you are the only ones on the island with soul talent..." "By the way, did that uncle mention Yuwan just now?" Luo Yu paused. Even if they needed a navigator, they didn't have to seek out Yuwan; she had changed careers long ago. "Heh heh," Yu Lei chuckled. "Yuwan's mother is Shui Wuyue's younger sister. Yuwan is his niece. She grew up riding his ghost ship, and he dotes on her like she's his own daughter... Calling for her was purely because he misses his niece." A marriage between the Shui and Yu families among the three great clans of Bai, Shui, and Yu, huh... That made sense. On an island this small, the powerful figures were bound to be related. Luo Yu sighed inwardly. No wonder Yuwan was in no rush to find a new pet beast. With a background like hers—her eldest uncle being the island's third-in-command, her maternal uncle being the vice captain of the greatest fleet and the island's sole soul-talent Beast Master, and both her parents serving as high-ranking cadres in the Jingyue Armed Fleet—hardly any second-generation youth could rival her pedigree. He figured that only because Luo Shui and his wife were top graduates from Canglan Ocean University did they have the clout to invite Yuwan to tutor him in the first place. "Does Senior Shui Wuyue have no children...?" Luo Yu regretted asking the moment the words left his mouth. Director Yu Lei's expression twisted into one of deep sorrow, and his gaze drifted down toward Luo Yu's crotch. Luo Yu: "???" Could it be...? "He suffered an injury when he was young. He was being naughty, swimming in a river, and got bitten by a water snake..." "He didn't dare tell his parents right away. He toughed it out, and by the time they found out, the best window for treatment had passed." Yu Lei looked even more anguished than Shui Wuyue himself! After all, if Shui Wuyue had children, the soul talent might have been passed down. Luo Yu's face also contorted in sympathetic agony. Pain—pure, excruciating pain. "Don't ever bring this up in front of Shui Wuyue." Luo Yu replied, "Would I even be human if I mentioned it?" "In any case, we really do need someone to handle trading on this voyage. Yuwan has assisted me with official business all these years, and she is exceptionally capable. She can handle it." "That brings us back: are you going?" "I'll go," Luo Yu said. Now that he knew this secret, he felt he practically had to. Besides, Luo Yu truly wanted to experience going out to sea. A voyage with such high security was rare indeed... Moreover, when it came to picking out rock sheep... no one was better suited than him. Could there be an individual with a hidden talent that boosted milk production? ... Back at the research institute, Luo Yu told Yuwan, Lin Li, and Chen Bo about the trip to Qianyan Island. "My uncle is back? ...It's been so long since I rode the ghost ship. Too bad it's for work instead of a vacation," Yuwan sighed. "Do the two of you want to go?" Luo Yu asked Lin Li and Chen Bo. "I still have to look after these Honey-Water Bees." Lin Li wanted to go, but the institute indeed had a swarm of Honey-Water Bees that needed her care. "Me, me, me, me, me!" Hearing that he could ride a ghost ship, Chen Bo's eyes lit up. Fine then... Luo Yu looked at him and said, "It was mentioned that we really could use an interpreter. Go talk it over with your parents—make sure they don't object." In truth, as a Beast Master with mental talent who had mastered telepathy, Yuwan could normally serve as an interpreter too. However, just as Shui Wuyue had said, Yuwan's spiritual power was rather peculiar—far too irritable. When she communicated with mutated beasts, it came across like a provocation, making effective communication impossible. Yet this trait had an upside: it granted her telekinesis vastly superior destructive power. By contrast, Chen Bo's spiritual power was much calmer and well-suited for communicating with mutated beasts. Speaking of innate talents, Luo Yu glanced toward Lin Li, who was quietly eating her meal... Who could have guessed that such a clumsy girl when it came to sports possessed a "Strength" talent, concealing monstrous physical power within her? Luo Yu had witnessed it firsthand: when cooking, she didn't even use kitchen tools to open coconuts—she split them barehanded. Then again, it made sense for a chef to possess immense strength. Otherwise, how could she handle the heavy woks? ... With the voyage confirmed, Luo Yu began packing his bags. For a trip lasting only a week, however, there wasn't much he absolutely had to bring aside from July. Oh, and he had to bring July's fishing rod—after all, it was a rare opportunity for the penguin to go out to sea and fish in open water. "Leave the institute to me. Don't worry about a thing!" The next day, Lin Li waved goodbye to Luo Yu and the others, prepared to shoulder the task of feeding several thousand inkfish and Honey-Water Bees on her own. "Awesome! My very first time on a ghost ship!" Chen Bo was bursting with excitement the entire way. Luo Yu and Yuwan trailed behind him, shaking their heads. Kids... At the harbor, the vessel preparing to set sail for Qianyan Island looked unlike any ship Luo Yu had ever seen. Externally, it lacked any visible power source. Judging by its material, however, it was unmistakably crafted from special timber capable of sustaining soul possession. In other words, it was a bespoke ghost ship built specifically to be possessed by a soul. The only power source that could propel this ship across the sea at will was presumably soul power. "You're here?" Aboard the ship, Shui Wuyue had been waiting for Luo Yu and the others for some time. Looking at Luo Yu carrying various bags, he said, "This is my personal ghost warship, the *Raging Blue*. In the hold, there's also a raft capable of holding a soul, which you can use for practice when the time comes." "Xiao Wan, long time no see. Come give me a hand. Once we calibrate the astrolabe, we can set sail..." "Coming." With familiar ease, Yuwan boarded the ghost ship. Luo Yu and Chen Bo followed closely behind, along with July. July was dragging a backpack of its own, stuffed with its custom fishing gear, including its rod and bait. Of everyone on this trip, the penguin was by far the happiest. "Wuji..." Aboard the *Raging Blue*, Shui Wuyue first showed Luo Yu and Chen Bo their cabins and pointed out the bathroom and washroom. While Chen Bo tidied up his room, Luo Yu stepped out to inquire about the lessons. "Senior, when do we begin our training?" "No rush," Shui Wuyue said. "Ordinary people get seasick their first time on a ghost ship. Take a day to adjust first. Once you're feeling fine, we'll start the lessons." "Besides, you haven't absorbed that drop of soul fluid yet, have you? A day should be just about enough time to digest it." As he spoke, Luo Yu realized that the ghost ship *Raging Blue* had already begun sailing across the water. What was more, it was picking up speed rapidly, leaving a trail of deep blue mist in its wake! "This is..." Luo Yu clearly sensed that Shui Wuyue's soul was still inside his body! "Don't look so shocked. My pet beast is a Ghost-type. It's the one steering the ship right now," Shui Wuyue said. A Ghost-type pet beast... "Senior, you've encountered the Ghost Sea?" Luo Yu asked in surprise. Shui Wuyue nodded. "Where else do you think I lost my arm? ...I wagered it in the Ghost Sea." "Don't look envious. As a Beast Master with soul talent, you have a high chance of encountering the Ghost Sea as well." "Speaking of which, there's something I need to warn you about if you ever run into it." Shui Wuyue's expression turned grave. "There's very little intel on this, so listen carefully. Beast Masters with soul talent have a much higher chance of encountering it; for you, it's only a matter of time." "Or rather, the Ghost Sea actively seeks out soul-talent Beast Masters of its own accord." "Of its own accord?" Luo Yu was taken aback. The books had never mentioned such a thing. "Yes, consciously," Shui Wuyue said. "The Ghost Sea is a bizarre place. Many ghosts indeed dwell within it, but once you're inside, you and the ghosts are like beings from two different dimensions. You can't harm them, and they can't harm you." "Then how do Beast Masters contract pet beasts from the Ghost Sea?" Luo Yu asked. Books recorded that Beast Masters could form contracts with ghost pet beasts from the Ghost Sea, but if they couldn't interact, how was a contract possible? "The contract spoken of here isn't a beast taming contract, but a soul contract—an entirely different kind of pact!" "Without using a Beast Taming Space?" Luo Yu said in surprise. "Does that mean I could contract another ghost right now?" "Theoretically, yes. But..." Shui Wuyue explained, "Any creature capable of becoming a ghost had immense lingering obsessions before dying." "Inside the Ghost Sea, when you gaze upon these ghosts, you see ethereal visions and learn of their obsessions." "If you want to take one with you, you must establish a soul contract with it, making a vow to help fulfill its dying obsession. During that time, it will slumber in a part of the Beast Master's body, acknowledging you as its master and answering your commands. But if you fail to fulfill its obsession within five years, the soul contract will backfire, gradually devouring your soul..." Shui Wuyue looked down at his empty sleeve. "I was just a bit too slow in fulfilling the contract, and the soul of my arm was devoured." "What I want to tell you is this: if you ever encounter the Ghost Sea, be cautious. Just pick a ghost with a weak obsession, even if its species rank is low, lest you fail to fulfill the pact and suffer a soul backlash." "Generally, the lower the species rank, the weaker the obsession. I got greedy and chose a ghost sea beast of the Lower Monarch Species. Its blasted obsession kept me running around for over six years before I finally fulfilled it..."