It was not only Shen Jue and Feng Chunya who were shocked. Pei Du, the military strategist accompanying the army, was equally astounded.
When he had first heard the Goddess say that she would use divine powers to send them directly to the South Sea, he had been wondering where he could find enough ships to carry ten thousand men across the sea.
Now, it seemed he had never needed to worry about that at all.
The ship’s hull towered like a fortified city. The deck alone was so broad that several thousand soldiers could form ranks upon it with room to spare.
Nine stories rose one above another, tier upon tier.
Beneath the upturned eaves of every level hung countless wind chimes. Whenever the sea breeze passed through them, they rang out in clear, distant notes.
On the topmost terrace, the Goddess stood by the balustrade.
She wore a plain snow-white gown, its hem shimmering with the faintest pearlescent glow beneath the sunlight. As it stirred gently in the sea breeze, it seemed like a thin mist formed from moonlight.
A pale blue sash encircled her waist, its hanging tassels adorned with tiny blue crystals.
A veil of moon-white gauze covered her face. Along its edge were embroidered dark patterns of lilies of the valley in silver thread, leaving only her phoenix eyes exposed.
Her gaze was clear, like a pool of autumn water sealed beneath the snow of distant mountains. It was cool and pristine, utterly untouched by the mortal world.
Below, everyone stared up at her in a daze.
Not a single person spoke.
The Goddess looked down at the densely packed crowd.
Her gaze could hardly be called stern, yet it carried a natural, divine majesty. Everyone it swept over instinctively straightened their backs, their palms beginning to sweat.
“Board the ship.”
Her ethereal, melodious voice brought everyone back to their senses.
Shen Jue and Feng Chunya dropped to one knee. The metal plates of their armor struck the sand with a dull clang.
“We obey, Divine Lady.”
They rose and turned toward the soldiers behind them.
“Pass down the order. Board the ship!”
An order was an order.
The soldiers boarded in an orderly fashion.
Their footsteps rustled across the beach as they streamed toward the enormous gangplank hanging beside the ship’s hull.
The gangplank was more than three zhang wide. Its sturdy wooden planks were as thick as those of a small bridge, sloping up toward the ship’s side.
The moment they stepped onto the deck, one man’s legs went weak, and he nearly fell to his knees.
The smooth wooden deck stretched an incredible distance in both directions, so far that neither side could be seen.
Three towering pavilions stood ahead. Behind them was the gangplank slowly being drawn up, with the golden beach beyond it.
Above were layers upon layers of upturned eaves and wind chimes. In their ears rang clear, tinkling notes, mingled with the sound of waves breaking in the distance.
It was as though they had stepped into another world.
“My heavens…” A young soldier instinctively gripped the ship’s railing, his voice trembling. “The Divine Lady’s immortal ship is actually bigger than our entire village…”
“Stop embarrassing yourself.”
An old soldier beside him pretended to be calm and patted him on the shoulder. “The Divine Lady is watching from above.”
The young soldier hastily straightened.
Once all the soldiers had boarded, Shen Jue and the others once again looked toward the highest point of the ship.
“Divine Lady, all ten thousand soldiers have boarded. Please give us your orders.”
The Goddess still stood on the terrace. The sea breeze stirred her clothes and long hair as she faced south with her back to them.
Sunlight spilled from behind her, enveloping both her and the entire ship in a layer of gentle golden radiance.
“This ship requires no manpower to move. You will reach Wuling Prefecture in four days. In the meantime, you may move about freely.”
With that, she turned and entered the topmost pavilion.
The next moment, the ship trembled slightly.
Beneath the pavilion’s eaves, the wind chimes were caught by a gust at almost the exact same instant, swaying together in unison.
White sails unfurled with a loud snap, blotting out the sky as they billowed into full, rounded arcs in the wind.
The ship slowly pulled away from shore.
Everyone on deck staggered at once.
Some cried out in alarm. Others clung desperately to the railing. Most simply stood frozen, staring into the distance.
The ship was moving. It was leaving the land behind and sailing into the vast blue world they had never seen before.
Above them stretched a cloudless sky. The sun seemed to rise from the surface of the sea, dyeing the entire ocean a glittering gold.
The sea breeze rushed against their faces, salty and damp.
After arranging matters with Shen Jue and the others, Yun Shu lay on a soft couch in the topmost pavilion with the Little Fox, eating green-pepper-and-shredded-pork boxed meals purchased from the Pinduoduo System.
Since no one could reach the top floor, and no sound from within could travel down below, there was naturally no need for either of them to continue maintaining the dignified bearing of the Goddess and the Spirit Fox.
While Yun Shu was drawing a nautical chart, the Little Fox secretly transferred the meat from its own bowl into hers.
Its host truly could not sit idle for even a minute. She always managed to find something to do.
Without looking up, Yun Shu said, “Lil’ Sys, go buy another hundred thousand boxed meals for the Northern Frontier Army.”
The Little Fox immediately looked confused. “Host, I think handing them plain porridge with the Snowy Fragrance set would be enough. Why spend so many Shock Points on boxed meals?”
“Once the Shock Points are gone, I can earn more.” Yun Shu set down her pencil and rubbed her aching wrist.
Then she looked toward the surveillance feed.
None of the soldiers had gone to rest in the pavilions. They were all sitting on the deck, eating dry rations with water.
Seeing this, her voice softened slightly.
“They’ve all given up their small homes for the greater good. They’ve left their homes and families behind to follow me south. I can’t let them suffer the pain of parting and then deny them even a hot meal.”
The Little Fox fell silent for a moment after hearing this.
Then it finished its boxed meal in a few bites. “Host, I’ll go hand out the meals right now.”
“Go ahead.”
As they spoke, Yun Shu quickly took two bites from the boxed meal on the table, then picked up her pencil again.
The Little Fox shot out of the pavilion like a gust of wind.
As for Yun Shu, the moment it left, she became completely absorbed in her work.
A huge nautical chart lay spread across the table before her. It was densely marked with routes, waters prone to reefs, and the directions of ocean currents.
Suddenly, delighted cries and choked words of gratitude rose from outside. The soldiers must have received their boxed meals.
The corners of Yun Shu’s lips curved upward, but she did not look up.
She remained bent over the table, drawing the nautical chart. Once her territory expanded southward, she would have to make plans for constructing docks and opening sea routes. When that time came, she would need this chart.
Before she knew it, the sun was setting.
Seeing that the chart was nearly finished, she prepared to put it away and get some sleep.
But then the ship inexplicably came to a halt.
The entire vessel seemed to have struck something.
The hull shuddered faintly—not enough to cause any real disturbance, but enough to make the pencil on the table roll half an inch.
Yun Shu immediately reached out to hold down the chart, while her other hand snatched up the pencil just before it rolled off the edge.
At that moment, startled cries rose one after another from outside.
“What is that?!”
“I…I don’t know either… There are so many of them!”
“They’re surrounding us!”
Yun Shu frowned and set down the pencil. She had just risen to her feet when the pavilion door was slammed open.
A fluffy white blur rushed inside and leaped straight onto the table.
“Host! Host! Something’s happened outside!”
