On the deck, the soldiers who had been squatting on the ground, heartily digging into their boxed meals, had all risen to their feet. Chopsticks were still clutched in their hands, but no one had any thought left for eating.
Every one of them was staring at the sea ahead of the tower ship, watching the baffling scene unfolding in the water.
Countless strange fish were surging in from all directions. They were far larger than any fish the soldiers had ever seen, their silver-gray backs appearing and disappearing beneath the deep-blue waves.
One after another, the fish hurled themselves at the bow of the tower ship, ramming their bodies against its sturdy hull.
Again and again.
The force of the impacts was so great that even from the deck, the soldiers could hear the dull thudding sounds coming from beneath the water.
The fish at the very front had already smashed their heads bloody. Dark-red blood streamed from the wounds on their foreheads.
Yet they did not retreat.
The fish behind them shoved aside their injured companions and continued rushing forward, striking the bow with their own heads.
Slowly, the sea began to turn red.
Shen Jue stood before the railing and stared down at the school of fish for a long while. At last, he noticed something.
His brows drew tightly together as he said in a deep voice, “These strange fish don’t seem to be attacking us. They appear to be trying to stop the ship.”
“That’s what it looks like to me, too.” A trace of pity flickered through Feng Chunya’s eyes, and her hands curled slightly. But soon, she forcibly suppressed that emotion.
This immortal ship was the Divine Lady’s personal vessel. Regardless of the fish’s intentions, blocking the ship was disrespectful to the Divine Lady.
Pei Du watched the school of fish, seemingly deep in thought. “I’ve heard that Wuling Prefecture is home to many occult practitioners. Most of them know various astonishing illusion techniques, and some particularly gifted individuals can even control snakes through special means.”
“Mr. Pei, are you saying that someone is controlling these strange fish from behind the scenes?” Feng Chunya turned to him. “Should we drive them away at once?”
Pei Du narrowed his eyes slightly as the sea wind lifted the hem of his robe.
“Let’s wait and see.”
After a slight pause, he continued, “If this is an illusion, we’ll have to find its flaw before we can dispel it.”
Shen Jue lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before adding, “General Feng, what Zirang said makes sense. When I was suppressing unrest in Wuling Prefecture, I encountered the illusions used by those occult practitioners there. They can make the false seem real. If one isn’t careful, it’s very easy to fall into their trap.”
That was also why, when he had first met the Goddess, he had believed Shen Yu had been deceived by someone and wanted to take him away from the ravine.
It was only after the Goddess bestowed porridge upon him, and he personally witnessed a steaming bowl of white rice porridge appear in his hands, that he believed there truly was a god in this world—and a god who was still a benevolent deity that saved those in suffering.
Feng Chunya said, “Mr. Pei, General Shen, since you both say so, I’ll follow your lead.”
Roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea passed.
“Why are they still ramming the ship?!” someone cried out.
“My heavens, so many of those strange fish have smashed their heads bloody, yet they still won’t leave! What on earth are they trying to do?”
“This is truly bizarre…”
The murmurs gradually grew louder. Astonishment and confusion mingled across every face.
Suddenly, the ship shuddered slightly.
Then came another dull impact.
Directly beneath the bow, an especially massive strange fish was knocked away. It rolled belly-up and spun once on the surface of the water.
But after only two breaths, it struggled to right itself. Blood poured from the wound along its side, yet it paid no heed and once again accelerated toward the bow.
The sea wind carried the stench of blood toward them.
The salty reek tightened everyone’s throats.
They still hadn’t found the slightest trace of an illusion.
The furrows between Shen Jue’s brows deepened. He glanced back at the highest pavilion, then said in a dark voice, “We can’t let these fish continue ramming the ship. Otherwise, they’ll surely disturb the Goddess.”
He immediately ordered someone to bring over a large number of ropes and prepared to go down personally to drive away the strange school of fish.
Just then—
A cool, clear voice came from behind them, and the noisy deck instantly fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.
“There is no need to drive them away.”
Everyone on the deck turned around in unison.
The Goddess was walking slowly down the stairway.
The hem of her snow-white gauze skirt was lifted and lowered by the sea breeze, while the pearl ornaments in her hair swayed gently with each step, giving off a soft tinkling sound.
All the soldiers aboard dropped to their knees in unison. The clatter of armor rose one after another, then faded into silence.
“Rise.”
Yun Shu walked to the edge of the deck and leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on the figures below that were frantically ramming the ship.
It was perfectly normal that Shen Jue and the others didn’t recognize dolphins. But as someone who had traveled here from the modern world, Yun Shu certainly knew what they were.
The dolphins that had been desperately striking the hull suddenly came to a halt the moment Yun Shu appeared.
One after another, they surfaced. Round heads broke through the waves, and their dark, bright, gentle eyes gazed up at Yun Shu by the edge of the deck, reflecting the daylight and her silhouette.
The largest dolphin at the front struggled to lift its head. It let out a string of short, mournful cries, as though pleading for help—or perhaps sobbing out its grievances.
Yun Shu stared at it, her brows drawing together slightly.
Then she extended a hand.
A jade-green orchid appeared out of thin air in her palm.
The next moment, she gently waved the orchid.
Golden motes of light drifted from it, scattering over the injured dolphins in the sea.
The instant the light touched them, their wounds healed at a visible speed, as though they had never existed.
The dolphins’ cries softened, but they remained urgent, as if they still had something important to tell her.
Yun Shu put away the Bilu Immortal Orchid and instead located the Canghai Mingyue, whose skill allowed her to understand the languages of sea creatures.
A blue pearl ornament appeared on her forehead.
“Don’t be afraid.” She looked at the dolphins in the water, soothing them as though they were frightened children. “Tell me what happened.”
The largest dolphin swam a little closer. It raised its head and let out broken, whimpering cries.
Like a toddler who had only just learned to speak, its words were indistinct and jumbled. Yun Shu could barely make out a few vague sounds.
Hot.
Fire.
Below.
It repeated those words again and again, spinning anxiously in the water. Its tail slapped against the waves, sending up chaotic splashes, while worry shone in its dark, bright eyes.
Fire beneath the sea…
Yun Shu immediately thought of an undersea volcano. Perhaps the dolphins were asking her for help?
Little Fox soon confirmed that her guess was correct.
“Host, I just detected an active volcanic vent in the sea ahead. The current tectonic activity is intense, and a massive eruption is expected within three hours.”
Little Fox continued without pause, “Little Blue sent these dolphins to find you. That silly fish actually used its own body to block the volcanic vent, trying to slow the outflow of lava and buy time for the schools of fish within a hundred-mile radius to escape.”
Though it called him a silly fish, concern filled its eyes. Clearly, Little Blue’s current condition was far from good.
