A grown man having diarrhea shouldn’t be a big deal—she vaguely remembered giving him pears and chilled watermelon before without any issues.
Chang'an didn’t dwell on it too much. The front yard was planted with cotton, while the backyard was full of fruits and vegetables. Maybe she should move the watermelon to the backyard too.
The cotton in the front yard would be ready for picking soon. The fluffy white blooms were already visible, looking especially beautiful.
After planting the watermelon in her space, Chang'an brought out the dinner she had prepared.
A hearty stew with meat, vegetables, and noodles—though it didn’t look particularly appealing, the taste was quite good.
Stargazing at sea had a unique charm. The boundless expanse of stars made Chang'an feel as if she were floating in the vast universe.
"Dad, do you see something floating ahead?"
Old Gu Six stood up and walked closer to the edge, peering down. A wooden box drifted on the water, looking oddly out of place. Where could it have come from in this endless expanse?
He wasn’t curious, nor did he have any intention of fishing it out.
He simply told Chang'an, "It’s a wooden box. Can’t tell what’s inside."
Chang'an leaned over to look as well. It seemed ordinary, even cheap-looking, and failed to spark her interest.
Neither father nor daughter paid the box any further attention. They lay on the deck, kicking their feet lazily as they admired the stars.
That night, Old Gu Six became intimately acquainted with the toilet, though Chang'an remained blissfully unaware.
By the fifth day at sea, they encountered a massive ship that made their own vessel seem tiny in comparison.
"Dad, did we drift off course again?"
"No, I’ve been keeping an eye on our direction."
"Awooo!" Don’t believe him—he’s holding the compass upside down!
The white wolf and the silver wolf were both frantic. Chang'an assumed they were just bored from being cooped up on the boat. "I told you not to come along. See? Now you can’t stand it anymore."
"Awooo, awooo!" The silver wolf felt utterly exhausted. Couldn’t you just learn another language? Communication was painfully difficult.
Seeing the wolf’s dramatic flailing, Old Gu Six gave it a firm slap on the head. Both wolves instantly quieted down.
He discreetly pulled out the compass again. Surely he hadn’t misread the direction earlier? Definitely not.
But something still felt off. Had they veered off course?
"Sweetheart, it’s possible we really did drift the wrong way."
Chang'an: "…"
"Old Man~~"
[What now? What’s wrong this time?]
"Set up navigation for us, will you?"
[Ugh, fine! Turn the ship around and adjust sixty degrees to the right. Don’t mess it up again—I won’t be helping you anymore after this.]
"Did you transfer all the minerals and usable resources from the island?"
[Yes, everything’s been moved. Whether future generations can extract them depends entirely on their own skills.]
"Hah! As long as people are allowed to dig, there’s no mine they can’t exploit. Hardworking folks could dig straight through the earth if given the chance."
[Alright, alright. I must owe you two a lifetime of debts.]
Once the Old Man left, Chang'an called out to her father by the mast, "Dad, turn the ship around and adjust sixty degrees to the right."
What was he muttering about over there?
Chang'an walked over and saw him holding a wooden doll, whispering something to it.
"Dad, don’t push it. At least the mule was alive and could take the blame for you. No matter how much you talk to this thing, it’s not gonna cover for you."
She took the doll from him. It was carved quite adorably and looked somewhat familiar.
A chibi version of Old Gu Six?
"Dad, did you carve this yourself?" Chibi art style shouldn’t exist here—something was off about this father of hers.
"No," Old Gu Six retrieved the doll and tucked it into his chest pocket, pressing it firmly to ensure it wouldn’t fall out.
He added, "Your grandfather paid a street vendor to carve it for me when I was a child."
Chang'an’s eyelid twitched. She pressed a hand to her eye and said flatly, "The craftsmanship is impressive. It’s cute."
After adjusting their course, the large ship they had encountered earlier followed them at a steady distance.
Old Gu Six kept an eye on the ship’s movements when he spotted a man in a blue robe and felt hat fishing a small box out of the sea.
The distance was too great to see clearly, but his gut told him it might be the same box they had seen earlier.
"Dad, what are you looking at?" Chang'an leaned over the railing to peer outside.
Old Gu Six lifted her up to sit on the railing. "Someone on that ship just picked up a small box."
"Could it be the one we saw?" If something was drifting mysteriously at sea, someone was bound to find it. Since they hadn’t taken it, fate had arranged for someone else to.
"Maybe."
The man who retrieved the box also noticed the father-daughter pair on the small boat, though the glare of the sun made it hard to see them clearly.
Chang'an and Old Gu Six didn’t linger. They both retreated into the cabin.
The man who found the box crouched down to open it but struggled to find a way in.
Every time he thought he was close, the lock seemed to tighten further.
Chang'an: It’s just a wooden box. Why not just chop it open with a sword?
Simple and effective—no issues there.
Maybe the man was worried about damaging whatever was inside.
An older man noticed the man lingering outside and came out to check on him.
"Qing, what are you doing out here?"
"Seventh Uncle, perfect timing! I found this small box. Do you think you could open it?"
Qing handed the box to Seventh Uncle, watching him expectantly.
Seventh Uncle turned the box over in his hands, intrigued. "The lock is quite cleverly made. It seems impossible to open without the right key."
He pulled out a dagger, attempting to pry the box open from the edges.
But with a sharp snap, the dagger broke.
"Step aside. Let me handle this." A young man strode over, hefting a large hammer.
Seventh Uncle and Qing both shook their heads. If he smashed it, whatever was inside would be ruined.
The young man scoffed. "If we can’t open it, doesn’t that make whatever’s inside just as useless as trash?"
"But smashing it isn’t the way," Qing protested.
"Fine, no smashing." The young man returned to the cabin and came back with a sword.
His rebellious brows arched mockingly as he glanced at Qing and Seventh Uncle. "How about slicing it open instead?"
This time, Seventh Uncle didn’t stop him, only advising, "Just don’t use too much force."
Qing still disapproved, but no one paid him any mind.
The young man raised his sword, channeling his energy, and swung at the box—but it remained completely unharmed. Three strikes later, it still hadn’t budged.
"What kind of wood is this? How is it unbreakable?"
Now thoroughly provoked, the young man became obsessed with cracking the box open. The more it resisted, the harder he tried.
The ship rocked violently from his efforts.
Seventh Uncle hurriedly intervened. "Enough, enough! We’ll figure it out later."
Just as they were about to give up, the wooden box emitted a soft click—a thin crack splitting down the middle.
