Morning mist rose over the sea. As the sun climbed, its rosy light pierced the dense fog, lending everything a hazy beauty. Seagulls cried and wheeled through the air, welcoming the fishermen returning from their pre-dawn voyages.
Because of its coastal location, a morning market had naturally formed beside the civilian docks. It sold all manner of seafood, along with vegetables, fruit, and other goods, offering quite a variety. Its main customers were city dwellers, many of whom had no land of their own but enjoyed decent treatment and were willing to spend on food and drink.
There were factories by the shore as well, specializing in purchasing freshly caught seafood, freezing it, and shipping it inland. At every post station along the route, there were ice-makers whose sole task was to add ice to the seafood shipments and keep them fresh.
There were also fisheries dedicated to breeding seafood. After all, they could not keep harvesting from the sea forever; a steady yield was naturally of great importance.
On this ordinary morning, however, a deep and desolate horn suddenly sounded, shattering the morning bustle. The people by the sea instinctively turned toward its source: the lighthouse standing out in the water, which also served as a watchtower and was guarded by naval soldiers.
As people looked over, they spotted two tiny points resembling warships farther out at sea. Then came another burst of gong signals. Before long, naval officers and soldiers in armor, weapons in hand, stood around the military docks. At the same time, fast riders galloped toward the city.
The riders shouted, "The naval heroes who sailed out in search of immortal seeds have returned! The naval heroes who sailed out in search of immortal seeds have returned!"
Hearing the riders' cries, the people suddenly remembered this