Two slightly smaller escort ships followed behind, the three vessels sailing slowly across the sea in a triangular formation.
Jiang Lan stood on Lan Fozi's head, hands on his hips, and shouted at the Zi Zhenzhu at the top of his lungs, "Big Sister Zi Zhenzhu! I'm back, guga!"
The deck of the Zi Zhenzhu fell silent for a moment.
Then someone kicked the cabin door open, and a tall figure strode out.
Zi Zhenzhu still wore the same clothes, her long hair tied in a high ponytail and the curved saber at her waist flashing coldly in the sunlight.
She walked to the railing and narrowed her eyes at the sea.
She saw a Deep Sea Demon Whale, sapphire-blue from head to tail and several times larger than her ship.
A child in a penguin suit stood on the whale's head, waving his little arms at her. A white puffball crouched beside him, waving her little arms too.
Zi Zhenzhu's expression froze.
The pirates on deck saw it too.
Several sailors polishing their curved sabers flinched, nearly dropping their blades onto the deck.
The young pirate in the crow's nest rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again, before finally standing there with his mouth hanging open for ages.
"Boss..." The bearded man poked halfway out of the cabin, still holding half a piece of bread. "Did I drink too much last night? Am I seeing things? Isn't that a Deep Sea Demon Whale?"
Zi Zhenzhu didn't answer. She only stared at the enormous creature drawing closer across the sea and tapped her fingers twice against the railing.
Lan Fozi swam alongside the Zi Zhenzhu and stopped with her massive body against its hull. By comparison, the Zi Zhenzhu looked like a little boat nestled against a small island.
Jiang