Something Important Seemed to Have Slipped His Mind?

Zi Zhenzhu had been a pirate for so many years that she had seen all kinds of people. One look at the boy's expression told her he wasn't telling the truth.

But she could also tell that the child meant no harm; he simply wasn't good at lying.

"Sea God Island is separated from the Heaven Dou Empire by the entire ocean, and you'd have to pass through several provinces." Zi Zhenzhu poked Jiang Lan in the forehead with one finger. "You're a six-year-old kid without even a boat. Were you planning to swim all the way there?"

"I have great stamina!" Jiang Lan puffed out his chest, and the blanket slipped partway off his shoulders. "I just swam here from Sea God Island!"

The surrounding pirates exchanged looks.

He had swum here from Sea God Island?

This place was at least dozens of nautical miles from Sea God Island. A six-year-old child had swum dozens of nautical miles?

What a bluff, right?

Yet the child looked so earnest that he didn't seem to be bluffing.

Zi Zhenzhu stared at Jiang Lan for a long while, then suddenly laughed.

"Interesting." She straightened up and snapped her fingers at a nearby pirate. "Find him a cabin and get him some dry clothes."

"Boss, are you taking him to the Heaven Dou Empire?" the bearded man asked in surprise.

"We need to head to the mainland for supplies soon anyway. It's on the way." Zi Zhenzhu waved a hand and turned toward the cabins. After taking two steps, she stopped and glanced back at Jiang Lan. "But kid, you don't get to ride my ship for free."

Jiang Lan blinked. "How much do I have to pay?"

"You don't need to pay money." Zi Zhenzhu curled her lips into a meaningful smile. "Since you came from Sea God Island, you must have some skills, right? If we run into trouble on the way, you'll have to help out."

"No problem!" Jiang Lan agreed immediately. Then he stuck his chubby little arm out from the blanket and clenched his fist. "I'm really strong!"

Zi Zhenzhu looked at Jiang Lan's plump little face, which practically screamed I'm super strong, then at his tiny fist, not even half the size of her own. The corner of her mouth twitched.

"Fine, mighty little friend. Go change first. You're soaked through—people might think I abuse children." She waved a hand, signaling for a pirate to take Jiang Lan below deck.

A young pirate in a headscarf led Jiang Lan down from the deck, through a narrow corridor, and pushed open a wooden door. "Little guy, you'll stay here. We usually use it for storage, but we just cleared it out. Hope you don't mind."

Holding Doro, Jiang Lan stood at the doorway and looked inside. The room was small, with a hammock, a little wooden table, a shelf nailed to the wall, and several bundles of rope piled in the corner. It was simple, but neatly cleaned. The hammock was covered with a soft animal-hide mat and looked rather comfortable.

"Thank you, Uncle!" Jiang Lan said politely.

"No need to thank me!" The young pirate grinned, revealing a gold tooth. Then he pulled a colorful bundle from behind his back and handed it over. "Oh, right. The boss told me to find you some fresh clothes. We don't have children's clothes on board, so you'll have to make do."

Jiang Lan took it, shook it open, and fell silent.

It was an altered linen vest. The problem was that its original owner had clearly been a two-meter-tall burly man. Though it had been modified, the alterations had been extremely rough.

The armholes had been cut unevenly, the hem looked like it had been chewed by a dog, and when spread out, the whole garment was still twice as large as Jiang Lan himself.

"This..." Jiang Lan held up the vest and looked at the young pirate. "Uncle, this could fit my whole body inside and still have extra room."

"Hey, just tie a belt around it!" The young pirate waved dismissively. "Change first. I'll get you something to eat."

With that, he stomped back up to the deck, leaving Jiang Lan and Doro staring at each other.

Jiang Lan sighed, set the vest aside, took off his drenched penguin onesie, wrung out the water, and hung it on the shelf to dry.

Then he placed Doro on the hammock and pulled the enormous vest over himself.

Once he had it on, he looked down and found that it was exactly as he had expected.

The hem dragged straight down to his ankles, the cloth at the shoulders drooped to his elbows, and he looked like he had crawled into a linen sack, with only his head and little feet sticking out from either end.

"Doro, how do I look?"

Doro poked her head out from the hammock, looked him up and down, then let out a very subtle "Doro~." Roughly translated, her tone meant she simply couldn't bring herself to call that outfit good-looking.

Resigned to his fate, Jiang Lan found a piece of hemp rope and tied it around his waist, finally securing the vest in place.

Then he climbed onto the hammock, hugged Doro in his arms, and began thinking about what to do next.

The first trial of the Sea God's Nine Trials: go to Heaven Dou City and obtain the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. Time limit: six years.

Six years sounded like a long time, but he was only six years old. He had no boat, no money, and he was supposed to go alone to the Heaven Dou Empire and take their national treasure. The difficulty level was far too high.

Could he dig his way there?

Jiang Lan felt like he had forgotten something, and it was something very important.

Forget it. If he couldn't remember, he wouldn't think about it.

"Grrrrumble—"

Just then, Jiang Lan's stomach let out a loud protest.

"I'm hungry." Jiang Lan rubbed his belly and looked at Doro. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Doro nodded. With a flick of her tiny hand, the white Soul Ring beneath her feet flashed, and a golden Orange appeared in her hand.

Jiang Lan took the Orange and broke it open. He had only taken one bite when someone knocked on the cabin door.

The door was immediately pushed open, and the young pirate walked in carrying a wooden tray. On it sat a steaming bowl of fish soup, two pieces of hard bread, and a small dish of pickled kelp.

When he saw the half Orange in Jiang Lan's hand, he froze.

"Doro gave it to me!" Jiang Lan said indistinctly, holding up the Orange with his cheeks still puffed out.

The young pirate looked at the little white ball on the hammock, then at the impossibly bright Orange in Jiang Lan's hand. A thought flashed through his mind.

The little fellow hadn't been holding anything when he came aboard earlier. Where had that Orange come from?

But he quickly cast the thought aside.

People who made their living at sea had seen plenty of strange things. A little pet that could conjure Oranges was nothing, nowhere near as bizarre as those singing sea demons.

The young pirate set the tray on the small table and rubbed Jiang Lan's damp head. "The boss sent this over. Eat while it's hot."

"Thank you, Uncle!" Jiang Lan's eyes lit up as he jumped down from the hammock.

The vest nearly slipped off his shoulders. He held it up with one hand as he ran to the table.

The fish soup had been made from fresh sea fish. It was milky white, with a few wild vegetable leaves floating on top, and its fragrance wafted straight into his nose.

Jiang Lan picked up the bowl and took a huge gulp. It was so hot that he stuck out his tongue, but he still raised a thumbs-up and mumbled that it was delicious.

Then he broke off a piece of hard bread and soaked it in the soup. Once it softened, he fished it out and ate it, his cheeks puffed up like a hamster hoarding food.