Where's the Kid?!

Zi Zhenzhu stood at the storeroom door, looking at the empty bowls, plates, and pots scattered across the floor, then at the little bean sitting at the table, wiping his mouth with a bread crust. She could practically see her blood pressure shooting through the roof.

She took a deep breath, turned to the young pirate, and said in a terrifyingly calm voice, "Say that again."

"H-he ate everything in the kitchen that could be eaten right away." The young pirate's voice trembled with the relief of someone who had survived a disaster. "Including half a side of smoked pork. That was three days' worth of provisions."

Zi Zhenzhu closed her eyes and massaged her temples. After a long while, she opened them again. She walked over to Jiang Lan, bent down, planted both hands on the table, and stared down at the chubby little brat.

"Kid, do you know how much what you just ate was worth?"

Guiltily, Jiang Lan stuffed the last piece of bread crust into his mouth. His cheeks bulged as he mumbled, "I... I can pay... once I get to the Heaven Dou Empire..."

"You don't have a damn cent." Zi Zhenzhu ruthlessly shattered his hopes. "Other than that onesie and this little white ball, what valuable things do you even have on you?"

Jiang Lan thought seriously for a moment, then raised Doro. "Doro can make oranges!"

Held aloft, Doro's four little stubby legs dangled in the air. Cooperatively, she conjured a bright orange, holding it in her tiny paw-like hands. Her big purple eyes blinked at Zi Zhenzhu, plainly saying, I'm very valuable.

Zi Zhenzhu looked at the little white ball and the orange in her hands, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

A pet that could make oranges was indeed somewhat interesting, but what use was that? Her ship was not a fruit shop.

"Oranges can't pay for meals." Zi Zhenzhu straightened up and folded her arms. "Do you know what pirates value most?"

"Stealing things?" Jiang Lan asked, tilting his head.

"Wrong." Zi Zhenzhu raised one finger and wagged it. "Clear accounts. Steal if you want, but debts between our own people must be settled clearly. You ate half this ship's provisions. How are you going to settle that debt?"

Jiang Lan lowered his head and thought hard for quite some time. Then he looked up and said in an exceptionally solemn tone, "Then I'll work for you to pay it off!"

Zi Zhenzhu raised an eyebrow. "What can you do?"

"I can do lots of things!" Jiang Lan jumped down from his chair and began counting on his fingers. "I can catch fish, carry things, scrub decks, wash dishes, and fight!" When he said the word "fight," his little fists clenched unconsciously, his knuckles cracking.

The pirates behind Zi Zhenzhu instinctively took a step back.

They did not know how well this little bean could fight, but anyone who could eat half a ship's worth of breakfast could not possibly be weak.

"Fine." Zi Zhenzhu nodded, a meaningful smile curling her lips. "From now until you get off the ship, you'll handle all the odd jobs onboard. Washing dishes, scrubbing the deck, moving cargo, helping in the kitchen. Can you manage that?"

"I can!" Jiang Lan puffed out his chest, but used too much force. Half an unfinished dried fish rolled out and landed on the table with a plop.

The cabin fell silent for a second.

Without changing expression, Jiang Lan picked up the dried fish and stuffed it back into his pocket as if nothing had happened.

Zi Zhenzhu's eyelid twitched, and she decided to pretend she had not seen it.

"Enough. Now that you're full, get on deck and work. You'll wash every dish today—not a single one left." She turned and walked out of the storeroom, then stopped at the doorway and looked back to add, "Oh, and starting today, your food allowance is cut in half."

"Huh?" Jiang Lan's little face instantly fell. "What does half mean?"

"Twice a normal person's portion." Zi Zhenzhu left without looking back.

Twice a normal person's portion was probably just enough for Jiang Lan to fill the gaps between his teeth.

But when you were under someone else's roof, you had to bow your head. Jiang Lan put Doro on the floor, rolled up his sleeves, and ran toward the kitchen, ready to begin his great dishwashing endeavor.

Meanwhile, at the Sea God Palace on Sea God Island.

"Strange. Why haven't Jiang Lan and the others returned yet?" Seeing that the sky had grown dark, Bo Saixi asked in confusion.

Bo Saixi knew Jiang Lan very well. He was not diligent about anything else, but he was always the most eager when it came to eating.

Bo Saixi stood by the window of the Sea God Palace, watching the sky outside gradually darken as her brows drew tighter and tighter.

The sun over the sea had already sunk more than halfway below the horizon. Only a streak of dark red afterglow remained in the sky, dyeing the entire ocean a dim, bloodlike color.

By his usual routine, Jiang Lan should have returned long ago by now.

For no other reason than dinner.

Bo Saixi knew better than anyone how obsessed that boy was with eating.

Whenever it was mealtime, no matter which corner of Sea God Island he had run off to, he would appear at the dining table on time.

His penguin onesie hood would be covered in leaves, sand, seashells, and all kinds of random junk, while his chubby little face would be written all over with one question: what are we eating today?

Sometimes, Bo Saixi even wondered whether Jiang Lan had some internal biological clock solely for keeping time, one that only worked at mealtimes.

But now it was almost dark, and dinner time had long passed, yet that boy still had not returned.

"Something's wrong." Bo Saixi set down her teacup, rose to her feet, and walked out of the Sea God Palace.

She stood on the steps outside the Sea God Palace. The sea wind lifted her long dark blue hair, and her red robes snapped loudly in the wind.

She closed her eyes and released her spiritual power, sweeping across all of Sea God Island. From the summit of Sea God Mountain to the shallows around the island, she overlooked no corner.

Nothing.

Then she swept it a second time. Still nothing.

Where was the kid?!

Bo Saixi opened her eyes. For the first time, a trace of unease appeared in those eyes as steady as the sea.

Jiang Lan might have been mischievous, but he had never missed a meal.

Not once in six years.

That boy's obsession with food had reached an outrageous level.

Once, a typhoon hit Sea God Island and blew down seven or eight trees. Bo Saixi had thought Jiang Lan would surely stay obediently indoors.

Yet when mealtime came, that little ball of flesh in a penguin onesie charged into the Sea God Palace through the howling wind and rain, rolling and crawling all the way.

Jiang Lan was soaked from head to toe, with two fish blown ashore by the wind tucked inside his hood. He looked up at her and said, "Mama Bo Saixi, we're having extra dishes today!"

From then on, Bo Saixi knew that even if the sky came crashing down, Jiang Lan would never miss mealtime.

And now, night had long fallen, and dinner had been over for a full hour.

The little ball of flesh who always appeared right on time for meals had not appeared.

"Someone." Bo Saixi's voice was not loud, yet it carried a chill that seemed to freeze the air itself.

A black shadow appeared soundlessly behind her and dropped to one knee. "High Priestess."