Storm at Sea

Below deck, Xiao Yao, Shui Bing'er, and Qiu Wanxi shared a room.

Qiu Wanxi said gravely, "No matter what happens tonight, neither of you is to go outside. I'll handle everything."

Neither Xiao Yao nor Shui Bing'er had any experience traveling at sea, but they knew the danger they were in and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the ship rocked. The storm must have begun.

Qiu Wanxi could no longer concern herself with her dignity as a Soul Saint. She stood in a corner, spread her limbs, and braced herself against the cabin.

At the same time, she tied herself to the wall with a rope and used her Soul Power to keep herself firmly attached to the cabin.

At her urging, Xiao Yao and Shui Bing'er followed suit.

"Against a storm of this magnitude, a Soul Power shield is no different from paper."

"At a time like this, what we can rely on instead is human ingenuity."

"The materials and structure of the cabin have been carefully selected by seafaring people over countless years to keep the waves from destroying it."

"Combined with a high-grade shield activated close against the hull, they can minimize the damage to the ship."

"What we need to do is keep our bodies steady."

"Don't suffer unnecessary injuries when the ship rocks."

Qiu Wanxi was both explaining her reasons to them and passing on her experience of traveling at sea.

Xiao Yao absorbed it like a sponge. He would have to go to Sea God Island in the future, and this experience would certainly come in useful.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Someone knocked on the door, frantic and urgent.

"Honored Soul Saint, the men can't sustain their Soul Power any longer! Please lend us your aid."

Qiu Wanxi untied her rope and signaled with her eyes for Xiao Yao and Shui Bing'er not to act rashly, then opened the door.

"What's wrong? Aren't you the finest sailors? Even you can't hold out?"

The head sailor was also in a sorry state, his hair disheveled, his face filthy, and blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"The last whirlpool destroyed some of our Soul Tools, leaving gaps in the secondary shield!"

"The men have been plugging those gaps with their lives, but we still can't hold out!"

Behind him, quite a few sailors lay on the floor, their Soul Power exhausted and their bodies covered in wounds.

They proved that his words were not empty claims.

Qiu Wanxi nodded, accepting his explanation. "What do you need me to do?"

The head sailor was overjoyed. This meant the honored Soul Saint was willing to help. They were saved!

Even more deferentially, he pointed at something resembling a box.

"That's our backup Soul Tool, but its Soul Power storage component is damaged."

"You only need to feed it Soul Power and keep it running until the storm ends."

"Very well." Qiu Wanxi nodded impassively.

"Stay here. No matter what happens, don't open the door or come outside."

Then she closed the door.

Shui Bing'er was anxious. "What did Director Qiu mean? Why did she want us to stay here?"

Xiao Yao said gravely, "Remember what the director said? Out at sea, people's identities aren't fixed."

"One moment, they might be sailors you can rely on. The next, they might be demons coming to take your life."

"Neither of us knows the sea. These sailors are the only people we can trust, but we can't trust them completely."

"If Director Qiu comes back and finds us missing, there won't be anything she can do to these sailors!"

Shui Bing'er exclaimed, "Are you saying...?"

Xiao Yao slowly shook his head. "It's hard to say. Hopefully, Director Qiu and I are just worrying that the sky will fall."

The stormy night dragged on.

The ship's planks creaked as though they might splinter at any moment.

"Clink."

A small hole suddenly opened in the wall, and seawater shot inside in a thin stream.

Xiao Yao's heart leaped into his throat, afraid that the small hole would widen into a large one and the thin stream would become a torrent.

Fortunately, the stream stopped, showing that the shield had taken effect and kept the seawater outside.

The wind and waves grew fiercer, and the ship rocked more and more violently!

Even tying themselves to the wall could not stop them from knocking against the ship.

In the end, Xiao Yao simply turned into a mass of slime and stuck Shui Bing'er tightly to the ship's planks, leaving no gap at all.

Only then were the two of them a little more comfortable.

But Qiu Wanxi still had not returned, and they could not help growing worried.

Time passed so slowly!

A long, long time passed!

At last, the wind and waves subsided, the ship's rocking gradually eased, and Qiu Wanxi finally returned!

Xiao Yao and Shui Bing'er breathed sighs of relief. The worst they had imagined had not happened.

However, Qiu Wanxi was not in particularly good condition either.

She still looked full of vigor at the doorway, but once inside the room, she collapsed into sleep, her face visibly pale.

Xiao Yao examined her and found that she had exhausted her Soul Power and suffered internal injuries from the jolting.

There were no signs of a fight!

That counted as good news.

"Let me heal Director Qiu."

Shui Bing'er switched into her mermaid form again, her fish tail resting on the floor.

She had yet to get used to this form and nearly fell over.

Fortunately, Xiao Yao caught her.

Her face was embarrassed. Anyone would blush after making a fool of themselves in front of the person they loved.

Xiao Yao took the opportunity to stroke her seashells, making her already flushed face even more vividly rosy.

"Stop fooling around."

Her voice was quieter than a mosquito.

Treating Qiu Wanxi took priority now, so Xiao Yao stopped teasing her and let her get on with it.

Shui Bing'er took out the Breath of Ice and drew a deep breath.

"Second Soul Skill, Healing of Water."

Her Ice Phoenix Martial Soul's original second Soul Skill was Armor of Ice Rings, which provided a teammate with a suit of ice armor for defense.

In mermaid form, however, her second Soul Skill was Healing of Water, which summoned a water spirit to circle a designated teammate.

Not only could it block damage, but it could also heal the teammate's injuries.

Shui Bing'er pointed her staff, and a little fish appeared, swaying as it circled Qiu Wanxi.

With every circuit, it scattered a ring of watery-blue motes of light.

The motes seeped into Qiu Wanxi's body, and her complexion visibly improved.

At the sight, Xiao Yao and Qiu Wanxi both breathed sighs of relief.

The most dangerous time had passed.

The calm after a crisis was often the most relaxing.

All the more so because the ship had turned misfortune into a blessing and drifted to a small island.

The island was uninhabited, but supplies were plentiful.

Around its outskirts, there were trees, fruit, and fresh water-everything they could need.

Farther inland lay an unexplored jungle.

The head sailor said with a smile, "Go enjoy yourselves. We need to gather materials to repair the ship and work out our course again while we're at it."

"Just come back in seven days. We'll fire a signal flare then."

"All right. Thank you, uncle."

Because they had misunderstood the sailors earlier, Xiao Yao and Shui Bing'er were both rather warm toward them and offered to pay them a larger commission once they returned.

Once the head sailor had gone some distance away, Qiu Wanxi said evenly, "Don't go too far. Be careful they don't sail away with the ship."

Shui Bing'er said, "Aren't you being overly suspicious, Director? The facts have already proved that uncle and the others aren't bad people."

Xiao Yao, however, supported Qiu Wanxi.

"This has nothing to do with being overly suspicious. Someone without a sword should always stay wary of someone holding one."

"Out on this vast sea, the sharpest sword isn't martial might, but the ship that holds life and death in its hands."