The director blew out a smoke ring and explained, "The two islands are far apart. An ordinary fleet might need over a month for a round trip, and bad weather would delay it even longer."
"But just yesterday, the Mirror Moon Armed Fleet · Second Fleet returned from a mission. The leader of the Second Fleet this time was Shui Wuyue, one of the Mirror Moon Armed Fleet's vice captains. Apart from you, he's also the only Soul Beast Tamer on the island."
"If he pilots a ghost ship, he can make a round trip between the two islands in less than a week. I asked Captain Shui Wuyue what he thought, and he said he could work overtime on his own, but he hoped you would be the biologist accompanying him."
With that, he looked toward the one-armed man sitting on a sofa in the distance.
"That's Captain Shui Wuyue."
Luo Yu was taken aback and looked over. Was this the best helmsman on Mirror Moon Island, the only person who could pilot a ghost ship?
He was said to be one of the island's few king-level Beast Tamers as well, one of its strongest fighters.
"Scholar Luo Yu, I've long heard of you." Shui Wuyue stood up.
Yu Lei said, "Cut the pleasantries. You only heard about him today, so how could you have long heard of him? Get to the point."
Shui Wuyue chuckled. "Then I'll be direct. When I heard another Beast Tamer with a Soul Talent had appeared on the island, I was quite happy. I wanted to take you as my disciple, but Director Yu Lei said you were an important researcher for the island and couldn't possibly join the Mirror Moon Armed Fleet to pilot a ghost ship."
"Honestly... I finally found someone who could carry on my legacy, and he had to be a brilliant research genius." He spoke helplessly.
"But!" Shui Wuyue said. "I still intend to teach you everything I know about piloting a ghost ship. After all, there's no one else on the whole island with a Soul Talent."
"I don't ask anything of you. Just learn it. You're so much younger than me, and when I die someday, if another Beast Tamer with a Soul Talent appears on the island, you can at least help pass the technique down."
"As I see it, this trip to Thousand Rock Island happens to need someone with a good eye to choose the Rock Goats. You might as well come with me."
"I'll teach you everything I know on the way. You don't have to worry about danger. There's nothing in these waters that can keep me from getting away," he said breezily.
After hearing him out, Luo Yu had to admit he was tempted.
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Senior, but I'm still an apprentice Beast Tamer. I can't control a ghost ship yet. Isn't it too early to start learning...?"
"I have a soul-strengthening resource," Shui Wuyue said. "Once you use it, you'll be able to pilot a ghost ship early. You won't have to wait until you become a full-fledged Beast Tamer."
"This is for you." With that, he pulled out a mysterious droplet contained in an hourglass-like vessel and tossed it to Luo Yu.
"If you're willing to go, I'll wait for you at the harbor tomorrow. I've looked over the route, and it's well suited for practice. Oh, ask Yu Wan if she's willing to come with us too. We still need a navigator and a trader, and preferably a translator as well. That girl has a Mental Talent and knows Telepathy, but her mental power is too violent. She's never been able to communicate properly with mutant beasts... Bring someone else." With that, he left the office, leaving Luo Yu staring blankly at the director.
"That uncle... is he always so carefree?" Luo Yu said helplessly. "He just... gave me this?"
He looked at the hourglass containing the droplet in his hand.
"Soul Liquid. It's a rather precious soul-strengthening resource." Yu Lei smiled. "He must be desperate to find a successor. After all, you two are the only people on the island with Soul Talents..."
"By the way, did that uncle just mention Yu Wan?" Luo Yu was taken aback. Even if they needed a navigator, there was no need to ask Yu Wan, was there? She had changed careers a long time ago.
"Heh." Yu Lei smiled. "Yu Wan's mother is Shui Wuyue's younger sister, so Yu Wan is his niece. She grew up riding his ghost ship, and he dotes on her as if she were his own daughter... He probably asked for her by name simply because he missed her."
A marriage between the Shui and Yu families, two of the three great families of Bai, Shui, and Yu... That made sense. On such a small island, the strong were bound to be related.
Luo Yu sighed. No wonder Yu Wan wasn't in a hurry to find a new pet beast after all this time. With a background like hers-her paternal uncle was the island's third-in-command, her maternal uncle was the vice captain of its largest fleet and its only Soul Beast Tamer, and both her parents were high-ranking officers in the Mirror Moon Armed Fleet-few second-generation heirs could outrank her in status.
It was probably only because Luo Shui and his wife were outstanding graduates of Canglan Ocean University that they had been able to invite Yu Wan to teach him.
"Doesn't Senior Shui Wuyue have any children...?" Luo Yu regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth.
Director Yu Lei's expression turned pained, and he looked at Luo Yu's crotch.
Luo Yu: ???
Could it be...?
"He was injured when he was a child. He went swimming in the river to play and got bitten by a water snake..."
"He didn't dare tell his parents right away and just toughened it out, so he missed the best time for treatment."
Yu Lei was even more anxious about it than Shui Wuyue himself!
After all, if he had a child, the child might have inherited his Soul Talent.
Luo Yu's expression turned pained too. Painful. Too painful.
"Don't bring this up in front of Shui Wuyue."
Luo Yu said, "What kind of person would I be if I did?"
"In any case, we do need someone to handle trading on this trip. Yu Wan has helped me with official business over the years, and she's exceptionally capable. She can handle it."
"Back to the question, are you going?"
"I'll go," Luo Yu said. Now that he knew the secret, he felt he couldn't refuse.
Besides, Luo Yu did want to experience a trip out to sea. It was a rare chance to take a highly secure voyage...
And when it came to choosing Rock Goats... no one was better suited for the task than him.
Would there be any individuals with a hidden talent that boosted milk production?
After returning to the research institute, Luo Yu told Yu Wan, Lin Li, and Chen Bo about the trip to Thousand Rock Island.
"Uncle's back?... It's been a long time since I rode a ghost ship. Too bad it's for work and not a vacation." Yu Wan sighed.
"Do you two want to go?" Luo Yu asked Lin Li and Chen Bo.
"I still have to look after these Honey Water Bees." Although Lin Li really wanted to go, there were indeed a whole bunch of Honey Water Bees at the institute that needed her care.
"Me, me, me, me, me!" Chen Bo's eyes lit up when he heard he could ride a ghost ship.
"All right, then..." Luo Yu looked at him and said, "They did seem to say they needed a translator. Talk it over with your parents yourself. Don't let them object."
As a Beast Tamer with a Mental Talent, Yu Wan also knew Telepathy and could normally have acted as a translator.
But just as Shui Wuyue had said, Yu Wan's mental power was somewhat unusual. It was too volatile, and when she communicated with mutant beasts, it was like provoking them, making effective communication impossible. There was an upside, though: when she developed Telekinesis, it would be more powerful.
By comparison, Chen Bo's mental power was much calmer and suited to communicating with mutant beasts.
Speaking of Innate Talents, Luo Yu looked again at Lin Li, who was quietly eating her meal... Who would have thought someone so hopeless at sports had a "Strength" talent, with monstrous strength hidden in her body?
Luo Yu had seen her open coconuts while cooking. She didn't even use kitchen utensils, splitting them open with her bare hands.
Come to think of it, it made perfect sense for a cook to be strong. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to lift a wok.
Once the sea trip was settled, Luo Yu began packing. But for a trip of only one week, there didn't seem to be anything he absolutely had to bring besides July. Oh, he also had to bring July's fishing rod. It was a rare chance for him to go out to sea and fish.
"Leave the institute to me. Don't worry."
The next day, Lin Li waved goodbye to Luo Yu and the others, about to take on the job of feeding thousands of Ink Fish and Honey Water Bees by herself.
"This is great! It's my first time riding a ghost ship!"
Chen Bo was excited the whole way. Luo Yu and Yu Wan walked behind him and shook their heads. Kids...
At the harbor, the ship preparing to set out for Thousand Rock Island was unlike any vessel Luo Yu knew. From its appearance, it had no source of propulsion whatsoever.
But judging by its material, it had to be made of special wood capable of housing a soul. It was probably a dedicated ghost ship built specifically for a soul to possess.
The only power source that could let the ship sail freely across the sea was probably soul power.
"You're here?" Shui Wuyue had already been waiting aboard for Luo Yu and the others for some time. Looking at Luo Yu's bags and bundles, he said, "This is my personal ghost warship, the Raging Blue. There's also a wooden raft in the ship's storeroom that can house a soul. You can use it to practice later."
"Xiao Wan, long time no see. Come give me a hand. Once we've adjusted the star chart, we can set off..."
"Coming." Yu Wan boarded the ghost ship with practiced ease.
Luo Yu and Chen Bo followed close behind, along with July. July was dragging a backpack too, containing his fishing rod, bait, and other personal fishing gear.
He was the happiest one about this trip out to sea.
"Wu ji..."
Aboard the Raging Blue, Shui Wuyue first showed Luo Yu and Chen Bo where their rooms, the bathroom, the toilet, and other places were. While Chen Bo was cleaning his room, Luo Yu came out and asked about the lessons. "Senior, when do we start?"
"No rush," Shui Wuyue said. "Ordinary people get seasick the first time they ride a ghost ship. Take a day to get used to it, and once we're sure you're all right, we'll start the lessons."
"Besides, you haven't absorbed that drop of Soul Liquid yet, have you? A day should be just about enough." As he spoke, Luo Yu noticed that the ghost ship Raging Blue had already begun sailing across the sea. It was going faster and faster, flinging out a deep-blue mist in its wake!!!
"This is..." Luo Yu could clearly tell that the other man's soul should still be inside his body!
"Don't be surprised. My pet beast is a Ghost Type. It's the one piloting the ship right now," Shui Wuyue said.
A ghost pet beast...
"Senior, have you encountered the Sea of Ghosts?" Luo Yu asked in surprise.
Shui Wuyue nodded. "Where else did you think I lost my arm?... I wagered it on the Sea of Ghosts."
"Don't be envious. As a Beast Tamer with a Soul Talent, you also have a high chance of encountering the Sea of Ghosts."
"Speaking of which, there's something I need to tell you. If you encounter the Sea of Ghosts, you must be careful."
Shui Wuyue's expression turned serious. "There's very little information about this, so listen carefully. Soul-type Beast Tamers have a higher chance of encountering them, after all. It's only a matter of time for you."
"Or rather, the Ghost Sea Area consciously seeks out Soul-type Beast Tamers."
"Consciously?" Luo Yu was taken aback. The books hadn't said anything about that.
"Yes, consciously," Shui Wuyue said. "The Sea of Ghosts is a very strange place. There are indeed many ghosts inside it, but within the Sea of Ghosts, we and the ghosts seem to be people from two different dimensions. You can't harm them, and they can't harm you."
"Then how do you contract a pet beast from the Ghost Sea?" Luo Yu asked. The books said Beast Tamers could contract ghost pet beasts from the Sea of Ghosts, but if they couldn't touch each other, how could they form a contract?
"The contract we're talking about here isn't actually a Beast-Taming Contract, but a Soul Contract, a completely new kind of contract!"
"You don't use the Beast-Taming Space to form the contract?" Luo Yu said in surprise. "Does that mean I can contract another ghost directly right now?"
"In theory, yes, but..."
Shui Wuyue said, "All beings that become ghosts had an extremely strong obsession before they died."
"Within the Sea of Ghosts, if you look at these ghosts, you can see illusory images and learn about their obsessions."
"If you want to take them away, you must form a Soul Contract with them and promise to help them fulfill their obsessions from before death. During that time, they'll sleep in some part of the Beast Tamer's body, acknowledge the Beast Tamer as their master, and serve at their command. But if the Beast Tamer fails to help the ghost fulfill its obsession within five years, the Soul Contract will rebound and gradually devour the Beast Tamer's soul..."
Shui Wuyue looked at the empty space where his arm had been. "I was a little too slow in fulfilling the contract, and my arm's soul was devoured."
"What I want to tell you is, if you encounter the Sea of Ghosts one day, be careful and choose a ghost with a weak obsession, even if it's of a very low species. That way, you won't fail to fulfill the contract and have the backlash consume your soul."
"Generally speaking, the lower the species, the weaker the obsession. I got greedy and chose a ghost sea beast of a Lower Monarch Species. It took me more than six years of running around to fulfill that damn obsession of its..."