Chapter 273: Setting Sail

After enjoying the hospitality of the royal palace, Nie Yingying quite simply took Xie Yaoyao and Duanmu Xing to find 'Skinny' Mei Pengcheng again—or perhaps it could be said that Mei Pengcheng found them again.

Although things had already been agreed upon, there was no guarantee the other party wouldn't have a change of heart.

In fact, there are quite a few such people in reality.

A project discussed suddenly changes, a set plan is reneged upon; this is also the significance of contracts.

But with the progress of the era, the role of contracts has become increasingly weak alongside the rising costs of defending one's rights.

Now, with the temptation of Prince Karl's plot mission in front and the actual actions of the large ship 'Golden King' behind, wouldn't Nie Yingying's group directly abandon him, this small 'pirate', and have everyone board the big ship?

Fortunately, Nie Yingying's integrity was higher than he had imagined. He was not abandoned, and he did not have to return to face his own captain—'Black Bone' Hendrik—alone after having already laid his cards on the table with Silvio.

Mei Pengcheng wasn't even sure now if his captain already knew about his betrayal. Had Silvio contacted the captain through other channels?

He had waited outside the Lisi Wangong for an entire night, and only after receiving a definitive answer from Nie Yingying did his tightly coiled emotions finally relax.

As long as the big shot in front of him continued to support him, he would scatter the ashes of any 'Black Bone' Hendrik.

Seeing only the well-behaved Duanmu Xing and Xie Yaoyao following Nie Yingying out, Mei Pengcheng couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled. However, his time living as a pirate had taught him caution; he shouldn't talk about things he wasn't supposed to ask.

"Big Sister! Big Brother! So... when do we... set off?"

The morning sun spilled its golden light across the entire Golden Port. At this moment, Golden Port was just as its name suggested—a port cast from gold!

"What time is the earliest ferry to Baishayu?"

Nie Yingying's words made Mei Pengcheng freeze for a moment, followed by wild joy.

Because the pirate ship 'Night Skeleton' was docked in disguise near Baishayu, Nie Yingying saying this clearly meant she intended to set off as soon as possible.

"Baishayu is the largest reef islet nearby. Golden Port has two ferries to Baishayu every day, one in the morning and one in the evening!" 'Skinny' Mei Pengcheng pointed excitedly at the crescent-shaped port below. "If we're fast, we can still catch this morning's ferry."

Following the direction of 'Skinny' Mei Pengcheng's finger, Nie Yingying's pupils turned slightly red, and the blurry scene in the far distance gradually became clear.

It was one of the countless piers within Crescent Port. A flat ferry looked out of place among all the slender-lined sailing ships nearby; it wasn't just its different shape, but also because it was the busiest ship this early morning.

Ferry staff wearing brown uniforms were loudly shouting for passengers to board quickly; there was less than five minutes left until departure.

But when facing those gentlemen and ladies whose movements were more elegant and whose clothing was clearly more glamorous and decent, the tone of these staff members would drop significantly. They were so practiced that no one felt it was abrupt; everyone felt it was a matter of course!

Even a combination like Nie Yingying's group of four didn't trouble these shrewd gentlemen: a Baroness taking her younger brother and sister to Baishayu for a vacation!

Heh! Spotted it at a glance! Such fools always appear among the nobility, all for the sake of bloodline purity, right! But this little miss is truly shy and cute; she must be a kind, good noble!

Ho! That fawning guy looks like he can get a big tip! But it's what he deserves; Baishayu has prospered quite a bit over these years because of these brokers, which has provided a livelihood for many poor people. Even the monthly wages of ferry staff like them have gone up by five copper coins!

Without showing any tickets, the brown-uniformed ferry staff didn't show any displeasure, and even enthusiastically pointed out the path to the VIP area for the group.

Mei Pengcheng had clearly seen this guy and his companions throw a vagrant who tried to stow away into the sea just a moment ago.

After sighing in his heart once more about the hardships of the world and the fickleness of human relationships, Mei Pengcheng stopped paying attention to these NPCs. He wasn't a player who liked to explore game plots.

"Baishayu isn't far from Golden Port, but this broken ship is too slow; it will take about two hours to sail there." Mei Pengcheng introduced it like a true local. "Baishayu's most developed industries are catering and hotels. Of course, because of its special geographical location, its warehousing industry is also very developed."

The so-called VIP area was the top deck of the ferry.

This place was like a large open-air restaurant. Wooden tables and chairs revealing a primitive style were scattered about randomly, and decent gentlemen and ladies were either sitting or standing, chatting or admiring the beautiful morning scenery of Golden Port.

Amidst the sound of chants, the ferry sailed away from the port, and female servers also wearing brown uniforms began to serve tea and snacks for these gentlemen and ladies to enjoy.

"Warehousing?" This unexpected answer made Nie Yingying slightly stunned, but she quickly thought of the reason. "Smuggling?"

"Big Sister is truly too smart! Smuggling represents the interests of many big shots, so the official power there is also corrupt, and they turn a blind eye to smuggling. Thus, many pirate ships as daring as 'Night Skeleton' choose to resupply there."

During the conversation, the ferry had cut through the morning mist and arrived at the mouth of Crescent Bay.

The ripples stirred up by the bow shattered the golden light on the sea surface, and the fifty- or sixty-meter-tall stone colossus suddenly loomed close from the grey-blue sky.

The Sea God statue's trident pierced the mist, and the dew on the tip fell into the sea, splashing into silver beads that flashed into a pearl net in the morning light. Opposite, the Adventure Goddess statue held a stone star chart, illuminated by the morning sun, casting a swaying nautical chart into the mist. When seagulls flew past the goddess statue's shoulders, those stone cable patterns, weathered by wind and rain for three hundred years, turned into moving gold chains in the sunlight, as if the goddess were truly about to hoist the sails and charge into the mist.

At the base mottled with moss, the shells left behind when the night tide receded were flashing with iridescence, just like buttons accidentally left behind by the gods. This was undoubtedly the landmark building of Golden Port, and 'Skinny' Mei Pengcheng also stopped talking in time, leaving the time for Nie Yingying and the three to properly admire this unique scenery.

In fact, like the traveler chefs in the small square at the end of Harp Street, there are many travelers wandering and traveling all over the Fairytale World, just to admire these sceneries that can never be seen in the real world.

Perhaps, they are the true—travelers! ===== CHAPTER 274 =====