Chapter 280: Docking for Repairs, the Border Town of Frakka

"Huh?"

Yun Mu stepped onto the deck of the Xiangyang. Just then, beside the entrance to the captain's quarters, a figure she found somewhat unexpected was standing there.

"Uncle Edward, why are you here?" She hurriedly greeted him.

"Today is the day my precious daughter sets sail; she hasn't left this city since she was born. Of course I have to come and see her off." Edward leaned against the wooden door of the captain's quarters with his arms crossed over his chest, looking rather sentimental.

Lita, standing to the side, felt a bit embarrassed and complained with a blushing face: "Don't say things like that in front of so many people, honestly."

She was not wearing her Frost Kingdom Police Guard Uniform today, and the reason was obvious—if she were to sail with Yun Mu, she certainly couldn't continue working at the Guard Hall.

And to go out to sea, her usual attire wouldn't do either.

Fortunately, Edward was an experienced old captain; he knew what kind of gear one should wear for sailing.

"It's winter in the North Continent now, and it's almost November," he reminded Yun Mu and Brenna. "There are no Energy Towers to provide heat on the ocean at night; both the sea breeze and the surging waves can be deadly."

"Even for a Transcendental, it's best to wear multiple layers of clothing for warmth: sweaters, fur coats, cotton trousers, and tall boots. It's best to have a leather hat, fur gloves, and a scarf. In case you encounter a blizzard, these items can protect those parts prone to hypothermia."

Edward was describing things almost exactly according to what Lita was wearing. After all, she was only a first-rank Swordsman; when facing nature, she wasn't much stronger than an ordinary person.

"Don't worry, Uncle Edward, I've already prepared for it," Yun Mu chuckled and patted her chest.

She had long since layered a thick sweater inside her Earth Dragon Scale Armor, and since the Earth Dragon Scale Armor itself had been upgraded from a warm coat, it came with its own inherent thermal insulation.

Relying on her character stats, she should have no problem weathering the cold currents of the North Continent.

"Mm, it's good that you're prepared," Edward nodded, then continued: "Actually, I have one more thing to do here."

"Does it have to do with me?" Yun Mu noticed his gaze and asked.

"That's right," Edward said affirmatively, sighing helplessly: "I thought you would have known, but I didn't expect you to have actually forgotten."

As he spoke, he took the ship deed for the Xiangyang out from his bosom.

"It's already time to set sail, does our Captain have no self-awareness at all?"

Looking at the ship deed in Edward's hand, Yun Mu realized: "Ah, so it's this! I accidentally forgot!"

"But... what do you mean by 'our Captain'? I wouldn't dare be Uncle Edward's captain."

"Hahaha, 'Captain' can also be a title of respect; you'll get used to it later." Hearing Yun Mu's words, Edward laughed heartily. He patted Yun Mu on the shoulder and handed her the ship deed for the Xiangyang.

"Sign it. The Sunset—no, the Xiangyang is ready."

"Don't let my ship down, Captain."

"That goes without saying!" Yun Mu smiled confidently. She took a steel pen from her pocket and signed her name at the bottom of the Xiangyang's ship deed.

And the moment she signed her name, a call that seemed to come from the bottom of the sea echoed in her ears.

In a trance, Yun Mu felt as if she had merged with the Xiangyang. She could feel the state of every sail and every wooden plank on the deck; the cold seawater surged beneath her, constantly washing against the hull. 【You have signed a contract with the Ghost Ship "Xiangyang" and gained the status "Ghost Sea Oath"!】 The sound of the waves gradually faded from her ears. Yun Mu came back to her senses and found that although it felt like a long time had passed, in reality, only two seconds had elapsed since she signed the contract.

Was that feeling just now real?

She couldn't help but have doubts in her heart. She opened the Game Panel and saw that on her status bar, in addition to the "Blessing of the Night" gifted to her by the Lady of the Dark Night, there was a new status.

【Ghost Sea Oath: You have received a gift from the Ghost Ship "Xiangyang".】

The description of the Ghost Sea Oath was very short; just reading the text, it was impossible to understand its effect.

But Yun Mu had a hunch in her heart. This hunch was like an instinct, allowing her to clearly understand the effect of the Ghost Sea Oath.

Aside from sacrificing herself to summon Ghost Fire, she could also call upon the Ship Spirit of the Xiangyang from a great distance.

When fighting Bishop Land, that was exactly what Edward had done, and so the Xiangyang, which had been dormant in the deep sea, responded to him.

Doesn't that mean there's no need for a helmsman or anyone to pull the sail ropes? As long as Yun Mu gives the order, the Xiangyang can move on its own? Then what's the use of hiring these sailors?

Before Yun Mu could speak, Edward at her side seemed to see through her plans and said: "Recruiting crew members is not just for operating the ship; they also serve as lookouts, navigate, clear the deck, manage supplies, and engage in maritime combat when necessary."

"Miss Yun probably knows nothing about sailing or astrology. Since that's the case, you must pay even more attention to the quality of your crew."

"... You're right." While Yun Mu humbly accepted the instruction, she silently dismissed the idea of laying off the crew.

If there were extra crew members, she would just have them diligently maintain the hull and equipment of the Xiangyang; perhaps it would make the Xiangyang's machine spirit very happy and help out at a critical moment.

Besides, she thought about it carefully—what could having more crew members possibly do to her? After all, she wasn't the one paying their wages.

"That's all I had to do. I won't disturb your departure any longer. Bye~"

Edward strode down the wooden plank resting on the shore, waving back at Yun Mu and the others as he did so.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to your old man?" Yun Mu asked Lita, who was beside her, with a smile.

"Eh? Didn't we just say goodbye?" Lita looked a bit confused upon hearing her words.

"I didn't mean it like that..." Yun Mu smiled: "Just that kind of... more adventurous feeling."

"... I mean, it's not like I'm not planning to come back." Lita looked a bit helpless: "Besides, my old man is a Champion-level Transcendental; he's still young."

"Hahaha, that's true." Yun Mu laughed silently and rested her hands on the railing at the edge of the Xiangyang's deck.

"This is my first time on a boat," she said.

Lita had thought Yun Mu was feeling sentimental about leaving the city she had lived in since childhood, but to her surprise, she heard the other say: "Lita, what will be ahead?"

Before the other could answer, Yun Mu continued on her own: "I don't know either, because I just wanted to say that, just to act a bit profound."

"It feels more like an adventure that way."

As she spoke, she smiled at Lita.

"Miss Yun, we're ready to set sail!"

On the upper deck of the Xiangyang, Brenna leaned over the railing in front of the helm and called out to Yun Mu: "You're the Captain, aren't you going to come up and give the order?"

"Eh, there's a part like that too?"

Yun Mu responded to Brenna with some surprise, then waved at Lita: "Brenna is calling me, I'll go over first."

"You said to give an order, what exactly should I say?" Walking up the stairs to the upper deck, Brenna was standing by the helm of the Xiangyang waiting for her.

"Just say anything," Brenna smiled: "For example... 'Little ones, let's go!'—something like that."

"After all, you are the Captain of the Xiangyang."

"Hey, we're not a pirate ship!" Yun Mu said, a bit annoyed, looking down at the crew members who were waiting for her command.

Taking a deep breath, Yun Mu was just about to say something when her gaze suddenly caught a few familiar figures. She nearly choked on the air she had just inhaled.

"Cough, cough! Sister Meiyin? Father Yehua? And Mr. Huoerfu? How are they here?"

"And Meilaer, Lixia, Kamaier, Ruixi..."

Yun Mu recited the names of the crew members standing on the deck one by one; she had not expected to see so many acquaintances here.

Brenna had long guessed that Yun Mu would have this reaction, and she laughed: "Any ship that needs to sail far must have a shrine for prayer; this can reduce the failure rate of the engine, although the Xiangyang does not use a Steam Engine, and she is a Ghost Ship."

"But I asked for Mr. Edward's opinion, and he said it was no problem."

"Although the Lady of the Dark Night's power at sea is not equal to the Lord of the Deep Sea, we not only have a shrine but also accompanying clergy; those ghosts and monsters on the sea will certainly not dare to approach us!"

"Ghosts and monsters, ghosts and monsters..." Yun Mu muttered the words to herself twice, then sighed quite helplessly: "Then what about Meilaer and the others, what is the situation?"

"Miss Lixia and Miss Ruixi are both Bloodline, and they both volunteered to follow you. As for Meilaer and Kamaier, I am not clear about the former, but the latter came with his younger sister Lixia."

"Rest assured, as native residents of Frostfall City, their abilities as sailors are all qualified," Brenna explained to her.

"If you want to say hello, wait a moment; everyone is still waiting for your orders!"

"Fine then." Yun Mu accepted the fact that there were many acquaintances among the crew; actually, this should be considered a good thing, after all, if the crew were all people she didn't know, getting to know them one by one would be quite troublesome.

Isn't it quite good as it is now? As for their abilities as sailors... Hmph, it's not that Yun Mu is bragging, she can guarantee for certain that on this ship, the Xiangyang, there is absolutely no one else with worse skills than herself!

That is how confident she is!

So, having thought so much, what should she say when setting sail?

She couldn't really say the line Brenna recommended... A wisp of sea Wind blew across Yun Mu's hair, and she suddenly had an idea.

That was a line she saw in an animation before she transmigrated.

"Which way is the Wind blowing?"

She held down the Captain hat Brenna had given her earlier and asked the crew members below.

"Reporting to the Captain, it's to the south!"

An experienced old sailor immediately reported to Yun Mu.

"... No." Forcibly suppressing the slightly shameful feeling in her heart, Yun Mu waved her small hand: "It is toward tomorrow!"

"Raise the sails, set sail!"

"Whoosh!"

As soon as Yun Mu's voice fell, the sails of the Xiangyang lowered automatically, which made those sailors who were preparing to lower the sails freeze for a moment.

And the crowd gathered on the deck, after hearing Yun Mu's answer, were all somewhat stunned, and then they began to praise her one after another.

Regardless of what the Captain said, even if she said there was no wind now, everyone would have to pull out all the stops to flatter her with "reading comprehension," let alone a line like blowing toward tomorrow, which one could understand the meaning of as soon as they heard it.

"Well done." Brenna chuckled and patted her on the shoulder.

Yun Mu's face looked awkward: "It won't be like this every time we set sail, will it?"

Of course not; in fact, the vast majority of captains, before setting sail, just shout once to tell the sailors on the ship that they are about to depart.

However, Brenna preferred to see Yun Mu's distressed look, so she lied: "Of course it's necessary, after all, you are the Captain of this ship!"

"Can I quit being this Captain? I think you, Brenna, are quite suitable..."

"No." Brenna refused categorically.

"Good morning, Sister Meiyin."

After leaving the upper deck, Yun Mu came to the place where the shrine was set up on the Xiangyang and found Meiyin, who was praying, to say hello.

"Good morning, Miss Yun." Meiyin temporarily stopped praying and replied to Yun Mu.

Noticing that Yun Mu's gaze was focused on the statue of the Lady of the Dark Night on the shrine behind her, Meiyin smiled silently.

"Does Miss Yun want to know why I came here?" she said.

"No, I just came to say hello," Yun Mu shook her head: "I've already heard the details from Brenna; you were sent by Bishop Muse, right? After all, acquaintances are more convenient."

"Mm, yes," Meiyin nodded: "Acquaintances are more convenient."

"That... there are only the two of us in this room now," she suddenly whispered to Yun Mu.

"Hm?" Yun Mu looked at her with some confusion, not knowing what she meant: "So?"

"I checked earlier, the soundproofing here is very good, almost no sound can get out..."

"Wait, what exactly do you mean!?"

"The ship is currently far from the mainland, so even if something happens, there is nowhere to escape."

Yun Mu: "???"

She took several steps back with a "thump, thump, thump," and her back hit the wall with a "bang."

Yun Mu guarded her front with one hand, while the other hand groped for the door handle behind her: "I didn't expect you to be such a terrifying person; I really misjudged you."

"No, it's not like that!" Meiyin suddenly came back to her senses: "Just now during prayer, because I felt the environment here was quite special, I checked it carefully, and besides, the statue of the Lady of the Dark Night is right here... that, it's just..."

Meiyin appeared very flustered.

A look of sudden realization appeared on Yun Mu's face: "So the Lady of the Dark Night is part of your play!?"

"I said it's not!"

"I just imagined what it would be like if that happened in front of the Lady of the Dark Night!!"

"..."

Silence; the room suddenly fell into a deathly stillness.

"You just said it out loud, didn't you, that thing."

"Guh, kill me."

(End of chapter)