Chapter 434: Contact

Seeing the look of surprise on Yun Mu's face, Xiliya put away the amulet and smiled with a hint of smugness: "This thing was given to me by Lady Airui Laya; she said that as long as I wear it, no one will be able to discover me."

"It really is incredibly useful."

"So it was Airui Laya's doing? Why on earth would she give you this?" Yun Mu appeared very puzzled: "And, although this thing can conceal one's aura, how did you manage to sneak onto the ship?"

She had clearly counted the headcount before setting sail, and with so many people on board, how could no one have noticed Xiliya?

As for sneaking onto the ship and hiding—don't be ridiculous, Xiliya is hardly some master Assassin.

Even if that amulet could conceal her aura, was it really realistic to think she could sneak onto a ship with so many crew members and several Transcendental individuals? It actually seemed possible.

Yun Mu suddenly remembered that the size of the Xiangyang had changed once compared to before, yet the number of crew members had not increased; in fact, it had decreased by a few.

Under these circumstances, it was normal for Xiliya to be able to sneak in.

Moreover, she and Iliyasi looked quite similar; at the very least, for crew members who weren't familiar with them, they might mistake one for the other just by looking at the wings on her back.

And even if she were discovered, she could simply say she was Iliyasi's younger sister; unless the crew member was overly pedantic, she could basically get away with it.

Thinking about it this way, the security on the Xiangyang was truly worrying.

And the reality was much as Yun Mu had imagined.

After hearing her question, Xiliya described the process of how she had snuck in.

Simply put, she had waited until it was dark at night, bypassed the crew on watch from the sky, and landed on the deck of the Xiangyang.

Afterward, she hid in a pile of miscellaneous items in the storage room and waited quietly for the ship to set sail.

And thanks to the amulet in her hand, even Viktor, the Ship Spirit of the Xiangyang, had failed to notice that she had snuck in.

Honestly, she was a bit curious about the quality and properties of that amulet, but since it was something Airui Laya had given to Xiliya, she decided it was better not to pry too much.

The most important question now was—should she send Xiliya back?

"No, don't send me back! I finally managed to get out!" Seeming to see through Yun Mu's thoughts, Xiliya pleaded hurriedly:

"I was so bored at home with the family, and besides, I want to go on an adventure with my sister~"

"I won't cause any trouble for you all. When I encounter danger, Lady Airui Laya told me that if I wear this amulet, no one will notice me!"

"Well, that's not really the problem." Yun Mu looked somewhat troubled: "It's mainly that I'm worried about the Fire Weaver Bird Family. Did you tell your grandfather when you left?"

"O-of course!" Xiliya looked a bit guilty: "I left a letter before I left, and Lady Airui Laya told me she would help pass it on."

"..."

Child, you actually dare to trust the words of a follower of Pleasure!

Those people only care about having fun.

Yun Mu guessed that the amulet in Xiliya's hand was likely given to her by Airui Laya just for the sake of amusement.

Could it really have been out of kindness?

In any case, she didn't believe it for a second.

"Sigh." Finally, looking at the hopeful gaze Xiliya directed at her, Yun Mu let out a slow sigh.

"Then you can stay on the ship... but be careful."

Perhaps Airui Laya helped Xiliya for some other reason?

Besides, the amulet she had on her really did have something special about it.

Even if she encountered danger, she would likely be able to escape.

As for the Fire Weaver Bird Family.

Well, that shouldn't be a problem.

Because her Yun Chao Publishing House was a partner of the Fire Weaver Bird Family; she could just send a letter once they returned to Frostfall City.

Furthermore, although she felt that relying on Airui Laya wasn't very reliable, since the other party had agreed to Xiliya's request, she should, perhaps, probably still help deliver the message.

"Yay!" Hearing Yun Mu's words, Xiliya jumped up from where she stood in joy.

Just then, the Xiangyang crossed a wave, and the entire ship jolted violently.

"Eh!? Ahhh—"

Xiliya's feet had only just touched the ground when she felt the ship tilt; unable to find her center of gravity, her body tipped backward.

Seeing that she was about to hit the deck railing and might even fall off the ship, Yun Mu lunged forward, reached out to grab Xiliya's arm, and with a gentle tug, pulled the young girl into her arms.

Miss Yun is so cool—

Xiliya looked at the face so close to her own with a flushed face, as if she hadn't yet come to her senses.

"Don't run and jump around on the ship next time; it's very dangerous." Yun Mu let go and instructed her after Xiliya stood steady on the deck.

"I, I know." Xiliya turned her head away in embarrassment, her two hands fidgeting helplessly in front of her, not knowing what to do.

You'd better actually know.

Yun Mu muttered to herself, then turned and walked toward the cafeteria.

"Don't just stand there, let's go; it's time for breakfast," she said.

"While we eat, I'll introduce you to everyone on the ship."

"Oh, oh, okay!" Hearing Yun Mu's words, Xiliya came back to her senses and hurried to catch up.

And upon arriving at the cafeteria, as expected, Xiliya's arrival successfully caused surprise among Brenna and the others.

"Eh——!?" ×3 Brenna, Iliyasi, and Lita all showed expressions of surprise when they saw Xiliya following behind Yun Mu. "Xi, Xiliya, why are you here?" Iliyasi asked first.

As soon as she finished speaking, Brenna, who was standing to the side, spoke up: "You didn't sneak out, did you!"

"No, no I didn't!" Xiliya hurriedly defended herself: "I did notify Grandfather and the others."

"Though it was a one-sided notification," Yun Mu added silently from the side.

"This..." Lita wore a somewhat subtle expression: "Is this actually a plot about a young lady running away from home?"

"It's a pity Miss Yun is a girl," Lucy suddenly said at this moment: "Otherwise, the romance between a runaway noble lady and a Ghost Ship Captain would be very interesting."

"Don't apply stories from picture books to this—" Lita retorted.

"Wasn't it Miss Lita who brought it up first?" Lucy covered her mouth and chuckled.

Just then, Brenna spoke up slowly: "Hmm, I think even girls are fine, aren't they?"

"Stop it, Brenna, that's a topic we can't talk about, gah!" Upon hearing this, Yun Mu's expression changed, and she hurriedly covered her mouth.

"Mmph, mmph, mmph." Brenna pulled Yun Mu's hand away with some effort: "Miss Yun, what strange things are you saying again? I've never heard that this is a topic related to a Taboo."

"That's because you don't understand yet," Yun Mu said, feigning profundity.

". Whatever makes you happy."

Xiliya, who was following behind Yun Mu, saw this scene, and her initially tense mood instantly relaxed.

This feeling wasn't much different from when she first went to Iliyasi's Old Residence.

Thinking of this, she stepped forward slowly and chuckled behind her hand: "If it's Miss Yun, even if it's a girl, I'm fine with it too."

"Hey, I already said you aren't allowed to talk about this kind of topic!"

Time flew by amidst the days of sailing on the sea; if no accidents occurred, this period of Yun Mu's time sailing on the sea would have been skipped over.

However, on the third day after Xiliya officially boarded the Xiangyang, Yun Mu came to the deck after waking up in the Captain's cabin and was surprised to find quite a few people gathered there.

She saw Lita standing at the very front of the group, seriously demonstrating to the crew members below how to swing a sword. "What is going on here?"

Yun Mu looked around and found Lucy not far away, so she approached her to ask.

"Of course, they're practicing," Lucy replied with a cheerful smile.

". You know that's not what I'm asking." Yun Mu was somewhat speechless; could she not tell this was practice?

She wanted to know why so many crew members were watching Lita practice! "Hehehe, alright, I won't tease you anymore." Lucy chuckled twice, then began to explain to Yun Mu.

As it turned out, this matter started when Iliyasi and Xiliya went to find Lita together.

As members of the Xiangyang, the two usually had nothing to do, and their strength wasn't very good either, so they hoped to be of some help and also didn't want to hold Yun Mu and the others back at critical moments.

So they went to find Lita to ask about training methods.

As a result, after hearing their request, Lita directly began teaching them the way to enter the 【Swordsman】 profession.

The fact that the three of them were practicing swords on the deck attracted Lixia and the siblings Kamaier, then it attracted Ruixi, and finally, the other members on the ship learned about this matter, so every crew member who had some ambition and hadn't yet entered a Supernatural profession gathered around.

". Hmm—I suppose this should be a good thing." Yun Mu said, feeling a bit uncertain.

"But why did I only notice it today?" She seemed somewhat puzzled.

Such a thing clearly wasn't built in a day, so why did she only discover it today? "." Lucy gave her a speechless look.

"Lita and the others train every morning; it's not like you, who is almost eating lunch by the time you get up."

"Ah? Is, is that so?" Hearing this, Yun Mu felt a bit ashamed; thinking about it carefully, she seemed to have gotten up quite late the past few days.

But compared to when she was on Earth, this was already considered early!

"I, I will get up early from now on!"

She decisively changed the subject: "Is there no problem with Lita teaching the 【Swordsman】 profession? I remember..."

"She's only teaching the Apprentice rank; her family's advanced path hasn't been revealed."

"As for training Supernatural beings in batches, that kind of thing doesn't matter; after all, any power would do this, it just depends on talent whether they can become a Supernatural."

"There's also no need to worry about leaks; before training, I had everyone sign a confidentiality contract."

"But that's just to be safe; after all, the Apprentice-rank Swordsman profession... that kind of thing has long been common knowledge, so whether it leaks or not makes no difference." Lucy said slowly.

"I see. Thank you for your hard work."

Yun Mu suddenly felt a bit embarrassed; she was clearly the Captain, yet in the end, everything on the ship was completed with the help of others.

"I..."

She had just wanted to say something when she was interrupted by Lucy: "It doesn't count as hard work, after all, you are the Captain."

"If the Captain did everything, then what would be the point of the crew's existence?"

"Besides, Brenna and the others and I are all doing this voluntarily..."

"This can also show Miss Yun's Charm~" Lucy said, winking at her.

"Moreover... knowing how to use people is the quality a leader should have."

"Miss Yun only needs to point out the direction for us; not to mention the others, as for me..."

Lucy said this with a slight smile on her lips; she paused for a moment and said: "I have already decided; no matter where you want to go, I will accompany you."

(End of chapter)