Chapter 52

Near noon, the Count had his guard escort Davos to board at Crab Port. Besides the sailors of the Joyful Midwife, the personnel also included three disguised guards, nominally to protect Sansa Stark, but actually to serve as protectors for the Count's second daughter, Maermo Boiner.

The Count thought that if he wanted to increase his trade share, relying solely on Miss Stark's slight promise was not enough, so he sent his daughter along as well. He also believed that having a lady accompany her would make the journey easier for the Stark girl.

As for the journey, Davos had no illusions of ease; from his smuggling career he understood that many hands cause trouble, knowing that the larger the group, the harder it is to manage.

He hoped that the three guards could best protect the Count's daughter—one Sansa already made him anxious enough.

Davos occasionally felt the world was absurd: he, who considered the road ahead dangerous, was pressing forward with all his might; the Count, who thought danger should be avoided, was also increasing investment and pushing ahead.

I'm crazy, is he crazy too?

Before this, everyone had felt danger, even the short trip from the Three Sisters Islands to White Harbor made one's bones feel uneasy. But as departure approached and action began, these feelings seemed never to have arisen; everyone began to grow calm, as if the danger they had felt was merely a breeze in the ear, a passing gull.

The girl from the Boiner family also looked calm; Davos glanced at her once and knew she was actually pleased. Perhaps escaping her father's grasp excited her, taking on responsibility filled her with passion.

Young girls and boys are the same.

Miss Maermo had a head of brown hair, a long face, lovely, not as pretty as Sansa, but her high nose bridge showed great charm; heaven knows how the Count produced such a daughter, and she looked not much older than the Count's granddaughter. Davos knew this girl's hands were web-free.

She linked arms with Sansa Stark, chatting and laughing as they walked into the cabin, leaving a few guards on deck looking around.

"Did the Count say the journey might be dangerous?" a rough voice asked Davos, though it was more a mock than a question.

Davos turned his head at the sound.

He was lanky and tall, wearing a white sheepskin cloak, but the cloak was old and had yellowed, taking on a strange light gray; on the jerkin underneath, a spider crab emblem was crudely sewn, and Davos oddly thought the emblem resembled the guard himself.

"The Count said so." Davos replied.

"From the Three Sisters Islands to White Harbor, I've made the trip at least a hundred times. If there really is danger, shout my name and I'll come rescue you." Having said that, he turned and left, leaving Davos standing there dazed.

Davos had seen people more arrogant than him, but without doubt they either bore a great surname or sat on vast wealth, whereas this person he didn't know the name or surname of, nor did he know the extent of his wealth.

Davos hoped he truly had the ability to be proud.

Davos walked to the bow, watching the captain direct the use of the dock's pulley to push the ship away from the quay; as it pushed off, a whirlpool formed at the dock's edge, spreading a muddy yellow.

If the journey went smoothly, according to the captain's estimate, they could dock at White Harbor by midnight. Actually, the captain also thought they should set out early the next morning, so they could reach the harbor before dusk tomorrow, sleep ashore, and not have to spend the night crammed on the old ship.

Davos appreciated the captain's suggestion, but actually he wanted everyone to think he would choose to set out early the next morning.

Davos lifted his head to gaze at the sky; sunlight filtered through a thin layer of gray clouds, lazily shining down, and Davos could feel a slight warmth in the light—it was already afternoon.

As they slowly left the harbor, the seawater gradually cleared, no longer disturbed by the yellow muddy water flowing from the island, and it began to gleam bright blue, like a gem.

A few gulls flew over Davos's head, crying out "oh-oh".

It was then that the sailors, under the bosun's call, raised all the sails. The canvas was brand new, painted with a fresh, enormous spider crab; in the wind's blow, the crab's body became full and upright.

Davos watched the wooden planks of the sailboat cut through the waves, surging toward the heavy clouds ahead.

"Sir, it's cold outside; I've lit a fire in the cabin—would you like to come in and warm up?" the captain said in a rough but gentle voice, "According to the Count's wishes, I've prepared fresh beef, mutton, and sea fish in the cabin, with various sauces and lemon; if you'd like, sir, I can have someone roast some for you."

"Thank you, captain. I'd still like to look around outside a bit more."

"Sir, what's there to see out at sea?" the captain, whose beard and hair were dyed green, of medium height, with thick body hair, looked like a vigorous rough log.

Because of unease. "Captain, has your ship just been refurbished?"

"Yes, the Count had his entire ship refurbished; before, this ship's sails were all tattered, used for years, and only recently were they completely replaced with new ones." the captain pointed at the sail.

"Is the figurehead new as well?" The figurehead on the bow is a laughing woman holding a baby's foot, as if just taken from a woman's womb after childbirth. The woman laughs joyously, the baby opens its mouth wide in a wail.

"Only the bow isn't new, sir. Changing the figurehead is unlucky." He stroked the midwife's face, "Before, their faces and buttocks were full of worm holes, and we don't know where the worms came from. We first carefully roasted them with fire for a while to make sure the worms inside were killed, then used wood to plug and sand each hole, and afterwards…"

He then began to explain how to rid the figurehead of worms, spray-paint it, and make it completely new.

"Very beautiful." Davos truly wished he could have the midwife's joy.

"Captain, why is the ship called the Joyful Midwife? Shouldn't a ship have a brave name?"

"Sir, you could just call me Caso." he said, "When I took over, the ship already had this name, and it's a fine name, sir—don't you think it has power?"

"Power, what power?"

"The midwife, you see, she helps women give birth to children; in a scholar's words, that is guiding life into the world. Sir, I believe this power can ward off evil for us, and there is no power stronger than this." He hehehed with a straight laugh.

Davos laughed. He felt he was beginning to like this reasoning.

"The baby is still crying!" the midwife, one hand pulling the infant's little leg, fingers gripping the baby's foot, the other hand obliquely supporting the baby's back, laid the baby flat on its back.

"Hehe, sailing at sea is often uneventful; to pass the time, the crew trotted out the nursery stories they'd heard as kids and told them over a dozen times, until finally they lost interest in each other. What they said was either complaining about the captain or complaining about the weather—nothing else to say."

Davos certainly understood.

"Loneliness, boredom." he summed up.

"Besides the rolling waves, sometimes there isn't even a bird, and it's still quiet. So, whenever you see this little baby opening its big mouth, it's like hearing his loud wail, and then it's not so lonely or quiet—hey, it's like being back home, lively and bustling."

Davos couldn't agree more. "Such a fine name, and you've taken it away."

The captain laughed. "I know you're mocking me! But on the Count's ship, there are even worse names!"

Davos quickly denied it.

"The Count's harbor also has ships named 'Happy Little Cherry,' 'Happy Beauty Peach,' 'Happy Fisherman Lian Te,' 'Sweet Girl Puff,' and so on. All the ships from Sweet Sister Island start with happy and sweet."

Davos knew that these joyful figures were either once-famous prostitutes or characters from the magical tales circulating in the Three Sisters Islands. If the version of the story Davos heard is correct, perhaps every man in the world would envy the happy fisherman Lian Te, and every woman would envy the happy beauty Peach.

Davos felt that, in the dull voyage, these joyful names might perhaps stimulate a bit of life's pleasure for people, bring them luck, which would be far better than ship names that flaunt martial might or implore for ability.

"These are all good names." Davos said sincerely, hoping also to bring luck to this voyage, and more importantly, to ward off evil.

"That's right, especially Happy Little Cherry, who draws people from all over the world to Sweet Sister Island to sample." He laughed loudly, "Sir, have you tried it in Sister Village?"

"Well… I haven't." Davos answered honestly.

"Oh, excuse me, hey, I'm a rough person, sir, please don't mind." The captain apologized.

Davos didn't mind.

"My father came from Yiban Island, eh; he spent his whole life working on the whaling boats over there, half his life, and the only meat he ever held was whale meat. I heard my mother say that one day he finally grew tired of the cold whale meat, complained to his father, and so his father brought him to Sweet Sister Island. I heard my mother say that was the first time he ever embraced a woman."

He hehehed with a straight laugh, "My mother said she'd never seen such a lovable man in her life, so she picked his seed and planted it. Hey!"

Yiban Island is far from the Three Sisters Islands, but the Trembling Sea has relatively regular currents and monsoon activity with the seasons; if one can ride the current, even a great distance can be covered very quickly.

"Why are you sighing?"

"My mom always thinks I'm ugly, feels I'm not as handsome as my dad, so she often wonders if she planted the wrong seed." He shook his head and swayed, making a dejected look, "But this isn't my fault, right, sir?"

Dai Fosi laughed heartily, there was no objection.

After saying a few more sentences, Dai Fosi recalled the large hole in the whaling ship mentioned by Captain Veli, and so he asked the captain.

"I've never seen a sea monster. But people at sea hear every day about which ship was dragged under by a sea monster, where dragons roam. Sir, over these past few centuries, among legendary creatures, only the dragons of House Targaryen are real; the others..." He scratched his head, Dai Fosi already understood his meaning.

"But sir, whether it's a dragon or any other creature, even if it exists it doesn't matter; in my view, nothing is more terrifying and dangerous than humans. Even if they exist, we keep them separated, like the Great Wall, right, sir?"

Dai Fosi had no answer.

"Captain Kasuo, I think the same."

"Sir, call me if you need anything. There seems to be wind and waves ahead."

After sailing for a while, they left Sweet Sister Island and Elder Sister Island far behind, but the cumulus clouds ahead grew larger and darker, and to Dai Fosi it looked like a new storm was forming.

To the west of Bite Person Bay lies an endless neck marsh, often forming thunderstorms and storms; crossing Bite Person Bay eastward intensifies them, like a tongue sticking out; while storms over the Trembling Sea often invade Bite Person Bay, like a tongue retracting. Together they form a gaping maw here, which is the origin of Bite Person Bay's name.

Dai Fosi heard the captain order to turn and lower the sails.

Soon, dark clouds covered the sky and a downpour began; Dai Fosi had to take shelter in the cabin to avoid the rain.

Inside the cabin, aside from a tiny point of firelight, it was gloomy; the originally lit candles were smoking black, obviously just blown out by the wind.

The sudden storm made the ship rock, and the sailors' cries outside instantly made the atmosphere tense.

Sansa's face turned pale, she tightly gripped Marlamo's hand, looking pleadingly at Dai Fosi entering the cabin; Dai Fosi could only nod, hoping to comfort her a little.

Besides that, he could do nothing else.

Dai Fosi felt the cabin's atmosphere strange and felt pointless staying there, so he took off his cloak and jacket, wearing only a single shirt, stepped out of the cabin, hoping to at least help a bit.

Within the dark clouds, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.

Several sailors were already hurriedly lowering the sails.

"Damn it, why so sudden!" he heard a sailor shout angrily.

The heavy rain drenched him, Dai Fosi felt icy to the bone, far worse than the storms of the past few days.

The captain was on the tower, shouting loudly, adjusting the ship's heading.

Dai Fosi carefully gripped anything he could hold onto, observing outside.

He didn't know what to observe.

This should have been a normal sea storm, just too sudden.

The ship surged up and down at sea; several sailors holding the canvas were thrown left and right; Dai Fosi seized the chance, rushed over, grabbed a rope on one side, letting the sailor who was almost thrown into the sea hold the railing to steady himself.

Several people worked together, after great effort finally securing the sail tightly. By then Dai Fosi felt completely drained. To avoid being thrown off by the rocking waves, he had to cling desperately to the mast.

Dai Fosi realized the mast wasn't a good anchor; so at the moment the waves hit, he let go, rushed to the bow's netting, lowered himself, slipped his foot into a net hole, and gripped the rope tightly, fixing his body to endure the waves' repeated strikes.

He didn't know how long had passed before he felt the wind and waves lessen somewhat.

"Sir, are you alright?"

Dai Fosi lifted his head; the sky remained dark and gloomy. He wiped seawater from his face and saw the captain was soaked all over.

"I'm fine, not injured." He felt his spine aching from the impact of the seawater.

"Good. The storm has passed. Came fast, went fast!" He stood on the deck, arms spread, facing the rain, laughing heartily.

Dai Fosi also wanted to shout joyfully.

His excited voice was stuck in his throat.

A sudden huge arrow pierced the captain's chest, pinning him to the mast.

Dai Fosi couldn't believe it, staring at the captain whose mouth was wide open just like his.

He came to his senses and quickly looked in the direction of the arrow. Rain drenched his face again, and he could see nothing clearly.

"Hahaha, who dares to stir up a storm here without knowing their limits? Haha, I am the storm! Ha, do you like that little crow, haha!"

The voice was so close, Dai Fosi felt its madness and cruelty.

Is this the danger of sailing?

He dried the rain from his face and looked toward the sound.

At the bow of the sailing ship, a man stood tall; in the dim light, he could see only a bright blue eye.

The dark red sailship instantly crossed the water, its sails flung wide, striking aside the blocking spray.

On the black sail was a huge golden sea monster, its eyes blood‑red.