Chapter 321: Stories on the Sea

The night wind was a bit cold. Xia De looked at Miss Princess beside him; the latter's dress clearly wouldn't keep her warm. But the other party was a Five-Ringed Shushi, so she probably wouldn't get sick easily.

Finding a small boat moored in the northeast of the pier, the boatman wearing a straw hat rowed the boat to carry the two away from the pier after they boarded. This was just a small wooden boat; of course, it wasn't used to carry them to the deep sea.

Right in the harbor of Coldwater Port, a rather imposing two-story steam cruise ship with lights shining brightly on the deck was moored. The chimney stood on the deck of the cruise ship, and the flag representing Karsinrik fluttered in the wind.

From the appearance, this was a private cruise ship of a wealthy merchant from Karsinrik, inviting some guests seeking excitement to hold a banquet on the cruise ship tonight. But in reality, the capable Ringed Shushi in Coldwater Port had bribed the harbor manager to hold an auction for Ringed Shushi items on the ship tonight.

Using this kind of small boat to board the ship, instead of waiting for the cruise ship to dock, was also because of the special nature of this banquet. The invitation Miss Princess held allowed a maximum of three people to accompany her. If Xia De hadn't appeared tonight, she had originally planned to attend the auction alone.

The small boat silently cut through the waves, carrying three people to the steam cruise ship moored in the middle of the harbor. They came in the dark, and after the boatman sent a signal, the small steam engine on the deck operated, lowering the cargo platform connected to the cable. After Xia De and Miss Princess stood on it, along with the noise made by the steam engine, the metal plate platform rose slowly until it was flush with the deck. Xia De even very gentlemanly supported the girl with golden hair that seemed to be fading a bit when crossing the gap between the two.

Behind them was the harbor where gas lamps flickered, and in front of them was the night scene of the calm sea surface hanging with three moons. Lights were lit everywhere on the deck. Guests wearing masks like Xia De and Miss Princess were either standing together in groups of three or five looking at the night view of the sea, or crowding around tables to play cards. As for the guests who came alone, most were standing at long tables picking out food.

The sound of violins and the deep sound of French horns sounded together. Following the music of the band in one corner of the deck, men and women wearing masks snuggled together and danced.

At a rough glance, there were already nearly 50 people on the deck now.

"It seems the organizer of the auction is really amazing. Is it a high-level Ringed Shushi from the New Continent, or a local snake in Coldwater Port? Oh, Miss Princess, how many Ringed Shushi can there be here?"

The girl wearing a mask straightened her dress:

"Not including us, about ten or so. The invitations aren't sent out casually; not only do you have to have money, but you also have to be reliable. Do you know that the Church now likes to disguise themselves as illegal Ringed Shushi, post various tasks on the black market, and then take the opportunity to arrest those illegal guys?"

This kind of thing was called fishing law enforcement in the outsider's hometown.

Miss Princess finished straightening her dress and looked at Xia De again, helping him straighten his tie:

"Let's go eat something first. The admission time is almost over, and the cruise ship will set sail soon. After leaving the coastline, the auction will officially begin. We can't get the cargo list in advance; all auction items can only be known when the auction begins."

"It doesn't matter. The possibility of having what I want here is very small."

Xia De said indifferently. He came here just to try his luck and gain some knowledge by the way; whether he wanted to buy something or not wasn't important to him.

Xia De and Miss Princess came here just in time. Not long after they boarded the ship, the moored cruise ship officially set sail and headed toward the deep ocean, expected to return to Coldwater Port at midnight four hours later.

The traveling ship made the firelight representing civilization weaker and weaker, and the dark and deep ocean seemed to be about to swallow the group. The muffled sound of the whistle sounded around, and thick black smoke dragged toward the stern of the ship with the night wind.

Far away from the gathering area of civilization, the deep and ancient darkness made Xia De inexplicably uncomfortable. Although this ship wouldn't truly go deep into the ocean, just slightly away from Coldwater Port, for an outsider, being far away from the firelight of civilization in such a world still made him very worried.

"Miss Princess, can you swim?"

To avoid being chatted up by boring people, the two were now standing by the railing of the deck looking at the night view. The blonde girl wearing a mask was shaking the slender goblet in her hand, while Xia De was holding nothing.

"Of course I can. Why?"

Xia De didn't say he was a bit worried about the ocean late at night:

"Do you think... this ship will suddenly hit an iceberg?"

"An iceberg?"

Even though only eyes were exposed through the holes in the mask, Xia De could guess the surprise on the other party's face:

"Do I need to remind you that we are currently at Coldwater Port on the west coast of the north-central part of the Old Continent, not the far north of the continent. And it's summer now... an iceberg? How could you ask that?"

She laughed lightly, and Xia De also shook his head embarrassedly:

"Just a bit worried, but speaking of icebergs, do you want to hear a story?"

Turning to look at the deck illuminated by candles and gas lamps, it was still just an ordinary cruise ship masked banquet now. Men and women with different intentions were chatting, playing cards, looking at the scenery, or dancing in one corner of the deck. The melodious violin sound made Xia De's mood relax a lot, and the auction was going to be held in forty minutes:

"To pass the time, I thought of a love story about a cruise ship, the ocean, an iceberg, and jewelry."

"Alright."

Miss Princess nodded, shaking the slender goblet containing wine with two fingers, and then lifted her mask to drink the wine.

The young girl suddenly gave Xia De a playful smile, then threw it lightly, and the wine glass was thrown directly into the sea. She brushed her hair generously:

"I love listening to stories the most, but if the story isn't interesting, you have to accompany me for a drink."

Looking at Xia De with a smile in her eyes:

"Although you claim not to drink, having a drink should be fine."

"Of course I can. Then I'll start telling it... Is it unlucky to tell a story about a shipwreck on a ship?"

Xia De asked worriedly, but Miss Princess didn't care, her voice blowing into Xia De's ears with the wind:

"If you don't tell a story, then I'll go get a wine glass directly. What do you like to drink? Sparkling wine? Oh, that's something children drink."

"Of course I'll tell it, but I have to give this story a nice name... Hit an iceberg? No, that's not elegant at all... Poor boy and rich girl? No, no, that won't work either... Shipwreck caused by cheating? No, that won't work, the two things are unrelated."

Xia De muttered to himself there. He didn't want to say the name of that ship on the ship; that was truly unlucky. Miss Princess looked at him with a smile; she was enjoying this moment very much:

"Does the jewelry you mentioned have a name?"

The female sorceress asked softly, and Xia De nodded:

"Heart of the Ocean." ===== CHAPTER 322 =====