Duncan temporarily stopped helping Alice deal with the residual glue, as if he was listening carefully to the sounds in the distance. After a moment, he lowered his head again and wiped off some debris on the table with a soft cloth.

Alice blinked her eyes and looked at the captain curiously: "Captain, what happened just now?"

"Morris received a letter from a distant friend. He was not very reassured about the situation in the letter," Duncan smiled, stood up, and said casually while helping Alice deal with a layer of residual glue on her neck joint, "He wanted me to help take a look at the situation."

"Friends from afar?" Alice stammered as her head rested on the navigation table. "Are they in danger? Should we rescue them?"

There wasn't much glue left on the neck joints, and it was much easier to clean than the residual glue in the depressions of the head joints. Duncan quickly dealt with the dried glue. He carefully completed the final wipe, then bent down and picked up Alice's head, carefully putting it back in place as if it were a work of art.

"We may be going to rescue someone," he said softly, turning the puppet's head left and right, "but it may also be to help him rest in peace. But either way, we have to go to a very far place."

The puppet's head was put in place, and Alice's slightly dull eyes instantly became lively. She shook her head gently, like a puppet injected with soul, and her speech became fluent again: "Ah, then where are we going?"

Duncan put away the cleaning tools and looked at the foggy sea chart.

On the nautical chart, the small bright spot representing the Sea Mist was moving slowly and was already some distance away from Pland.

"North," he whispered, his eyes fixed on the Goat's Head, "raise the jib and jib, and turn north—follow the Seahorn."

"Aye, captain!"

※※※

Heidi placed the small brown medicine bottle on the coffee table. There was about three-fifths of clear medicine in the bottle. The medicine reflected a faint golden light in the gradually sinking sunset light, and in the circles of spreading golden light, there seemed to be tiny bubbles constantly precipitating from it, jumping around near the liquid surface.

"This is the last dose of medicine. It is stronger than the one you used before. You can drink it when you go out to sea. Only three drops are needed each time. Of course, I also suggest that you start taking it now." The psychiatrist raised her head and looked at the gray-haired old captain in front of her. "As a captain who has spent half his life on the vast sea, you should be more responsible for your health."

"Thank you for your advice, Miss Heidi. I know my situation." Lawrence was not impatient, but he was not overly enthusiastic either. He just picked up the bottle of potion curiously and looked at the bubbles constantly emanating from the bottle through the glass in the sunlight. "...It's a beautiful potion. Is it bitter?"

“It has a little bit of flavor, but it’s more of an herbal aroma, and I added some honey to mask the bitterness,” Heidi said. “It’s not hard to drink.”

As she spoke, she raised her head and glanced at the sky outside the window.

The sun is gradually setting, and the slightly orange-red sunlight is shining into the living room through the glass windows.

This is the home of Captain Lawrence of the White Oak. As a senior captain, Lawrence has arranged many exhibits in the living room that can prove his sailing experience - coral specimens collected from shallow waters near the coast, models of rudders and ships, totem decorations from some remote city-states, and a large shelf against the wall, which is filled with awards and souvenirs awarded by the Explorers' Association, city-state authorities and the four major churches.

Now, these things that symbolize glory and memory are immersed in the slanting sunlight, coated with a layer of golden glow, and then gradually dim in the glow.

It's time to leave, and after the sun sets is not a good time to continue providing psychological support.

"I should leave now," Heidi exhaled softly and stood up from the sofa. Her eyes fell on the medicine bottle in Lawrence's hand. "Please don't forget to take the medicine - it can effectively help you resist the mental effects of the endless sea."

"Thank you, you've helped me a lot." The gray-haired Lawrence also stood up with a sincere smile on his face, "I'll take you there."

Heidi was escorted to the door by the old captain, but before leaving, she couldn't help but look at Lawrence twice more and said, "Also, I have one last suggestion - although your current condition is still good compared to all captains of the same age, you are really at retirement age. It's time to consider handing over the White Oak to a reliable successor."

After saying what she wanted to say, she did not expect a reply from the old captain. She just bowed slightly politely, said goodbye and left.

The psychiatrist walked towards the car parked at the intersection, while Lawrence sighed softly and turned back to the living room.

My wife was leaning against the door frame not far away with her shoulders folded, looking over here with some dissatisfaction.

She is a very tall woman. Although she is old now, she can still see some of her youthful charm. She stands there as if she was standing on the boat back then...she is still the famous female explorer on the vast ocean.

But now the female explorer is obviously in a bad mood.

"Every day, you're either being interrogated by the church or being visited by a psychiatrist. How much trouble have you gotten yourself into outside?" She stared and spoke in a loud voice, "And what's with that bottle of medicine? You never said that your mental condition was so bad that you needed medicine to maintain it."

"It's not like I wanted to encounter that ghost ship," Lawrence looked at the medicine bottle in his hand and shook his head helplessly, "But now it's good. The whole city-state has encountered the Lost Homeland, so no one cares about the White Oak. As for this bottle of medicine... it's nothing. After all, I've been out at sea for a long time, and I just have some auditory and visual hallucinations occasionally."

The wife didn't say anything, but just stared at him for a long time. After several minutes, she sighed and said, "Aren't you going to retire yet?"

"I want to look for it again..." Lawrence said with some lack of confidence, "After all... there was no clear news of death back then..."

"You're going to die from this sooner or later!" His wife raised her voice again, pointing at Lawrence's nose. "What is that? It's a big storm on the vast ocean! After a storm, a ship deviates from its course, and the people on the ship lose contact. That means death! Do you understand?

"Look at you. How many years have you been looking for a job? You are already past retirement age. Those captains of your generation who had brains have already retired. Now at least they can enjoy their savings accumulated over half a lifetime in peace. Those who had no brains just held on like you, what have they ended up with? Lying on the bed with drooling eyes? Lying in a graveyard? Being locked up in an insane asylum?

"I advise you to take this medicine now, and then go and complete the handover tomorrow. Hand over the White Oak to a confidant you have cultivated since childhood, and go home to live out the rest of your life with your retirement allowance. Don't wait to die in a storm one day. I can't bear the thought of that..."

Lawrence listened to his wife's increasingly loud rebukes, but he just smiled tepidly and didn't refute anything. Finally, he put the small brown medicine bottle on the coffee table and said, "Let's look for it one last time."

The wife finally stopped and stared at the medicine bottle on the coffee table. After an unknown amount of time, she sighed with anger and muttered as if she had accepted her fate, "Where should I find it this time?"

"To the north," Lawrence said calmly, "the first place, the sea area where the 'Black Oak' encountered a storm. I just happened to accept an escort mission to Frost..."

The wife said nothing, but just waved her hand silently.

※※※

The morning sun shone across the streets, and Plande was gradually waking up from a night of deep sleep.

Vanna bent down and got out of the car, squinting slightly in the sunlight. At the end of her sight was the familiar sign of the antique shop she had visited once.

The shop was already open. A skinny girl in black hair and black skirt was sprinkling water at the door, while another girl who looked about the same age was hanging a "open" sign on the door.

If memory serves me correctly, the two girls were named Shirley and Nina - the latter being the owner's niece.

Vanna rubbed her forehead and recalled the last time she visited the antique shop. For some reason, she always felt that some of the details were quite vague when she recalled them now.

This further strengthened her idea that she should come and take a look today.

The subordinate's voice came from the car: "How long will you be gone?"

"Within an hour," Vanna replied, "just wait here."

"Okay," the young guard in charge of driving nodded in the car, but still reminded a little worriedly, "Pay attention to the time. Today is the day when the Storm Cathedral arrives in Plande. You need to attend the welcoming ceremony in person. Bishop Valentine specifically reminded you of this. In addition, we didn't come here on our itinerary..."

"Okay, okay, you've said it several times," Vanna waved her hand, looking somewhat helpless. "I know everyone is very nervous about the Storm Cathedral's landing this time. I will pay attention to the time."

"...Okay, I'll wait for you here."