"Black Phantom? This name sounds familiar." I said.

"In the Middle Ages, notorious pirate groups were active in various seas. They did everything from killing people to robbing ships, selling contraband, and transporting contraband. For nearly a hundred years, these pirates had never been successfully suppressed. It was not until 1492 that the Sea Monster they were driving, the so-called ghost ship, suddenly disappeared completely during a siege, announcing the end of the rule of the Ghost Age." Bai Lu said.

"There are rumors that pirate leader Terry Buck was betrayed by his subordinates. Therefore, after he noticed the many anti-bandit fleets that were surrounding him, he executed the betrayer and then ordered the explosion and burning of the Sea Monster. No one was allowed to see the true appearance of the Sea Monster. When the anti-bandit fleet arrived, there was everything on the scene, only some broken fragments were left. He specially published an announcement in the newspaper that Black Phantom had completely withdrawn from the stage of history in order to win merit and receive rewards for his meritorious service in suppressing bandits." Yunwen said.

I was a little confused. If I hadn't seen the box today, I might have thought that the ship exploded and the Sea Monster had disappeared. But I clearly saw that the floating wooden box had no signs of damage at all. At most, it had been soaked in water for many years and did not look like it had been hit by an explosion. This shows that this statement is not true.

"But I clearly saw a complete box, which completely proves that the ship was not exploded and burned, otherwise there would be some traces left. Just now you said that there were only some fragments left at the scene, so it should have been blown into pieces. Then the elm treasure chest could not have been preserved so well." I said.

Bai Lu held the dagger in her hand and said, "This is what my sister Yunwen and I are worried about. If the ghost ship is not blown up and is in the nearby sea area, it will be a big disaster. After all, according to legend, Terry Buck himself is a real ghost, and each of his crew members are monsters and freaks, not ordinary people. At this time, the 'Wandering Soul Blade' he wore suddenly appeared. We are afraid that it will make a comeback nearby."

At this time, Yingchun took the dagger back and said, "Aren't you bored? You are just looking for trouble and scaring yourself. This dagger was given to me by an ugly monster, not a ghost. You made it so weird and scared yourself. You are bored."

After saying this, she fell into a daze again, holding the dagger, as if she was reminiscing again.

I thought so too. This is a bit far-fetched. If there really is a ghost, it should have appeared long ago. How could it remain invisible? And there has been no clue related to it since we entered the island. It is just because we saw a dagger recently that we made such a speculation. It is frivolous, and as Yingchun said, it is fabricated out of nothing.

"Okay, stop talking nonsense. I guess there may be pirate ships on the bottom of the sea, but I think the ghost story is nonsense. It's actually a disguised form of protection. Pirates need to make themselves sound more awesome, so they naturally have to make up and spread some terrible rumors to prevent the authorities from arbitrarily underestimating them or suppressing them. This is a tactic often used by some black forces, relying on everyone's fear and superstition. Let's stop here for today," I said.

"Okay, let's all listen to Brother Zhou Bo. If Brother Zhou Bo says not to continue, then we won't continue." Bai Lu said hurriedly, full of desire to survive.

"Let me make it clear first, don't make me repeat myself again. If you want me to protect you, at least you all have to be obedient. If you don't want to be obedient and still want me to support you, don't even think about it. Don't hurt Yunwen again. This is the last time I'm warning you, the Song sisters, don't do things that are inappropriate and excessive. Let me make it clear, either I say it or you do it yourselves, and don't think of any other tricks. If you continue like this, I will definitely not lead this team anymore, you have to figure out a way yourself." I said.

"Brother Zhou Bo, don't worry. From now on, my sister and I will listen to you more and never do anything rash. If you say one, it's one, and if you say two, I will never say the same." Bai Lu said hurriedly.

I sneered in my heart, it was useless for her to say these things, her two sisters were not destined to have a stable life, but I made it clear in advance to make them a little afraid. A longer period of stability would help the current situation, especially since it was still deep winter today, food was scarce, and Yunwen was in poor health, so they needed more internal stability.

As the saying goes, one must first stabilize the country before resisting foreign aggression. Internal conflicts must be resolved first before we can unite to face the outside world.

"It's good to think so. I hope you, Song Bailu, can follow what I said today. Let's make the following arrangements. You two sisters will pick up a basket and bring up all the pork, fish and animal skins from the cellar and bring them back. Tomorrow I will get more sea water to filter out fine salt so that all the meat can be pickled with salt. In the days to come, meat must be eaten sparingly. You will resume your shift at night. Yunwen is still very weak, so please let the three of us be on duty. I'll be on the first shift, Bailu will be on the second, and Yingchun will be on the third. Do you have any objection?" I asked.

"No problem. We will definitely follow Brother Zhou Bo's arrangements." Bai Lu said.

"Okay, stop talking official language and just chat normally. Has everyone eaten?" I asked.

The girls all shook their heads, and at the same time, everyone's stomachs began to growl.

"You were so fierce today, we were afraid that if we touched your pot, you would be so angry that you would kill us all, so we didn't eat it." Yingchun said.

"Okay, let's open the pot quickly," I said.

I opened my backpack and took out the wild mushrooms and grass roots I had picked today, as well as a small half basket of dried black fungus, and gave them all to Bailu to prepare. She and the other two followed my instructions, went to the tunnel, retrieved what they needed, and then started to prepare.

I saw Bailu using Yingchun's dagger called "Wandering Soul Blade" to cut slices of meat. Following my arrangement of saving meat, she only cut five or six thin slices from the huge pig and strung them together with thin wooden sticks. For the ribs, the meat was picked out one by one and stored separately. The bones were put into the soup base to add flavor to the soup, increase the freshness and collagen of the soup, and also add pepper, fennel and dry ingredients for seasoning.

Then use a stick to smash the meat and wild vegetables that have just been picked out, knead them into a ball, and form vegetable and meat balls. About eight or nine of them are kneaded. After the soup boils, put them into the pot together with black fungus and wild mushrooms and cook them warm. While the soup is cooking, the rich aroma is wafting around, and at the other end, grill the meat skewers. Use willow branches to dip some sesame oil that was previously squeezed in a clay jar, spread it evenly, put them on the grill, and sprinkle with seasonings.

In this way, you can eat some oil to provide fatty acids, drink bone soup, eat meatballs and hot pot vegetables. Not only does the taste of the food vary and satisfy your appetite, but it also allows you to take in the nutrients of the food into your body to the greatest extent. I can say that it is more nutritionally balanced than big fish and meat, and it is also the greatest respect for resources.

Bai Lu knew the answer well. She had long understood how to protect and conserve resources, but she doted on her sister too much, so she knowingly committed the same mistakes several times.

Not long after, the meatballs were cooked in a pot of bone soup, and the hot pot vegetables were taken out of the pot and sprinkled with some sansho pepper for seasoning. It became a hot pot vegetarian dish. Finally, the roasted meat slices were taken out one by one and placed in an earthen plate, and it became a delicious secret roasted flavor.

Although it was just crude mountain food, it was mixed with various cooking methods and had good color, aroma and taste. It was the most sincere meal in recent days.

I went over and helped Yunwen over, and we all sat around the octagonal table, eating and drinking together again, and temporarily putting aside the past grudges.

At this moment, everyone is moving their chopsticks and enjoying this delicious meal, as if everything else is not so important. Breaking up and getting together, gathering and dispersing, arguing and making up, repeating over and over again, like a family, but without blood ties.

The wild desert island world is truly a magical place.