Leng Qingning did not linger in the Jin Kingdom for long before leaving with Xiaoyu. The two traveled to another major city in the Jin Kingdom and took a ferry back to Dayue.
Xiao Yu's eyes always attracted the attention of passersby, so Leng Qingning made him wear a veil, and she wore one herself as well.
The ferry departed from the Jin Kingdom and was about to embark on its journey home.
On the eighth day of the ferry's voyage at sea, Leng Qingning vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
She leaned against the window of the private room, looking out at the boundless ocean, her expression solemn.
Logically, eight days of the ten-day journey should have passed, and they should be almost at Dayue by now. However, all they could see was a vast, boundless sea, with not a single island in sight, let alone any mountains.
The dark blue seawater indicates that this place is still in the deep sea and has not yet reached the shallow sea area.
"Sister, what are you looking at?" Xiaoyu asked as she walked over.
“This isn’t the route back to Yue Kingdom.” Leng Qingning closed the window.
"What? Where are they going?" Xiaoyu asked, puzzled. Her sister had clearly said they were going back to Yue Kingdom. Had they changed their plans at the last minute?
Leng Qingning tried her best to calm her tense expression so as not to frighten Sang Yu. "Xiao Yu, something may have happened to this ship. For some reason, the ship has changed its course and is now heading towards the deep sea. We don't know where it will go. We can only wait and see."
"Ah? How could this happen? What should we do, sister?" Xiaoyu encountered this situation on her first time going out, and her innocent eyes were full of panic.
"Don't be afraid, your sister will protect you. The ship can't stay at sea forever. We'll get off when it docks," Leng Qingning reassured her.
As the ship drifted further and further away from land, Leng Qingning guessed that the captain must have been threatened. If she rashly questioned the crew, it might bring disaster upon herself. Now, in the depths of the sea, she and Xiaoyu had nowhere to escape.
"Xiaoyu, you stay in the room for now. I'll go check on things and be right back, okay?"
Xiaoyu nodded somewhat fearfully and obediently sat on the small bed.
Leng Qingning gently ruffled his soft hair, smiled at him, and told him not to run around.
Once outside the ship, Leng Qingning walked around and saw that some passengers had already noticed the problem and were arguing with several crew members. Leng Qingning approached them to hear what they had to say.
A middle-aged woman was grabbing a crew member by the collar and shouting, "If you don't give me an explanation, you're not getting away with this today!"
"That's right, does your Shunfeng Shipping Company not want to continue operating? You dare to change your route without permission. When I get back, I'll make sure your shipping company goes bankrupt, you believe me?" another older, hot-tempered woman shouted.
"Oh, sir, this... this... I don't know either. Please be patient, let me ask the captain first."
The crew member was timid and hesitant, her palms sweaty. She dared not say more, as the lives of the three captains were still in the hands of those people. If the captains died, everyone on the ship would die as well.
The crew prayed silently that they could all return safely after delivering "those people" to their destination.
"Then why don't you hurry up and go ask?" the irritable woman cursed. "Hurry up, if you delay my important business, I'll go back and tear your shipping company apart."
Still not satisfied, he kicked the crew member hard again.
"Ouch!" The crew member who was kicked didn't dare to fight back and could only apologize repeatedly before going to find the captain.
Leng Qingning quickly followed the crew member, walking with her all the way to near the bow of the ship, and then striding up to walk alongside her.
"Wait a minute."
Leng Qingning quickly took out a silver note and handed it to her, asking in a low voice, "Where is this ship heading? Will it be able to dock safely?"
The crew member dared not say much, but when he unfolded the silver note and saw that it contained one hundred taels, his eyes lit up. He raised his sleeve to cover his mouth and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "The captain has been taken hostage. The hostage-taker wants to go to the Azure Sky. If we take them there, we can turn back."
How many of them are there?
"Twenty."
Why didn't they take a boat themselves?
"Da Yue and the Jin Kingdom are at war with Cang Qiong. Cang Qiong has blocked the entrance docks and nearby islands, and no ships dare to go there."
"How many days will it take to arrive?"
"At most fifteen days."
Thank you.
Leng Qingning turned her head and tacitly passed by the crew members.
Back in the room, Xiaoyu saw Leng Qingning and ran to her.
"Sister, how are you?"
Leng Qingning smiled reassuringly and said, "It's alright. There's a problem with the route, so it might take a longer route. But the crew told me that you'll be able to return to Dayue in a month at most."
"Really? That's great." Xiaoyu felt a little relieved. Although she had some doubts, her sister didn't seem to be lying.
Leng Qingning pulled Xiaoyu to the window. "Look, isn't the sea beautiful?"
Leng Qingning tried her best to make Xiaoyu relax, and regretted telling him in the first place that he was going in the wrong direction.
Xiaoyu gazed at the boundless sea outside the window, which was indeed beautiful under the sun. She then looked at Leng Qingning beside her, suppressed her nervousness, and smiled, her eyes crinkling: "The sea, it really is beautiful!"
As the tides rise and fall, the sun rises and the moon sets, a lone ferry drifts on the deep blue sea, day and night.
On the twelfth day, the ferry finally reached the outer edge of the sky after passing through sparse islands.
Leng Qingning stood on the main deck, gazing at the giant island in the distance.
Familiar plateaus, dense forests, and majestic peaks.
Unexpectedly, Leng Qingning would set foot in this place again in her lifetime, and she felt extremely melancholy.
boom!
Suddenly, a heavy explosion rang out at the stern of the ship, shaking the people on board and causing them to stagger.
"Ah, sister."
Xiaoyu was startled by the sudden noise and fell towards Leng Qingning due to inertia.
Leng Qingning quickly grabbed the nearby railing and hugged Xiaoyu tightly, and the two of them managed to steady themselves.
"What happened?" someone exclaimed.
The change happened too quickly; before anyone could figure out what was going on, another explosion rang out, and the ship shook violently once more.
"Ah, help!" The people on the ship screamed and panicked.
"Damn it."
Leng Qingning cursed loudly. Her first thought was that those people had crossed the river and then destroyed the bridge, destroying the ship once they reached their destination.
A raging fire had already broken out at the stern, with sparks flying towards them. The fire was spreading forward, and Leng Qingning slowly pulled Xiaoyu down to the lower foredeck.
"Xiaoyu, be careful and stay close to me."
"Um."
The two made their way down to the lower level amidst the shaking. By then, the flames had spread to the middle cabin, and many passengers were also making their way down.
Leng Qingning looked at the giant island in front of them, which was no more than five kilometers away from their ship, and the nearest small island was about one kilometer away.
"The ship will sink soon, Xiaoyu, jump in with your sister."
Leng Qingning tore off several hems of her skirt, tied them together, and fastened them around her and Xiaoyu's waists, leaving only three feet of fabric between them.
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