Chapter 417: Request

Chapter 417: Request

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Longing noticed Ye Qings pallid complexion and shot him a gentle, soothing smile. I can help you leave this place.

Her words surprised Ye Qing, but he didnt allow himself to get overly excited. Instead, he calmed down and said, You must have a request for me then.

Astutely observed, scion. Longing smiled widened like a blooming flower. You are correct. I do have a request for you.

I would like you to save me and my sisters, Longing said with a half-bow.

Please rise. Ye Qing made a lifting gesture. Why dont you tell me what is going on first? If it is within my capabilities to help you, then I shall.

Not that he could turn her down even if he wanted to.

You are a kind man, scion. I thank you on behalf of my sisters. Longing saluted him again before beginning, Are you aware how the corpse ship came to be, scion?

Ye Qing shook his head. Since it wasnt written in the files, he doubted that there was anyone in the Pacification Bureau who knew about it either.

Longing lifted her head a little and gazed to the distance with a forlorn, reminiscing look. As Ive told you before, the Corpse Ship used to be called the Boat of Longing. Eternal Longing is the greatest form of longing, which is why this room is named Eternal Longing, and I, its master, am the leader of this ship.

The Boat of Longing used to be a pleasure boat that was famed for its song, dance, and entertainment. We have visited every land and water under the heavens, and it is not an exaggeration to say that we were famous throughout the world. But then, we encountered a terrifying incident forty years ago.

That day, we were passing through Jin River on our way to Jin Xiu[1] when one of our crew spotted a drowned body in the river. I was a wanderer who traveled wherever I pleased, which was why I couldnt tolerate seeing a body being fed by fishes and prawns. So, I ordered my men to fish out the body so we may bury it at a proper place later.

Little did I know, my goodwill had unwittingly damned the whole ship.

Fear and regret flickered across Longings face. Ever since we fished the body up the boat, it began leaking a strange fog that quickly enveloped the whole ship.

No matter which direction we traveled, and no matter what method we tried, we were unable to go beyond the boundaries of the fog or reach the pier. Moreover, one or more crew would go missing when the fog floods into the ships hold every night.

Luckily, I had acquired a wide set of skills thanks to my travels, so I set up a restriction in every room that prevented the fog from entering. That was how we were able to survive its threat for a time.

At first, the fog flooded into the ship only once every two or three weeks, but over time, the intervals kept getting shorter and shorter. It went from half a month to several days, then several days to every day, then a day to every few hours. Even now, that time is still getting shorter.

Add to the fact that the ship was unable to leave the fog, and our food reserves were declining every day, the crew inevitably slid into fear, starvation and despair. Some people succumbed to despair and committed suicide, some people turned cruel and robbed their fellow sisters of their food. When there was literally nothing left to take, they even feasted on human flesh. Some people charged into the fog in hopes of finding a way out, and I dont need to tell you what happened to them even the handful who survived gradually lost their minds and humanity to the fog and transformed into Stranger-like creatures.

Longing paused for a moment to recover from her heartache. The peach flower she was holding had withered before Ye Qing knew it. Left with no choice, I chose to lock them up and seal them inside their rooms. The Stranger you ran into on the second floor was my servant, scion.

Ye Qing hurriedly apologized, I didnt know that she was your servant. Im very sorry that my recklessness resulted in the fog trapping her and killing her. I hope youll forgive me.

An intelligent deduction. That is correct. Longing nodded. The corpse is the root of everything.

So, this would all end if its destroyed, right? Ye Qing asked.

We believe so. But Longing explained, Maybe it was because our existence is similar to the fogs, but we would lose our direction as soon as we forced our way in. If we stay inside it for too long, we would even lose consciousness and become assimilated with it. Although we knew exactly where the corpse was left behind on the shipthe orlop deck[2]we were unable to locate it no matter what we tried. Naturally, we were unable to end the fog at its roots.

Not only that, I highly suspect that the corpse possesses some level of consciousness. Part of the reason we couldnt find it is because its hiding from us. In our opinion, it is proof that the corpse is afraid of our strength. If we can find it, we could most likely kill it and end our misery permanently.

Ye Qing rubbed his nose thoughtfully. According to the Pacification Bureaus case files, the biggest reason their Grandmasters were unable to end the threat was because they couldnt find the Corpse Ship even after they entered the fog it created. This seemed to support Longings claim that the corpse possessed a will.

So, you want me to locate the corpse for you? Ye Qing asked.

That is correct. This time, it was Hua Mei who spoke up. According to our observation, all warriors possessed some measure of resistance toward the fog. In the short term, we believe you can enter the fog without losing your way or become corrupted by it.

We want you to store the items that host our souls inside your Natures Shell so that the fog could not detect our presence. Once you have located the corpse, you may release us into the open. Well deal with it ourselves.

Of course, we promise a generous reward if the corpse is destroyed. You will be free to leave the ship as well.

Ye Qing remained silent for a moment before chuckling. It cant be that easy, can it?

If it was really that easy, the trio wouldve saved themselves a long time ago. The one thing this world didnt lack was warriors.

Of course not. Longing didnt deny it. As I told you, the corpse in the orlop deck possesses some level of consciousness. It knows when it is in danger and strives to avoid it. If someone beyond its ability were to enter its fog, it would sense it and run away immediately. That is why we can only send warriors below a certain level of strength into the fog.

However, everyone we asked for help so far was devoured, assimilated, and transformed into the fogs puppet all too quickly. You are the only one we have encountered so far that was both beneath the corpses notice and resistant to the fogs corruption. That is why we invited you to help us.

Invite? More like kidnap, Ye Qing grumbled inside his head.

Longing couldnt hear Ye Qings thoughts, of course. She continued, I wont lie and tell you that youll be able to approach the corpse smoothly even though you dont draw its attention though. In fact, it may prove to be one of the hardest journeys of your life.

First, the corpse is constantly surrounded by a thick fog, and the puppets and Strangers it controls are everywhere. Second, the fog itself is overflowing with anomalous energies of rot, corruption, and death, so if you are weak in body or spirit, the fog will corrupt you very quickly. If youre lucky, you might get away with just a damaged mind. If youre not, your mind would be extinguished, and your body would be puppeteered for eternity. Worse still, the fog and corruption grows stronger the closer you get to the corpse.

Third, the fog also possesses incredible hallucinatory effects. What you see inside the fog may not necessarily be the truth. For example, you might think you had found the corpse, but it could be just a hallucination in your mind or an illusion created by the fog. That is why our chosen warrior must possess not just a strong spirit, willpower, and acumen, but also the ability to pierce illusions.

Finally, we are unable to help you in any way before you truly find the corpse. If even a hint of our presence is leaked, the corpse would be alerted to our ploy, and we would all be in danger. In other words, you only have one shot at this.

Obviously, no ordinary warrior could accomplish this. However, you have more than proven your strength by overcoming both Hua Mei and Hue Yans tests with ease. I am certain that you are the one who will free us from this eternal misery.

1. A prefecture.

2. The lowest deck of a ship.