novelraw Chapter 9 : Chapter 9
Chapter 9 : Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Strange Tales on the Ship
For the next two days, I stayed in bed, feigning weakness.
In truth, I was fully immersed in exploring the extraordinary realm, with thirteen silver veins now coursing through my body. This meant thirteen pathways for channeling the scorching airflow.
Despite multiple attempts, I couldn’t find a way to create more silver veins.
Fortunately, the thirteen veins already covered my body initially. Using them as channels for the scorching airflow to nourish my flesh and bones, I transformed completely in just two days. My senses sharpened—ears keen, eyes acute, physical capabilities reaching an unknown peak.
I felt boundless strength, as if I could kill a bull with one punch.
The recovery speed of my left arm’s injury was astonishing; the wound had begun to scab and heal, allowing simple lifting and gripping without pain, as long as I didn’t overexert.
Such a healing rate defied reason, incomprehensible.
I estimated that, nourished by the scorching airflow, my arm would fully recover in another two or three days.
If not for needing to hide my strength to avoid suspicion of swallowing the Buddha’s relic, I’d have rushed outside to test my new physical abilities. My speed and strength now would likely shock even me.
But these two days, my hunger grew rapidly, my appetite insatiable, never satisfied.
This contrasted sharply with Professor Xu on the next bed, who had no appetite. Most of the meals his students brought ended up in my stomach.
“I can’t create more silver veins, so I’ll pause exploring the extraordinary for now. Time to go outside, see what’s happening on the bronze ship… and find some food.”
Over the past two days, I’d heard talk of “the bronze ship being vast, easy to get lost in the fog,” “the tomb forest eerie, with strange noises,” “the Golden Crow’s corpse massive as a mountain, its glow lighting the dark, its heat warding off the cold”… but I had no clear picture.
With my injury nearly healed and extraordinary strength at my side, my confidence grew, dispelling the confusion and anxiety of two days ago.
Confidence comes from capability, superior strength, or a solid backing—not empty words of encouragement.
Knowing that standing out draws attention, I didn’t want to be thrust into the spotlight. So, like a typical patient, I sat up with feigned difficulty, my feet slowly finding the floor.
“Little Brother Li, what are you doing out of bed? Need help?”
Gao Huan’s injuries weren’t too severe. His neck sprain had healed, but his broken right arm was still splinted and bandaged. He was getting up to relieve himself.
I walked out of the medical shack with Gao Huan.
Seeing the scene on the bronze deck, despite my mental preparation, I was deeply shocked, a chill running up my spine.
It was like the underworld—tombs, grave mounds, ghost flags, and prayer banners filled the scene, shrouded in swirling ghostly mist, visibility severely limited. Above, dark clouds hung low, pressing down on the deck, creating an oppressive, stifling feeling.
They’d said visibility was limited to three or four rows of graves, and entering the tomb forest was like a maze.
My eyes, nourished by the scorching airflow, saw farther.
Seven or eight rows of graves were clear, the fog not obscuring my view within a hundred meters.
Yet, with the deck’s five-hundred-meter width, it still felt like “being in the mountains, lost in deep clouds,” evoking awe and mystery.
The only light source was the Golden Crow’s corpse, said to be breathtaking up close. Despite being dead for eons, its feathers remained intensely hot and radiant.
Through the distant mist, I could only see a large patch of dark red light.
It was like a dark red mountain, its form and details indistinct.
“At first, the bronze ship didn’t have such thick fog. It grew denser after it set sail.”
“I heard strange things happened. Someone in the tomb forest saw a ghostly camel caravan, bells jingling, vanishing into a tombstone with a ghost flag.”
“Another said they heard chains and claws scraping metal deep underground while in the tomb forest. There’s something terrifying inside this ship, but we can’t find an entrance.”
“We’ve definitely fallen into the mythical underworld. Remember the Nine Infants that flipped the research vessel? It was seized by a golden claw—absolutely the Kunpeng’s claw.”
“How big is the Kunpeng? Thousands of miles, as Zhuangzi saw in his dream journey to the underworld.”
“The underworld is vast and terrifying. During the Xia and Shang dynasties, it invaded Earth, and the gods thought demons came from the North Sea. Who’d have thought the underworld hid in the microcosm?”
…
After relieving himself, Gao Huan pulled me into a ramble about myths and his speculations. When asked where he learned them, he named obscure books I’d never heard of.
We grabbed some food from the kitchen tent, filling our stomachs.
Passing a cluster of smaller, newer graves, Gao Huan sighed, “When we set out, the Dragon Pole had 117 people. Only 82 survived, with over a dozen seriously injured.”
Three medical shacks were set up on the deck.
The one Gao Huan and I were in, near the hull, was just one.
“Surviving isn’t necessarily lucky.” Thinking of the near future, when food and water shortages might spark conflict and lead to destruction, my mood grew heavy.
The microcosm was surely different from Earth. Without land to dock, our current supplies wouldn’t last long.
I heard the research team tried lowering buckets on ropes to fetch water from the dark sea below, reaching over a hundred meters to find the surface.
But a monstrous force nearly pulled the team member down. Multiple attempts yielded the same result.
They could hear waves but couldn’t retrieve water.
The sea held unknown dangers.
“You’re so right!”
Gao Huan glanced around, whispering, “I heard to solve the food and water issue, the leaders decided to test the blood of the Golden Crow and Black Dragon. Dr. Cai’s leading it and got results yesterday. No idea if it’s safe to drink.”
“I also heard Xie Tianshu suggested using the severely injured for experiments. If it works, they might heal. If it fails, it saves food and water.”
“But the leaders collectively opposed it. I think they’ll do it eventually. When food and water dwindle and conditions worsen, they’ll ask the injured’s ‘consent.’ In reality, the injured have no choice.”
“After the injured, it’ll be us—the old, weak, and sick. It’s always people eating people, with clear hierarchies.”
I said, “Maybe there’s another way.”
Gao Huan, curious, asked, “What way?”
I pointed to the tall grave mounds ahead.
Cai Yutong was leading a dozen team members, digging the gray-white soil from the mounds, spreading it into three half-acre plots near the hull.
Beside the plots were bags of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and vegetable seeds.
Several buckets of blood from the Black Dragon and Golden Crow stood ready.
Gao Huan laughed, “Dr. Cai’s got a plan! Right, we can test with plants first. The ship has plenty of water—we can grow vegetables and fruits, be self-sufficient.”
Hearing the laughter, Cai Yutong looked at us, then approached with a stern face: “Who let you leave the medical shack? It’s so cold on the deck—can your weak body handle it? Feeling a bit better and you start messing around?”
“She’s talking to you,” I whispered.
Gao Huan, stunned, met Cai Yutong’s gaze, stammering, “I’m… not that weak. Not messing around, just came out to…”
“Not you.”
Stepping within a couple of paces, Cai Yutong scolded and warned me, her glare practically sending me back to the shack.
This senior sister had a strong personality.
But after donating blood and caring for me, I couldn’t muster much defiance.
After she’d lectured enough, I said as gently as possible, “Senior Sister, you’ve seemed tense lately. If you’re under pressure or need help, tell me. Maybe I can assist.”
I suspected her “irritability” stemmed from pressure from the leaders, perhaps even being forced to experiment on living people.
Gao Huan misunderstood, chiming in, “Drink more hot water, stay warm.”
By the time Cai Yutong reacted, we’d slipped away.
“Too scary! Little Brother Li, listen to me—however pretty or shapely, female Ph.D.s are off-limits,” Gao Huan said, shaken.
I laughed, “You’ve got it all wrong. We’re just alumni, only known each other a few days.”
“Alumni? Would a mere alumni care that much? She talks to you more than everyone else combined and fed you fish soup! I’ve got plenty of classmates on this ship—who’s brought me soup, let alone fed me?” Gao Huan said.
“Senior Sister’s cold outside, warm inside—it’s just her personality.”
I gazed at the distant, mountain-like dark red glow in the fog, curiosity overwhelming: “I want to see the Black Dragon and Golden Crow corpses.”
My mind recalled falling into the Arctic Ocean, my body shrinking, and the bizarre sights on the bronze ship.
At its clearest, the ship was fishing-boat-sized, right before me.
I distinctly saw celestial glow and ghostly mist enveloping it. The glow was at the stern, where unique, ornate ancient buildings stood, like palaces for immortals.
What was there?
“Let’s go together. I haven’t seen them up close either—legendary divine beasts! How did they die? Why do they still glow and radiate heat?”
“It’s unbelievable. This ship must come from some glorious, primal era, or it’s taking us there,” Gao Huan said, thrilled, heading with me toward the dark red glow at the stern. “With your ‘special’ relationship with Dr. Cai, you should quietly ask for the real scoop. If the Golden Crow and Black Dragon’s blood is drinkable, we sneak a few sips. Isn’t that like taking immortal elixirs? Your arm might heal by tomorrow.”
I said, “I don’t have a special relationship with her! Besides, if their blood was safe to drink, why would she bother planting crops?”
Gao Huan had his own view: “Women—don’t listen to what they say or watch what they do. Get her to fall for you, and she’ll spill the truth irrationally. Who’s to say Dr. Cai hasn’t secretly drunk the blood, then told everyone it’s unsafe?”
“Weiyi, I’m older and wiser—I know women’s true faces. They smile and act friendly in good times, but when you’re injured in bed, no fish soup for you.”
I felt Gao Huan was too hung up on the fish soup: “Actually… you’re not badly injured. You could’ve gone to the kitchen tent yourself. Everyone’s busy—they might’ve just overlooked you.”
Gao Huan considered it and reluctantly accepted my guess.