Pillar of Yita

But for now, Ai Xiaoxiao feels this world is much more interesting than her holiday homework.

The group followed Ai Xiaoxiao forward, the wooden boards beneath their feet creaked eerily, making people suspect they might collapse at any moment.

However, despite Ai Xiaoxiao’s previous display of fear, she now showed bravery; only the shadows flitting across the beams above could make her pause.

These were just bugs hiding on the ship; under the cover of time, the sunken ship had long become a paradise for creatures of the Sky Sea. But this is also where the danger lies, for among these uninvited guests are some highly aggressive high-level creatures.

Also dwelling in the dark and filth are the undead, turning such sunken ships into places haunted by ghosts. The ghost ship is a mere legend in another world, but not here.

However, Fang Hong had already sent the Clockwork Fairies to scout ahead and had them observe the degree of decay on the lower deck, frequently instructing Ai Xiaoxiao to avoid some dangerous spots.

After a while, Ai Xiaoxiao suddenly stopped, turned around, and gestured to them quietly:

”There’s something behind the wall.”

Fang Hong had actually spotted it earlier. Behind the door was a wandering undead sailor, its empty eye sockets flickering with the flame of a dim soul, unaware of their presence.

Tang Xin wanted to raise the Holy Emblem, but Fang Hong stopped his cousin first.

He pulled out a hand crossbow from beneath his coat, aimed in that direction, and pulled the trigger. The crossbow bolt fired, piercing the decayed wallboard and hitting the head of the undead sailor, who fell with a thud, its skeleton rolling down the inclined deck, coming to a stop not far from them, the flame in its eyes long gone.

Fang Hong put away his hand crossbow and said to the others, ”It’s just a low-level wandering undead, no need to make a big fuss and alert other things.”

Ai Xiaoxiao looked at him, somewhat dazed.

”Big cousin, you’ve changed,” she said unexpectedly, ”it’s like, you’re more reliable than before.”

Tang Xin also glanced at her cousin, surprised to find him so handsome at times like this.

She bit her lip; is this what he pursued? Or is it that men appear more attractive when pursuing their ideals.

The faint sense of dissatisfaction that had just settled in her heart resurfaced.

Wasn’t he her brother, had all those promises he made become void?

”The Captain has changed a lot,” Luo Yu also agreed, ”Captain handled so many things on the Seven Seas Traveler himself. Plus, back in Istania, he would have hesitated a lot with such decisions.”

Faced with their questions, Fang Hong’s face flushed slightly, but he also smiled faintly. The experience in the Sand Sea indeed changed him a lot. Decisions he dared not make in the past, he now makes. He organizes ship affairs and shoulders leadership responsibilities, which may be maturity.

Only Xiangzi observed him carefully with eyes hidden under a raised collar and did not see any change.

He’s still the same person. Ah, didn’t expect everyone else fell too, ridiculous commercial hype.

But what does all this have to do with him, an emotionless assassin?

”Xiangzi,” Ai Xiaoxiao turned around, ”what do you think?”

”Hum,” Xiangzi responded vaguely, ”The Captain is a good person.”

The great ship tilted severely, turning an easy passageway into a steep danger zone under the angle, requiring using both hands and feet in some parts to pass through.

The inclined hull also turned some things into deadly traps. They witnessed a moving cannon crash through one side of the ship and plunge into the abyss below.

If the Sword Bearer hadn’t pushed Ai Xiaoxiao aside in time, she might have been knocked down too.

This was the most thrilling encounter they’ve had so far; except for this, there were only some roaming low-level undead in the ship’s cabin.

On the artillery deck, those Magic Guided Cannons lay stacked in disarray, mostly rusted beyond recognition. Some could be usable after cleaning, but for now, they weren’t focusing on these cumbersome things.

Passing through a cabin that was clearly a dining room, bones of the dead lay scattered all over, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling tilting to one side, and some paper maps slid off the table, scattering and gathering dust.

Fang Hong picked one up, its paper crumbling to dust, clearly not suited for preservation under the Sky Sea conditions.

Next is the ship’s operations room, past that is the Captain’s cabin. Fang Hong pushed open the door, finding two skeletal remains lying inside, their attire suggesting they were officers.

If they were pirates, they wouldn’t be of low rank, either first mate or messenger official.

However, these haphazard bodies caught his attention. Even if it was a shipwreck, it shouldn’t have killed so many; there were prayer rooms on board, resurrection points, and with communication intact, they should have waited for rescue.

Even as pirates, they should have been able to flee to safety.

Yet the people on this ship appear to have died the moment the ship met disaster.

He pondered, turning back to find his cousin clearly also noticed this. She looked up at him, softly saying, ”This might be the Dead Silence Zone.”

Fang Hong nodded.

This powerful phrase evidently had an impact on everyone, prompting them to become more cautious.