Duncan paused montarily in assisting Alice with the residual glue as though he was intently listening to a distant sound. After so ti, he lowered his head once more and used a soft cloth to remove debris from the table.
Alice blinked curiously, gazing at the captain: “Cap-cap-captain, what-what-what just happened?”
“Morris received a letter from a distant friend, and he’s uncertain about the situation it describes,” Duncan replied with a smile, continuing to help Alice with the layer of residual glue on her neck joint. “He asked for my assistance in assessing the situation.”
“Distant fri-friend?” Alice’s head stuttered on the navigation table, “Is-is-is there danger? Do we need to-to-to rescue them?”
There was little glue left on the neck joint, and it was much easier to clean than the recessed head joint. Duncan quickly removed the dried glue, carefully completed the final wipe, and then bent down to hold Alice’s head, gently returning her to her original position as if she were a delicate piece of art.
“We might be going to rescue them,” he whispered, rotating the puppet’s head from side to side, “but it’s also possible that we’ll help them find peace. Either way, we must travel to a far-off place.”
As the puppet’s head was secured, Alice’s previously dull eyes beca lively. She gently shook her head as if a soul had entered the wooden puppet, and her speech beca fluid again: “Ah, where are we headed?”
Duncan put away the cleaning supplies and examined the foggy sea chart.
On the chart, the small light representing the Sea Mist was slowly moving, already far from Pland.
“North,” he murmured, his gaze focusing on the goat head, “Raise the jib and the foresail, turn northward—follow the Sea Mist.”
“Aye, Captain!”
…
Heidi placed the small brown bottle on the coffee table – around three-fifths of the transparent dicine was visible inside. The liquid reflected a faint golden light in the waning sunset, and within the shimring golden circles, tiny bubbles seed to continuously separate and dance near the surface.
“This is the final dose, more potent than the dicine you’ve taken previously. You can take it when you set sail, just three drops each ti—of course, I also recomnd starting now,” Miss Psychiatrist lifted her head, gazing at the white-haired old captain before her. “As a captain who has spent half a lifeti on the Boundless Sea, you should be more mindful of your health.”
“Thank you for your advice, Miss Heidi. I understand my situation,” Lawrence responded without impatience or excessive enthusiasm. Instead, he curiously picked up the bottle, examining the constantly bubbling liquid through the glass in the sunlight. “… A beautiful potion. Does it taste bitter?”
“It will be sowhat bitter but with a more prominent herbal aroma. I’ve also added honey to mask the bitterness,” Heidi explained. “It won’t be difficult to swallow.”
As she spoke, she glanced at the sky outside the window.
The sun was slowly setting, casting a slightly orange-red light through the glass window into the living room.
This was Captain Lawrence’s ho away from the White Oak. As an experienced old captain, he had arranged nurous displays in the living room that showcased his sailing adventures: coral specins gathered from shallow waters near the shore, models of ship’s wheels and ships, totem decorations from far-flung city-states, and a large shelf against the wall filled with awards and ntos from the Explorers Association, city-state authorities, and the four major churches.
Now, these emblems of glory and mory were bathed in the slanting sunlight, covered in a golden hue, and gradually fading in the radiance.
It was ti to depart, as the setting sun was not conducive to continuing psychological assistance.
“I should be going,” Heidi sighed softly as she stood from the sofa, her eyes resting on the dicine bottle in Lawrence’s hand, “Please rember to take the dicine – it can effectively help you withstand the ntal strain of the Boundless Sea.”
“Thank you, you’ve already been a great help,” the white-haired Lawrence also rose, wearing a genuine smile, “Allow to walk you out.”
Heidi was escorted to the door by the old captain, but before leaving, she couldn’t resist taking one last look at Lawrence and said, “I have one final piece of advice – although your current condition is still considered favorable among captains your age, you have truly reached the age of retirent, and you should think about entrusting the White Oak to a reliable successor.”
Having expressed her thoughts, she didn’t anticipate a response from the old captain and instead politely bowed in farewell. Heidi soon got into her car that was parked at the intersection, leaving Lawrence to sigh and return to his living room. Here, the old captain’s wife stood nearby, leaning against the doorfra, her arms crossed and looking sowhat displeased.
She was a very tall woman, and although age had caught up with her, one could still see remnants of her youthful elegance; standing there, she resembled the fad female explorer on the Boundless Sea from years past.
But now, the explorer’s mood was less than stellar.
“Day after day, if it’s not a church review, it’s a ntal health physician visiting. Just what kind of trouble did you find out there?” she glared, her voice raised, “And what’s with that dicine bottle – you never ntioned that your ntal state had declined to the point where you need dication to maintain it.”
“I didn’t ask to encounter that ghost ship,” Lawrence glanced at the dicine bottle in his hand and shook his head helplessly, “But now it’s fine; the entire city-state has faced the Vanished, so no one cares about what happened to the White Oak. As for this dicine… it’s nothing; after all, being at sea for extended periods, one might occasionally experience hallucinations and illusions.”
His wife didn’t join the conversation; she simply stared intently at him for a while before sighing, “Aren’t you planning to retire?”
“I want to keep searching…” Lawrence said with so hesitation, “After all… there was no definitive news of death back then…”
“You’re going to die doing this!” his wife’s voice escalated, pointing at Lawrence’s nose, “What do you think amounts to death? After a storm, if a ship veers off course and its crew loses contact, that’s the sa as death! Do you understand?”
“You look at yourself; how many years have you spent searching? You’ve long surpassed the retirent age, and those captains who started with you, the sensible ones, have already retired. At least now they can enjoy the savings they’ve accumulated over half their lives. Those who lack sense are stubborn like you, and what’s beco of them now? Drooling in bed? Lying in the graveyard? Locked up in a madhouse?”
“I suggest you take this dicine now, then go straight to handle the transfer tomorrow. Pass the White Oak on to a trustworthy person you’ve ntored from a young age, and honestly go ho and live out the rest of your days on a pension. Don’t wait until one day you die in so storm. I can’t bear that burden…”
Listening to his wife’s increasingly stern reprimands, Lawrence just smiled mildly without arguing. In the end, he placed the small brown dicine bottle on the tea table: “Let’s search one last ti.”
His wife finally stopped, staring at the dicine bottle on the tea table. After an unknown amount of ti, she sighed with lingering anger and muttered as if resigned: “Where are you going to search this ti?”
“North,” Lawrence said calmly, “the original place where the ‘Black Oak’ encountered the storm. I just accepted an escort mission to Frost…”
His wife didn’t say anything, she just silently waved her hand.
…
The morning sun spread across the streets, and Pland was gradually awakening from a night of deep slumber.
Vanna bent down and stepped out of the car, squinting slightly in the sunlight. At the end of her sight was the familiar sign of the antique shop she had visited once.
The shop was already open. A thin, black-haired, black-skirted girl was sprinkling water at the door, and another girl of similar age was hanging the “open for business” sign on the door.
If she rembered correctly, the two girls were nad Shirley and Nina—the latter being the shop owner’s niece.
Vanna rubbed her forehead, recalling the last ti she visited the antique shop. For so reason, she felt that so details were quite hazy when she rembered them now.
This only reinforced her determination to take a look today.
The voice of her subordinate ca from the car: “How long will you be away?”
“Within an hour,” Vanna replied. “Just wait here.”
“Alright,” the young guard responsible for driving nodded in the car but still reminded her worriedly, “Please be mindful of the ti. Today is the day the Grand Storm Cathedral arrives in Pland. You need to personally attend the welcoming ceremony. Bishop Valentine specifically reminded us. Also, this visit wasn’t in our schedule…”
“Alright, alright, you’ve already nagged about it several tis,” Vanna waved her hand, looking sowhat helpless. “I know everyone is on edge about the Grand Storm Cathedral’s arrival; I will pay attention to the ti.”
“…Okay, I’ll wait here for you.”
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