Stranger Danger

Chapter 417: Request

Her words surprised Ye Qing, but he didn’t 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 don’t 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 wasn’t 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 I’ve 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 couldn’t 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 Longing’s 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 ship’s 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 don’t 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 didn’t know that she was your servant. I’m very sorry that my recklessness resulted in the fog trapping her and killing her. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“There is no need to apologize, scion,” Longing said sadly. “Honestly, I don’t know if I made the right choice back then. Maybe it would’ve been better if they died.”

“Thank you very much for your understanding.” Not wanting to dwell on the subject of death any longer than was necessary, Ye Qing hurriedly changed the subject, “So, how did you manage to preserve your consciousness, miss?”

Longing shot him a tragic smile. “Having observed the fog for a long time, I came to realize that it only reacted toward the living. During my travels, I picked up a secret art named the ‘Soul Detachment and Attachment Art’ that allowed me to abandon my flesh and blood and attach my soul to a physical object and decided to learn it as a last resort. Of course, the object we attach our souls to must share a deep bond with us, or our souls would perish very quickly.”

“Pushed to the brink, me and few remaining sisters decided to give up our bodies and attach our soul to a cherished object. The painting you see is what I had attached myself to.”

Ye Qing thought for a second before producing the pipa and the bronze mirror from Nine Heavens. “In that case, these items must be the objects your sisters have attached their souls to.”

As soon as Ye Qing said this, two silhouettes appeared on the pipa and the bronze mirror. The first silhouette was none other than the pipa player he saw on the first floor, and the second silhouette was a woman with a cool and elegant appearance. She was the woman inside the bronze mirror.

“I am Hua Mei. A pleasure to meet you, scion,” The pipa player bowed and introduced herself.

“I am Jue Yan,” The woman on the bronze mirror also introduced herself.

After the introductions were over, Longing said gently, “Hua Mei and Hue Yan were testing your strength earlier. It was my idea that they check if you are strong enough to help us. I hope you will forgive us for our transgression.”

Hua Mei and Jue Yan bowed again to express their apology.

“I accept your apology, so please, raise your heads.” Ye Qing returned the salute. “It is my honor to be able to help you three, so, what do you need me to do?”

Longing didn’t keep him in suspense. “We would like you to help us eliminate this fog.”

There was a moment of incredulous silence as Ye Qing scratched his nose. He knew that Longing’s request couldn’t be simple, but this? She might as well ask him to commit suicide!

Ye Qing let out a bitter chuckle and said, “I have no qualms carrying out your request, but don’t you think you’re asking for the moon? All three of you are much stronger than me, but even you are unable to eliminate the fog. How can I possibly do what you cannot?”

He knew from experience that Hua Mei and Jue Yan possessed the strength to snuff him out like a bug, and he was willing to bet Longing was even stronger. Despite this, they were unable to break the fog’s spell. How on earth was he going to succeed where they had failed?

“Patience, scion. Allow me to tell you my plan.”

Longing began her explanation, “To tell you the truth, my sisters and I were just ordinary people who knew a number of small tricks to protect ourselves when we were still alive. We weren’t even Vessel Augmentors back then. The reason we became so strong today is all because of the fog.”

“We were able to survive after giving up our physical bodies, but the ‘Soul Detachment and Attachment Art’ has a major flaw. We would never be able to leave this ship and especially the three objects our souls are attached to. The further we are away from our objects, the weaker we become.”

“At first, we were so weak we couldn’t even leave our rooms. However, the fog took over the ship and traveled to all sorts of places to consume more prey. For whatever reason, we too grew in strength until we were finally able to affect the ship to a certain extent. That is why you were able to board our ship.”

A short pause later, Longing continued, “Despite this, we were unable to eliminate the fog once and for all. And so long as the fog persists, we will never be truly free.”

“Where is this fog coming from?” Ye Qing asked, but the answer occurred to him before Longing could answer. “Was it that corpse you fished out of the river?”

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

“So, this would all end if it’s destroyed, right?” Ye Qing asked.

“We believe so. But…” Longing explained, “Maybe it was because our existence is similar to the fog’s, 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 ship—the 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 couldn’t find it is because it’s 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 Bureau’s case files, the biggest reason their Grandmasters were unable to end the threat was because they couldn’t find the Corpse Ship even after they entered the fog it created. This seemed to support Longing’s 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 Nature’s Shell so that the fog could not detect our presence. Once you have located the corpse, you may release us into the open. We’ll 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 can’t be that easy, can it?”

If it was really that easy, the trio would’ve saved themselves a long time ago. The one thing this world didn’t lack was warriors.

“Of course not.” Longing didn’t 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 fog’s puppet all too quickly. You are the only one we have encountered so far that was both beneath the corpse’s notice and resistant to the fog’s corruption. That is why we invited you to help us.”

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

Longing couldn’t hear Ye Qing’s thoughts, of course. She continued, “I won’t lie and tell you that you’ll be able to approach the corpse smoothly even though you don’t 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 you’re lucky, you might get away with just a damaged mind. If you’re 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 Yan’s tests with ease. I am certain that you are the one who will free us from this eternal misery.”