Chapter 248: Setting Sail.
“These drawings are reproductions of some murals I discovered. The content isn’t hard to understand, but the identity of the artist remains unclear.”
The two murals were simple, sketched with visible handprints.
“This handprint?”
The scholar of dragon people jumped onto the table to compare it with his own hand, immediately understanding the artist.
Murals from ancient dragon people.
Jié Jié leaned in closer for a better look. Was there really an illustration of a weasel pointing at a large monster?
Apparently not. One mural showed pointy-eared creatures looking at candy sticks in the sky.
The other depicted two flying dragons circling around an ancient tree.
“Such an easy-to-understand painting style.”
The team leader commented while Master Yuan Ye continued recounting his exploration experiences.
“Always organizing materials is too boring. In the future, I must engage in more field activities.”
“Back in the original continent, I must also continue to exercise.”
Master Swordsmen approached the crowd and lightly patted the compiler on the shoulder. During leisure time, he often dragged the compiler to do morning exercises.
“Certainly! Ouch!”
The compiler raised his fist and collided it with the swordsman’s. Even with gloves, he still hit the painful spot, causing him to dramatically shake his fingers after inhaling sharply, making everyone laugh heartily.
The atmosphere was joyous.
So joyous that both the compiler and the hunter who were leaving had blurred vision until Master Yuan Ye’s book of compilations disappeared, and the head chef brought out plates of food, filling the table.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
“Take all the remaining wine with you. Remember to conserve it. Also, always pay attention to the compass and underwater.”
“… And, don’t choose a landing point where no observatory can be seen. We’re all counting on you.”
The commander pulled the hunter and the compiler by their shoulders and spoke for quite a while without drinking any alcohol, yet acting as if drunk.
After this night, they prepared for two more days.
Finally, after one last check, the small boat rocked slightly due to the weight of the two people. The sail was opened, and the hunter was already positioned at the oar linkage.
The people of the investigation team, except for the dragon people hunters, all watched their departure from the shore.
It was only when the compiler cut the rope that the small boat could drift towards the horizon.
The rope was cut, and the hunter swung the central linkage of the boat with both arms.
“The wind has picked up.”
The team leader looked at the inflated sail on the small boat, stroking his chin in confusion.
“A smooth sail, perhaps it’s good luck.”
The commander muttered.
Upon hearing this, the blonde man stopped thinking and simply stared at the end of the line of sight of the small boat.
“Well, everyone, let’s get back to work. Let the juniors see our elite abilities!”
The team leader raised his hand and called for everyone to disperse.
“The smoky snow weasel is gone again, even though it was just with us.”
“Huh?!”
The commander made a shocked sound, some fallen fur from the smoky snow weasel was given to the guide insect for searching. The head chef and Ailu cats were also searching.
They eventually returned to the shore, because Jie Jie’s final footprint disappeared at the edge of the coast.
“Meow meow meow?”
“Could it have followed the ship?”
The commander squatted down and looked far into the horizon, feeling dejected. If this was the case, it meant he might never see the smoky snow weasel again.
“Sigh, maybe it just wanted to return to its original place.”
The team leader squatted down as well, comforting his deputy, his gaze also extending towards the distance.
Currently, there hasn’t been any discovery of smoky snow weasels’ distribution in the new continent. Maybe it came here from the original continent by coincidence.
“Let’s wish them a smooth journey.”
“Hmm.”
…
“The wind has stopped.”
The compiler standing below the sail shifted his gaze from the compass and sea chart, noticing the inflated sail gradually flattening.
The airflow over the ocean is unpredictable, having a constant favorable wind stream assisting them was too strange, like the treatment of a storybook protagonist, making both of them feel somewhat honored.
The disappearance of the favorable wind stream was naturally because the monster hiding under the ship dived deeper into the sea, ending its control over the wind pressure airflow.
Without adverse weather or celestial comet dragons catching water beasts, the sea surface was extremely safe, and after a brief novelty, it became rather dull. This prompted Jie Jie to dive deeper into the sea to take a look.
The light penetrating the sea surface dimmed, but the body of the Abyssal Wave Dragon shone with colorful light, attracting schools of fish to gather around.
But even though its body could emit light, the deep ocean still appeared hollow, as if ready to swallow everything.
Would the master of the current develop deep-sea phobia?
No, never.
With a flap of his wings, the light swirled and reached the bottom of the ocean.
Coral, seaweed, fish, shrimp, crabs, big and small foragers all bowed to his light, wanting to approach and kiss his long beard.
He recalled the direction of the small boat’s movement, maintaining relative motion while teasing various marine creatures.
After playing around, he resurfaced, swimming towards the ship-shaped shadow on the sea level.
The tentacles at the end of his wings swayed, creating ripples in the water, dragging the ship forward.
“This speed feels off.”
The compiler noticed the ship breaking through the waves, but the sail in the air wasn’t fully inflated, finding it quite strange.
“Shall I go underwater to check?”
The hunter stood up. Even without rowing, the ship was still moving forward at full speed.
“Wait a moment. The direction is correct now. Just stay alert and don’t cause unnecessary trouble.”
The compiler was also curious about the underwater situation, but that wasn’t their main task.
The creature underwater might just be curious; a battle would be troublesome if the ship capsized.
The compiler sat down in the cabin, counted the quantity of wine, and began making floating bottles earnestly.
All used empty wine bottles filled with letters containing various information, from messages the investigation team wanted to send back to his own reflections. In case of an accident, there’s a possibility someone will find and deliver them to the guild.
The hunter confirming the ship’s speed stopped rowing, instead paying attention to the compass and sea chart, occasionally using binoculars to look afar.
“An island has been spotted ahead.”
“Hmm~ Alright, let’s go ashore and see if there are any supplies we can collect. Also, drag the ship onto the shore.”
Having found an island as a resting place, they could finally determine the situation underwater.
Jie Jie noticed the slight turn in the ship’s direction above, and ahead, mountains rising from the seabed appeared.
Clearly, this was an island.
249
