Chapter 617: Redbeard of the Sea (Part 1)
Su Jiu led Xiao Guang and the others back onto the Kamishiro Family’s large vessel. She told them to rest in their rooms and then quietly instructed Lin, “Keep an eye on them. I’m going to check outside for any anomalies. I haven’t found any trace of the Kamishiro Family’s steward all the way here.”
“Go ahead. My strength is stable above the High-Rank Battle King level, not yet Demigod, so I can handle most situations.”
Lin nodded and leaned against Su Jiu’s bed lazily. Her long green silk hair brushed against her chest, and the coldness in her light purple eyes made others hesitant to approach. She ignored Xiao Guang’s curious gaze and began to refine the feather mark on her forehead, closing her eyes. The seal was too complex for her; it seemed to require not only time but also brute force with high-level elemental attributes.
“What is this…”
After receiving Lin’s reply, Su Jiu suddenly turned her head to look out the window. She saw several ships drifting on the sea under the moonlight, and her brow furrowed. She quietly told Xiao Guang and the other two, “Stay inside the ship. Don’t move around for anything.”
“Okay,” Xiao Guang quickly nodded. Her gaze inadvertently flickered towards Lin. From Su Jiu’s conversation with Lin, she had also gleaned a lot of useful information: the long-haired girl in front of her was also a big shot, an incredibly powerful one, even on the same level as her father. Watching Su Jiu’s departing figure, she felt a sense of confusion. How could she keep up with him? Could she even reach half his level through daily training? What was the meaning of being an Exorcist? Experiencing life?
“The ship has started moving…”
A Ying shook her shoulder, her gaze also fixed on the sea outside. Reflections of light danced in her eyes, seemingly filled with longing. “I used to think Battle Generals were like gods. Today, seeing those Battle Kings, I finally understand that there’s always someone better. Only by attending the top five academies can I see this vaster horizon…” For this trip, A Ying suddenly felt that going to the Shendai Pharmaceutical Company had lost much of its significance. The greatest resource she and her brother had gained on this journey was the promise from the Law Enforcement Hall Elder. Furthermore, having witnessed more distant places, their bloodline wasn’t too advanced, and they wouldn’t need much energy compression, making their cultivation potentially faster. This was both a disadvantage and an advantage. Speed was the advantage of their humble bloodline! If they could get good materials to improve and then awaken, low-level bloodlines had a chance to break through or revert to ancestral forms. From then on, the少年’s passion ignited, perhaps they too would be the beginning of a legendary story, passing on sparks of fire.
…
Arriving on the deck, the salty sea breeze ruffled Su Jiu’s hair. She stood by the railing and scanned the area with her mental power, but found nothing. To be precise, her mental power couldn’t penetrate the special steel plates at the lowest level. She suspected that the “God” might be hidden down there.
“Woo—”
The large vessel continued to move forward. Beneath the hull, the special alchemical bottom emitted a faint glow, separating it from the seawater while also resisting attacks from monsters in the deep sea.
“Should I go down to check, or wait until we dock?”
Just as she was about to act, Su Jiu noticed the distant ships starting to move, seemingly in unison. Then, a red figure descended from the sky and landed on the deck ahead with a “bang!”
“It’s that quasi-Demigod female from the auction. What is she doing here? She doesn’t look like she’s planning to attack.”
Su Jiu was not too far from the red figure, about five to six meters away, and could clearly see her attire. She cautiously readied herself. However, there were many passersby enjoying the night view on the deck, so she didn’t intend to intervene directly.
“Excuse me, Sir/Master, do you need something? I am the First Mate of this White Kite.”
As Su Jiu was contemplating, a voice with a Sakura accent spoke in international common. The middle-aged man she had met before, the sailor, slowly walked over. He stopped about two meters in front of the red-cloaked woman, looking at her nervously, as if worried she might do something.
“White Kite? It is indeed a Kamishiro Family vessel. They do like to name their ships after birds,” the red-cloaked woman murmured to herself. Her gaze thoughtfully swept over the ordinary people around her, clearly showing she had no interest in them. Then, she said casually to the First Mate, “I ask you, has anyone from the Kamishiro Family returned to this ship?”
“I don’t know. I’m just a First Mate; I can’t know these things.” The middle-aged First Mate shook his head, his eyes full of sincerity. His strength was not strong, only around the Initial Stage Battle General level. Many eyes were now turning towards them. The ordinary people and students didn’t know the woman’s strength, but they could feel the tense atmosphere and quickly dodged, leaving only Su Jiu watching quietly.
“I know you are a dog of the Kamishiro Family. Here are ten Beginner Magic Crystals and some cultivation medicinal materials. Tell me the person’s location, and they are yours.” The red-cloaked woman’s eyebrows twitched, and she seemed impatient. She took out a storage bag from her pocket, clearly not satisfied with the answer.
“Ten Beginner Magic Crystals?” The eyes of the passersby turned green. To them, it was worth…
“But I really don’t know where he is. I’m only responsible for the ship’s transportation. Even sailing is because it’s time, and I only set sail under the Captain’s orders.” The First Mate glanced at the storage bag, a hint of longing in his eyes, but he sighed and bowed respectfully, refusing the reward.
“I can find out by probing.” Refused, the red-cloaked woman narrowed her eyes, a sharp glint flashing in her pupils. She scanned the top and second-highest decks; logically, her target should be here. With a raise of her delicate hand, the air in front of her rippled slightly, and then a red water snake appeared beside her. In mid-air, it moved through the ship’s cabins at an extremely fast speed. The First Mate quickly took two steps back, not daring to say anything, only watching the red light travel.
“No one here? Is that…
After probing for a long time, the red-cloaked woman frowned, clearly having found no trace of Shendai Yamaha. However, she had gained something else. She then looked at the First Mate and said sternly, “What is hidden at the bottom of this ship? My mental power cannot penetrate it at all?”
The First Mate was stunned. As he met the impatient face, he quickly and smoothly replied, “It’s some anti-psionic liquid mineral, allegedly purchased from the southern Yue region. If you need to probe it, you’ll probably need a special permit key. There’s a very advanced formation inside.” As if afraid the red-cloaked woman would think he was deliberately hiding something, he added, “The liquid mineral inside almost fills the storage room, making it difficult to hide people.”
Upon hearing about the liquid mineral, the red-cloaked woman showed some interest. She pointed below the deck and said with a commanding tone, “Stop the ship for me now. I want to break open the mineral and inspect it.”
The First Mate’s expression stiffened, and he chuckled dryly, “Sir/Master, if the minerals inside experience violent friction or collision, they might explode. You…”
“So what if it explodes? Such a level of explosive power won’t harm me, anyway,” the red-cloaked woman replied indifferently. After she finished speaking, the faces of the onlookers who were watching the show changed slightly. They weren’t even Battle Generals. If the ship exploded, they could only fall into the sea and be fed to the sea fish-like monsters. But no one dared to object at this moment, as the woman’s methods and generosity had left an indelible impression of a powerful figure in the eyes of these people, who were at most Warrior Class.
Just as the First Mate didn’t know how to persuade her, Su Jiu held her phone halfway up and stepped forward slightly. Her gaze fell on the red skull logo on the red-cloaked woman’s chest, and she said softly, “Miss Redbeard Pirate Group, you’d better not do this…” She had seen this pirate group, which was particularly rampant near the Sakura Sea, when she was searching on her phone. Due to the Sakura authorities’ non-interference policy, these people had plundered many merchant ships from various countries. However, since it was a direct territory of the Sakura Country, other countries could only urge the Sakura authorities to send naval forces to suppress the bandits; they could not do anything themselves.
“I think I’ve seen you somewhere?” Hearing this, the red-cloaked woman turned her head to look at Su Jiu, her brown eyes filled with some thought, but she couldn’t recall eventually. She then smiled faintly, “Why can’t I? With your strength, I could kill you all silently, and no one would know.” Hearing this, the First Mate’s face turned completely pale. In fact, when he heard Su Jiu mention Redbeard, he understood that they were about to be robbed…
Facing the red-cloaked woman’s threat, Su Jiu smiled nonchalantly, holding up her phone. “A long time ago, I reported this ship’s situation to the Dragon Country authorities. Guess what? If the embassy doesn’t find these passengers upon arrival in Sakura, won’t they dispatch elite troops to deal with you?”
“Heh heh…” Hearing these words, the red-cloaked woman gave Su Jiu a deep look but said nothing more. She turned into a red beam of light and disappeared. Watching the place where the woman disappeared, Su Jiu looked into the distance again, towards the ships several kilometers behind the vessel, where flags with ghost skulls were flying. Her eyes couldn’t help but sink. These were likely all attracted by the maps that the Kamishiro Family representative had bid on…
“You…” When the red-cloaked woman was completely out of sight, the First Mate looked at Su Jiu. He was stunned at first, then quickly said gratefully, “Thank you, Miss, for driving her away.”
“It was nothing,” Su Jiu waved her hand, indicating he didn’t need to mind. Recalling her gaze, she looked at the honest and dull face and said softly, “Take me to see the Captain. I don’t believe he would set sail without waiting for the Kamishiro Family people.”
