Chapter Eighty-One: Returning to Familiar Grounds

  A few days later, Shen Baiying finished dealing with the many tasks that had been pressing on his desk. After a long time, he finally took out the letter written to the Kun Demon Lord and handed it over to him. Shen Baiying didn't dare to rest, put the letter in his sleeve and hurriedly left Songshan, riding his sword all the way to the seaside.

  People say that in the North Sea there is a fish, its name is Kun, it transforms into a bird, its name is Peng. That Kun demon lives in the North Sea. However, the North Sea is located at the extreme north, and even with the sword, it's hard to reach within one or two days. Therefore, Shen Bailong thought for a moment and stopped his feet on the east coast of Qinglong Town, deciding to take a boat first to the island closest to the north, and when there were no more ships to sail, he would ride his sword again, which would also save some energy.

  As soon as Shen Bailian stepped onto the bluestone street of Qinglong Town, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. More than 20 years ago, he had also traveled to this place and even made friends with a handsome young man here. The past was still vivid in his mind, but time had passed like a white horse crossing a ravine, never to return. Now the bluestone under his feet had added many moss marks, and the faces in the town were no longer so familiar. The two people who had slept together that day were also in different parts of the world.

  Shen Bailian gently shook her head, wiping away the invisible and traceless melancholy in her heart. However, she had lost the thought of strolling around, so she asked a passerby for directions to the inn and headed towards the center of the town.

  Qinglong Town has been a famous port town since ancient times, with smoke and fire in every household, very prosperous and bustling. Compared to the nearby small towns, it is not inferior at all. The most famous inn in the town is called Haikeju, which is specially set up for merchants and travelers coming and going by sea. At this time, Shen Bailong came to the inn, as soon as he entered the door, he asked the owner about renting a big ship going out to sea. The shopkeeper looked at his elegant appearance, and his speech was very elegant, so he entertained him with great enthusiasm, only regretting that he couldn't pour out all the things he knew to let him choose.

  "You look like a man of means, if you want to rent a boat, our Qinglong Town is the right place! Our town has many skilled shipbuilders, big or small ships are not rare here. Just ask around at any dockyard, and 10 out of 10 times you'll be able to rent one. The farther you go, the more expensive the rental fee will be. May I ask where you plan to go?"

  Shen Bailian thought for a moment and replied vaguely: "The north side."

  The young shopkeeper said with a smile: "There are at least six or seven sea routes to the north, which one does the young master plan to take?"

  Shen Bailian was taken aback, only then realizing that her original plan to rent a boat and travel overseas alone was extremely reckless. The ocean is vast, with scattered islands whose exact locations she didn't know, nor did she know how to get there. She had no idea when the winds would be favorable or where it would be suitable for navigation. If not for the shopkeeper's guidance, she would have been unable to set sail even if she had rented a large boat, and her efforts would have been in vain.

  The shopkeeper was twenty minutes sharp, and seeing his brow furrowed with worry, he guessed a few points and hurriedly said: "Young master doesn't have to worry, our place has many big ships going out to sea every day, and many merchant ships also take on passenger business, the price is much cheaper than renting a ship, not to mention it's very convenient, just need to get off the ship when you arrive at your destination, young master can go ask at the southeast port?"

  Shen Bailian nodded and suddenly asked, "Isn't the port in the northeast? I remember that more than 20 years ago when I came here, the southeast side was still a beach, when did the port be built?"

  The young shopkeeper's eyes widened in surprise, and after sizing Shen Bailong up for a while, he said: "I didn't expect you to be so well-preserved, looking even younger than me by several years... Anyway, that harbor was built over 20 years ago, and there's a story behind it!" He began to speak excitedly, "That was before I was born, but my mother told me that over 20 years ago, our Qinglong Town was plagued by monsters. Many children were taken away by the monsters to have their hearts dug out and eaten. The townspeople were so scared that they didn't even dare to leave their homes, and those with children hid them tightly indoors. Later, perhaps the heavens couldn't bear the evil of the monsters either, and one day a immortal was sent to our town. That immortal descended from the sky on a five-colored cloud, waved his hand, and struck down the monster with lightning on the sandy beach outside the town. Then he floated away, and from then on, the people of our town were no longer troubled by monsters. To commemorate that immortal, everyone built a new harbor at the place where he killed the monster, and the old harbor was gradually abandoned. It's strange to say, but perhaps it was due to the immortal's blessing, since the completion of this new harbor, more and more merchant ships have been setting sail from here, and Qinglong Town has become increasingly prosperous."

  He spoke with great relish, but didn't notice that Shen Bailian's expression had become somewhat strange since hearing half of it. Shen Bailian was already crying and laughing, he never thought that the deed of killing the demon would be passed down from mouth to mouth and evolve into such a "wonderful" story, which was widely spread, and at this moment he secretly thanked that the name of that "immortal" had not been passed down with the story, otherwise... where could he put his old face that hadn't changed much?

  Leaving the inn, Shen Bailian headed east-southeast out of town. Before long, she saw in the distance a stretch of blue sea and a fairly large port. Many ships of all sizes floated on the water, with sunlight casting a thin layer of white light over them, and the largest one shone brightly at its bow.

  As soon as he walked in, the salty sea breeze blew the white sail and made a rustling sound. Shen Bailian only then saw clearly that the narrow silver light at the bow of the ship was actually a pattern painted with silver lacquer, which looked like a giant sword. He had heard that some places follow the custom of painting eyes on the bow of the ship, so that when sailing outside, they can also distinguish their way back. However, he did not know why the big ships in Qinglong Town were painted with a giant sword, could it be to make the ship sail as fast as a flying sword?

  "Excuse me, young man in front!"

  Just as Shen Bailian was lost in thought, he suddenly heard someone shouting behind him. He turned his head and saw a team of boatmen carrying many boxes walking over. He hastily retreated a few steps to let them pass. These boatmen were all sturdy men with broad shoulders and dark red faces, although they were carrying heavy loads, they moved quickly and nimbly. In the blink of an eye, they walked past him, boarded a small sampan tied up at the dock, and then efficiently rowed the small boat to transport the goods onto a huge sea ship not far away on the sea. From afar, he saw someone on the big ship lowering ropes to lift the goods from the small sampan one by one.

  Shen Bailian was so absorbed that he suddenly smelled a strong stench, turned his head to see a person standing three feet away. The man was extremely tall, with shoulders wider than Shen's by more than a foot, and a sturdy build, with bulging muscles straining against his worn short-sleeved shirt. His face was dark, with thick eyebrows under piercing copper-colored eyes that stared intently at this side.

  Before Shen Bailian could ask any questions, he heard the man say: "Young fellow... haven't we met somewhere before?"

  Shen Bailian was taken aback and instinctively shook her head. The man seemed a bit embarrassed, scratched his head and laughed: "Forget it, since we've met, we must have some fate. I think you look familiar, and our fate is not small after all. Why don't we become friends? My name is Xiang Qing, and I'm the owner of that sea ship." He pointed to the large ship Shen Bailian had been staring at for half a day.

  "My surname is Shen, and my name is Bailin."

  Qing waved his hand generously and said, "I see that you are a few years younger than me, so I'll call you Shen brother. Brother Shen, just now I saw you staring at my boat without blinking, do you want to come aboard with me for a look?"

  Shen Bailian hurriedly shook her head: "Don't bother. I just... have never seen a ship with a sword painted on its bow, and find it quite unusual."

  Xiang Qing followed his gaze to the bow of the boat, and a hint of pride naturally appeared on his face as he explained: "Shen brothers don't know, other places indeed don't have swords painted on the bow, even in Qinglong Town, only our Xiang family's boats are painted like this. It's not that I'm boasting about my own family, but my old man is the best shipbuilder in town, and this boat was built by him with a group of apprentices. The sword pattern was also painted by them over several days, and there's a deep meaning behind it."

  "What profound meaning?" Shen Bailian asked curiously.

  Xiang Qing smiled and said, "That sword is actually a painting of an immortal's sword, my father and that immortal have some connections, so our family's boat dares to paint his sword on the bow, which also brings us some blessings from the immortal. In this way, when sea monsters see the immortal sword, they don't dare make waves, and going out to sea is smooth sailing... all thanks to the immortal's protection!" As she spoke, she cupped her hands in a gesture of respect towards the sky.

  Shen Bailian's heart skipped a beat when she heard this, and she asked: "Is Brother Xiang's father the third son in his family?"

  "Astonished expression appeared on Qing's face: 'How did you know?'"

  Shen Bailian smiled silently, only casting a faint glance at Qingmian's face, and secretly sighed in her heart: It was just a brief encounter back then, but unexpectedly, Xiang San's eldest son had grown up so much...

  As the son of an old friend, Shen Bailian looked at Qingziran with a bit more affection and immediately inquired: "I have urgent business to attend to on the northern coast overseas, but I don't know if there are any ships heading that way in the next few days. Brother, can you give me some guidance?"

  "Ah, no need to be so polite! As it happens, my ship is headed towards the Northern Archipelago. If Brother Shen trusts me, he can come aboard and we'll set off together."

  Shen Bailian was overjoyed and said without hesitation: "Then I'll trouble Brother Xiang." As he spoke, he bowed his hands again.

  "Nothing much, just a matter of taking on a few more people. Our fleet often goes to those islands in the north, and we're familiar with the route, where there are reefs and shallow waters, so don't worry, brother. It's just that it's your first time at sea, you can't help but feel a bit uncomfortable, Shen brother looks so delicate and weak, I'm afraid he'll have to suffer a bit."

  Shen Bailian smiled and said: "Brother Xiang doesn't have to worry, I will take care of myself."

  Qing nodded: "Alright, Brother Shen, take a good rest today. We'll set sail early tomorrow morning and meet here again. Don't oversleep!"