"If Ruru got pregnant and miscarried, it’s been quite some time. This means Jingshang must’ve been under this Soul-Loss Technique for at least a month or two. It’s impossible that after She Zongyi’s death, his subordinates collaborated with Song Yi for revenge. Perhaps they were working together much earlier." Bai Ruozhu analyzed.

"No, something’s not right with the timing." Jiang Yichun suddenly said.

Bai Ruozhu immediately understood what he meant, "You mean that after we seized the Black Pirate Ship, and that array master escaped to a nearby island, he could only wait for a rescue ship to pick him up. Reaching Fusang would take him much longer than us, and we’ve only been in Fusang for less than two months. Judging by the timing, it wasn’t him."

Jiang Yichun nodded, "Perhaps the person was already hiding in Kyoto. We just never thought about it. We still know too little about the situation in Fusang."

"We’re about to embark on the sea voyage to search for Dragon-seeking Grass. The mess in Fusang should be left for them to sort out. We’ve helped enough." Bai Ruozhu said.

As for resolving Jingshang’s Soul-Loss Technique, the astrologer said he would find another Yin Yang Master to handle it. He himself was recently too fatigued to cast spells.

Ning Yu felt much relieved, "Your health is important. Don’t overexert yourself."

"Okay, brother." The astrologer smiled, appearing very pleasant.

In the following two days, everything was ready, and they could depart at any moment.

Originally, they thought persuading Luan Xin’s father, Canghe, would be troublesome, but unexpectedly, as soon as Master Puru spoke, Canghe agreed to let Luan Xin go to sea with them.

Luan Xin packed his bags and joined them on the boat.

"Master Puru’s presence really worked, but I’m curious why your father agreed so easily." Bai Ruozhu asked.

Luan Xin chuckled softly, his smile very subdued.

"The abbot said if I went to sea as an envoy’s translator, upon returning, His Majesty would officially grant me an officer position. That’s why my father agreed."

Bai Ruozhu was stunned, Master Puru was really resourceful. Luan Xin’s father didn’t want him to become a monk and wanted him to inherit the family business, hoping he could pursue a governmental career, right?

Now the Emperor was bestowing an official title, how could Canghe not be tempted?

"Will you become an officer?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

"It’s just a clerical title, no need to attend court discussions. I don’t mind." Luan Xin said.

"That’s good, it’s a satisfactory resolution." Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.

At this moment, Wa Wei walked over and said, "Master Bai, Duannian said there are too many people on the boat recently, so he went into the sea first. He’ll return when we set sail."

Bai Ruozhu introduced Wa Wei to Ning Yu and Diao Bin, and briefly explained Duannian’s situation.

Ning Yu, having read books from the Astrology Tower since childhood, didn’t find people with fish tails too surprising. But Diao Bin was taken aback and seemed very curious.

Wa Wei laughed and said, "When I first saw him by the sea as a child, I was also astonished, even thinking he might eat me."

At that time, she was crying by the sea, when suddenly a boy’s voice rang out, "Are you done crying? It’s too noisy."

She was startled and took a long time to see him hiding behind the rocks.

"What are you doing soaking in the sea at night? Whose child are you?" Wa Wei asked angrily.

"None of your business!"

Back then, Duannian had a bad temper, just like a bratty kid asking for a beating.

Wa Wei glared and scolded, "How dare you talk like that! Do you believe I’ll beat you up?"

"Just you? You haven’t even wiped your nose."

Duannian snorted coldly, turning to leave. When Wa Wei went out, she had thought about ending it all, so she carried a rope, having learned from her father how to lasso lambs. In anger, she tossed the rope out, catching Duannian.

With a strong pull, she jumped directly onto him. Most island children could swim from birth, and Wa Wei swam even better than boys her age, so in the blink of an eye, she was in front of Duannian, punching with her small fist.

"I tell you, for not speaking human words, I’ll teach you a lesson." Wa Wei, in a foul mood at the time, found a vent and directly started fighting.

Duannian constantly dodged, only blocking with his hands, "Stop it, don’t think that just because I don’t want to hit girls, I won’t fight back. If you push me, I’ll knock your teeth out."

Though Duannian spoke fiercely, he never really hit Wa Wei. After Wa Wei vented, she started to regret.

He just said a few things to her, yet she beat him up. Wasn’t that unreasonable?

"Come ashore. I have bruise ointment at home, I’ll apply it for you, and we’ll call it even." Wa Wei suggested.

"Boring." He said, shaking off her rope to swim away, but Wa Wei grabbed him.

No one knows how, but in their tugging, Wa Wei accidentally touched his fish tail, startling her.

Duannian meant to startle her, turning around to splash his fish tail out of the water. Under the moonlight, his huge tail seemed dreamlike, yet Wa Wei still saw it clearly.

"You’re...not human!" she reflexively said, her face turning pale with fright, but Duannian’s eyes showed pain.

Right, he wasn’t human, even his parents despised him for it.

"I’m sorry!" Wa Wei suddenly blurted those three words, realizing she had said something wrong, something hurtful.

...

As she recounted the story up to this point, she didn’t continue to Diao Bin, just smiled and said, "Later, we became familiar. He often came to find me, and as a result, the missus discovered it."

Being close in age to Diao Bin, and with his curiosity about the Merfolk, they quickly became acquainted on the boat, chatting about Wa Wei’s past.

"Diao Bin, can I ask you something? Is it true about your hair?" Wa Wei cautiously asked, having met Miao Zi before, thinking Diao Bin’s situation might be similar.

Diao Bin shook his head, "No, it’s caused by a curse. But it’s okay, I was meant to age suddenly, with liver spots on my face and white hair. Luckily, the curse was lifted later, though my hair couldn’t turn black again, I’m content."

She spoke so openly, making Wa Wei like her a bit more.

"You have such a cheerful personality. I think it’s beautiful, a special, pure kind of beauty." Wa Wei said with a cheeky smile.

Diao Bin smiled a bit shyly. Ning Yu had said the same thing in private.

Bai Ruozhu was happy to see Diao Bin make new friends. With Yaxi joining their chat, the girls wouldn’t be bored on the trip.

Meanwhile, a shocking event occurred at the Astrologer Family, where several elders were interrogating the astrologer.

"Tell the truth, what’s really going on?" The great elder’s face turned cold, looking very stern.

The second elder also said, "This time I’m not misunderstanding you, am I? Explain yourself properly!"