Chapter 134: Myriad Medicine Immortal Island (Three): She Gets Seasick!

Ten times the reward was no small sum, but the captain was a straightforward man who truly meant what he said. He emptied his own coffers to pay it.

He hauled out a golden bucket and poured out the money, piling it up with a clatter. After dumping the last gold coin, he realized it wasn’t enough. He rallied the other captains who had also suffered from the sea flood dragons to chip in. After scraping together from all sides, they finally gathered the full amount and handed it to the woman.

He added, “The pickled crab legs on the salted crab leg boat—eat as much as you want, plenty to go around.”

The heavy bag gave off a strong metallic stench, but Mu Qian Tan didn’t mind at all. She simply counted it roughly and packed it away. When she turned back, she saw quite a few people had gathered around the sea flood dragon, poking at it with their fingers and exclaiming in admiration. They never imagined the Sea Flood Dragon Chaos that had plagued them for months would be resolved so simply.

Shang Shan flipped over and flew down, landing beside the woman. She tilted her head and cupped her hands. “Where’s my leg?”

Mu Qian Tan said, “You’ll get to eat soon enough.”

She pressed a hand to the girl’s face and pushed her away, while her other hand reached back to unhook the Solitary Goose King Bow. She aimed the bow at the sea flood dragon’s head, nocked two fingers on the bowstring, and slowly drew it back to her ear. An ice-blue arrow rested on the string, and the moment she released, it shot out, piercing the sea flood dragon’s skull before exploding with a boom. Chunks of flesh and red blood splattered across a large swath of the dock.

“Do it cleanly next time,” Mu Qian Tan said as she stowed the bow, glancing at the girl who was trying to sneak away quietly. “You didn’t kill it just to leave it for me, did you?”

Shang Shan hunched her shoulders. “Uh uh uh, what?”

After the initial shock, the villagers were no longer afraid of this sea flood dragon. Though he was extremely massive and had a terrifying appearance, he was already dead and posed no danger! The crowd cheered joyfully, celebrating that this demon which had wreaked havoc for so long had finally been slain by justice. They discussed what to do with such a huge corpse.

Someone pulled out a knife to cut off a piece of meat for a taste, but Mu Qian Tan coldly warned, “The meat is poisonous. Try it if you don’t fear death.”

Upon hearing that, both the man and his knife vanished in a flash.

The demon’s corpse needed proper disposal, especially for such a massive creature. With the hot weather, it could rot and cause big problems. Plus, the accumulating resentment on the corpse could give birth to a curse, making it even harder to handle.

Mu Qian Tan called over the town chief and explained the severity of the matter. She had him organize a group of residents to use sharp knives to dismantle the sea flood dragon’s flesh into chunks, then smash the bones and dump them into the sea. It wasn’t until nightfall that they finished, and they conveniently grabbed the fraudulent Daoist as well.

Of course, all the work was done by Shang Shan leading the people. After giving the order, Mu Qian Tan leisurely went for a stroll.

The seawater on the dock had dried up, leaving only a thin layer of salt crystals that were trampled to powder by the passing crowds. The sea flood dragon had dominated the waters for so long that everyone had been cooped up at the dock, afraid to go out to sea—they were all pent up. Now all ships could sail normally, and even in the middle of the night, it was bustling with activity.

Watching the dragon bones sink into the sea, Mu Qian Tan found the captain. “Take me along when you set sail tomorrow.”

Having an immortal willing to travel together was like having indirect protection against demons and evils—nothing could be better. The captain agreed readily without asking more, though he was curious at the end. “How did the immortal know we were setting sail tomorrow?”

Mu Qian Tan bluffed, “The sea flood dragon told me.”

The captain looked at her with deep respect.

After a busy day, it was time to think about where to rest. Recalling the state of that inn during the day, Mu Qian Tan had no desire to stay there—it would probably be noisy until dawn without respite.

The male protagonist wasn’t around anyway, so there was no need to go back. She told the captain and boarded the ship first with the Big Silly Dragon, finding a clean cabin to stay in.

Compared to the rooms on shore, the ones on the ship were much lower and somewhat stuffy and damp, but Mu Qian Tan wasn’t picky. As long as it was livable, it was fine. She fetched hot water to wash up and then slipped under the covers. The window was open, only about two feet wide, framing a neat square of night sky with just a corner of the moon peeking through, its glow blurring into the darkness.

She gazed at the moon for a bit, and for the first time outside of her dreams, she thought of that former home.

Was it because sitting on the ship gave her the feeling of an impending long journey?

Whatever. No more thinking. Time to sleep.

She slept until midnight. In her groggy state, she heard faint munching sounds. Subconsciously thinking it was rats, her sleepiness faded by half. She propped herself up on the bed and looked to the side. It wasn’t rats—it was the Big Silly Dragon.

She sat on the floor with her legs splayed, a round wooden bucket between them that reached up to her chest and was twice as wide as she was. It was filled halfway with pickled crab legs. She had grabbed a handful in each hand and was eating heartily. Seeing the woman awake, she didn’t forget to ask, “Want some?”

Mu Qian Tan pulled the blanket up to her chin and thunked her head back onto the pillow. “I remember the captain assigned you a room.”

Shang Shan said, “I want to be here with you.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “There’s a bed, but you sleep on the floor.”

Shang Shan said, “But you’re here.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Playing the lute to a cow.”

She lay there quietly for a while, listening to some dragon slurping on crab legs, when suddenly a thought struck her. Did pickled foods like this have rice wine or something in them?

The moment the idea hit, she couldn’t lie still anymore. She threw off the covers, got out of bed, walked to the wooden bucket, and leaned down to sniff. The crab legs mixed with bean sprouts and peanuts still had a faint fishy smell, but after some special pickling spices, it was mostly subdued. The alcohol scent she worried about wasn’t there.

Seeing her approach, Shang Shan thought she was interested in the crab legs and hurriedly pushed the bucket forward. “Really not eating? It smells so good.”

Even without alcohol, this stuff was probably for sailors to go with drinks. How much meat was on a crab leg? It was cheap, and people didn’t eat the meat—they cracked them like sunflower seeds for the flavor soaked in. But with Shang Shan, she skipped spitting shells and swallowed everything.

“No interest,” Mu Qian Tan said, looking up at her face which inexplicably beamed with a smile. She couldn’t help asking, “What are you grinning about?”

Shang Shan swung her feet. “The weather’s really nice today.”

“…” Mu Qian Tan was speechless. “It’s the middle of the night.”

She turned back to the bed, issuing a final warning. “Don’t make any noise, or I’ll toss you into the sea.”

“Okay okay, got it.”

The next day, Mu Qian Tan woke to an extremely loud ship horn.

The window had been open all night, and the edge near it was damp. Outside, the world was vast. A few seagulls flew by, the waves crashed rhythmically against the shore. Apart from the ship’s vibrations, the unchanging view outside gave no sense of movement.

Mu Qian Tan sat for a while, then lay back down to sleep. It would be a long time before they reached the vicinity of Immortal Island—she’d be on this ship at least ten days or half a month. Might as well relax and rest.

When she woke again, strangely, she felt no refreshment at all.

Hunger gnawed at her stomach. Mu Qian Tan clutched her belly and got up to wash. After a simple breakfast, she went to the deck for some air.

The ship was already far from the dock, which had blended into the sea horizon. The vessel rocked gently fore and aft, left and right with the waves. On deck, the sailors prepared all sorts of tools for fishing.

Shang Shan stood at the very front of the deck, mouth agape facing forward, gulping down sea wind. Her hair was nearly blown back into a long pompadour.

Mu Qian Tan could never understand this Big Silly Dragon’s logic. She walked up behind her—not too close—and asked, “What’s wrong with you now?”

Shang Shan turned her head. “I want to taste what sea wind is like.”

“What’s your nose for?”

“Nose is for smells. I want to taste the flavor—the kind you taste with your tongue.”

Mu Qian Tan snorted coldly. “Did your stomach acid reflux into your skull? Otherwise, your brain wouldn’t have been digested so clean.”

“No way.” Shang Shan shook her head and tried tasting the wind again.

Mu Qian Tan stopped walking and leaned on the ship’s railing, gazing at the distant sea.

How bizarre. Was it just her personality? Why was this Big Silly Dragon always so happy? She often felt like they lived in different worlds.

Or did stupid people just find happiness more easily?

The air outside was much fresher than in the cabin, but Mu Qian Tan stood there for a long time without her morning discomfort easing.

What was going on?

Her vision twisted faintly, and her body protested mildly all over. She circulated spiritual power through her body but found no issues.

Just then, the ship’s rocking intensified, and several wooden buckets toppled and rolled about. Mu Qian Tan’s vision swam, her stomach clenched—this familiar malaise finally made her realize her body was in a very unfortunate state.

She got seasick!