"Young lady?" I looked at Old Yuan somewhat confused.
He nodded, exhaled a smoke ring, and said, "No one knew her name except the old captain; we all called her Young Lady."
"What does that Young Lady look like?" A strange feeling welled up within me, and I couldn't help but ask.
Old Yuan replied, "She always wore a veil, and no one had ever seen her face. One time, after we returned from fishing, she appeared. After she spoke with the old captain, he became completely subservient to her."
"What did she ask you to do?" I asked.
"She asked us to find something in the sea."
"Find what?"
Old Yuan shook his head, "I don't know... but after that, she began to sail with us. Whenever we encountered pirates again, the old captain was no longer one to endure silently. Instead, he transformed once more into the most formidable Jin Zilai of the Golden Sand River!"
"No pirate could escape his blade. Initially, we feared pirates, but later, pirates kept their distance upon seeing our ship."
Though he spoke only a few words, a vivid picture formed in my mind.
A man, covered in blood, wielding a steel saber, standing on the deck of a fishing boat, defying everything on the sea.
And beside him stood a mysterious woman wearing a veil. These two, man and woman, seemed to have become the masters of the waters!
As I listened intently, I couldn't help but think of Yang Hanxue's grandfather. According to Wu Tingxiu, his grandfather was the Lock King, so why did his father become Jin Zilai?
Just as I was pondering this, Old Yuan sighed, "Actually, the old captain shouldn't have lived a life like this... The old captain's father was a renowned archaeology expert in Yanjing. Unfortunately, circumstances forced him to flee far away. The hardships he endured are unimaginable to ordinary people... We often felt that fate had been unfair to the old captain."
"Did that mysterious woman stay with you all the time?" I asked.
"The Young Lady stayed with us for over half a year, then she left. After that, the old captain began to expand his influence, subjugating some smaller pirate groups. We then sailed the seas year-round, specializing in the business of preying on pirates." Old Yuan said.
"Preying on pirates?"
"That's right. We only targeted pirate ships, never harming fishermen or civilian vessels. This was a rule set by the old captain," Old Yuan explained. "It's just that in recent years, the surrounding pirates have moved to outer waters, and our lives haven't been easy. In our downtime, we make a living by salvaging shipwrecks."
"If Brother Yuan is saying this, then the old captain should still be alive, right?"
Old Yuan's eyes became somewhat distant, and he shook his head, "No one knows that."
"No one knows?"
"Many years ago, the old captain took his wife and sailed out to sea alone. Since then, there has been no news of them..."
"Did they say where they were going?"
Old Yuan shook his head, "No. The old captain only instructed that if they didn't return, everything from then on would be up to the young captain."
Hearing this, I finally understood. I hadn't expected that Yang Hanxue's family affairs would be so complicated.
However, I was still curious, who exactly was that veiled woman?
The first thought that flashed through my mind was that the woman might be Sister Ying!
But my ingrained logical thinking kept attacking me. If that woman was Sister Ying, then she truly possessed the ability of eternal youth.
To think that she hadn't changed at all in decades, how horrifying would that be?
As I was contemplating, the room door was pushed open, and someone rushed in, "First Mate! Bad news!!"
Old Yuan flicked away his cigarette butt and asked with a frown, "What is it?"
"Niu Gang... is missing!"
"Missing?! How is he missing?"
The man glanced at me and Song Bing, hesitating slightly.
Old Yuan said, "Just say it!"
"About half an hour ago, someone saw him smoking alone on the deck. A large wave came, and he disappeared!"
"Swept away by the wave?" Old Yuan asked.
"It shouldn't be possible; that wave wasn't that big... Some say he jumped overboard."
"Jumped overboard?" Old Yuan sneered, "How could he possibly jump overboard?"
"Some say that during the day, the captain administered the family law, and he was so scared he wet himself. He felt some embarrassment, so..."
"Nonsense! I know Niu Gang's character well. Even a dog has more dignity than him! He wouldn't jump overboard for something like this!"
Old Yuan stood up, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Does the captain know about this?"
"Someone has already been sent to inform him. Everyone should be on deck now."
Old Yuan let out a sigh, "Let's go take a look first."
Seeing this, I exchanged a look with Song Bing and said, "Let's go take a look too."
Song Bing nodded.
I felt that this matter had arisen because of us, and if we didn't show up, Yang Hanxue would likely be in a difficult position.
When we reached the deck, several people were leaning over the ship's edge, looking out at the sea, seemingly searching for Niu Gang.
Yang Hanxue and Captain Xue were standing not far away, discussing something.
I noticed that both of their expressions were somewhat peculiar.
"Didn't find him!"
A sailor shouted, and then other sailors who were peering over the edge also said, "Not on my side!"
Captain Xue walked over, took a look, and said, "What a useless fellow! It's cleaner if he's dead! Stop looking, everyone go back to work."
As the sailors were about to leave, a patch of black clouds suddenly drifted in from the horizon.
The black clouds arrived extremely quickly. Almost as soon as the black clouds enveloped us, thunder began to rumble, followed by a sudden, torrential downpour.
The clouds were very low, as if they were about to fall.
Everyone quickly scrambled into the nearby cabin, standing at the doorway to watch the sudden downpour.
And at this moment, someone shouted, "It's Ghost Fog!!"
I looked up and saw a large mass of red and white fog charging onto the deck with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, visibility became blurred, dropping to less than a meter.
This sudden storm and fog came so quickly that everyone couldn't help but be startled.
"You're talking utter nonsense!"
I heard an enraged curse. Turning my head, I saw it was Captain Xue.
He slapped a sailor beside him and yelled, "What ghost fog? If you talk nonsense again, I'll chop your tongue off!"
The sailor clutched his face, looking dejected.
I noticed that everyone else's expressions had also turned grim, including Old Yuan. Even Yang Hanxue's brow was furrowed, staring into the fog, lost in thought.
"Go do what you need to do, don't just stand here!" Captain Xue shouted. Soon, everyone dispersed.
Song Bing and I also returned to our guest cabin.
As we reached the cabin door, Bai Hanyan seemed to have just woken up. Rubbing her eyes, she asked, "Is it raining? I heard thunder just now..."