I took the towel and wiped off the water, forcing a smile as I said, “It was those two bastards.” Cursing inwardly, Uncle Grant and Henry Clark—the boat hasn’t even set off and they’re already like this. I can’t imagine what will happen next. This time they tried to throw me overboard and drown me; will it be that next time they sneak over in the middle of the night and stab me to death?

In an instant, I recalled the strange hull I’d seen underwater. The hull was so thick, almost half the boat submerged, clearly indicating that the underwater part was extremely deep. This meant the bottom hold of the boat had an enormous space.

That sent a chill down my spine. Before, I thought there was no ballast on board, but seeing how large the underwater space was, not only did this boat have ballast, but whatever was in the bottom hold must be extremely heavy to press such a thick section below the waterline.

But then, thinking carefully about the shape of the hull underwater, I realized it looked just like a giant, upside-down black coffin. This black boat was actually shaped like that—no wonder it made me feel so uneasy.

That’s impossible. No boat should be shaped like that. The more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt. Taking a coffin-shaped boat out to sea—wasn’t that like heading to a funeral?

The more I thought, the more anxious I became. Suddenly, a thought struck me: no matter what, I had to get off the boat.

But almost as soon as that thought arose, Annie helped me to my feet, and I noticed something was off beneath my feet. Suddenly, I heard a wave of mournful crying from under the boat, heart-wrenching wails. Then, the deck jolted violently, and the scenery along the shore began to slowly move. Next, I heard a series of shouts from the sea traders.

I rushed out and found that the boat had set off. The sails were being raised one by one, and the hull was slowly pulling away from the shore. I saw those who hadn’t managed to board, collapsing to the ground in tears, a strange feeling washing over me.

There was no going back now. This eerie boat was about to carry us across the sea. From now on, we would be like a band of homeless spirits, drifting to a foreign land thousands of miles away. At the same time, I had a terrible premonition that many frightening things would happen on this coffin-like boat. And I could only face them.

The boat had left the shore for an hour already, and the scenery along the coast was long gone. Though we were still in the inland sea, all around was a vast expanse of water. Only the color of the sea told me we weren’t yet in the unpredictable open ocean. As long as the captain was willing, we could still turn back and return to shore soon.

The sky gradually darkened, and my mood calmed down. The urge to get off the boat now seemed laughable. Meanwhile, my body regained feeling and started to burn with pain. Checking myself over, I found that when I was rescued from the water, my robe had been torn in many places, and I was covered in bruises—probably from when Frank Grant saved me. Annie noticed my injuries too, her brows immediately furrowing as she insisted on applying medicinal wine to my wounds. Embarrassed, I tried to refuse, but she scolded me, “Are you a man or not?” So I reluctantly agreed.

To avoid suspicion, Annie found a secluded spot far from the cabin to help me apply the medicine. Along the way, I quietly told her what I’d seen under the boat.

As she massaged the bruises, she looked at me and said, “When you’re out in the world, you have to keep your eyes and ears open. You know your enemies are on this boat, and you’re not on guard? That’s a fatal mistake.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why do you sound like some heroine from a martial arts story?”

“Ever listened to storytelling? That’s how they always say it,” she replied. “Besides, can’t you think for yourself?”

I thought to myself, if you hadn’t gone looking for trouble, I wouldn’t have gotten caught up in this—I was just worried about you. But since we weren’t that close, I didn’t say it out loud, just smiled. Then, thinking about the feeling the boat gave me, I shared my concerns with her. “Looks like we’ll have to be careful from now on. I’m not even afraid of Henry Clark anymore. If he’s plotting against me, it means he’s wary of the rules on this boat. That just makes me more certain there’s something wrong with this ship. We need to be extra careful here.”

Hearing my conclusion, Annie wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, she laughed and said, “When I didn’t want to get on the boat, you insisted on dragging me up. Now you want to get off? We’re already out at sea, it’s too late for that. Look at how many people are on board—if something happens, it might not even involve us. Why not just relax?”

I had to admit she had a point. I couldn’t be more timid than a woman, but then again, she really couldn’t be called weak.

Just as I was about to respond, the boat suddenly jolted, slamming us hard against the hull. Then, a strange sound rang out almost right beside my ear.

Both Annie and I froze. Annie looked at me in surprise. I shook my head slightly at her, signaling her not to move. Amid the continued shaking of the boat, I heard that strange sound again, coming intermittently.