noffsinger Chapter 449 The Voyage (Part 1)
Chapter 449 The Voyage (Part 1)
It drifted at sea for two months.
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi finally arrived at a continent with the fleet.
"Look! There's land ahead!"
The lookout's shout pierced the dull sea breeze, and an uncontrollable cheer erupted on the deck.
Gao Mengli stood up, supporting herself on the gunwale. The days of rocking had made her pale, but when her gaze fell on the distant, rolling silhouette, her eyes still lit up.
Lin Xi stood beside her, tiptoed to look, and couldn't help but exclaim with delight: "It's true! We finally don't have to drink Haifeng Salt Soda anymore!"
The fleet slowly approached the shore, and before the anchor chains were fully secured, everyone eagerly jumped onto the land.
However, as soon as I stepped onto the street, an indescribable stench hit me.
Gao Mengli instinctively covered her mouth and nose, her brows furrowed.
This taste... it seems so familiar.
The cracks in the stone slabs underfoot were filled with filth, and the ditches along the street flowed with murky black water.
Even more astonishingly, a sticky mass suddenly fell straight down at her feet with a "thud" from above.
Damn, isn't this the former Pingyao County?!
But Pingyao County wasn't this extreme before, where "flying excrement" could fall from the sky like it does now!
This is actually excrement.
Gao Mengli looked up, her expression changed drastically, and with quick reflexes, she grabbed Lin Xi beside her and hurriedly retreated, "Get out of the way!"
However, within moments, such "unexpected disasters" occurred one after another.
Some people couldn't dodge in time and got splashed all over, immediately bursting into a tirade of curses.
Dou Weiyi's face darkened, and he shouted with disgust, "Everyone, open your umbrellas immediately! Those without umbrellas, wrap your cloaks tighter!"
Upon receiving the order, everyone scrambled back to the ship to retrieve their umbrellas and wrap themselves tightly in their black cloaks, the hoods of which they practically welded to their heads.
Only a pair of eyes were visible, warily surveying the strange city.
Wrapped in a cloak and holding an umbrella, Gao Mengli looked at the scene before her, and all her joy vanished.
"There's... nowhere to even put your feet down..."
Her brow twitched, and she frowned deeply as she looked at the dirty street.
Lin Xi covered her mouth and nose while glancing at a stone tablet with unfamiliar characters engraved on it at the street corner, her face full of curiosity. "Never mind that for now, we need to find a clean water source and a place to stay."
"Qian Yan'er, take some brooms and let's go into town to find a place to stay."
As soon as Gao Mengli finished speaking, Qian Yan'er responded.
He immediately called over several strong and sturdy crew members, who, carrying spare brooms from the ship, carefully walked in front of the group.
The broom is less for cleaning up dirt on the road and more for serving as a temporary "blocking tool".
Every now and then, someone would raise a broom and catch a clump of filth falling from the sky.
More and more people in black cloaks appeared on the streets, and Dou Weiyi led her men silently along the wall.
As Lin Xi walked, she couldn't help but mutter to herself, "These people seem to have gotten used to this kind of life all along..."
Gao Mengli felt a little regretful. Why hadn't she looked up more of the history of foreign lands before? Now she was in a rather awkward and embarrassed situation.
All I could do was nod numbly!
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a faint aroma of wheat, mixed with a hint of alcohol, suddenly wafted from the street corner ahead, barely overpowering the stench of decay on the street.
"There seems to be a tavern over there!"
Lin Xi's eyes lit up, and she was the first to turn the corner.
It was a low wooden hut with a mottled door and a crooked wooden sign with the same unfamiliar characters as those on the stone tablet.
The tavern owner saw someone coming and quickly came out to greet them.
But when I looked, I was dumbfounded!
Black hair and black eyes; they had never seen them before.
He then shouted something into the tavern, and immediately a dozen burly men with broadswords surrounded him!
The burly man at the head of the group let out a roar and swung his knife at Qian Yan'er, who was closest to him.
Qian Yan'er reacted extremely quickly, dodging the blade to the side and kicking the burly man in the knee.
With a sharp "crack," the burly man screamed and fell to his knees, the large knife in his hand clattering to the ground.
This completely ignited the flames of war.
Gao Mengli was also very anxious, but due to the language barrier, she couldn't explain at all!
He could only pull Lin Xi aside, raise the broom in his hand to his chest, and watch warily as the two sides fought fiercely in front of him!
In less than half an incense stick's time, more than a dozen burly men were beaten black and blue, lying on the ground unable to move.
The owner was so frightened that he shrank behind the bar, not daring to even lift his head.
"go!"
Dou Weiyi wiped the dust off her face, her expression terribly gloomy.
This is no place to linger. Rather than continuing this entanglement, we should hurry back to the fleet and make further plans.
No one dared to linger, and besides, they didn't want to stay here either, as it was just too filthy.
This environment is cleaner than even the pigsty where pigs live in Wangyue Village.
The group hurried along, oblivious to the crackling sound of their umbrellas being hit, focused solely on running towards the coast.
Just as I turned the corner of an alley filled with garbage, I heard a rough shout coming from ahead, followed by a woman's suppressed sobs.
Immediately afterwards, a thin figure was shoved out and fell heavily into the mud in front of them.
It was a blonde, blue-eyed woman, dressed in tattered, stained clothes, tightly clutching a small swaddled baby in her arms.
The child in her arms made weak whimpering sounds; he sounded weak and clearly had a serious illness.
The woman struggled to get up, but the baby in her arms made her movements sluggish, and she couldn't get up after two attempts.
Her eyes welled up with tears from anxiety.
When she saw Gao Mengli and her group's gaze fall on her, a hint of fear immediately appeared in the woman's eyes.
Lin Xi couldn't help but stop and glance at her: "The baby in her arms... seems like it's about to give up."
The child's face was flushed, and his breathing was so faint it was like a wisp of smoke.
The accompanying doctor, Dr. Li, was a physician with a compassionate heart. She couldn't bear it any longer, so she stepped forward and touched the child's forehead.
The woman was terrified when she saw it!
These foreigners actually touched her child!
She immediately started babbling in alarm, clutching the child tightly in her arms, her face full of vigilance.
Dr. Li was startled and quickly withdrew his hand.
She softened her tone and spread her hands to indicate that she meant no harm.
If communication is impossible, and there's no other way, the only option is to use the most primitive method: sign language!
She pointed to her medicine box, then to the child's flushed face.
With a flurry of gestures and exaggerated facial expressions, Dr. Li left the blonde woman completely bewildered.
The woman stared at the medicine box, then looked down and touched the child's burning forehead. Her tense lips finally relaxed.
Seeing that the woman had relented, Gao Mengli made a quick decision: "Let's go back to the ship first and find a clean place nearby to brew the medicine."
The woman stood up, holding the child, and followed cautiously at a distance from the crowd, amidst their kind gazes.
The group then turned back to the shore.
After Dr. Li and his two apprentices swept the area clean, Dr. Li and his apprentices swept the area clean.
"Start a fire!"
At Dr. Li's command, Qian Yan'er immediately took out a flint and steel and lit a fire with two quick strikes!
This was something so ordinary that it couldn't be more ordinary, but in the woman's eyes, it was a supernatural power!
When she saw Doctor Li take out a medicine pot, she was so shocked that her bright blue eyes widened and she subconsciously took a half step back.
He started muttering to himself again, sounding like he was praying for something.
Immediately afterwards, she saw Doctor Li take out two chopsticks for boiling medicine and slowly dip them into the pot to stir. The dark medicine churned with the movement of the chopsticks, and the fragrant aroma of the medicine became even stronger.
The woman's gaze was fixed on the two chopsticks, as if she had seen some incredible magical artifact.
The previous wariness had somehow turned into awe, and even the breathing became lighter.