Chapter 30

“It doesn’t need to be too big, but it shouldn’t be too old either. The price is negotiable. Actually, this isn’t for me, it’s for someone else. The person just can’t make an appearance,” Xue Miaoyun said with a straight face, weaving her fabricated story smoothly.

The other person, however, gave a look of sudden understanding.

“I’ll ask around for you. If I find something, we can go take a look next time we meet.”

“Alright, thank you for your trouble,” she replied.

On the third day, Xue Miaoyun sold a few large yellow fish to the person again.

“Little sister, the quality of your goods is excellent. And you always make a good haul, impressive.”

Xue Miaoyun smiled but didn’t respond. She had become familiar with the local waters, knowing exactly where to find certain fish. In a way, the ocean floor around here was her domain. While the seabed was rich in resources, not all of it was useful to her. Fish were the safest option.

“Little sister, I’ve inquired a bit. There are three boats that might meet your requirements. Are you free in the afternoon? I’ll take you to see them.”

“Okay.” After confirming the time and place, Xue Miaoyun didn’t go home. Instead, she grabbed a quick bite before heading back into the water. She had to join the military soon, and it might be a long time before she could return to the sea. She had already experimented with the uses of the Life’s Blue, but to be safe, she wanted to gather more of it.

Though she had confidence in her medical skills, the area lacked both doctors and medicine, and there was a clear difference between traditional medicine and the more fantastical methods she knew.

At the appointed time in the afternoon, Xue Miaoyun, along with the middleman, visited the three families selling fishing boats.

Xue Miaoyun selected the newest one, a boat that had been bought less than a year ago and was treated with great care by the family. They wouldn’t have sold it unless there had been a personal crisis.

The price was one thousand yuan, which Xue Miaoyun knew was a bit high, but she didn’t haggle. She simply bought it.

“Little sister, you’re taking it away right now? You’ve only just learned a little about boating.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just follow the coastline. Someone is waiting for me,” she casually fabricated a reason.

The others couldn’t stop her, so she set off.

After sailing for a while, the coastline disappeared from view, and there were no other boats in sight. Xue Miaoyun immediately stored the boat in her space. The space quickly became cramped, but thankfully, after retrieving the key, it expanded a little.

She had been studying ancient maritime trade routes for a while, but the information was scarce, especially about foreign routes—there was practically nothing.

Fortunately, her history lessons from high school had been solid, and she knew about the Eastern and Western Silk Roads and other maritime trade routes.

She couldn’t interfere with her own family’s resources, but international waters and other nations’ waters were fair game.

She had already roughly located a sunken ship and had been waiting for the right opportunity to explore it.

It was strange, but while Xue Miaoyun was usually poor with directions on land—more of a mild wanderer than a true navigator—when it came to the sea, she had no trouble at all. She could easily picture the entire route in her mind, knowing exactly where she wanted to go.

Thus, whenever she grew tired, she would release the fishing boat to rest, with food and water already stored in her space. The journey wasn’t too exhausting, and along the way, she collected many of her favorite treasures from the seabed—pearls, giant clams, black coral, and various gems—as well as seafood like lobsters, abalone, and sea urchins.

She had plenty of treasures, and if it weren’t for her need to save space, she would’ve gathered even more.

Aside from feeling a bit lonely, the journey was incredibly pleasant. At night, she lay on the boat, staring at the stars in the sky. The peace and beauty were soothing.

Xue Miaoyun felt that many of the negative emotions she had since coming to this world had been healed by the vast sky and ocean. No matter the world, she would always be herself.

After two days and two nights of sailing, Xue Miaoyun finally reached her destination.

The environment here was quite complex. The wreck was wedged between two massive rocks, and it was impossible to tell how many years had passed since the ship sank. The hull of the ship and the rocks had become intertwined over time. However, it was precisely because of the protection of these two giant stones that the wooden ship had been preserved so well.

Xue Miaoyun had no particular expertise in ancient ships, but based on its style, she could tell that this ship was not from ancient China. She cautiously swam towards the wreck, circling around it several times, searching for an entrance.

It was unclear why the ship had sunk, but it appeared to be mostly intact. The wreck was hundreds of meters beneath the surface of the sea, and the surrounding area was desolate with very little life. This was one of the reasons why she was the first to discover this sunken ship.

The deep sea was pitch dark, with cold water surrounding her. Any ordinary person, even if they could reach this depth, would be terrified by the environment.

However, Xue Miaoyun’s special abilities were extraordinary. She could “see” the environment around her clearly, even more so than when she was on land.

Soon, Xue Miaoyun found a large hole in the ship’s hull, big enough for her to enter.

But as she gazed at the dark entrance, she worried that something might be lurking inside, ready to attack as soon as she entered. To be cautious, Xue Miaoyun took a large stone from her space and threw it into the hole.

This was one of the ways she prepared to protect herself. She had five such stones in her space. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to bring more, but her space was limited.

There was a soft thud. If it hadn’t been for her enhanced senses in the deep sea, she would have barely heard the sound.

She listened carefully for a moment, but there was no other sound.

Xue Miaoyun stopped hesitating. In truth, with her strength and deterrent power in the sea, most marine creatures wouldn’t pose a threat to her. They wouldn’t dare attack her. But, being a girl, she couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous in such dark places.

She entered the hole and found that it seemed to be the ship’s kitchen. Although many years had passed, some of the shelves were still clear, and although the bottles and jars were severely damaged, a few things could still be made out.

The kitchen wasn’t where she was looking for, though.

After leaving the kitchen, she found a long corridor. Of course, she wasn’t about to step on it. After so many years, although she didn’t know what type of wood the ship was made from, it was clear that the ship was likely just a wooden frame, and any force could cause the entire ship to collapse in front of her.

She didn’t want to dig through a pile of ruins for treasure.

She figured the captain’s cabin was where the valuable items were likely hidden.

Xue Miaoyun thought that this treasure hunt was quite fun. She opened a room next to the kitchen.

“Wow!” she gasped, startled. Inside, there was a skeleton.

She was taken aback, but it was just a brief shock. After a quick glance around the room, she confirmed that it didn’t have what she was looking for.

Then she continued searching, moving from room to room, until she finally found the largest room, filled with the most items.

The room didn’t have any skulls. Either they had long since decayed into dust, or the owner had not been in their room when the disaster struck.