Ten minutes later, the rest of the group arrived at Edward’s room with Si Nan and Luo Yu.

Although Si Nan had explained the situation beforehand, everyone was still startled when they saw a real pirate in the room.

Yu Sen saw Si Mayue walk in and was disgusted by her hollow eye socket. He lowered his gaze, avoiding eye contact, and leaned dejectedly on Si Xuanyang’s shoulder.

“Everyone, find a place to sit.”

After Si Nan’s invitation, he and Luo Yu returned to Yu Sen and Si Xuanyang’s side. Suddenly, he remembered something and said to Si Xuanyang, “The door that required all our keys to open is now open. Can you guess what’s inside?”

Si Xuanyang raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Edward, who happened to overhear, looked at Si Nan in surprise and said, “I didn’t expect you guys to find that place.”

He sighed, “Isn’t it filled with barrels of oil?”

“Yes! How did you know… Ah, you’re the captain, so of course you know.” Si Nan slapped his forehead in realization.

Seeing the curious eyes in the room, Edward bitterly pressed his lips together, took a deep breath, and began recounting the events of the day his ship encountered trouble.

“Actually, my crew and I knew from the beginning that there were legendary deep-sea sea monsters in that area, but we didn’t think they would be difficult to deal with because before we set out, I had asked a witch for a solution.”

Si Xuanyang asked, “Using oil? Burning them?”

Edward nodded. “The witch’s divination showed that the sea monsters would surface at specific times and would be hidden in underwater caves at other times.”

“So you decided to pour a lot of oil into the sea at that time, which would burn on the surface for a while to capture the sea monsters?” Yu Sen frowned. “But since you knew the sea monsters would appear at specific times in that area, why not just avoid it?”

“Because sea monsters are treasures! A fish tail or a pair of wings is worth a fortune,” Edward smiled wryly. “Many people want to capture them for profit. We had so much information, how could we just avoid it and let such easily obtainable wealth slip away?”

Si Xuanyang sneered coldly, “And as a result of your greed, everyone on the ship met a terrible fate.”

“Ah, at first we thought it was inevitable, so we sailed to the location a few days early. But instead of the sea monsters appearing, we first encountered the illusions sent by the sea monsters’ scouts.”

Yu Sen was somewhat speechless. “You were too careless.”

“None of us had encountered such a situation before. Besides, we were all men who went crazy at the sight of beauties. The deception was too great and too difficult to guard against…” Edward felt increasingly bitter.

Si Xuanyang asked, “What about your body? Was it cursed by the sea monsters?”

“That’s right,” Edward said with indignation, “Killing us was bad enough, but they cursed everyone on the ship. My crew and I were all hanged, and the crew’s souls were sealed by the sea monsters, suffering in the deep sea. They sealed half of my soul, and the other half is forever wandering in this dead ship, unable to be reborn into bliss.”

“Ugh, that’s really tragic,” Yu Sen said slowly.

“I don’t see any sympathy on your face,” Edward’s gaze was somewhat resentful, “At least frown a bit.”

Si Xuanyang glanced at him in disgust, “You’re dead. What’s there to sympathize with?”

Yu Sen: “Exactly.”

Edward: “…”

“So, what can be done to free you and your crew… the cursed souls?” Si Mayue suddenly spoke up.

The crowd’s gaze was once again fixed on Edward, and undoubtedly, this was the question they were most concerned about.

“What can be done? We can use their method to burn a large number of sea monsters,” Yu Sen rubbed his forehead, a wave of drowsiness washing over him. “The curse was placed by the sea monsters. The more of them that die, the looser the curse or seal will become.”

“My beauty—what you said is absolutely correct.” Edward noticed Si Xuanyang’s dark gaze out of the corner of his eye and quickly changed his tone. “Uhm he is absolutely right.”

Yu Sen frowned, feeling that the ship seemed to be swaying even more violently than before. The dizziness in his head was growing stronger. He asked, “Do you remember when the sea monsters all surfaced?”

“It’s today,” Edward blinked innocently.

“Today?”

“Yeah, I count the days every day, so I won’t be wrong,” Edward said. “And when I just came up, I checked the course and the needle. We’re almost there. If you’re going to act, you’d better get ready quickly.”

“Damn it!” Si Nan cursed under his breath, “Why didn’t you come out earlier?”

“I’m a dead man, afraid I’d scare you.”

Si Nan rolled his eyes: what a considerate pirate.

…

As if in response to Edward’s words, the weather, which had been clear, suddenly turned windy. There was no rain, but the mast was rattling from the wind, and the once steady ship was gradually becoming unstable.

Si Mayue clenched her fists and waved her hand: “Go, everyone, help me bring the oil barrels out from the storage!”

Edward’s soul couldn’t stay away from the corpse in the dungeon for too long, so after explaining the crucial matter, he leisurely went back.

The weather at sea could change in seconds. By the time Yu Sen was brought to the deck by Si Xuanyang, the ship was swaying so much that even an average person couldn’t walk straight, let alone him.

The light on the horizon was quickly covered by heavy dark clouds. Giant waves rose up, and the sea and sky merged into one dark line with no visible boundary. Even the massive pirate ship was like a small boat tossed about by the waves.

The oil barrels in the storage were much larger than Yu Sen had imagined. Each barrel was almost as tall as a person and could not be fully embraced with outstretched arms, not to mention that they were filled to the brim with oil.

It was difficult for two people to move one barrel to the deck; they could only lay it flat on the ground and push it to roll over.

The storm and waves came too quickly, and the timing was poor. They rolled the barrels out shakily. On the deck, the barrels were swaying uncontrollably, some of them colliding with each other due to the ship’s rocking, making it even harder to keep the ship balanced and causing several people to trip.

The noise grew louder, mixed with the roaring wind and waves. Yu Sen’s ears were filled with a buzzing sound, and his head was getting dizzier and dizzier. Combined with the ship’s swaying, he could barely stay upright.

Si Nan and Luo Yu had already gone to help in the storage. Si Xuanyang, holding Yu Sen, looked at the number of barrels moved to the deck and frowned deeply: “With just this amount of oil, do you think it’s enough to burn the sea? It’s definitely not enough.”

But clearly, there was no time left. The sea surface gradually revealed the hideous sea monsters. They didn’t look as beautiful or handsome as those Yu Sen had seen that night. Instead, they had bulging eyes, pale skin covered in wrinkles, and their gaping mouths were full of sharp shark teeth. They had bone-like wings on their backs and long fish tails that could stir up the surrounding water, creating waves.

Seeing this, Yu Sen couldn’t understand why they used illusions when they could simply crush them with brute force.

Perhaps it was because they couldn’t stay away from the water for too long? He wondered.

The number of sea monsters kept increasing, and the pirate ship was completely surrounded. It looked like a summer pool, densely packed with ‘dumplings’, baring sharp teeth and fierce eyes. Those with a fear of crowds would almost faint.

There was no time to waste; sea monsters could fly for short periods.

Yu Sen tugged at Si Xuanyang: “Yang Yang, can you take me to the storage room where the oil barrels are? Please?”

Si Xuanyang, rubbing his pale face, looked at him with worry almost solidifying in his eyes: “If you want, of course, but I’d prefer to hide you in the dungeon. Once we deal with the sea monsters, we can return together.”

Yu Sen laughed: “What a joke. If you fail and the sea monsters drag the ship underwater, I’ll probably be the first to die. Besides, can you really leave me so far away from you? Come on, take me to the storage.”

Si Xuanyang’s lips pressed into a tight line. He gave Yu Sen a deep look and, without further ado, steadily carried him toward the storage.

…

The door, which had been locked in the morning, was now wide open. The size of the storage space slightly surprised Yu Sen, but he also felt relieved.

The pirates had used almost an entire layer of the lower deck for storage, especially on the horizontal sides, which were completely cleared. The barrels were neatly arranged, grouped in fours and bound with hemp ropes.

Some of the ropes had already been cut by others and the barrels moved to the deck, but there were still countless barrels left in the room. Moving them all out with the strength of just over a dozen people was a significant task.

One person, sweating profusely, managed to get a barrel out and, upon seeing Yu Sen and Si Xuanyang, glared at them with hostility: “Quit blocking the way. You useless idiots, not only aren’t you helping but you’re making things worse—ah!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Si Xuanyang kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him sprawling on the ground. His head hit a barrel with a heavy thud, and he curled up on the ground, almost unable to get up from the pain.

The other people in the storage, who didn’t know Si Xuanyang and Yu Sen, looked uneasy. Although the captain was found by the two of them, at such a critical moment, not only were they not helping, but they were also fighting, potentially causing them to lose a laborer.

Seeing the increasingly unfriendly looks from both sides, Yu Sen sighed and said with a headache, “Who exactly are you calling useless? You guys keep moving and moving, but it’s useless! This ship is made of wood and is quite far from the sea surface. If we just cut a few holes on both sides and push the oil barrels down through those holes, it would save a lot of effort and distance, wouldn’t it?”