608: Let’s go! Yidao Gorge!

The Royal City Port.

Besides the Ghost Ship that Shen Bei took over, there were also many other Family ships waiting to depart together.

Compared to the Ghost Ship's sparse crew, the other ships, while lacking in other things, had plenty of people.

As the newly appointed Captain, Shen Bei felt he shouldn't discriminate against crew members, and Ran Xiaoran was only trying to survive.

Pimping was definitely out of the question.

So, Shen Bei took Ran Xiaoran to visit the other ships.

And pay his respects.

The first ship was the Lin Family's large vessel.

It had over a hundred crew members.

The formation was quite grand.

Ran Xiaoran folded her wings, and her overall appearance still had some differences from an alien.

And also some differences from a human.

In terms of posture and appearance, she had a bit of both, but not much.

But no alien would consider her human.

The scent was different.

Letting Ran Xiaoran act naturally, Shen Bei planned to visit the Captain.

The Captain was the Lin Family's fifth child, calling himself Lin Wu.

"Forgive my abrupt visit, please pardon me."

As soon as Shen Bei boarded, he spoke politely.

Lin Wu smiled and waved: "Team Leader Shen, what are you saying? Who doesn't know your great name? I am honored."

After both parties sat down.

Shen Bei corrected: "I am no longer Team Leader. I was sidelined by Prince Wei, sent to take on this difficult task."

Lin Wu's expression didn't change, still smiling: "Although you have been sidelined, snow can melt. Sooner or later, you will be reinstated; I firmly believe this."

"Furthermore, going to One-Blade Gorge is a difficult task, but it must be done. Too many things are involved, truly incredible. In short, this is also an honor. Common people won't remember it, but in the Royal secret records, a record will be left for us."

Shen Bei let out an "Ah"...

Too many things involved?

It seems the Old Capital is more troublesome than he imagined.

Initially, Shen Bei thought the Old Capital was a deserted place, or uninhabited.

But from Lin Wu's words, it sounded as if the Old Capital was very much alive.

Shen Bei pressed: "Brother Lin, why don't you tell me more? It's boring just waiting anyway."

Lin Wu's smile faded: "Shen Master, if I may say something unpleasant, from the perspective of the Royal Family, you are ultimately an outsider. Do you understand what I mean?"

Shen Bei shrugged: "Naturally. Your Lin Family and other Families followed the ancestors to conquer the world, and with intermarriage, you are considered Royal relatives."

Lin Wu nodded: "It's good that Shen Master has this understanding. Speaking of which, some secrets about the Old Capital passed down within some Families, we descendants don't believe them, so there's no point in talking about them. This trip to One-Blade Gorge is to stabilize the barrier from collapsing and perhaps find some good treasures. That would be the perfect journey."

The two chatted for a while.

After some mutual flattery.

Shen Bei got up to leave.

Ran Xiaoran was nowhere to be seen, but Shen Bei didn't bother with it, nor did he need to worry.

He then arrived at the second large ship.

This ship was called the Sea Eagle, and its Captain was a steady, elderly man.

The old man was named Shuang Gu.

Shen Bei was already used to the strange names in the underground caves.

"Shen Master's methods truly opened this old man's eyes."

After some polite exchanges, Shuang Gu brought up a topic.

Shen Bei tilted his head, how did that sound not like a topic, but rather a challenge?

The recent sweep of the Royal City had indeed offended many people.

Not to mention officials, even the Royal Family was affected, let alone these large Families.

Shen Bei said with a slight apology: "If anyone in Senior's Family was innocently implicated, please let me know. Although I have left the Night Watcher, my influence remains, and getting them out would absolutely not be a problem."

Shuang Gu almost rolled his eyes.

If people were wrongly arrested without evidence, would he need Shen Bei to get them out?

If they were in the Righteous Path, they could get them out themselves.

But they weren't in the Righteous Path...

Shuang Gu waved his hand: "Never mind, never mind. My descendants are not up to par, so it's good for them to suffer a bit."

Shen Bei snorted inwardly.

Caught red-handed colluding with the Demonic Path, and still not convinced?

Shuang Gu changed the subject: "How come I see that your ship doesn't have many crew members?"

Shen Bei smiled and said: "Enough is enough."

In fact, Shen Bei had seen Zhen Li's list, which, in addition to selecting crew members from the prison, also included many odd job workers, chefs, and so on.

There was originally a budget.

But that damn Zhen Li took the budget, and with his death, the budget was also gone!

Prince Wei said he couldn't find it.

Shen Bei didn't believe a single punctuation mark of that.

When he applied to Prince Wei again, Prince Wei simply played the disappearing act.

Shen Bei cursed for several days. Without a budget, besides the prison inmates who needed freedom, who else would join his ship?

So, Shen Bei simply left it at that.

Anyway, he wasn't the only one going to One-Blade Gorge.

He would just follow them, so having fewer people didn't matter.

Although the budget was insufficient, there was still some balance, and Shen Bei also recruited a few subordinates who wanted to venture out. Now, with more than ten people on the entire ship, it was enough for the voyage.

After chatting for a while longer.

Shen Bei got up and left, strolling around the port, meeting some Captains, and making their acquaintance.

As for Ran Xiaoran still not being back...

"She's hooking up on her own merit; it has absolutely nothing to do with me."

Shen Bei righteously justified himself.

Scarface didn't care at all, and Little Hei Pi had no concept of gender.

Arguing was useless.

...

During these few days at the port.

Besides busy with various supplies like grain, fresh water, meat, and fruits, Shen Bei also secretly had a final communication with Fu Jian in the city.

Fu Jian had set up a private residence, neither too big nor too small, in the Royal City, to facilitate the movement and transfer of personnel.

After sitting down, the two whispered for a while.

Once Shen Bei left, the hope of him returning was extremely slim.

If it weren't for Suspended Lantern Sect being connected to the Royal Family and nobility.

If it weren't for Prince Wei being part of the Royal Family.

Shen Bei would not have stayed in the Royal City; he might even have taken the opportunity to loot it and then make a quick escape.

After finishing things here, Shen Bei might return directly to earth's surface.

When he would descend into the underground cave again was uncertain.

In short, he told Fu Jian to be cautious and careful in everything.

At the same time, Fu Jian also brought good news.

According to the latest information brought by the infiltrators who went down to the underground cave, after research and investment at the national level, the backlash from the odd object mask had been successfully resolved.

This meant that no matter how long the odd object mask was worn, as long as the wearer returned to earth's surface, the country could restore their original appearance.

Greatly preventing the face from turning into a twisted mass of flesh without skin.

Overall, this was great news.

But it had nothing to do with Shen Bei...

His inherent Fifth Dimension Attribute had already resisted the corrosion of the odd object mask.

Now, the country's dispatch of infiltrators was no longer a call for volunteers but a selection process.

A few days later.

All arrangements on the ships were settled.

Prince Wei and a group of people appeared at the port.

Prince Wei gave a motivational speech and announced the start of the operation.

Shen Bei's Ghost Ship, under Prince Wei's name, set sail for the sea.

Of course, the Ghost Ship was not leading; it just followed behind the other ships.

Shen Bei looked back at the crowd in the port.

He suspected there was an Emperor mixed in, but perhaps the Emperor was truly low-key, making it impossible to identify him.

Prince Wei's demeanor and attire, however, were the most striking in the entire scene.

Never mind.

Everything in the Royal City was no longer his concern.

Shen Bei had only one goal: the Old Capital, Suspended Lantern Sect!

Set sail!