Some corpses are not meant to be touched carelessly.
For example, Beisht's severed head.
Although Bai Luo had already cut it off, rendering it lifeless, the power contained within was not something ordinary people could approach recklessly.
So when someone suggested dismantling Beisht's head into merchandise to sell, the first to object wasn't Bai Luo—it was Beidou, aboard the Alcor.
"Are you people trying to get yourselves killed? Do you even remember who her husband is?!"
Even though the Overlord of the Vortex, Osial, had been sealed away by the Geo Archon, rumors circulated that his seal had weakened and that he could already influence the outside world.
If he were to discover that his wife's body had been taken by others…
He would probably go insane.
With Beidou's warning, the sailors who had initially displayed greedy expressions finally backed off.
If this had been Orobashi, Beidou might not have been able to suppress their desires so easily.
But Osial's influence over the people of Liyue was far too strong, serving as an effective deterrent.
After some discussion, the Crux ultimately decided to abandon Beisht's corpse. However, at Bai Luo's suggestion, they extracted the single horn from her forehead.
Fortunately, Beisht had shrunk her body before dying, and her horn wasn't excessively large—otherwise, transporting it would have been a real problem.
Thus, after an entire night of effort, the three ships finally managed to load the horn onto the vessel, where a specially assigned Taoist practitioner sealed it away.
During the extraction, Beidou also discovered a crystal inside Beisht's head.
It was clear and round, resembling amber, but even more refined and exquisite.
Considering it was Bai Luo's spoils of battle, Beidou took the liberty of handing it to him.
Of course, that was just her official reasoning—truthfully, she was worried the crystal might be dangerous.
And if it was dangerous, Bai Luo was probably the only one who could handle it safely.
That's why she gave it to him.
After obtaining the horn, the ships did not linger.
Under Beidou's command, the fleet was divided:
Bai Luo and other Vision holders, along with a few essential crew members, remained on the ship carrying Beisht's horn.
The rest of the sailors were split between the Alcor and another warship.
Without wasting time on further rest, they immediately set sail, following their pre-planned route to chase after the main fleet.
<+>
Life at sea is dull and monotonous.
After every victory, a feast is held to boost morale.
Bai Luo hadn't planned on attending, but since he was the undisputed protagonist of this battle, he had no way of escaping.
Luckily, the sailors were considerate—knowing that he had just fought an intense battle, they didn't try to force alcohol on him.
The main reason?
They couldn't force him to do anything.
In the end…
As the feast reached its peak, Bai Luo sat alone at the edge of the ship's bow, gazing in the direction of Liyue with a faint smile on his face.
No one knew what he was thinking about.
"Sunsettia. It's sweet. Want one?"
At some point, Beidou had made her way to his side.
With some difficulty, she sat down beside him, her left hand—wrapped in bandages—offering him a Sunsettia.
Beidou had been severely injured in the previous battle.
If it had been an ordinary person, they would have needed at least three to five days of bed rest to recover.
But Beidou was not the type to back down.
Even wrapped up like a mummy, with her right arm in a cast, she still insisted on handling things personally.
Bai Luo turned to look at her with an amused expression.
"Have you ever eaten a sour Sunsettia?"
"Hmm... I've heard of them, and I've seen them, but I've never eaten one."
Before this voyage, Beidou had always believed that Sunsettia only had one taste—sweet.
People even joked that if you threw a Sunsettia into a well, it might turn the water sweet.
But something had happened on the ship recently that completely changed her perception.
"Then what do you think—" Bai Luo twirled the crystal he had taken from Beisht's head between his fingers.
"—is this Sunsettia sweet or sour?"
Beidou didn't even hesitate.
"Of course, it's sweet."
The Sunsettia had been personally selected by Beidou.
Except for one peculiar crate, the rest had all been sampled and tested for poison.
Almost all of them were sweet.
So logically, the one she held in her hand should be sweet as well.
"Is that so?"
Casually taking the Sunsettia, Bai Luo held it up and examined it under the moonlight for a moment before saying:
"But I think it's probably sour."
With an inexplicable smile, Bai Luo handed the fruit back to Beidou and left, heading to his quarters.
Beidou: ???
Watching Bai Luo leave, she looked down at the Sunsettia in her hand again.
It looked... perfectly normal.
So, she opened her mouth and took a small bite.
The moment she bit into it, her expression visibly changed.
A contorted look spread across her face—something that shouldn't have even been possible for her.
She gulped down the fruit pulp with difficulty, staring at the berry in her trembling, bandage-wrapped left hand.
Beidou had spent her whole life sailing the seas.
She had slain Haishan with her blade and was the only person in Liyue Harbor brave enough to win money from Ningguang—not just once, but multiple times.
Even when facing Osial's wife, she had still been bold enough to raise her sword.
And yet…
A tiny Sunsettia… had defeated her.
"Might as well let the fish have it."
Wiping away the sour-induced saliva from her lips, Beidou tossed the half-eaten fruit into the sea with a trembling right hand.
As the ships moved away, schools of fish quickly gathered around.
But before they could take a bite, several deep-sea beasts—ones that had been following the fleet—rose from the depths.
They had been drawn by the scent of humans but had hesitated to approach because of Beisht's lingering aura.
As for this discarded fruit… they wouldn't be so polite.
"Time to head back. Otherwise, the crew will start worrying about me again."
After spending some time enjoying the ocean breeze, Beidou finally stood up, intending to return to the cabin for some rest.
Because of her injuries, no one had let her drink tonight, making the feast exceptionally boring.
But just as she rose to her feet—
"Ooooooh——"
A deep, distant sound echoed across the sea.
To most, it would have been unrecognizable, just another noise from the vast ocean.
But Beidou had spent years sailing these waters.
She knew immediately—
It was a wail.
<+>
Perhaps because of Beisht's horn, the Alcor and its two accompanying ships encountered no resistance along the way.
It took only one day to catch up with the fleet that had left earlier.
After a brief period of rest, the Crux resumed its course, finally setting sail for Inazuma.
This time, aside from the thunderstorms conjured by the Shogun, nothing obstructed their journey.
As the fleet passed through the storm's boundary, Bai Luo finally heard the excited voices of the sailors outside.
"It's Watatsumi Island! We made it!"
At first, Bai Luo had already begun to smile.
But when he heard the sailor's words—
His smile vanished.
What? Watatsumi Island?
Wasn't this supposed to be Ritou?
. . . . .
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