Chapter 138 The Brilliant Star

Wasn't one Shixiang Hao (Lost Country) enough in this world...?

In the divination room illuminated by dim candlelight, Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) sat quietly on a high-backed chair with a velvet cushion. She gazed at the crystal ball on the table, but for some reason, memories from a long time ago resurfaced in her mind, specifically, an afternoon a century ago...

That figure, already somewhat blurred in her memory, stood on the deck, silhouetted against the setting sun sinking towards the horizon. The tall figure seemed to transform into flickering, illusory flames in the twilight, and told her in a low, suppressed tone she had never heard before:

"Our world is just a pile of dying embers..."

Now, of course, she knew that her father had already been tainted by madness at that time, and would soon completely abandon his humanity, choosing to actively embrace the "blessings" of the subspace. But she still wondered from time to time if things would have turned out differently if she had talked to her father more that day, asked him properly about the meaning of those words, and asked him what exactly he had seen at the edge of the world?

Perhaps her father was still doomed to his mad end, perhaps the birth of Shixiang Hao (Lost Country) was a "predetermined fact" engraved in the long river of time that no one could reverse, but at least she would know how it all happened, and know where to look for the truth—instead of being like she was now, only able to sail a cursed ship, wandering futilely in this borderland that even the Inquisition's patrols were reluctant to venture into...

"Lúkexīyà (Lúkexia), are you still listening?"

Tíruìān (Tirui An)'s voice suddenly came from the crystal ball, startling the young lady who was sitting at the table in a daze. Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) shook her head, casting aside the chaotic thoughts in her mind.

"Brother," she looked at Tíruìān (Tirui An) in the crystal ball with a serious expression, her tone becoming earnest. "Do you remember what Father said before his last voyage to the borderlands? The time he didn't let us follow..."

"Of course I remember," Tíruìān (Tirui An) nodded. "He said he had found a clue about Aberration 000 and was going to find 'a cure for this world.' He refused not only the two of us, but also several escort ships—and after he and Shixiang Hao (Lost Country) returned, both he and the ship became quite different."

"Yes, all the crew members on Shixiang Hao (Lost Country) stopped talking, as if they had been placed under a curse of silence. Father could still communicate with you in a confused manner, saying that he hadn't found Aberration 000, and then saying that even if Aberration 000 existed, it wasn't the origin of the world's distortion, and that the so-called cure had never existed from the beginning—from then until the day he told you on the deck at sunset that 'the world is a pile of dying embers,' he never revealed anything related to that border voyage..."

Tíruìān (Tirui An) in the crystal ball was silent for a while. After an unknown length of time, Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) spoke again: "After that, I specifically contacted the Inquisition fleet patrolling the distant borders, including the Torchbearers, the Deep Sea Priests, the scholars of the Academy of Truth, and even those twilight death cultists. I inquired about Aberration 000, but they all said that it was impossible for an aberration or phenomenon with the number zero to exist..."

"I also inquired," Tíruìān (Tirui An) said in a deep voice, "and received the same reply as you... There is no aberration or phenomenon with the number zero in the world. It's not that it doesn't exist at the moment, but that there is simply no corresponding 'empty seat'—"

"The original list that leaked from the Mausoleum of Kings already listed all the numbers. Unidentified or unformed aberrations and phenomena all have their respective empty seats waiting to be filled. Even aberrations and phenomena like 'Mycelial Bottle' and 'Fungus Island,' which evolved during the historical process, were later found pre-planned positions. But at the beginning of the entire table, there is simply no number zero position..."

"That's why I said that Father was probably already abnormal before he set off to the borderlands. He couldn't possibly have been unaware of this information."

At this point, Tíruìān (Tirui An) suddenly stopped, then looked up at Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) in the crystal ball, his expression becoming particularly serious: "Why did you suddenly bring up this topic? We haven't talked about this for half a century. What does He want to do?"

"...Brother, I won't plunge into that magnificent wall of fog like Father did,"

Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia)'s face rarely showed emotion, but this time she smiled, "I am looking for clues left by Father, but I absolutely do not want to follow in his footsteps."

Tíruìān (Tirui An) was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "...That's good."

Lú Hongbin Jiā (Lu Hongbin Jia), on the other hand, did not speak for a while. The brother and sister, separated by a great distance and rarely reunited in the past century, each had their own concerns, until the distant and faint whistle of the Sea Mist came from the crystal ball, and Lú Hongbin Jiā (Lu Hongbin Jia) suddenly broke the silence: "Are you really going to Pǔlán Dé (Pǔlán Dé)? Because of that Governor's 'invitation'?"

"'Invitation' is not important. I don't care about any problems in that city-state, but the Governor said in his letter that Shixiang Hao (Lost Country) has reappeared in the real world, and he is certain of it. I have to go see what's going on," Tíruìān (Tirui An) said with a serious expression. "That ship hasn't appeared in the world for almost half a century. Its reappearance is really suspicious."

Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) thought for a moment and asked, "I encountered Shixiang Hao (Lost Country) once half a century ago. I remember you were still in Han... What you saw at that time, was it really Shixiang Hao (Lost Country)?"

"...Absolutely," although it was hard to believe, "that was definitely Shixiang Hao (Lost Country)," Tíruìān (Tirui An)'s voice was low and沉. "I wouldn't even misremember the position of every mast and the distribution of every cable on it."

"Then... the one standing on the boat at that time, was it really, Father?"

Tíruìān (Tirui An) lowered his head slightly, his face hidden in the shadows: "...It was him, although I wish it wasn't."

Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) looked at her brother in the crystal ball, hesitated for a moment, and then said softly: "Be careful. If it's really him, you'll be in danger."

"I know," Tíruìān (Tirui An) sighed softly, "He's already a mad phantom completely twisted by the subspace. I won't take it lightly..."

Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) shook her head expressionlessly: "No, what I mean is, if it's really Father, and he sees that you've turned the Sea Mist into a big iron lump, he'll definitely be even more ruthless than he was half a century ago."

Tíruìān (Tirui An) was stunned for a moment, then glared: "What does that mean? This is an effective modernization! What's wrong with steam boilers and rapid-fire cannons! And you have the nerve to talk about me—at least I still retained some of the original parts, but does your ship now have even a single plank that's still from the original Brilliant Star..."

The crystal ball went dark.

Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) breathed a sigh of relief and got up from the chair.

Her brother was still very energetic, full of energy with a little stimulation, and maintained a strong curiosity about modern things. That was good.

In the long eternity, the most frightening thing was not the decline of the spirit, but the decay of the soul.

A light footstep came from the shadows, accompanied by the friction of mechanical gears and clockwork devices. Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) looked in the direction of the sound and saw a clockwork automaton with a male appearance walking towards her—the automaton bore an eight-part resemblance to her own appearance, but its entire body was covered with obvious rivets and mechanical joint structures. The skirt-like attire made of fine steel and ceramics was designed like a maid's uniform. In the dim light, it looked somewhat eerie and terrifying.

The automaton walked over, the clockwork device behind it constantly making slight clicking sounds. It came to Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia), presented the black tea in its hand, and the articulated mouth clicked, making a slightly stiff and lively female voice: "Master, please have some tea."

"Thank you," Lú Hongbin Jiā (Lu Hongbin Jia) took the teacup and asked casually, "Lùnī (Luni), where are we now?"

The clockwork automaton called Lùnī (Luni) replied: "The Brilliant Star has just crossed 'Mist Horn Island' and is currently sailing on the edge of the Eternal Veil. Would you like to enjoy the scenery outside the window?"

"...Open the dome," Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) took a sip of black tea and put the teacup back on the tray in Lùnī (Luni)'s hand. "It's dawn. I should get some sun."

"Yes, Master."

Lùnī (Luni) bowed slightly and backed away.

At the same time as the clockwork automaton's voice fell, the entire "Divination Room" suddenly trembled slightly!

The creaking of mechanical devices running together echoed continuously, and the buzzing and creaking of giant clockwork and magical units running in unison seemed to form a concerto. Driven by countless gears

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Chapter 138 The Brilliant Star Free Reading:

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and slides, the walls of the room began to recede and unfold, and the originally dimly lit room was instantly illuminated by sunlight—in the sunlight, the entire room slowly bloomed like a mechanical flower, and finally bloomed into a stage-like appearance.

This was the upper deck of the Brilliant Star. The room where the "Sea Witch" Lúkexī Fanxià (Lúkexī Fansia) resided bloomed into a tall stage at the front end of the deck. Around the blooming mechanical flower, one could see the full view of the Brilliant Star—

The ship was strikingly divided into two halves.

The front half of the ship had been completely改造 (gǎizào - modified). Countless runes and magical creations covered the hull, making it look less like a ship and more like a giant magical contraption. Various strange materials collected from the borderlands or the sea were used to reconstruct the deck structure, making everything in sight faintly glow with a bizarre and psychedelic color, as if a never-ending magical ritual was running between these dense magic circles and crystals;

In the rear half of the ship, there was a completely different appearance—there, half of the ship's body presented a ghost-like, semi-transparent form. A veil of似真似幻 (sì zhēn sì huàn - seemingly real and illusory) shrouded the stern of the Brilliant Star, and in the floating幻光 (huànguāng - illusory light), one could vaguely see that this part of the structure still maintained the original appearance of the ship—

A sailing warship built a century ago, vaguely similar in style to Shixiang Hao (Lost Country).