By the time the captivity episode was over and the ship named the Marauder set sail again, Hal of White Gull Village had been transformed into a clerk under the command of the Greyjoy family.

Despite the sloppy and exaggerated lingua franca he wrote, and despite the fact that he was not yet 100 percent literate enough to read all the books, he was up to the job, and was satisfied with one of his old clerks.

This may seem strange at first glance, but in fact, cultural people are a rarity in the Iron Islands-

Here, being able to read and write can be regarded as a literate person.

The Iron Islands are barren and barbaric, and have lived by plundering since ancient times, and although their axes and swords are very sharp, they are a great weakness in books and arithmetic.

The common people here are illiterate, the lords and nobles are equally unbearable, and even in the entire history of the archipelago, there are few literate kings of the Iron Islands.

This cultural desolation lasted for hundreds of millennia, and did not improve even after the Iron Islands were subjugated to the Targaryens.

It wasn't until the time of Coren Greyjoy in the Iron Islands, the time of the Blue Rites, that the Iron Islands introduced the Bachelor class, that this situation changed.

Of course, the lack of culture does not mean that there is no need for culture, although ordinary ironfolk think that literate people are usually some wizards with strange methods, but ironfolk lords and even kings still need this kind of "special technical talent".

It's just that the way they need it is to plunder—

Just like what they do when they lack other supplies.

In reality, however, there are more literate people in mainland Westeros than in the Iron Islands, but only relatively speaking.

Therefore, cultural people are a "scarce resource" here, more scarce than gold.

It is not difficult to imagine why Lan Li was able to counterattack with salted fish.

But despite this, he did not gain trust, and there were still people watching him at work.

Lan Li didn't care much about this, his purpose was just to make himself be treated better on the rest of the journey, and he didn't expect anything else.

……

Under clear skies, the Marauder, with its slightly bloated hull, sailed unhurriedly on the sea.

The oil lamp hanging from the ship's head swayed as the ship progressed, and in a cabin below deck, an old man in gray robe was sitting opposite Lan Li, staring at him writing a letter.

It wasn't until Lan Li made the last stroke that he retracted his gaze with confidence, "You have the talent to become a bachelor, but it's a pity that you were born in the Iron Islands. ”

Lan Li smiled shyly at him when he heard this, and didn't say much.

The ability of the psychic emblem is a bit inexplicable, at first he used it to see the fat dun Ismon shit and not wipe his ass, and also saw the possible rebellion of the leader of the Storm's End, but not long ago, with the psychic crest, he saw a sea monster sitting on the throne and thinking calmly, which seemed to represent the other party's personality and a certain situation in the future.

That's why he spoke boldly, and he was relieved.

But despite the obfuscation, there must be an explanation.

So about his own literacy, he lied that it was because when he was a child, he was taught by a bachelor who was shipwrecked and drifted to the village.

No one doubted his words, at least, not at the moment.

"Have the sailors' salaries been counted?"

The old man asked.

He used to be a bachelor in the Old Town, and he was assigned to serve in a castle in Westeros, but he was plundered to the remote part of the Iron Islands on the way.

Lan Li replied, "It's been counted, and I'll hand it to the treasurer later." ”

"Where's the remnant of the book that Leader Viken needs? Is there anything you don't understand? ”

"Most of them can be understood, but I don't quite understand the word." As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of parchment from the shelf table in front of him, took a page from it, and pointed to the top paragraph.

In the dim light, the old man looked at it carefully for a long time before explaining: "The word is dung, and the whole sentence means that the dragon's dung is hot and hot, and a Valyrian slave was even poured on the head of the dragon dung and scalded alive......"

He began to explain word for word, and Lan Li listened quietly.

After the king was burned by a dragon, the entire Iron Islands talked about dragons, and the captain of the Marauder, Viken Greyjoy, paid special attention to all things dragon-related.

He used various means to collect fragments of books containing information about dragons, and then asked the old man to read them to him.

It's just that this slave labor bachelor is dizzy, and it is very difficult to read, and even inefficient - until Lan Li appears.

During the two days of sailing, Lan Li had to run with a book in front of the other party every afternoon to read word by word, which made him seem to have become a celebrity on this ship for a while.

It's just that his family knows his own affairs and seems to be familiar with the sea monster king, but he is still really just a traitor who is not trusted.

……

After coping with the task assigned to him by the old man, Lan Li got up with the stack of broken books and walked towards the outside of the cabin.

Halfway through, he encountered a long-haired drowned man confined to the mast of the deck, but when the other party saw him, he was not angry, but had pity on his face.

"Kid, you've lost your way."

"I'm pretty sure we're heading towards Oak Island." Lan Li shrugged.

In fact, the ship did not go directly to Oak Island, but spared a long distance, and even docked on another island on the way, but it was true that its final destination was Oak Island.

Lan Li didn't say much about this, and after tightening the parchment under his armpit, he stepped down the wooden ladder not far away to the rudder area.

At the edge of the plank, the tall leader, who was gazing out at the sea with his hands behind his back, heard footsteps and looked sideways at him.

"Continuing from yesterday's page?"

"Yes." Lan Li replied.

He didn't think the other party was too curious about whether dragon dung could burn people, but he thought that as a newly surrendered captive, it was best to talk less when necessary.

So he began to follow the words on the page.

Lan Li's voice was round, unhurried, and the marauder leader was usually not dissatisfied with it, even when faced with a question more boring than dragon dung, he would listen patiently.

It's just that today's expression became more and more impatient, and finally he even raised his hand to stop the young man from turning the book.

"Stop."

Lan Li's words stopped, his eyes showing curiosity.

The other party stared at the sea and was silent for a moment before he muttered, "Do you know why I want to listen to you read these books all day long?" ”

"Your Excellency wants to deal with dragons." This is a very obvious thing, and Lan Li doesn't need to hide it.

Viken Greyjoy nodded.

"As soon as King Heron died, the whole archipelago was immediately torn apart, and some stupid people were vying to establish themselves as kings, thinking that Heron's death was an opportunity for them, but arrogance blinded those people's eyes."

As he spoke, his gaze looked in the direction of the continent on the other side of the sea, and he said in a complicated tone, "Westeros is the target of that dragon king, but he will never give up on the Iron Islands. When the dragon comes, these fools will pay the price. Reign in front of the dragon king? ”

He sneered and looked at Lan Li.

"You're a smart man, why would you be loyal to the drowned Rhodes, who would be burned sooner or later? Faith? Or do you think that the so-called children of the drowned gods can really call our gods against the dragons? ”

The Iron Islands do have many kings, and it can even be said that every island has a self-proclaimed king, but Old Wake is an exception, and the king is not a lord, but a drowned priest - because all the drowning people support him, and even the priest king is very influential.

"Indeed, it is because of faith, my lord." Lan Li replied, thinking of a certain task in his mind, so he deliberately added another sentence.

"Faith in the Iron Islands."

"What's the difference?" Greyjoy could hear what he was saying.

"In the archipelago, all iron species believe in the god of drowning, and the drowning people are the tongue of the drowning god, in a sense, they represent the will of the people, which is why your lord wanted to execute the drowning people at sea before."

The other man nodded.

Seeing this, Lan Li said, "So I think that when the dragon's flames descend, the drowning people will put on a set of armor for me to deal with the invaders. So I joined them, not the kings who armed themselves with power and money. ”

"What do you think Aegon cares about our iron breeds?" Greyjoy's eyes flickered.

"Why not?" Lan Li replied: "He is a conqueror, and he wants to conquer this land. ”

"Dragon Burn can help him conquer the Iron Islands."

"Dragon Burn will only bring a scorched earth." Lan Li said: "Who would be stupid enough to turn their territory into a scorched earth? ”

"The Iron Isles live off plunder, and they have been known for their murder since ancient times, and maybe he will die in the future."

"Murderous name?" Lan Li asked rhetorically, "Is there a dragon murderer?" ”

Wicken Greyjoy was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"I don't think your drowned king will be the son of a god."

He smiled and turned his head to look back at the sea: "But sometimes I think that if he can attract a school of fish, he may be able to summon a sea monster as he claims, a real sea monster." If that were the case, then even Aegon's dragon fire would not be able to bring the irons to their knees. Yes, as long as there is a glimmer of hope......"

It was the first time Lan Li had heard of this, but before he could think about it, the other party spoke again.

"According to the itinerary, we will arrive on the north shore of Oak Island tomorrow. I'll talk to the Drowning people tonight, and if it goes well, I'll let you go tomorrow. ”