Duncan paused for a moment to help Alice with the glue residue, as if listening intently to distant sounds, and after a few moments, he lowered his head again and wiped away the crumbs that had fallen on the table with a soft cloth.

Alice blinked and looked at the captain curiously: "Ship, captain, what happened, what happened?" ”

"Morris received a letter from a friend from afar, and he was not very comfortable with what the letter revealed," Duncan smiled, stood up, and said casually as he helped Alice with a layer of glue on her neck joint, "and wanted me to help see the situation." ”

"Friends from afar, friends?" Alice's head stammered on the sailing table, "Yes, yes, is it in danger?" Do we want, want, want to save people? ”

There was not much glue left on the neck joint, and it was far easier to clean than the glue in the hollow of the head joint, Duncan quickly disposed of the dry glue, carefully finished the final wipe, and then bent down to pick up Alice's head, and carefully put her back in place like a work of art.

"We may be there to save someone," he whispered, turning the puppet's head from side to side, "but it could also be to help him rest." But either way, you have to go a long way. ”

The head of the puppet was placed in place, and Alice's slightly dull eyes instantly became flexible, and she shook her head slightly, like a puppet being injected into the soul, and her speech became fluent again: "Ah, where are we going?" ”

Duncan put away his tools and looked at the misty chart.

On the chart, a small bright spot representing the Sea Mist is slowly moving, and it has already moved some distance away from Plant.

"North," he whispered, his gaze falling on the goat's head, "hoist the horn sails and the side sails, and turn north—with the Sea Fog." ”

“Aye， Captain！”

……

Heidi placed the small brown medicine bottle on the coffee table, and about three-fifths of the clear potion could be seen in the medicine bottle, which reflected a faint golden light in the sinking sunset light, and in the circle of rippling golden light, there seemed to be tiny bubbles constantly precipitating from it, jumping around the liquid surface.

"This is the last dose of the potion, a little more potent than the one you have used before, you can drink it when you go to sea, only three drops at a time - of course, I also recommend that you start taking it now," the psychiatrist lady looked up at the gray-haired old captain in front of her, "As a captain who has spent half his life on the endless seas, you should be more responsible for your own health." ”

"Thank you for your advice, Miss Heidi, I know my situation," Lawrence was not impatient, but also not overzealous, he just curiously picked up the bottle of potion and looked through the glass bottle in the sunlight as the bubble-spitting liquid inside...... Very beautiful potion, is it bitter? ”

"It's a little bit, but it's more of an herbal aroma, and I've added some honey to hide the bitterness," says Heidi, "and it's not going to be hard to eat." ”

As she spoke, she looked up and glanced out the window at the sky.

The sun was sinking, and the orange-red sunlight was shining through the glass windows in the living room.

It was the home of Lawrence, the captain of the White Oak, and as a veteran captain, Lawrence had in his living room a multitude of furnishings that testified to his sailing experience—coral specimens collected from shallow offshore waters, models of rudders and ships, totemic decorations from some remote city-states, and a large shelf against the wall filled with awards and memorabilia from the Explorers' Guild, the city-state authorities, and the four major churches.

Now, these symbols of glory and memory are submerged in the slanting sunlight, gilded with a layer of gold, and faded in the light.

It's time to leave, and it's not a good time to continue providing psychological support after the sun has set.

"It's time for me to take my leave," Heidi exhaled softly and rose from the couch, her eyes falling on the vial in Lawrence's hand, "please don't forget to take your medication—it will help you resist the mental effects of the Infinite Sea." ”

"Thank you, you've helped me a lot," the gray-haired Lawrence also stood up, with a sincere smile on his face, "I'll send you." ”

Heidi was sent to the door by the old captain, but before leaving, she couldn't help but look at Lawrence twice, and said, "Also, I have one last piece of advice—although your current condition is quite good among all captains of your age, you are really old enough to retire and consider handing over the White Oak to a reliable successor." ”

After saying what she wanted to say, she didn't expect the old captain's answer, but politely bent down slightly to salute her, and then said goodbye and left.

The figure of Miss Psychiatrist walked towards the parked car at the intersection, and Lawrence sighed softly and turned back to the living room.

The wife was leaning against the doorframe not far away, holding her shoulders, looking at this side with some dissatisfaction.

She was a very tall woman, and although she was old, she could still see some of her youthful demeanor, and she stood there as if she were standing on a boat...... Or the female explorer who made a name for herself on the endless sea.

But now the female explorer is clearly not in a good mood.

"Day by day, it's either the church censorship or the psychiatrist comes to the door, what a disaster you have made outside!" She glared and said in a loud voice, "And what's going on with that bottle of medicine - you didn't say you're in such a bad state that you need to take medicine to maintain it." ”

"It's not like I wanted to meet that ghost ship," Lawrence looked at the vial in his hand and shook his head helplessly, "but now that the entire city-state has suffered the Lost Homeland, no one cares about the White Oak." As for this bottle of medicine...... It's nothing, after all, I've been at sea for a long time, and occasionally I have some auditory hallucinations. ”

The wife didn't say anything, just stared at this side for a long time, and sighed after a few minutes: "Aren't you retiring yet?" ”

"I'd like to look for ......," Lawrence said with some confidence, "after all...... There was no definite death at the time......"

"You're going to die on this sooner or later!" The wife raised her voice again and pointed at Lawrence's nose, "What's that?" It was a great storm on the boundless sea! When a storm passes, a ship deviates from its course, and a boatload of people loses contact, that is, it is dead! Do you understand?

"Look at you like this, how many years have you been looking for? You have long passed the age of retirement, and those captains who are in the same period as you, those who have brains have long since retired, and now you can enjoy the savings you have saved for half a lifetime in peace, and those who have no brains are as hard as you, what is the end of them one by one? Lying in bed drooling? Lying in the graveyard? Locked up in an insane asylum?

"I advise you to take this medicine now, and then go directly to the handover tomorrow, give the White Oak to a henchman you have cultivated since childhood, and honestly go home to get the rest of the retirement allowance, don't wait for one day to die in a certain storm, the old lady and you can't afford this heart......"

Lawrence listened to his wife's increasingly loud rebuke, just smiled warmly, and did not refute anything, and finally he put the little brown medicine bottle on the coffee table: "Let's find it one last time." ”

The wife finally stopped, staring at the medicine bottle on the coffee table, and after a long time, she sighed angrily, and muttered as if resigned to her fate: "Where to find it this time?" ”

"To the north," Lawrence said calmly, "the original place, the area where the Black Oak was stormed, and I happened to be on an escort mission to Frost......

The wife didn't say anything, just waved her hand wordlessly.

……

The morning sun was pouring through the streets, and Prand was waking up from a deep night's sleep.

Vanna stooped out the car door, squinting slightly in the sunlight, and at the end of her line of sight was the familiar sign of the antique shop she had visited once.

The shop was already open, and a skinny girl with black hair and a black dress was sprinkling water at the door, while another girl who looked like she was not much older was hanging a sign on the door.

If memory serves, the two girls were named Shirley and Nina, the latter being the owner's niece.

Vanna rubbed her forehead, remembering her previous visit to the antique shop, and for some reason, she always felt that some of the details were now vaguely remembered.

And this strengthened her idea that she should come and see it today.

The voice of the subordinate came from the car: "How long are you leaving?" ”

"In an hour," replied Vanna, "you just have to wait here." ”

"Okay," the young guard in charge of the car nodded in the car, but still reminded a little uneasily, "you pay attention to the time, today is the day of the arrival of the Storm Cathedral in Purander, you need to attend the greeting ceremony in person, Bishop Valentine specially reminded you." Also, we didn't plan our trip this time......"

"Okay, okay, you've been chanting it several times," Vanna waved her hand, her expression a little helpless, "I know everyone is nervous about the Storm Cathedral this time, I'll keep an eye on the time." ”

“…… Okay, then I'll wait for you here. ”

(End of chapter)