A Core Ship From The Start-Chapter 2261 - 1530: Shocking Change (When Winter Comes, Ben Just Wants to Sleep)

Duanmu Huai spent a day in Yangzhou before boarding a boat again, heading towards Luoyang. The natural scenery was indeed commendable. However, with war breaking out frequently, none of them had much interest in sightseeing. Even within the city, the scenes of indulgence and decay were uninspiring. Thus, they spent most of their time onboard, either "practicing martial arts" with Duanmu Huai, or engaged in their own pursuits.

Take Wang Yuyan for example, since Duanmu Huai often complained about their inability to cook, she began learning to cook. Aside from practicing martial arts daily, she spent most of her time studying recipes and dishes. Having read extensively since childhood, she knew some ancient recipes. Wang Yuyan used to lack any special hobbies or interests, but now she seems to have gradually developed a passion for cooking, starting to learn how to cook.

On the other hand, Little Dragon Girl was deeply interested in music. She had studied the guqin since childhood, which amounted to a genuine hobby. However, unfortunately, there wasn’t any musical instrument on the yacht, so Duanmu Huai traded for a guqin and some sheet music for her from the market. In her leisure time, Little Dragon Girl would burn incense and play the guqin at the bow of the ship for relaxation.

Duanmu Huai didn’t understand music theory, but Little Dragon Girl was evidently exceptionally gifted, with a profound mastery of musical arts. She could comprehend the sheet music at a glance and played seamlessly after just practicing once. Duanmu Huai found her music pleasant, so he let her be. In any case, the yacht’s surroundings were filled with symphony and rock music, which sounded awkward in this historical setting. Little Dragon Girl’s guqin music, however, was quite fitting.

Nevertheless, the river was ultimately not the same as a mountain path, and they encountered many people. Particularly in these chaotic times, mountain bandits and defeated soldiers roamed everywhere, making river travel comparatively safer. Thus, many vessels passed by Duanmu Huai and his companions along the way, though most were respectful and refrained from offending them. Some hailed the yacht, shouting for the Immortal Boat’s blessing.

Of course, most boats didn’t dare to approach the yacht too closely, to avoid offending the Immortal. People surviving on rivers and seas were highly superstitious, so seeing the Immortal Boat was considered extremely fortunate, but offending an Immortal was tantamount to courting death.

Unfortunately, there were always those who sought death.

That day, as they traveled downriver, they happened to pass by a palace. For Duanmu Huai and his companions, it was merely a palace to glance at and sail past.

Yet, unbeknownst to them, the palace was the Lijiang Palace built by Emperor Yang Guang. At that moment, Yang Guang was indulging in pleasure within the palace when he suddenly heard the guqin music resonating, seemingly like Immortal Sound. Following the music, he saw the Immortal Boat sailing on the river. At the bow of the boat, a young girl in white was burning incense and playing the guqin. Her white attire fluttered gracefully, her skin fair as snow, resembling a Fairy.

Yang Guang was utterly enthralled, standing dazed on the viewing deck, staring at the Immortal Boat until it faded from view, still unable to recover.

At Yang Guang’s side, the Inner Ministers Yu Shiji and Fei Yun also hastily knelt down, shouting long live the emperor.

"Your Majesty is wise! The Immortal Boat manifesting is indeed a fortunate omen!"

"Indeed, a fortunate omen!"

Hearing the words of the ministers beside him, Yang Guang was momentarily stunned before regaining his composure.

"Fairy... That is a Fairy!!"

"What?"

Upon hearing Yang Guang’s words, everyone was taken aback. They had all seen the extraordinary beauty of Little Dragon Girl; her demeanor truly transcended like an Immortal. However, they merely watched, not expecting Yang Guang to think further, with a bolder vision.

"Come! Fetch the boat immediately, I must personally seek the Immortal! The Fairy appearing before me is a major opportunity. If I miss this chance, it may be hard to attain the Immortal Dao!"

"This..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Hearing Yang Guang’s command, the ministers exchanged uneasy glances. They knew Yang Guang’s fervor for seeking the Immortal Dao, but most were skeptical of such matters, so some courageously spoke to advise him.

"Your Majesty, the origins of the Immortal Boat are unclear, its movements are mysterious. As your majesty, you cannot risk yourself. Why not let us investigate and report back to you?"

"Nonsense!"

However, Yang Guang clearly wouldn’t heed his ministers’ warnings.

"The Immortal fate has appeared, and I can attain immortality in just one night. If you delay the Immortal fate, I’ll have all your heads rolled! Quickly, prepare the boat, set off!!"

Folk tales are rife with similar legends, such as deities descending to grant opportunities, only for someone to fail to cherish them, reacting too late and finally missing the chance altogether. Yang Guang, who sought the Immortal Dao daily, had undoubtedly heard such stories. At this moment, he was furious. Although others found the situation odd, Yang Guang was persistent. Even his favored ministers could not convince him otherwise, leaving them with no choice but to follow his orders reluctantly.

In fact, given the speed of Duanmu Huai’s yacht, it wouldn’t be difficult to outrun the warships. Unfortunately, they were unaware of the situation, so the yacht only traveled at half speed. It wasn’t until several warships appeared that Little Dragon Girl realized something was amiss and hurriedly informed Duanmu Huai.

"Are they here to give us trouble?"

Upon hearing Little Dragon Girl’s report, Duanmu Huai was surprised, then rose from the warm spring bath. Seeing Duanmu Huai’s robust upper body, Little Dragon Girl’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head. Although Duanmu Huai had bathed in the spring several times before, circumstances now were different from the past. Watching that sturdy physique, Little Dragon Girl could not help but recall the "martial arts practice" scenes, feeling intensely shy.