Chapter 690: Transparent Rainbow Bead

"How long have you been at sea?"

’A ship as large as theirs must have set out with plenty of supplies,’ she thought. ’How could they have run out of fresh water?’

"Uhm..." Jiang Yue did a quick calculation, but she wasn’t sure. "About four months, I think. I’m not entirely certain. It’s just been so long that I’ve lost track of time."

"Four months?" Ye Qianning was quite surprised.

"Yes. Our ship was hit by a gale, and we lost our bearings. We tried sailing in one direction, but then we ran into more storms and fog. We completely lost our way and have just been drifting aimlessly. People on board have gotten sick... more than ten have already died." Jiang Yue’s voice trailed off, her eyes flickering with emotion.

Ye Qianning hadn’t realized they had been adrift for so long. ’Sailing into uncharted waters... The weather there is perpetually gloomy, and you rarely see the sun.’

’Besides, the seas are unpredictable. Sometimes, a massive whirlpool can form. It can be so vast that a ship on the edge wouldn’t even notice it’s being pulled into a spiral.’

Jiang Yue fell silent. After the ship lost its way, every day had been an ordeal. The crew’s nerves must have been stretched to the breaking point, especially after they realized supplies were running low.

"Come with me." Ye Qianning stood up from her rocking chair.

Jiang Yue looked up and saw Ye Qianning heading toward the cabin. She quickly got up and followed.

Ye Qianning entered the cabin. Inside was a small barrel filled with water that the old Taoist had brought for the voyage. She had never opened it.

"This is fresh water. You can have someone carry it up to your ship later."

Jiang Yue stared at the barrel in astonishment. ’Didn’t she just say she didn’t have any stored fresh water?’

"I just didn’t want to give it to *them*," Ye Qianning said with a smile, as if reading her mind. "But you, little girl... I have a good feeling about you."

Jiang Yue’s surprised face flushed slightly. "I’m already sixteen. I’m not that little. And you don’t look much older than me."

’It’s a little embarrassing to be called ’little girl’ by someone who looks about the same age,’ she thought.

"Oh, I’m not little at all," Ye Qianning said, tossing her an apple.

Jiang Yue caught it. The apple was bright red. It had been over two months since she’d last eaten any fruit. She didn’t hesitate, taking a large bite. "Thank you... It’s so sweet and delicious."

"By the way, what were you looking for when you set out to sea?"

"Well... we were..."

"Oh, I forgot. Finish your apple first, there’s no rush." Seeing her hesitation, Ye Qianning realized she was being a bit too eager.

Jiang Yue nodded, finished the apple in a few bites, and wiped her mouth. "Six months ago, a strange bead washed up on the coast. It was beautiful—transparent, with a rainbow of colors inside. People said it was a mermaid’s pearl, and there are legends of merpeople in the deep sea. A certain noble in the Nanyuan imperial capital heard about it from somewhere and ordered my Jiang family, along with the Huo family, to go to sea and investigate."

"A transparent, rainbow-colored bead?"

"Mhm."

Ye Qianning seemed to realize something. ’If I’m not mistaken, that must be one of the beads I polished from my spatial Crystal Stones. I used to use them as marbles to hunt fish. I never thought one would travel so far and wash up on a beach.’

’If the Crystal Stone bead could make it to the coast, then what about the message in a bottle I had Dun Dun release a few years ago?’

"Besides the bead, have any other strange things appeared in the sea? Like bottles, for example?"

"You mean the bottles with the strange notes inside?"

Ye Qianning was overjoyed. "Yes! You know about them?"

"Everyone in the Four Nations knows about them. The Immortal Sea Building is buying them for one hundred taels of Gold a piece. For the last couple of years, practically everyone has been going out to sea to search for those bottles."