Chapter 281

Chapter 281: The Taboos of Reading at Sea

After his long talk with Tyrian, Duncan had already told Nina, Shirley, and the others the intelligence he had gathered about the Abyssal Trench Project. But at the time he had not mentioned what voyage the Vanished would undertake next—until now, when a letter from an old friend to Morris finally led to this journey north.

“We are now sailing north along the Sea Mist’s route. In a few days we should reach the edge of the Frost Sea. The scenery there will be completely different from the Central Seas,” Duncan said. “You can spend this time on the ship. Alice has already prepared rooms for you. Of course, if you find it hard to adapt to life at sea, you can return to the city-state—I can call you over when necessary.”

“I-I’ll stay on the ship,” Shirley raised her hand at once. “I can help Miss Alice with some work…”

“You still have to do your homework on the ship,” Duncan gave her a calm look. “And I will supervise you in person.”

Shirley shrank her neck at once: “Ah, then I…”

“You also have to do your homework in the city-state. And it would still be me supervising you.”

Shirley pulled a long face: “Then… then I’ll stay on the ship. I’ll treat it as a change of scenery.”

“I want to stay on the ship too,” Nina looked at Shirley, then at Duncan. Her eyes were bright, and there was a clear eagerness in her voice. “I still haven’t really gotten used to life on the ship. Last time I didn’t even last until night…”

Duncan nodded: “All right. Then you can go back home later and bring the bedding you are used to over here, so you don’t lose sleep in a strange environment.”

“Mm, mm,” Nina nodded again and again. Then she seemed to remember something and asked, a little hesitant: “Then can I also bring my holiday homework and textbooks to the ship? I’m afraid I won’t finish them before school starts…”

As soon as Nina finished speaking, Dog could not help covering his head with his paws: “We are riding the most terrifying ghost ship in history to resolve an supernatural incident, but somehow it is starting to sound more and more like a holiday trip…”

Duncan did not pay attention to Dog’s muttering. He thought for a moment, then spoke to Nina with some uncertainty: “Shirley and Alice’s spelling books can be brought on board, but your textbooks and homework might be a bit dangerous. Reading books on the Boundless Sea is like reading in the city-state after nightfall. It easily draws malice from the Shadows.”

Nina stared for a moment. She calmly analyzed it, thought a little, then suddenly raised a very constructive question that even Duncan had not considered: “Then if something comes out of the Shadows, can’t you just beat it up?”

Duncan: “…?”

Dog and Shirley: “…Right!”

“I never thought of that,” Duncan said after staring blankly for several seconds, his expression turning strange at last. He had to admit that from the very moment he heard Goathead talk about these ‘taboos of reading at sea’, he had fallen into a mental blind spot. He had simply treated it as a rule, just like everyone else, and had not thought about other options. But now… it was Nina, who had only recently stepped into the supernatural, who was showing an unbelievable openness of mind.

Of course Nina was not bound by traditional ways of thinking—for on the very first day this young lady touched the supernatural, what she saw was her Uncle Duncan stomping on a city-state and tearing the Sun in half. The highest level of supernatural corruption in this world had appeared to her as something being pinned down and given a solid beating.

In Nina’s eyes, Uncle Duncan was invincible. If anything caused trouble, she just had to let Uncle Duncan beat it up. Her train of thought was very clear and very simple.

“I need to confirm something,” Duncan suddenly said. Then he got up and left the dining hall.

He grabbed a big book and went straight to the captain’s cabin. With a loud “bang”, he dropped the book in front of Goathead.

Goathead jumped at the sudden noise: “C-captain?”

“What usually happens if you read books on the Boundless Sea?” Duncan asked bluntly.

Goathead paused, then answered on reflex: “Ah, that is obvious. Reading on the Boundless Sea usually draws the attention of certain wills from the world’s deep layers. For example, Intruders from the Spirit Realm, projections of demons from the Abyssal Deep, and even the whispers of Subspace may seize the chance to slip in during this process. They take advantage of the reader’s relaxed and unguarded mind to extend their projections into the Mortal Realm, and… What are you doing?”

Duncan had already spread open the big book he had brought from the city-state of Pland, a thick volume about the folk customs of many city-states. He flipped through its contents as he answered without looking up: “So when do those ‘Intruders’ you mentioned arrive?”

Goathead felt his thoughts starting to knot up, yet still answered on reflex even as they tangled: “U-usually, they should arrive as soon as the reading starts. Very quickly.”

Duncan turned two more pages, then raised his head: “Then why aren’t they here yet?”

Goathead: “…”

“Nina wants to do her winter homework on the ship,” Duncan said to Goathead very seriously. “If you have a way to ‘attract’ those ‘Intruders’ you just mentioned, then draw them here. I have something to discuss with them.”

“H-how do you plan to ‘discuss’ things with them?”

“By beating them up. Beating them up again and again until they promise not to disturb Nina’s studying,” Duncan said. Then he thought for a moment and carefully added: “Of course this is only my idea. I am not sure if it will work. You might be more of an expert in this area than I am.”

Goathead’s thoughts knotted up again. This time he hesitated even longer than before before he finally spoke: “I think… you may need to ‘test’ for a while longer.”

Duncan: “…?”

“Normally, the Shadows drawn by reading all have the trait of chasing knowledge. That makes them just a little ‘smarter’ than ordinary Intruders,” Goathead’s words at last began to flow smoothly, though his tone was still strange. “Being smart means having some judgment. Even the chaotic Shadows of the Abyssal Deep and the Spirit Realm know how to seek benefit and avoid harm while chasing knowledge. They will not rashly show up in front of you…”

“I see,” Duncan nodded. His gaze moved over the lines of text in the book as he spoke casually. “So, any Intruder bold enough to come to the Vanished will not be some nobody or fool. It will be a powerful Intruder who has great confidence in itself and has weighed the risks carefully. That is actually good. It means I only need to beat one or two of them, and the strong ones will quickly understand the situation. I won’t have to worry about endless harassment from idiots.”

“I believe your reasoning makes perfect sense.”

Duncan did not respond to Goathead’s flattery. He just continued to sink into the book in front of him. He slowly turned the rough pages. His eyes wandered among the sometimes horrifying, sometimes mysterious folk customs of the southern city-states. His mind relaxed, little by little, and sank into the reading.

He waited quietly for the knowledge-chasing Intruders to smell this sweet bait and invade this seemingly unguarded Mortal Realm dimension.

But no Intruders appeared.

“It doesn’t seem to be working,” Duncan raised his head and spoke to Goathead, who was sitting quietly at the edge of the desk. “Do you have any other ideas?”

“Actually… I don’t think you need to cling to this. There are so many taboos on the Boundless Sea. Being unable to read is only…”

“Nina needs to do her winter homework,” Duncan said gently. “She cares about it.”

“You could let someone else do the reading, like Mr. Morris,” Goathead answered at once. “Followers of the God of Wisdom are better at controlling their minds. It is useful whether they are protecting themselves or setting a trap. Those Intruders most likely sensed your aura and did not dare show up. But if we set a trap, it should work.”

Duncan thought for a moment and felt that this was a good idea.

So he picked up the book and went straight back to the dining hall. Everyone was still there waiting. Nina and Shirley were whispering to each other, guessing what Duncan was doing. Alice and Dog were checking each other’s spelling words. Morris sat to the side with his eyes closed, resting. He opened them only when he heard Duncan walk in.

“I need a trap to draw in those invaders who chase knowledge,” Duncan walked straight to Morris and put the Folkways Treatise into the old scholar’s hands. “You read this book. Make your mind look like that of an unguarded scholar seeking knowledge. Lure a powerful malevolent spirit that chases knowledge onto the ship. I want to ‘talk’ with that Intruder, and also figure out what these Intruders really are.”

Morris jumped in shock. He had spent most of his life seeking knowledge on the academic road, and this was the first time he had heard such a crazy, wild idea. Yet the very next second, he saw from Duncan’s eyes that this ghost captain was completely serious.

And this really was the kind of plan only a Subspace shadow as powerful as him would dare to consider seriously.

After the first wave of shock, a strange excitement and sense of expectation rose up from the depths of the old scholar’s heart.

He had to admit that he himself suddenly felt a spark of curiosity.

If he read on purpose and lured a malevolent spirit under Captain Duncan’s watch, on the Vanished with its very special environment… what would happen?

Morris lifted the book in his hands.