The moment the captain pulled open the door, Chen Jiu's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
Only now could Chen Jiuyang confirm that his gamble had paid off.
The 'Sanhua' that had transformed into a phantom standing outside the door was seven parts truth and three parts falsehood; such a mix of truth and deception was meant to ensnare him.
If the real 'Sanhua' had been standing outside the door then, Chen Jiuyang would have been trapped.
Fortunately, he had followed Wu Shuang'er obediently.
But next...
He had to search this ship for 'Sanhua's' whereabouts, find her, and then take her away from this vessel.
Chen Jiuyang stepped out of his room. The dim candlelight illuminated the corridor inside the ship's hull, and looking deeper, it seemed bottomless, its length unknown.
Here, even the divine sense of a mighty Martial Dao Red Dust Immortal was suppressed.
Chen Jiuyang looked at the captain and asked, "Why are you surprised I'm still alive?"
The captain, slurring his words, replied, "You had the most silver on you."
"?"
He had taken one hundred taels of silver from Wu Shuang'er, leaving ninety-eight taels.
Would these anomalies kill him for mere mortal things like silver?
Chen Jiuyang found it inexplicable, yet he had to consider the possibility...
This meant the silver might have a greater purpose than it appeared on the surface.
"Alright, let's check on the others."
The captain, still drunk, walked towards the other rooms. Opposite was Wu Shuang'er's room. The captain pulled the door open; Wu Shuang'er was asleep and then slowly woke up.
The captain showed surprise again: "Another one alive."
"..." Chen Jiuyang.
Then, heading to the next room, which was Han Jiuguang's. Upon opening the door, a pungent, fishy odor assaulted him. Han Jiuguang was inexplicably severely injured, suffering both Dao and physical wounds.
The captain chuckled, "Almost died, but got lucky."
Chen Jiuyang's brows furrowed. It seemed the captain knew a lot but was unwilling to reveal it.
Opening another door, Ji Yaoguang of the Niushihui was still alive, appearing to have sustained only minor injuries.
Then there was Jiang Xuming, who was completely unharmed.
"How strange..." the captain mumbled, "So many are alive..."
Opening Yin Wuli's last room, Yin Wuli was found dead in a gruesome state, his physical body exploded into a bloody mess, just like a mortal.
"Dying so miserably, that's more like it," the captain nodded with a hint of satisfaction.
Chen Jiuyang, his brows tightly knit, finally asked, "It's just us on this ship, why are so many rooms empty?"
"Heh heh..." the captain said with a knowing tone, "Who says these rooms are empty?"
Afterward, he left the interior of the ship and returned to the deck.
Chen Jiuyang stood there, pondering for a long time. He had been contemplating the state in which 'Sanhua' would be alive and how he would take her away from here...
And how he should enter and observe the game with the Origin Dao of 'Luan'.
There were too few clues.
Chen Jiuyang looked at the seemingly bottomless corridor of rooms before him, his gaze narrowing:
"Is there a possibility... that Sanhua encountered this captain, in this room?"
"What is the purpose of these rooms..."
Chen Jiuyang aimed at a closed room door and pulled with all his might. The force was enough to shatter a star, yet the wooden door wouldn't budge: "Origin Dao, perhaps..."
This ship was truly unsettlingly strange.
Wu Shuang'er was still asleep.
Jiang Xuming, Ji Yaoguang, and Han Jiuguang emerged. Upon seeing Chen Jiuyang, they exchanged glances, their expressions grave.
Jiang Xuming said solemnly, "Fellow Daoists, it seems we must cooperate. Without progress on the Dao Fruit, we will waste much time here, and whether we can survive is even a question."
Han Jiuguang was rapidly healing, a wisp of immortal energy lingering around him. His eyes flickered with sharp light for a moment before he exhaled, "If we want to make progress in refining the Dao Fruit, we must open our doors when it rains and quickly go out to investigate."
Ji Yaoguang nodded slowly, "Indeed."
Chen Jiuyang's eyes narrowed, and he asked, "Did you two actively open your doors to investigate other rooms when it was raining?"
Chen Jiuyang immediately connected many dots.
Han Jiuguang said, "Yes. This ship has multiple Origin Daos, creating various strange phenomena. Although extremely dangerous, as long as we understand the patterns and seize the right opportunities, we can investigate other rooms."
"The sooner we find what we need, the sooner we can leave this ghost ship."
Chen Jiuyang's expression darkened, and he asked, "Did you not encounter anomalies knocking on your doors?"
Jiang Xuming replied, "Yes."
Ji Yaoguang stated, "It always happens. That's precisely why we must seize this opportunity to investigate."
Han Jiuguang added, "We must absolutely not respond to the anomalies. Once you respond, you create karma and become entangled. It becomes dangerous to do anything further."
"..." Chen Jiuyang's heart sank. He hadn't known about this rule.
It seemed his danger level was even higher than theirs.
He needed to find a way to resolve this.
Leaving the interior of the ship, Chen Jiuyang found the captain. "Captain, I seem to be entangled by guests from other rooms. Is there any way to break free from their entanglement?"
The captain, slurring his words, replied, "You have silver. Just give them some silver to appease them."
Chen Jiuyang then asked, "Captain, I'd like to gather some information from you."
"Hmm?" The captain raised his hand and made a gesture for money. "Five taels per inquiry."
"Certainly." Chen Jiuyang asked, "Have you seen 'Sanhua'?"
"'Sanhua'? She seems to be a guest who boarded a long time ago," the captain replied.
Chen Jiuyang took out ten taels of silver. "Then does the captain remember which room she stayed in?"
A glint of greed flashed in the captain's eyes as he pocketed the ten taels. He slurred, "I don't know. Damn it, so many people have boarded, how could I possibly remember."
Chen Jiuyang's heart sank. "Then, how should I find her?"
He took out another five taels of silver.
The captain took the silver and slurred, "How the hell should I know? Go find her yourself."
Chen Jiuyang's expression turned grim. The captain had played him, taking the money and then giving him a perfunctory answer.
Perhaps Han Jiuguang and the others already knew this, or had inquired about it when they boarded, which was why they decided to go out and investigate during the rain.
However, this captain didn't seem like a living person, but rather an anomaly fused with the seed's Origin Dao.
For now... he couldn't afford to offend him.
Chen Jiuyang suppressed his displeasure and returned to the ship's interior.
Wu Shuang'er had just woken up groggily.
Perhaps... to find Sanhua, he had to start with Wu Shuang'er.
However.
Upon seeing Chen Jiuyang, Wu Shuang'er uttered words that made Chen Jiuyang's expression change drastically:
"'Qianyang', I am 'Sanhua'!"
What was going on?