Plague Doctor

Chapter 169: White Ship

Although Gu Jun could not catch sight of the sun or even a wisp of a cloud, the sky was blindingly bright. The heaven stretched forth like a wiped-out canvas. The sea was still shrouded in mist, and the sea was surprisingly calm. There was nothing that suggested waves or aquatic activity. There was definitely something supernatural about the mist because whenever Gu Jun tried to look through it, the mist appeared impenetrable, but should he try to look up into the sky, the mist did not obstruct his line of sight at all. From the moment Gu Jun stepped onto the deck, it felt like he was transported to Neverland. With a little pixie dust and happy thoughts, he would lift himself up into the sky. However, the wooden floor of the deck under his feet felt real and concrete; it did not feel like he was dreaming.

Both he and Wu Siyu embarked onto the ship while carrying a ninety-seven automatic. They entered the ship with their backs against each other, covering the other’s blind spot as per their professional training. The barrels of the guns swept their surroundings.

The ship looked like a medieval era pirate ship. The spacious deck was quite deserted. There were three wooden masts, some lidless wooden barrels, sturdy-looking nylon ropes, and doors that appeared to lead deeper into the cabins. The cabin door was blackened from prolonged exposure to the elements. It was left half-ajar, so Gu Jun could see the shape of the stairs that led below.

“Be careful, I feel like we’re not the only ones...” Gu Jun whispered to Wu Siyu.

At the same time, Wu Siyu gasped. “Your gun.”

“Yours too.” Gu Jun saw what she meant. The guns they were holding were rapidly dissolving into wisps of smoke before disappearing completely. Not only the automatics, the sniper rifles on their backs, the pistols strapped to their waist, the grenades and explosives, cold steel like daggers and knives, all the weaponry had all dissolved into smoke and become part of the mist.

Gu Jun reached hurriedly toward the toolkit around his waist and let out a breath of relief. The three medical Carlot instruments were still there, but when he turned to the larger medic kit, he noticed all the normal surgical instruments had disappeared. Only the medicine, blood bags, and syringes were left behind. They quickly took an inventory of their other belongings. Their phones, binoculars, flashlights, lighters, watches, water bottles, compass... those had all vanished. Currently, other than the clothes on their backs and the snowshoes on their feet, as well as a few medical supplies, the pair had nothing.

“Okay,” Gu Jun said darkly, “it appears like we have officially landed in the dream world.”

“Why take all those things but leave the medical supplies for us?” Wu Siyu voiced the question out loud.

“I have no clue.” Gu Jun shook his head.

Without the gun in his grasp, the anxiety gripped at his heart. He was reminded of what Mr. Chandler had said in the watcher’s dairy, ‘It is a glorious world, but glory comes with its risks... Should you happen to be one of the chosen ones, heed this advice—do worry about bringing anything with you. You won’t want for anything there.’

This was a dangerous world, and the island that they were searching for would be populated by cultists and zombies. Without the protection of their weaponry and the depleting store of mental power to cast any more spells, Gu Jun felt instantly deflated.

“Take this.” Gu Jun handed the surgical scissors to Wu Siyu while he held onto the scalpel. “At least they’re going to fare better than our bare fists.”

After Wu Siyu accepted the scissors, she kept snapping them. Click, click, the scissors went. “Sorry, I suddenly felt the urge to cut something.”

“Maybe we should go toward the cabin to take a look.” Gu Jun led carefully ahead. He was tuning his ears to their surrounding as well as putting his sensors out for anything supernatural. The pair moved step by step to the cabin door. As they got closer to the door, they could hear some kind of strange wailing coming from the bottom. There was more than one voice; many voices were crying out, their screams overlapping with each other. Gu Jun’s heart slowly tightened. There appeared to be some creatures locked at the bottom.

Just as he was about to lean forward to take a better look, Wu Siyu behind him suddenly yelped in surprise. “Ah.”

Gu Jun instantly whipped his head around and saw that where they had just been stood, right next to the empty wooden barrels, stood a person who was not there earlier.

“I blinked,” Wu Siyu said, “and he was there.”

The newcomer was an old man with a bushy beard. He wore an old burlap robe without any stylistic decoration that outlined his thin body. Even though the old man had a human face, he did not resemble any known human race. He had deep sunken eyes, a flat nose, and his gray beard dropped down to his chest. But the strangest features were the wrinkles that pleated his face. For a split second, Gu Jun thought he saw the wrinkles wiggle along his face like worms.

Gu Jun shot a look at Wu Siyu as he slowly turned his body around. He posed a question in Chinese. “Old sir, how do you do? Can you understand us?”

“In this world, communication is based on intention. As long as the speaker is willing to be understood, the listener will naturally understand.” The gray-bearded elder responded casually. The reply exemplified what the senior was saying perfectly because the old man was responding in some kind of unknown language. It did not resemble any human language, the foreign language, the zombie language, or the R’yleh language, but the pair found themselves understanding the elder perfectly. However, when they tried to reply in the same language, they found themselves unable to do so.

“Old sir, do you mind telling us who you are?” Gu Jun probed again.

“I guess you can see me as the captain of this ship. I am responsible for intercepting the travelers from different places.” The old man’s expression did not change. “So, where do you wish to go?”

Gu Jun thought for a while before saying, “Can we look at a map?”

He wanted to get a quick understanding of this world’s geography.

“There is no map.” The old man appeared to look right through them into the mist. “You only need to give me your destination.”

Gu Jun knew that he was not going to get anything else out of the old man. “We’re heading toward a barren island. Based on our world’s coordinates, it is located at northern latitude 74°31’12” and eastern longitude 176°.”

“Of course...” The old man answered the moment he finished. “I can take you there.”

Instantly, the sails on the mast turned and adjusted their direction even though there was no wind. Then the ship sped up, and the mist started to fade away. This gave Gu Jun a burst of confidence. At least they were on the right track. The island could be found in this world.

“Sir, why did you decide to come for us? Aren’t you curious about us? I’m curious about you.” Wu Siyu peppered the old man with questions. “Is this your job? Are you self-employed, or is there a boss? How do you get paid?”

She launched into a bombardment of enquiries, and Gu Jun let her be. However, the old man did not appear to have heard her. Wu Siyu shrugged in the end. It was like she was part of the mist when it came to this old man.

“Old Sir.” Gu Jun decided to chime in, his tone rich with respect and sincerity. “The place that we’re heading is very dangerous, but we do not have even a single weapon on us, not even food or water. I wonder if you can give us something or tell us how to find some.”

“There are many things on the ship.” The old man finally answered. “But with everything comes a price.”

“Was it you who took away our things earlier?” Wu Siyu suspected the old man did that to drive up his side of the bargain. Her fingers twitched, and she felt like reaching out to shear off the old man’s beard.

“No, that was simply how this world works,” the old man explained. “No traveler is able to bring anything in here with them. But there are special exceptions...”

The old man did not elaborate further.

Gu Jun nodded silently. Combined with what Mr. Chandler said, it did not seem like the old man was lying to them. So, the Carlot instruments and other medical supplies were the ‘special exceptions’, but why?

‘To get something from this old man, we have to trade with him... the theory of equivalent exchange. Is this just like how spells work?’

With these thoughts bubbling in his mind, Gu Jun asked, “Old Sir, can you first show us what kind of items you have available first?”

“Of course.” And with that, the previously empty wooden barrels were suddenly filled with various items. Some barrels contained uniquely designed weapons. There were swords, blades, bows. Other barrels had food and alcohol. They gave off a delicious smell. Others had some tools like oil lamps and flintstones.

Gu Jun’s eyes were immediately drawn to one of the barrels that was overflowing with books, scrolls, and parchments of what looked like spells...

The other items might be valuable, but these writings were precious, and they were the stuff Gu Jun had been searching for all along. They could hold the secrets and answers to many of his questions. Gu Jun could feel his heart racing.

On the other hand, Wu Siyu’s eyes stayed glued to that barrel of food and wine.

“So,” the gray-bearded man asked with disinterest, “what do you wish for?”

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