Chapter Twenty-One: The Beak of the Black Corvid

The fifth day in the Doldrums.

The journey aboard the Giant could only be described as a slow torment, each day dragging on like a year. The tension among the crew grew tighter with every passing hour, and even Qiu Bai was not entirely immune to it—a fact evidenced by the sharp decline in his witty retorts. Had Pei Po’s incident occurred today, he certainly would not have summoned the same persuasive energy as before.

With even Qiu Bai falling silent, one could imagine the state of the crew. The ship felt as if it had “died”; unless absolutely necessary, no one spoke a word. The silence among them bred an oppressive sense of suffocation.

After finishing his duties, Qiu Bai gave Captain Grisha a succinct account of Pei Po’s origins and the circumstances that led him aboard. In principle, every matter on the ship was decided by Grisha; the captain’s will was law during such a voyage, unless someone dared to challenge him—which was impossible here, for only Grisha possessed the seafaring knowledge all could trust. Without him, they would be doomed.

As for Qiu Bai’s desire to “manage” the bear directly, Captain Grisha agreed without hesitation. In fact, he would have preferred the more civilized approach of simply tossing the mysterious bear into the sea, but since Qiu Bai was willing to keep it, so be it.

Even with the full story laid out, most people found it difficult to regard the Fur Tribe as equally intelligent beings. Humans often saw them as talking animals, never fully breaking the “beast” barrier. This condescending attitude was perhaps a root cause of the Fur Tribe’s animosity toward humans.

Grisha’s deeper reason for agreeing to Qiu Bai’s request lay elsewhere—after these days, he understood that Qiu Bai was not just an ordinary man, and certain realizations made him more cautious. The captain was well aware of Qiu Bai’s feat in subduing the bear.

For now, the matter was settled. At this point, Grisha hoped only for a smooth passage; as long as the Giant reached the North Sea safely, everything else could be handled.

Their recent experiences were nothing short of epic. The most perilous moment came just a day before, when the entire crew was terrified by an enormous sea king passing beneath the hull. Fortunately, the Giant always escaped danger—so far. Now, according to the captain’s calculations, they were about to emerge from the Doldrums.

Grisha was the most exhausted on board, having not rested since entering the Doldrums. In comparison, Qiu Bai’s condition was excellent; once again he had taken up his fishing rod, genuinely fishing this time. Though fishing in the domain of sea kings was an S-class challenge, he had no choice—Grisha had agreed to let Qiu Bai keep the bear, but refused to supply its food, providing only a little fresh water.

For a bear like Pei Po, far sturdier than frail humans, going hungry for four or five days was theoretically no problem; but hunger is a feeling no one can control.

Since Pei Po was now “his bear,” Qiu Bai even shared a portion of his own food, regardless of whether he caught any fish. This gesture moved Pei Po deeply; his view of Qiu Bai changed completely. As long as Qiu Bai spoke less, he was definitely a “good man.”

Such thoughts were pitiable; Pei Po was probably the first bear in history to suffer from Stockholm syndrome.

More importantly, Qiu Bai told Pei Po that once he mastered navigation, he could return to Zou at any time—for, as Qiu Bai said, humans were not to be trusted, and the noble mission of “going home” must be undertaken personally.

He was not entirely bluffing; in certain special auction houses, Fur Tribe members fetched a starting price of seventy thousand Berries.

In this world, trafficking was still a booming “sunrise industry,” drawing countless eager participants.

Pei Po had left his homeland by accident, and returning to Zou was his deepest wish. Qiu Bai understood this and truly acted in the bear’s interest—though he seemed to forget that, had it not been for himself, Pei Po could have returned home whenever he wished.

It must be said that intelligent beings are often easier to manipulate than beasts, for they can be swayed by ambiguous words. To trick a bear, Qiu Bai’s talents were somewhat wasted. Of course, it was widely known that Qiu Bai had no ill intentions—or at least, probably none.

By now, Elren and Pei Po, his “first and second little brothers,” had formed a bond as close as man and bear could be. If one sought the liveliest creatures on the ship, these two ten-year-old cubs topped the list.

“We’ll be leaving the Doldrums soon. Once we reach the North Sea, what should we do?” asked Ein, always standing behind Qiu Bai.

Qiu Bai first lifted his fishing hook for inspection—unsurprisingly, nothing was caught. If he truly wanted results, it would be better to hand the task over to Elren.

“We’ll find a way,” he replied, his back to Ein. If they could cross the Doldrums, how could they fail to find their destination in the North Sea?

“But…” As he cast the hook back to sea, Qiu Bai continued, “I feel like our journey through the Doldrums won’t end so simply.”

He was not hoping for trouble; it was just that an entire voyage of “thrills without danger” felt unrealistic. This was a place capable of burying everything.

Though Qiu Bai spoke the truth, such words were better kept to oneself, and certainly should not have come from him.

Truly.

While Qiu Bai and Ein conversed, Captain Grisha was directing four crew members to carry out the last bag of stone powder needed for the final segment of their journey. The bag of sea prism stone powder was moved to the bow, everything proceeding as normal.

But as they poured the powder into the funnel, disaster struck.

With a sharp, unexpected sound, the throttle valve controlling the stone powder’s flow collapsed under sudden weight, and the funnel’s bottom broke apart. The entire bag’s contents spilled instantly into the sea.

Everyone on deck froze.

Sitting at the rail, Qiu Bai turned at the commotion and witnessed the powder pouring into the sea. He immediately stood, handed his fishing rod to Ein, and strode quickly to the captain’s side.

“Captain, is there any more stone powder?” Qiu Bai asked.

If there was more sea prism stone powder, the funnel could be repaired. But Grisha shook his head with difficulty, “That was the last.”

Given the requirements of the voyage and the ship’s capacity, and considering the rarity of the material, the captain had brought enough sea prism stone powder—but not an excess. The last bag was meant to see the Giant safely out of the Doldrums, but now…

Hearing this, Qiu Bai somehow produced a blade, and with a single stroke, severed the enormous funnel from the bow, sending it into the sea with a great splash.

He was shedding weight from the ship; at this moment, every pound counted.

“Captain, throw away anything unnecessary and get everyone inside the cabin.”

“Huh?”

The unexpected crisis left Grisha stunned; the desperation made his mind blank. No matter how capable, he was ultimately just an ordinary man from humble origins.

“We need to run,” Qiu Bai added.

Next, anyone with hands would be rowing, and they would need to use every ounce of strength.

The Giant was about to leave the Doldrums.

Very soon.