Chapter 4769 — The Ancient Warship

"Uh—" Sun Baolu was struck dumb on the spot. This ancient warship could hardly belong to Ren Zhongyuan's family; a thing like this was not something any Yellow-rank academy could possess, let alone the Ren family. If word of it got out, people would laugh their teeth loose.

"What the hell do you know! This ancient warship may not be Brother Ren's, but we only got to borrow it for temporary use thanks to his father's connections—so naturally, Brother Ren is the one who calls the shots!" Li Yuzhou hurried to retort.

Hearing this, Weizhao was genuinely taken aback. To be able to borrow an ancient warship of this scale—it seemed Ren Zhongyuan's father must be a man of considerable sway. So the lofty standing of a seventh-grade alchemist was no empty boast after all. No wonder the boy carried himself as though his eyes were fixed on the heavens; he did seem to have some capital to back it up.

"Right, right—a blind fool like you, boarding the ship and still daring to offend Brother Ren. You really don't know how you'll die!" Sun Baolu clamored, unwilling to be outdone.

The two of them had finally caught a chance to prove their loyalty, and they vied with each other, racking their brains for ways to needle Weizhao. Just as they were warming to their theme, Liu Ziqi's cold voice came from behind them: "If you're not going to queue properly, what are you blocking the way for?"

At that voice, Li Yuzhou and Sun Baolu nearly jumped out of their skins, scared half to death. They hastily shrank behind Ren Zhongyuan. The person they most dreaded seeing now was Liu Ziqi—what if this academy bigwig took it into her head to properly punish them, or even have them thrown into the sea to feed the sea beasts?

But Liu Ziqi did not even glance at them. Unless Huo Yudie's reputation were truly damaged, a person of her stature would naturally not stoop to quarrel with such small fry—that would only cheapen her standing and make a spectacle for outsiders.

"Vice Principal Liu, you misunderstand. We were merely chatting a little, lest some people who don't know the rules lose their lives after boarding." Ren Zhongyuan gave Weizhao a look that was half smile, half sneer.

Though he had long since marked Weizhao in his heart with a grudge, these past days on the Western Isle there was nothing he could do but watch helplessly as Huo Yudie spent every day tangled up with this brat. But now things were different—he had finally waited for the day he could turn the tables.

Once aboard the ship, it would be entirely his domain. However he wished to deal with this brat Weizhao, he could. Even with Liu Ziqi there to hold things down, it would be useless—after all, the old woman could not monitor everything in real time, and opportunities would be plentiful.

Weizhao smiled faintly, unperturbed. After bowing to Liu Ziqi, he went right back to chatting with Ning Xuefei and Huo Yudie, paying no mind at all to Ren Zhongyuan's so-called threat.

After boarding in order, the first order of business was assigning rooms. Though Ren Zhongyuan could indeed throw his weight around in many matters—even the room assignments of the vast majority of the disciples were his to decide with a word—this particular matter concerned Ning Xuefei, the princess of the Western Isle, and however bold he was, he dared not meddle carelessly in such a thing. It could only be left to Liu Ziqi to assign personally.

Ning Xuefei's room was right next to Huo Yudie's, and Weizhao, as the future consort of the Western Isle, naturally had to be lodged near Ning Xuefei as well—directly across the corridor from Huo Yudie.

This arrangement set Ren Zhongyuan's teeth grinding with fury. That was the very room he had dreamed of! Now he saw it clearly: that old woman Liu Ziqi was not only failing to block Weizhao and Huo Yudie from growing close, she was actively creating opportunities for them. Shameless!

When all was ready, the ancient warship, accompanied by the cheers of countless people and the long, mellow, archaic and desolate note of a horn, slowly drew away from the Western Isle docks, cleaving the waves toward the endless sea.

An ancient warship was a rare sight, and Weizhao had meant to take the chance to look around properly. But he was told he could only move about in the living quarters; the confidential areas—the weapons arrays and the like—were open only to the ship's own operators, and no outsiders were permitted to come within half a step, Liu Ziqi and Ren Zhongyuan included.

Only then did Weizhao understand: this ancient warship was not even rented out, as it were. All operations were handled by its original crew, and everyone else was merely a temporary passenger.

"And here I thought I'd get an eyeful. What a pity." Having reached this conclusion, Weizhao could only shake his head in disappointment.

"Yes, what a shame!" Ning Xuefei, standing beside him, sighed along with him. Her interest in this ancient warship was no less than his—if anything, greater—yet she could not even take a look around, wasting such a fine opportunity! Though she was the princess of the Western Isle, she had never had the chance to ride an ancient warship like this before.

"You two, stop complaining. I heard my master say that some academies still keep the design blueprints of ancient warships in their collections. When the time comes, we'll find a way to get a look at them—and who knows, Feifei, you might even knock together a copy with Jingjing!" Huo Yudie consoled them with a chuckle. For some reason, she had a particular fondness for the words of the secular world.

"Really? Then it's worth a try!" Ning Xuefei's eyes lit up at once.

Weizhao was speechless at her reaction. Even if they really could get the blueprints, it was not as though a ship could simply be built at will! Han Jingyi merely had a gift for forging products of a transcendent age of technology—but Weizhao had thought of someone else!

That was the King of Junk. Perhaps one day, he might be able to forge a warship as well.

Just then a light, melodious horn sounded through the ship. Weizhao blinked. "Has something happened?"

"No—that light horn means it's mealtime. Let's head over." Huo Yudie smiled and at once led the two of them toward the dining hall.

Weizhao had seen the dining hall of the Northern Isle's giant treasure ship before and already thought it lavish in the extreme. But when he beheld the over-the-top dining hall of this ancient warship, a thought sprang into his mind at once: the Eastern Isle folk really do know how to live!

Not only Weizhao—even Ning Xuefei wore a look of dumbstruck amazement. This princess of the Western Isle had seen no small number of fine things, but a dining hall aboard a ship this extravagant was truly a first for her.

Gilded splendor would only look vulgar; this dining hall before them was simply an indoor paradise of the highest taste. Delicacies of every kind were laid out here and there among exquisite pools of immortal stone and jade, and a few steps in any direction let one help oneself. It was elegant in a most uncommon way, and it made one's appetite stir and one's praises flow without thinking.

Ning Xuefei cheerfully took a dish of pastries from a tray floating on the jade pool, tasted one, and her eyes went wide. She praised it without end: "Mm, mm—Weizhao, you try some too. These pastries are delicious, not a bit worse than what we have on the Western Isle!"

"Really?" Weizhao took a piece, half believing, half doubting.