Chapter 258 : Ill Intentions
The night breeze was cool, carrying the salty dampness of the sea and the rank stench of blood.
With the spirit beast's attack subsiding, the night returned to silence. Even though many people were still talking on the deck below, their voices dispersed considerably in the night wind. As a result, the faint singing that came from afar became increasingly clear.
At first, only Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue atop the mast could hear it, but gradually the people talking on the deck below also became vaguely aware of it. The talking gradually ceased, and the singing became increasingly distinct—melodious, enchanting, and deeply moving.
After listening for a while, Jiang Mo couldn't help saying to the system in her heart: "Though I can't hear it clearly, the singing is quite beautiful."
The system wasn't impressed and replied: "How could it not be beautiful? Without an exceptional voice, how could merpeople's songs bewitch passing ships? That's their signature skill."
Jiang Mo was well aware that the singing came from merpeople. While maintaining an expressionless face, she still bantered with the system, saying she should capture a merperson to sing for her in the future. However, internally, alarm bells were already ringing, and she remained vigilantly on guard—yet despite knowing the danger and being prepared, under the influence of that song, her mindset gradually stabilized, and her entire being uncontrollably relaxed.
This was completely abnormal. Jiang Mo couldn't help turning her head to look at Yun Qingyue beside her.
At first, Yun Qingyue hadn't thought much when she heard the singing, but she was widely read and had come across legends about merpeople. Combined with the fact that Jiang Mo had previously mentioned merpeople, it didn't take her long to make the connection and develop a sense of wariness.
At this moment, the two exchanged glances. Though they said nothing, a certain tacit understanding was reached between them with just that one look.
While the two on the mast quickly made their calculations and tacitly agreed to temporarily block their hearing, the crowd on the deck below didn't know as much as they did. Even though the singing that came after the attack seemed strange and aroused suspicion and caution, they didn't know it was a technique of the merpeople. They hadn't blocked their hearing, becoming increasingly vigilant yet uncontrollably influenced by the song, gradually lowering their guard.
Finally, those who had been injured earlier by the giant octopus were the first to succumb. They shook their heads and forced their eyes open several times, but their eyelids still drooped uncontrollably. In the end, before they could even utter a warning, they swayed and collapsed.
Fortunately, such a major disturbance didn't require verbal warnings—everyone was startled by the commotion, and the overwhelming sleepiness that had been creeping up dissipated somewhat. Someone quickly went to check and, after examining the breathing and pulse, informed everyone: "No problem, they're just asleep..."
Rather than reassuring everyone, this announcement caused even more alarm—those present had varying cultivation levels, with the highest being at Spirit Division and the lowest at Nascent Soul. Everyone had heard the singing; Spirit Division cultivators felt fine, experiencing only slight disorientation. Nascent Soul cultivators, however, were greatly affected and uncontrollably grew drowsy. If it weren't for the few injured individuals being in worse condition, they might have been the first to fall asleep!
Everyone felt a chill in their hearts and quickly realized the problem lay with the singing. However, having just encountered the giant octopus attack and concerned about unknown spirit beasts potentially lurking in the darkness, they dared not block their hearing rashly.
So everyone employed various methods—some shouted loudly, others brought out drums and musical instruments. For a time, they actually managed to drown out the singing.
Jiang Mo quietly observed from atop the mast, monitoring both the cultivators' activities on the deck and extending her divine sense to search for the merpeople's whereabouts. Though she had blocked her hearing, she could still see the drumming and music-making spectacle below, and noticing it seemed quite effective, she asked the system in surprise: "This actually works? Wasn't the merpeople's singing supposed to be their signature skill?!"
The system was also watching with interest and replied: "Patience, patience. Keep watching, host."
Jiang Mo's divine sense couldn't locate the merpeople, and she still needed to carefully avoid certain dangerous entities, so she indeed wasn't in a hurry. However, she didn't have to wait long before she witnessed changes in the situation below.
The group that had previously formed a circle to guard against external threats suddenly fell into chaos. Looking closely, she saw that some had turned traitor, taking advantage of their unsuspecting companions to launch sneak attacks. Some were caught off guard and immediately fell unconscious, while the more alert ones dodged and drew others to deal with the traitors. As the fighting continued, it became increasingly difficult to distinguish friend from foe, and the deck descended into complete chaos.
Jiang Mo immediately realized what was happening, and while becoming more vigilant, she inexplicably felt a growing irritation. This irritation seemed to carry a destructive urge, making one want to destroy anything in sight, especially anyone nearby...
She turned her head to look at her senior sister beside her and surprisingly felt less inclined to be close to her.
This wasn't right—something was definitely wrong!
Jiang Mo instantly tensed and asked the system: "System, are the merpeople using some other technique?"
The system wasn't affected and hadn't blocked its hearing. It even leisurely recorded the merpeople's song, planning to find an opportunity to sell it later—though it certainly wouldn't fetch a high price, even small gains were worth pursuing for the system, which was burdened with an eighty-year loan. It recorded with great enthusiasm.
Hearing the host's inquiry, the system finally spared a moment to casually reply: "Nothing special, they just changed the song."
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Under the cover of night, a wind had risen at some point, and the previously calm sea surface gradually developed waves.
The ghost ship, which had always sailed smoothly, had now lost its barrier protection and seemed to have lost all its special properties. The massive vessel began to drift with the waves, rocking up and down. However, no one paid attention to this anymore, as almost everyone was caught up in the fighting.
The situation on the deck grew increasingly chaotic, with more and more people falling. At this point, Jiang Mo couldn't spare attention for these matters. She was simultaneously suppressing the irritation rising in her heart while cautiously watching the person beside her...
After the previous bout of drowsiness, she vaguely realized that the merpeople's influence on cultivators varied according to cultivation level—the higher the cultivation, the less affected one would be. This was logical, but the current problem was that even she was affected, so what about her senior sister whose cultivation was lower than hers? Although the other party hadn't shown any abnormalities so far, she genuinely worried that her senior sister might suddenly turn and stab her.
After all, while she felt deep affection for her senior sister, to her senior sister, she was merely a nodding acquaintance, so an attack wouldn't be surprising.
Fortunately, things didn't develop as Jiang Mo feared. She found that Yun Qingyue was merely quietly observing the situation below. Upon noticing her gaze, Yun Qingyue turned to look at her, those glass-like eyes still calm and clear even in the darkness.
Realizing that Yun Qingyue wasn't affected by the merpeople's song, Jiang Mo immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Under Yun Qingyue's questioning gaze, she made a gesture indicating that they could release their blocked hearing—blocking hearing was indeed useless now; the irritation in her heart constantly reminded her that the merpeople's song this time probably directly targeted and influenced the soul.
After making this gesture, Jiang Mo was the first to release the restriction, and indeed, the previously faint singing had changed its melody.
Seeing this, Yun Qingyue hesitated for a moment, either out of trust in Jiang Mo or because she had realized something, and also released her restriction. While listening to the song, her mind remained calm. She even pointed at the people fighting below, signaling for Jiang Mo to look closely.
Jiang Mo looked again for a few moments but couldn't understand what she meant. "What is it?" she asked.
Yun Qingyue prompted, "Look at those who have fallen."
The two had remained on the mast the entire time. To check on someone's condition below, they didn't need to go down specifically—previously, when the ghost ship's barrier was still in place, everything on board was beyond divine sense detection, but now, with the barrier gone, divine sense could be used again.
Hearing Yun Qingyue's words, Jiang Mo extended her divine sense, scanning several people, and said with a peculiar expression: "None of them are dead; they're all unconscious."
Yun Qingyue nodded and said: "The previous song intended to induce sleep, and now it makes people fight each other without causing death. The merpeople hiding in the darkness seem to have no intention of taking lives, but rather only want everyone on the ship to lose consciousness."
Jiang Mo also sensed this but frowned and said: "But I don't think they harbor good intentions."
Of course, it couldn't be good intentions!
Yun Qingyue recognized that the patterns on the ship were all demonic race formations, making it almost certain that this ghost ship was the work of the demonic race, or by extension, the merpeople. The cultivators were lured by the merpeople, the barrier was opened by the merpeople, and now the merpeople wanted everyone on the ship to lose consciousness—no matter how you looked at it, nothing good could be waiting for them.
Both Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue remained calm, but they obviously couldn't just watch the situation unfold—whether having been away from the sect for many years or having secretly escaped, both had some sense of belonging to Xuanqing Sect and couldn't bear to see acquaintances in danger.
But in the vast sea, how could they rescue people from danger?
Jiang Mo was a bit anxious and instinctively sought her senior sister's opinion: "What should we do next?"
Yun Qingyue actually didn't have a clear plan either. The main issue was being in the deep sea, where there were too many powerful spirit beasts. She wasn't confident she could lead people away safely. And then there were the mysterious merpeople—why had they gone to such lengths to release the ghost ship and lure so many cultivators here? She felt that this matter wasn't simple and that there must be hidden circumstances.
Therefore, Yun Qingyue thought for a moment and finally said to Jiang Mo: "No rush, let's observe for now. If everyone below loses consciousness and falls into a coma, we'll blend in among them and see what the merpeople have planned next."
After saying this, she glanced toward the cabin, where some people still remained. Especially the elders and powerful figures leading the seven sects, who hadn't shown themselves much tonight—Yun Qingyue had been traveling widely these years, severing contact with her sect without joining the Crimson Blood Sect, making her essentially no different from a rogue cultivator. And the information available to rogue cultivators could never compare to that of major sects. Perhaps many people on the ghost ship had come prepared?
Jiang Mo had run away two years ago, before the ghost ship incident, so her knowledge wasn't much greater than her senior sister's. Understanding Yun Qingyue's plan, she naturally wouldn't refuse, nodding in agreement.
Things progressed quite quickly; within a quarter of an hour, people were lying all over the deck.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue exchanged glances, then descended from the mast. They casually found a corner, slumped over, and pretended to fall unconscious. Afterward, the ethereal singing continued until late into the night without stopping.