Chapter 90 Chapter 90 Red Boat Robbers

Winterfell festivities were still in full swing, with throngs of servants and errand runners pouring into the king's chambers to bring him a festive mood.Master Ji Jingfeng stood in the middle of the room with his fists on his hips, overseeing everything, and scolded Wallace for making things go wrong.He had apparently claimed to have cleaned the house and washed the laundry himself, so that the king would not be disturbed.I spent a very pleasant afternoon there, for the activities awakened Shrewd and almost instantly restored him to his former self.He would blame his own lazy master Ji Jingfeng for quieting down, and then he would chat and laugh with the servants who washed the floors, decorated the rooms with reeds, and wiped the furniture with fragrant cleaning oils.Master Ji Jingfeng tied a pile of quilts as high as a mountain on King Shrewd's body firmly, and at the same time asked people to open the windows to let the air circulate.She was also quite disapproving of all the ash and smoking pots, and I suggested softly that it would be best to let Wallace clean up these things himself, because he knew best which grade of herbs were smoking in the room.By the time he returned to his room with the bottles and jars, he had morphed into a more submissive man, and I couldn't help but wonder if he really knew how his smoke affected Shrewd.But if it wasn't his good deed, who would?The Fool and I exchanged expressive and mysterious glances.

The room was not only cleaned but also brightened up, decorated with festive candles and festoons everywhere, hanging evergreens and dead branches covered with nuts painted in various colors.All this brought life to the king's cheeks, and I sensed Verity's quiet agreement.I took it as a personal triumph when the king came down from his chambers to join us in the great hall that night, and personally ordered his favorite musicians to sing his favorite songs. There are times when I totally have my moments, and not just those nights with Molly.I sneaked out of the castle and hunted with my wolf brother whenever I could, because we were so bonded.And I've never been completely isolated from it, but I've never been more deeply satisfied than hunting with it in pure connection.It's hard to express the fullness of two beings as one, acting together towards a single goal, but even when I've been busy and haven't seen it for days, it's still with me, haunting like a perfume Alert at first contact, then melt into the air and let it breathe.My sense of smell seems to be more sensitive, and this is all thanks to it, because it can recognize what messages the air is carrying for me, and it also makes me more sensitive to the surrounding things, as if it guards me with consciousness behind me, Also be warned about subtle sensory cues that I might overlook.The food became more palatable and the perfume more fragrant, but I tried not to extend that logic to my desire to be with Molly.

I know it's there, but moments like its absence, as promised, make its presence felt. A month after Winterfest, I found myself on a new errand.Verity said he wanted me aboard a warship, and within a few days I was ordered to work the oars on the deck of the Luresh.The captain wondered why a skinny boy came when he needed a strong man, and I didn't argue about that.Most of the people around me are big and sailing regularly, and I can only use every ounce of strength to prove my ability.At least I knew I wasn't the only inexperienced one, since the others had served on other ships, but no one but the Out Islanders was familiar with such ships.

Verity had to get the oldest shipwrights in the land to work with someone who knew how to build warships.The Lu Ruishi is the largest of the four warships that debuted in the Winter Festival. Its streamlined hull is sleek and curved, and its shallow draft allows it to scoot over the calm sea like insects in a pond. Fly across the water, or ride the wind and waves with the deftness of a seabird.While the other two battleships had their planks nailed close to the keel, the Lourace and her smaller sister, the Fortitude, had fish-scale hulls, and the planks were also pressed together. Overlapping one by one.The Luresh was built of mackerel, and the hull was properly planked to withstand the impact of sea water, and only a little oiled rope was needed to fill the gaps.The workmanship of the warship was exquisite, with a pine mast supporting a linen sail reinforced with rope, and the symbol of Verity's buck added to the Luresh's sails.

These brand-new warships still smell of planed wood and oiled ropes. There are few marks on the deck, and the oars are clean from end to end.The Luresh will soon have a character all its own; the girders make the oars easier to handle, every line fits together, and it has all the goodness of a good battleship.However, the current Lu Ruishi is just as young as us. As we sailed out to sea, I couldn't help but think of the novice rider on a horse that had just set foot on the green.The battleship moved sideways, heaving shyly through the waves, and then we found a common rhythm, riding the wind and waves slickly like oiled knives.

Verity wishes I would immerse myself in these new quests.I was assigned a bunk in the ship's storehouse like the rest of the crew, and I tried to keep a low profile and actively follow every order.The captain is an out-and-out citizen of the Six Principalities, but his first mate is an outlander, and this foreigner is the one who really taught us how to sail the Luris and explain its combat power.There are two other immigrants from the outer islands on the ship. When we are learning about warships, repairing and sleeping, they always gather together and whisper, and I really don’t know if they know that doing so will only attract criticism from the people of the six principalities .My bed was next to them, and Verity would often rush to tell me to listen to these whispers in strange languages ​​when I was trying to fall asleep, which I did, since he understood the accents better than I did anyway.After a while I realized that their language was not much different from that of the Six Duchies, and I could understand some of their conversations myself.I heard no talk of treachery or rebellion, only sad whispers of their loved ones being forged by their brethren, and then vowing to avenge them.They are no different from the men and women of the Six Principalities, and almost everyone on the ship has relatives and friends who died due to smelting.I wondered with guilt how many of those lost souls I'd sent to their deaths, thereby erecting a small barrier between me and the rest of the crew.

No matter how strong the winter wind was, we went out to sea almost every day, constantly conducting war maneuvers, practicing the skill of catching with grappling hooks or bow-ramming another warship, and also trying to jump on the enemy ship to attack without attacking. As for falling into the water.Our captain went to great lengths to explain the advantages we had, that the enemies we were facing were far from home and were exhausted from weeks at sea, and that they had lived on board for so long, The bad weather makes them suffer, but we can eat enough and wear warm clothes every day.Besides, on such a arduous voyage that every oarsman on the Red Ship doubles as a robber, we have spare warriors armed with bows and arrows jumping to fight on other ships without affecting the full crew.I have often seen the first officer shake his head at these remarks, and privately express to his fellow countrymen that the arduous raid voyage forced the crew to become strong and fierce. How could we, a group of gentle and well-fed farmers, survive the At sea to deal with the red boat robbers who are well versed in water?