Chapter 269: Sadness that is like resentment and longing

Liszt had the Flower Ship loaded with goods before setting sail for Black Horse Island along with others.

So far, the Flower Ship had sailed between Coral Island and Black Horse Island more than ten times but had never encountered a storm, so the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl had never been used.

However, with the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl on board, the crew was confident, and Liszt also felt at ease.

"I’ll wait until I return to ask Elkson if he can make the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl… No, never mind, I’ll go directly to Glanny. Glanny has rich experience. Although his temper is a bit off-putting, for the quality of the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl, I should still have him craft it." Liszt stood at the bow of the ship, looking around.

He hoped to encounter his Song Demon during the voyage.

Unfortunately, by the time the Flower Ship sailed into the dock named Black Horse Port, there was still no sign of the Song Demon.

"What’s going on? Has my Song Demon been privately taken in the Smoke Mission?" He could no longer remain calm. Setting aside the inexplicable emotions and fantasies, the value of the Song Demon itself was immense.

With the Song Demon, the ship would never get lost on the vast sea.

After unloading the goods, it was already late, and there was no time to inspect the waters around Black Horse Island. Liszt went directly to find the king of the Black Blood Horses, Lightning. Lightning lowered his head and rubbed against Liszt’s arm affectionately, not having forgotten the master who had conquered him, carrying Liszt through the snow.

Black Horse Island was also covered in snow, and the grassland between the four hills only showed no snow near the valley, revealing growing pasture.

The Black Blood Horses grazed quietly here.

Perhaps because they had seen many people, they no longer feared humans, treating them as if they weren’t there.

The burial ground between Needle Grass Hill and Ice Grass Hill was also covered in snow, but the pits from which volcanic glass and dragon bone fragments had been mined were still vaguely visible, along with the five tall dragon bones. These five bones, not completely decayed, must still hold significant value.

However, Liszt couldn’t take them away or preserve them, leaving them to the elements.

"When the day comes that Black Horse Island can be revealed, I must invite a mage to help me study these five dragon bones… But first, I need to recruit a mage follower. The secret of the dragon bones must be kept confidential as much as possible." Any secrets about dragons must be handled with caution.

One should never underestimate the immense desire for dragons here.

Even he, a transmigrator, could not resist the charm of dragons.

Marcus had mapped out the general topography of Black Horse Island. Not being a professional cartographer, his map was rudimentary, only showing the general terrain. Ice Grass Hill, Needle Grass Hill, Sheep Grass Hill, and Alfalfa Hill formed the broken ring-shaped volcanic mountain range, with the internal grassland and burial ground, and external areas of rocks and weeds.

The dock and port town were located in the south of Black Horse Island.

Around Black Horse Island, there were also some islets and reefs. In the southwest corner, three small islands, each covering hundreds of acres, were named Red Tree Island, Rocky Island, and Beach Island by Liszt.

Red Tree Island was densely covered with mangroves; Rocky Island was made up of weathered basalt columns; Beach Island was flat with sand and only a few tall coconut trees.

Beyond these three larger islands were scattered reefs, most of which would be exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide.

"The Song Demon I’m looking for is probably between the shores of Black Horse Island and these islets." Liszt pondered, looking at the rudimentary map.

The next day, at the first light of dawn, he led Captain Kosto and others to sail around Black Horse Island.

"My lord, besides Black Horse Port, there is another area of water suitable for a dock at the northwest corner of Black Horse Island. The depth of the water may not compare to Black Horse Port, but the width of the water is very suitable for ships to dock." Captain Kosto navigated the Flower Ship while also acting as a guide.

Liszt nodded, "We’ll develop the new dock later. For now, Black Horse Port is sufficient."

Stopping and starting, they also visited the surrounding islets and reefs along the way, taking an entire day to circle Black Horse Island and inspect all the coastlines and surrounding reefs.

No Song Demon!

Resting in a newly built house in Port Town that night, Liszt tossed and turned, irritated, "Am I looking in the wrong direction? Why is there no Song Demon? Where did my Song Demon go?"

He didn’t sleep well that night.

But he wasn’t discouraged and continued to lead the Flower Ship in search of the waters around Black Horse Island, venturing further this time, starting with the three small islands in a triangular distribution.

Because they were difficult to dock, they used small boats to row ashore.

The trees on Red Tree Island were dense, mangroves that could grow in seawater. The variety of mangrove trees was plentiful. Mangroves, like shrubs, included not only red trees but also other small shrubs. There were many types of plants in the mangroves, not just red tree plants.

The mangrove trees were varied, with many varieties of red trees themselves.

Liszt didn’t recognize them, and even the well-traveled Kosto only knew a few, by local dialect names such as Red Tree Bark, Autumn Eggplant, Sea Lotus, Chicken Claw, and the like.

The well-developed root systems of the mangroves seemed to grow in the seawater, completely obscuring the inner island.

Unable to dock, Liszt used his Magic Eye to row around. He found no signs of magic; there were no Song Demons, magic potions, or spirit insects in this mangrove forest.

Rocky Island was even more barren, with nothing at all.

Finally, Beach Island, covered in white sand, when they rowed ashore and stepped on the white sand, the view of the blue sea, white sand, and a few tall coconut trees was so beautiful it was like a paradise on earth.

Yet Liszt had no mood to appreciate the scenery, turning away with a cold face.

"My lord, do you wish to continue searching?" Captain Kosto asked cautiously, looking at Liszt’s expression. This entire day, the usually noble and gentle Lord, who was usually quite mild, had an unusually chilling aura.

"Search!"

Liszt suppressed his irritation and said darkly, "We won’t return until we find it. We’ll continue searching tonight!" Perhaps they hadn’t found anything during the day because Song Demons preferred to be active at night.

Sure enough.

After resupplying at the dock with lights and other provisions, the Flower Ship set out again that night. The weather cleared, and a full moon rose from the sea, dispersing the darkness, casting a fragmented glow that shimmered with the waves.

Liszt stood at the bow of the ship, not a trace of sleepiness in him.

Passing by the reefs, he used his Magic Eye to observe the magical signs around the islets and reefs, hoping to find the presence of a Song Demon. The first half of the night passed quickly, and the moon was about to set in the latter half.

Just as it seemed they would find nothing again, the frustrated Liszt was about to give up.

At that moment.

His ears twitched.

A faint, almost imperceptible singing sound reached his ears. Just as he perked up and listened attentively, it disappeared again, as if it had been nothing more than an auditory illusion. But he didn't believe that to be the case, because the faint singing, filled with sorrow and longing, with a tone of lament and complaint, stirred the sadness in his heart the moment he heard it.

This was absolutely not an ordinary illusion.

He took a deep breath and resisted the urge to shout out loud, fearing he might startle the source of the singing: "It's my song demon!"