Chapter 591: Seasickness
Gu Kaiyuan patted him hard on the shoulder twice. “It’s good to be confident, but you need to know your own limits. If you’re not convinced, we can spar a bit.”
Since he was his brother-in-law, teaching him a small lesson wouldn’t upset his wife too much.
They hadn’t kept their impending duel a secret. Upon hearing the news, Bai Suihe and the others also came to the deck to watch the fun.
Seeing the crowd gathered around, Bai Jiannan felt utterly speechless—they were here to watch him make a fool of himself. He only wanted to show off his martial arts skills; he never actually thought he could beat his brother-in-law. However, with so many people watching, he had to save face. He just hoped his brother-in-law wouldn’t let him lose too miserably. After all, if he chickened out now, it would be even more humiliating.
Gu Kaiyuan hooked an arm around his shoulder and led him to the center of the deck. “Kid, do you still want to compete with me?”
“A real man never goes back on his word.” Immediately after, Bai Jiannan whispered into Gu Kaiyuan’s ear, “Brother-in-law, save me some face later.”
Gu Kaiyuan patted his shoulder in amusement. “Sure thing. At least you know what you’re capable of. It’s not like you haven’t seen me train these past few days, yet you still dared to talk so big.”
Bai Jiannan really regretted it now. If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have brought it up to his brother-in-law. If he had just begged his sister, she definitely would have brought him along for the excitement.
“Alright, we’ll stop before things get too serious. How about best two out of three?” Gu Kaiyuan asked.
Bai Jiannan nodded quickly. “I’ll listen to you, Brother-in-law.”
When Lin Hua brought up the props, Bai Jiannan was dumbfounded. “Brother-in-law, this is the competition you were talking about?”
A chessboard? Weren’t they going to fight with real weapons?
“Just this. What, you don’t know how to play? You’re not even confident in this?”
Seeing the chessboard, Bai Suihe knew they had all been played. She shook her head in amusement and carried her child straight back into the cabin. Seeing that there was no real spectacle to watch, the rest of the crowd dispersed as well. It was too hot a day to stand on the deck watching a game of chess; they decided against joining the fun.
“Brother-in-law, everyone is gone,” Bai Jiannan said, looking up at the high-hanging sun. Even with the sea breeze blowing, the sunlight felt scorching on his skin. He feared he wouldn’t be able to stand it if they stayed out much longer.
“Alright, clear these things away,” Gu Kaiyuan ordered Lin Hua. Once the items were removed, Gu Kaiyuan threw a machete straight at him. “Now, let’s get down to real business.”
Bai Jiannan caught it, only to throw it to the ground in a panic. “I yield.”
He figured it wasn’t shameful anyway—it was just his brother-in-law, and there were no outsiders present.
Gu Kaiyuan burst into laughter and threw his arm around Bai Jiannan’s shoulder, leading him into the cabin. Several ice basins had already been placed inside, quickly dissipating the sweltering heat. “Relax. Even though you still need protection, your brother-in-law will take you out to broaden your horizons.”
Hearing the commotion, Bai Suihe and Nanny Pang were somewhat speechless. “They really have too much free time,” Bai Suihe remarked. “It seems we need to find something for them to do.”
Nanny Pang chuckled cheerfully. “This is quite nice. It makes the days on the ship less unbearable for everyone. I heard we’ll reach the open sea by tomorrow, so we’ll finally get to see what the schools of fish look like.”
Looking out at the vast ocean, Nanny Pang felt that her life had been worthwhile. Even at her old age, she could still travel and broaden her horizons. They might even discover the New Continent, which could possibly hold medicinal herbs she had never seen before. Life was full of hope at every turn. Furthermore, the Madam had confided in her that if they found a suitable spot on the New Continent, they might settle down and build a home there. That way, they would have a way out just in case. Now that she was getting older, she had long lost her taste for fighting and killing. Spending her twilight years in a new place would be a beautiful ending to her life.
Relying solely on sails and a helmsman, the ship’s speed across the sea certainly couldn’t compare to modern vessels. The hull was also quite rocky. In less than half a day, people who weren’t accustomed to life at sea—like Bai Suihe—were already vomiting their guts out.
It wasn’t until Nanny Pang hastily concocted a remedy that things finally settled down.
“Mother, are you feeling better?” Gu Xingyang asked when she saw that Bai Suihe, though no longer vomiting, still looked deathly pale.
“I feel much better after taking the medicine,” Bai Suihe replied, still refusing to believe she could actually get seasick. “Are you alright?”
Gu Xingyang shook her head. “Mother, do you want to go stay in the dimension?” Once the door was closed, no one would know what they were doing in the room anyway.
Bai Suihe shook her head. “That would only let me hide for a while. I have to get used to it eventually. Don’t worry, I will definitely adapt to this.” The latter sentence was more of a reminder to herself that she had to overcome this small difficulty.
“Why don’t you go inside and check if there’s any seasickness medicine?” Gu Xingyang suggested. She felt that traditional Chinese medicine took too long to take effect; there might be something better in the medical kit.
Bai Suihe’s eyes lit up. Right, how could she have forgotten about that?
She went over, locked the door, and brought Gu Xingyang into the dimension. After rummaging through boxes and cabinets, she thoroughly searched the medical kit and actually managed to find some motion sickness pills. Checking the instructions, she confirmed they were for general use. She quickly poured herself a glass of water, swallowed a pill, and rested for a while. Only when she felt she had recovered did she exit the dimension.
To the outside world, she was only gone for a brief moment. She walked over, opened the cabin door, and headed to the deck for some fresh air. Nanny Pang walked over with a cup of water, a look of concern on her face. “Madam, are you feeling any better?”
Bai Suihe turned around with a smile. “Doesn’t my complexion look a bit better? Rest assured, I’m fine now.”
Nanny Pang handed the water over. “Would you like another sip?”
Bai Suihe took it and drank a few mouthfuls. “Nanny, you should go rest too. I’m perfectly fine.”
With so many people seasick, Nanny Pang had been rushing about constantly, and exhaustion was clearly written on her face. Bai Suihe felt a pang of sympathy. “Leave the rest of the chores to the two maids. We’ll call for you if anything comes up.”
Nanny Pang was indeed quite tired. She took the cup back from Bai Suihe and said, “Alright then. Those two girls are still full of energy anyway. With them around, I can rest easy. Remember, just call for me if you need anything at all.”
Bai Suihe reassured her repeatedly before Nanny Pang finally left.
Bai Suihe let out a long breath. Facing the boundless ocean, the sense of awe in her heart deepened. Standing there truly made her realize how insignificant human beings were, making it seem as though nothing else mattered quite as much.
Perhaps it was the medicine taking effect, but Bai Suihe felt much less discomfort and her dizziness faded. Only then did she return to her room to rest.
Upon receiving the news, Gu Kaiyuan returned to make sure Bai Suihe was alright. After hastily leaving a few instructions, he hurried back out. He still needed to carefully plan out tonight’s operation.
While the large ship was nice, it also made for too big a target, so they had to drop anchor further away from the island and approach in smaller boats. Furthermore, there was a slight hitch in their original plan: a small portion of the guards Bai Jiannan had brought aboard were also seasick. Their already small numbers would have to be pared down even further.
Gu Kaiyuan knew that Bai Suihe had taken medicine from the dimension, but he had no intention of asking her to take out those pills for the crew, nor did he even mention it in front of her.