Sea Spring Port.

A multitude of cargo ships and fishing boats dock at the pier.

Some are in the style of ancient sailboats, while others are already covered in steel, with massive steam smokestacks continuously spewing black smoke.

The sound of whistles, the shouts of dock workers, and the cries of various vendors mingle together, forming a bustling and lively scene.

Qi Lao is the port's tax officer, a man with a full belly and shining bald head. At this moment, he sees from afar another old-fashioned sailboat approaching on the sea, and his spirits lift.

The Sea Mysterious slowly docks at the shore, as a young man in a short shirt and a crew cut steps off.

"Who's the captain? Come over here for taxes!"

Qi Lao rubs his fingers together: "And there's the docking fee, according to your ship's tonnage, one yuan per ton per day, calculated as a full day even if it's less..."

"Ship? What ship?"

Zhong Shenxiu elegantly waves his hand behind him.

He had essentially freeloaded a ride from a captain to get the Sea Mysterious to bring him back to the mainland, then slipped away.

Standing firmly on land, without the ocean's sway, inexplicably made him feel much more at ease.

"Such a big ship, you think I'm blind?"

Qi Lao almost spat curses, pointing to where the Sea Mysterious was, suddenly dumbfounded.

The berth was empty, there was no ship at all.

Click! Click!

His teeth started to tremble, and he looked up at the sky, seeing the sun hanging high, but the ship was truly gone...

'A ghost ship?'

A Western legend suddenly surfaced in Qi Lao's mind, making his legs go weak: "What... what am I to do? That person... that person..."

Thinking of Zhong Shenxiu, he grew even more frightened, turning his head rigidly like a puppet, only to be struck as if by lightning.

The sailor who had been there was also gone.

And in his mind, the impression of that person quickly blurred, unable to recall what they looked like.

…

Zhong Shenxiu blended into the chaotic crowd at the dock and then walked out with a swagger, curiously observing everything around him.

A hawker carrying a bamboo pole with wontons...

A vendor crying out about Western peep shows...

Elegantly dressed ladies in western fashion, riding bicycles, with permed hair...

Blond-haired, blue-eyed, or red-haired, blue-eyed foreigners...

Long-haired scholars in blue robes with tied top knots...

All these scenes interwove into a bizarre picture.

'This sense of familiarity... why does it seem so similar? Could it be that on different branches, the same fruit can really grow?'

Zhong Shenxiu's eyes flashed, keeping this question in his heart.

Beyond the dock lies a small market.

Foreign ships unload goods here, some selling their wares directly, and with the many visitors, it's a rather lively place.

Zhong Shenxiu found a stall, ordered a serving of wonton noodles, eating while watching the bustling market scenes, observing the world's varied forms.

The wonton noodles were made very authentically, with the wontons crafted from a mix of seventy percent lean pork to thirty percent fat, chopped and minced before being mixed into egg noodles and a simmered broth. The wontons were smooth, the noodles chewy, and given the coastal setting, shrimp and other seafood were added to the soup, leaving an unforgettable taste.

'According to Fang Lang's memory, this place is the 'Great Zhou Dynasty', in the sixth year of Earth Festival… This world is rife with natural and human disasters, various demonic chaos, peculiar phenomena constantly emerge… Forty years ago, Western envoys came across the ocean on steamships, leading to an East-West interaction, new thoughts and trends sprung up, yet the Great Zhou Dynasty became increasingly chaotic...'

'My current body is unusable, and I must exist in the form of Fang Lang. The most pressing task is to make contact with the extraordinary world... it would be best if I could find clues about Time's Ouroboros and the Master of the Door...'

Fang Lang, being just a sailor, was already considered well-traveled among ordinary people.

But in terms of understanding the extraordinary realm, it was still too limited.

Zhong Shenxiu stopped at the dock market for related considerations as well.

The dock area was a mix of dragons and snakes, booming with commerce, increasing the chances of encountering strange individuals and extraordinary items, possibly gaining a stepping stone into the extraordinary world.

Even though he couldn't use his main body, Fang Lang had cultivated into a Watered-Down Corpse Dissolving Immortal, possessing a certain sensitivity to extraordinary powers.

Zhong Shenxiu's gaze swept over the market crowd, waiting for a while before suddenly focusing on a wealthy young man.

The other seemed to be in his twenties or thirties, dressed in a well-fitted suit, with short hair, resembling a student returned from studying abroad, followed by an attendant student.

'This person isn't extraordinary, but they carry some unusual aura, likely having come into contact with related objects...'

He made a judgment in his mind.

In Fang Lang's vision, the world was like a gray-white canvas, only those with extraordinary auras or objects emitted distinct colors.

At this moment, he spotted another person passing by.

The aura clinging to this person was several times stronger than that on the foreign student.

Judging by the attire, the person seemed to be a peddler.

"That peddler!"

Zhong Shenxiu called out, causing the shrewd-looking man in his forties to stop: "Come over… I want to buy something."

"Aye!"

The peddler gladly responded, setting down his wares in front of Zhong Shenxiu: "What would you like to buy, sir? Whether it's needles and threads or Western cigarettes and fireworks, all kinds of exotic items... I have it all, at a fair price!"

Zhong Shenxiu eyed the assortment, suddenly picking up a small black bottle.

The peddler's eyes lit up, giving a thumbs-up: "Sir, you've got a keen eye, this is Merfolk Powder, known for its potent effects, keeping you strong..."

"Mermaid scale powder?"

At this point, the foreign student also approached, showing a look of surprise: "While studying in the West, I heard a classmate from a mysterious society mention this merfolk, also known as mermaids, whose scales are said to have the effect of nourishing yin and benefiting yang. Long-term consumption can lead to longevity!"

He looked at Zhong Shenxiu and cupped his hands, "My surname is Qi, given name Yuan. Would this brother be willing to part with it?"

Zhong Shenxiu looked at the various bright gazes from the men around him, silently lamenting men's sorrows, not having spoken when the attendant student exclaimed, "Master, you mustn't! The lord instructed that if you dare go to Yixiang House to find those ladies again, he'd break your legs..."

"Pah, it's a scholar's elegant pursuit; you wouldn't understand."

Qi Yuan spat, pulling out several banknotes.

The Great Zhou Dynasty originally used Silver Tael for trade, but with Western currency introduction, the court innovated, creating Great Zhou silver coins with a value of 'one yuan', and besides these, copper coins served as auxiliary currency.

Large amounts were traded with banknotes, their anti-counterfeiting reasonably secure, thus circulation was fairly convenient.

Zhong Shenxiu glanced at the stack, it must have been over twenty yuan.

'This fellow... truly a prime target!'

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