Chapter Sixty-Six: A Day in the Life of Muramasa (Part Five)

As expected, Yamamoto was truly an expert when it came to fishing; he alone caught more than everyone else combined. During lunch, he laughed with utter abandon, loudly recounting tales of rare fish he’d caught and regaling the group with legendary stories of his exploits, clearly making himself the star of the show.

And as for Luo Hanya? At this moment, he was in the cabin with Hirata, drinking sullenly in silence. Outwardly, his face was still clouded, but inwardly he was overjoyed, quietly retracing everything that had happened since entering the script. He was confident he had already unraveled all the mysteries in this story—it was just a matter of time before he could prove it.

“Muramasa, don’t take it to heart. Yamamoto’s always been like this; you know that as well as anyone,” Hirata said, patting Luo Hanya’s shoulder in consolation, seeing his downcast expression.

“Angry? Why would I be angry? There’s no point in tormenting myself over such things.”

“Hey, back then you were Muramasa—don’t forget who you are. You’ve got to find yourself again.”

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

The two of them kept drinking, and before long, they had downed half a bottle each. Just as they were feeling pleasantly tipsy and about to go check the deck, their legs suddenly gave way and they collapsed to the floor.

“You’re drunk, Muramasa.”

“Hirata, you’re the one who’s drunk! You just dragged me down with you.”

“Fine, fine, whatever you say.”

“Wait! No, it’s the boat that’s rocking!”

Their banter was interrupted as Luo Hanya noticed that the bottle of liquor they’d been drinking from was shaking violently. Only then did he realize something had gone wrong with the ship.

A thunderous crash echoed through the cabin. Even from inside, Luo Hanya distinctly heard the explosive impact. Before the sound had even fully died away, both he and Hirata were hurled through the air.

Hirata let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered as he was flung across the cabin.

“Stop yelling and protect your head! You’re not going to die from this!” Luo Hanya had already curled himself up tightly, shielding his head as best he could.

With a series of loud clangs, they smashed through the table, landing hard against the opposite wall of the cabin.

“Hey, Hirata, are you all right?” Luo Hanya forced himself upright, wincing in pain, and shouted toward Hirata, who was sprawled in a corner. “If you can move, get up and run to the deck!”

“Huh?” Hirata, still dazed, was promptly hit by a surge of icy seawater.

“Don’t just stand there—hurry to the deck! That noise just now was probably another ship hitting us! This little boat is going down fast!” Luo Hanya barked at the bewildered Hirata, trying to make him realize what was happening.

In fact, Luo Hanya’s guess was close to the mark. Outside, a chilling fog had descended—this time visible to everyone. A massive vessel was gliding steadily toward them. By the time they saw the ship, it was too late to turn. The great hull scraped directly against their small boat, tearing a gaping hole in its side. Seawater poured in, and it was clear the little boat was doomed.

On the deck, the sharp-eyed driver suddenly noticed that the gangway of the big ship hadn’t been raised. He shouted, “Quick, get to the gangway!”

“But Hirata and Muramasa aren’t up yet!” Watanabe cried, sweating with anxiety as he watched the boat begin to sink.

“Forget them! We have to save ourselves!” Minako shrieked, her voice piercing, “Yamamoto, take me with you!”

“Hold on!” Yamamoto didn’t look back; he was the first to abandon ship.

“Bah! Those two are despicable!” the driver muttered with contempt, then turned to Watanabe. “Let’s go save them!”

Watanabe didn’t hesitate. He dashed toward the stairs leading to the cabin. As soon as he entered, a soaking wet figure hurled himself at him—Hirata.

“It’s Hirata! Are you all right?” Watanabe cried out in relief, grabbing him.

“Hurry! Hurry, go save Muramasa!” Hirata was clearly exhausted, scarcely able to catch his breath, but he yelled at Watanabe and the driver with all his remaining strength.

“I’ll get Muramasa! You take care of Hirata!” the driver said without hesitation. He took a deep breath and plunged into the water.

By now, Luo Hanya was lying with his eyes closed, smiling faintly, as if awaiting something inevitable. He had used the last of his energy to push Hirata out, but his frail body had reached its limit; he could no longer escape on his own.

“Muramasa! Grab my hand!” A familiar voice rang in Luo Hanya’s ear, warm and comforting as family.

The driver spat out a mouthful of water, panting for breath as he collapsed on a small patch of still-dry deck—with Luo Hanya lying beside him.

Upon hearing that familiar, comforting voice, Luo Hanya instinctively grabbed hold of the driver, who mustered his strength and hauled Luo Hanya up.

“You did it, kid!” Watanabe grinned broadly and gave the driver a thumbs-up. “I’ll take it from here! All of you, hold on tight!”

With Luo Hanya and Hirata, both spent, hanging from his arms, Watanabe’s muscles bulged as he surged forward with the force of a torpedo. The driver kept close behind, not lagging far at all.

Almost singlehandedly, Watanabe hauled both Luo Hanya and Hirata aboard the giant vessel. Once all four were on deck, they flopped down, gasping for breath, and broke into relieved, joyful grins at the sight of each other’s bedraggled state.

After a brief rest, feeling somewhat recovered, they each stood up.

“Hey, is anyone there?” Watanabe called out, his voice echoing all around, but no one appeared.

“Could this be a ghost ship?” the driver asked, eyes wide with fear, glancing around nervously.

“What do you think?” Luo Hanya deliberately lowered his voice, his tone eerie as he gave the driver’s shoulder a light tap, making him jump.

“All right, all right, Muramasa,” Hirata said with a smile at their antics. “Why don’t we go find Yamamoto and the others? In a place like this, the more people, the better. It looked like Yamamoto and Minako went into the cabin; let’s go look for them.”

“Hirata, in a place like this, unity is the only way to survive. It’s not that I don’t want to find them—I’m just afraid if we do, we’ll end up turning on each other,” Luo Hanya replied with a strange, cold look.

Just then, the system prompt sounded:

Main quest updated: Unravel the mystery, reveal the truth.