"Stay here, I'll go see what the commotion is about..." Ye Jingyu said softly to Zhuge Siyu, then turned to leave the cabin...
Zhuge Siyu nodded lightly, saying nothing more...
Ye Jingyu turned and stepped onto the deck, only to find the crowd in utter chaos. Fear was etched on many faces as they stared intently toward the east...
Before his eyes, the sea surface had suddenly birthed a mountain—a sheer hundred-zhang peak, and one that was moving...
Ye Jingyu's heart lurched. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a colossal sea beast, only its back—resembling a small mountain—was visible above the water. It was an expanse of blackness, where a faint, cold glint occasionally flashed, suggesting a hide covered in dense, impenetrable scales...
What kind of monster was that, and how could it be so large?
Only then did Ye Jingyu grasp the source of the panic among the crew.
Not only were the sailors displaying expressions of sheer terror, but even the sharks, which had been fighting over the corpses moments before, had vanished without a trace. Only a dozen or so intact bodies drifted on the water, presenting a bizarre tableau...
"What is that thing?" Ye Jingyu asked the young officer beside him, who had just finished retching...
"I... I don't know..." The officer's face was already close to tears. What bad luck had befallen them? They had barely survived an encounter with one ruthless killer, only to now face a monster of unimaginable size. With a body that massive, forget attacking the ship—a slight brush would instantly shatter this hundred-zhang vessel...
"Haven't you ever encountered anything like this before?" Despite the shock induced by the massive beast, Ye Jingyu remained remarkably composed. His year-plus journey of cultivation had certainly tempered him significantly...
"N-no... but... but we've heard the elders talk about a colossal monster residing in the East Sea. Yet, after all these years, we never actually saw it..." Perhaps influenced by Ye Jingyu's calm demeanor, the young officer's voice lost some of its earlier tremor as he finished speaking.
"Then what did they do? If word was passed down, it suggests people survived somehow..." Ye Jingyu pressed on.
"Sacrifice..."
"Sacrifice?" Ye Jingyu frowned, still trying to grasp the meaning, when a woman's shriek echoed from below the deck. Looking down, he saw a group of soldiers escorting several women from the lower level. The women struggled desperately, but they were clearly no match for the armed men...
"Damn it, what are you doing?" Ye Jingyu roared, starting to move forward to teach the soldiers a lesson, but the young officer lunged and seized him...
"Senior, they are performing a sacrifice. Only this way can we possibly escape calamity..." The officer, fueled by a sudden surge of courage, held fast to Ye Jingyu's wrist...
"Sacrifice your mother! Why don't you sacrifice yourself to the beast?" Ye Jingyu instantly understood the grim ritual—it meant using these women's lives to appease the massive creature. In a fit of rage, he struck the officer across the face with an open hand. The sheer force sent the man flying, his head exploding instantly...
Ye Jingyu, however, launched himself from the third deck, landing heavily on the main deck with such force that a deep crack split the sturdy wood beneath his boots...
"Release them!" Ye Jingyu’s eyes blazed with fury. While he wasn't a saint, these women’s lives had been purchased by Zhuge Siyu with her own life; how could he allow them to be thrown away like this?
"Sir, that is the Sea God! We must offer the sacrifice, or we will all perish..." Faced with imminent death, the soldiers completely disregarded Ye Jingyu's intimidating presence...
"Fine, sacrifice then. Pick from among your own ranks," Ye Jingyu sneered coldly.
"But, sir, the ancestral records state the sacrifice requires virgins. Only by offering these pure women can we live," the soldiers escorting the captives declared with fierce conviction. Even the sailors on deck displayed a similar resolve...
Observing those bloodshot eyes, Ye Jingyu realized that cornered by the threat of death, they had cast all caution aside and no longer feared him. Even if he killed these men, the remaining crew would likely fight back...
The monster was rapidly closing the distance, now only ten miles from the ship. Its bulk was so enormous that its movement was already stirring monstrous, towering waves...
At this moment, Zhuge Siyu emerged. She had taken in the scene below and, looking at the approaching leviathan, a gentle smile graced her lips...
She walked down the deck step by step. Everyone watched the fairy-like beauty in silence, no one daring to move, simply following her as she approached Ye Jingyu.
She pointed a finger at herself, then at the women held by the soldiers, and finally, toward the distant monster...
"You mean to offer yourself as the sacrifice?" Ye Jingyu asked, stunned...
Zhuge Siyu nodded quietly...
Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers were visibly moved. They had not expected anyone willing to surrender their life. To these utterly selfish people, such a person should not exist...
A strange emotion flickered in their eyes...
"No," Ye Jingyu instantly refused. Regardless of whether the sacrifice would even work, if it did, he absolutely would not permit Zhuge Siyu’s life to be used. Even if it meant slaughtering every soul aboard the ship, he would not...
Because he was not a good man...
Zhuge Siyu then looked up at Ye Jingyu. Her dark eyes were like polished mirrors, reflecting the genuine beauty and goodness of the world—the purest, most exquisite form of kindness. Not only Ye Jingyu, but even the most self-serving Dongyi soldiers felt a profound twinge of guilt upon gazing into those eyes. Reflecting on their own selfishness, they lowered their heads in shame...
"I said no, and I mean no. I have my own way to deal with that thing," Ye Jingyu stated, deeply shaken himself. He had never imagined such profound goodness existed in the world—a person willing to completely sacrifice their life to save others, even if those others were their enemies...
Or rather, those who wished him dead...
Such a good person could hardly have any enemies at all.