第二十四章英文翻译

The moment the ship's hull broke through the sea surface, the salty sea breeze suddenly turned into a humid current with a rusty smell. Qi Moran held onto the ship's railing and looked down. The originally deep - blue seawater had turned into pitch - black, but those blue lights became even brighter, like crushed stars sinking beneath the ship, carrying the old ship into the deeper darkness.

At this moment, Lin Yan's lantern made a soft "pop" sound, and a spark burst out from the wick. "Be careful." He suddenly grabbed Qi Moran's arm and pulled him back. A dark - green shadow just slid past the side of the ship's railing — it was a sea snake as thick as an adult's arm. Its scales glowed with a blue light similar to the mark on Lin Yan's neck. It coiled around the railing, flicked its forked tongue, but didn't launch an attack. Instead, it swam along the ship's body towards the stern and disappeared into the shadow of the deck.

"It's guiding the way." Lin Yan let go of his hand, and the warmth from the other's sleeve still lingered on his fingertips. "The natives in the sunken ship won't harm those with a '7'."

Qi Moran looked down at his palm. The blue light had spread to his wrist, like a glowing bracelet. The tip of the diving knife was still pulsating. Looking along the light track, there was a vague figure standing in the shadow at the stern of the ship. When they got closer, they could see clearly that it was a skeleton entangled in seaweed. There was a rusty bronze plate stuck between the ribs, and the "7" on it was worn down to a faint mark, but it glowed faintly under the blue light.

"He was the last loser." Lin Yan's voice dropped a bit. The light of the lantern swept over the finger bones of the skeleton, where half a broken scale was still clutched. "He was only one step away from the seventh lighthouse, but he lost his companion in the shipwreck."

Qi Moran suddenly remembered the scar on Lin Yan's forearm. Last year when he was saving someone, he had said, "I was swept into a strange fog by the ocean current." So he had seen these things back then. Just as he was about to say something, the ship suddenly hit something. Among the groans of the wooden boards, another dull thud was mixed in, as if a huge creature was bumping its head against the bottom of the ship.

"We're here." Lin Yan pointed outside the ship. In the pitch - black seawater, the outline of a huge shipwreck emerged, ten times larger than the old ship they were on. Countless phosphorescent dots hung among the torn sails, and there was actually a miniature lighthouse standing at the top of the mast, with an eerie scarlet light.

At this time, the blue lights suddenly sank collectively. The old ship lost its support and began to slide along the water flow into the cabin of the large shipwreck. When Qi Moran grabbed Lin Yan's wrist, he happened to see the mark on the other's neck light up, forming a confrontational echo with a red light deep in the cabin.

"The key to the first stop is in the captain's cabin." Lin Yan's voice was tense. He stuffed the lantern into Qi Moran's hand and took out a folding knife from his waist. "But there's something guarding it — I didn't dare to go in last year."

With a "clang", the ship's body got stuck in the cabin door of the large shipwreck. A crack opened at the joint where the deck met the other ship's planks. They could see the pitch - black seawater surging below, and countless blue - and - white scales were twinkling, as if a whole group of creatures were waiting.

Qi Moran tightened his grip on the diving knife. The blue light in his palm resonated more rapidly with the knife handle, as if urging. "Let's go." He pulled Lin Yan towards the entrance of the cabin. The halo of the lantern split the darkness ahead, illuminating the mottled bloodstains on the stairs — exactly the same rust color as that on the bronze plate.

The door at the end of the stairs was ajar, and scarlet light seeped through the crack, as if blood was flowing out from inside. The moment Qi Moran pushed the door open, a strong fishy smell of the sea suddenly wafted in, along with a familiar scent. It was the smell of seawater warmed by the sun when the scale got hot.

On the wall of the captain's cabin hung a faded nautical chart. The positions of seven lighthouses were circled in red ink. Next to the sixth one, a潦草的 "7" was drawn, but the seventh one was smeared black. And on the table below the nautical chart, there sat a figure with its back to them, wearing a tattered captain's uniform, playing with a complete scale in its hand. The "7" on the back of the scale was glowing.

The man slowly turned around. Qi Moran's breath suddenly caught — the man's face was actually seven - tenths similar to Lin Yan's, except that there were wrinkles like seaweed crawling at the corners of his eyes. There was also a light - blue mark on the side of his neck, but it was shaped more like a withered leaf.

"Another pair?" The old captain laughed, his voice like rusty iron sheets rubbing against each other. He put the scale on the table, and the scale was immediately attracted to the blue light in Qi Moran's palm. "That kid last year ran too fast and didn't dare to take this key. You two actually dare to barge in."

He pointed at the scale on the table. The scale suddenly split open, revealing a silver key embedded inside. There was a "1" engraved on the key handle. "If you take the key, you have to answer my question." The old captain's eyes glowed with a phosphorescent light in the red light. "Which one of you is willing to stay in this shipwreck for the other?"

Lin Yan suddenly stepped forward, and the folding knife "snapped" open: "Me."

Qi Moran tightened his grip on his wrist. The blue light in his palm was astonishingly hot: "I'll do it."

The old captain's laughter made the broken glass of the window rattle: "Very well." He pointed at the nautical chart on the wall. The red circle of the sixth lighthouse suddenly oozed seawater, drawing a dotted line at the position of the black - smeared seventh one. "Remember, the seventh lighthouse is not in the sea. It's on the crying star."

As soon as he finished speaking, the key suddenly flew into Qi Moran's hand. The shipwreck shook violently. The old captain's figure began to become transparent and turned into countless blue lights that drilled into the mark on Lin Yan's neck. Qi Moran looked down at the key. His face was reflected on the silver surface, and a faint blue light also appeared in his eyes.

"Run!" Lin Yan dragged him and ran outside. The shipwreck was collapsing. Those creatures with blue - and - white scales began to hit the cabin. In the shaking light of the lantern, they saw the skeleton at the door — its finger bones had somehow loosened, and the half - scale fell to the ground, merging with the blue light at their feet.

The old ship started again the moment they jumped onto it. The large shipwreck behind them was being swallowed by the pitch - black seawater. At the last moment when the red light became extremely bright, Qi Moran saw that at the end of the dotted line on the nautical chart, a second line of flowing words emerged:

[Second stop: The crying star]

Lin Yan suddenly coughed. The mark on his neck was shining astonishingly. He covered his neck and smiled, and the light in his eyes was brighter than before: "The old captain didn't lie. I've seen the star he mentioned."

Qi Moran looked down at the blue light in his palm, then at the other's red earlobes. He suddenly remembered that when he said "I'll do it" just now, Lin Yan's fingertips had dug hard into the back of his hand. The blue lights outside the ship were gathering again. This time, they didn't form a sea path but floated towards the pitch - black sky, as if they were going to piece together a glowing staircase in the night sky.

The tip of the diving knife turned towards the sky.