Chapter 808
Chapter 808
“Captain!”
“Captain!”
Wherever Hill passed, every sailor bowed in respect. The wandering warriors' breaths hitched, but their eyes remained fixed on the deck. Hill had learned swordsmanship from a young age and had sailed the seas since she was a girl, making her incredibly strong. She was ruthless, and her methods were just as harsh.
Once, a man dared to stare at her backside with lecherous eyes and was brutally blinded for it. Her rear was simply too captivating—perfectly shaped and astonishingly full. Always battling the elements at sea, she possessed a healthy, energetic figure that was undeniably fiery. But every man on her ship who harbored impure thoughts about her was either killed or castrated. In recent years, not only had no man dared to touch her, but none even dared to look at her properly. They could only fantasize desperately in their minds. She was a black widow—the kind that killed without batting an eye.
This black widow descended below deck and entered her cabin. There, an impossibly handsome man lay lazily, reading a book. The Black Widow, Hill, approached the man and kissed him passionately. Soon, the two were tumbling together, consumed by a mad fire. She was an incredibly passionate woman and always had to have something in her mouth. Otherwise, her cries would escape and be heard by everyone.
“Darling, my dearest love. Why won't you listen to me? You could just put on a small disguise and come up on deck. It breaks my heart to see you cooped up in this cabin every day…”
Hill said in a trembling voice, greedily kissing the man's lips. The man replied.
“Applying those materials to my face is bad for my skin. It was already damaged during the burning at the stake, and it took a full ten days of recovery for the red spots to disappear.”
The man was, of course, Shen Lang. Even being burned at the stake could not kill him. Of course, this was because he had taken precautions to ensure he wouldn't be burned. He had anticipated this sacrificial offering two or three months in advance and had tried to escape it using his good looks, but he failed. Dybas was an exceptional noblewoman who did not let emotions sway her will. Thus, the more outstanding Shen Lang appeared, the colder her attitude became.
If his charms failed, couldn't he have just escaped then and there? Unfortunately, that didn't work either. Though Shen Lang appeared to be free, more than ten pairs of eyes watched him from the shadows wherever he went. A white swan cannot hide among a flock of black swans. So, he had to learn about the sacrificial burning. If the war were fought on land, the burning would take place on land. But if it was a naval war, the sacrifice would be conducted at sea. Therefore, the burning ceremony was his only chance to escape.
Do you all remember the fabric of the hot air balloon Shen Lang created? That fabric was made with highly advanced technology and consisted of three layers. One layer was waterproof canvas, another was a double-layered cloth, and the third was a fireproof cloth. The waterproof canvas would have been made from oilcloth, but what about the fireproof cloth? It was, of course, asbestos cloth. In China, asbestos cloth had existed since the Zhou Dynasty, where it was called 'fire-washed cloth,' meaning a cloth that could be cleaned by fire. This wondrous fabric, when soiled, could be thrown into a fire and would emerge as good as new. Moreover, this asbestos cloth had supreme fire-resistant properties, able to withstand temperatures of 1400 degrees Celsius for three hours without burning or deforming. It would only begin to melt at 1700 degrees Celsius, whereas an ordinary flame only reaches a few hundred degrees at most.
Furthermore, asbestos minerals were widely distributed, not rare like saltpeter. Serpentine minerals in particular were especially abundant. These asbestos ores contained natural asbestos fibers, but most were very short—only a few millimeters long. The longer ones were about two centimeters, with the longest reaching around ten centimeters. Ever since the State of Wu attacked Raging Tide City, Shen Lang had begun developing fire-resistant materials, producing large quantities of asbestos cloth and even some fire-retardant gel. Shen Lang considered this asbestos cloth a strategic resource and did not release it to the market. Until now, its primary uses had been for making ship sails and the fabric for hot air balloons.
Moreover, the fire-retardant gel he created was absolutely top-tier. Previously, to escape the grand armies of Yan Han and Ji Xuan at sea, Shen Lang had to light a fire inside the cabin to heat the hot air balloon. The temperature was high enough to cause severe burns, so Shen Lang had applied the fire-retardant gel back then. This gel could block temperatures as high as a thousand degrees Celsius.
For two months, Shen Lang had been preparing for this burning ceremony. First, he stopped wearing silk and instead wore clothes made of cotton or linen, which he had made himself. This was because the appearance of cotton and linen was relatively similar to asbestos cloth. Not only that, but Shen Lang also created a skin-protecting cosmetic that he applied to his face and body every day. He did this to protect his skin in preparation for the day of the burning, when he would need to apply the fire-retardant gel.
Shen Lang truly struggled to survive, enough to make the heavens pity him. The fire-retardant gel was non-toxic, which was fortunate, but the asbestos cloth was toxic. On the day of the burning, Shen Lang wore multiple layers of clothing and applied a thick layer of the fire-retardant gel. Of course, no one suspected his actions. This was because Shen Lang had been doing the same thing for one or two months. Furthermore, the clothes made from asbestos cloth were pure white and looked quite good, appearing just like ordinary garments. With his defenses perfected to this extent, when the great fire engulfed him, the outermost layer of his clothing burned away, making it seem as if his entire body was a ball of fire. To match the scene, Shen Lang let out a blood-curdling scream.
But in truth, the scream was real. Shen Lang had never imagined it would be so agonizing and painful. Even though he wore a full-body fireproof suit and had even put on an asbestos mask at the last moment to block the high temperatures, the feeling of suffocation and the searing heat were still agonizing. Shen Lang was, after all, too delicate. Many stunt actors in movies perform scenes where they are set on fire multiple times a day, their entire bodies ablaze. As the ship Shen Lang was on caught fire and burned fiercely, the flames on his body actually died down. This was because all the flammable material had burned away. Seizing the opportunity, Shen Lang dove into the sea and fled.
Two days later, under the cover of darkness, he secretly snuck aboard a ship—the ship of the Black Widow, Hill. Fortunately, Shen Lang's impossibly handsome face was not severely damaged, though a good portion of his hair had been burned off. Shen Lang trimmed it into a medium-length cut with a dagger, maintaining a neat hairstyle.
Hill had killed so many people that she was known as the Black Widow. Also, being of a certain age, she occasionally engaged in rather embarrassing activities. To prevent others from hearing any sounds, no one was allowed within several meters of her cabin.
“I am the husband of Grand Duchess Dybas, the eastern man they tried to burn to death. I don't know why I didn't die. You should turn me over to them. You'll surely receive a large reward.”
Just as Dybas had no shortage of money, Hill too had plenty of wealth, but she lacked status. However, due to her race, her status would never change. Therefore, Grand Duchess Dybas could only lord over her but could not bestow any favors upon her. This time, Hill's fleet had intended to go to sea for trade, but they were forcibly conscripted, leaving her furious with Dybas. So, how could she possibly hand Shen Lang over?
Alright, to put it more bluntly, as that might be unclear. Put yourself in her shoes. Imagine you're a man, and a peerless beauty—the kind you might see once in ten thousand people, overflowing with charm—suddenly enters your room. And you're rich, to boot. Would you hand her over for a reward? Especially to a ruler you deeply resent? Of course not! And so, the Black Widow Hill hid Shen Lang in her cabin.
The two of them slept together a mere eight hours after meeting. With a lonely man and woman in such a small room, it was only natural for sparks to fly. Moreover, Shen Lang was devastatingly handsome, and the Black Widow Hill was already twenty-nine. She was naturally a passionate woman, but she had gained the cruel reputation of a black widow for killing her own husband on their wedding day. Furthermore, to protect her family's fortune, she had to use cruel and harsh methods to instill fear in the men who tried to seize her fleet. But in truth, she herself was like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
From then on, the two spent their days in pleasure, and Shen Lang's back once again began to suffer from intense strain. Despite studying for several months, his Vedic language skills were still not fluent. However, with just thirty percent of his effort, he had seduced the Black Widow captain to the point where she was utterly infatuated, drowning in her love for him. The only downside was that after this woman had her first taste of the fruit that was him, she found it so delicious that she wanted to keep eating. She was skilled in martial arts and brimming with strength, making it a bit difficult for Shen Lang to keep up. Yet, after less than ten days, she began to cherish him, trying her best to feed him nourishing foods while forcibly restraining her own desires.
Shen Lang displayed his various talents to her, completely captivating her soul. Hill was a sea merchant, so the people she had interacted with in recent years were all merchants or pirates, most of whom were greedy and coarse. When had she ever met someone like Shen Lang—so noble he seemed detached from the mortal world, impossibly handsome, and overflowing with talent? He had only just begun learning the Vedic language, yet he composed poetry that gave the listener goosebumps.
“My dearest love. I said it without thinking, but even after reflection, I would say it still. Such moonlight will never shine again. When a faint ray pierces the gloomy thicket to pour out its quiet light, it will gently, subtly, illuminate the beauty of my beloved.”
Such beautiful poetry flowed from Shen Lang's lips like running water, and every word he spoke was like an intoxicating wine that made her drunk. At that moment, Shen Lang inwardly exclaimed.
‘I’ve finally made it to the Western world. Now I can show off the poems of Pushkin and Shelley!’
Honestly, when it came to seducing women, Western poetry was indeed more effective. Because it was shamelessly direct. Moreover, a woman like the Black Widow Hill, though a sea merchant on the surface, desperately sought to elevate her status and refinement after acquiring wealth, especially because of her race. This made her particularly admire literature and art. She was different from people like Dybas, who used literature and art merely to adorn themselves while eternally pursuing power. In just half a month, Hill must have told Shen Lang she loved him at least a thousand times.