Stepping forward, the monster's pig trotters comically gestured for him to enter:
"Since I became a chef on this ship, the highest record I've encountered so far is a Sorceress who drank 7 bowls of my soup, figured everything out, and successfully left. I think you also have that hope."
This temptation was useless to Xia De, but he did feel like he could continue drinking. Although he was very hungry now, this hunger was completely bearable. Drinking the third bowl would only intensify his hunger and allow him to consume more spiritual energy. The price of gaining knowledge from a Five-Ring Sorcerer who was familiar with this ship was absolutely worth it.
Thinking of this, he reached out and took the bowl that had been tossed out by the pig trotter. After using Miracle to process the liquid again, he slowly drank it, then threw the empty bowl back into the room.
Xia De could now clearly feel his stomach and intestines writhing. This terrifying hunger was something he had never experienced in either of his two lives:
"A Golden-haired girl whose hair was dyed golden with a magical potion, with a ruby earring in her right ear, and she's also a Ring術士. My companion fits these conditions."
Taking the empty bowl, the monster in the room snorted. Seeing that Xia De could still speak rationally, it went to the wall and slammed its pig trotter against the wall panel.
The sound wasn't loud amidst the storm outside, but after the knocking stopped, the fungal mat on the corridor wall beside Xia De suddenly burst open. As Xia De hurriedly dodged the filthy mucus, Miss Princess, whose hair was mostly red, crashed out from behind the fungal mat.
"Hmm?"
Both parties were surprised, but neither was happy about it:
"Prove your identity."
The Sorceress shouted vigilantly.
"The last souvenir was a fish. Prove your identity."
"You have two Founding series rhode cards. Oh, how are you, how am I..."
She hadn't yet figured out the situation and seemed to have just experienced a battle, her aura clearly unstable. Not only that, Miss Princess didn't have Xia De's peculiar characteristics, so due to the ship's assimilation, her mental state was very poor. Her originally rosy cheeks now looked pale, as if she hadn't slept for days.
Time was pressing, so Xia De briefly explained the current situation. The Sorceress looked into the room in surprise, and upon seeing the monster, she immediately groaned, almost collapsing onto Xia De:
"How could you be so foolish? For me, you dared to drink something like this? This is the interior of a sage-level relic!"
"There will definitely be a fight next, I need you."
Xia De said, then added:
"I'm just a weak Second-Circle Arcanist; I don't have your kind of power."
Miss Princess looked at Xia De in surprise upon hearing this, as if she couldn't comprehend what Xia De had just said:
"You? Weak?"
But Xia De had already drunk the third bowl of soup, and time could not be reversed, so they could only accept this outcome.
"I now know that I need to go to the next deck to see the captain, but I still don't know how to make the captain let us go. Do you know?"
Xia De asked Miss Princess, who grabbed Xia De's arm and shook her head slightly, her face looking terrible:
"When I was writing my thesis, I researched fairy tales related to pirates, which is how I knew about the Fishbone Pirate Ship. But just like mermaid's song, there are very few records of this relic; it only appeared in the early period of this era, so I only know that we can't jump into the sea, and the hope of leaving is in the deepest part of the ship's cabin."
Clang~
The ship swayed, and the bowl containing the transparent liquid appeared at the doorway for the fourth time.
"What do you mean?"
Xia De, clutching his stomach in hunger, looked warily into the cabin.
"I know how to deal with the captain. Just drink this bowl of soup, and I'll give you the answer."
The trotter waved the ladle, and the expression on the human face remained eerie.
"I'll do it!"
The Golden-haired girl bent down to pick up the bowl, but Xia De pulled her back. He looked into her emerald green eyes, and the firmness in his gaze made the Sorceress feel somewhat intimidated for some reason.
"With your current mental state, drinking another bowl would probably lead to trouble. I don't want to fight a Five-Ring Sorcerer who wants to devour me in a confined space."
Although the hunger made Xia De feel as if his stomach was about to perforate, compared to the helplessness and pain he felt when facing a god, the current sensation was still bearable:
"Madam, please do not underestimate me."
As he spoke, he bent down and picked up the bowl. After using Miracle again, he slowly drank the fourth bowl of soup. The pungent fishy smell would probably make Xia De not want to eat fish for a long time.
"Oh~"
He threw the empty bowl back into the room, staggering back a few steps. While his soul felt a satisfying surge, the hunger in his body had reached an unprecedented level. He truly wanted to taste that filling fish soup again.
At this moment, the sense of misalignment between his soul and body actually made Xia De feel a slight detachment between his consciousness and body, but fortunately, this was just an illusion for now.
Miss Princess hurriedly supported him. Xia De groaned softly; he had never missed the feeling of being full so much.
"You actually managed to drink the fourth bowl. We both wield the power of Gluttony. I'm really looking forward to having another chef on this ship. You'll also become addicted to dissecting living people. We are the great one's dependents; staying here, you will have eternal life."
It narrowed its eyes at Xia De, as if hoping he would suddenly bite his companion.
"Quickly answer my question, how do we deal with the captain?"
The voice came from Xia De's mouth; he even wanted to fill his stomach by deeply inhaling air.
"Very good, you are the thirteenth person to drink the fourth bowl in the three thousand years since I boarded this ship. Dealing with the captain is actually very simple.
The great one allows us to sail this ship and hunt in the ocean, but we must also follow the rules. We cannot directly kill you; this is a fundamental principle inscribed when this ship was formed. Breaking the principle will attract the attention of the True Gods (Note). Find the captain, and the captain will have the sailors duel you. If you survive, you will get a chance to gamble with the captain. If you can win the gamble, you can leave."
"That simple?"
"Simple?"
The human face lowered slightly, hidden in the shadows:
"Do you think many people can find the captain, or how many can defeat those undead sailors, or win the gamble against the captain, or avoid the trap of greed? If it were truly that easy, would I be here?"
Xia De then remembered that the other party had also been captured and remained on the ship forever.
"I only have these questions."
Xia De slowly retreated. The immense hunger was already making him unbearable; he couldn't continue drinking those soups.
"Wait!"
"What's wrong?"
Xia De asked cautiously.
"Give me the bowl back!"
"Oh, sorry."
Xia De glanced at the bowl in his hand, which contained the whisper element, then unhesitatingly threw it into the room. The monster with a human face, fish body, and pig trotters snorted again:
"Very good, you have already understood the price of greed on this ship. However, I still hope you can stay here, mortal. What's so bad about becoming a dependent of God? Don't you think the merman's posture is pretty?"
It did not get an answer from Xia De, because Xia De and Miss Princess had already left.
The monster chuckled, threw the bowl on the ground, and in the eerie green firelight, continued to stir the liquid in the pot with the copper ladle, just as it had done for thousands of years.