I'm Trapped in the Block

"Captain, after you taught us about relay transport last time, the Great Clan Leader praised me for being smart when I got back. That’s why I rushed to be the one collecting the goods this time."

The captain wiped his sweat. "You really are smart, Jeff," he praised. "You’re not like other Fishmen."

As he spoke, the captain patted Jeff’s shoulder.

Jeff was soaked, and the captain only realized something was amiss after two pats. He hurriedly tried to wipe his wet hand on Jeff’s clothes, but that only made it dirtier.

"Jeff, why are your clothes so filthy?" the captain said, his face a mask of disgust. "Don’t you ever wash them?"

"That’s just how it is on Fishman Island. I’ve washed them, but they get like this again by the next day," Jeff said, staring blankly down at his clothes.

The captain resorted to wiping his hands with a handkerchief. "Have your brothers bring the cargo up."

Jeff grunted in agreement and went to the cargo hold entrance. He looked down and started speaking to the Fishmen below in a strange, gurgling language.

Several Fishmen carried a massive wooden crate up. The captain eagerly pried it open, revealing its contents.

Inside the crate were old, metal components. They were covered in rust, their original shapes nearly unrecognizable. However, the peculiar patterns etched into them remained, and some even gave off a faint glow.

The captain’s eyes lit up when he saw the glowing, rune-etched components. Forgetting his dirty hands, he reached in and grabbed one.

"The things you’ve been collecting lately are getting better and better," the captain said with a delighted grin, holding one of the runic components.

"We’re preparing for the Sea Moon Ceremony, so we’ve been renovating a lot of places and have dug up quite a bit. There’s more back in the village, but it’s not sorted yet. We’ll bring it over next time," Jeff explained.

He then pulled a handle-like component from deep within the crate. "This one is a relic that still works, but the Great Clan Leader said it’s useless to the Fishmen, so he told me to include it in the trade."

The captain stared intently at the component in Jeff’s hands. "What kind of relic is it?"

Jeff thought for a moment before answering uncertainly, "I think it can control the salinity of liquids. The range is pretty big, but I don’t know what the cost is."

The captain nodded. "A fine item indeed. Can it produce fresh water?"

"We’ve never tried."

Hearing this, the captain’s face lit up with glee. He hurried over to the side and grabbed a crate of liquor.

"Take this to your Great Clan Leader. Tell him it’s a gift from the captain."

Jeff said nothing, simply motioning for his companion to take the liquor below.

"Captain, we’ll be heading back now. We still need to prepare for the Sea Moon Ceremony."

"Yes, yes, you go on back." The captain was toying with the relic, his eyes glued to it, his face beaming with delight.

But then a thought struck him. He had Li Luo, who was standing nearby, go back with the Fishmen. "You need to go to the Fishman Village and ask when the ship heading the other way is leaving."

After thanking him, Li Luo followed the Fishmen off the ship.

The moment she stepped ashore, Li Luo’s foot sank into the mud.

The ground on Fishman Island was extremely damp, like a mudflat. It even gave way underfoot, causing you to sink.

"Just head further inland," Jeff advised kindly.

"Alright." Li Luo quickened her pace. Sure enough, once she was on solid ground farther from the coast, her feet no longer sank.

But the ground was still covered in mire, as if it had just rained.

The fog seemed to thicken, and the rank, rotting stench of fish drifted from all directions, pervading the dense mist.

"Are you holding up okay?" Jeff asked curiously as he caught up with her. "A lot of first-time human visitors have trouble adjusting to Fishman Island."

"I’m fine. Has Fishman Island always been like this?" Li Luo didn’t seem to mind much.

Jeff’s gills fluttered. "Yes, it’s been this way since I was born. But with the Sea Moon Ceremony approaching, the fog has gotten much thicker."

"The Sea Moon Ceremony?"

"Yes. The ancient texts say that whenever the Sea Moon Ceremony occurs, the island’s thick fog spreads faster and can even affect the surrounding seas," Jeff explained.

Li Luo nodded, not pressing further.

At this, Mo Ling was reminded of the thick fog they had encountered at sea. ’It seems all that fog came from Fishman Island.’

’What does the Sea Moon Ceremony have to do with the fog?’

Mo Ling had assumed it was just an ordinary traditional festival for the Fishman Race, but now it seemed to be related to the climate as well.

’It was like humanity’s twenty-four solar terms—a festival used to mark the changes in the natural rhythm.’

’It was really just a summary of the annual climate patterns that humans had observed.’

’The twenty-four solar terms were a product of agrarian civilization. Judging by the Fishmen’s level of civilization, they also seemed to have an agrarian society, living off the island’s resources. It wouldn’t be surprising for their festivals to correspond with climate changes.’

However, Jeff’s next words shattered Mo Ling’s theory.

"You’ve come at the perfect time. The Sea Moon Ceremony is only held once every two hundred years. I’ve never even seen it myself."

’Two hundred years?’

Mo Ling was stunned.

’What kind of festival runs on a two-hundred-year cycle?’

’Humans were able to establish the twenty-four solar terms because the annual climate cycle is consistent, allowing them to accumulate knowledge through repeated experience.’ 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

’But how could anyone chart a two-hundred-year cycle?’

’Unless some Fishmen could live for two hundred years?’

Li Luo, who was standing beside him, was just as shocked by Jeff’s words. "You only hold it once every two hundred years?"

Jeff nodded. "That’s right. Even the Great Clan Leader has never seen it. He’s had to rely on the ancient texts to learn about the Sea Moon Ceremony, which is why he’s been so swamped lately."

Hearing this, Li Luo voiced the same question that had occurred to Mo Ling. "Do you Fishmen have long lifespans?"

"Not long. About the same as humans. That’s why no one has ever seen the Sea Moon Ceremony. We’re just following the descriptions in the ancient texts to prepare everything." Jeff scratched his fish-like head, the matter clearly a source of great frustration.

Recreating a festival from two centuries ago was indeed no simple task.

"If we don’t hold the Sea Moon Ceremony, the fog will just keep getting worse. The ancient texts say the entire island’s decay will accelerate, and it will eventually affect our way of life," Jeff said earnestly.

Seeing that Li Luo was very interested in the Sea Moon Ceremony, Jeff began to tell her more about it as they walked.

The Fishmen didn’t possess advanced methods of record-keeping like humans did.

They had no paper books, as paper would rot away within days on Fishman Island.

For them, the only way to understand their traditions and history was by consulting the "Fishman ancient texts."

These were wooden books, with history recorded on "imperishable wood" in the Fishman tongue, detailing all sorts of their race’s precious history.

Some of the texts even recorded methods for training powerful abilities.

In a way, these ancient texts were the very legacy of the Fishman civilization.

What’s more, these ancient texts were scattered all over the island—one might even find a volume or two just by digging a hole. The most precious ones, however, had long since been collected and stored by the Fishman Village.

The Sea Moon Ceremony was recorded in one of the most precious of these texts.

It was an ancient text known as the Fishman Annals.

According to the Fishman Annals, the Sea Moon Ceremony was an extremely important rite. It was even described on the very first page of the book, highlighted for emphasis and impossible to miss.

This was why the Fishman Race placed such great importance on the Sea Moon Ceremony.