Chapter 52: They Are Indeed the Same; The Books Call This a Parallel World

Among all the books exchanged from the New Plane, several contained world maps.

After Bai Miao examined them all, she became even more certain that the world maps in these books almost perfectly overlapped with the map held by the steward. In other words, the positions of all the continents and oceans in both worlds were identical.

“The books say this is called a parallel world.” Bai Miao did not have a deep understanding of parallel worlds, but since the landmasses and oceans of the two worlds were consistent, they could be called parallel worlds.

Bai Yu understood even less than she did, but her thoughts reached further.

“The New Plane is clearly better than our world. Whether it is flush toilets, light bulbs, or these books, none of them are things we can make right now,” Bai Yu said, trying to grasp the concept. “Is the relationship between the New Plane and us similar to the relationship between us now and five hundred years ago?”

“I think so,” Bai Xi nodded. “The New Plane has a history. It mentions many ancient kingdoms, but it doesn’t seem to mention the Feng Kingdom. Miao Miao, do you remember seeing it?”

Bai Miao shook her head with certainty. “No.”

“This means the New Plane is not our future, but another world, even though the positions of the land and sea over there are exactly the same as ours,” Bai Yu looked at the wide white cloth spread before her. On it was a massive map Bai Miao had drawn based on the world map from the books. “In that case, our position is…”

Bai Miao hopped down from her chair and pointed her finger at a specific spot on the map.

On the world map from the New Plane, every slightly larger island in the world was marked. Bai Miao was currently pointing at the location of one of those islands.

“We are here,” Bai Yu gestured with her hand. “To go to the Feng Kingdom, we need to head northeast. There are basically no obstacles along the way; we can go there directly.”

“Then if we set out from here, roughly how long will it take to arrive?” Bai Xi asked Bai Miao.

Bai Miao thought for a moment. “It depends on the currents. It would take five to eight days.”

“It only takes five to eight days?” Bai Xi was somewhat surprised. “When we first came here, it took many days. I thought it would take at least two weeks to go back.”

“We are traveling across the sea. Even if it is only five days, that is a very long distance. Moreover, it is easy to lose one’s direction at sea. Miao Miao’s estimate is based on everything going smoothly,” Bai Yu was not overly optimistic, but she soon felt a sense of relief. “Still, if it is only five to eight days, we actually have a chance to go back.”

“Are we going back to living on the water?” Bai Xi looked at her silently.

Bai Yu sensed the meaning behind Bai Xi’s words and pulled her down to sit. “Xiao Xi, do you not want to go back?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just… honestly, our life on the water before wasn’t that great, was it?” Bai Xi said in a low voice. “Living here now, even though we don’t see many people from this world, we can go to the New Plane, the White Mist Plane, and even the Magic Plane. We can talk to so many people. If we go back, can we still have a stable life like this?”

“Are you afraid of running into the people who drove us out again?” Bai Yu asked her.

“Not entirely. It might just be that I’ve grown used to this life,” Bai Xi blinked. “Even though our days are still hard, they are much better than before. Besides, we don’t have to worry about food or clothes now. Do we really have to go back?”

Bai Yu looked at Bai Miao. “What about Miao Miao? Do you want to go back?”

Bai Miao had no strong opinion. “Wherever Eldest Sister and Second Sister are, that is where I will be.”

Bai Yu thought it over and looked at Bai Xi. “Xiao Xi, I didn’t mean we should return to a life of living on the water in the interior. Based on Miao Miao’s calculations, the journey back is only five to eight days. Even if it’s difficult, a round trip would only take about half a month. We won’t go back to live there, but we must find a way to look for Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle.”

“We aren’t moving back?” Bai Xi stood up abruptly.

“Actually, I’ve grown used to life here too,” Bai Yu said with some emotion. “Without realizing it, we have already lived here for a year. Although we only just met fellow countrymen passing by, our lives haven’t faced much inconvenience. Living here is much more stable than living on the water. We don’t have to fear being driven away, and we don’t have to change our resting place every few days. In fact, I already feel that this place is our home.”

Bai Xi nodded repeatedly. “Eldest Sister, I think so too. I feel like this is our home, a home where we don’t have to drift on the water.”

Once, they had considered their boat to be their home, but that home was destined to drift upon the waves.

Now, they had settled on the island. They no longer had to search daily for a place to moor the boat, nor did they have to worry about a poor harvest preventing them from earning enough copper coins. They didn’t have to fear sudden storms. Every day they could sleep until they woke up naturally, and they could cook meals in a large wok rather than the small pot they used to use, which never seemed to cook things through because they were trying to save fuel.

“Then it’s settled. Once the boat is upgraded and improved, we will find a way to look for Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle. No matter what their current situation is, we need to make sure they are safe.”

“The ocean is so vast, how will we find them?” Bai Xi frowned. “What if they drifted to another country?”

“Even if we can’t find them, we should at least try.”

“Mhm.”

They had the Shell, so they didn’t worry about daily food and clothing. They could visit several different planes and obtain things that exceeded the limits of this world. They could even cultivate magic and Spiritual Qi.

But even so, they were only slightly stronger than ordinary people.

To find family members with absolutely no clues was no less difficult than reaching the heavens.

In fact, reaching the heavens might be easier for them.

After all, there were magic carpets in the Magic Plane. As long as one could use magic, they could control a magic carpet to fly into the sky.

Having decided that they would continue living on the island even after finding their family, the three sisters truly began to treat this place as their home. They started decorating the house with various novel items they could find.

They even brought out the “room fees” and “meat fees”—the rent from the various planes and the items traded with Nancy. Although they still didn’t quite know what some of these things were, it didn’t stop them from hanging them up as decorations.

Meanwhile, the group that had stayed on the island for two days finally determined their approximate location with the help of the guide. After Bai Yu spoke with the steward, she discovered that the location they determined was almost identical to the location Bai Miao had found using the map from the New Plane. This increased the probability that the two worlds were parallel worlds.

The minor issues with their ship were also repaired during these two days.

To them, while life on the island was stable, it couldn’t change their desire to go home. Once the island’s location was confirmed, they were eager to return.

“On this return trip, we estimate it will take at least ten days to arrive. We might encounter other problems during that time, so we want to prepare more food and fresh water,” the steward said to Bai Yu. “I wonder how much food from the island we can exchange for?”

“How much do you want?” Bai Yu asked him in return. “Calculating the time, our family members should be returning soon. They will bring back a batch of food then. If you need it, you can exchange for more.”

“Thank you, thank you. Then we won’t stand on ceremony.”

After speaking with Bai Yu, the steward sent men to collect the food hanging in various places on the island. Whether it was salted meat, pickled vegetables, or ordinary dried wild greens, they took quite a lot.

However, the most important thing was fresh water.

Having no food on a ship wasn’t a huge problem, but if there was no fresh water, one would have to resort to desperate, unorthodox methods to survive. Given the choice, no one would be willing to do that.

After collecting the food and fresh water, the steward handed over a dozen silver taels.

Although silver was of little use on the island, the spices on the ship held even less value there. By comparison, giving silver was the better option.

The weather was perfect, and since there was no time like the present, the group quickly loaded the supplies and set sail again, heading toward the coordinates provided by the guide.

As they gradually left the island behind, several crew members gathered on the deck to talk.

“Building a pier and so many houses on such a remote island… the families of those three girls must be quite impressive.”

“It’s a pity we didn’t get to meet their families.”

“Don’t you find it strange? Even if someone wanted to settle on an island, they should find one closer to the mainland. It would make buying and selling goods much more convenient. Why settle on an island so far from the continent?”

“There could be many reasons. Maybe they’re fleeing from enemies, or perhaps they got lost at sea by accident. If it weren’t for how inconvenient life on the island is, I’d want to live there myself.”

“It’s more than just inconvenient. This island is so isolated that there’s no one to turn to for help. If Pirates happened to pass by and saw signs of habitation, those people would likely lose their lives.”

“Surely it wouldn’t come to that? Even if people live on such an island, what could they possibly have worth taking?”

“They have food and fresh water.”

“But for just food and water, why would Pirates resort to such evil?”

“They’re Pirates; they don’t follow any logic. They kill whenever they feel like it, and who’s going to stop them? The ocean is vast. Once you kill someone and throw them into the sea, the body vanishes without a trace within a day. If Pirates pinpointed this location, it could even become their base.”

“Stop talking like that, it’s giving me the creeps. But why didn’t you warn them?”

“If they’re smart, they’ll mention it when their families return. They can leave then if they want to. If they don’t, no matter how remote the island is, it’s stuck right here. If we could find it, Pirates naturally could too. As for when they might come or what will happen when they do, that’s up to fate.”

“It can’t be that coincidental. Our finding this island was a stroke of luck. If we had veered off course even slightly, we never would have spotted it. Even if there really are Pirates out there, the chances of them discovering this island are incredibly slim.”

“Let’s hope so.”

As they spoke, someone called them to their duties, and the crew members headed back into the cabins to start their work.

This time, they were certain they would return home safely.