Chapter 84: Glass
“Are you saying that these transparent monsters, they are all—’underwater ghosts’?” Chu Jiu asked back in surprise, holding the fresh large coconut that the attendant had handed him.
“That’s right.” The Seal General nodded solemnly.
“These ghosts are as transparent as jellyfish in the seawater, making them extremely difficult to detect—only by having the ‘ten-legged fish’ spray black water onto their bodies can their shapes be seen.” As the Seal General spoke, he reached out a paw towards the dried meat that the attendant had just brought over.
Then, Chu Jiu watched as the General picked up a crumbled piece of coconut shell and put it in his mouth—crunch, crunch—before frowning and spitting it out. He then squinted again and correctly grabbed the dried meat beside it.
Chu Jiu: …
He suddenly felt that even if the transparent monsters weren’t transparent, the Seal Clan would probably have a hard time aiming at them…
However, this did explain why, in the memories of eyewitnesses, the “sea monsters” would frequently spray black water.
Chu Jiu pondered for a moment and then asked, “Do these ghosts appear regularly every year in August?”
So that’s why the “sea monsters” would “massively gather” in August.
The General said, “Yes.”
“They usually stay quietly in the cemetery, but once August arrives, it’s as if something awakens them, and they all start pouring out of the cemetery.”
Chu Jiu was slightly surprised: “They even have a cemetery?”
The General licked the paw that had grabbed the dried meat: “Yes, we do.”
“If you are willing, I will take you to see it now.”
*
After silently diving on the back of the large octopus for more than half an hour, Chu Jiu finally heard the Seal General say, “This is the place.”
Chu Jiu thought to himself that this “Sea God’s Invitation” was truly amazing. Not only did it allow him to breathe underwater and withstand the pressure of the seawater, but it also allowed him to hear speech so clearly!
He didn’t know the reason.
He slowly opened his eyes—
Well, it was almost the same as having them closed. It was pitch black everywhere; sunlight couldn’t penetrate the surface of the sea to reach this place at all.
At this moment, the other little Seals jumped off the large octopus one after another and took out [Anglerfish Lanterns] to provide illumination.
In the faint light, shadowy black shapes resembling hills vaguely appeared.
Chu Jiu also quickly took out the [Moonstone] he had collected in the Earth’s Core from his backpack.
[Moonstone: An extremely rare material.
It is said that moonlight is merely reflected sunlight, and where there is sunlight, there will be no moonlight.
But this small stone, on the contrary, becomes brighter the darker and farther away it is from sunlight.]
He had never had a chance to use this stone before. Even in the dimly lit underground passages of the dwarves, there were always torches for illumination.
Now, in this underwater world where it was literally “impossible to see one’s own fingers,” this precious material finally had a use.
In an instant, a clear white light scattered in all directions, illuminating corners that had never seen light for thousands of years.
Chu Jiu couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
Even the small can stood up.
It turned out that the undulating “mountains” just now were countless sunken ships!
These sunken ships, large and small, lay silently on the sandy seabed, their hulls covered in barnacles.
Some had only a skeleton left, while others still vaguely retained their original shape.
Countless seaweed swayed among them, and schools of fish darted in and out.
Chu Jiu was stunned for a while, roughly understanding: these ships must be the products of the human world from centuries ago.
But why were there so many?
Could there be some giant whirlpool above this area that dragged ships into the water?
At this moment, the Seal General swam to Chu Jiu’s side and said, “This shipwreck area is what we call the ‘Graveyard of Lost Souls’.”
“According to our ancestors, when the demons invaded back then, many humans tried to escape by boat, but all their ships ended up here.”
“And the souls of those who died unjustly back then were trapped in this seabed, becoming evil spirits that prey on humans and on us, the Seal Clan.”
Chu Jiu: !
He couldn’t speak for a moment.
…Souls trapped here, eventually turning into vengeful ghosts?…
Chu Jiu pushed off with his foot, his body lightly floating onto the nearest sunken ship.
This ship still had its complete shape, and even the mast was unbroken.
However, the passengers on this ship had now become shrimp, crabs, and schools of fish.
He jumped onto the ship and swam around in the “sunken ship forest,” examining the sand and seaweed here by the “moonlight.”
The General said that every August, these long-deceased souls would awaken one after another, as if something “awakened” them.
…Could it be that some external force is “summoning” these lost souls?
Just as he was pondering, the Seal General swam over and said to Chu Jiu:
“The ‘Graveyard of Lost Souls’ is such a place.”
“Let’s go back to the shore.”
“You are human. Even with the ‘Sea God’s Invitation,’ staying underwater for too long will make you feel unwell.”
Chu Jiu nodded and said, “Wait a moment”—
He pressed himself against the seabed and collected 99 portions of [Low-Iron Quartz Sand] in one breath.
*
Chu Jiu closed his eyes again and rode the large squid back to the hidden beach.
Ah, even with the moonstone illuminating, the natural sunlight shining on his body was still the most comfortable.
Chu Jiu stepped barefoot on the sand, kicked his legs and stretched his body, and even rubbed his eye sockets with his fingers, soothing the discomfort caused by the seawater hitting his eyes.
The little Seals also jumped ashore one after another. They quickly shook the water off their bodies and raised their paws to rub their eyes.
Chu Jiu heard A Li muttering softly, “What’s going on? Why are my eyes tearing up again…”
Chu Jiu: …
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he asked A Li, “Do you always close your eyes when you ride the ‘ten-legged fish’ into the sea?”
A Li asked in confusion, “Close our eyes? We just open and close them normally.”
“If we kept them closed all the time, wouldn’t we be unable to see the way?”
Chu Jiu nodded and didn’t say anything more.
*
After returning from the Graveyard of Lost Souls, the General once again took Chu Jiu to sit in the stone chamber and told him how the Seal Clan fought against these transparent monsters, these “underwater ghosts.”
For example, these ghosts would hide in wooden barrels or wooden boxes on ships, taking advantage of strong winds and waves to reach the sea surface.
At this time, if fishermen pick up these wooden barrels or wooden boxes and opened them to check—
The lives of everyone on that ship, from humans to rats, and even the cats that caught the rats, would instantly perish.
Chu Jiu immediately thought of an illustration he had drawn:
Wind and rain intertwined, waves surged, the deck was a mess, and countless tentacles stretched out from the sea…
Looking back now, among the chaotic things on the deck, weren’t there “wooden barrels” and “wooden boxes”?
Some fishermen who had been interviewed also said that they had once laboriously salvaged wooden barrels floating up from sunken ships, only to have sea monsters spray black water in their faces and snatch the barrels away…
Chu Jiu immediately said, “So, in order to prevent such tragedies, does the Seal Clan always try to snatch the wooden barrels before the fishermen open them?”
The General: “That’s right.”
A Li beside him also said, “Actually, we not only snatch the wooden barrels, but we also try to tell some humans not to approach these wooden barrels and boxes, that there’s nothing good inside—but as soon as they see us, they scream ‘Sea monsters! Sea monsters!’ and even throw stones at our adorable ten-legged fish! Humph!”
Chu Jiu: “…Hmm…”
In the eyes of humans, your mounts, these “adorable ten-legged fish,” are terrifying giant squids that can twist off people’s heads and eat them as snacks…
Hearing this, Chu Jiu tentatively asked, “Excuse me, besides reminding the fishermen, have you tried many times… to communicate with humans?”
A Li snorted angrily in response: “Hmph!”
The General sighed: “Yes, we have.”
“There were several times when the lost souls were about to emerge from the sea, and you humans were still completely unaware—”
“We would rush over to warn you.”
“For example, one time, a big storm was about to hit, and I saw two people standing nonchalantly in the sea, while some others were noisy on the boat.”
“I shouted and gestured at the people in the water, telling them to leave quickly, but they acted as if they couldn’t understand.”
“Helpless, I could only tie up the two people from the sea and throw them onto the boat.”
“As a result, the people on the boat freaked out again when they saw us, shouting and wanting to jump into the sea. I had to tie everyone up to keep them out of the way, and finally had the ten-legged fish push the boat to a safe place.”
Chu Jiu was silent for a moment and then said, “General, the two people you tied up from the sea at that time, did they have very long hair, rough skin, somewhat strange looks, and a wide distance between their eyes?”
The General: “Hmm? I can’t really distinguish the appearances of you humans very well. But now that you mention it… it seems like the two people did have quite long hair and very rough skin. When we tied them up and threw them onto the boat, their hair seemed to even fall off.”
Chu Jiu took a deep breath: “General, it’s possible… that the people you tied up weren’t humans at all, but manatees with seaweed on their heads.”
No wonder the ability users said that sea monsters “would tie up any dolphins or manatees swimming nearby.”
It turned out that in the blurry vision of the Seal Clan, those manatees standing in the sea were simply humans in a daze.
The General: “Ah?! N-no way? How could I have mistaken them to such an extent…?”
Chu Jiu helplessly raised his hand: “General, how many fingers am I holding up?”
A Li squinted at it for a while and then said cheerfully, “It’s three! Brother, it must be three!”
The General narrowed his eyes for a long time before saying, “Don’t talk nonsense. It’s clearly four.”
Chu Jiu: “……General, I’m holding up a fist.”
A Li: ……
The General: ……
The little Pomeranian sitting on the stone platform scratched his head, his face red: “Cough, well, we do see things a bit blurry…”
He sighed, hanging his head: “To be honest, sometimes in battle, we aim but still fail to hit the enemy…”
“Oh, speaking of which, there were a few times when we threw your drowned fishermen towards the shore, we aimed but still couldn’t reach the land… hmm…”
Chu Jiu: ……
This was probably what the fishermen meant by “evil sea monsters throwing people around for fun.”
Chu Jiu thought for a moment, quickly made a piece of ice, ground it into a shape that was thick in the middle and thin at the edges, and handed it to the General: “This is a simple magnifying glass. Please put it in front of your eye.”
The little Pomeranian looked puzzled but did as he was told.
He returned to the platform and raised his hand again: “General, how many fingers is this?”
The General: “Two!”
Holding the “ice magnifying glass,” he was both surprised and delighted: “A Li, come and look quickly! Oh, Sea God! So I can see so clearly!”
A Li quickly jumped up and huddled with his brother over the magnifying glass, exclaiming in surprise as they looked, “Oh, so Lord Chu Jiu looks like this! Do all humans look this good?” “Ah, Lord Chu Jiu’s kitty is so cute—wait, why does it look so fierce?”
Chu Jiu rubbed his temples.
After a flurry of excitement, Chu Jiu told the little Seals that their blurry vision was called “nearsightedness.”
As for why they were nearsighted, Chu Jiu speculated that it was partly because they were always driving at high speed underwater without any eye protection, causing their eye muscles to be tense for long periods without relaxation; and partly because they moved back and forth between the seabed and the shore, and the strong changes in light were too stimulating for their eyes.
In short… the entire Seal Clan saw the world in a blur. Because everyone saw things vaguely and made mistakes in recognition, they had become accustomed to it and didn’t feel anything was wrong.
After listening to Chu Jiu’s explanation, the General was stunned for a moment and then slowly said, “So, when we fight, our aim is off, and we spray black water on other creatures because of this ‘nearsightedness’.”
Chu Jiu said, “It’s very likely.”
The General supported his chin with his two paws, his expression worried: “This ‘nearsightedness’… is there any way to solve it…?”
They had always thought that everyone saw things this way. Only now did they realize that the world in the eyes of other races was so clear!
So they could aim more accurately and fight more fiercely!
Chu Jiu said, “General, in my opinion, the ancestors of the Seal Clan most likely already noticed this problem.”
“I have checked ancient human books, and they record that ‘the Seal Clan would often go to human cities to order crystal products’.”
“These crystal products were mostly made by humans in earlier years and were used to counteract nearsightedness and improve vision.”
The General’s face immediately lit up with joy: “Really? You humans have such things?”
Chu Jiu: “Yes, we do.”
He paused slightly and then said, “General, I will return to the land later to report everything I have seen and heard to the human leader.”
“I will tell the leader about the ‘sea monsters’ and also inquire if anyone knows how to make ‘products to counteract nearsightedness’.”
“Once I am fully prepared, I will definitely return here before August to fight the underwater ghosts alongside you.”
The General and A Li were overjoyed.
The General could still restrain himself and say a few words, but A Li couldn’t help it and immediately wagged his tail and “woofed.”
*
Sea Moon City.
The City Lord’s residence.
“So that’s what the ‘sea monsters’ are like…” Even the knowledgeable City Lord Clara couldn’t help but show a look of surprise after listening to Chu Jiu’s account.
Standing up and pacing the polished stone floor of the reception room, she said, “In that case—”
“Pioneer Chu Jiu, I accept your suggestion and will meet with the Seal Clan as soon as possible.”
“You will arrange this meeting.”
“I want to clarify past misunderstandings and also discuss with their leader how to jointly fight our common enemy.”
Chu Jiu naturally nodded in agreement.
Chu Jiu had another matter in mind.
Before Clara met with the Seal Clan, he wanted to find a way to get the General and the others to wear glasses.
Otherwise, he could completely imagine the awkward and speechless accidents that would occur when the two sides sat together.
As for where these glasses would come from…
Generally speaking, Chu Jiu knew that the most basic principle of lenses was to mill and polish natural crystals or artificial glass to make them into “lenses,” which would ultimately correct vision.
How to specifically “mill and polish” them, Chu Jiu had no idea.
He vaguely remembered reading in some book that in ancient China, someone invented a “treadle lathe,” a machine that used foot pedaling for rotation and used white clay, brick ash, and the like as abrasives or polishing materials specifically for grinding lenses.
Using this machine, along with repeated experimentation, natural crystals could be ground into different concave and convex lenses.
But Chu Jiu had no idea what a “treadle lathe” looked like, nor had he seen one anywhere.
In this situation, if he had to figure it out from scratch, it would take too much time.
So Chu Jiu decided to ask Klara first.
*
“Glasses? Small mirrors worn on the eyes that can make people see more clearly?” Clara raised an eyebrow slightly after hearing Chu Jiu’s request. “Chu Jiu, based on what do you believe that someone in my territory would know this craft?”
Chu Jiu: “It’s like this—didn’t you send escort ships to protect me earlier? Since they could see what I was doing from such a distance, I think they must have telescopes or similar equipment.”
“Since they can make telescopes… they should also be able to make ‘glasses’.”
After all, they use the same principle.
Looking at Chu Jiu’s calm and composed appearance, Clara’s face remained impassive, but her heart was in turmoil.
After a moment, Clara said, “Pioneer Chu Jiu, as far as I know, obtaining lenses that ‘see more clearly’ requires very scarce materials. It’s not something that can be made just because someone possesses the skill.”
Chu Jiu didn’t detect the probing tone in Clara’s words and said honestly, “Materials? I should be able to prepare the materials.”
He could ask the dwarves to collect natural crystals, or he could try to make glass.
Clara smiled slightly: “Pioneer Chu Jiu, you’ve misunderstood.”
“There is indeed an old man in my territory who knows this craft.”
“I will have him go to Bean Village with you.”
Chu Jiu: “!”
Huh, go to Bean Village together?
That would certainly be more convenient for me. I can order materials from the squirrels and also use their furnace.
But for this old man… wouldn’t that be a long trip?
Why would the City Lord arrange it this way? I could have just brought the lenses over…
Klara continued, “As for whether he can make the ‘glasses’ you mentioned, it all depends on whether you can provide him with the materials he needs.”
Chu Jiu immediately replied, “! Thank you, City Lord!”
Having received Clara’s promise, Chu Jiu hurriedly left the City Lord’s residence.
Clara, however, sat back in her chair, her mind racing.
The progress of this matter was far beyond her expectations.
Originally, she had only thought about subduing the sea monsters, never imagining that she could get to know another legendary race that had long had no contact with humans.
And from the sounds of it, this race’s combat power was not to be underestimated.
Even more surprising was that Chu Jiu, this young man, actually offered to find the materials to make “lenses”?
Heavens above!
In the current guard, the only two “monoculars” were products from hundreds of years ago.
Nikola had been trying to make new telescopes, but had made no progress.
If Chu Jiu could find the materials to make lenses and create clearer telescopes…
Clara clenched her right hand tightly.
On the carriage to Bean Village.
Old Mr. Nikola sat on the rather uncomfortable cushion, openly glaring at the young man opposite him.
What was this? Where did this greenhorn come from, actually convincing the City Lord to send him to some desolate, broken-down, godforsaken remote little village?
The City Lord even said that if the environment was suitable, he should bring his wife and live there permanently.
Had this young man cast some kind of spell on the City Lord? How could the City Lord trust him so much?
Saying that “this pioneer should be able to provide you with the materials you have long sought but never found.”
What a joke!
Did he know how much he had paid to search for natural crystals?
In the end, the crystals he obtained either produced shadows no matter how he polished them, or they had streaks and colors and were not clear enough at all.
Forget about making the “clearer telescope” that the City Lord hoped for; he couldn’t even restore the lenses from hundreds of years ago.
This young man, who looked no more than his teens, could get him the clearest crystals?
He didn’t believe it for a second!
Eight hours later.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, Old Mr. Nikola and his wife supported each other, staring dumbfounded at this “godforsaken” village.
This…
The houses were clean and tidy, clearly regularly maintained;
The roads were wide and free of weeds, with tire tracks—indicating that horse-drawn carriages regularly came and went in this village;
Most of the fields were golden, interspersed with patches of new green—indicating that this village harvested at least two crops a year!
This… this was completely different from the “remote and broken-down” place he had heard about!
It was a bit far, but not broken-down at all.
What shocked Old Mr. Nikola even more was yet to come.
This greenhorn pioneer directly took him to the “Dwarf Blacksmith Shop”!
Dwarves! The dwarves, legendary for their mining skills!
In his lifetime, he had actually seen them in a human village!
He had heard rumors that dwarves and humans were in contact again, and he had scoffed at them—
But it was true!
Old Mr. Nikola watched the lively dwarves with wagging tails running towards the pioneer on the ground, his brain temporarily short-circuited.
*
Squirrel side.
“So, I need the clearest, most transparent crystal, without any impurities. Do you have any here?” Chu Jiu squatted down, and Little Axe Squirrel raised a paw. “Yes! I have some!”
“Me, strong! In the tribe, only me, dug it up!”
Little Axe Squirrel’s shiny black button eyes were bright, his face full of “I’m so awesome, hurry up and praise me.” Chu Jiu obliged with a head rub and praise, and then offered a handful of candy, in exchange for Little Axe Squirrel’s treasured [Impurities-Free Crystal].
He handed this crystal to Old Mr. Nikola.
This old man was the one the City Lord had mentioned, “the only person in the entire Sea Moon City, even the entire Carrot Continent, who still knew how to grind lenses.”
During the journey here, Chu Jiu could naturally sense the old man’s anger and distrust.
Chu Jiu understood very well: being so old and having to leave the city he was used to living in for work, to go to another “desolate and broken-down” place, anyone would be furious.
As for the distrust, he could also understand it.
According to the level of civilization in this world, obtaining “extremely pure crystals” and “glass suitable for grinding” was not an easy task.
Coincidentally, for Chu Jiu, neither of these things was difficult.
However, Chu Jiu didn’t bother to explain much.
He believed that facts would speak for themselves.
Old Mr. Nikola took the crystal and examined it under the firelight for a while, saying, “I’ll have to take another look in the daytime.”
“But based on this… the quality is indeed good.”
In fact, it could be said that the quality was excellent.
Far surpassing any crystal he had ever obtained before.
Old Mr. Nikola suppressed the urge to praise the young man effusively, still keeping a long face: “Boy, how many pairs of lenses did you say you wanted to make? I remember it was ten pairs, right?”
Chu Jiu: “Yes.”
Make ten pairs first, at least to ensure that the General, A Li, and the guards who came to meet Klara all had a pair of glasses each.
Otherwise, it was very likely that A Li would ask the statue of Klara questions and be surprised why Klara didn’t answer him.
Old Mr. Nikola shook his head: “Not enough.”
“No matter how good the quality of this crystal is, it can only be ground into four lenses.”
“Far from enough for your ten pairs.”
Chu Jiu replied without hesitation, “Don’t worry. The dwarves here have plenty of limestone, I have suitable silica sand, and I can also make alkali.”
“With these things, we can quickly make clear glass.”
After hearing Chu Jiu’s words, the slight excitement and admiration that had just welled up in Old Mr. Nikola’s heart instantly vanished.
What was this young man talking about?
He had just thought highly of him.
The old man sighed: “Boy, the method you’re talking about—using sand and limestone to make glass—how could I not have tried it?”
“No matter how fine the sand or how good the furnace, what comes out is just translucent, lumpy green glass slag, completely unusable.”
Chu Jiu continued with a slight smile, “Old sir, the colored glass you’re worried about might be because you haven’t found the right sand.”
“If the sand contains iron, what’s produced will naturally be green.”
“The translucent lumps you mentioned might be because the furnace temperature wasn’t high enough, and the quartz particles didn’t melt sufficiently.”
“Here, we have silica sand with low iron content, collected from the seabed.”
“More importantly, our furnace.” Chu Jiu smiled slightly and pointed to the furnace containing the [Earthfire Gemstone], “Our furnace can easily reach 1500 degrees Celsius. Melting some silica sand is nothing to it.”
