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The Azure Black Sea stretched out endlessly, its tall white sails jutting high against the seabirds that seemed to fly in the opposite direction.
The fleet consisted of roughly twenty ships of various sizes, with a large, square-bottomed, double-sailed ship leading the way. Sailors and dockworkers swarmed it like ants, carrying in and out wooden crates bound with hemp ropes, with the seal of the Yibang Tea Horse Department stamped upon them.
"Dazhuang! Hurry up! If the ropes are too tight, just cut them down with a knife!"
Someone shouted up to the mast.
A rumbling sound...
Summer thunder echoed from the clouds, and the stalwart man perched on the mast responded, wringing out his sweat-soaked towel and slapping it over his shoulder. His gaze softened as he stared into the clouds, seeing only a dark figure tossing and turning atop the Azure Black Sea.
"Ouch!"
