# Chapter 11: The Tradition of Talin
The next morning, the early sun rose, a bright and sunny morning that seemed to dispel some of the gloom.
Liu curled up beside the campfire. As a "young boy," she didn't need to worry about whether her posture was elegant, but the feeling of having boarded a pirate ship grew stronger in her heart. Fortunately, she had a loyal guard.
"So, you're royalty of the Talin Kingdom, taken away by Qingzhang when you were a few years old, and raised in Bamboo Village?"
"Yes."
Liu spoke weakly. Not far away, Qifu was chopping wood to make a backpack basket, sparing Liu the hardship of traveling on foot.
"Your real father... is he going to die of old age?"
"I don't know. When I was old enough to understand, my father was already over seventy."
"Haha, another tough old man who's still vigorous."
Baha said some cheeky words. At only 17 years old, having grown up in a simple place like Bamboo Village, Liu tilted her head, pretending to understand and let out a light laugh.
"Does your return to Talin involve a struggle for the throne?"
Su Xiao didn't yet know the situation in the Talin Kingdom. His main purpose in going to Talin was to find the Source Water.
"If the struggle for the throne begins, I'm dead for sure."
Liu's tone was certain, as if this was an inevitable outcome.
"No problem. We have experience with this kind of thing."
"Bird, you're saying strange things again."
"Let's skip the useless talk. Tell us, how many siblings do you have? We need to plan an assassination strategy. If there are too many, we'll have to split up."
Hearing Baha's words, Liu initially took them as a joke. But when she met Baha's gaze, she realized he wasn't joking at all—he was serious.
"You... you all..."
Liu couldn't speak. Nearby, Qifu looked on with full vigilance, because right next to him, a group of people were discussing how to assassinate the Talin royal family.
"It's useless. Once the struggle for the throne begins, I'll definitely die. Talin's tradition is that no matter how many heirs to the throne there are, only when all but one are dead can that one inherit the crown and throne from the old king."
Liu revealed the cruel tradition of the Talin Kingdom. No matter how many princes or princesses there were, only when all but one were dead could that one inherit the crown and throne. From Liu's words, it seemed the crown was more important than the throne, which was puzzling.
"What a bizarre tradition. Won't your family go extinct?"
"No, it's never gone extinct. When I heard this from my grandfather... the clan leader, I also thought, won't the Aideri royal family go extinct? How absurd. But the result is that the Aideri royal family has survived to this day, and I'm still a member of it. My other name is Aideri Beifu. Ugly, isn't it? So call me Liu."
Liu's eyes were filled with disgust for the Talin Kingdom and the Aideri royal family—undisguised disgust. She didn't even want to use her former name and preferred the name the clan leader had given her: Liu.
"Aideri Beifu... that's a very feminine name."
"Do I look like a woman to you?"
Liu was "shocked." She was sitting cross-legged in front of the campfire, holding a charred wooden stick with a half-eaten grilled fish skewered on it.
"No, I was just possessed by a sand sculpture just now. Don't mind me."
Baha's cheeky words sometimes had positive effects. Liu no longer seemed as heartbroken as before.
Hearing about the Aideri royal family's method of passing down the throne, Su Xiao thought of a possibility: besides the throne, the Aideri royal family might also be passing down something else.
After arriving in the Talin Kingdom, Su Xiao needed a starting point. Liu's royal identity was originally quite good, but after learning about the Aideri royal family's method of succession, the royal identity became a huge pitfall.
Under such a brutal succession system, any prince or princess who survived past the age of ten couldn't be a fool. Fools would have been eliminated long ago. Those who remained were either personally powerful or skilled in political maneuvering.
Unfortunately, there was no better starting point at the moment. Even if it was a bottomless pit, they had to jump in headfirst. But before jumping into the pit, Su Xiao could first toss an Apollo in to blow most of it apart.
After a brief rest, the group set off. This time, Liu was much more comfortable. Amu carried the wooden basket, and Liu inside even had the mood to enjoy the scenery along the way.
Along the way, Su Xiao passed many villages in the wilderness. As expected, these villages were different from Bamboo Village. The villagers wore simple, single-colored linen clothes and mostly used pottery and wooden forks. The wealthier ones used iron forks.
After two days of travel, a port city appeared ahead. To reach the Talin Kingdom, they needed to cross the sea by boat. If all went well, a two-day voyage would bring them to the border of the Talin Kingdom.
At the port, various three-masted sailboats were docked. Sweaty, bare-chested laborers were carrying cargo. Maritime trade was a very profitable business.
The Talin Kingdom mainly produced timber, copper, iron, tobacco, cheap weapons, and various minerals.
The Holy Guard Kingdom had different outputs, mainly cotton, cloth, fine ornaments and clothing, gold sand, weapons used by the strong, various spices, and various minerals.
The difference in resource output between the two countries gave merchants opportunities. The sea area between the two countries was called the Demon Sea. As long as goods could be transported across this sea, the profits were tenfold or even dozens of times. Countless people had become rich, and countless had died trying.
In this sea area, the probability of shipwreck was over 70%. It was this danger that made the profits absurdly high.
This sea was like a whispering demon, constantly tempting people to set sail. There were no sea treasures, no romantic stories—only real profits and rampant pirates.
The fastest voyage was two days, the slowest six months. The latter was a record set by some ruthless captain. Once lost at sea, reaching the Talin Kingdom became a distant dream.
The salty sea breeze blew in their faces. Su Xiao was looking for a suitable ship at the dock. He had to find an experienced captain; otherwise, they could only take an "ice ship" to Talin.
After asking several captains, each spoke with full confidence. But their brand-new ships showed they were reckless newcomers driven by profit.
After searching for nearly half an hour, an old man with a wrinkled face, a long-stemmed pipe in his mouth, and no more than five teeth left appeared in Su Xiao's sight.
"How much to Talin?"
"300 gold pounds, or 200 minted coins."
The two currencies the old man mentioned represented the Talin Kingdom and the Holy Guard Kingdom respectively. The currencies of the two major countries were mutually accepted and also used in all smaller countries.
"Pay directly in gold."
"That's best."
The gap-toothed old man smiled, revealing a few yellow-black teeth. His three-masted ship was somewhat dilapidated, with barnacles growing on both sides of the hull, indicating the ship frequently went to sea.
After loading the cargo, the sailors pulled up the underwater anchor, lowered the main sail with a few holes in it, and set sail.
Liu stood on the foredeck, looking at the scene with fresh eyes. She felt some dusty memories being awakened.
"How beautiful, the sea. Like the mother of all things."
With Liu's smiling face, the ship slowly set sail. She spread her arms, feeling the sea breeze blowing toward her.
An hour later, the scene changed dramatically. Liu bent over, hands on the ship's railing, her face pale. She was seasick.
"Ugh..."
Liu felt like she was dying. Clearly, her Mother Sea was not gentle with her and had given her a big slap representing Mother Sea.