Luo Yan nodded in deep agreement, then ate another takoyaki, saying vaguely, "Just bear with it a little longer. Once I achieve my goal, I'll specifically find a chef. As for whether there's a potion to improve cooking skills, I think there is, but I don't have the recipe for that potion."
The two chatted idly, and time passed without them noticing. The sun quickly began to set. They left the takoyaki shop, preparing to officially purchase supplies.
Halfway there, they saw a group of people walking towards them. Leading them was a burly man with a cigar in his mouth, a black leather jacket draped over his back, and dressed entirely in black.
Luo Yan didn't recognize this person, so he didn't pay him any mind, thinking that since he hadn't appeared in the original story, he wasn't an important character. However, when Xia Tali saw this person, her gaze froze. The next moment, a hatred as substantial as reality surged from her frozen eyes, but this hatred only appeared for an instant before vanishing without a trace, as if it had never existed.
Luo Yan's spirituality was touched, and he subconsciously looked at Xia Tali, finding her face calm, but her hands were tightly clenched, her nails seemingly digging into her flesh, with tiny drops of blood seeping from between her fingertips.
"You know those people?"
Only after the two groups passed each other did Luo Yan ask. Xia Tali shook her head, her face still calm, without a ripple.
"No, I don't. Captain, why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Is that so?"
Luo Yan's gaze dropped, sweeping over Xia Tali's hands. The wounds in her palms, cut by her nails, had already healed, but dried blood still remained on her nails.
Xia Tali felt Luo Yan's gaze and subconsciously put her hands behind her back, avoiding his eyes.
Luo Yan nodded, withdrawing his gaze.
"When you feel like telling me, then tell me."
Although he didn't know exactly what had happened yet, Luo Yan had already guessed that Xia Tali and that group of people definitely had a grudge. But since Xia Tali was unwilling to speak, he didn't press her.
Firstly, his current strength was not enough to support him causing a ruckus on Sabaody Archipelago;
Secondly, his main goal right now was to meet Whitebeard and advance to Sequence 4;
Thirdly, he didn't believe Xia Tali was a brainless person. Since she had concerns, there must be corresponding reasons. If he pressed her, it would likely backfire.
Xia Tali pursed her lips, staring at Luo Yan for a long time, finally letting out an incredibly hoarse voice, as if she had a severe cold: "Thank you."
With this interlude, Xia Tali became much quieter than usual, but fortunately, it didn't affect the subsequent shopping. Xia Tali still haggled when necessary. Since Sabaody Archipelago had special bubbles as a means of transport, the two bought a lot of ingredients in one go, and also specifically went to a hospital to buy a considerable number of blood bags as Xia Tali's rations.
The hospital had no suspicions about someone buying a large quantity of blood bags. In this era where pirates ran rampant, injuries and bleeding were commonplace, and many Pirate Crews would store blood bags for transfusions.
When the two returned to the ship, Rayleigh was still busy. To avoid disturbing the construction, Luo Yan put away the ingredients and then took out a tent to set up a simple camp on the shore.
Because this island usually had regulations, campfires couldn't be lit casually, so there was no fire, which somewhat diminished the camping atmosphere. However, for Luo Yan, who possessed night vision, it was not a problem.
At night, the moon was bright and the stars sparse. Rayleigh had already gone home. Luo Yan sat in front of his tent, looking at Xia Tali, who was also sitting in front of her tent opposite him, and smacked his lips.
"Those two, Mite and Luo Ta, are really something. They're enjoying themselves with women, while I'm sleeping in a tent here."
The thought of Mite and Luo Ta possibly reveling in a luxurious room in the Pleasure Quarter right now made Luo Yan's teeth itch with anger. He had thought those two would be back by evening at the latest, but it was already late at night and there was still no sign of them. From the looks of it, they probably wouldn't be back tonight.
Xia Tali wasn't as angry as Luo Yan; instead, she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
"Captain, you can also go to the Pleasure Quarter for the night. I'll keep watch here."
"Who are you looking down on? Is your captain the kind of person who would go to the Pleasure Quarter?"
If the person on the other side egging him on was Luo Ta or Mite, Luo Yan might actually have had a slight inclination. But the person opposite him was Xia Tali. Not to mention Xia Tali was a girl, Luo Yan had already put on an act of being a gentleman in front of Xia Tali once before. If he showed any hesitation now, he would be contradicting himself, so he had to be upright now!
Xia Tali's eyes curved slightly, her smile deepening, as if she had seen through Luo Yan's pretense, but she just didn't point it out.
Luo Yan already had night vision, so the darkness couldn't hinder his sight at all. He watched the changes in Xia Tali's expression, gradually finding it hard to maintain his composure. He simply ducked into his tent and went to sleep. As for keeping watch, that was naturally left to Xia Tali, who was active at night.
At noon the next day, Luo Yan sat on the grass by the shore. Little Golden Monkey diligently massaged his back, while Xia Tali used a small comb to groom White Sable's fur. Potter flew around continuously, trying to pierce the bubbles emerging from the ground with his sharp beak, but instead, he was encased by the bubbles and floated upwards.
Both humans and animals were bored, but no one complained, because the coating would be finished in less than an hour.
"Captain! We're back!"
Just then, a slightly rough shout rang out. Luo Yan merely turned his head for a glance and then looked away. The one shouting was naturally Luo Ta.
These two had gone off to play somewhere, and although their voices sounded quite spirited, both had dark circles under their eyes, clearly having stayed up all night.
"You two certainly picked a good time to come back. One more hour and we would have left without you."
Xia Tali was also a bit displeased that the two had taken so long to return, so she couldn't help but mock them. Luo Ta scratched the back of his head, looking a bit foolish, while Mite even ingratiatingly moved closer, handing Xia Tali a string with several bubbles attached.
"We actually wanted to come back yesterday afternoon, but didn't Captain ask me to bring the astrology orb? I was just about to divine where you were, but then I suddenly thought, what if I disturbed you and Captain's good time? So I divined when would be the best time to return, and it turned out this was the time, so that's why we're only back now."
"My and Captain's good time? What good time?"
Xia Tali was confused and didn't understand. Mite immediately winked, hinting at something. Seeing Xia Tali still didn't understand, he leaned in closer, wanting to whisper something, when Rayleigh's voice suddenly came.
"It seems all your people are here. The coating is complete, and you can set sail anytime!"