After descending the stone steps, which were half-clinging to the cliff and half-facing the Void, Lex was fine, but Uchidi's expression wasn't good.
As a Sea Island resident and a guide, he had certainly frequented Devil's Throat many times.
Even so, he was still just an ordinary person and maintained reverence for certain things.
For example, the Sea.
Even though there were iron chains serving as guardrails on the other side of the stone steps, it was right by the Sea, and the waves were strong, so it was not impossible to fall down if one was not careful.
If one were to fall headfirst from above into the Sea, which was full of hidden reefs, an ordinary person's chances of survival would be extremely slim.
"It seems being a guide isn't an easy job either." Lex glanced at the young man, planning to give him a tip later.
After a short rest, Uchidi looked at Lex with some surprise.
He had brought many guests to visit Devil's Throat and had seen some who were full of confidence and fearless when they arrived.
But after walking down those cliff-side stone steps, their faces would turn pale and their legs would go weak.
However, this guest, with his darker complexion and who didn't look much older than himself, was remarkably calm.
Even his breathing showed no change, as if the steps he had just descended were merely those in his own home.
After resting, Uchidi led the way, guiding Lex across a rocky beach to the entrance of Devil's Throat.
The entrance to this cave was situated beneath two sharp, uneven stone projections above, which resembled a devil's fangs, hence the name 'Devil's Throat'.
Although he had heard Green describe it on the way, Lex became even more certain after seeing it for himself: ordinary sailing ships simply couldn't enter this cave.
The cave's width was about seven or eight meters, but its height was only three or four meters; such a low height couldn't accommodate the ship's mast.
Walking into the cave, there was a ground paved with gravel on both sides, while the middle was filled with seawater constantly surging in from outside.
Uchidi held a hurricane lamp, occasionally reminding Lex to watch his step.
Although there were rocky beaches on both sides of this cave for walking, there was almost no buffer between the rocky beach and the seawater.
If one accidentally stepped into the water, one would fall straight down.
If one couldn't swim, they might very well drown in here; this cave saw one or two such tragedies every year.
After walking a while, Lex found that the space had indeed narrowed, and there were more scattered reefs in the middle.
After stepping over these reefs and walking another seven or eight meters, the cave began to widen again.
Finally, Lex saw a small lake, nestled deep within the cave.
On this small lake, located within the mountain, there was indeed a black sailing ship.
This ship was a size smaller than the Wavebreaker; its hull, sails, and even the figurehead were all black.
Near the black star, a barrier had been erected.
Behind the barrier, there were personnel in Loen Kingdom Navy officer uniforms, as well as two Kingdom Navy guards.
Those tourists who had arrived earlier than Lex could only stand behind the barrier, admiring the sailing ship from a distance and discussing how this 'black star' had entered the cave.
"Can we go on board to visit?" Lex asked softly.
Uchidi shook his head and said, "No, this ship is currently under the protection of the Kingdom Navy.
We can only visit by the lake; we cannot go on board."
"Is that so? That's really a pity." Lex thought to himself, with the help of the staff of resentment, he was confident he could avoid the eyes and ears of the Navy.
Alternatively, he could directly show his identity, but the captain hadn't given him any identification when he disembarked.
In any case, Lex had some ways to get on board for a visit, but it depended on whether it was necessary.
As he got closer, he noticed that the black star had a bride figurehead, making it truly resemble a wedding ship.
Moreover, the ship was adorned with numerous ornate wood carvings.
However, such decorations had no practical use at Sea; they were, in fact, useless except for making the ship more conspicuous.
Just as Lex turned to the other side of the sailing ship, he suddenly saw a figure appear on the ship's deck.
It was a man, dressed in a pure black formal suit, even wearing a semi-tall top hat.
He was holding an open notebook, making notes on it from time to time.
"Why can he go up?" Lex pointed towards the deck of the black star.
Other tourists also asked their guides the same question, subtly expressing their dissatisfaction.
"That's Mr. Trollope."
Uchidi shrugged his shoulders: "He's special, one of the few people allowed by the Navy to board the ship for work."
"Work?" Lex looked at the guide curiously.
"That's right, work," Uchidi whispered, "Mr. Trollope is said to be a best-selling novelist, specializing in incredible stories."
"He came to Skye Island five years ago; yes, he came for the Shining Black Star.
In these five years, he has boarded the ship many times.
I dare say no one on this island knows the black star better than he does."
A best-selling author? I know one too, and he's a Beyonder.
Lex looked at the man on the deck, wondering if this author was also a Beyonder.
Uchidi then said mysteriously, "Do you remember Harry? The little boy who scared you yesterday."
No, he couldn't scare me.
Lex nodded: "What about him?"
"Mr. Trollope is Harry's father.
After he came to our island, he met Dalena.
Dalena was a widow, and somehow, they got together and had Harry."
"But just when Harry was almost one year old, the little boy suddenly disappeared.
He was missing for two years, and it wasn't until last year, near the onset of winter, that he was found."
"Guess where Harry was found?"
Lex joked, "It couldn't have been on the black star, could it?"
Uchidi's eyes suddenly became strange.
Lex was startled: "What, was he really found on this ship? How is that possible? Didn't you say his father often boarded the ship for research, and there are Navy guards here every day?"
"If there was a baby on board, it would be impossible for him to go undiscovered for two years, right?"
Uchidi looked at the black ship before him with a fearful gaze: "That's the problem.
Mr. Trollope spends at least three days a week on the ship, and there are Navy guards on duty here every day."
"If there was a child on the ship, they couldn't have discovered him.
But Harry was indeed missing for two years; his mother, Dalena, went crazy looking for him."
"Therefore, when people found Harry on the ship, Dalena believed that Trollope had hidden the child, which led to the breakdown of their relationship.
As for Harry, none of us know how he spent those two years, or how he survived on the ship."
"In short, although the child was taken back by Dalena, as you've seen, his behavior has become strange, no longer like a human!"