The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 18 Golden Jellyfish
Catherine sat up in bed and flipped through the nautical logbook from beginning to end, afraid of missing anything.

Sure enough, she saw the words "Batavia" and "Islas de las Especias" on another page.

Both words are written in Spanish and mean "Badavia" or "Spice Islands," and are two place names in Southeast Asia.

She simply couldn't understand the context and didn't pay much attention to it at first glance.

Looking back now, she suddenly realized that both places were colonies of the Dutch East India Company.

The Dutch were Spain's biggest rivals in Southeast Asia.

Could Lin Qian possibly be connected to Lin Feng and the Dutchman?

Thinking of this, Catherine's heart pounded wildly.

She tried her best to remain calm, closed the logbook, put it back in its original place, and carefully adjusted its position to be exactly the same as the original.

Then, she got up from Lin Qian's bed, tidied the bedding, and lay back down in her hammock.

Trying to calm her breathing, she thought to herself that she must not let Lin Qian notice anything amiss.

The reason she dared to peek at Lin Qian's logbook was because she was certain that Lin Qian wanted the ransom and wouldn't harm her.

But if that damned pirate finds out that she has spied on his secrets, it's hard to say what will happen to her.

She had been living in fear and anxiety since yesterday afternoon, and was so exhausted that she drifted off to sleep amidst her wild thoughts.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already night, and the cabin was pitch black.

Only a dim light shone from the desk, where Lin Qian was writing. It seemed that her peeking at the diary had not been discovered.

Lin Qian continued writing, asking, "Awake?"

"Damn it, does this bastard have divine power?" Catherine thought to herself, without replying.

"I noticed your breathing has changed," Lin Qian said calmly, putting down her pen and blowing the ink on the journal to dry.

He got up from his seat, stretched, and then blew out the candle.

In the darkness, Catherine heard the rustling sound of clothes being taken off. She immediately tensed up and gripped the sides of the hammock tightly with both hands.

In my anxiety, I heard Lin Qian lie down on the bed, cover herself with the blanket, and then say coldly, "If you make a noise and wake me up, you'll be spending the night on the mast tomorrow."

Catherine felt a sharp pain in her chest from anger, and secretly resolved to endure it and find a chance to escape.

For the next few days, Lin Qian maintained a stable routine of sailing during the day and returning at night to write in her journal.

Catherine's area of ​​activity was not restricted; she was free to wander around on the deck, but all around her was the vast ocean.

Lin Qian wouldn't let Catherine touch or even look at any of the nautical instruments, from the compass to the sextant.

Even if Catherine went up on the deck, she could only stare at the vast ocean for a few hours. The surrounding scenery remained unchanged, and there wasn't even a bird in the sky.

She went to see it a few times, but then she got bored and stopped going out of the stern tower.

After sailing for several more days, a joyful shout came from the deck: "There's an island!"

Catherine could hear the surprise in his voice. She rushed out of the cabin and saw a green outline appearing on the horizon.

Catherine was secretly pleased, thinking that the chances of escaping on land were much greater than on a ship. She slowly moved to the side of the ship, thinking about finding an opportunity to jump overboard and escape.

While looking into the distance through binoculars, Lin Qian casually remarked, "This is a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. If you want to escape, you're welcome to try."

Catherine glared fiercely at Lin Qian, wishing she could bite off a piece of his rotten flesh.

Several hours later, the ship sailed to a spot a few miles from the island, anchored, lowered the sails, and launched the small boat.

Lin Qian, Lei Sanxiang, and several boatmen boarded the small boat. After thinking for a moment, Lin Qian said to Catherine, "You come too."

Having been at sea for over ten days, the boatmen had plenty of energy to burn, and Lin Qian worried that leaving Catherine alone on the ship might tempt them to do something wrong. Catherine had initially wanted to go down and see land, but Lin Qian's suggestion made her reluctant to come along.

"I want to stay on the ship."

"Hehe, sure, I hope you won't regret it."

"Damn it!" Catherine cursed as she boarded the small boat.

After a while, the boat reached the shore, and everyone jumped off, dragged the boat ashore, and secured it with ropes.

Afterwards, Lei Sanxiang and Lin Qian each led a few people to search for water and food separately.

Lin Qian instructed: "Be careful in your actions. If you encounter any natives, you must exercise restraint and avoid conflict."

Lei Sanxiang has a volatile temper and is not a good candidate to lead the team.

However, since Lin Qian has already disembarked, Bai Langzai, the most loyal crew member, must remain on board to prevent the crew from losing control.

Chen Jiao, besides Lin Qian, had the most extensive sailing experience and was considered the first mate. Naturally, he had to stay on the ship so that in case of an emergency, such as a storm or the sighting of the Spanish, the ship wouldn't be leaderless.

Lei Sanxiang: "Don't worry!" Then he led his men to explore along the beach.

Lin Qian led the group into the forest. This place was about 7.5 degrees north latitude and had a typical tropical rainforest climate. The forest was dense, with thick leaves and aerial roots of banyan trees everywhere. It was necessary for someone to clear a path in front with a machete to make way.

The group headed towards the valley on the island, where rivers usually converge to replenish fresh water.

After crossing a small hill, through the gaps in the leaves, you can see a light blue lake nestled among the mountains.

The boatmen cheered and began to find their way down the mountain.

After walking for a long time, they finally arrived at the lake. The lake water was clear, and a boatman scooped up some water and put it in his mouth.

"It's salt water!" The man spat out the water.

Just then, a strange change occurred in the lake.

In the distance, golden spots appeared faintly on the lake surface. Then, more and more golden spots appeared and spread outwards. Soon, the entire lake surface was covered with a layer of gold.

The lake seemed to come alive.

Catherine screamed and quickly took several steps back.

The other boatmen were also terrified and scrambled backward.

Lin Qian stood still, squinting as she looked at the churning lake water.

The golden hues on the lake were increasing, growing densely and forming a vast expanse that sent chills down one's spine.

Catherine's voice trembled: "You damned pirate, stop looking, let's go!"

Ignoring her, Lin Qian bent down and, under Catherine's horrified gaze, reached her hand into the lake.

Then he slowly stood up, holding a golden, jelly-like object in his hand, and turned to walk over.

"What is that? Don't come any closer! Don't come near me!" Catherine dodged away like a cat with its fur standing on end.

"It's just a jellyfish," Lin Qian said calmly.

"Are you crazy? Jellyfish are poisonous! Let go!" Catherine screamed.

Lin Qian ignored her and handed the jellyfish to the cook: "Is there any way to deal with this?"

The cook was initially terrified, just like Catherine, until he saw the jellyfish in Lin Qian's hand. It was entirely golden and had no tentacles around it, which put his mind at ease.

(End of this chapter)