Chapter 18: The Golden Jellyfish

Catherine sat up in bed and went through the ship's log from the beginning, afraid of missing anything.

Sure enough, she spotted the words "Batavia" and "Islas de las Especias" on one of the pages.

Both words were written in Spanish, meaning "Batavia" and "the Spice Islands," two place names in Southeast Asia.

But she couldn't understand the surrounding text, so she hadn't paid them any mind at first.

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

And the Dutch were the Spanish's biggest rivals in Southeast Asia.

Could Lin Qian possibly have ties to both Lin Feng and the Dutch?

At this thought, Catherine's heart pounded wildly.

She struggled to compose herself, closed the ship's log, put it back in its original spot, and carefully adjusted its position until it was exactly as it had been.

Then she rose from Lin Qian's bed, smoothed out the bedding, and lay back down in her own hammock.

She did her best to steady her breathing, thinking that she absolutely must not let Lin Qian catch on.

The reason she dared to sneak a look at Lin Qian's ship's log with such confidence was that she was certain Lin Qian wanted the ransom and wouldn't harm her.

But if this damned pirate ever learned that she had pried into his secrets, it was hard to say what would become of her.

From yesterday afternoon until now, she had been on edge with fear, her body exhausted to the limit, and before she knew it, amid her racing thoughts, she drifted off into a dazed sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already night, and the cabin was pitch black.

Only a faint light glowed at the desk, where Lin Qian was bent over writing. It seemed her secret reading of the log had not been discovered.

Lin Qian kept writing without pause and said, "Awake?"

Damn it, did this bastard have divine powers? Catherine cursed inwardly and did not answer.

"I heard your breathing change." Lin Qian said flatly, setting down his brush and blowing the ink on the log dry.

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

In the darkness, Catherine heard the rustling sound of clothes being removed. She tensed up at once, gripping both sides of her hammock tightly.

In her anxiety, she only heard Lin Qian lie down on the bed, pull up the blanket, and then say coldly: "If you make a sound and wake me up, you'll spend tomorrow night on the mast."

Catherine felt so angry her chest ached, and she secretly resolved that she had to endure, and that she had to find a chance to escape.

Over the following days, Lin Qian maintained a steady routine of sailing by day and returning to write in his log by night.

Catherine's range of movement was not restricted—she could freely wander the deck—but all around was nothing but endless ocean.

All the navigational instruments, from the compass to the sextant, Lin Qian would not let Catherine touch, nor even look at.

Even when Catherine went up on deck, she could only stare at the ocean for hours, with no change in the scenery around her and not even a single bird in the sky.

After going up to look a few times, she grew bored and stopped leaving the sterncastle.

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

Catherine could hear the joy in that voice and rushed out of the cabin, only to see a green outline emerging on the horizon.

Catherine was secretly pleased—escaping on land was always easier than on a ship—and she slowly edged toward the ship's rail, thinking of finding a chance to jump overboard and flee.

Lin Qian, peering into the distance through his telescope, said casually: "This is a deserted island in the Pacific. If you want to run, feel free to try."

Catherine glared viciously at Lin Qian, wishing she could leap up and bite a chunk out of his stinking flesh.

After several hours, the ship reached a stretch of sea a few li from the small island, dropped anchor, lowered the sails, and put out a small boat.

Lin Qian, Lei Sanxiang, and a few crewmen boarded the small boat. Lin Qian thought for a moment, then said to Catherine: "You come too."

They had been at sea for over ten days, and the crewmen's abundant energy had nowhere to be spent. Lin Qian worried that leaving Catherine alone on the ship would tempt them into making a mistake.

Catherine had wanted to go ashore to see the land as well, but Lin Qian's saying it made her not want to go along after all.

"I'm staying on the ship."

"Heh heh, fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Damn it!" Catherine cursed and boarded the small boat.

After a while, the small boat reached shore. Everyone jumped off, dragged the boat up onto the beach, and secured it with ropes.

Then Lei Sanxiang and Lin Qian each took several men and split up to search for water and provisions.

Lin Qian instructed: "Be careful. If you encounter natives, restrain yourselves and don't start any conflict."

Lei Sanxiang had a violent temper and was not really a good choice to lead a team.

But since Lin Qian had come ashore, the most loyal Bailangzai had to stay on the ship to keep the crew from getting out of hand.

And Chen Jiao, who had the most sailing experience besides Lin Qian and served in the role of first mate, naturally also had to stay on the ship, so that in the event of an emergency—say a storm or a sighting of Spaniards—the ship wouldn't be left leaderless.

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

Lin Qian, meanwhile, led his men into the forest. The area was at approximately 7.5 degrees north latitude, with a typical tropical rainforest climate—dense vegetation, broad leaves everywhere, and the aerial roots of banyan trees. A man with a machete had to clear the way ahead before they could walk.

The group headed toward the valley in the middle of the island, where rivers typically converged and fresh water could be replenished.

After crossing a small hill, through gaps in the leaves, they could see a pale blue lake surrounded by mountains.

The crewmen cheered and found a path down the hill.

After walking a long while more, they finally reached the lakeshore. The water was clear, and one crewman scooped some up and brought it to his mouth.

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

Just then, a sudden change occurred in the lake.

In the distance, faint golden spots appeared on the lake's surface, then more and more of them spread outward, and before long, the entire lake was covered in a layer of gold.

The lake seemed to have come alive.

Catherine let out a shriek and hastily retreated several steps.

The other crewmen were also terrified, scrambling backward in a panic.

Only Lin Qian stood still in place, squinting as he gazed at the churning water.

The gold on the lake's surface grew denser and denser, packed so thickly they merged into one expanse—a sight that made one's scalp crawl.

Catherine's voice trembled: "You damned pirate, stop staring—let's get out of here."

Lin Qian paid her no mind. He bent down and, under Catherine's horrified gaze, reached his hand into the lake.

Then he slowly straightened up. In his palm rested a golden, jelly-like object, and he turned and walked back toward them.

"What is that? Don't come closer—stay away from me!" Catherine recoiled like a startled kitten.

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

"Are you insane? Jellyfish are poisonous! Drop it now!" Catherine shrieked.

Lin Qian ignored her and held the jellyfish out to the cook: "Can you do anything with this?"

The cook had been just as terrified as Catherine at first—until he got a good look at the jellyfish in Lin Qian's hand. It was golden all over, with no tentacles around its body, and only then did he relax.

Yahei

Pink Round

Pen