Chapter 19: Eavesdropping

This kind of jellyfish had another name in the Great Ming.

"These are... jellyfish?" the cook asked, puzzled. "They're not hard to process—just need repeated soaking in salt and alum—but... I've never heard of golden jellyfish, and these don't sting."

Lin Qian handed the golden jellyfish to the cook: "These jellyfish have lived in the lake for so long that their venom has degenerated."

The cook clicked his tongue in wonder: "Today I've learned something new. The world is truly full of marvels."

Lin Qian instructed: "Scoop some up and bring them back to the ship. Be careful, and don't overfish."

The cook acknowledged and led the sailors carefully into the lake to gather jellyfish.

The jellyfish were so dense that there was barely any need to hunt them—just lower the nets and scoop. In no time at all, they had filled several net bags.

Catherine had been keeping her distance the whole time. Only after the sailors had all gone into the lake did she approach and ask cautiously, "Your hands... are they all right?"

"These golden jellyfish aren't poisonous—feel for yourself." Lin Qian said, holding the jellyfish out to her.

Catherine let out another startled cry and ran far away. Only when she heard Lin Qian laughing did she realize his hands were empty, and she stamped her foot in annoyance.

When he first set foot on the island, Lin Qian had felt a sense of familiarity.

It wasn't until he saw this jellyfish lake that he realized he had been here before. In later ages, this place was called Palau, famous for its non-stinging golden jellyfish—a diving paradise.

The island's resources were meager, with no freshwater rivers or lakes. Fortunately, it had a tropical rainforest climate with abundant rainfall—collecting rainwater alone would be enough to replenish their supplies.

An hour later, Lin Qian called the sailors to stop and headed toward the beach.

Now that he knew the island's resource situation, there was no need to waste effort searching for fresh water.

The group descended the hill and soon returned to the beach.

Lei Sanxiang's team was already waiting by the small boat. They were laden with coconuts of all sizes tied together with rope, hanging from their hands and bodies—several hundred of them by the look of it.

"There's a coconut grove to the east—we can go pick more tomorrow." Lei Sanxiang said excitedly.

Lin Qian ordered some of the men to transport the jellyfish, coconuts, and other supplies back to the ship.

The rest gathered leaves, rolled them into funnel shapes, and placed containers underneath to catch rainwater.

By the time the small boat rowed back, more than a dozen funnels of various sizes were already set up on the beach, with some leftover leaves still unused.

Lin Qian ordered the remaining leaves to be brought back to the ship.

By the time they boarded, it was evening. The sun hung low over the sea, casting a breathtaking glow of sunset clouds across the island.

After dinner, Lin Qian returned to his cabin to write in the ship's log. When he finished, he used a bamboo pen to sketch the jellyfish lake.

Catherine watched Lin Qian draw from the side, feeling that under the candlelight, his face seemed ever more mysterious.

After who knows how long, Lin Qian finished his drawing, closed the log, and blew out the candle.

Only then did Catherine snap back to reality. She fled back to her hammock, her face burning slightly and her heart pounding without cease.

She tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

After who knows how long, she was startled awake by Lin Qian's voice.

"Go wash yourself." Lin Qian said to her in a commanding tone.

Through the deck came the dense patter of rain, and the sailors were whooping and hollering freely in the downpour, utterly delighted.

Catherine secretly sniffed herself, felt her face flush, murmured an "oh," and rolled out of bed.

The moment she pushed open the door, she suddenly widened her eyes as if startled, let out a shriek, and slammed the door shut.

"You bastard... they're all out there..." Catherine's face was bright red.

"Just close your eyes." Lin Qian said, pulling off his own shirt. Having gone days without a bath, his body was already sticky and rank.

Catherine hastily turned around: "In your dreams! I'm not bathing with all of you..."

"I had someone hang a curtain on the stern deck—go wash there." Lin Qian said, grabbing his towel and heading out the door to bathe.

Catherine spent a long time steeling herself. Finally, she opened the door with her eyes squeezed shut, one hand clutching the front of her black silk robe, the other groping her way up the stairs toward the stern deck.

The sailors' teasing laughter around her made her face grow ever redder.

She finally made it to the stern deck. Catherine cracked her eyes open a sliver—indeed, no other sailors were here. A rope was strung between the mizzenmast and the gunwale, with a piece of canvas draped over it, and a towel laid on top of the canvas.

Beside the mizzenmast sat a jar. Catherine opened it and saw it held soapnut water.

Catherine walked behind the sail, removed her black silk robe, and hung it on the rope. Then she scooped out the soapnut water, worked up a lather between her palms, and ran her hands over her wheat-colored skin.

Dense raindrops hammered against the deck and the sea with a formidable roar.

Suddenly, a sailor sang out loudly in the rain: "At dawn we put to sea, casting nets in haste—"

The other sailors laughed and joined in: "... at dusk we return to port, moonlight on the river's face! Wind blows the bow, waves beat the planks, we sing a fisherman's song to startle the mandarin ducks—"

The voices were rough and off-key. When they finished, the sailors burst into loud laughter.

Catherine washed very carefully. Only after all the sailors had finished and returned below deck did she walk back to the stern cabin in her soaking wet robe.

Just as she was about to push the door open, she heard voices coming from inside.

Catherine immediately crouched low and hid by the door, eavesdropping.

"Brother Lin, when do we set sail?"

"In a few days. Before we depart this time, we must stock up on water and provisions—we'll inevitably need to supply Lin Feng's brothers."

"That bastard Lin Feng claims he has ten thousand men and several hundred ships—who knows if it's true. If it is, we can't possibly supply them all."

"Lin Feng is a senior of the old generation. Watch your tongue, Third Brother."

"Big Brother, if you ask me, Lin Feng can't be relied on at all. To pull this off, we have to depend on our own brothers."

"Never mind the native auxiliaries—Manila alone has several hundred Spanish guards. With just our one ship, charging in blindly would be suicide, wouldn't it?"

"Don't forget, we have Catherine in our hands. Following Brother Lin's plan, we'll pretend to demand a ransom, and that will draw most of the Spaniards away."

"Even if the Spaniards take the bait, we still lack cannons and can hardly storm the city. We'll still need to borrow Lin Feng's and the Dutchmen's strength. Speaking of the Dutch—has there been any word from Batavia?"

The more Catherine heard, the more alarmed she grew. Her whole body trembled slightly, and she clamped her hand tightly over her mouth, not daring to make a sound.

She understood every word the men inside discussed—"Lin Feng," "Manila," "Catherine," "Batavia," "the Dutch."

Stringing all these elements together, she had already fully guessed what Lin Qian intended to do.

He never expected this to be true—he actually had such grand ambition, wanting to swallow up Manila in one stroke!

If anything happened to Manila, it wouldn't just affect the honor of her family alone—the entire national strength of Spain would suffer a heavy blow.

She absolutely could not let Lin Qian carry out his scheme, even if it meant mutual destruction, she would not hesitate!

Just as she was secretly making up her mind, the conversation in the stern cabin ceased, and the cabin door was pushed open.

Catherine was startled and rose to her feet.

Chen Jiao, Lei Sanxiang, Scholar Zhou, and Bailangzai walked out, all of them sizing her up from head to toe with their gazes, making her extremely uncomfortable.

Lei Sanxiang: "Brother Lin, this big-assed foreign woman was eavesdropping on us."

Lin Qian's voice came from the stern cabin: "She can't understand Chinese, let her be."

Seeing Lin Qian's sworn brothers withdraw, Catherine couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yahei

Fenyuan

Pen