Chapter 21: Step Two

Although Catherine was not allowed to touch the compass or any other navigational instruments, she could still tell by the sun that the ship was sailing steadily westward.

Combined with the ransom letter Lin Qian had written, and the fishing boats and islands gradually appearing around them,

Catherine had already guessed that the Fujian junk had sailed to somewhere near the Luzon archipelago.

But the Luzon archipelago included Samar, Cebu, Palawan, Mindanao, and hundreds of other islands large and small — she could not tell which specific island the ship was approaching.

Spanish colonial power was basically limited to the main island of Luzon itself and the northern parts of Samar and Cebu.

Everywhere else was either uninhabited islands or territory held by natives and pirates — if she rashly fled to shore, her fate might be far worse than staying on the ship.

During this period, she kept close watch on the ship's position, racking her brains for a way to escape.

At the same time, she stayed in the sterncastle almost all day and rarely came out, creating the illusion for the pirates that she had accepted her fate.

This did have some effect — lately the pirates had loosened their watch over her considerably, and she was basically free to come and go anywhere on the ship without restriction.

Though she was loath to admit it, these pirates were in fact far more civilized than she had imagined. Not only had she not been bullied or abused aboard, she could even say she had been treated quite well.

The pirate crew treated her even more kindly than the senior craftsmen at the Cavite shipyard.

Even so, Catherine still remembered clearly that she had been abducted onto this ship, remembered the pirates' plot to overthrow the Manila government, and was constantly seeking a way to escape.

Lately, the Fujian junk had been anchored beside some very large island, but the pirates never went ashore — they seemed to be waiting for something, or perhaps wary of the island itself.

Every day fishing boats came alongside to trade supplies with the pirates.

The goods were mostly fish, fresh water, tools, canvas, and the like.

That day a fishing boat approached at noon. Lin Qian was on the stern deck with a sextant, measuring the sun's altitude angle.

Catherine seized her chance, rushed to the ship's rail, and called out to the fishermen on the boat: "What is the name of this island?"

Though the men on the fishing boat were yellow-skinned, black-haired natives, the Spanish had maintained their colony in Manila for decades now, and most of the surrounding natives had picked up a few simple words of Spanish.

Catherine prayed inwardly that these fishermen could understand her language.

Perhaps the Holy Mother had answered her prayers — one young fisherman replied: "Samar."

So her guess had been right. Her heart pounded — there was a Spanish outpost on Samar. If she could only make it to shore...

"What did you just say to him?" Lin Qian's voice came from behind her.

Catherine spun around like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, staring at him as if she'd seen a ghost.

After more than a month together, she had come to fear Lin Qian deep in her heart.

This man possessed a nearly pathological calm, self-discipline, and need for control — plus an insight like mind-reading.

Facing Lin Qian, she felt as if her clothes had been stripped away and every thought she had was laid bare.

If Lin Qian found out what she had just asked, her intention to escape would certainly be discovered. Now she could only tell a lie and try to brush him off.

"I... I asked him if he had any... red-sun cloth pads..." Catherine lowered her head, blushing as she spoke.

"Red sun" was the euphemism European nobles used for a woman's monthly cycle.

Though using her period was a bit shameful, Catherine understood Lin Qian — this was the only thing that would stop him from pressing further.

This pirate chief had a unique moral code unlike ordinary people — killing brought him no guilt, but he would never do anything that insulted a woman.

Had she given any other answer, no matter what Catherine said, Lin Qian would have gone to confirm it with the fisherman himself. Only this matter he would not.

Sure enough, Lin Qian was silent for a moment, said nothing more, and turned back to the stern deck.

Catherine breathed a sigh of relief.

That night, when she returned to her hammock to sleep, she felt something soft in the bed. She picked it up — it was a bundle of cotton cloth cut into long strips.

Catherine immediately understood what the cloth strips were for. Her face burned as she pressed them to her chest, glanced at Lin Qian with complicated feelings, and whispered: "Thank you."

Lin Qian did not reply, his expression focused on the sea chart he was studying — she could not tell whether he had heard.

Catherine carried the cotton strips to the stern deck, pulled down her trousers, and wrapped them on. Though she had not actually reached her "red sun," if she did not use them, someone would surely notice something was off.

As she wrapped the cloth, her heart inexplicably pounded.

If only he weren't a pirate. Ideally he'd be a Madrid nobleman — the rank needn't be high, an earl would do...

Catherine gave herself a mental start, shook her head violently, and silently scolded herself for thinking such nonsense.

After fastening the cloth, she did not hurry back inside but leaned against the stern railing, letting the sea breeze cool her face.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her — she thought of a way to escape...

The next afternoon, a torrential rain poured down.

Lin Qian took off his shirt, grabbed a towel and soap pod, and was about to leave the sterncastle.

Catherine stopped him, asking if he could rig a curtain for her on the stern deck to bathe, as he had last time.

Lin Qian looked at her suspiciously: "In your current condition, can you stand getting rained on?"

Catherine was briefly startled, then remembered she was supposed to be on her period. She explained: "I'm not that delicate. Besides, those... clothes need washing too."

Hearing this, Lin Qian stopped trying to dissuade her and had someone go set things up on the stern deck.

Just as he was about to push open the door, Catherine called out to him again: "Hey! Mister Pirate, I don't think you've ever told me your name."

"Is that so? My name is Lin Qian." With that, Lin Qian pushed through the door into the rain.

Fresh water at sea was extremely precious — even using it to brush one's teeth was wasteful, let alone bathing.

The crew spent every day on deck in the wind and sun; seawater and sweat soaked their clothes and dried, over and over, until the smell was unbearable.

So whenever it rained heavily, the crew would all go up on deck to bathe, enjoying nature's gift.

Today the rain came down in sheets, and the roar of rain striking the sea filled their ears — even two people face to face had to shout to hear each other.

"Look, that foreign girl is coming out!" someone shouted, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

"Hey! Look at this! Don't be afraid to open your eyes now..."

"Hahahaha..."

Catherine could guess what the crewmen were saying. She fled to the stern deck and hid behind the canvas curtain.

Then, from her clothes, she pulled out a larger piece of canvas — her hammock.

Catherine untied the cotton cloth strip from between her legs, then bound the canvas, shirt, breeches, and black silk robe together into a rope five or six meters long.

She then tied one end of the rope to the stern railing and tossed it down, where it hung just long enough to reach the sea surface.

Catherine poked her head out from behind the canvas curtain and took one last look at Lin Qian.

She saw him washing his hair with soapnut water, the muscles of his upper body clearly defined, and below...

Catherine's face instantly flushed red, burning hot, and she hastily pulled her head back, silently reciting: "Goodbye, you dead pirate."

She then nimbly vaulted over the stern rail, gripping the rope tightly with both hands and both legs, inching her way down toward the sea.

The closer she drew to the water, the more her heart raced with wild joy.

Just then, with a sharp ripping sound, the shirt suddenly tore apart, and clutching the black silk robe, she plunged into the sea with a splash.

Fortunately, the roar of the storm covered the sound of her fall.

Catherine offered endless thanks to Heaven in her heart as she swam desperately toward the shore.

The only thing on her mind now was this—get back to Manila as quickly as possible and tell her father about the pirates' plans.

By the time she swam to the shore, she was utterly exhausted, and could only lie on the sand, letting the seawater and rain wash over her body.

Out on the distant sea, the Fujian junk showed no sign of movement—it seemed her escape had not yet been discovered.

The beach was not safe; she had to get up at once and head north to find the Spanish fortress.

Catherine gritted her teeth, using her sore, trembling arms to push herself up, put on the black silk robe, and walked toward the wooded hills to the north.

By the time she climbed to the mountaintop, the black silk robe had been torn to tatters by the brambles.

Fortunately, the suffering was all worth it—to the north along the coast, she could now clearly see the lights of the fortress.

Catherine's legs trembling, she leaned against a tree to rest, and looked back toward the harbor she had come from.

In that instant she widened her eyes, beholding a sight she would never forget.

In the pitch-black harbor, over a hundred ship lanterns blazed to life, covering the entire surface of the bay.

By the light of the lanterns and fires, the outlines of countless enormous warships emerged from the darkness.

At the same time, out in the bay, Lin Qian leaned against the stern rail of the Fujian junk, his gaze passing over the countless torches disguised as ship lanterns, looking far off toward the dark mountain ridges of Samar Island.

In Lin Qian's hand was a rope tied from cloth strips—the very one Catherine had used to escape.

"This foolish woman finally figured out a way to escape..." Lin Qian thought to himself. "Good thing I sold that opening for so long."

With this, the second step of the plan was complete.

Pink Round

Pen