Chapter 75: Holy Monk 41 (Setting Sail Westward)

Holy Monk 41 (Setting Sail Westward)

In the vast sea, a cargo ship loaded to the brim set sail from the dock of the Great Celebration Dynasty, swaying on the rippling blue waves as it cut through the water.

The sturdy blond-haired captain stood on the deck, looked up at the sky, and his face showed solemnity.

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The sailors' faces were grim, the huge winch creaked, and everyone on board awaited another battle from the ocean.

While sailing the sea brought immense wealth, it also brought them dangers that threatened their lives.

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In the raging storm, the great ship was like a light leaf, drifting in the tumultuous waves, as if it could be slammed into the deep sea at any moment.

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Only when the sky darkened did the downpour finally cease and the wind fall still.

When the moon rose, the sea surface calmed again; the exhausted people on the cargo ship wore smiles of having survived a disaster, and finally had leisure to appreciate the tranquil, gentle ocean under the moonlight.

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"Hey, look, what's that!" a blond‑green‑eyed sailor pointed ahead and exclaimed in disbelief.

Others turned their heads one after another; when they finally saw clearly, everyone doubted their own eyes, thinking they were dreaming.

The moon rising from the sea resembled a huge disk, floating in the center of the water yet never sinking.

At the center of that disk, a silver‑gray thing was moving toward them, and the longer they looked, the more it resembled……

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The captain, who had seen more sharks than women, couldn't help muttering.

"Nonsense, that must be a whale!" said the equally experienced first mate, lacking confidence, praying in his heart that it wasn't a shark.

The captain snorted, "Heh, if it's a whale I could eat it alive! It's clearly a shark, and a ferocious, cunning man‑eating shark at that."

The first mate's expression wavered, "Then…… is someone riding on the shark's back?"

If it truly were a cunning man‑eating shark, he couldn't be sure either.

Sailors with good eyesight strained to look ahead and reported, "It looks like a bald head and…… a child?"

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"Of course…… he's alive! A dead person couldn't possibly be standing, could they?"

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If a man‑eating shark appeared, they would naturally be afraid.

But when a person and a child were standing on the shark's back, the scene looked strange no matter how you viewed it, reducing their fear of the shark somewhat.

Three days ago, Jiang He and his group, at the edge of a forest with no village ahead and no inn behind, saw the boundless sea.

Jiang Sixin, seeing the sea for the first time, wore a face full of wonder.

The parrot flew nearby for most of the day, saw no human habitation, only beasts; those beasts drooled at Jiang He and his son, ready to pounce and swallow them whole at any moment.

It suggested, "If you don't want to return to the grasslands where you are, you can take a boat."

So they spent over half a month building a sturdy boat.

Building a boat by hand was an easy task for a certain omnipotent master, and he even erected a simple rain shelter on the boat.

Jiang He then declared proudly, "My boat is far sturdier than the one the monkey used when apprenticing to learn arts; that monkey could cross the sea, so we definitely can!"

Jiang Sixin, who had never seen the sea and knew it only as water and tasty fish, believed his father's nonsense, happily jumped aboard, and foolishly set out to sea with his dad.

After he had eaten several delicious seafood feasts, he felt even less that the crude boat had any problems.

Until they encountered a storm.

Fortunately they survived the disaster and also encountered a cargo ship that had departed from the Great Celebration.

Now, Jiang Sixin is wrapped in a blanket given by a sailor, drinking hot cocoa brought by a sailor, to which the sailor added sugar extremely precious to him; it is truly fragrant and delicious.

His omnipotent monk father—since he could communicate with animals, talking to people was certainly no problem.

Jiang Sixin saw his father muttering to the captain, and soon saw the blond‑haired captain wearing an expression of astonishment and admiration, as if a devout believer gazing upon the Buddhas in a temple.

Jiang Sixin didn't understand what they were saying, but it wasn't a big problem, because he could ask his parrot teacher to translate.

The parrot indicated that Jiang Sixin should peel peanuts for it; after peeling, remove the red skins, split them in half, and feed them into its noble beak.

"Don't just focus on eating, hurry up and translate!" Jiang Sixin urged.

"Oh oh, that blond captain asked your father whether he was an incarnation of a deity; your father said he was just an ordinary person! The captain then asked why your father could ride on a shark and why the shark didn't eat him; your father replied that he was an emissary of the Buddha in the human world, and animals feel close to him." The parrot said this, then muttered to itself, "Really shameless—isn't this just bragging about being loved by all, making flowers bloom wherever you go?"

However, the sailors on the ship couldn't understand the parrot's words; they too just sighed and watched.

Although they didn't understand what the parrot was saying, seeing its beak never stop—either eating peanuts or talking—they knew this parrot was no ordinary bird; they had never in their lives seen such a noisy parrot!

Then, a man with dark skin and hair bleached platinum by the sea sun, speaking halting Great Celebration language, asked: "Are you…… people of the Great Celebration Dynasty?"

Jiang Sixin's spirits lifted; "Hey, finally someone I can understand!"

It's a sad tale; they had stayed in the Peacock Kingdom for over half a year, and he had finally managed to speak a little of the locals' most common dialect. But…… his father changed the map again.

He also didn't know how long it would take to learn the "Old English" his father called it.

The sailor, using unfamiliar Great Celebration speech, gestured and guessed with Jiang Sixin, and somehow they managed to communicate smoothly.

Jiang Sixin felt moved; finally he didn't need anyone to translate.

The platinum‑haired sailor said: "Great Celebration is a wonderful place—gold everywhere! You Great Celebration folks are truly blessed; your dishes are delicious! Even the dukes of our country can't get such fine food……"

"Look, our ship carries Great Celebration tea and silk; whenever they reach the coast, nobles snap them up……"

Jiang Sixin also gestured excitedly, telling him, "We were originally on a boat, but the storm was too fierce, it overturned our vessel; luckily a shark saved us."

The boy, completely unfamiliar with sea creatures, asked eagerly: "Are sharks the gentlest animals in the sea? Are they very close to humans?"

The platinum‑haired sailor stared, eyes wide: "Sharks gentle? Close to humans?"

Hehe, this must be the coldest joke of the year!

After being rescued onto the ship, the father and son stayed aboard.

Jiang Siyin taught the sailors Da Qing speech, and the sailors learned it earnestly.

These days Da Qing is a mystery; in recent years it has built several ports, and the Da Qing Emperor especially supports maritime trade. They all want to buy precious goods from Da Qing to sell back home, so learning Da Qing speech is inevitable, and they may continue doing business in Da Qing.

With Jiang Siyin's instruction, the platinum‑hair sailor who already spoke Da Qing now speaks it fluently.

Then he listened with an amazed expression as the boy enthusiastically recounted their experiences in the Peacock Kingdom.

The others couldn't understand, so he translated the boy's words for the other sailors, who were indignant: "Our country even has a queen; women's status is much higher. At least a widow can marry as many times as she wants; burial with the dead is too terrible!"

Jiang Siyin also stammered in archaic English, agreeing: "Exactly! It's a vile custom! Truly dreadful!"

The sailors burst into laughter, correcting his faulty grammar, and the mutual learning was very enjoyable!

The Captain was drinking tea and chatting with the Master.

He also listened to the father‑son duo's story, and the Captain, who once aspired to become a knight, was full of admiration.

So when Jiang He offered to pay their passage and said they'd disembark at the next port, the Captain shook his head and refused; he wouldn't dare take money from a saintly Eastern figure.

"Lord Holy Monk, to walk this part of life's road with you is a great honor for us," the Captain said, "Welcome to our country; the king will surely roll out the mat to receive you."

No one doubted that the Master was not a Holy Monk.

Besides his breathtaking entrance, the parrot that could speak more eloquently than humans also proved it.

Of course, the Holy Monk's god‑like medical skill made everyone bow in reverence.

When someone aboard fell ill with a contagious disease, such as a cold wind, they would generally isolate the patient and leave the outcome to fate.

It was unavoidable: the great ship drifted on the boundless ocean, supplies were limited, the ship's doctor's skill was limited; if many fell ill and medicine ran short, the doctor could not cure them, and the whole crew might perish.

Coincidentally, when the Master boarded, a sailor was ill.

Under the astonished gazes of the Westerners, the Master produced a silver needle, pricked the sick sailor into a hedgehog shape, then selected some garlic and spices on board to boil together.

Nobody knew how he did it, but the sailor recovered.

The Master also told them that if one has a fever, alcohol can cool it.

Because they regarded the Master as a Holy Monk, everyone on board treated the father and son with great courtesy.

Jiang Siyin became increasingly at ease.

Now he can, like many sailors, lie on the deck on calm days, spreading his arms in a big shape, idly counting the sea birds.

He still carries a fishing rod, fishing intermittently just like the other sailors.

If they catch fish they add to the meal; if not, it doesn't matter. Drifting on the ocean, fish are the main food, and they are getting tired of it.

Compared with his monk father's eternally white skin, Jiang Siyin's skin has darkened to a light wheat color from frequent sun.

Jiang He said, "Let's go see the wounded first."

The well‑cared‑for crew member couldn't help telling his companion, "That child truly looks like an angel!"

Yet the child still cried, showing no sign of having once bravely cut down three pirates.

The other sailors laughed, "Wofu, this time you can't get injured and drink, otherwise you'll definitely recover slowly."

His father is so handsome; his son can't be too ugly, right?

Jiang Siyin blinked away his tears, choking out, "I'm still learning! I learned everything from my father… Wofu, don't worry, I won't be in trouble."

Jiang Siyin didn't go over; he went to the sailors' lounge instead.

"Teach you Da Qing medicine?" Jiang Siyin's eyes rolled, then a smile blossomed. "Of course! We can learn from each other; I'm also very interested in Western surgery."

Indeed, to the naturally towering Westerners, thirteen‑year‑old Jiang Siyin was still just a child.

After the battle finally ended, the blond‑haired Captain led men to bind the pirates the Master had knocked out, one by one.

Jiang He: "…they're born with white skin! Red skin comes from sunspots." He threatened the youngster, "If you keep sunbathing, you'll become like that too."

He sniffed and asked, "Wofu, does your leg still hurt?"

Jiang He stood on the deck, lecturing a group: "Besides the humidity in the air, we can also observe cloud changes! Oh, and fish behavior—have you seen these fish? Before a storm arrives, they like to rise to the surface to breathe fresh air."

Wofu nodded, "This trip was truly worth it."

Opening the belly and gut—heretical in the East!

When he saw the parrot flap its wing and knock a pirate's sword away, he finally couldn't help exclaiming, "My God! It can't be an ordinary bird; perhaps it's a beloved pet of God! No, its master is the Holy Monk, and the Holy Monk follows Buddha…the ancestor? Is the parrot a Buddha bird? The Buddha revered by Da Qing must be very effective, right? Should I start believing in the Buddha while I'm in Da Qing? Anyway, Da Qing is so far away; God surely can't intervene."

God is domineering, proclaiming Himself as the only deity!

The other sailors also contributed their own stash of jerky and candied fruits.

"Kid, come over, I'll teach you how to read a sea chart," a sailor teased him, "and you won't get sunburned indoors."

Their wounds were tended properly, and they sipped the delicious medicinal stew carefully prepared by the child; the sailors were in high spirits.

It's not that the Captain doesn't care about the injured sailors; encountering pirates on the sea is routine, and this time the losses were minimal. With the highly skilled Holy Monk assisting, only some sailors were hurt, and none lost limbs, so the injuries were minor.

Jiang He, holding a staff, knocked a pirate away with one strike; seeing this scene, his face grew solemn.

The parrot, slapping the enraged, power‑surging child, said, "Hey, chopping off hands and feet is fine, but don't behead! And don't stab the heart… be careful!"

Jiang He raised an eyebrow, still merely knocking them out, while still watching his son's condition.

Jiang Siyin felt that the sailors' enthusiastic embraces were becoming too much for him to respect their customs.

The Captain's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the wound's blood stop quickly.

Teaching the child too well isn't a good thing!

"You squat on the deck every day; even the whitest skin will wear out," Jiang He gave his son a head‑butt. "Besides, who says it's useless? At least your face hasn't peeled from the sun; have you seen the sailors' skin tones?"

He shouted at the parrot, "Watch him!"

Jiang Siyin blinked and said uncertainly, "Aren't they born with red skin?"

The Captain warmly called out, "Kid, don't rush; have some tea with us, there's sweet pastry."

He grabbed a greatsword from the ground and charged forward.

Jiang He also doesn't compete with the ship doctor for a living; after finishing these, he goes with the captain to have tea.

Hearing the parrot's translation, Jiang Si Yin jumps up at once, merrily runs with the sailors into the captain's cabin. He likes looking at charts.

"My father can read the weather too!" Saying that, Jiang Si Yin feels he has full authority, "He knows whether the next day will be windy or rainy."

In the days that follow, Jiang Si Yin stays in the cabin caring for the wounded.

The artificial perfume mixed with half a month's worth of body odor; he almost holds his breath.

His father says people of this country dislike bathing; to mask the strong odor, they douse themselves with perfume.

The crowd listens like the most devout believers, entranced.

When he finishes, the Gold-haired Captain can't help but give the Master a warm hug, "Oh, my dearest Holy Monk! You are truly a scholar of vast knowledge, and most importantly, so generous to share such important knowledge with us!"

Jiang Si Yin is in the sailors' lounge, crying at Woff while bandaging his wounds; the dripping tears do not slow his movements at all.

Jiang Si Yin also struggles to push away the sailor who wants to hug him.

Jiang Si Yin is a clever child and quickly learns to read charts.

It's hard to believe that such a tiny child can wield such a huge sword and consecutively cut down two pirates.

He looks at his wheat‑colored skin, muttering that his father's sunscreen potion is ineffective.

Seeing the kid bravely slay pirates leaves him stunned.

The ship doctor is the most obsequious.

The platinum‑haired sailor lying in the pool of blood merely fainted, not dead.

This reckless kid is a headache; his anger has clouded his mind, focusing only on attack and completely forgetting defense. If he doesn't keep his eyes on it, the little brat's left hand will be gone; if he becomes a one‑armed hero, his and his host's mission will surely be deemed unqualified.

"This must be marvelous Eastern medicine!" the captain exclaims, hurriedly ordering the wounded back to the sailors' cabin.

After that, he invites, "Holy Monk, you've been tired all day; why not come to the captain's cabin for tea?"

As for the dead, ignore them and toss them into the water to feed the fish. The gentle animal in the child's mouth—a shark—is happily dining in the sea, swallowing skin and bones without waste.

He knows this is a foreign custom—greeting with a hug—but he can't stand the ship's lack of water; when these half‑month‑unbathed sailors clutch him, the oncoming "fragrance" overwhelms him!

Since the bleeding has stopped, bandaging is a simple matter.

But as Da Qing says, "Heaven is high and the emperor far away"; surely the gods don't meddle with foreign deities.

Jiang Si Yin and other ambitious sailors squat nearby, listening to the old sailor and his father discuss weather changes.

The ship's doctor, face full of admiration, says, "Kid, your bandaging skill is excellent; do you plan to become a doctor? Kid, you have great talent; let me tell you, being a doctor is a noble profession…"

Jiang He blocks the captain, "He won't leave Woff's side today; let him stay there."

Jiang Si Yin clumsily walks out, pulls medicine from his father's luggage, and changes the bandages for the injured sailors.

Later, when those sailors invite him to fish on the deck, he firmly declines.

Everyone has a love of beauty; although he doesn't value appearance like women, having a fair‑skinned, handsome monk father constantly in view makes him care about it occasionally.

He takes his homemade medicine pills, stuffs them into the mouths of the seriously wounded sailors, then counts the drops at their bleeding sites.

Jiang He's personally made medicine is undeniably effective; even the captain can't help but buy medicine from him.

He has read the medical book his monk father gave, which describes using goat‑intestine thread to stitch wounds for faster healing, but it never mentions opening the belly or similar.

The captain is about to invite the equally meritorious boy for tea when Jiang He interrupts.

Jiang Si Yin covers his face in terror.

The diligent sailors begin cleaning the ship's bloodstains.

When he regains consciousness, he merely lacks the strength to stand, cleverly drags a pirate's corpse in front of him, pretends to be the dead body, and opens one eye to observe the ship's condition.

The old sailor on board says with admiration, "Kid, learn weather reading from me! You will surely become a great sailor someday!"

The boy's reproachful gaze fixes on him, prompting Woff to repeatedly vow never to drink alcohol during recovery.

The old sailor is first startled, then grabs Jiang Si Yin, eagerly snatches the Master from the captain, and excitedly discusses maritime weather changes with him.

So when a pirate attack occurs and he sees the platinum‑haired sailor who learned Da Qing's words lying in a pool of blood, Jiang Si Yin's mind ignites like fireworks, exploding instantly.

However, aside from that, the sailors are good people and take great care of the youngest among them.

As a large sword swings down, the parrot flaps a wing to deflect the incoming blade.

The parrot mutters quietly, having left the grasslands, not wanting to meet assassins, relying on his father's rescue and the parrot's summoned hacks, Jiang Si Yin trains diligently; a year ago he would have heard nothing.

Yes, the fragrance!

"Ahhh—"

Thinking of this, the sailors become even gentler toward the busy boy caring for them, handing over all their hidden stash to him.

He is extremely curious about the Master's acupoint technique; this Holy Monk from the East, with features like a painting and like a celestial being, makes him hesitant to act rashly before him, so Jiang Si Yin, who learned medicine from him, becomes his sycophantic subject.

After dealing with the pirates, the captain comes and says, "Holy Monk, we will send these living pirates back to our country for legal judgment! Oh, and many of them have bounties; the reward will go to you."

Woff's gaze softens, and with his uninjured left hand he touches the kid's half‑long hair, "It doesn't hurt at all; your father's medicine is powerful, my bleeding stopped quickly, and I'll be fine soon."

Jiang He firmly pushes away the over‑enthusiastic captain. The captain doesn't mind, grabs his hand, and says, "When I get off the ship, I can rest for half a month, Holy Monk; then I must extend my hospitality!"

The Gold-haired Captain would love to slash all the pirates to death; he battles them fiercely and even finds time to shout to the Master, "Holy Monk, you need not be soft‑hearted; they all deserve the gallows!"

Hearing that, the captain does nothing further.

Jiang He is almost laughing from his anger.

The platinum‑haired sailor gets a headache from the child's crying, and offers his stash of candy: "Kid, don't cry; here's some for you."

In the end he keeps only a few bottles; the captain bought most of the medicine.

Capturing so many pirates, perhaps they'll receive an audience with the king!

The parrot nods hurriedly; in fact, it and its host had already spotted the pirates and intended to eliminate them before Jiang Si Yin awoke, but didn't expect him to be so alert.

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