Chapter 87: Dashan Overturns The Land Temple
Three ships sailed to within less than twenty paces, and someone shouted loudly: “Lower the sails and stop the ship!”
Steward Zhao and the navigator both looked toward the ship master.
The ship master nodded helplessly.
Soon, the three ships sailed forward, surrounding the Fuchuan ship in the center.
All the sea bandits covered their faces with cloth, holding weapons. More than twenty pirates held large matchlock guns, aiming at the ship. Match cords were tied to their right hands, which they occasionally blew on with their mouths to ignite.
In the midst of the crowd of sea bandits, an extremely burly man stood at the bow.
His face was covered, his chest bare and arms exposed, his skin dark, his muscles knotted. He shouldered a nine-ringed ogre-head saber, like a majestic guardian deity.
The ship master’s gaze sharpened. Shocked to the point his jaw nearly dropped, he stammered: “Leader Li?”
The ship master forced a bitter smile: “Leader, you don’t recognize me? I’m Xie Er, the one who manages ships for the Lin Mansion in Huangyan.”
The giant man was like a black tower, unmoving.
Xie Er continued: “Leader Li doesn’t remember me, but you should recognize the Lin Mansion’s flag, right? Look, this is really the mountain overturning the land temple, family not recognizing family. It’s all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding…”
While Xie Er talked on and on, someone on the sea bandits’ ship shouted: “People on the ship, listen up! Throw all your weapons into the sea!”
Xie Er looked toward the speaker and saw the man standing behind Li Kuiqi. He had a slim build, his face covered, revealing a pair of sword eyebrows and phoenix eyes, with an extraordinary presence. He was probably an important figure under Li Kuiqi.
Xie Er hurriedly cupped his hands and smiled apologetically: “This sir, I don’t know how the Lin Mansion has offended you to trouble Leader Li to personally bring men to punish us.”
“Throw all your weapons into the sea! Otherwise, we’ll open fire!”
Xie Er pleaded: “This sir, I’ve said all the good words…”
Midway through his words, that man waved his arm, and the more than twenty matchlock guns around suddenly fired.
Several guards had blood flowers bloom on their bodies and fell into the water. Others, wounded, lay on the deck wailing endlessly.
After the gunpowder smoke dispersed, the pirates did not board the ship. Instead, they stayed in place, letting those gunners reload.
Hearing the gunfire, the ship workers all shrank into the cabins below deck. Steward Zhao pushed them outward forcefully, saying in his mouth: “If the sea bandits board the ship, no one will survive. Go up to the deck and fight. Maybe you can save your life. Hurry to the deck.”
The ship workers poked their heads out from the cabins and saw several bleeding corpses lying on the deck.
Some guards peered over the ship’s rail, trying to jump the rail to engage the enemy.
But the three sea bandits’ ships were five or six paces from the Fuchuan ship, impossible to leap across. After hesitating for a long time, another volley of gunfire rang out. The remaining few guards also fell down.
Xie Er, hiding in the stern cabin, had luckily escaped the calamity. At this point, he hurriedly said: “Leader Li, spare our lives. There’s something to discuss.”
Then that sword-browed, phoenix-eyed sea bandit said: “Everyone come to the deck, empty-handed!”
Xie Er, Steward Zhao, and the remaining ship workers had no choice but to walk out from the cabin and stand on the deck.
Two Cangshan ships rowed forward. The sea bandits boarded and tied the people up with rope.
Ship master Xie Er and Steward Zhao were brought onto that Haicang ship and made to prostrate face down on the deck.
“How many people on the ship in total?” someone asked.
“I…” Xie Er wanted to raise his head to see the speaker clearly, but his head was struck heavily with a knife hilt.
“Lower your head to reply!”
“A total of thirty-four people.”
“How many ship workers, how many guards?”
“Twenty ship workers, twelve guards, plus me and Steward Zhao.”
The questioning paused briefly, and footsteps thudded away into the distance.
After a moment, the footsteps returned: “Including the corpses in the water, only thirty-three.”
“Hm?”
“There was one who fell into the water!” Xie Er hurriedly said. “During the heavy rain at noon, a ship worker fell into the water and died while bailing.”
Those footsteps went to the Fuchuan ship again, and after a moment, shouted.
“It matches.”
“Drive the living ones into the sea. Whether they live or die is up to fate.”
After a moment, sounds of falling into the water rose from beside the Fuchuan ship, followed by the sounds of the crowd paddling.
The questioning voice sounded again: “From which port did you set sail, to which port are you docking?”
“Came from Macau, returning to the manor in Huangyan County.”
“Not going to Yuegang Port, so you’re a smuggling ship?”
That tone suddenly sharpened, scaring Xie Er so cold sweat dripped from his neck. Keeping his head lowered, he smiled apologetically: “Sir, you know about the manor’s affairs. The one with a ship’s manifest was just that one three-masted large ship. After it set out to sea following the new year, there’s been no news. This trip of mine is on the family head’s orders, to investigate along the way.”
“Oh. Did you find out clearly?”
“Alas! It struck a reef and sank in Lingdingyang. What a pity for that cargo.”
“Someone saw it?”
“A few local fishermen saw it. From their description of the structure, it should be our manor’s ship.”
Considering today’s lineup, Xie Er had already guessed that the disappearance of that three-masted Fuchuan ship was inseparable from Li Kuiqi’s gang. It might well have been Li Kuiqi who robbed it.
Thus, Xie Er quickly came up with a plan on the spot. He lied that the ship lost after the new year had struck a reef, avoiding extra complications. That might increase his chances of survival.
That voice pondered for a moment, then sounded again: “How many ships does the manor have in total?”
“Six in total, all double-masted. Only that one was three-masted.”
The Great Ming strictly prohibits privately building three-masted ships, so smuggling ships, to avoid notice, are generally double-masted or three-masted with detachable masts.
“Have the rest of the ships all returned to port?”
“Yes.”
“You have some skill in sailing.”
“All thanks to Leader Li and sir’s support.”
“Heh, you’re quite good at talking.”
That voice pondered for a moment, then asked: “You say you’re the manor ship manager. Then what does Steward Zhao kneeling beside you do?”
“Originally the estate manager, temporarily assigned for this voyage.”
“Estate? He hasn’t been to the Lin Mansion?”
“No.”
“Kill him.”
Hearing this, Xie Er felt his throat tighten and legs go soft, scared so much his balls shrank inside.
Fortunately, the sea bandits took away Steward Zhao.
Xie Er kept his head lowered deathly tight, his whole body shivering like chaff, desperately suppressing the sobs in his throat.
In his ears, only Steward Zhao’s endless pleas for mercy, his cries like those of a New Year pig with bound legs.
In but a moment, a muffled thud like chopping meat sounded in his ears. The cries stopped abruptly, followed by the sound of something falling into the water from the stern.
Someone on the Fuchuan ship said: “Helmsman, we’ve checked the ship all over. No hidden people, no leaks.”
“Mm.”
From the voice, the one called helmsman was the questioner.
That helmsman instructed his subordinates: “Set sail, back to the island.”
Then came the sound of cloth rustling, which must be the sea bandits removing their face coverings.
Even with his head lowered, Xie Er hurriedly squeezed his eyes shut tight. He understood the sea bandits’ rules: seeing faces meant death.
By now, he could see that this group was clearly led by this helmsman, and the man standing at the bow was just a decoy.
“Raise your head.” The helmsman’s voice came.
Xie Er knocked his head on the deck, begging: “Leader Li, please spare this one’s life. When I go back, I’ll keep my mouth sealed.”
“Still calling him Leader Li?” the helmsman teased.
“Whatever Leader Li tells me to call him, that’s what I’ll call him.”
“Smart one, ‘Leader Li’ every other word.” The helmsman praised. “Raise your head.”
“No no, it’s good for this one to reply like this.”
“Zhang Zhongshan, Wu Liu—do you know them?”
Xie Er froze. These two were precisely the ship master and manager on the missing three-masted Fuchuan ship.
“That ship was robbed by me.”
