No one answered.

Chapter 242: Go to Wajima again

The sea was full of waves, the wind was howling, the ship was struggling to move forward on the sea, and the iron anchor was thrown down to increase the weight of the ship. One after another, the waves are like a pair of invisible hands, holding the bottom of the ship to pass on the sea.

The waves hit the boat, the board was filled with water, the man was lying on the board with the iron cable, the cotton clothes on his body were wet and he had no time to take care of it, Haizhu and the helmsman firmly grasped the mast in the bow of the boat, closely watching the change of wind direction, ready to lower the sail and raise the sail at any time.

The wind was so strong that the sails of the ship could no longer twist.

"At this rate, the boat will be on the coast in half a day." Said the helmsman.

Haizhu nodded, she raised her head and looked east, Wajima was long gone, even the erupting volcano couldn't see the fire.

Last night's upheaval was like a dream.

Han Ji came up from the bottom warehouse, the hull of the boat was big and heavy enough, and the possibility of capsizing was relatively small, what he was most worried about was touching the reef, and the bottom of the boat would break and enter the water.

"How?" Haizhu asked.

"No problem, I hope it goes on like this." Han Ji walked over and said, "I'm guarding here, you go up and have a look, don't be scared of birds and turtles." ”

Haizhu didn't move her feet, she was more experienced than Han Ji at sea, she had to observe the situation at the bow of the boat and let him go up and take a look.

Han Ji was steady, and he could barely stabilize his body on the undulating boat, he walked upstairs and shouted through the door panel, and there was a birdsong with the sound of urns inside. He opened the door and went in, and found that the bird was burrowed in the quilt, and the water and food were spilled, so he asked it to hold on for another half a day, and then went out to see the turtle next door, and the turtle was fine, he closed the hatch and ran downstairs to guard.

I don't know how long it took, it rained, and the rain hit the face and hurt, and no one went into the cabin to hide from the rain, but they all stood on the board of the ship and observed the sea situation.

It was dark again, the water on the board of the boat overflowed the ankles, people were numb from the cold, I don't know whether it was hot or cold, Haizhu faintly heard the birdsong in the distance, and then the board of the ship shook, she judged that it was to the offshore, there were many reefs in the offshore, and she hurriedly shouted: "Turn the winch, pull the anchor." ”

"Turn the winch." Han Ji repeated, he also walked over to exert his strength, and when he turned the winch, he obviously felt struggling, and at a certain moment he was even stuck, just when there was a gust of wind, the speed of the ship increased sharply, and the anchor stuck on the reef moved, Han Ji shouted loudly, and eleven middle-aged men pushed the winch together, and the anchor came out of the water.

There was no anchor to fall, the speed of the ship became faster and faster, the hull of the ship also poured and sank in the huge waves, and was thrown high again, the bird was wrapped in the quilt and fell to the ground, it hurriedly climbed out and got under the bed, and the old turtle next door had no claws or grasps, and could only roll in the direction of the ship's rocking, like a heavy spinning top rolling in the cabin.

"I heard the seabirds chirping, and they were almost on the shore." The helmsman was excited.

It didn't take a cup of tea, the ship ran aground, the official ship stopped suddenly, Haizhu was almost thrown off, Han Ji pulled the water-soaked padded jacket and dragged the person back, tired and glad to say: "It's back." ”

"My life was saved." Haizhu stood firm, and she shouted to the shore, "Is there anyone?" ”

The echo is empty, and there is no one living on the shore.

Han Ji took the soldiers to turn the winch again and throw the anchor, and when the ship was stable, he said: "I will rest on the boat tonight, and I will go to change out of my wet cotton jacket and lie on the bed all night, and get off the boat tomorrow morning to find the fishing boat." ”

"Yes."

The lanterns were burned out, and the candles didn't know where to go, Han Ji and Haizhu went back to the cabin to take off their wet cotton robes, picked up the mattress and quilt on the ground, and laid them out haphazardly, and the two sat down in the quilt to wipe their wet and cold hair.

"Pearl?" Haizhu trembled and shouted, "Where is it?" ”

The bird came out from under the bed, and it chirped a few times and whispered, "Thirsty, hungry." ”

"I'll go out and see if I can find something to eat." Han Ji got out of bed, he wrapped himself in dry clothes and opened the door and went out, walked down the bottom warehouse and saw that there was a fire inside, and fortunately said: "Du Po, the fire can still burn?" ”

"The charcoal is not wet, I will clean up the hot porridge in the cooking pot, and everyone will fill their stomachs."

"And water? I scooped a bowl of water up. ”

The cook handed him a bowl of hot rice soup, Han Ji took the bowl and left with a piece of coal, at this time the rain was light, he walked upstairs, there were sparks on the surface of the coals, and when he entered the house, he blew the flames. He picked up his garment from the ground and put it on the coals, and when his cloak was on fire, he looked for a candle in the messy ground.

"Under the bed." The bird whispered.

"Candles?" Han Ji climbed under the bed, first touched a hand of bird poop before touching the candle, the candle was lit, and he stared at the bird poop on his hand.

"Just go out and wash up." Haizhu said with a smile, and with the fire in the cabin, she felt alive.

Han Ji washed his hands with rainwater, came in and took a sip of the slightly hot rice soup, he walked to the side of the bed and handed it to Haizhu to drink first, and finally the small half bowl was for the bird.

"It's reduced to the point where you can't drink a bowl ......of hot water, alas," Haizhu sighed with a half-smile and said, "You also sit up and cover it, I estimate that we will all be sick tomorrow." ”

"My life was saved, what is it to be sick, this trip is really thrilling." Han Ji put down the bowl and sat down on the quilt, and said, "I thought about everything on the boat." ”

"Don't you regret it?"

Her words sounded endless, but Han Ji understood what she meant, and said: "I don't blame you for this, I also agreed after thinking about it, going to sea is inherently risky, not this trip but also the next trip." ”

Haizhu was satisfied with his answer, she threw away the clothes that wiped her hair and lay down, curled up in the quilt and shivered, the two of them hugged and slewed, and a bird, covering the quilt for a while before it was a little warmer.

The cook brought hot porridge up, and the porridge was boiled with ginger and salt, and it was spicy and choking to eat, thanks to the salty taste, I swallowed it. The bird ate two bites of rice, choked for a while, and shouted that it was not delicious.

"It's not delicious, you look for pine nuts on the ground to eat, we sleep, remember to wake us up when it's dawn tomorrow morning." Haizhu lay down with her dizzy head.

She closed her eyes and was silent, Han Ji sat on the bed and found that she had a fever, he put on a cotton robe and got out of bed, went out to pick up the rain to warm her body and cool down, almost all night, and only squinted for a while when it was almost dawn.

When the rain stopped at dawn, the sea was cloudy with moisture, and the fishing village could be seen vaguely on the shore, Han Ji shouted that the people on the boat packed up their bags and got off the boat, and the old turtle couldn't take it away, he put it into the sea and let it go to find food by itself, the bird had to be taken away, and it could fly by itself, he was only responsible for getting off the boat with the sea pearl on his back, and walked to the shore with waist-high water.

After living in the fisherman's house, I knew that I had come to the land of Qilu, and the fishermen here were very hospitable, and after determining that there was no problem with the identity of Han Ji and his party, he thoughtfully asked them for medical treatment, and warmly took out their own good dishes to entertain them.

Han Ji and his party of fourteen people and a bird lived in the fishing village, and among the fourteen people, he and the cook who was not drenched in the rain did not catch a cold and got sick, and the cook was responsible for taking care of the sick in the village, and he went to the beach from time to time to take a look, one was to watch the boat, and the other was to call the turtle, this is the treasure of Haizhu, he has to watch it closely.

For more than ten days, until the rain stopped, Haizhu's typhoid fever was completely cured, she walked out of the door, and listened to the fishermen in the village discussing to go to the island to explore, she walked over and asked, "Do you want to go to the island?" ”

"Yes, do you still want to go? You're familiar with the road, and you have a big boat, so it's worth the trip. A young and vigorous man spoke, and he said in a suppressed voice: "It is the earth dragon turning over again, and the earth fire erupting again, the people on the island should die, let's take a risk, if we can make a fortune, we will not worry about it in this life." ”

Haizhu's heart was moved, and he said, "I'll discuss it with my man." ”

"It's worth a trip, I'm afraid you don't know in Quang Nam, the Japanese come to our side every year to rob and hurt people, and they have accumulated a lot of wealth." Others egged on.

Haizhu nodded, she went out to find someone, and before she went far, she met Han Ji coming back, and when she saw someone, he said: "Haizhu, I plan to go to Wadao again, the rain has stopped, the weather is warm, and the sea is calm, this trip should be much more stable." ”

"I was about to tell you about this, so let's go again." Haizhu was excited, she was happy that Han Ji was the same kind of person as her, not someone who shrunk into her shell and didn't dare to try again when she was in danger.

In the fishing village, he bought half a boat of food and loaded six tanks of fresh water, Han Ji asked the passing merchant ship to carry a letter back, and then took people to the deep sea. Behind the official boat are seven fishing boats about the size of Haizhu's boat, and on board are fishermen who are lightly armed and going on adventures to seek wealth.

At night, Han Ji lay on the quilt and whispered to Haizhu: "I once read in a book that there are gold and silver mines on the island, and if I can transport a boat away, I won't have to worry about the money for raising soldiers." ”

Chapter 243: Returning with a full load

The closer you get to Wajima, the more black ash floats on the sea, a thick layer, or a large lump, and there is a strong smell in the wind, the smell of dead fish and shrimp, and even the carcasses of swollen dolphins and seals.

"There's something moving over there." Haizhu spoke.

A big black thing swam over, and when it got closer, Haizhu recognized it as a seal, and a large seal approached the boat with a small yellow-white fluff seal, and it mooed and looked at the people on the boat with its watery eyes.

The boat moved forward, the two missed each other, the big seal held the baby seal to chase the boat, Haizhu determined its purpose, shook the net and dragged the seal onto the boat, poured out of the fishing net only to find that the big seal was mottled with burns, the flesh under the skin was rotten, and the baby seal was not injured except for being dirty.

Two seals mooed a few times, and the wounded seal dragged itself against the side of the boat to lie down to nurse the baby seal, and it stared at the people who were watching around it.

"You want us to save you, don't you?" Haizhu sighed, she asked Han Ji to get the medicine box, the big seal's wound was already rotten and stinky, and she didn't know how long it had lasted, and it was probably impossible to save it.

Han Ji took the medicine box, the soldiers fetched clean water, Haizhu scooped water to wash away the black ash on their hair, and looked at the rotten wounds and couldn't do anything.

The big seal lay quietly on the board of the boat and watched her, letting her move, but after the baby seal had finished feeding, it mooed a few times, looked at the sea pearl with its watery eyes, and dragged its heavy body to the stern.

Is this Tuo Gu coming? Haizhu stopped the big seal, she held it down, and let Han Ji burn the knife and come over to scrape off the carrion and sprinkle the powder.

The carrion was scraped away but did not bleed, Han Ji knew that there was no help, he pulled away Haizhu and said, "Don't keep it, let it go." ”

Without the strength to restrain it, the big seal mooed again, and in an instant crawled to the side of the boat and jumped into the sea, leaving a cub in the boat.

"There is no milk on the ship, how can I raise it?" The cook asked, "Shall I give it fish soup at once?" ”

"That's all there is to it, don't add salt to the fish soup." Haizhu confessed that Wadao was already in front of her, and she didn't have any extra thoughts to take care of the little seal, so she asked the cook to take it to the bottom warehouse to raise.

The three seals who were on the boat before dawn disembarked again, and Haizhu didn't look at it carefully, she reached out to touch this little seal, her fat body, her nose was peachy, her body was soft, her eyes were simple and childish, and she looked stupid.

"Here we are." Han Ji spoke.

Haizhu looked up at the pitch-black mountain in the distance, the mountain was wrapped in black and reflective magma, and the magma had long since lost its temperature, like heavy black stones sticking to the mountain.

The sea breeze blew and the floating ashes rose, Han Ji and Haizhu took out the torn cloth to wrap their heads and faces, and continued to walk towards the island. The island was extremely quiet, there were no voices or birds, as if everything had died, everything was reduced to ashes, there was no grass or trees, no houses and no boats, as if no one had ever set foot here.

After walking for about an hour, the soldier who was exploring the road in front shouted: "Young master, there is a deep ditch here, which should have been cracked when the earth dragon turned over." ”

Han Ji walked over with Haizhu, and the deep ditch was already filled with seawater, and there was black ash floating on the water.

"This island can no longer be inhabited, and if the earth is moved a few more times, the island may split into several petals and sink into the sea." Haizhu speculated.

"Go further and see if there's a place to cross." Han Ji commanded, he grabbed Haizhu's hand and said, "You just follow me, don't go far." ”

After exploring the island for a long time, only a human skeleton was found under the stones, and everything was burned clean under the fire. At noon, the group returned the same way and found five or six baby seals and two large seals on the board.

Before Han Ji could ask, the helmsman first explained: "Soon after you left, some big seals with children and daughters came one after another, and the lightly injured ones stayed, and the seriously injured big seals sent their children over and left. ”

"Keep it, anyway, one is raising, and a group is also raising." Haizhu opened his mouth and said, "Uncle, the boat is going that way, there is a deep ditch on this island, and people can't get through." ”

"Hey, okay."

Haizhu carried a stool and sat on the board of the boat to bask in the sun, and when she saw the parrot stepping on the side of the boat staring at the seal, she asked, "Mingzhu, are they cute?" ”

"Not as cute as birds."

"Yes, yes, you're the cutest." She smiled and beckoned, and said, "Come with us to the island in the afternoon, you can fly high and see far away, and you can help us find treasures." ”

The bird hesitated for a moment and agreed.

Lunch is simple, a pot of preserved fish and a pot of rice noodles, fill your stomach and then take the water to get off the boat to continue to explore the island, found the lake in the afternoon, and did not have time to be happy, first smelled a strong smell, put aside the floating ash floating on the water and found more than a dozen dead corpses, as well as dense dead fish. There was ash floating on the water, and the fish could not breathe and died.

I went back to the boat at night to rest, because there was not enough fresh water, so I used a bowl to scoop water for washing. Han Ji came up from the bottom warehouse and said, "I don't know if there is a well on the island, and there are only three tanks of fresh water left." ”

"There should be, look for it carefully tomorrow." Haizhu said.

"Well, go to sleep, wake up early tomorrow morning."

The next day, he landed on the island in a different place, Han Ji and Haizhu and his group of twelve left, and the fishing boats behind the official boat arrived, and when they set off, only five arrived in good condition, and the other two disappeared into the vast sea.

"Did you find anything?" As soon as the boat lowered its sails, the fishermen couldn't wait to ask.

"No, nothing was found." The helmsman shook his head, and he pointed to the place where he had already explored and said, "I have searched here and there, but I have not found anything, so you can save trouble and look for it in another place." ”

The men listened to the persuasion, begged for two ladles of water to drink, and they took their bedding, pots, axes, and sacks, and landed on the island, intending to eat and live on the island.

The sun shifted little by little, and when it rose to the top of their heads, Han Ji and his party took out cold steamed buns and nibbled on them, and went to the island for a day and a half, everyone was dirty, and no one disliked anyone when they walked together.

The cleanest is the parrot, it eats some steamed buns and smacks a few mouthfuls of water, flies away from the crowd to explore the way first, it leaves soon and flies back very quickly, the thief said in a squeezed voice: "Haizhu, the bird has seen people, no, no, it's clothes." ”

The man followed the bird and saw a piece of clothing on the ground, and there was blood on the clothing, and Han Ji deduced from the color of the blood that it was no more than two days at most. He swept away the floating ash on the ground with a broom, found a messy footprint, he made a gesture, and the group followed the footprints to find it, and after walking about a pillar of incense, he saw three dead bodies, all of them were men, who did not look like Han people, only wearing single clothes on their bodies, and the others were stripped away.

As dusk approached, the bird heard the sound of the bangbang, and it chirped and led the people to follow the sound, and the sound came from the ground.