Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 931 is terrifying.
Quanzhou Port was shrouded in a thin layer of sea mist at dawn. The salty wind, carrying moisture, swept over them, bringing a feeling completely different from that of Chang'an. When Xia Lin and his group boarded the largest blood-red treasure ship, the swaying motion beneath their feet still made these people, accustomed to land, feel somewhat uncomfortable.

The deck was wide enough for a horse to run on, and the traces of last night's banquet had long been cleaned up by the diligent sailors. Li Shimin had changed into a slightly formal dark blue robe today, but the collar was still casually open, revealing his hideous scars.

He stood with his hands on his hips at the bow of the boat, facing the rising sun, looking exactly like a wandering swordsman.

"What, all recovered?" He turned around, looking at the people who were walking onto the deck one after another, grinned, his teeth, yellowed by tobacco, were particularly conspicuous in the sunlight: "Pampered people on land, can't withstand this little bit of wind and waves?"

Tuoba Jing yawned and replied irritably, "Stop talking nonsense and show me the treasure you've been bragging about!"

Li Shimin wasn't annoyed. He laughed heartily, turned around, and led everyone towards the cabin entrance: "What's the rush? Good things come to those who wait. But before that, would you like to hear what rare and wonderful things I've encountered at sea over the years?"

These words piqued everyone's interest, even the usually indifferent Bean Sprout raised his eyes. The group followed him into the main cabin, which was more like a small hall than a cabin, decorated with a certain elegance, quite different from the rugged exterior of the ship.

A huge nautical chart hangs on the wall, with winding sea routes outlined in red ink and marked with many unheard-of place names.

Sailors served hot tea with a unique floral aroma, said to be made from plants brought back from a distant island. Everyone took their seats, and all eyes were on Li Shimin.

He took a sip of tea, his gaze becoming distant, as if looking through the cabin wall back to that boundless blue expanse.

"This sea, though it looks calm, hides something far more sinister than all the monsters and spirits you've ever seen on land combined." He began, his voice low but deep with age: "Let me tell you something interesting first. We once encountered a sea that glowed. When we sailed at night, the spray from the bow of our boat was a deep, dark blue, like crushed stars scattered across the water. Another time, we saw a group of huge fish, perhaps hundreds, leaping out of the water all at once. Their scales reflected the sunlight so brightly that it was blinding, and when they fell back down, it was like a thunderclap."

His description was so vivid that it seemed as if the fantastical scene was unfolding before everyone's eyes.

"And then there are those flying fish, tsk tsk, with wings growing from their ribs, they can glide far across the sea surface. When we first saw them, the guys on the boat thought they were sea birds. There's also a kind of giant turtle, its shell is bigger than our dining table, it swims slowly in the sea, and if you try to poke it with your oar, it won't even pay attention to you, it's very good-natured."

He paused, a hint of mockery on his face: "But you know, there are always some bad-tempered ones. When we got close to a shore full of mangroves, we sent a small team ashore in a small boat to fetch water. And guess what? A bunch of long-nosed pigs, with tusks this long!" He gestured with his hand to indicate an astonishing length: "They chased after the brothers, almost pulling their pants off, and we had to fire a few shots to scare them away."

Tuoba Shang burst out laughing, and even Li Chengqian's lips curved into a smile.

“That’s not all that surprising.” Li Shimin looked at Douyazi: “Brother-in-law is an expert in business. Do you know what we found on a deserted island? A kind of tree whose sap, once solidified, is extremely elastic and can be stretched very long without breaking easily. I had some brought back. Take a look and see if it can be of any use.”

A glint of light flashed in Bean Sprout's eyes, and he nodded slightly.

However, Xia Lin chimed in, "Rubber trees have already been planted on a trial basis in Qiongzhong, but it will take another five or six years for them to mature."

Li Shimin changed the subject, his relaxed expression gradually fading, replaced by a look of solemnity and lingering fear.

“But these are nothing.” His voice lowered. “The most dangerous time, the one in which we lost the most brothers… was in a place called ‘Dragon’s Saliva Sea.’ That place is evil.”

The cabin fell silent, with only the soft sound of the ship cutting through the waves and the cries of seagulls outside the window.

"It was a murky body of water that stretched as far as the eye could see. The weather was unpredictable; one moment the sky was clear and blue, and the next, waves dozens of feet high would rise up, and the clouds were so low that they seemed you could reach out and touch them. A grayish-white, viscous substance that smelled strange was always floating on the surface of the sea. We called it 'ambergris,' and that area of ​​the sea got its name from it."

"Our fleet was passing through that area, trying to take a shortcut. Initially, things went smoothly; aside from bad weather, we didn't encounter anything else. Until the third night..."

Li Shimin's eyes sharpened, as if he had returned to that thrilling night.

"That night, the moon was completely obscured by dark clouds, and the sea was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Only the lanterns on the ship swayed in the wind, but their light was useless. The sailor on night watch suddenly heard a sound, like many people talking in hushed tones underwater, and also felt something scraping against the bottom of the ship. It was a sound that made his scalp tingle."

"I immediately sensed something was wrong and ordered the entire ship to be on high alert, cannons to be loaded, and crossbows to be cocked. But before we could even see what it was, the ship suddenly jolted, as if it had hit a reef! But the nautical chart showed that the waters there were very deep and there shouldn't have been any reefs there!" He took a deep breath and clenched his fist.

"Immediately afterwards, one of the escort warships on the left... just stood up! It was as if something had knocked it over from below! Before we could even hear a few cries for help, it sank to the bottom in the blink of an eye, leaving only a few black dots thrashing about in the waves before disappearing without a trace."

Everyone in the cabin held their breath, imagining the sudden terror that would strike on the dark sea.

"Before we could react, our main ship was also violently struck on the side! The force was terrifying. The whole ship tilted violently to the other side, several cargo securing cables snapped, boxes rolled everywhere, and several brothers were thrown into the sea on the spot!"

"I rushed to the ship's side and looked down by the light of the swaying lanterns..." Li Shimin's Adam's apple bobbed, even as he recalled it, his voice filled with fear: "The water... was full of shadows! Huge black shadows, not much smaller than our ship! Their bodies were long and slippery, and we couldn't see their full forms, but we could see several tentacles thicker than masts, reaching out from the water and tightly wrapping around the warship's hull! The suction cups were bigger than washbasins, sticking to the deck and making those disgusting 'plop plop' sounds, making the wood creak and groan!"

"Is it a giant octopus? Or a squid?" Xia Lin asked in a deep voice.

“I can’t explain it!” Li Shimin shook his head, his facial muscles tense: “It’s too big! I’ve never seen anything so big, and there’s more than one! There are at least four or five surrounding our fleet! Some are wrapping around and pulling with their tentacles, and some are ramming the bottom of our ships! The noise was like the sky was falling and the earth was splitting!”

"Cannons! Fire the hell out!" I yelled, trying to steady myself. But that thing was too close; most of the cannons couldn't hit it in its blind spot. A few cannons that had been adjusted did fire, the shells splashing high into the air, as if they had hit it. The thing seemed to be in pain and tightened its grip! The ship was listing more and more violently, and seawater was already pouring onto the deck!

"Crossbows! Shoot it in the eyes with fire arrows!" someone shouted in the chaos. The crossbowmen fired arrows at the large eyeballs on the water's surface. The arrows, coated with kerosene, sizzled as they struck. The creature seemed to be angered, and a thick tentacle suddenly rose from the water and slammed heavily onto the deck!

"With a crack, the mainmast of the twenty-two-zhang warship... such a thick mainmast was smashed in half! Canvas, ropes, and broken pieces of wood fell like rain, killing several brothers on the spot. The tentacles swept wildly on the deck, grabbed two more sailors, and dragged them directly into the dark seawater, without even a bubble rising."

Li Chengqian's face turned pale upon hearing this, his fingers gripping the hem of his clothes tightly. Tuoba Jing also dropped his playful grin and subconsciously touched his arm.

"The ship is sinking, and there are cries and pleas for help everywhere. I know that if we don't do something soon, the entire ship will perish here." A ruthless glint flashed in Li Shimin's eyes: "I've beheaded Turks and quelled rebellions in Gansu and Shaanxi. Do you think I'll be eaten by these sea beasts?"

"I had all the kerosene, liquor, and anything else that could burn moved to one side of the deck and poured it on those tentacles that were wrapped around the hull! Then, I lit the torches!" He slammed his fist on the table: "Burn those damn things!"

"Flames suddenly shot up; that thing was indeed afraid of fire! The burned tentacles began to twitch and loosen their grip on the hull. The acrid smell in the air was particularly disgusting, mixed with a fishy odor. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the cannons on the other ships finally found their angles and concentrated their firepower on those large heads floating on the surface of the water."

"That battle lasted for about half an hour, and it felt even more exhausting than a siege." Li Shimin let out a long sigh, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. "When the sea finally calmed down a bit, we tallied up the losses. Two warships were sunk, the second flagship's secondary mast was broken, and there were several large holes in the side. One hundred and three brothers died, and countless others were wounded. Some pieces of mangled flesh were floating on the sea; the largest piece was enough to feed the entire crew for several days."

The cabin was silent except for the heavy breathing of the passengers.

"Since then," Li Shimin's voice was tinged with regret and lingering fear, "the fleet never dared to approach that 'Dragon Saliva Sea' again. It took a long detour to find a new route." He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, "Now you know how much blood is stained with these things we brought back, don't you?"

He stood up, walked to the huge nautical chart on the bulkhead, and pointed to an area marked with a ferocious sea monster in red ink.

“This is it,” he said in a deep voice. “The road we paid with our lives.”

This former land overlord, now the ocean tyrant, stands there, his back still upright, yet inexplicably carrying a sense of desolation and heaviness.

“But I feel it’s not enough. Sometimes in the middle of the night, I’m alone thinking, the world is so vast, and they are so weak. How can I not do something for future generations?” Li Shimin’s finger slammed on the nautical chart, pointing to the location of Australia: “Xia Lin, this time when you come back, I’m giving you an order. That is, modify the ship for me to be able to withstand ocean currents. Next time I’m going there!”

"Definitely." Xia Lin nodded and said, "We have to leave something for future generations."

(End of this chapter)