The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 75 Indigo
Fortunately, the three people sent to investigate the brothel didn't keep Lin Qian waiting any longer.

They all returned to the ship just two days later.

Before they could exchange pleasantries or have a proper welcome, the three of them had barely boarded the ship when Lin Qian asked, "How did it go? Did you find anything?"

Lei Sanxiang spoke first: "Helmsman, you guessed right again this time. Those bastards really do transport girls to the ship city."

Chen Jiao continued, "And it wasn't just girls from one place. Girls from Chaoyang, Huilai, and Chenghai counties have all gone there... Let Brother Yiguan tell you, he has the most information."

After everyone boarded the ship, they took their seats in the officers' mess.

After Zheng Zhilong sat down, he said, "Master, I went to Chaoyang County and found three top-notch brothels. Two of them had girls who had been there, and some had even been there multiple times."

Li Kuiqi's men would come to pick people up at the end of the Yin hour (3-5 AM). After boarding the ship, they would be blindfolded and given medicinal wine after about one or two hours of sailing.

The girl who drank the medicinal wine would feel hot all over and her mind would become confused. Once she arrived at her destination, she wouldn't be allowed to remove her blindfold, so she couldn't see anything and had no idea where she was.

Lei Sanxiang nodded: "That's right, the same thing I heard."

Chen Jiao: "The situation in Huilai County is roughly the same. They don't call people every night, but only once every three or four days. Sometimes they don't call girls for almost half a month."

Lin Qian played with the teacup in his hand, thinking that this basically matched his guess. The ship city was constantly being built and dismantled. When a typhoon came, the ship city was dismantled and brought ashore, so naturally, the girls were not called for half a month.

Zheng Zhilong then said, "However, not all girls obediently drank the medicine while blindfolded. One girl who had been there a few times was curious and didn't do it."

The girl only lifted a corner of her blindfold, so no one noticed, but she was terrified when she returned and became bedridden, remaining ill ever since.

As Zheng Zhilong spoke, he took out a piece of paper from the side and drew circles on it with a charcoal pencil.

Everyone's attention was drawn to Zheng Zhilong's rough map, which featured a cluster of ships in the center surrounded by a black line, resembling two concentric circles.

Zheng Zhilong said, "The outer ring is the reef of Ship City. After sailing past the reef for about half an hour, the inner ring is Ship City."

Lin Qian stared at the picture and asked, "When did this girl go there?"

Zheng Zhilong: "It was shortly after Brother Zhou and his gang were arrested."

Zheng Zhilong pointed to the map again and said, "The girl said that she was dragged around all night and walked through most of the ship city, but she was too nervous at the time and the ship city has a complicated structure, so her memory is not accurate."

But one thing she was certain of: Li Kuiqi was right here.

After saying that, Zheng Zhilong reached out and pointed to the northwest corner of the ship city.

"He's outside the ship city?" Lei Sanxiang asked, puzzled.

Based on his experience as a soldier, the main general's camp should be located in the very center of the camp.

Zheng Zhilong said with certainty, "The girl's description of Li Kuiqi's appearance is exactly the same as what the helmsman said, so it must be correct. His ship is right next to the ship city."

"That's strange." Chen Jiao also found it unbelievable.

Lin Qian thought for a moment and smiled, “Everyone is familiar with the story of the Battle of Red Cliffs. Li Kuiqi is naturally well aware of the weaknesses of the ship city. He may seem like a chivalrous hero, but he is actually very afraid of death. Isn’t it perfect for him to leave his ship here to escape?”

The two of them suddenly understood after hearing this.

Lin Qian continued, "Based on the location, the waterway without reefs that Bai Qing took when leaving Ship City should also be here."

Lei Sanxiang was speechless after hearing this analysis: "How can you say so much from a scribble!"

Lin Qian just smiled and didn't reply. She turned to Zheng Zhilong and asked, "That girl was frightened in the ship city. It must have been quite a hassle to get information from her, right?"

Zheng Zhilong laughed and said, "It's all my duty. Don't worry, Captain, I've already taken care of that girl. She won't tell anyone else about this."

As they were talking, Bai Langzai led Bai Qing onto the ship.

Lin Qian greeted, "You've come at the right time, Bai Qing, take a look at this picture."

Bai Qing strode forward, looked it over, and exclaimed in surprise, "What is this?"

"Map of Ship City".

"how did it get here?"

Lin Qian: "Leaving aside the origin of this map, just tell me if it's similar to what you remember? And do you remember which direction you came from?" Bai Qing looked at it carefully for a long time before saying, "I can't remember exactly where each ship is, but they are roughly circular, similar to this map. As for the direction we came from, it was probably northwest of the ship city."

Everyone looked at each other.

Now everything matches up.

Finally, everyone looked at Lin Qian, waiting for his final decision.

Lin Qian said to Bai Langzai, "Li Kuiqi's informants can be removed."

Bai Langzai clasped his hands and said, "Your subordinate obeys!"

"Bai Qing, go and gather some skilled men to follow behind the big ship."

"Yes."

After speaking, Lin Qian's gaze swept over everyone, and all of them stared intently at him.

"Order the ship to set sail and depart at 3:45 noon!"

……

The next morning.

The Santa Ana slowly sailed into the outer perimeter of the coral reef lagoon.

On the stern deck, Chen Jiao pointed into the distance and said, "Helmsman, the lagoon is over there."

Following Chen Jiao's finger, a large expanse of indigo blue seawater suddenly appeared on the deep blue sea surface.

This abrupt color difference is caused by the different water depths. Boatmen generally use this to judge shallows and avoid running aground.

Such a vast expanse of indigo was extremely rare, and many crew members crowded to the ship's side, holding their breath to watch.

Lin Qian ordered the Santa Ana to lower its sails and reduce its speed.

Bai Qing and her siblings, along with a dozen skilled boatmen, rowed their Tanka boats forward, moored at the edge of the lagoon, and then all jumped into the water.

In the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, they emerged from the sea, swam back to their boat, and then dispersed to search elsewhere.

Half an hour later, someone on the boat waved their arm, indicating that they had found the waterway.

The boatmen from the Tanka people came forward one after another, rowing their boats in two rows to mark the waterway area.

Bai Qing wrung out his hair, waved his arm at the boat, and signaled that it was safe to pass.

"The entrance to the lagoon is indeed here," Zheng Zhilong said happily.

Lin Qian had the Saint Anna raise its sails and pass through that waterway.

The sea conditions here are unclear, and the boat is moving very slowly.

Lin Qian furled all the mainsails on the fore, middle and aft masts, sailing only on the three triangular sails at the bow.

Triangular sails are very flexible, making it easy to change the rudder and sail at any time to avoid danger.

The coral reef area was not large; after only a quarter of an hour of driving, the seawater ahead turned darker again.

This is a sign that we have entered the interior of the lagoon.

Lin Qian raised her binoculars and, through the morning mist, could already vaguely see the ship city floating on the distant sea.

They traveled for another half an hour.

The ship city was clearly visible through the telescope. The edges of the ship city were almost unguarded, with only a few pirates urinating into the sea.

Many pirates were fast asleep on the deck, with naked women sleeping beside them.

At the same time, Bai Qing and her brother had already steered their boat toward Li Kuiqi's ship.

(End of this chapter)