Chapter 14: Encounter with the Storm

  The sailboat sailed out of the Pearl River estuary and into the vast ocean. The white sails dotted the wide expanse of water, looking tiny and helpless in the distance. The azure sea supported them, seemingly flawless, like white gemstones embedded in the waves. At this moment, Deng Zixuan stood at the bow of the boat, letting the sea breeze blow across his forehead, and a sense of vicissitudes arose after admiring the view.

  "With great difficulty, I chanced upon a solitary encounter, the spear and shield scattered all around like stars. The mountains and rivers are shattered, the wind blows away the willow catkins, my life floats and sinks like a rain-beaten reed boat. I speak of fear at the edge of the precipice, and sigh about being adrift in the vast ocean. Since ancient times, who has not died? Let me take this crimson heart to illuminate the ages!" "Young Master Deng! Is this your poem? It's so majestic!" Chen Jintang couldn't help but praise from the side.

  Deng Zixuan smiled and said, "I have a bit of talent, just now seeing this scene, I couldn't help but think of Wen Tianxiang's poem 'Over the Zero Dingyang', and recite it from memory!" "Who is Wen Tianxiang?" Deng Zixuan thought for a moment before saying, "Wen Tianxiang was a national hero at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty. After the Mongolian army defeated the Southern Song, he was unfortunately captured. In the face of the Mongolians' intimidation and high-ranking officials' temptation, Wen Tianxiang refused to yield and died a heroic death. 'Over the Zero Dingyang' is the poem he left behind."

  "Wen Tianxiang is truly our role model, worthy of respect!" Chen Jintang said with admiration. "Someone once said that after the Cliff Mountain, there would be no more China. Although this statement is somewhat biased, the humiliating history is unforgettable. Brother Chen! My ambition is to restore the dignity of our great Han nation!" Chen Jintang looked at Deng Zixuan's determined face and secretly made up his mind to follow Master Deng and do something earth-shaking, which would be enough for this life.

  The sailboat sailed east along the coastline, passing Shantou and entering the Taiwan Strait, which means entering the sea area within Fujian Province. At present, the maritime ban of the imperial court has been opened with the opening of the national gate, and a development momentum has been formed. As a result, commercial exchanges in ocean transportation have begun to become busy, but ocean transportation is limited to near-sea areas. The exchanges between Nanyang Islands are already long-distance navigation for the Qing Dynasty.

  The sailboat entered the Taiwan Strait, and Deng Zixuan was reading a book in the cabin. Chen Fugui came in with some anxiety and said: "Master, I have observed the sea conditions and have doubts, based on my experience, it may change!" Deng Zixuan immediately thought of the typhoon and walked out of the cabin, seeing the calm sea surface, he said: "Brother Chen, can you be sure that it will definitely change?" "Sir, look, the color of the seawater has changed, based on my experience, it will definitely change."

  As they spoke, the wind suddenly picked up and the sky began to darken. Deng Zixuan knew how fierce the typhoon was and hastily shouted: "Get ashore immediately!" Chen Fugui immediately ordered the sailors to lower the sail and row towards the shore with oars. At this moment, the wind and waves were getting bigger and bigger, and Deng Zixuan did not expect the sea to change so quickly. Accompanied by the roar of the wind and waves, the coastline suddenly became blurred, and soon lost its sense of direction.

  The big boat was tossing about in the waves, and the sailors were holding onto the rudder, but they couldn't see the shore. In fact, everyone had an illusion - the sailboat wasn't heading towards the shore, but rather in the opposite direction. The sky had completely darkened, with stronger winds and bigger waves. Suddenly a heavy rain poured down from the sky, and Deng Zixuan quickly led his brothers into the cabin. Chen Fugui and the other sailors seemed to have seen many storms before, so they weren't very flustered.

  The big ship was rocking violently up and down, and everyone's internal organs felt like they were being torn apart. The expressions on their faces were painful and unbearable. At this time, Deng Zixuan closed his eyes and muttered to himself: "Damn it, am I really going to die at sea?" Is the law of traversal haunting me? He remembered reading online that someone had analyzed the law of traversal. When the ghostly head fell off, and the body and head were separated for an instant, this person was traversed. A bullet pierced the heart, and as life hung in the balance, this person was traversed. Could it be that he himself had only lived a little longer, but would still not escape such a fate?

  Deng Zixuan's panicked heart suddenly calmed down as he looked at the painful faces of his brothers. He realized that if it weren't for their own reasons, they might be dead by now. It seemed like no one could escape, was this really fate? "Damn! Looks like we're all going to end up as food for the sharks!" Wan Chuan cursed.

  "In that case, when I was in Guangzhou, I should have strolled around the brothel and even if I died, I would have become a romantic ghost!" Long-legged Wu Bao muttered. Chen Jintang scowled and said: "We who have licked blood from our swords are not afraid of anything, why are you pretending to be scared now? Look at Master Deng, he is so fearless in the face of danger. With Master Deng leading us, we will definitely get through this disaster." The crowd fell silent upon hearing this.

  Deng Zixuan closed his eyes, and now any language was pale and powerless, with no effect. Perhaps Chen Jintang's words had given Deng Zixuan the courage to calmly and quietly accept the arrangement of fate. After an unknown period of time, Deng Zixuan woke up in a daze, and outside was still the howling wind and thunderous waves. But he suddenly felt that the boat was shaking much less, and was even stationary - what was going on? Deng Zixuan sat up in confusion.

  "Master Deng, fortunately we are safe!" Chen Fugui walked in, drenched and extremely exhausted. Accompanied by the sound of his voice, Chen Gen Sheng and 5 sailors stumbled into the cabin, lying down on the deck as soon as they entered. Chen Jintang immediately ordered his brothers to make ginger soup to warm them up. Deng Zixuan curiously walked out of the cabin, outside was still howling with strong winds, heavy rain pouring down, and the sky was turbulent.

  Perhaps having gone through the test of life and death, Deng Zixuan seemed to be not afraid at all. He carefully observed that this was an island, a large ship stopped under a cliff, just in time for the cliff to block the momentum of the raging wind. It looked like the ship had been blown to this small island by the strong wind, it was really a narrow escape from death. Deng Zixuan immediately became spirited, a burst of heroic spirit surged out.

  Looking at the treacherous sea, Deng Zixuan felt ashamed and began to admire Chen Fugui and his nephew. They were usually gentle and honest, but in this critical moment, facing the threat of death, they showed remarkable strength and bravery. This shows how great human potential is, and as long as one dares to challenge it, any miracle can be created at the moment of life and death. At this moment, Deng Zixuan's courage to move forward became even more determined.

  "Master Deng, look at you, you're all wet! Why don't you go back into the cabin?" Chen Jintang said, coming out to check on him. "Brother Chen, as they say, 'great difficulties will not kill us, and we must have good fortune afterwards.' It's as if heaven is protecting us!" Deng Zixuan shouted loudly. This typhoon had blown for three days in a row, and on the fourth morning when everyone woke up, they all rushed out of the cabin. The bright sunshine was dazzling, and the azure sea water was warm and sparkling. The ocean had regained its elegant and gentle appearance.

  "Look, there's a boat over there!" someone shouted. Everyone's eyes turned to the right at the same time, and sure enough, looking forward along the cliff, about 70 or 80 meters away, there was indeed a boat, much smaller than their own. "That's a fast ship, it's probably a pirate ship, they often appear in this area." Chen Fugui said with some tension.

  Bring the telescope, a monocular telescope was bought in Guangzhou on purpose. Deng Zixuan opened the telescope and looked at it: "It seems that there is no one on the boat, and there is a mud cannon on the bow!" Deng Zixuan put down the telescope decisively: "Chen Gensheng, take two sailors to swim over and bring the boat over!" Chen Gensheng nodded and led two sailors to jump into the sea and swim forward. Seeing Chen Gensheng boarding that boat, still no one was found.

  Everyone let out a sigh of relief, and Deng Zixuan said: "Brother Chen, when the Root Birth returns later, you all set sail around to the west side of the island and wait. I suspect that this unnamed small island is the lair of pirates, we'll land here." "Mr. Deng, pirates are fugitives, there are too few of us!" Chen Fugui said worriedly. "Don't worry! There's no problem!"

  Deng Zixuan and a few people climbed up the cliff along the stone wall, Chen Fugui withdrew his gaze. By this time, Chen Gen had rowed the boat back, and this boat was at least one size smaller than their own big ship. Chen Fugui jumped down quickly and carefully checked it all over, saying: "It must be a pirate's ship! There won't be more than 20 pirates on the island!" Chen Fugui ordered to tie the small boat to the big ship, then set sail.

  Deng Zixuan climbed up the rocky cliff, panting heavily, and saw his brothers as if nothing was wrong, saying: "Hey! Brothers, take a break!" "Master Deng, what if the pirates discover us?" Zhang Man Cang asked anxiously. "You're lucky to have a gun in your hand, don't you know how powerful a revolver is?" Chen Jintang glared at him. "Damn it! With a gun in my hand, I can take on three or five of them alone!" "That's right, before the pirates even get close, we'll take them down!" Bai Sheng and Leng Yifei said with disdain, their arms crossed.

  Deng Zixuan smiled and said, "The sea pirates are at best a motley crew. They may be dragons in the sea, but on land they are sheep. The most they have in their hands are big knives and long spears, so you must have absolute confidence in yourselves." "Look quickly, there's smoke from a kitchen!" shouted Wan Chuan with his sharp eyes. Everyone looked forward and indeed saw wisps of smoke rising from behind a rocky mountain.

  Deng Zixuan waved his hand decisively, and the crowd stood up to take action. If it weren't for considering Deng Zixuan's slow movements, the brothers would have run ahead long ago. Ten or so minutes later, a group of people walked around the stone mountain from the east side and found a cave in front of them on the left. There was an awning at the entrance of the cave, with a stove and a large pot inside. The smoke was coming out of the stove. The awning was tilted to one side, obviously blown by the wind.

  Deng Zixuan judged that these pirates had obviously not eaten breakfast. A stove and a pot, the bowls and chopsticks next to the stove were self-evident. Deng Zixuan put down his binoculars and drew out his revolver, saying: "There are not many pirates, no more than 20 people. No one is allowed to fire without my order!" The brothers all drew out their guns and surrounded the cave.

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