Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 1 | Page 34

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voyages
Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School, Chan, Charlotte - 8
My name is Zheng He. I am the commander of the Ming Treasure Voyage. It was just a common day, no
one would have guessed it was the day His Majesty the Emperor Yong Le would let us set sail. He heard
that we wanted to travel to the end of the world, which is said to have infinite treasure. However, the crew
on the Ming Treasure fleet mostly just want to go to the end of the world, finding answers to the mysteries
of Earth and the truth about everything. Whenever we see a kind village or home, we give treasure to the
inhabitants. Sometimes we will need to battle other pirates, who snatch gold and gems and especially of the
latter. Let me tell you an account of what happened in the first voyage.
We set sail the very next day. Luckily we did not enter any raging storms. Unfortunately, we bumped into
the mythical hooked snake. The snake is said to be vicious, but easily tricked, as it will do anything for food.
Unluckily, we did not have food, let alone food that a hooked snake would appreciate. As the commander, I
was expected to solve the problem. The crew panicked and my heart was beating like a drum, as the hooked
snake struck, again and again, until the boat was battered. Suddenly, I had a stroke of inspiration. I called out
to my most trusted friend of the crew, “Yang Zhen, get rice, a pot, a fishing net and make a fire.” “Yes,
Commander Zheng He,” Yang Zhen replied with a salute. After he finished, I began to put the pot over the
fire, the rice in the pot and the fishing net over the pot. I let the rice cool, and told the crew to pretend to
sleep. The hooked snake tried to take the rice, but got stuck in the fishing net, so we managed to get passed
it.
After many days, we finally saw a village. The few inhabitants wore thick animal fur coats. The land was
cold, barren and desolate, as if it was blowing its frosty breath at us. Of all the gossip and rumours I have
heard, of all the scrolls I have read, of all the countries I have been to… Never, never have I known such a
place existed. I could tell that the other crewmembers felt so too. The inhabitants warmly welcomed us to
their home and offered us hospitality. As the day turned to night, in the sky not very far away, I began to see
beautiful, divine lights, the colourful ribbons of smoke waving from the sky. Or were they flames of the
good and evil dragons battling in the heavens? I desperately yearned to know the answers.