Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 26

Zheng He's Secret Eighth Voyage
Chinese International School, Young, Ethan - 8
Swish! Swish! The sound of the waves colliding against the ship’s hull woke Zheng He. He peered through
the iron bars. It was dark and he was alone. Zheng He knew his crew would devote their entire lives to
rescuing him. But he feared that would take too long - as he was already on the Tasman Sea and they were
back in China.
That night, he managed to pick the lock. He quietly slid open the bars of the gate. Carefully creeping
around the ship, he was amazed to find that half the crew was dead. He thought a battle must have been
waged, but soon realized that the captain had got drunk. This was a great distraction. Zheng He wanted to
take the ship for himself but realized he couldn’t kill the remaining crew by himself. He needed a plan.
First, Zheng He stole some gold and silver bars from the captain’s cabin. He stowed them aboard a sailboat
and went to the gunpowder room. Using a piece of his shirt as a fuse, Zheng He carefully placed the fuse in
a keg of gunpowder. He lit the fuse, ran for his life. He leaped overboard and swam to his sailboat. He
quickly rowed away from the ship and watched it explode. It was like watching a fireworks performance.
Splinters of wood were sprayed in the sky, while cannon balls randomly fired and a dead body shot up into
the sky.
Out of nowhere, a hunk of metal got fired into the sky landing dangerously close to Zheng He’s sailboat.
He realized those were the iron bars that had held him captive in the brig. Looking at the scene, Zheng He
chuckled with delight. All he wanted was to return to China.
Navigating by the stars he set sail for home. The days were long and nights were cold. He looked up at the
starry sky and wondered if he would ever return home. He saw storm clouds gathering. As his sailboat
moved towards the storm, it started rocking violently back and forth in the high winds and choppy seas. As
Zheng He frantically secured the sails, he didn’t notice an enormous wave looming over the boat. It came
crashing down on the deck, sending Zheng He sprawling and knocking him out in the process.
When Zheng He opened his eyes, he found himself in a busy circular chamber. He saw people rushing by
and could smell a fishy odour hanging in the air.
“Where am I? ….Where is my sailboat?” he asked?
One man with big curly hair, sunken black eyes and a lopsided grin walked towards him. Zheng He could
smell a taint of whisky on the guy’s breath.
“Namaste! This is India! You are in the presence of the greatest fisherman who has ever lived, by the way.
My name is M’Baku. You have been sleeping for weeks here in the fish market. Your boat is tied to the pier
just next to mine” the man said animatedly. Zheng He sat up in disbelief but was too weak. He doubled
over coughing.
Weeks passed and with the help of his new friend, M’Baku, Zheng He regained his strength. It was now
time for him to make a move. This time, he knew he needed a big boat and a crew. Zheng He said a
grateful goodbye to M’Baku and sauntered off to the market. He sold his sailboat and all the silver and gold
bars to buy supplies, weapons, and a bigger boat. He also hired John Cena and his crew of mercenary strong
pro wrestling sailors to escort him back to China.
But returning home was hard, the journey was long and dangerous. Zheng He needed to cross the Triangle
of Death where villainous pirates. As they did, a ship approached them from afar. Zheng He recognized the
colors on the ship. The pirates were in the same league as those who had captured him. This pirate ship had
been hunting Zheng He to get revenge for blowing up their comrades’ ship. It was too late for escape. So
they had to ready for a fight. They attacked Zheng He and his crew mercilessly.