Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 132

“Seek, and you shall find,
If your heart is purer than your mind,
Beware of the time,
For once it runs out, you shall find,
The dreaded person in your mind.
To take you must give,
Something you cherish more than you live.”
As it stopped speaking, Captain Zheng spoke: “It’s a warning children. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes,” said Ji, determination etched across all of her features.
After an hour of pondering, they concluded. Once they found the treasure its hiding time would have run
out. They would then have an encounter with the Bǎozàng chuán’s worst enemy the Cai Qian pirates. The
part they did not understand was the line “To take you must give, Something you cherish more than you
live.”
Suddenly, in the distance, they heard a loud BOOM. As they rushed out onto the deck, they noticed the
ship was eerily quiet. Looking over the railing, to their amazement they saw a giant gold cross etched in the
still black water. They had reached the treasure! But how? Rushing into the ship’s bridge, they saw the
helmsman lay fast asleep on the wheel. All the other sailors lay in a profound daze. The vessel had drifted to
the spot all by itself.
On taking another look at the cross, they realised that a few words were scrawled around it. The words
read...
“To find what you seek;
you must insert a key.
The key is in your hand and
tells you where you stand.”
Suddenly Buwei spoke up. “Maybe they mean the map. And that is what we must give to get what we
seek.”
With great effort, Captain Zheng nodded “Yes this will benefit the whole country” he said and slowly
lowered the map into the water at the centre of the cross.
With a great flash and a big splash loads of treasure rose out of the water. Masses of gold and silver bars,
coins, goblets, jewellery, gems, and other precious items, hovered in front of them and then gently set itself
down on the ship passing through the flooring as if it were non-existent and filling the vessel’s already full
vault.
They had found the treasure. Now the other seamen had woken up, from the spell cast on them, just in
time to see the end. In all the excitement no one saw the Cai Qian pirate ship emerge from the dense fog.
Grey clouds formed overhead, and rain poured down heavily. The waves thrashed against the ship tossing it
from one place to another. Lightning crackled, thunder rumbled, and Qian’s ship came closer and closer. A
big BOOM started the battle; the cannons were opened and fired regularly, men fought on each vessel with
spears and swords. For hours on end, the battle and storm raged on. Captain Zheng constantly battled five
men at a time including the fiercest, meanest warrior of all time; Cai Qian. Then, just as the Bǎozàng chuán
started to lose hope a bolt of lightning struck Cai Qian’s ship burning it to the sea-bed. But Qian and forty
of his men were still alive and fighting on the Bǎozàng chuán. The children stood helplessly in the
background as a copper dagger cluttered at their feet. Picking up the dagger, little Ji ran into the battle
before her brother could stop her. Hurling the blade with all her strength, she let go and hit Cai Qian in the
heart. Seeing their leader dead, the remaining pirates jumped overboard to avoid capture, leaving the
Bǎozàng chuán peaceful again.
THE END