Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 230

A Sailor’s Adventure
St. Joseph's College, Wong, Kaemon Lok Tin - 12
I’m an exceptional sailor, if I do say so myself. I’ve sailed among thousands of cities, countries and exotic
lands. I’ve discovered places never heard of or put on a map. I’ve fought against and conquered pirates and
intruders, made treaties and brought precious treasures and gifts back to my homeland, to the delighted
wonder of my emperor. However, among all these exhilarating adventures, only one expedition has truly
left a mark upon my soul – the Ming treasure voyages.
That was when I was pretty young, around my early twenties. I was one of the chosen sailors to go
on this grand event, which was promised to be legendary. At that time I was on Admiral Zheng’s personal
ship, carrying countless boxes of jewelry and priceless goods, along with hundreds of military weapons. Our
goal was to show the wealth and power of China to the world by giving out these treasures. The evening
before we set sail, the mighty Yongle Emperor held a scrumptious banquet, to pray and wish us a successful
journey. We departed the next day with gifts of gold brocades, patterned silks and coloured silk gauze.
All was peaceful. The pleasant wind and sea brought us to Champa, then Java, Malacca, Aru,
Semudera and Lambri. However, a few days after departure from Lambri, one of our ships accidentally split
off and sailed to the Nicobar Islands. We couldn’t afford delays so Admiral Zheng decided to abandon the
ship while we continued to set sail. A week later, we admired the splendid and majestic mountains of
Ceylon, and we took a few days to arrive. Nevertheless, we met a belligerent inclination from Alagakkonara,
so we evacuated the whereabouts.
While we were returning home, we addressed Chen Zuyi and his freebooter fleet in Palembang. I
was immediately agitated, for I knew he and his crew were the strongest pirates of Southeast Asia at that
time, and there was no doubt our vessel would be demolished and decimated into smithereens, and all of
our men would perish, including Zheng He himself. Some of our men advocated that we should try to
avoid them, but Zheng He resolved that we should fight back in order to triumph. Seeing that this was our
only solution, we loaded up our ships with our cannons, our bowmen readied their recurves and crossbows,
and our gladiators and warriors took out their blades and swords. Just as our last warrior got into position,
the skirmish emerged.
Instantly, battle cries echoed through the winds. Shafts and darts sizzled by. The cannons roared.
Bridges promptly fell between Chen Zuyi’s boats and ours, allowing our melee troops to engage. Sparks
flew everywhere. I wasn’t a fighter. I wasn’t strong enough to hold a sword, nor was I precise enough to be
an archer. Everything happened in a blur. The stench of blood filled the air, punctuated by screams of pain.
When one of our men collapsed right next to me, an arrow in his chest, a rush of adrenaline coursed
through me and I used all my strength to rush into the battlefield. A blizzard of spears was shrilling and
sassing in the sky. Men were snaring and squealing as the ground became greasy with gore. Our weapons
were clanging and clangorous under the seething, spite-filled sky. Geysers and fountains of tangy blood
splattered into the air. Instantaneously, something sedating shot me, which caused me to faint.
When I awoke from the poison in my blood, I was in an infirmary – back in China! A few weeks
later, I was requested to join the second expedition. I politely declined this offer, the last trauma still fresh on
my mind. If I had agreed to join, it might possibly have been my last adventure ever. This has been an
exotic voyage for me, and I shall forever treasure them. If you ask me if I would ever abandon this
experience from my head, I would reply, “Not in a million years!”