Chapter 103: Edward’s Treasure (2)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Turning their heads, they saw a handsome and dignified man, accompanied by a stunningly beautiful woman who appeared almost fairy-like, stepping onto the merchant ship’s deck from the plank connecting the two ships.
Wherever their gaze fell, no pirate dared to meet their eyes.
What surprised them more was the presence of dozens of Naga warriors following behind the man.
With their tall stature, fierce bone blades, and serpent-like bodies with dragon heads, their icy cold gazes made it feel as though they were looking at the dead.
Instantly, a sense of despair washed over them, and a wave of sorrowful emotions emerged.
They thought,” We’re done for. Our lives will be lost here.”
A few timid ones even began to cry.
When Ji Chen saw someone suddenly burst into tears, he couldn’t help but be taken aback.
“What’s going on? Why are you crying when I haven’t done anything yet?”
Unable to understand the logic of these people, Ji Chen shrugged and asked, “Who is the owner of these two ships?”
A thin and trembling middle-aged man stood up hesitantly and stammered, “Y-y-your Excellency… I-I am the consul of the merchant convoy for these two ships…”
Seeing how frightened the children were, Ji Chen let out a sigh, “Don’t be nervous. I only seek wealth, not lives. As long as you cooperate, no one will die.”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into tears of joy.
They obediently crouched on the ground, behaving like good children.
Ignoring them, Ji Chen turned to the consul of the merchant convoy and asked, “What is the cargo on these two ships?”
Upon hearing that their lives were spared, the consul, now rejuvenated, hurriedly replied.
“Esteemed Lord, of the two ships, one is carrying cotton, and the other is carrying flax. They were originally meant to be transported to the Western Continent.”
Cotton and flax?
In his memory, both of these materials were used for making fabrics and clothing.
Well, coincidentally, his territory was in dire need of decent clothing materials, and these two shiploads could solve that problem.
Moreover, there was no need to transport them elsewhere for sale; they could be consumed internally.
One could only say that this plundering opportunity was perfect.
“So, I’ll take all this cotton and flax. I hope you don’t mind,” Ji Chen remarked.
“No, no, it’s my pleasure to offer it to you, Your Excellency,” the consul replied, showing his compliance.
Seeing the consul being so cooperative, Ji Chen nodded in satisfaction and patted his shoulder.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he instructed the pirates to start moving the cotton from the merchant ship.
Bag after bag of cotton was loaded onto the pirate ship, finally giving some substance to its empty cargo hold.
The consul of the merchant convoy observed as the pirates only moved the cotton from one ship and left the flax untouched, growing increasingly puzzled.
“Your Excellency, why aren’t we taking the flax from the other ship?”
Ji Chen glanced at him and said, “I can’t be bothered to move it separately. Let’s take it all together. If everyone squeezes in a bit, you should be able to return on this ship.”
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And so, both sides happily reached their “agreement”.
The people from both merchant ships were forcibly accommodated onto a single ship, causing the waterline to nearly match that of a fully laden vessel.
Ji Chen kindly left them with food and fresh water, enough for their journey back.
Amidst a farewell salute, the overloaded merchant ship set sail.
Departing with a tinge of sorrow.
Having successfully completed the transaction, Ji Chen was in high spirits.
He had acquired the cargo from two ships without any damage. It couldn’t have gone any better.
After all, he was just a benevolent person.
Look, these two merchant ships were heavily burdened. He was merely helping to alleviate their transportation strain!
Hmm? Did you argue that this was undoubtedly an act of piracy?
But what did that have to do with him? Wasn’t the plundering carried out by the Black Skull Pirate Group? How did Ji Chen fit into the equation?
See, the ships originally belonged to the Black Skull Pirate Group, the pirates aboard were part of the Black Skull Pirate Group, and even the sails displayed the Black Skull emblem.
Therefore, the conclusion is clear: the perpetrators were the Black Skull Pirate Group!
Thinking of this, Ji Chen secretly laughed.
With a wave of his hand, the fleet continued forward.
Because of the addition of a merchant ship full of goods, the speed of the fleet was much slower.
The originally planned two-day journey was delayed to three days.
Along the way, they encountered many other merchant ships, but most of them were protected by frigates or equipped with many cannons.
To avoid slowing down their progress, Ji Chen refrained from further acts of plunder and obediently proceeded towards their destination.
They finally arrived at the island where the treasure map was located at noon on the third day.
This was an island with towering mountains.
They first circled the entire island to observe the terrain.
The island was concave, and the main part was almost occupied by mountains. The edges were almost all steep cliffs, and at the end of the depression was a gentle beach, which was also the only place on the entire island where one could land.
Unexpectedly, the concave area was very s.p.a.cious, and the water was deep enough for four ships to anchor there.
However, for safety, he still parked the boats near the sea and took a small boat to land on the beach.
Behind the beach was a dense forest.
Ji Chen took out the treasure map and looked at it.
The place marked on it was in the depths of the island.
With a wave of his hand, the army began to march forward.
This island was very primitive. If there was no treasure map, no one would have thought that there was a pirate’s treasure buried here.
Deep into the woods, he gradually saw traces of people.
Broken houses covered in spider webs, rough decorations, bones tied to wooden stakes, broken pirate flags…
These remnants indicated that this was once a pirate nest.
Could it be that this was the pirate Edward’s lair?
After pa.s.sing through the forest, there was a long and narrow river valley. On both sides of the riverbank were steep rock walls.
The location of the treasure was at the end of the valley.
Seeing that there was nothing worth paying attention to here, Ji Chen didn’t have the leisure to explore the secrets hidden there.
Right now, he only wanted to find the treasure and take it away.
As soon as they entered the valley, they instantly felt the temperature drop.
There was a stream flowing in the valley. The clear and clean stream flowed slowly from the upper reaches. The noon sun shone down from the sky, reflecting a golden light in the water.
Under the golden light, there was a place that was particularly dazzling.
Ji Chen narrowed his eyes and raised his right hand.
The water flowing downstream was blocked, revealing a golden circular object under the shallow riverbed.
This discovery made the pirates beside him exclaim in surprise. They hurriedly ran over and picked it up.
After looking at it carefully, he was overjoyed and handed it over to Ji Chen.
“My Lord, it’s a coin!”
Looking at the gold coin in his hand, Ji Chen smiled.
Perhaps Edward had accidentally dropped the gold coin in the river when he was burying the treasure.
It seemed that the treasure was at the end of this valley.
With this discovery, the morale of the group soared, and they quickened their pace.
Gradually, they started finding scattered gold coins in the stream.
This further bolstered their belief in the authenticity of the treasure, filling them with excitement.
Among them, the pirates were particularly thrilled.
From their accounts, they learned that Edward was not just an ordinary pirate.
“Edward was a formidable pirate from a hundred years ago, a name that struck fear into the hearts of all traders in the Western Central Ocean. His legend still echoes throughout the region.”
“His flagship, the Blackbeard, was the most powerful warship in the Western Central Ocean during that era, having plundered numerous merchant ships.”
“For over a decade, he acc.u.mulated immeasurable wealth through his plundering, and he even dared to attack warships of the kingdoms. It was this audacity that provoked a kingdom to send an entire fleet to hunt him down.”
“Legend has it that although Edward managed to escape the pursuit, he suffered severe injuries. Before he died, he returned to a hidden island and buried all his ill-gotten wealth.”
The pirates vividly described the stories.
As he listened, Ji Chen couldn’t help but become intrigued. He hadn’t expected such a background story.
In that case, he hoped that this treasure wouldn’t disappoint him.
Advancing along the valley, they finally reached its end after two hours.
It was a circular valley surrounded by towering cliffs.
To the left was a cascading waterfall, the source of the stream. To the right was a dilapidated house, with vines and weeds covering the eaves.
In the center of the rocky wall, there was a stone structure.
At the heart of the structure was a stone door..