Chapter 74

"Both my elder brother and I saw him kill the shark with our own eyes. Are you saying we're both lying?!" Bo Xiaosan was straightforward by nature, but he was not good at vividly recounting the story, so he had no way of convincing others. He was just angry that others didn't believe him and his brother, his face turning purple with frustration. It looked like a fight was about to break out.

The temperament of the Tanka people was like the sea; when they got angry, they really got angry. A group of young Tanka people, when they got together, would either drink or fight, which was one of the reasons they didn't live in large communities. Who could stand constant fighting? It was better to find their own fishing grounds. After all, the sea, unlike land, was vast, and there was plenty of space for everyone.

"Hey, you kids, calm down. Who has good eyesight? Come over and help me see what those two small things are on the sea surface." Just before Bo Xiaosan and the two young Tanka men were about to fight, an elderly Tanka man stood up from a nearby bonfire. His hair was completely white, and his legs were bent outward, clearly suffering from severe rheumatism, but he still came with the fleet.

"Old Rong, that's Hong Tao's small boat, my brother-in-law. He's called Fanban and can run very fast in the sea. I can use it too!" When the old man spoke, Bo Xiaosan and the two young Tanka men stopped arguing. It seemed the old man had a lot of authority. Bo Xiaosan even walked up the hill, shading his eyes to look into the distance. It wasn't very clear; the sunset had dyed the entire sea a light yellow, and the waves, when stirred, looked like a broken mirror, reflecting light everywhere.

"It's very fast... What's in front of it? They seem to be chasing something..." The old man, despite his small, wrinkled, and white-haired appearance, had good hearing and eyesight, and he could see even more clearly than Bo Xiaosan.

"It's... it's, it's, it's... Elder Brother, our brother-in-law has encountered a whale! Hurry up!" Bo Xiaosan shaded his eyes again and looked carefully. Just then, the injured whale surfaced to breathe, spraying a mist of water that formed a small rainbow in the sunset. But Bo Xiaosan wasn't captivated by the beautiful scene; he stared wide-eyed for two seconds and then turned around, shouting hysterically.

Whales were not uncommon to the Tanka people. Along the coast, there were always small pilot whales and dolphins, and everyone lived in peace. But the whales in the open sea were not so friendly. They were even more terrifying than sharks, with bodies as big as small mountains and in large numbers. Almost every time they went out to sea, they would encounter these giants, which would either affect their harvest or, in severe cases, cost lives.

"Whale... where? Where?" Bo Xiaosan's shout not only made Bo Xiaoe jump up from the ground but also electrified the other Tanka people around the bonfires, who all ran to the top of the hill to look eastward.

"Old Rong, please save my brother-in-law. My sister hasn't married yet. If he's gone, my grandfather will die of grief!" Bo Xiaoe also ran over, looked for a moment, and then turned to kneel before the old man, crying and wiping his nose and tears.

"Brat, look clearly. It's not the whale chasing your brother-in-law; it's your brother-in-law chasing the whale! Everyone, kneel down and pray to Mazu for protection, praying that our Tanka people have produced another hero, a hero who can hunt whales! I, Rong San, have lived for seventy years and only heard from my grandfather that he once saw five Tanka brothers hunt a five-zhang-long whale in the Southern Yue Kingdom. Only three of the five brothers survived. Pray to Mazu to protect our young man!" The old man with white hair had a loud voice. He slapped Bo Xiaoe on the back of the head and then led the way in kneeling, bowing to the north, and praying incessantly.

Hong Tao and Karl were now weaponless and could only follow the injured whale. It was finally slowing down, needing to surface for air every minute, and the water it sprayed was tinged with blood, clearly indicating internal bleeding. The large bundle of bamboo tubes, which were insignificant when the whale was healthy, now dragged heavily, requiring constant tail movements to continue swimming. Each time it moved, the tail of the harpoon would tear more flesh, and a large amount of blood would gush out, quickly diluted and washed away by the waves.

"What are they doing? Instead of coming to help, they're just kneeling and praying. Can they pray the whale to death?" With the help of the bonfires on the island, Hong Tao could now see the figures on the shore. He was very frustrated by the sight of everyone kneeling and praying. After three hours of struggling with Karl, his arms were almost numb. If it weren't for the chest hook attached to the sail, he might not have been able to control the sailboard. If the Tanka people could row over and each use a grappling hook to tear at the whale, it would be finished, much more effective than any number of prayers.

"If you came to my country, they would also kneel and pray. Only the wild Vikings from the far north can hunt whales at sea, and they do it with dozens of people and several ships. But now, it's just the two of us." Despite long-term malnutrition, Karl was quite lean but had remarkable endurance. He had been persisting with Hong Tao and was still lively, even having the time to think.

"If we had enough harpoons and larger barrels instead of bamboo tubes, it would have died long ago... Finally, they know to go into the sea. I thought a dying whale would scare hundreds of people, and if that were the case, I would be very disappointed." As he spoke, the crowd on the island finally moved. The Tanka people, after their prayers, ran down the hill toward the sea. The faster ones had already waded into the water and climbed into small wooden boats, rowing toward them.

"Elder Brother, tell everyone not to get too close. Don't you have the grappling hooks I made? Throw them at its back and see its reaction. If there's no reaction, use the hooks to tie it with ropes and drag it to shore. It's getting dark, and if a shark pack comes, I'll have wasted the whole afternoon!" Hong Tao gritted his teeth, using the last of his strength to row the sailboard, accelerating past the whale and approaching the leading small wooden boat. It was Bo Xiaoe and Bo Xiaosan, clearly showing that brothers were the best for such tasks.

"Got it, what about my sister?" Bo Xiaoe responded, still remembering to ask about Bo Zhu.

"She's steering the boat. Your sister is much more useful than the two of you. Without her help, we wouldn't have caught this big one!" To cover up the fact that Bo Zhu was steering the boat, Hong Tao deliberately praised her. In fact, it was the truth. Bo Zhu's sailing skills were really good; she had kept up with the whale without losing it, maintaining a good distance. For an 18-year-old girl on her first deep-sea trip, alone, it was impressive that she didn't panic.

PS: Clicks, favorites, and recommendations! Throw them all at Hong Tao...

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