Zombie Meat and Grinding Stick

It is said that the sea is a man's home, representing freedom and unrestrained spirit, and possessing endless beauty. Russell, however, had little interest in sailing. His doggerel, "The Sea and the Horse," is very realistic; he didn't see any beautiful scenery.

It's nothing but water, and it's salty!

The entrance to David Jones's Prison is at the ends of the earth, which sounds very grand, but it's actually just the Antarctic ice sheet. You can reach the destination by heading south from Singapore.

The voyage was rather long, so Russell handed the helm over to Barbossa, appointed Tai Huang as the first mate, and stayed in the captain's cabin all day without venturing out.

Although Barbossa had a history of kicking out captains, Russell didn't care. On the vast ocean, one person's strength was too insignificant, and Barbossa couldn't start the Sea Queen.

That's right, Barbossa wasn't alone; Turner, Elizabeth, and Jack's bunch of comedic henchmen were all sticking together for him. But so what? Even with the Immortal Monkeys, they still didn't have more than ten people, and they still couldn't operate the Sea Queen.

The ship full of Chinese pirates obeyed Tai Huang's orders and followed Russell's lead. Having witnessed his superhuman strength, the possibility of them being instigated to rebel was zero.

Barbossa was not without reason. His goal on this trip was to find Jack. He wouldn't ask for more than just the Sea Queen's ship.

On deck, hundreds of sailors bustled about, working diligently under Tai Huang's command. When the pirate flag was raised, they were pirates; when the flag was lowered, they were sailors.

The Sea Queen suffered considerable damage in the naval battle. As the ship passed an island, it filled up with supplies and looted a batch of planks. The ship's carpenters were repairing the hull. The remaining sailors either raised or lowered the sails, climbed onto the lookout tower, or mostly cleaned the decks and cannons, and took the supplies out of the hold to air them out.

After drying them, we moved them back, continued wiping the deck, and then brought out the supplies.

It's not that Tai Huang likes to make things difficult for people, but when more than a hundred grown men get together, they have to be given something to do. Otherwise, with nowhere to vent their energy, who knows what might happen.

Elizabeth agreed, saying that was the way to do it, and that they should be exhausted so that no one would be staring at her lecherously!

What infuriated her most was that these energetic scumbags not only looked at her with lustful eyes, but also at Turner.

She admitted that Turner had a charming face, was very handsome, and could be considered fair-skinned among pirates, but he was a man, a man with a penis.

A group of men were leering at a man. What were they planning to do?

No, what can they do?

Elizabeth was speechless. "These people must be blind. Will is a bit pale, but he's definitely not a woman..."

Around noon, Barbossa and his men sat on the deck enjoying a delicious lunch. The Chinese pirates were very xenophobic, and they were isolated, forced to eat on the deck.

The supplies were renowned and originated in Britain. They were smuggled goods that naval soldiers were secretly selling to earn extra money, but were eventually bought back by Tai Huang's men.

Dried peas, hard biscuits, bacon, cheese, rum!

Among them, salted meat was affectionately called "Zombie Meat" by Britain naval soldiers. It came in both pork and beef, and because it was a strategic resource, it had a very long shelf life. Eating salted meat from several years ago was considered extremely lucky, while eating salted meat from decades ago was considered normal.

Hard biscuits are called 'teething sticks' because they are really hard; unless you have incredibly strong teeth, you'll need to soak them in hot soup for quite a while. If you're lucky, you might even find black maggots inside—they're extremely high in protein and a little sweet!

As for cheese, you can refer to hard biscuits. Because they are stored for many years, they become hard enough to be used as carving knives. You can carve a few handicrafts when you have free time and earn some extra money.

Barbossa chewed on dry peas, while the immortal monkey on his shoulder jumped up and down. It wouldn't die even if it didn't eat, but the instinct for survival still drove it to please Barbossa and beg for some food.

"Oh, Jack, you little rascal."

Barbossa laughed as he picked up the knife and, with great effort and trembling all over, cut off a small piece of cheese. "Look... look at this... Damn, I'm exhausted."

The monkey chattered as it took the cheese, winking and making faces as if thanking Barbossa. It swallowed the cheese whole and chewed it vigorously.

"Crack! Crack... Snap!!"

The immortal monkey spat out a tooth, tilted its head back, and fell off Barbossa's shoulder. It thrashed its legs on the ground and then fell still.

"Good heavens!" Elizabeth looked away with a dark expression. This was not funny at all, because she might also have lost a tooth from the impact.

She forked a piece of cured meat from her plate. "High-class smuggled goods from Britain, how nice it sounds. It turns out our country's naval soldiers live such a miserable life."

"If you don't want it, you can give it to me." The tall, thin, one-eyed pirate looked at the salted meat on Elizabeth's plate with a drooling expression. He had already finished his own portion and thought it was pretty good.

The short, stout Mediterranean pirate was equally eager, but with three eyes staring at her, Elizabeth lost her appetite even more and casually tossed the salted meat off her fork. One-Eyed and Mediterranean pounced, and the two wrestled together. The salted meat was of excellent quality; despite being pulled and pulled by the two, it didn't deform.

"Will, what do you think?"

Turner swallowed the shriveled peas, feeling as if a knife had scraped his esophagus. His face turned pale, and he took a big gulp of rum. "This is terrible. I'm afraid I won't make it to see Jack one last time."

"This is life at sea, you have to learn to adapt." Jack's first mate, Gibbs, swallowed the salted meat with difficulty and raised his glass. "Try to look on the bright side, at least we still have rum."

Barbossa agreed, raising his glass. "You're right, this is a toast to the great rum."

The group made the best of a bad situation, and the atmosphere quickly became lively. Elizabeth imitated Turner by swallowing a dry pea and taking a big gulp of rum.

"How are you feeling?" Turner asked with concern. Elizabeth came from a wealthy family, and if it weren't for him, she wouldn't have had to go to sea like this.

Elizabeth said with a smile, "It brings back memories. When I was a child, my father would feed his warhorse, and I would sneak a few bites of dried peas."

"Elizabeth ..." Turner was deeply moved. He knew Elizabeth was lying to cheer him up.

"Will ..."

The two held hands tightly, their affection evident, completely ignoring the curses from the sidelines, and showering each other with their love.

Just then, an enticing aroma wafted onto the deck—was it the smell of food, or perhaps a freshly cooked gourmet dish?

The laughter stopped instantly. Everyone stared at the biscuits on the plate, which were harder than rocks, and the bacon that was probably older than them. They all fell silent. Even Turner and Elizabeth lost their appetite for romance.

"Coo coo coo~~"

Someone's stomach rumbled.

Barbossa wiped his mouth gracefully and said apologetically, "Guys, it's a great lunch, but I suddenly remembered that I have something very important to discuss with the strategist. You guys eat first, don't wait for me."

With that, Barbossa rose from the table and, without looking back, strode into the cabin.

Elizabeth and Turner exchanged a glance, nodded, and said in unison, "This matter is a bit complicated. Barbossa can't explain it all by himself. Let's go help him."

Gibbs and his companions exchanged silent glances, cursing the shameless pirates inwardly, and hurriedly got up to chase after them.

"Clang!"

At the entrance to the cabin, Tai Huang stood blocking the way with his sword, stopping Gibbs and his men. "Go back, your dining table is over there."

"But Barbossa and his two companions... that's discrimination!" Gibbs and the others stared wide-eyed. Even if it was differential treatment, this was far too obvious. Weren't they good? They were clearly hilarious!

Tai Huang scoffed dismissively. He was an honest man who didn't mince words and said directly, "That's right, it's discrimination. You're too ugly, it will affect the adults' appetite."

Gibbs: "..."

I'm not ugly, the ones after me are ugly!

Xiao Feng's private cabin was located at the stern of the main deck. In the distinct social hierarchy of the Chinese world, the room was decorated with extreme luxury to emphasize the captain's distinguished status. Spices, ivory artifacts, high-end furniture, and precious carpets were all provided. An incense burner sat on the captain's desk, emitting wisps of smoke, adding a touch of elegance to the luxury.

Dry, warm, and comfortable—it doesn't feel like being at sea at all!

The central octagonal table was laden with delicacies from land and sea. Russell sat in the main seat, with his lackey Jason standing behind him.

Barbossa and the other two sat down separately, all maintaining proper table manners. Russell didn't touch the food, so they just sat there.

"Don't worry, there was no poison. I've just been eating too much rich food these past few days and haven't had much of an appetite." Russell said, picking up an apple and taking a bite. After thinking for a moment, he picked up another apple and handed it to Barbossa.

"Strategist, thank you for your hospitality." Barbossa stood up, took the apple, took a bite, and the sweet juice flowed into his throat. He raised his glass to toast Russell.

Seeing Barbossa start eating, Elizabeth and Turner followed suit. Their relationship was strange, like mortal enemies and friends at the same time. Most of the time, Barbossa played the role of the head of the family.

"Strategist, it was unavoidable that you were involved in this trip, and I hope you won't mind."

"It's alright, I happen to want to see Jack too." Russell nodded with a smile. Barbossa was so polite that even if you knew he was faking it, it was hard to feel any displeasure.

Turner stopped eating and politely asked, "Excuse me for being blunt, but what do you want with Jack?"

Russell replied matter-of-factly, "I have long admired the name of the famous Captain Jack Sparrow, the legendary pirate of the Caribbean, and would like to meet him."

Elizabeth retorted, "Then you might be disappointed. His so-called legendary experiences are all rumors. He's just a lucky conman."

"No, I don't think so..." Russell raised his glass, took a small sip, and said meaningfully, "There are countless devils on the sea, and Jack has offended most of them!"

Elizabeth was speechless. What he said made a lot of sense, but what did it have to do with meeting Jack?

"A person who can cause trouble everywhere and still live a carefree life is not just lucky; he can be called a legendary pirate." Russell said, glancing at Barbossa. "Of course, Captain Barbossa, you are also a legendary figure."

"Thank you for your praise!" Barbossa accepted the title of 'legend' with a smile, then paused and asked, "Strategist, I have a question: Jack has not offended you before, has he?"

Upon hearing Barbossa's question, Elizabeth and Turner instantly realized, their eyes filled with a hint of sadness. Jack's smug smile flashed through their minds, and it was indeed possible that such a thing had happened.

"No, I'm not the devil, and he hasn't offended me..." Russell thought for a moment, then added, "At least not yet!"