"What about fresh corpses?" the captain asked, her tone softening.
"The First Mate's remaining followers. Anyone who wavers. They'll all provide corpses." Xia Lun paused, then continued, "Listen, Geliide. The fact that it eats people isn't entirely bad for us. We can use the fear and suspicion it creates to divide our enemies."
"We need to unite whoever's left, not turn them against each other with fear!" Urgency crept into the captain's voice. "If you believe that monster's lies, suspicion will let it pick us off one by one. Our only chance is to go up there, rally everyone, and fight to the death."
"Which is why we execute anyone who loses their nerve," Xia Lun said calmly. "Besides, we don't know where the others stand. If you speak up without thinking, you could spark another mutiny. Then it'll all be over."
The captain almost laughed. She leaned in sharply, her chestnut eyes fixed on Xia Lun. "How do you know who'll lose their nerve? Are you the Mind Worm that priest was talking about?"
Xia Lun turned and met the captain's eyes. "You should trust me. We're allies. I have a way—a very reliable way."
The captain drew hard on her Pipe, frowning. A few seconds later, she slowly blew out a ring of smoke.
"Fine. Let's see what you've got."
"What am I supposed to do?!"
On deck, the Gunner screamed hysterically, his voice as shrill as a child's.
"The First Mate was already dead when I got there. I saw him with my own eyes!"
"Bang! One shot, and the First Mate's pointy head burst like red coral! You can't imagine how fast that prisoner was with a gun!"
Beside the Gunner, an old man with one eye left gave a cold laugh. "So everyone who could sail the ship or plot a course is dead. Wonderful. We're finished."
"Look on the bright side. At least the storm's dying down, and we're clear of it." The stocky priest gripped the Holy Emblem at his chest and spoke in a steady voice. "We need to find a way to get the captain back up here. She's still alive."
"Rescue the captain? The first thing she'll do up here is kill us all." The Gunner sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "If you didn't stop the mutiny, you took part in it."
"She'll need people to help sail the ship. There aren't many of us left." The old man shook his head. "Even if she wants revenge, she'll have to wait until we reach Perilous Earth Island."
"Then you go down and rescue her." The Gunner sneered. "I'm not going."
"We could recruit a few prisoners who know how to sail." The old man drew his dagger and tossed it into the air. "That's one option. We have plenty of food and water now."
The priest sighed, then looked back at the corpses strewn across the deck with something like pity.
"Thanks to our merciful Gunner. He's killed almost every prisoner to prevent a revolt."
The Gunner's eyes widened. "Don't talk nonsense. There are still a few who agreed to join us, aren't there?"
"Right. You didn't kill them all. There are three left." The priest sighed and looked toward the turncoat sailors throwing bodies into the sea.
One of them was thin and wore a pair of broken round spectacles. Seeming to notice the priest's gaze, he turned and gave the three pirate leaders a gentle, bashful smile.
"Recruiting people takes time. You have to cross their boundaries little by little," the priest grumbled. "I can't control minds. How could I turn someone into an outlaw with a few words? Why were you so quick to kill them?"
"I don't know how that works," the Gunner said, his voice fading. "I only killed them to prevent a riot."
Thunk! The old man drove his dagger into the table impatiently. It shuddered, scattering droplets of cold water.
"Enough. Stop blaming each other. Do any of those three have the skills of a senior crewman?" he asked grimly.
"Just a doctor. The one with the broken spectacles." The priest pointed behind him. "The prisoners' captain killed himself before we seized the ship. Their First Mate died fighting. All their apprentices died too."
"What about their navigator?" The old man narrowed his eye.
"The prisoner who called himself a carpenter, badly wounded the sea monster, and killed the First Mate's whole crew—that's their navigator." The priest smiled. "And now he's fallen into the hold too."
The Gunner gave a jaunty whistle. "So we're back where we started."
"Then we drift for now. Something will turn up." The old man pulled out his dagger, his expression suddenly fierce. "If it comes to it, we'll light the whale oil belowdecks and die with the monster!"
He went on, "We can't let that thing hurt anyone else. If it follows another ship to Perilous Earth Island, then..."
"The monster kills people. So do we. What's the problem if it reaches Perilous Earth Island? What, you're an old pirate who wants to play the hero?" the Gunner cut in coldly, squinting at the one-eyed man.
The air went tense.
The old man suddenly grinned. He seemed to have realized something, and his gaze grew colder as it settled on the Gunner.
"All the property we've built up over the years—and our mistresses—are on Perilous Earth Island. If that monster follows us there, it's all over," the priest said, trying to smooth things over. "But we don't necessarily have to die with it..."
The Gunner whistled again. "I'm an old bachelor with nothing tying me down. Not that I'm criticizing you, but we've always risked our lives for a living. What's the point of hoarding money? Don't tell me you still plan to retire. You're kidding, right? I say staying alive matters most."
"A word of advice, boy." The old man's smile never reached his eye, and his wrinkles bunched together. "The more you fear death at sea, the more likely you are to die."
"Here's some advice for you, old man." The Gunner gripped his pistol, his face devoid of humor. "Don't pull rank with me just because you're old."
Bang!
The deck hatch beside them suddenly flew open from below. Both men, poised to fight, jumped in fright.
"Put your weapons down," the captain snapped. She stepped onto the deck and swept a cold gaze over the three of them. "Are you still going to fight among yourselves?"
The captain was back?!
The Gunner instinctively tightened his grip on his pistol, ready to fire. Then his pupils abruptly contracted.
Behind the captain, a silent black-haired man watched him coldly—the prisoner who had shot the First Mate!
The captain had joined forces with that prisoner?!
His heart seemed to stop.
In an instant, fear seized his heart and mind like claws of ice. Scenes from that horrific, bloody fight in the hold flashed before his eyes.
A shattered skull. Blood spraying everywhere. A burst eyeball. Screams cut short. The rasping sound of someone suffocating. At last, amid the smell of blood and gunpowder, those visions became a pair of black eyes studying him.
The Gunner was paralyzed with fear. He didn't dare make a move.
From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the gunmen he had stationed in ambush at the other two exits. They hadn't even realized the captain was back on deck!
Bang!
A deafening gunshot exploded beside his ear, its shrill blast striking his head like a hammer. The Gunner jolted.
A moment passed before he realized the captain had fired into the air.
"Everyone, get over here! I have an announcement!" the captain shouted.
Before you continue