"Something's wrong, Lord Xi'er!"
With a shout, the storeroom door was pushed open, and a panic-stricken figure burst inside.
Xi'er, who had been lost in fantasies of a wonderful world, jumped at the loud noise. His temper flared, and he roared at the newcomer.
"What's going on? Do you have a death wish?"
"Lord... Xi... er..."
The pirate shuddered at Xi'er's vicious expression, too frightened to speak coherently. He could only point outside the door, fear written all over his face.
Xi'er was about to fly into a rage when he suddenly heard a tremendous splash, as though something enormous had leaped out of the sea.
Then came a heavy splash as something immensely heavy fell into the water.
The ship rocked violently in its wake, sending the pirates aboard staggering every which way, with a few women's screams mixed in.
After a dozen seconds or so, the waves gradually subsided, and the ship steadied. Xi'er grabbed the newcomer and bellowed.
"What's going on? What happened? Tell me!"
The shaking brought the man back to his senses.
"Lord Xi'er, I saw a carp! A golden carp! It was bigger than our ship! My God, I've never seen a fish that big!"
Xi'er could hardly believe it either. These weren't deep waters. Where had a fish bigger than their ship come from?
He shoved his subordinate aside and rushed out of the hold, ignoring everyone's stares as he hurried onto the deck.
Just as he reached it, he heard a tremendous splash behind him.
Xi'er turned around and was stunned by the sight before him.
It was a freshwater carp, golden all over, with a bright red tail.
Its enormous body leaped high over the top of the ship, making the vessel look tiny by comparison. The fish was simply too