Chapter 153 - The Return

It had been 55 days since the Jackdaw left the harbor, and all kinds of rumors were being spread around Nassau. Some said that they encountered a great storm, causing them to lose their way. Others talked about how they saw the navy capturing them, destroying their ship, and killing her entire crew. Some even claimed that they had crossed paths with mermaids, whose songs had bewitched the poor sailors in jumping into the sea.

All these rumors shared a common theme: the Jackdaw was never going to return to Nassau. The amount of food and water that Zhang Heng loaded was no secret. A month and a half had already passed, and even if they did not encounter any mishaps, they would have run out of food and water by now.

Situations like this were common among newly formed pirate crews. The reason Zhang Heng managed to capture so much attention was that he owned a corvette, and had the audacity to recruit a female pirate. Those who gambled on the Jackdaw not returning to Nassau were filled with excitement. As for the bystanders, they were disappointed by the Jackdaw’s fate. They would rather have the ship return empty-handed and see Zhang Heng getting stripped of the captain title by his own crew.

On the other hand, James remained true to himself. He proceeded to the tavern to have a drink once he received the news that the Jackdaw was gone forever. Somehow, he felt joyous that Zhang Heng was killed as he had taken his Anne away from him. However, when he thought about her, the smile on his face disappeared. He had used a great deal of effort to convince Anne to come to the New World and even spent a ton of money on her as well. Unfortunately, everything had gone to waste. Suddenly, James felt that the rum he was drinking had become devoid of taste.

The only person on the entire island who felt sad for the Jackdaw was Harry. He was drowning in sorrow for the past few days. Without Anne around, he soon dominated the few streets that were around him. Although kids were giving him money, he still felt that life had become pointless since Anne was no longer here. With hands in his pockets, Harry kicked around the pebbles on the road while he walked. He could not help but miss the moments when he got beaten up by Anne.

Anne’s fists were filled with power and fury when she beat Harry up. According to Harry, every single punch that Anne delivered carried a particular message for him. He claimed that he could feel his chest burning with passion each time she stuck him. Unfortunately, he would never get to see her again. He let out a long, exasperated sigh, one that did not match his age. The two kids that followed him started to suspect that their boss had gone insane.

It was at that moment that the three saw someone running from the harbor to the casino.

“The Jackdaw is back! They are back! Hahaha! I didn’t lose my bet!” screamed the person in excitement while running.

Of course, the three were shocked when they heard that the Jackdaw was back in Nassau. Everyone around here had accepted the fact that the Jackdaw was never going to return forever. Naturally, they should have come back a long time ago. Thus, according to some experienced pirates, this was a clear sign that they were dead as they had failed to return on the expected date. None of them thought that the Jackdaw would be able to defy all logic and made it back in one piece.

Immediately, Harry ran to the harbor as fast as his legs could carry him. There was already a crowd gathering at the pier, eager to see what was going on. Due to his small size, Harry managed to squeeze through the crowd and was soon in front of everyone. He saw a boat approaching the harbor. However, his heart fell when he saw that the person standing on the deck wasn’t Anne but a woman that he had never seen before.

The people gathering around had probably grown numb of seeing so many females popping out of the Jackdaw. Nevertheless, nobody really cared about Zhang Heng’s personal life. They were more concerned about the loot acquired from this trip. The few pirates who sent the woman to the harbor returned to the Jackdaw without saying a word. The first thing Carina did was to look for the captain of her ship. She told him something, and right after that, they quickly gathered all their sailors to their boat. They said nothing even though the crowd erupted into a bombardment of questions.

Their unusual behavior only drew more questions. Finally, someone in the crowd recognized the woman as Carina, the black-market merchant. Before the Jackdaw set sail, she had attempted to strike a deal with certain captains and black-market merchants from Nassau. In the end, she chose not to join the black-market alliance. Many thought that she had left Nassau for good after the failures. Nobody expected her to strike a deal with the Jackdaw.

After that, the crowd saw that the Gentle Breeze, a merchant ship, had moved closer to the Jackdaw. Once a wooden plank connected both ships, the pirates started to move hundreds of crates to the Gentle Breeze. There was some distance between the harbor and the Jackdaw; hence the crowd could not see their contents. All they knew was that they were moving a great number of items to the Gentle Breeze. Soon, they discovered that Carina previously sought a merchant in Nassau who provided loans. She remained in his house for about an hour, with the merchant personally sending her out as she left his place.

In the evening, Carina boarded the Gentle Wind and left Nassau. As for the pirates on the Jackdaw, they remained on the ship. Zhang Heng sent a few old pirates, ones who knew how to keep secrets well, to purchase some alcohol and food for the Jackdaw’s crew. He hoped that the food and drink would calm them down as they were not allowed to leave the ship for now. There was an unwritten rule in Nassau; pirates were not supposed to touch the ships of black-market merchants. Besides, the loot that they acquired this time was too valuable. Zhang Heng did not want to risk having his pirates telling others about it.

Though anything that happened after the trade had nothing to with the Jackdaw, Carina was definitely not wealthy enough to buy all those items from the Jackdaw. She was forced to use two of her properties in New Hampshire and the Gentle Breeze itself as collateral to get a loan from the businessman, where half of the money would be paid to the pirates on the Jackdaw. Zhang Heng, on the other hand, would have to wait until she sold all the goods before he could receive the other half of the money from her. This would be entered into the Jackdaw’s public fund.

That was why Zhang Heng had to continue to ensure the Gentle Breeze’s safety. Zhang Heng and Carina were now considered allies, and indeed, this wasn’t going to be a one-time deal. Zhang Heng would need her to continuously help him sell all his plunder. He had learned his lesson from the Kidd’s treasure incident where if he were to let his pirates return to the island, everyone would soon know that the Gentle Breeze was carrying a large number of valuable spices.