The two of them cleared away the leftovers. Looking at the pirate ship that had been battered by the waves beyond recognition, Su Buchi might not be able to find this small island anytime soon. If they wanted to return to the fishing village, they had to rely on themselves.
Li Ying remembered that Lu Xunguang had said there seemed to be aborigines on this island. She composed herself, pulled him along, and was ready to take a chance.
If they could borrow some ropes and planks to tie a raft, that would be perfect.
The two of them followed the distant cooking smoke. Before long, they came across a fishing household.
Li Ying knocked on the door. After waiting for a long time, an old woman finally came to answer. She only opened the door a tiny crack and looked at Li Ying warily.
"Grandma, my husband and I are fishermen from a neighboring village. We accidentally encountered a storm while at sea and almost died in the belly of the fish. We were lucky to drift onto your island. I wonder if we could stay here for one night?"
Li Ying spoke politely, but the old woman still frowned tightly, as if she hadn't heard clearly what Li Ying said.
Li Ying quickly added, "Grandma, don't worry. We're definitely not bad people! Once my husband finishes making the bamboo raft, we'll leave immediately. We won't cause you any trouble! This bit of silver is for the accommodation."
She took out a small piece of silver. Although the old woman still looked extremely skeptical, after taking the silver, her expression finally softened a bit. Then she shouted, "Zhu'er, come quickly and see what's going on!"
Her voice was so loud that Li Ying felt her eardrums were about to burst.
Grandma Sun was old and her hearing was inevitably impaired, but she wasn't as noisy as this old woman.
Li Ying thought it was a bit strange and exchanged a look with Lu Xunguang.
Soon, a young girl rushed over. She carefully glanced around and then welcomed Li Ying and Lu Xunguang into the shabby house, looking a bit apologetic.
"Dear guests, my grandma is hard - of - hearing. If there's any disrespect, please don't mind! Come in quickly!"
This Miss Zhu'er, after hearing Li Ying explain their purpose again, grinned brightly.
Although her eyes were clear, one could faintly see a trace of exhaustion that couldn't be concealed. Li Ying couldn't help but be even more curious.
Zhu'er took Li Ying's silver and helped them tidy up an empty room.
But this thatched hut was empty, with nothing but bare walls. The thin quilt had most of its cotton stuffing leaking out, and what was left was as hard as a rock. It was really shabby.
Seeing Li Ying looking around, Zhu'er nervously wrung her fingers, looking embarrassed.
Li Ying didn't want to make her uncomfortable and was about to explain when she heard a panicked voice outside the door.
"Oh no! The pirates are back!"
"Everyone be careful. The pirates seem to be in trouble. Their ship was smashed, so they're probably in a bad mood today and will take it out on us!"
Hearing this, Zhu'er and her grandma looked at each other and instantly turned as pale as death.
"Zhu'er, go and hide in the cellar quickly!"
The old woman's face was ashen. Turning to see Li Ying and Lu Xunguang, she said, "Take these two guests with you! Don't let them die in vain!"
Li Ying raised her eyebrows.
When the ship broke, many pirates jumped into the sea to escape. She naturally knew that these desperadoes were not easy to deal with, but she didn't expect to meet them again so soon.
Zhu'er was so anxious that she was about to cry. She bit her lip tightly and said, "Grandma, I'm not leaving! They're coming for me. If I run away, what will happen to you?"
Lu Xunguang couldn't bear to see the grandmother - granddaughter pair looking like they were facing a life - and - death separation. He coldly interrupted, "What are you crying for? The pirates also have a feud with us. Why don't you tell us the situation and we'll think of a way to fight them together."
Hearing Lu Xunguang's words, Zhu'er's expression became even more distressed.
"Big brother, you don't understand. Our village has been enslaved by the pirates for generations. We can't struggle free. My father and grandfather both died at the hands of the pirates. Only women and children are left, to be driven by them."
"Most families in the village are like ours. Even if you have extraordinary skills, you can't fight against so many people alone. I'm afraid..."
As she was speaking, the old woman had already gritted her teeth, changed into a ragged dress, and stood at the door.
"Zhu'er, grandma failed to protect your mother back then. I can't let anything happen to you today! You hide well at home. Grandma will go and take a chance to see if I can get some pearls to give to the pirates so that they'll spare your life!"
Hearing this, Zhu'er cried even more bitterly and hugged her grandma's leg tightly.
"Grandma, how can you go alone? If you can't dive anymore, who will pull the rope for you? You're the only family I have, grandma. You can't go! I'd rather be taken away by them!"
The grandmother - granddaughter pair hugged each other and cried, looking like they were facing a tragic life - and - death separation. Li Ying felt heart - broken and sighed silently. In her mind, she had already sorted out the whole story.
The pirates were running amok, and this small fishing village was their base.
The pirates had killed all the men in the village who still had the ability to resist, leaving only women and children to dive for pearls and offer them to Lady Lian.
Pearl - diving was always under the control of the imperial court. Li Ying couldn't figure out how Lady Lian, a merchant's wife, could have such great power. Now she understood.
This fishing village was her unseemly pearl - diving field!
No wonder Lady Lian could take out a string of pearls of excellent quality to give to Inspector Lin.
"Miss Zhu'er, if I'm not wrong, you and your grandma had your eardrums punctured by the pirates specifically for pearl - diving?"
Li Ying asked tentatively. Zhu'er didn't expect that this girl who seemed only a few years older than herself could see through the inside story of the pearl - diving mermaids in the village at a glance.
She was already at a loss, so she simply stopped beating around the bush with Li Ying and told her everything honestly.
It turned out that their fishing village had to hand over ten hu of pearls to the pirates every month to maintain a fragile peace.
If they couldn't gather ten hu of pearls, the pirates would arrest the girls in the village, have fun with them, and finally sell them to brothels to pay off the debt.
For the sake of these ten hu of pearls, every family in the village only had the task of pearl - diving every day. They were even forced to puncture the eardrums of newborn babies so that they could dive deeper.
But even so, they still couldn't escape misfortune.
A few days ago, for some unknown curse, a large area of red algae inexplicably drifted into the sea, dyeing the entire sea red.
Such a terrifying sight naturally made the villagers afraid to go into the water.
But as a result, it was inevitable that they couldn't gather the ten hu of pearls.
The pirate leader was furious and said that if they couldn't hand in the pearls on time, it would be Zhu'er's turn to be captured as his concubine.
Zhu'er thought she still had a few days to negotiate, but she didn't expect them to come so soon. After saying all this, she was already sobbing uncontrollably. Li Ying's eyebrows sank, and she turned to look at Lu Xunguang beside her. Sure enough, although he said nothing, the veins on his forehead were bulging with anger.