Margaret was awakened by the cold. Disheveled and dirty, she opened her eyes to survey her surroundings, only to find that nothing had changed. She was still on the unfamiliar deck.
On the glass of the ship's cabin above, a figure swathed in bandages was at the helm. The sight of his face made her shiver with fear; it was the very man who had bought them.
She had thought she had finally escaped Hell and was going home. Instead, she discovered the man had bought them for a sacrifice. If their own captain hadn't returned, she might have been sunk to the bottom of the sea by now. Her father was right. There wasn't a single good person at sea. They had no concept of the law, treating human life no differently than fish.
Father, where are you? Save me! If you can just get me out of here, I promise I'll stay on Inner He Fang Island and never leave again for the rest of my life. Tears of sorrow streamed down her face at the thought.
Just then, she heard a commotion. The sailors were beginning to wash the deck, and their voices reached her ears.
"Are we just going to keep this bunch around? Coral Island doesn't even allow the slave trade, so why are we hauling them back? We might as well just throw them into the sea."
Hearing this, the slaves all looked terrified and huddled together.
"The first mate bought them with his own money. They're his property. You dare throw them away?"
"I wouldn't dare. Besides the Captain, who dares to provoke him now? If he gets unhappy, he might just sacrifice me."
"Shut up. Don't you see him up there at the helm? We'll be in for it if he hears us."
Watching the sailors' boots slowly approach, Margaret hurriedly tucked her head inside a filthy sack.
THUMP!
A mop drenched in water smacked the slaves. "Are you all blind? Can't you see I'm mopping the deck? Get to the other side!"
The slaves huddled at the bow stood up and scurried toward the side of the deck like rats. Just as Margaret stood up to follow them, a towering sailor curiously blocked her path. His thick fingers pinched her chin and lifted it.
"Well now, look at this. This female slave is actually quite a looker."
As three sailors surrounded her, Margaret trembled all over. Filled with fear, she desperately tried to retreat, but the ship's rail was right behind her, leaving nowhere to go. A bucket of water splashed over her, washing the mud from her face. Her milk-white skin, delicate and petite face, and large, long-lashed eyes were revealed.
Seeing Margaret's hidden beauty, the sailors' breathing grew rapid. This mission had been too long, and they had been pent up for far too long.
Under the relentless, aggressive gazes of three pairs of eyes, a terrified Margaret cried out and struggled desperately. She had seen what happened to other girls in Sodoma.
"Get away from me! I am the daughter of the Governor of He Fang Island! You can't do this to me! Father, help me!"
"What are you doing?" a tired voice came from behind. The three sailors shuddered, quickly grabbed the mops from the deck, and stood in a line. "Reporting to the Captain! We're cleaning the deck!"
"How did slaves get on my ship?"
"Reporting to the Captain, the first mate bought them all for 4,000 Echo each! He was planning to sacrifice them to save you!"
Margaret saw the newcomer. He was a young man with black hair wearing a navy-blue Captain's Uniform. A diagonal scar across his face added a savage air to his features. Looking at the trembling sailors beside her, a tearful Margaret quickly lunged toward the young man. "Save me! I want to go home! I'll never come back to sea again!"
Before Margaret could finish, she felt an invisible force envelop her and push her to the ground.
Margaret struggled to sit up, coming face-to-face with the young man. Staring at the face so close to hers, something stirred in her heart.
"You say you're the daughter of the Governor of He Fang Island? Do you have any proof?"
The young man's words snapped Margaret back to reality. She frantically pulled a Fish Bone Card from her bosom. "This was a gift from my father. Just show this to him, and he'll know I'm here."
Anxiously, she watched the young man take it. Her life hung entirely on the whims of the man before her.
Just then, she noticed something horrifying. One of the young man's eyes was looking at her, while the other was fixed on the Fish Bone Card.
The sight terrified Margaret. She hugged herself and bit her lip hard.
"How did you escape?" The sudden question startled Margaret.
"I was captured and detained for a long time. But one night, an older girl saved me. I don't know who she was. She was wearing the same clothes as me and disguised herself to look like me."
As soon as Margaret finished speaking, she saw the young man furrow his brow, as if trying to recall something. She hurriedly pleaded again, "Sir, can you let me go back? If you send me back, my father will give you a handsome reward."
"Fine. That's what I was waiting for. The funding for our next adventure is secured."
Without fully understanding what was happening, Margaret was taken to be washed and was given a change of loose clothes. When she emerged from the bathing area, her true appearance was revealed. She could clearly feel the dark, sinister looks from the men on the ship.
Instinctively, Margaret quickened her pace back to the young man's side. No matter how cold and indifferent he was, she only felt safe near him.
"Can you write?"
"Yes…"
"Good. Write a letter to your father."
Joy had just begun to light up Margaret's face—she thought she had met a good samaritan—but the young man's next words startled her.
"Say that a kind-hearted person saved you, and to show your gratitude, you've agreed to a reward of five million Echo."
Margaret took the pen and began to write. No matter what, she was finally going home, back to that place filled with light.
After she finished, Margaret respectfully handed the letter to the young man. When he told her to leave, she instinctively felt a twinge of fear.
"Sir… may I stay by your side?" She didn't know who this young man was, only that she felt completely safe with him.
Just then, her stomach protested with a loud gurgle. Seeing the young man's gaze land on her, Margaret flushed and lowered her head in embarrassment.
Sitting in the dining hall, faced with a variety of simple foods, Margaret was so moved she almost cried. She hadn't felt this full since her capture. Suddenly thinking of something, she glanced at the young man dining beside her and sneakily stuffed some bread from the plates into her pockets.
After the meal, Margaret snuck onto the deck and quickly pulled the food out from her pockets. The slaves, who had been starving for a long time, scrambled for it frantically. One couldn't expect the sailors to have given them good food; it was a miracle they were alive at all.
"Why did you give them your food?" a voice suddenly asked from behind her. She spun around to see the Captain.
"Because being hungry is awful. I'm full, but they're still hungry."
"Have your father add a little more money, and I can see to it that they all eat better."
"Really? Sir, you're such a good person!" Margaret jumped for joy.
"A good person? Haha, perhaps."
Just as Margaret was secretly delighting in the thought that no one would have to go hungry anymore, she suddenly saw a point of light on the sea's surface. The light approached rapidly, revealing a large ship nearly a hundred meters long with a giant white triangle painted on its hull.