II. The Assault on the Fusang Pirates
1
Preparations for the assault operation code-named “Night Hawk” were carried out at full speed in the Little Keelung settlement of the Basya people.
Yarati invited the chiefs of the Ketagalan Basya villages, the Luilang people, and other settlements to gather in the council hall of the Little Keelung settlement. They discussed how to carry out the “divide-and-converge” assault operation.
To prevent word from leaking out, only a few of the chiefs leading the various units knew the exact timing and sequence of the operation.
The vanguard was led by Yarati’s nephew, the Yellow-Headband warrior Hadamu. He commanded a small unit of experienced warriors. Under cover of dusk, they carried detonators and explosives and, accompanied by Dongping, first traveled by small boat to a point ten nautical miles offshore from Ji-lung Islet. They would then be guided by a small group of dolphins in a covert approach to shore.
Their objectives were to blow up the pirates’ arsenal, burn down their granaries, destroy the dock facilities, and coordinate with the forces attacking from within and outside.
That night, a thick fog covered the sea, and visibility was extremely poor. It was the perfect time to launch Operation “Night Hawk.”
The vanguard had already set out, while the various supporting forces boarded their boats and departed from Suao Fishing Harbor in the south.
Hadamu and the other warriors were familiar with the island’s terrain. They quickly placed the explosives in position without the pirates noticing anything.
When the appointed hour arrived, thunderous explosions and flames erupted across the island. Smoke filled the air, sparks flew in every direction, and the night sky seemed to be illuminated by a spectacular display of fire.
Although the pirates were usually well trained, the sudden turn of events left them completely disorganized. In the chaos, they even turned on and killed one another.
As the various reinforcement forces came ashore one after another, they engaged the pirates at close quarters, exchanging gunfire and fighting with knives and swords.
After half an hour of fierce fighting, the pirates realized that the situation was hopeless. The remaining pirates threw down their weapons and surrendered one after another.
Operation “Night Hawk” had achieved a brilliant victory.
Yarati ordered his warriors to take the pirate chief and the important officers into custody and place them in the nearest dungeon to await interrogation at dawn.
Hadamu’s warriors continued searching the island for the remaining pirate soldiers who were still hiding.
The key to victory in this assault operation had been the vanguard’s bombing mission. That part of the operation had succeeded largely because of the dolphins’ timely assistance. Dongping, who had led the dolphin vanguard, therefore became a hero.
However, there was one regrettable incident near the end of the assault.
During the vanguard’s bombing operation, Dongping and the dolphins remained near the dock. A small group of defeated pirates attempted to break through the blockade from the dock area in a small boat.
They seized Dongping as a hostage and demanded that the dolphins move away.
In desperation, Lele risked his life and hurled himself into the small boat, knocking both the pirate and Dongping into the water.
At that very moment, a pirate’s long knife sliced a deep, lengthy wound across Lele’s abdomen.
Dongping fell into the sea and was quickly lifted out of the water by another dolphin, but Lele continued to bleed heavily and soon lost consciousness.
Holding Lele in his arms, Dongping broke down in tears.
He had never been so heartbroken in his life.
Lele’s mother forced herself to hold back her grief and instead comforted Dongping.
“Master Dongping, you were the one who saved Lele’s life. Now he sacrificed himself to save you. In a way, he has fulfilled the wish of his life.”
At dawn, Dongping personally gave Lele a sea burial. He insisted on leaving this place of sorrow and returned to the deserted island with the dolphins ahead of schedule.
It was nearly noon when Dongping returned to the deserted island.
He stood motionless in the shallow bay along the northern shore. This was the place where he and Lele had first become friends.
Dongping no longer shed tears. The lively and healthy image of Lele clearly appeared in his mind, and he felt as though Lele had never truly left him.
At that moment, Guangnan and Yunhua appeared.
Guangnan said, “Dongping, try not to dwell on it. Come back to the village with us.”
Dongping said quietly, “I want to stay here. I’m not planning to leave for the time being.”
Yunhua said, “Dongping, my father asked us to persuade you to come back. You are a hero of our Basya people. We need you!”
Dongping said, “Give me some more time, Guangnan, Yunhua. I promise I’ll come back to the village and find you.”
Seeing the situation, Guangnan and Yunhua realized that Dongping would not leave with them.
So they left behind rice, cooking oil, cooking utensils, a bedding set with blankets, several changes of clothes, kerosene lamps, and other daily necessities, along with fishing nets and fishing equipment. Their attendants carried everything into the cave where Dongping lived.
Dongping saw them off at the boat. Yunhua held Dongping’s hand, unable to bear saying goodbye.
2
The next day, Dongping was gathering shellfish in the southern reef area when he suddenly heard someone calling his name. The voice was not human. Dongping searched around for a while and saw a young bottlenose dolphin.
For a moment, Dongping lost himself in the thought that Lele had returned. He excitedly jumped and shouted from the rocks, “Lele, is that you? Lele, I miss you so much!”
“Master Dongping, I’m Huanhuan, Lele’s younger sister.”
The young bottlenose dolphin swam closer to Dongping.
Dongping came back to his senses and looked at her carefully. This little dolphin was slightly smaller, but she looked remarkably similar to Lele.
“You’re Lele’s sister?”
Huanhuan said happily, “I’m little Huanhuan. Mother agreed to let me come and keep Master Dongping company. From today on, Huanhuan will come to stay with you.”
Dongping jumped into the water, hugged Huanhuan, stroked her, and kissed her. Huanhuan giggled playfully, like a happy little girl.
Huanhuan said, “Master Dongping, Huanhuan will take you out to sea and explore.”
Dongping climbed onto her back, and she slowly swam out toward the open sea, wandering in the direction of Ji-lung Islet.
After a while, Dongping encountered a fishing boat from the Little Keelung settlement. The captain recognized Dongping and invited him aboard. The crew brought out freshly prepared seafood, including squid and lobster that had just been caught, and warmly treated Dongping.
The captain said happily, “Young Hero Dongping, having you honor my humble boat with your presence is the greatest honor I could ask for.”
Dongping said, “Captain Uncle, I’ve interrupted your work, and now you’re treating me so generously. I really feel embarrassed.”
The captain laughed.
“Not at all, young hero!”
He then ordered the crew to carry a basket of squid over to the side of the boat.
“De-ya, don’t neglect our little dolphin friend.”
The young fisherman named De-ya picked up the squid and fed them to Huanhuan one after another.
Dongping asked, “Uncle, how has the fishing been lately?”
The captain chuckled.
“The catch has been plentiful. We can almost always return with a full load.”
3
Several days later, early one morning, the little dolphin Huanhuan waited in the southern reef area. She seemed extremely anxious, repeatedly leaping out of the water to see whether Dongping had come down from his cave.
About half an hour later, Dongping appeared.
Huanhuan cried out urgently, “Master Dongping, something terrible has happened!”
Dongping asked, “What happened?”
Huanhuan said, “You must leave this place with me immediately. In another hour or two, a Dutch naval force will arrive at this island.”
Dongping said in puzzlement, “What is going on? We just got rid of a group of pirates, and now another group of red-haired foreigners has arrived.”
Huanhuan said, “I heard the elders say that the Dutch navy has come here looking for treasure. You should leave with me as quickly as possible.”
Hearing Huanhuan mention this, Dongping remembered the treasure of gold.
To prevent the treasure from falling into the hands of pirates or other evil people, Dongping had deliberately moved it to a more secluded underwater cave. The entrance to this cave was below sea level, and one had to dive for a short distance before reaching the inside.
Dongping said anxiously, “If they can’t find the treasure, do you think the red-haired foreigners might turn around and cause trouble for the Basya people?”
Huanhuan said, “It’s very possible. Master, should we warn those natives first?”
Dongping nodded.
“Yes! Let’s hurry and warn Guangnan and the others.”
Huanhuan carried Dongping swiftly through the waves. In no time, they reached Suao Fishing Harbor.
Dongping immediately went ashore and informed the fishermen in the harbor of the news. Soon, Chief Yarati received the report and came to the harbor with Guangnan.
Yarati took Dongping’s hand.
“Young Hero Dongping, our Basya people owe you so much for helping us time and time again. These red-haired Dutch sailors have come all the way to Turtle Island. They must have some ulterior motive against our Basya villages.”
Dongping said, “My dolphin friends say that the Dutch navy is about to occupy Turtle Island.”
Guangnan, standing nearby, said, “Dongping, then you shouldn’t go back to the deserted island anymore.”
Dongping said, “No. I want to sneak back there tonight and investigate what is going on. Don’t worry. I’ll act according to the situation and make sure I don’t reveal my whereabouts.”
Yarati said, “That won’t do, Dongping. You should stay in the settlement. I can’t let you take another risk.”
He immediately told Guangnan to take Dongping back to the settlement.
Dongping said, “Uncle Chief, please allow me to say goodbye to my dolphin friends first.”
Guangnan accompanied Dongping to the dock.
Dongping hugged Huanhuan and said, “Huanhuan, you and your dolphin family must keep an eye on what these red-haired foreigners are doing on the deserted island and what they do afterward. If they show any hostile intentions toward the Basya villages, have the terns go to the chief’s house and send me word.”
Huanhuan nodded and gazed at Dongping reluctantly, unwilling to part with him.
Guangnan watched them, both astonished and deeply moved.
4
In the council hall of the settlement, Yarati was presiding over a meeting of the chiefs. They were discussing how to jointly defend themselves against the Dutch navy.
Dongping persuaded Guangnan to return with him to the deserted island after nightfall to investigate the movements of the red-haired foreigners.
The two reached the seashore. Dongping blew the seashell, and Huanhuan soon appeared with two other dolphins.
Dongping and Huanhuan chattered back and forth in sounds Guangnan could not understand. Although he could not make sense of what they were saying, he found it fascinating and amusing.
“What are your dolphin friends saying?”
Dongping said, “Huanhuan says they saw those red-haired Dutch sailors conducting a systematic search of the entire deserted island. I think the red-haired foreigners probably don’t have a treasure map, which is why they’re going to such great lengths.”
Guangnan asked curiously, “Oh? What treasure map? Could there really be some kind of treasure on that deserted island?”
Dongping realized that he had accidentally let the secret slip.
“Actually, it isn’t really treasure. It’s just the cache of weapons I gave you last time.”
Guangnan sensed that Dongping was hiding something because he knew that “treasure” usually did not mean a cache of weapons.
“Dongping, if you really consider me a good friend, please don’t hide anything from me.”
Dongping’s face flushed.
“It’s not that I want to hide it from you. It’s just that right now we have no way to retrieve this treasure and keep it somewhere safe.”
Guangnan understood what Dongping was implying.
“It sounds like you already know where the treasure is hidden. But if the treasure falls into the hands of the red-haired foreigners, wouldn’t that be…”
Guangnan did not finish his sentence, but Dongping knew that he was worried about the treasure.
Dongping said confidently, “You don’t need to worry about that yet. I don’t think the red-haired foreigners are likely to find the treasure. My friends are going to take the two of us over to the deserted island now so we can see what is really happening.”
The two boys mounted the dolphins and headed out to sea toward Turtle Island.
After about half an hour, they reached the cliffs at the southeastern end of the island, an area hidden from view.
The two boys climbed up the cliff and reached a small platform.
They lay flat on the platform while Guangnan took out a long-range telescope.
Guangnan whispered, “I brought this little treasure with me. I’ll show you in a moment.”
Holding the telescope, Guangnan observed the movements of the red-haired foreigners and said, “The red-haired foreigners came with three ships. Two of them are gunboats. There are about four or five hundred men and roughly twenty tents.”
Dongping asked, “What are they doing now?”
Guangnan said, “They’re eating dinner. Take a look yourself.”
He handed the telescope to Dongping.
Dongping observed for a while and said, “Tomorrow morning, they should expand the area they’re searching. We shouldn’t stay here any longer. Guangnan, let’s go back.”
Guangnan and Dongping suddenly disappeared together during the night.
Yunhua searched for them for a long time before telling her mother what had happened.
Her mother said that the two of them might have gone out together for a nighttime excursion. She told Yunhua to wait a little longer, and if they still had not returned, then she could tell her father and have him send people to look for them.
