48 Hours a Day

Afterward, Zhang Heng used the two days he had to do some training. His stamina and strength soon recovered thanks to Marvin’s nutritious menus. On the second night, he regained enough strength to walk around on the ship on his own. That said, he still wasn’t running on all cylinders, having just recovered from his harrowing illness.

He and Marvin needed to deal with the body tonight since they were about to set anchor at Nassau tomorrow morning. After the meal, Owen visited Zhang Heng to have a little chat. He wanted Zhang Heng to rest further and told him not to worry about the ship’s tasks.

Goodwin was next to visit Zhang Heng, rambling away about his previous job on a supply vessel.

After that, Zhang Heng remained in his cabin until midnight. Every single pirate on the ship was on their hammock, settling in for the night. Zhang Heng then waited another hour for good measure, ensuring the pirates were sound asleep before he sneaked out of bed. He tiptoed past the snoring pirates and headed toward the galley.

Marvin had been anxiously waiting for Zhang Heng in the galley, holding a potato, pretending to skin it. The candle above the table had already burnt halfway. At that moment, all he could think of was to get rid of the body as soon as possible. Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him from outside.

Marvin blurted without thinking twice, “Mr. Dufresne. I’m almost done. I’m sleeping once I wrap up here…”

Midsentence, he lifted his head and saw that the person wasn’t Dusfresne but Zhang Heng.

“God damnit! Why are you so late?! Many people have come by asking me why I’m working at such an hour. They will soon get suspicious if I don’t go to sleep soon,” whispered Marvin as he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Which one do you think is more dangerous? Giving excuses about you being in the kitchen or getting rid of the body while everyone is awake?” Zhang Heng retorted.

“I’m not blaming you for coming late. I just think that there might be better ways to solve this problem…”

“The earlier we settle this problem, the lesser the risk of us getting killed by them. Be it you or me; if you are so concerned about your safety, we should really get rid of the damn body right now.”

This time, Marvin said nothing and lifted the barrel with Zhang Heng. The two of them hauled it past the corridor and the storeroom. Finally, they arrived in front of the pirates’ cabin. Marvin then took a deep breath before he continued forward.

However, Zhang Heng stopped him from doing so. He had just spotted a pirate getting out from his hammock as he rubbed his eyes. Perhaps he had too much rum at dinner and must have been woken up by the need to empty his bladder. Running out of the cabin, he returned shortly after while holding on to his pants. Without a care in the world, he slumped heavily in his hammock and fell back to sleep within seconds.

As they stood silently as possible for a couple of minutes, Marvin felt his heart thumping so fast; it was about to jump out his throat. He had no idea where he found the courage to haul the barrel all the way to the staircase near the cabins. Each time there was the slightest twitch or mumble from a sleeping pirate, he would suffer a small heart attack, where he gasped and stopped breathing.

Once they were away from the cabin and arrived on the floor above it, Marvin could finally breathe again.

“What should we do now? Should we go to the upper deck?”

“No. There are people patrolling the spot, and the helmsman is maneuvering the ship. They will definitely see us if we get up there. This floor is supposed to reserved for passengers, and I see cabins with windows that are definitely big enough for us to get rid of the body. Did you go find out what I asked you to before this?”

“Yes. The room that we were in is currently occupied by the pirates, but two rooms have been left empty because the damage there is too severe. The crew doesn’t have enough wood to fix it. Hence, since it doesn’t affect the ship’s operations, they have decided to leave them as it is for now.”

“Great. Lead the way.”

The two caught their breath for half a minute before they moved again with the heavy barrel, with Marvin walking in front of Zhang Heng. After struggling a short distance, they arrived at the second last room in the corridor. They then glanced at each other before Marvin knocked on the door.

And… there was no response. Immediately, Marvin pushed the door open. Just as expected, there wasn’t a soul to be seen. This particular room had been battered by cannonballs during the previous raid. The wall was completely destroyed, leaving it with a gaping hole. The crew had only used a few planks to plug the wall, knowing that there was still some distance between them and the water below.

Zhang Heng and Marvin could feel the cold sea breeze entering the room the moment they stepped into it.

“This has to be the right spot. Let’s toss the body into the sea right now!”

Marvin closed the door right after he put the barrel on the floor.

“Not now. I don’t see any high waves tonight. The pirates on the upper decks could hear the splash if we toss the barrel into the sea right now,” Zhang Heng murmured as he walked towards the broken wall and examined what lay below.

“What should we do then? We can’t wait any longer! This is the last night for us to deal with the body. If we fail to do it, we might…”

“I did not say we aren’t getting rid of it tonight. It will not benefit me if I delay again. Go and look for some rope and tie it around the body. We just need to lower it down slowly to the sea.”

“Great idea! You are a genius! A traveler thinks so differently when compared to people like me. Let look for a rope now,” replied an excited Marvin.

The smile on his face slowly disappeared as the door creaked open. Fear had caused the bones in his body to shudder involuntarily.

“I’m sorry. Am I disturbing your date?” asked the person standing outside the door.

It was an old pirate with a long beard. He was wearing a broken hat, and Marvin could see a row of rotten teeth as he smiled. The old pirate then landed his attention on the barrel.

“So, all the while, our poor Victor has been inside this barrel, huh?”

Immediately, Zhang Heng unleashed his gun and pointed at the old pirate. To his surprise, he seemed unaffected by the threat.

“Trust me, kid. People have pointed their guns at me more times than I could count. Let me tell you what is going to happen next. I will be killed if you pull the trigger. That is a fact. After that, your gunshot will alert the pirates next to this room. If you’re lucky, both of you might get an easy death. Alternatively, they could also capture and drop you both a death sentence. Now… I don’t know which one is worse. Taking our age difference into consideration, young men, I don’t think that is a wise trade.”

Zhang Heng was left speechless. That very moment, he realized that the old pirate’s sudden appearance was no coincidence. It appeared he had been tracking them for some time and only decided to confront them tonight. On the bright side, it seemed like the old pirate had no intention to side with Victor. Otherwise, they would have been long confronted by a mob of angry pirates by now.

Cornered and left with no other option, Zhang Heng decided to hear the old pirate out.