In the latter half of the 15th century, a phenomenon known as the “Ship of Fools” emerged in Germany. Cities would hand over the insane individuals within their jurisdictions to passing sailors, who would gather them onto a single ship and let them drift between towns. Among these madmen were not a few philosophers and poets. Sometimes, sailors would navigate to desolate areas between towns to exile them, resulting in groups of crazed individuals aimlessly gathering in the wilderness.

However, it soon became less romantic. After leprosy began to spread widely, lepers were also sent aboard the Ship of Fools. These patients were taken to isolated islands to fend for themselves. This is the infamous “leper ship.”

Coincidentally, during the late Ming Dynasty, when the plague was rampant, some people sent their severely ill relatives aboard large ships heading out to sea from Dongying—there were a total of sixty-seven ships, traveling south along the eastern coast toward the South Seas. At that time, everyone knew that once these sailors ventured into the open sea, they might throw all the sick people overboard to drown. Yet, they still sent their relatives onto the ships, as the plague had ravaged northern China for too long, and everyone hoped for an end to this disaster.

The plague that was prevalent at that time, according to historical records, should have been the bubonic plague. Rodent activity was particularly erratic, and there were numerous accounts in local chronicles and literature of rats swimming across rivers. However, there were also various plagues known by other names, such as “Big Head Plague” and “Green Line Plague,” with reports of dozens of co-occurring plagues. It was said that during conversations, someone might suddenly shake their head and then die, causing the crowd to scatter, with corpses rotting in the streets, hundreds on display, and the stench overwhelming.

The large ships sailing out from Dongying were essentially plague ships, carrying hundreds of sick individuals crammed into the cargo hold, with the dead decaying beside them, only to be thrown into the sea days later. However, historical records indicate that many of these plague ships not only did not abandon the sick but actually made it to the South Seas and even came ashore, with some individuals recovering and settling there.

Here, people are excavating a plague ship, which makes perfect sense. If the plague ship had traveled to the South Seas and then run aground and sunk here, after hundreds of years, the entire ship would be enveloped by coral reefs.

There are numerous reefs here, and if one were to search for them stone by stone, it would indeed take ten years. But now, judging by the scale of the operation here, it seems they have found something.

The officer appears to be dead. Zhang Haiyan hears footsteps outside and wipes the blood from his hands on the officer’s clothing. He tells Zhang Haixia, “Continue reading, find something interesting to read.”

As he speaks, he pulls out three golden needles from his belt and stabs them into his throat.

As the golden needles pierce his throat, he coughs a few times, and his voice changes. He whispers a few words, adjusting the position of the needles, and his voice transforms into that of the officer.

Zhang Haixia continues, “Look, this here cites ancient texts. A doctor from Dongying recorded a plague that came from the south, called the ‘Wudou Disease.’ The Wudou Disease spreads particularly quickly; from the discovery of the first case to the death of an entire village, it only takes a month. Could it be that the plague ship they are looking for contains patients with the Wudou Disease?”

Zhang Haiyan touched his neck, took the documents, and Zhang Haixia quickly hid in a corner. Zhang Haiyan put on the officer’s uniform and stood behind the table, using the body to cover his pants, then turned his back to the outside.

Just then, the sentry above heard the gunfire and came over, asking, “Adjutant, what was that gunfire about?”

“Someone just sneaked in, but they have already fled,” Zhang Haiyan replied, still facing away from the outside as if sorting through the documents, his voice almost identical. “Search the entire ship for them; we need to speed things up. What’s the current situation?”

The sentry immediately signaled to the people below and continued to report, “We’re about to dig into the hold; we need to be extra careful, afraid that something inside might come out.”

Zhang Haiyan’s eyes darted around as he thought, what could come out? He slightly turned his head to glance at Zhang Haixia’s face in the darkness, who also seemed very interested.

Zhang Haiyan continued to ask the sentry, “Let me quiz you. If you’re worried about something coming out from inside, what preparations should you make?”

“You mean, let those laborers do the digging? As long as we apply the ointment, we’ll be fine, isn’t that enough? The people who died over the years were all dealt with this way, sealed with salt, and we thought that was sufficient.”

Zhang Haiyan didn’t quite understand, but he kept his eyes moving, knowing that prolonging the standoff was not good. He waved his hand, “Tell the people below that we must break through tonight, no matter what it takes. Zhang Qishan’s men have already arrived.”

The sentry visibly relaxed and immediately stepped back out. Zhang Haiyan flipped through the documents; there was no mention of what was on the plague ship. He thought it was strange—if something was about to come out, what could it be? The ship had sunk for hundreds of years; what kind of monster could still survive inside?