Chapter 13 Blackbeard

Blackbeard sat beneath the oil painting, his back ramrod straight. If it weren't for his hawkish nose emphasizing his ruthlessness, he would have resembled a Royal Navy commander. Davy Jones, on the other hand, leaned lazily against a nearby chair, still radiating an aura of power and dominance. He looked up as someone entered. Fang Senyan, quick on the uptake, immediately shifted his demeanor, bowing and saying,

"Boss."

Davy Jones nodded, squinting his eyes.

"That weapon you presented to me, did you truly seize it from Armand?"

Fang Senyan shrugged innocently.

"Boss, more people recognize that weapon than there are sharks in the Caribbean!"

Davy Jones burst into laughter, turning to Blackbeard, whose face was as cold and hard as iron.

"I believe my first mate speaks the truth."

With Davy Jones's laughter, Fang Senyan felt the pressure around him ease. He glanced up, his heart skipping a beat, because the sword in the hands of the infamous Blackbeard looked extremely familiar. It appeared to be the silver storyline weapon he had offered to Davy Jones: Armand's silver rapier! It had already been drawn from its scabbard. However, Fang Senyan's observational skills were exceptional. After a closer look, he noticed a difference. The sword's guard had been crafted with an exaggerated upward curve, bending to the right, while Armand's sword curved to the left.

At that moment, Blackbeard produced another rapier, which was indeed Armand's silver rapier. The two drawn swords were placed side by side on the table. Except for the opposing curvature of the guards, the two rapiers were identical in appearance and design, even down to the faint silver sheen, as if reflected in a mirror. Blackbeard gave Fang Senyan a cold glance before looking back at the two weapons on the table.

By now, Fang Senyan had roughly pieced together the sequence of events. Davy Jones must have known beforehand that Blackbeard had been secretly searching for such a weapon, and apparently, searching with great eagerness. Therefore, after receiving the weapon Fang Senyan offered, he immediately notified Blackbeard. Blackbeard, after acquiring the sword, couldn't discover its secrets, so he probably suspected it was a fake, hence the summons for a confrontation.

Of course, there was one point of doubt: why didn't Blackbeard simply snatch the weapon from Armand? The first possibility was that he couldn't, because Armand was also a powerful and wary individual. But according to Fang Senyan's deduction, the greater possibility was that Blackbeard simply didn't know!

In this era, anyone with a bit of status would use this kind of Western rapier. For example, Jack Sparrow, the protagonist of the movie, was also a master of the rapier. This type of sword was standard equipment for flirting and self-defense in the Royal Navy. Although this world didn't have the extreme concept of "the sword is the man," people still valued their weapons greatly. Blackbeard, even as the captain of one of the three legendary pirate ships, couldn't possibly go around demanding to see everyone's weapon.

Blackbeard stared at the two swords for a long time, repeatedly trying to fit them together. He even brought Armand's silver rapier close to his eyes, scrutinizing it as if intending to dissect it with his gaze. Finally, his face darkened, and he shook his head, sighing deeply as he prepared to stand and leave. But at that moment, Fang Senyan suddenly spoke up.

"Please forgive my impudence, sir, but I have noticed some strange phenomena. May I know what troubles you?"

Blackbeard glanced at Fang Senyan again, his eyes filled with obvious mockery and disdain, and walked toward the door without a word. But as his hand touched the door handle, Fang Senyan added,

"If you tell me, perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope for solving the problem. But if you leave like this, there will be no hope at all."

Perhaps the long search had exhausted Blackbeard's patience, or perhaps Fang Senyan's confidence had persuaded him. Blackbeard's body stiffened for a moment, then he turned around abruptly, his voice as hoarse as corroded steel.

"If you dare reveal my secret! Then I will turn you into a huí hún shī (reanimated corpse) and make you perform the lowest drudgery on my ship forever!"

With a loud "bang," Davy Jones slammed his wooden goblet heavily on the table, spilling most of the rum. The Scottish giant's face was cold and dark.

"Teach (Blackbeard's real name was Edward Teach), this is not the Queen Anne's Revenge. The fate of my first mate is decided by me!"

Blackbeard was not intimidated, looking back with a cold gaze. Fang Senyan, caught in the middle of the two giants' auras, immediately felt unsteady on his feet, his whole body weak. He stumbled back a few steps. But at that moment, Blackbeard suddenly opened his mouth.

"I obtained this sword ten years ago. That time... you don't need to know the specific details, but it is said that whoever obtains this sword will be invincible in boarding actions. However, it is not complete. Legend says that its other half must be found to unleash its full power."

Hearing this, Fang Senyan understood and realized the truth.

"So, Armand's sword, in all aspects, meets the standards for the other half of your sword, but it hasn't shown any special characteristics."

Blackbeard didn't speak, but his eyes had admitted that Fang Senyan's conjecture was correct. Fang Senyan smiled.

"As you can see, I am sitting in this place near the door."

Blackbeard frowned, clearly about to explode—you, a lowly pirate, where you sit is none of my concern! But Davy Jones looked at Fang Senyan with an interested expression. Because for pirates, the position Fang Senyan was sitting in was unlucky, as it faced away from the door. This was probably related to the precarious life of pirates. Sitting in this position meant that a stranger could directly threaten their back, and if the newcomer had malicious intentions, they would die without even knowing how. Fang Senyan continued.

"It is precisely because I am sitting in this position that I can see what the two of you cannot."

Blackbeard's heart stirred. It seemed that something unexplainable was throbbing in his heart, just missing that final breakthrough! But Fang Senyan continued.

"Just now, the scabbard of the sword that I offered to the boss was placed next to your stool. When you held your weapon, I saw that the scabbard actually emitted light!"

The two silver rapiers were almost identical in shape, but the scabbard of Armand's sword was very old, looking worn and inconspicuous, seemingly wrapped in a layer of dark, tattered cloth. No wonder Blackbeard casually leaned it against his stool. At this point, Fang Senyan spoke each word clearly.

"I think, the other half of a sword is not necessarily another sword of the same design—that would be as rare as two men successfully forming a family! The true meaning of that legend about its other half, I'm afraid, refers to... its scabbard!"

Before Fang Senyan could finish, Blackbeard's eyes were already emitting a kind of fiery light, as if his soul was burning! He opened his palm, and the silver rapier he had brought automatically flew into his hand. And he used his foot to hook the place where the scabbard was placed next to the stool, but hooked only empty air! Looking up, he realized that Davy Jones had already firmly grasped the scabbard in his hand by some means. The Scottish giant's eyes also revealed a kind of excited and cruel expression, and his huge, drunken nose also turned red. Davy Jones revealed a strange smile, but spoke in a peaceful tone.

"Dear Teach, I suddenly regret the previous transaction. So, I am willing to pay a penalty to the god of contracts to regain ownership of this item!"

As Davy Jones spoke, the floor next to him suddenly opened with a "boom," as powerful as the loud noise when the door opened, even shaking the dust off the nearby bulkheads. Then, a large wooden chest placed under the floor automatically opened, and the golden coins inside flew into the void with a clatter, as if a small tornado had sucked in the contents. Davy Jones laughed loudly and patted Fang Senyan's shoulder hard.

"Well done!"

Blackbeard was still expressionless, but from the pale knuckles of his hand gripping the sword hilt, it could be seen that his mood was definitely not so pleasant. If a confidant familiar with Blackbeard's insidious nature were here, they would naturally know that this was his expression of extreme anger. But! The man sitting in front of him at this moment was Davy Jones! A man who could contend with him in terms of both power and personal strength! Moreover, this place was still on the Flying Dutchman?

"Name your price," Blackbeard sat back on the stool. His eyes were slightly narrowed at this moment, inexplicably reminding one of a cobra rearing up to strike, full of ferocity and aggression. Davy Jones sat heavily on his stool, thought for a moment, then extended his right hand, and bent his thumb, middle finger, and pinky finger, arrogantly waving the remaining two fingers in the air.

The muscles on Blackbeard's face twitched violently. He glanced at Davy Jones again, then suddenly took out two items from the belt around his waist. The first item looked very strange. It was actually a flat pouch woven from old cloth and red silk thread, only the size of a palm, and the opening of the pouch was uniquely shaped like a woman's vulva. Fang Senyan was not clear about this item at the time, but he learned after returning to the real world that it was a very famous item in the Voodoo religion of the Caribbean, called Dakan Mamo. (End of this chapter. If you like this work, you are welcome to (qidian.) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)