The midnight sea breeze grew increasingly piercing, whipping up layer upon layer of black, broken waves.
Li Yan sat on the deck, with a small porcelain jar inside a red meal box on the table in front of him, filled with brownish-red pork belly. There wasn't much food, and he quickly finished eating it, washing it down with strong alcohol from a gourd.
He glanced at the incense on the altar, which had only burned a small portion, covered most of the meal with the meal box, and then closed his eyes, feigning sleep.
Dark clouds gathered, and the wind and waves howled; it grew darker between the sea and the sky, and even the flames on the torches seemed suppressed, unable to stand straight.
Suddenly, the incense on the altar snapped in unison, as if they had been chopped sideways by someone!
The strong wind abruptly pressed down on the mast ship, the ropes whipping back and forth, tilting the ship violently, causing the food on the table to spill to one side.
Bang!
