Chapter 292: Where the Smoke Came From

Hanchuan finished tying the cloth around Zhiyi’s foot before standing to look over the windshield.

The smoke had already spread into a thin gray streak, making it difficult to tell how far away it was.

He waited through another rise and fall of the boat, watching the place where it had first appeared while water slapped against the hull.

Jingwei stood beside Zeyu with one hand braced on the seat. Neither had suggested starting the engine, although Zeyu’s fingers rested near the key.

"It’s coming from something low," Jingwei said when Hanchuan joined them. "I haven’t seen a roof or anything taller than us. There could be another boat beneath it."

Hanchuan looked back at the saucepan Qinghe had wedged beside the salvaged box.

They needed heat to cook the fish, dry their clothes and make more of whatever water they managed to collect.

Smoke was worth investigating, but he remembered the men who had offered them a tow before trying to board.

"We’ll get close enough to see what’s burning," Hanchuan told Zeyu. "Keep us out of the smoke, and don’t bring us alongside anything until we’ve had a look around it."

Zeyu started the engine while Shichen secured the box. Zhiyi shifted to make room when Hanchuan sat beside her, then settled against his side with her wrapped foot resting on the jacket.

Her hair had dried in tangled strands around her face. He tucked some behind her ear, and she turned toward his hand before looking back across the water.

"Do you think someone’s cooking?" Zhiyi asked. Her voice was quiet beneath the engine, and Hanchuan could feel her holding herself steady as they crossed the waves.

"I hope so, sweetheart. We might have something they want in exchange for a way to light our own fire."

He glanced at the fish as he spoke. He disliked the thought of giving either away when she hadn’t eaten, but cooking one would be better than watching both spoil while they searched for something to burn.

They traveled slowly, with Qinghe checking the water beneath the deck whenever the boat struck a rougher patch.

The smoke grew easier to follow and Hanchuan could see darker bursts near its base now, followed by lighter wisps that broke apart in the wind.

Zhiyi leaned forward when something pale appeared beneath them, and he steadied her at the waist while Zeyu eased back on the throttle.

A small cabin boat lay low in the water ahead.

Its bow rose and fell unevenly, while the stern had sunk far enough that waves washed over the rear deck.

Smoke escaped through a blackened opening where one of the cabin windows had been. A length of curtain hung outside, its lower edge still glowing.

Zeyu turned before they reached it, giving them a view along the side.

Hanchuan searched the windows and the water around the boat, but there was no movement beyond the curtain stirring in the wind.

"That fire’s inside the cabin," Jingwei said, leaning to see past the windshield frame. "There might be fuel aboard. I wouldn’t bring us any closer."

Hanchuan nodded toward the open water to their right. Zeyu followed the direction without needing another instruction, and the damaged boat began passing along their left side.

Zhiyi watched it with her hands tucked beneath the edges of her life jacket. Hanchuan knew she was looking for something they could use.

He was doing the same, noticing the roof that might once have kept six people dry and the rail where wet clothes could have hung. None of it helped them while smoke poured through the windows.

Near the bow, a rope trailed from a cleat into the water. Its end had been cut cleanly. Farther back, the cabin door stood open, revealing a dark passage and a cupboard hanging crookedly from the wall.

"Someone may have got away in another boat," Qinghe said. He had come forward with the bucket still in his hand, following the cut rope with his eyes.

Hanchuan hoped they had, though he could see nothing to confirm it. He was about to tell Zeyu to continue when Zhiyi caught his sleeve.

"There’s something floating behind it," she said, pointing beneath his arm. "It comes up when the stern drops."

A shallow metal drawer floated among scraps of wood and a swollen cushion. Beyond it, a rectangular board rocked on the waves, carrying a blackened lump that smoked whenever the water drained away.

Shichen moved beside Jingwei to get a better look.

"That looks like part of a cupboard door," Shichen said. "There’s still something burning on it."

Hanchuan watched the board disappear behind the damaged stern, then emerge farther away as the water carried it clear. A small orange flame bent along one edge before shrinking back into the charred wood.

Beside his knee, Zhiyi’s fingers tightened around his sleeve.

"We don’t need to get onto that boat," she said. "If we can keep a piece of that burning, we might be able to cook."

Hanchuan considered the open deck around them.

The wet blanket covered part of the seating, and the fish lay inside a cushion cover near the plastic box

. Their own fuel was aboard, along with rope, clothes and the cover holding back the water beneath their feet.

"We’ll clear a place first," Hanchuan said, getting up. "Shichen, empty the saucepan. Jingwei, help me get everything away from the bow."

They worked while Zeyu kept the boat outside the spreading debris.

Qinghe moved the fish and clothing aft, then passed the bucket forward with a little water left in it. Shichen set the saucepan inside the bucket so its metal bottom sat against the water.

Hanchuan checked that neither could tip easily. They still had no dry wood to feed a fire, but the floating board might give them time to find some.

Zeyu brought them around in a wide turn, approaching the board from the side away from the burning boat.

As they drew nearer, Hanchuan saw that most of the wood was soaked. Only the raised middle still held a dull red glow beneath the blackened surface.

Jingwei crouched beside him with the pliers. Hanchuan caught the back of his life jacket as he leaned over, waiting for the boat to settle before reaching for a narrow piece standing clear of the water.

The first attempt broke the charred tip away. It hissed and vanished between them.

Jingwei stayed where he was, his jaw tight as he waited for the board to rise again.

On the next swell, he caught a thicker piece and pulled. It came free with a small flame clinging to one end, and Hanchuan guided his arm back over the rail while Shichen brought the saucepan closer.

The wood landed inside with a scatter of ash. Zhiyi leaned toward it, then stopped when Hanchuan put a hand against her shoulder.

For several breaths, they watched the flame shrink until only a red line remained along the broken edge. Shichen reached for a scrap of salvaged wood, testing its wet surface with his thumb, while Zeyu kept them moving away from the wreck.

Behind them, a man began shouting.

Hanchuan looked up to find a narrow boat coming around the far side of the smoking cabin.

One of its occupants stood in the bow, pointing toward the saucepan while another pulled hard on an oar.