The subordinate’s words shocked Lian Ke. How was this possible?
He furrowed his brows and asked, “How many people? What’s the number of boats?!”
The reporting person hesitated, then answered loudly, “The enemy is one person, one boat!”
Lian Ke was taken by surprise. Then he immediately began walking outside. And when he saw the single person mentioned and their singular boat, he burst out laughing.
Rather than calling it a boat, it was more accurately described as a raft. It was so narrow that it could be compared with a thin, narrow branch of tree leaves! The magnitude of this small raft blocking the path of thirty-two medium-sized merchant ships was as if someone hoped to use a grasshopper as a method of transportation!
Lian Ke’s laughter flooded out uncontrollably!
He ordered the boats that were ahead to avoid the raft and the boat he was on to stop right in front of the small raft.
He leaned his elbows against the head of the boat and laughed unsightly.
“Xie Lin Lang! Are you serious? You’re not actually thinking about stopping me with your garbage raft? Did you throw away your brain?!”
As he spoke, he ordered the surrounding boats to drop their anchors and watch the show.
According to his knowledge, Xiang City did not have any sort of viable boats, hence why it took Xie Lin Lang so long just to row here on a run-down raft.
Xie Lin Lang’s chest slightly heaved up and down. Earlier, she had taken her horse here to observe the situation and then rushed back to Black Water Pier to order the people to begin excavation.
It wasn’t until she began to see black water being dug up that she sped all the way back without resting.
When she arrived at the shore, she exchanged her horse for a fisherman’s raft. And using the quickest speed she could muster, she was able to race in front of these merchant boats and block their path.
Fortunately, she was on time. These people hadn’t crossed the waterway yet. Could she consider this as being at the right place at the right time?
She attentively examined the white cloth around the man’s neck. And after a while, she finally laughed.
“I was wondering who it was that’s got such a grudge against me. Well if it isn’t Yu Lian Ke… you must have a lot of extra lives.”
Hearing Xie Lin Lang speaking his full name accurately, Lian Ke’s expression became pleasantly surprised.
He spoke exaggeratedly, “What have I done to deserve this honor? Or perhaps because you weren’t able to kill me off back then, your impression of me was deeply carved into your memory?”
As he spoke, he tore off the white cloth from his neck, revealing a trail of dark red scars.
The white cloth fell into the water and he raised his hand to touch the scars.
He grinned grimly, “I still remember… you were wrapped around my neck that year. With that tiny pair of hands of yours clasping on my neck… Xie Lin Lang, are you the devil? Otherwise, when I think back to that year, why do I only feel heat rather than suffocation?”
Xie Lin Lang scoffed. She took the bow and arrow from her back, aiming it directly at Lian Ke.
“If I’m the devil, then what are you? A pest? You got lucky I decided to let you off easy that year. But you never learned from your mistakes and now you’ve ended up in my hands again. Do you really think you’ll still be as fortunate this time?”
Looking at the bow and arrow in Xie Lin Lang’s hands, Lian Ke showed no sign of fear. He waved his hand and soon, his subordinate brought Qin Jue out on the deck.
Qin Jue was in no way expecting that Xie Lin Lang would be appearing out here!
Had she seen through the substitute? In this short of a time? And then by herself, coming all the way out here just to find him?
(This translation was brought to you by LeafInBloom on Patreon and Sleepy Translations.)
The moment Qin Jue appeared on the bow of the ship, Lian Ke stretched his arm out and dragged Qin Jue before him.
He taunted, “What a shame, it looks like luck is on my side this time! With the Crown Prince on my boat, do you still dare use Gongfu? If I remember correctly, with your Buddha beads on you, you can only attack once every time, right? If you do decide to take off your beads and start a massacre, you’ll lose all reason and the Crown Prince will have to die as well! Are you really willing to kill him?”
The blasting wind ripped at Xie Lin Lang’s clothes side to side. She stood firm and straight while she pulled on the string of the bow, as if her whole person was nailed tightly to the raft!
Her eyes arched as she smiled.
“Did you truly think I can’t do anything to you if I don’t use Gongfu? Yu Lian Ke, you’re still so naive!
Stealing my person on my territory, did you think I was dead?! Since I’ve already made my way so far out here, I’ll keep you, and all these flocks of people behind you here, forever!”
Her words caused all of the people on the boats to roar with laughter! The water bandits all walked onto the decks with sharp daggers in their hands, all of them with looks of mockery.
Among them, Lian Ke was the one that enjoyed this situation the most. Throughout all these years, the words she had just spoken were probably the most delirious and arrogant out of everything he’s heard!
“Do you even know how many men I have with me here? A total of a thousand and seventy men! Each of them stabs until their victims run out of blood to bleed, and treat killing as everyday breakfast! Even if you were to take off your Buddha beads, it’s still unlikely for you to kill us all. So, what is the reason that you’re so arrogant?”
It wasn’t just Lian Ke that thought she was mad, but also Dong Qi, who had been following secretly on the sidelines and thought that she was seriously overestimating herself.
From a glance, anyone can tell that these water bandits were not an easy opponent to deal with. Even Qin Jue’s army, taking into account all the preparation they had done in advance for the ambush, still would not be able to achieve victory without a heavy loss!
Who was Xie Lin Lang to declare such a brash statement alone? Just what was she planning to do?
All of the water bandits’ attention was focused on Xie Lin Lang when one of the men beside Dong Qi whispered to him.
“DaRen, there is a pungent smell coming from the black water flowing from the Black Water Pier. With the speed it’s going, it should be flowing this way very soon.”
Because Dong Qi and his men were still onshore, they were able to see the whole situation clearly. On the other hand, it was harder for the people on the merchant boats to see, because the water was originally murky and had white steam floating on the surface of the water. Plus, their attention was all focused on Xie Lin Lang. As a result, none of them were aware of this unusual occurrence.
Xie Lin Lang had a mocking smile on her face, looking at the water bandits as if they were merely ants on the sidewalk, undeserving of any explanation.
Lian Ke was furious! What he hated most was the type of smile Xie Lin Lang was showing on her face. As if everything was within her control and there was nothing in the world that can threaten her. Who gave her the rights?!
He began to provoke her on purpose.
“…Earlier you said we ‘stole your person’? Are you mistaken about something? His Highness the Crown Prince came with us on his own accord! To get rid of you, he even prepared a substitute. So why have you chased him all the way just to be rejected?”
Having said that, he pushed Qin Jue slightly, bringing him back to his senses. Qin Jue gazed at Xie Lin Lang with a complicated expression.
Her sudden appearance completely messed up all of his plans. It was fine for him to put himself at risk, but he didn’t plan on dragging Xie Lin Lang in with him.
As a result, he did not deny Lian Ke’s statement.
He spoke sullenly, “Yes, I came of my own free will.”
As he spoke, his eyes focused on Xie Lin Lang’s, hoping that she would understand the deeper meaning of his words.
“So… don’t block the path. I’ll be fine.”
After he finished, Lian Ke immediately burst out laughing!
“Did you hear that, Xie Lin Lang? The Crown Prince wants to come with us, not you! It must have been tiring coming all the way out here spewing out those arrogant words…
After all, it’s not so surprising. If His Highness allies himself with us, not only can we protect him, we can also help him restore his position and lend him the soldiers when he needs it!
What about you? The moment you leave Capital City, you are nothing but a county magistrate in a cast out region! What can you possibly give him? What rights do you have to chase him all the way here and demand that he stays?”
At this moment, waves of some pungent smell wafted through the air. Smiling, Xie Lin Lang pulled her bow to the maximum length, with a sparkling glow gathered in her eyes, her presence carried an incomparable amount of confidence.
“Who says that county magistrates are powerless? You must be completely looking down on me!”
“Although I can’t give him power and troops… I can promise him that we’ll walk only one path while living, and give him Ten Miles of Red*!”
*十里红妆 (Ten Miles of Red)–In Chinese tradition, it’s called Ten Miles of Red when the bride is carried in a red hand-held carriage until the bride reaches the groom’s house. The bride is part of a parade-like line that is “ten miles” long and is completely surrounded by people wearing red, red decorations, etc.
Having said that, the bow she held up suddenly changed directions, and the arrow she fired moved speedily towards a lower position!
Due to the extreme power going into firing the arrow, it quickly passed through the layers of thin fog and landed on one of the rivets on the bottom of Lian Ke’s boat!
After the clashing of objects was heard, sparks of fire began appearing! Lian Ke was just about to ridicule her. What is this “Ten Miles of Red” joke supposed to mean? And what’s the use of her shooting her arrow into the water?
But in the next second, a single thread of spark immediately became a wildfire! Starting from the bottom of his boat and spreading outwards in just an instant!
At that moment, it was as if the whole river had begun to burn up!
The Envoy, who was sitting on the Wang Jiang Pavilion and waiting for Xie Lin Lang’s news, suddenly stood up and rushed to the window!
In front of him was a flame, rapidly spreading throughout the water as fast as someone could blink, and as far as ten miles! This was a scene only seen during the marriage of the noble ladies back in Capital City! The extravagant and prestigious ceremony of Ten Miles of Red!!