There was a riot on the pirate ship.
Facing the aggressive crowd of pirates with weapons in hand, Murong Yunshu laughed to herself. This was indeed the wrath of Heaven and anger of men.
"Talking about sparing my life after repairing the planks, you've obviously decided to abandon us a long time ago!" The pirate minion threw the planks used to repair the ship to the ground and said, "Brothers, they have taken away all the dry food. Even if the ship doesn't sink, we will still be starved to death. Instead of waiting to die, we should fight them to the death." After saying this, the pirate minion glared at West Guardian and shouted, "He has the dried food, charge——"
The already red-eyed crowd of pirates lunged at the West Guardian like rabid dogs.
West Guardian was holding a sack in one hand. When he saw the crowd attacking him, he immediately used the sack as a weapon to defend himself.
"Take it." North Guardian handed the oars to South Guardian and went over to help West Guardian.
Seeing that the wind and waves were getting bigger and bigger, the boat began to sway violently, and water began to spill onto the deck. Murong Yunshu made an instant decision and instructed East Guardian, "Take the planks."
East Guardian immediately struck out with his palms, angled them upwards and downwards. In an instant, the planks flew up from the deck like an uprooted tree. He caught the planks and looked at Murong Yunshu. When he saw her nod, he immediately threw the planks flat into the water, and at the same time, he jumped down, landing on top of them.
South Guardian said, "Lil West, Lil North, the pigeon has flown." After speaking, he used the flag to tie up the oars and threw them to East Guardian below. Then, with Murong Yunshu in one hand and Lu-er in the other, he leapt off the boat.
When West and North heard South Guardian's signal, they stopped tangling with the pirates and got away from them by jumping onto the floating planks.
By the time the pirates came back to their senses, Murong Yunshu's group had been swept by the waves dozens of metres away.
From a distance, Murong Yunshu looked at the pirate ship gradually sinking. Her heart was getting heavier over time. It wasn't that she didn't want to save the ship, but her flesh was weak even when her spirit was willing. She was unable to help however much she would like to.
Fate was so cruel that it gave you the chance to live, only to have your conscience flogged.
*
It was dawn the following day when the sea was calm again. Clouds lingered where the sea and the sky meet, dying the sky red.
Murong Yunshu slumped on the planks, took a few breaths before sitting up and said, "Raise the sail."
After the sea churned all night, the four men from South, East, North and West had been throwing up the whole night. They were now hungry, cold, dizzy and weak, and had difficulty moving even a finger, let alone setting up the sail. "Wait a moment." South Guardian spoke listlessly.
Murong Yunshu looked back at them and saw all four of them staring at her with miserable faces. She couldn't help but puff out a laugh as she said, "This is the first time you have ever said 'wait' to a request I made." No matter what she had asked before, the answer had always been one word——'yes'. It seemed that this time, they were totally exhausted.
The four men smiled bitterly. "We are relieved that Madam's spirits are so good." East Guardian said with immense relief.
Murong Yunshu smiled. A burst of warmth she felt in her heart moistened her eyes. People all said they were great devils, but who would have thought that these devils' feelings on protecting their master were even more profound than a gentleman......
"Hey, Miss, where did that island go?" Lu-er looked around and couldn't find the island everywhere.
Upon being reminded by Lu-er, Murong Yunshu suddenly realised that the island she had seen before had gone. "How could this......how could this happen…..." Murong Yunshu's brain instantly drained. She was unable to think any longer, as her eyes stared unfocused into the void surrounding her, with her face becoming expressionless.
The four men from North, South, East and West, who were half-dead at the time, also immediately came to life and looked around nervously, searching for the island.
"There's a ship coming up ahead!" Lu-er called out as she pointed to the front.
South, East, North and West looked in the direction she pointed. "It's a merchant ship."
Lu-er chirped, "This is great, Miss. We have a ship to ride on."
Murong Yunshu remained expressionless, as if she felt it was a waste even to raise her eyelids, and did not speak.
Lu-er immediately silenced her voice and looked confusingly at the four people, South, East, North and West. Miss seemed to be in a very low mood......
Yesterday, the island was close at hand, but now it was far away. Anyone would surely be emotionally drained. East Guardian sighed as he comforted Murong Yunshu, "Madam, let's get on the ship first. Then we can ask the merchants on board. Perhaps we can find out what direction the island is from them."
Murong Yunshu's eyes lit up at his words. Yes, they could get on the ship and ask for directions. Perhaps someone on it knew the location of the island.
"If they don't cooperate, then, we'll just hijack that merchant ship!" North Guardian suggested.
South Guardian looked at the merchant ship carefully for a moment and said, "It looks solid. It is just right to use it to find the Leader."
"Last time, it was Lil North. This time, I will do it!" After saying this, West Guardian distributed the oars to East, South and North. He then instructed, "Paddle to a place where you can get up there with your qinggong. Then stop. I'll get on the boat first to take the lead, and you guys will back me up after I rob the ship."
*
Onboard the ship, Wei Zhentian was standing on the prow, looking down at the small boat ahead of him and ordered, "Bring the ship over and save those people."
"General, the identity of the other parties is unknown. In case they are our enemies, it may cause complications to us." A deputy general said.
"Do they look like soldiers to you?"
The deputy general hesitated for a moment and said, "No. But we have a mission. In case something goes wrong, His Highness will blame us......"
"They are also the people of the Daye Dynasty." Wei Zhentian said in a stern voice, "If His Highness does not even have the love for his people, he is not worthy of being an Emperor. A man who is not worthy of being an emperor, are you willing to follow him from the cradle to your grave?"
This time, the deputy general no longer hesitated and answered, "No!" Immediately after answering, he ordered his officers and men to save the people from the small boat. In the end, he instructed, "Don't reveal your identity." They were pretending to be a merchant ship because they did not want outsiders to know their identities.
"Yes." A private accepted his orders. He was about to lower a rope into the water when a man suddenly flew up and kicked him in the nose. "Aiyo——" The private was kicked several feet away.
The deputy general angrily asked, "Who are you? How dare you! "
"I could have been a little more daring." West Guardian said with his arms casually folded over his chest.
Seeing the opponent's extraordinary skills, Wei Zhentian expected that he was not an ordinary citizen. So he told his deputy general to stand down. "May I ask what your name is?" He asked.
West Guardian chuckled and said, "You should first ask me what I intend to do."
Wei Zhentian smiled at his words as he pushed the boat with the current by asking, "What do you intend to do?"
West Guardian coolly spat out a word, "Robbing."
The deputy general got angry at the word 'robbing'. "You sure know how to talk big! Men......"
"Stand down!" Wei Zhentian bawled out.
The deputy general knew he had been impulsive again and obediently stepped back. Still, his eyes couldn't stop glaring at the West Guardian.
Wei Zhentian asked, "I wonder what you wish to rob here?"
"This ship." West Guardian answered as if he talked about how the clouds were pale and a light breeze was blowing.
The deputy general's eyes were about to pop out, and his heart was furious. How dare you rob General Wei's ship!
Wei Zhentian looked up and down at West Guardian, then said, "You can't rob my ship."
West Guardian was slightly flabbergasted at his answer. He let out a loud laugh afterwards and said, "I can take you down in one move."
Wei Zhentian said, "Even if that were true, you wouldn't have a chance to make a second move."
Without waiting for the West Guardian to react, a group of people dressed as civilians emerged from nowhere and surrounded him. If that was all, he was not afraid. But the worst thing was that everyone had bows in their hands and arrows on their backs. The way they drew their bows and how they looked at each other made it clear that they had been trained. How dare he run into an army in civilian clothes? West Guardian held his forehead. He had been getting unlucky lately......
Murong Yunshu, who was watching quietly from the sea, also noticed that the atmosphere on the ship was not right. After thinking about it, she said, "Let's get on board too."
"Yes."
With a gust of wind, the five people stood above the merchant ship's deck.
"Madam." West Guardian retreated to Murong Yunshu's side and said, "They are not ordinary merchants."
"I can see that." Murong Yunshu faintly scanned the opposing camp and finally rested her gaze on a man dressed in navy blue robes. She said, "My family servant has not been acting sensibly by offending the General just now. I hope the General can spare some mercy on him."
Wei Zhentian was shocked at her words and thought, what an impressive woman to be able to recognise his identity at a glance.
The deputy general was also surprised. "How did you know?!"
Murong Yunshu answered, "There is a kind of person who is born with an aura of righteousness. Just as there are people, who are born with an aura of nobility. If he is a general, he has the aura of a great general in him. Even if he is dressed in rough linen, he cannot hide the majesty of the man who is in command of the armies and proud of his people."
Wei Zhentian's heart was again amazed. What a clever and brilliant woman. Each of her words was a gem that could draw blood on the first prick. After a long moment of contemplation, he said, "But there is no trace of banditry aura around Miss."
"A cornered dog will jump over the wall. Therefore, it's not surprising for an anxious man to become a bandit." Murong Yunshu replied indifferently. [+]
Wei Zhentian was stunned for a moment and asked, "According to Miss' words, could it be that Miss has encountered some difficulties?"
"M-hm. We lack a ship."
"......" Wei Zhentian felt that this group of people was peculiar. He talked to them nicely, but they spoke about hijacking his ship every time they opened and closed their mouths. Did they really not take him seriously?
Murong Yunshu added, "Do you know if there are islands around here?"
Wei Zhentian's expression was cold when he heard her question, and a murderous aura showed in his eyes for the first time. "Why are you asking about this?"
Seeing his reaction, Murong Yunshu smiled faintly in a very unconcerned manner. She said indifferently, "You don't need to be nervous. I still owe King Sheng a favour and will not go against him. Besides, even if I really wanted to go against him, I wouldn't have come on wooden planks."
Even as calm as Wei Zhentian was, he was stunned by her words that he could not speak for a long time.
The deputy general and all the soldiers accompanying him were also shocked. Who the hell was she?
A big question mark was also hanging on Lu-er's face. The more she listened, the more confused she became. "Miss, do you mean that they are King Sheng's people?"
Murong Yunshu said, "In times like these when the world is in disorder and the rival warlords scramble for supremacy, whose army would still be at sea except for King Sheng?"
"Who the hell are you?" Wei Zhentian asked.
Murong Yunshu said, "You haven't answered my question. Are there any other islands around here besides King Sheng's fiefdom?"
"Yes." Wei Zhentian exclaimed, "There are more than a dozen large and small islands in this sea. I don't know which one you are asking? "
Murong Yunshu was stumped by the question. She didn't even know where she was now. So how could she know which island she had seen before?
The four men from South, East, North and West were also silent, not knowing how to respond.
Suddenly, North Guardian slapped his head and exclaimed, "I remember the strange shape of that island. The south-facing side seems to have been chewed by a dog......"
"It's the Island of the Missing Moon!" The deputy general exclaimed.
Wei Zhentian also nodded and said, "Island of the Missing Moon is not far from here. You can see it before it gets dark, all the way to the north."
"Excellent!" North Guardian said joyfully, "You quickly tell the helmsman to change course and send us to that island!"
Wei Zhentian frowned. "We have important business to attend to."
West Guardian said unhappily, "You may not have understood the situation. This ship is already ours." He was alone before. But now that Old East, Old South and Lil North were all here, even if there were twice as many archers, they could still take them all down.
The deputy general became even more upset, "General, let me teach him a lesson!"
Wei Zhentian did not make a sound, a sign of his tacit approval.
With his approval, the deputy general flashed his red tasselled spear and looked coldly at West Guardian. "Win this spear of mine before you speak shamelessly!"
With a smile and a raised eyebrow, West Guardian said to North Guardian, "Lil North, he uses a spear. I'll let you have this limelight." After saying this, he had a long spear in his hand at some point and threw it to North Guardian. While on the other hand, an infantryman on the outskirts looked puzzled. How did his spear get into the other party's hand?
"Many thanks!" North Guardian caught the spear and waved it in the air. His eyes, which were as cold as the cold-looking spear, looked squarely at his opponent.
The deputy general was slightly startled and dared not take the enemy lightly again. With a moment of luck, he quickly stabbed out his spear. But the red tassel in his hand was only halfway out when he felt a sharp, cold object against the back of his head. The enemy in front of him had disappeared at some point.
This scene also brought a great shock to Wei Zhentian. Having ruled the army for ten years, this was the first time he had seen such fast marksmanship. "Who do you learn this skill from?" He asked.
"You don't need to know." North Guardian threw his red tasselled spear to the ground and coldly asked, "Now, can this ship be ours?"
"You can't." Wei Zhentian added, "Unless you kill all the people on this ship."
At these words, the four people from South, East, North and West looked at Murong Yunshu in unison, waiting for instructions. Their meaning was clear. As long as Madam said one word, they would immediately go on a killing spree.
Murong Yunshu shook her head and said, "King Sheng has been kind to me."
North Guardian argued, "We're only going to rob one of his ships. At worst, we can give him back ten or twenty of them later on."
"This ship is not something you can afford to pay for." Murong Yunshu glanced at Wei Zhentian and requested, "I don't want to spoil King Sheng's big event, but can the General lend me something?"
"What?"
"A small boat and a soldier who has been on the sea all year round." Murong Yunshu explained, "I need someone to point us in the right direction."
Wei Zhentian nodded his head as he agreed, "That is not a problem." Then he said to his deputy, "You personally send them to the Island of the Missing Moon."
"But I……"
"This is a military order." Wei Zhentian said. [+]
A military order was like a mountain. The deputy general did not dare to resist, so he answered, "Yes." Then he ordered his soldiers to release the small boat.
"Thank you." Murong Yunshu thanked him lightly and planned to get on the small boat.
Wei Zhentian hurriedly asked the question he had in his mind, "How did Miss know about the King's big event?"
"Before the armies can move, the army provisions have to be moved first." She replied, then gestured to East Guardian that he could disembark.
The shock in Wei Zhentian's heart couldn't be described in words, so he asked another question, "May I know what Miss' surname is?"
"Murong."
*
With the deputy general leading the way, their voyage went very smoothly. They arrived at the Island of Missing Moon at sunset.
"Finally, we're ashore!" Lu-er was bouncing on the sand.
Murong Yunshu was not so happy; going ashore was only the beginning, finding Chu Changge was the finish. By then, perhaps she would be able to laugh.
The four people, South, East, North and West, had been looking graved all the way. If the Leader was not on this island, they didn't know where should they go next…..
The deputy general tied up the boat and said grumpily, "Let's go. Whether the person you are looking for is here or not, let's find a place to settle down first."
The group of people followed the deputy general move deeper into the dense forest. As they walked, North Guardian whispered to West Guardian, "I think I can smell grilled fish." He didn't think he was hallucinating out of hunger......
West Guardian's eyes lit up as he said, "So do I." Then he looked at the two people South and East, only to see them nodded lightly. Immediately, he said with great joy, "Madam, someone is grilling fish up ahead."
Murong Yunshu was overjoyed at his words. She took a few deep breaths and sniffed carefully. Indeed, she could smell it too. She immediately ran out like mad towards the front without saying a word.
Lu-er shouted, "Miss, you should slow down. Be careful, or you will fall down...…"
Murong Yunshu couldn't hear her shout at all as she ran desperately forward, looking left and right while she ran, hoping to find the source of the scent.
"She seems like she really doesn't want to die when she hears that there's grilled fish. She hasn't been eating for days?" The deputy general asked curiously.
Lu-er gave him a blank look as she said, "It's stupid of you to ask things that even I can understand!" After saying that, she ran after Murong Yunshu.
The deputy general looked puzzled. Wasn't it because she was hungry?
Murong Yunshu ran and ran. After only running for a few minutes, she began to feel exhausted. She stopped to catch a few breaths and was about to continue searching when she looked up and ran into a pair of beautiful eyes. At that moment, she even forgot to breathe. She could only stare, stupefied by the person in front of her. Her many days of hardships and grievances immediately turned into tears of joy.
Noob Translator's Musing
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Black Belly Wife