Chapter 10

When Chu Huan returned to the bow of the ship, it was already crowded with people. All the passengers from the cabins had been driven to the bow, huddled in the center of the deck. More than ten bandits, each wielding a large knife, surrounded them. At that moment, the bow was deathly silent.

Upon boarding the ship, two bandits immediately took ropes and tied Chu Huan as well, pushing him into the crowd. However, the gray package that Chu Huan had been holding was snatched away by one of the bandits.

In the crowd, Chu Huan immediately spotted the three servants of Su Linlang. This was the first time he had seen Su Linlang on the ship since a brief glimpse on the road before boarding.

The maid stood beside Su Linlang, her delicate face already pale. The old man called "Old Su" was also standing beside Su Linlang. Su Linlang still wore a bamboo hat, and the black veil hanging down still obscured her face, making it impossible to see her features. However, her graceful and plump figure stood out like a crane among chickens in the crowd.

Chu Huan's gaze swept over the crowd, and he saw that Xue Lao Liu and the others who had jumped into the water earlier were now lying on the deck, all tied up. Some of them were covered in blood and unconscious, their fates unknown. Next to this group, Chu Huan saw Wei Tianqing, whose hands were tied behind his back and a large knife was placed on his neck. Wei Tianqing's expression was exceptionally stern. When Chu Huan looked at him, Wei Tianqing was also looking at Chu Huan. Their eyes met, and Wei Tianqing nodded slightly, though his expression was stern, his eyes still showed a hint of admiration.

The female bandit leader jumped onto the deck from the side of the ship, tore a piece of cloth from somewhere on her body, and covered her face again. After boarding the ship, she saw that Chu Huan had already been tied up and sneered. She noticed that one of the bandits was holding the gray package that Chu Huan had been carrying and approached, saying coldly, "Open it!"

At this point, she was already certain that Chu Huan was not an ordinary person. She had suffered a great loss in the river and wanted to see what was inside the package.

The bandit squatted down, placed the package on the deck, and quickly opened it. The masked person also came over, and many people looked into the package. Inside, they saw a dark brown object. The bandit reached in and picked it up, and it made a "clattering" sound as it was unfolded. It turned out to be a damaged piece of armor, clearly worn by a soldier. The armor was in tatters, with many holes and covered in dried blood.

The female bandit leader's eyes showed a hint of surprise, clearly not expecting the package to contain a bloodstained piece of damaged armor. She noticed that there seemed to be another item in the package and bent down to pick it up. It was a wooden plaque. Under the moonlight, she saw that it was a memorial plaque for the deceased.

The female bandit leader's eyes were full of surprise. She looked at both sides of the plaque, but there were no words, and it was unclear for whom it was used.

Chu Huan's face was expressionless, and he looked at the female bandit leader coldly. His hands, tied behind his back, slowly clenched into fists, and his eyes showed a cold and stern look for the first time.

The masked person also felt a bit strange. However, seeing the female bandit leader's wet clothes clinging to her body, outlining her curvaceous figure, especially the two full breasts that were prominently standing out due to the torn chest binding, he felt a burning desire in his eyes. He leaned in and asked softly, "Are you okay?"

The female bandit leader ignored him and walked up to Chu Huan, raising her knife to his throat. With her other hand, she lifted the plaque and said coldly, "What is this? Are you a soldier?"

Chu Huan replied calmly, "No!"

"Is this damaged armor not yours?" The female bandit leader slowly withdrew her knife. "Whose plaque is this?"

Chu Huan's expression became strange, and he frowned, pausing for a moment before saying calmly, "This is my brother's armor. He died in battle, and I couldn't bring his body back, so I brought his armor back to bury it in our hometown." He looked at the nameless plaque in the female bandit leader's hand, his expression dark and his voice calm, "The place where he died is far from home. I was afraid he would get lost, so I carried this plaque with me. He... won't get lost!"

The female bandit leader's eyes showed surprise, and Wei Tianqing was also startled by Chu Huan's words.

"Why did he die in battle?" the female bandit leader asked again. "Was it because he oppressed the people and was killed? The dogs of the court can't do anything good!"

Chu Huan's face suddenly turned cold, and his tied hands clenched into fists, veins bulging. His voice was icy, "Shut up! If you say one more word to defame him, you will die!"

His sudden cold shout startled everyone on the bow. At this moment, the bandits were the executioners, and Chu Huan was the meat. Yet, he dared to shout at the female bandit leader, and many people thought he was reckless. If he angered these bandits, a single wave of a knife could end his life.

Wei Tianqing's eyes showed surprise, as he had not expected Chu Huan to have such courage. Su Linlang, who had been standing like a water lily in the crowd, also turned her head. Under the black veil, her eyes looked at Chu Huan.

...

Chu Huan's fierce shout did not anger the female bandit leader, but the masked person's eyes immediately showed anger. He shouted, "Bring me a knife and cut this boy's head off! Let's see if the knife is harder or his bones are harder!"

A bandit raised his knife to strike, and the passengers immediately turned away, not daring to watch. However, the female bandit leader said coldly, "Stop!" The bandit hesitated and slowly lowered his arm.

The masked person quickly said, "This boy is full of nonsense. He's not a good person. Keeping him is a risk. We should get rid of him quickly!"

The female bandit leader sneered, "Should I take orders from you or listen to me?"

The masked person was speechless and glared at Chu Huan.

"Do you plan to take all these people with you?" The female bandit leader scanned the crowd, including the ship's owner Pan and the other crew members, about thirty people in total, forming a dense group on the bow.

The masked person laughed and said, "Of course not." He raised his hand and pointed at six or seven people, including Su Linlang.

The people he pointed at were all dressed in fine clothes, clearly wealthy. None of their attendants were pointed at.

The crowd hesitated, and a bandit shouted, "Those I pointed at, step aside! If anyone tries to play tricks, I'll cut off their head!"

The crowd dared not resist, and a few people quickly stepped out of the crowd. Su Linlang moved to go, but the maid quickly grabbed her arm, her face full of fear, and said in a trembling voice, "Miss..."

Su Linlang gently patted the maid's hand, her posture elegant and calm, and said softly, "Take care of Uncle Su." Her voice was very gentle but also very cold.

"Old Su" opened his mouth as if to say something, but with the bandits present, what could a man over fifty do? He knew that arguing with the bandits would be futile and might cause more trouble, so he could only watch as Su Linlang walked gracefully to the side.

The masked person waved his hand and said, "Take them back to the ship and tie them up securely... hehe, these aren't people, they're white silver." The bandits laughed, and someone quickly set up a plank between the two ships, then pushed Su Linlang and the others onto the bandit ship. The masked person then walked to Wei Tianqing, glanced at the pale and frightened woman beside him, his eyes scanning her prominent chest, and said coldly, "Wei Tianqing, this time you will have to humble yourself and follow us. If you're lucky, you might have a chance to live!" He waved his hand, and the bandits pushed Wei Tianqing and the woman onto the bandit ship. The unconscious Er Hu and Hei Zi were left behind.

A bandit asked, "What about these people?"

The masked person whispered something in his ear, and the bandit immediately found a wooden bucket, filled it with water from the river, and brought it over. He then found a wooden ladle, stirred the water, and scooped out a ladle of water, walking to a passenger and saying roughly, "Take a drink!"

The passenger trembled and took the ladle, seeing the murky river water and said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, why do we have to drink river water?" As soon as he spoke, a bandit placed a knife at his throat and said coldly, "Why so many words? Do you want to drink river water or lose your head? Choose one!"

The passenger had no choice but to drink a mouthful of river water and tried to hand the ladle back to the bandit. The bandit nodded and said, "Pass it down. Everyone must drink. If you don't want to drink, just leave your head behind!"

The crowd had no choice but to drink. The bandits then used the ladle to pour water into the mouths of the tied-up crew members. When they reached Chu Huan, the female bandit leader said, "No need to give him water. Take him with us!"

The masked person quickly said, "This person is useless. Either kill him or leave him. Why take him? He might cause trouble!"

The female bandit leader glanced at him coldly and walked to the bandit ship, saying coldly, "Take him!" She then added, "Wrap up his package and take it with you!" and boarded the bandit ship.

Two bandits pushed Chu Huan onto the bandit ship. As soon as Chu Huan reached the bow of the bandit ship, he heard a "thud" behind him. He turned around and saw that the passengers who had drunk the river water were falling to the deck one by one.

Chu Huan's face turned cold, and he said, "The water is poisoned?"

A bandit pushed him hard and said, "We rob the rich to help the poor. They were obedient, so we didn't kill them. But we can't let them report us so quickly. We put a sleeping drug in the water. They won't wake up until noon tomorrow!" He then laughed, very pleased with himself.

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