Chapter 8

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Just as Wei Tianqing finished speaking, a woman's scream came from inside the cabin, followed by a voice exclaiming, "What are you doing? Let me go... Do you know who I am? How dare you... Wei Tianqing, where are you?"

Hearing this voice, Wei Tianqing's expression changed dramatically. He turned his head and saw three bandits escorting a beautiful woman out of the cabin. One of the bandits held a large knife to the woman's waist. The woman's face was pale, her usually charming features now filled with terror.

Seeing Wei Tianqing, the woman trembled and said, "W-Who are these people? What... What are they going to do?"

Wei Tianqing slowly turned his gaze to the female bandit leader, suppressing his anger, and said with a cold laugh, "Is this your tactic? It's too despicable. If you have the courage, fight me one-on-one. If you can truly defeat me, I will accept my fate."

Before the female bandit leader could speak, a loud voice said, "Despicable? Heh, compared to your two-facedness, our methods are far too kind. You, the lackeys, have no right to call us despicable." As he spoke, the masked man with the bow had already climbed over the ship's railing and slowly walked toward the woman.

The woman, controlled by the bandits, made Wei Tianqing hesitant to act rashly. She was even more frightened when she saw the masked man's sinister bronze mask. She wanted to move back, but the cold, hard blade at her waist prevented her from retreating.

The masked man walked up to the woman, and a pair of black eyes appeared through the hollow circles of the bronze mask. He looked her over and finally fixed his gaze on her eyes, asking calmly, "Who is Qiao Mingtang to you?"

The woman's body trembled, and she bit her lip before finally saying, "H-He is my lord!"

"Are you his wife?"

"Yes...!"

"Then it's settled!" The masked man smiled faintly and ordered, "Tie her up!"

Wei Tianqing shouted, "Since you know the lady's identity, you should know the consequences of your actions. Once the master learns of this, you will have no place to hide, no matter where you run!"

"No place to hide?" The masked man laughed, "Wei Tianqing, do you know that we can make you have no place to hide right now!"

The female bandit leader then said, "No more nonsense, take her away!" She glanced at Wei Tianqing, stepped forward, and pressed the blade to the woman's throat, causing her to scream again. The female bandit leader said calmly, "Wei Tianqing, I'll count to three. If you don't drop your weapon, I'll cut her throat."

Wei Tianqing gritted his teeth, his face full of anger. The female bandit leader calmly counted, "One... Two..."

Wei Tianqing sighed deeply, dropped his weapon, and looked helpless.

The masked man chuckled, "He who knows the times is a wise man... Wei Tianqing, you were once a notable figure. Later, you became a lackey for the court, which showed you knew the times. Today, you can also drop your weapon, which also shows you know the times. Heh, no wonder you've survived until now; you are indeed not simple." His voice then turned cold, "Tie them up!"

Several bandits immediately rushed forward, knocked Wei Tianqing and Heizi to the ground, and bound them tightly with ox sinew ropes. Wei Tianqing's face was full of anger, but he dared not resist when he saw the woman controlled by the female bandit leader.

The female bandit leader, seeing Wei Tianqing bound, finally put away her knife. She then noticed Chu Huan by the ship's railing, glanced at him indifferently, and said coldly, "Take this woman and Wei Tianqing away!"

A bandit immediately asked, "What about the people in the cabin?"

The female bandit leader said calmly, "Don't involve the innocent."

The masked man raised his hand, "Wait." He looked at the female bandit leader and said, "In the cabin, most are selfish merchants. Some of them are very wealthy. How can we let them go easily? We are short of money. Take them away and notify their families to pay ransom. We will surely get a large sum of money."

The female bandit leader glanced coldly at the masked man but said nothing, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Seeing that the female bandit leader did not object, the masked man waved his hand and said sternly, "Bring everyone out!" Several bandits immediately entered the cabin, and the cabin became noisy again.

Seeing this, Chu Huan picked up the gray package beside him, expressionless, and was about to stand up when the female bandit leader walked over, looked him over, and asked, "What's in your package?"

Chu Huan's package looked old and dirty but was very heavy and bulging. The female bandit leader stared at the package, her eyes showing curiosity, clearly puzzled by its contents.

Chu Huan stood up, leaned against the railing, and smiled, "Nothing much, you wouldn't be interested!"

The female bandit leader extended her hand and said with a cold laugh, "Let me see!"

Chu Huan had saved the boatman and bandaged his wound, which the female bandit leader had noticed. Although she had not focused on Chu Huan, his skilled bandaging had made her suspicious. Now, seeing Chu Huan's concern for the package, she became even more interested.

Chu Huan shook his head and smiled again.

The female bandit leader's eyes showed a hint of anger, and she reached out quickly to grab the package. Chu Huan, leaning against the railing, had nowhere to retreat. In an instant, the female bandit leader's hand had already grabbed the package, about to take it.

At that moment, Chu Huan's eyes showed a cunning smile. He held the package tightly with his left hand and, in an instant, extended his right hand with incredible speed, grabbing the female bandit leader's wrist. He pretended to be panicked, "This is my package, you can't take it!"

The female bandit leader clearly did not expect Chu Huan to move so quickly, let alone attack in such a situation. She quickly let go and flipped her hand to try to grab Chu Huan's wrist, but Chu Huan was even faster. As her hand flipped, Chu Huan's hand had already grabbed her wrist.

The female bandit leader's beautiful eyes showed surprise. Before she could react, she felt Chu Huan's arm pulling her, as if a powerful force was dragging her over.

The female bandit leader, not an ordinary person, quickly raised her right hand and swung her knife at Chu Huan's arm. She thought that with this strike, Chu Huan would surely let go to save his arm. However, Chu Huan shouted, "Lady Chief, I can't swim... you...!" His voice was full of fear, and he flipped over the railing into the river, still holding the female bandit leader's wrist. The female bandit leader's knife did not land, and she felt the pulling force grow stronger, dragging her into the river as well.

The bandits on the deck looked at each other, still not understanding what had happened. Chu Huan and the female bandit leader had fallen into the water in an instant, and they naturally thought the female bandit leader had pushed Chu Huan into the water. However, they did not understand why she had also fallen in.

Moreover, Chu Huan had shouted in fear, and they never imagined that their female leader had been dragged off the ship by Chu Huan.

...

...

With a splash, Chu Huan and the female bandit leader sank into the water. In the cold autumn, the river water was very cold, and as soon as Chu Huan fell in, he felt a chill penetrate every pore of his body.

Chu Huan had not acted earlier out of fear of death. Like Wei Tianqing, he knew that the bandits were too numerous, and a direct confrontation was impossible. The only way to turn the situation around was to capture the bandit leader, forcing the others to hesitate and not act rashly.

He had been waiting for an opportunity, hoping to seize the chance to capture the female bandit leader. Although the opportunity might not come, he would not act rashly without a good plan.

When he bandaged the boatman's wound, it was genuinely to save him, but he deliberately showed his skilled bandaging to draw the female bandit leader's attention.

A beggar with tattered clothes and skilled bandaging, and who showed no fear in such a dangerous situation, would naturally attract attention.

By drawing the female bandit leader's attention, he had a good chance to get close to her and find an opportunity to act. Although Chu Huan did not have a hundred percent confidence, it was the best plan he could think of in such a moment.

The situation developed in the best possible way. The female bandit leader became suspicious of Chu Huan and approached him. Chu Huan, standing by the railing, intended to drag her into the river.

From the earlier confrontation between the female bandit leader and Wei Tianqing, Chu Huan knew that she was skilled. Moreover, the deck was full of bandits. If they fought on the deck, and he could not subdue her quickly, the bandits would overwhelm him, and his plan would fail. Only in the river did Chu Huan have a chance to overpower her.

...

Falling into the water, the female bandit leader was both angry and anxious. Chu Huan held her wrist tightly, and she could not break free. She tried to cut him with her knife, but the water's resistance made it difficult to use the knife effectively.

The female bandit leader's knife technique relied on speed and surprise. Without speed, even if her technique was unusual, it was hard to injure the opponent. In the water, she tried to cut Chu Huan's hand, but the resistance made it impossible to use her knife effectively. Chu Huan, knowing her knife skills were formidable, did not want to tangle with her for too long.

Initially, Chu Huan thought the female bandit leader, who owned a pirate ship, must be an excellent swimmer. However, he soon realized that her swimming skills were far inferior to his.

Chu Huan, like a fish in the water, was very agile. He maneuvered behind the female bandit leader, holding her wrist with his right hand and pressing his arm against her chest, effectively pinning both her arms. She struggled fiercely, but Chu Huan was strong and held her tightly, refusing to let go.

His arm pressed against her chest, feeling the unusual firmness of her breasts. As she struggled, her soft chest rubbed against his arm, elastic and full.