Chapter 23: Do Not Judge a Person by Their Status

"Brother Ling, look, what is that?" Su Yunqing asked, tugging at his sleeve with some excitement as she shook it a few times.

Ling Yuan glanced down at her hand and lifted his own slightly; Su Yunqing immediately let go.

Ling Yuan fixed his gaze on the scene before them. "It is the Japanese pirates' ships. They are on fire!"

Su Yunqing cupped her chin with both hands. "Wonderful! Now that they have lost their ships, they cannot escape. If they can be wiped out in one fell swoop, they won't be able to come and invade so frequently in the future."

The people inside the cabin followed the sound and emerged one after another.

The fire on the horizon grew increasingly intense, fueled by the sea breeze and spiraling out of control. Cries and screams carried across the water to their ears.

Lit by the flames, the entire wharf was as bright as day, revealing several large vessels sailing away with the wind.

Ling Yuan said, "It is Uncle Bao. The pirates must have landed just this evening, and the vast majority of them went ashore. Now that their ships are all destroyed, if they want to pursue, they can only seize the fishermen's boats. But those are slow and will never catch up."

Uncle Kun asked, "Didn't you send the message out only this evening? How could the Second-in-Command have received the news so quickly?"

Ling Yuan’s lips curled slightly. "If I am not mistaken, the pirates' ships must have passed Zhusha Island. The brothers on Zhusha Island must have sent word to Longyin Mountain, allowing them to launch a surprise attack under the cover of night while the pirates were exhausted."

Banjiu nodded. "Young Master Ling is truly clever. Your analysis makes perfect sense!"

Meng Hu scoffed, "What’s so special about that? Anyone with a brain could figure it out!"

Ling Yuan ignored his sarcasm and said with a worried expression, "With their path of retreat cut off, while it helps in annihilating them, they are now like trapped beasts. If reinforcements from the surrounding areas do not arrive in time, the nearby towns will suffer."

He was right. The pirates had come only to plunder and were not using actual warships. Seeing their vessels reduced to ashes, their inherent brutality was fully unleashed.

Their methods of killing became even more cruel. Fortunately, reinforcements from nearby areas arrived in time, and together with the self-defense teams spontaneously organized by the village’s strong young men, they fought a bloody battle. By the following evening, the pirates were forced back to the wharf.

The remaining hundreds of pirates boarded their two surviving battered ships, along with dozens of fishing boats of varying sizes they had seized at the wharf, and fled in a panic.

With ample manpower on this side and the enemy already in total disarray, having lost all will to fight, Su Yunqing thought they certainly could not escape today; the fishing boats were so slow that they could be caught easily.

However, events unfolded quite differently from her expectations. As she watched the pirates gradually pull away, the government troops on the shore showed no sign of giving chase; not a single ship followed them.

Su Yunqing asked in confusion, "Why aren't they pursuing? This is the best opportunity to wipe out the pirates. Their ships are burned, and the men are exhausted; they should have no power to resist now."

"They will not chase," Ling Yuan said indignantly. "This group has been keeping the pirates around to bolster their own importance for a long time. If they wipe them all out at once, what excuse would they have to keep asking the imperial court for funds to 'resist the pirates'?"

Uncle Kun added, "If the names of those whose pay was embezzled are reported as 'killed in action,' the compensation payments will be a significant sum."

Su Yunqing grasped the hidden meaning in their words, yet she still could not believe it. "How can they be so corrupt, disregarding the safety of the country? If the skin is gone, where will the hair grow?"

Meng Hu draped his arm over her shoulder and said earnestly, "Little Young Master Cheng, you are still too young..."

Ling Yuan interrupted, "Uncle Kun, let us set sail and follow them. If my guess is right, Uncle Bao and his men should already be waiting at Zhusha Island. We can rendezvous with them there."

Uncle Kun agreed, and a moment later, the boat began to sail with the wind.

They maintained a safe distance from the fleeing pirate fleet until a series of sharp, miserable screams erupted from one of the large fishing boats.

It was a woman's voice!

It was now the middle of the night. Having been exhausted, many people were lying scattered across the deck, fast asleep. The autumn nights in the south were much warmer than those by the Ze River in the north, and even in mid-September, the night breeze did not feel cold.

Su Yunqing was startled awake by the sound. Ling Yuan, however, had not slept; he leaned against the cabin, watching the pirates' movements to respond to any emergencies.

Guided by the moonlight, Su Yunqing walked to his side. "They have taken captives?"

"That is their usual practice."

"How much longer until we reach Zhusha Island? Can we save the people once we arrive?"

From their earlier conversation, Su Yunqing had roughly guessed their identities. She knew that with their current manpower, it was unrealistic to suggest an immediate rescue. Their only hope was to meet with the man they called Uncle Bao, so they would not be making a futile sacrifice.

Ling Yuan nodded. "Soon."

Not long after, the sounds of hand-to-hand combat, splashes, and screams drifted from ahead.

They had arrived at Zhusha Island!

"It is the Second-in-Command! Quickly, follow them and circle to the back to board the island," Uncle Kun commanded the helmsman to stay close before going to the deck to shake Meng Hu and the others awake. "Quickly, get up! Leave two men on the boat, and the rest come with me. We have endured for so long; tonight, we can kill to our heart's content."

Meng Hu sprang up like a carp, rubbing his eyes. "Are we there? I just had a nap and my energy is peaking. My great blade has been starving for blood!"

The boat docked on the back side of the island amidst the deafening sounds of battle.

Ling Yuan held his sword and said to Banjiu, "You stay behind and protect Young Master Cheng."

Banjiu, who was gripping his blade and ready to jump off the boat, looked slightly disappointed. "Ah?"

"Young Master Cheng knows no martial arts and has never encountered such a situation. If you keep him safe, it is equivalent to killing ten pirates."

"Oh!"

Su Yunqing quickly said, "Don't worry about me, I will be fine. I will hide on the boat; I definitely won't get in your way."

Ling Yuan patted Banjiu’s shoulder firmly and led the others off the boat.

Su Yunqing watched them. In the moonlight, the sword in Ling Yuan's hand gave off a faint blue light from its hilt. She felt the figure embracing the long sword was familiar, yet she could not recall where she had seen him before.

"Little Young Master Cheng, once tonight is over, the seas will be peaceful, and you will be able to reach Cenzhou smoothly," Banjiu said, carrying his great blade as he stood beside Su Yunqing.

"Thank you for taking care of me along the way."

"We should be the ones thanking you; you have helped us so much."

Su Yunqing smiled. "It was just a small favor."

"Heh, for you it might be a small favor, but for us, it was saving us from fire and water."

Su Yunqing hesitated, but she still asked the question that had been on her mind. "Banjiu, you... you could have completely ignored this. Even the government troops have abandoned their duty. Why would your Second-in-Command risk so much to ambush the pirates?"

In the moonlight, Banjiu’s eyes dimmed for a moment. "We are not people of the imperial court, but we are people of the Great Liang Kingdom. Though I have never studied, I understand what you meant about the skin and the hair. Defending the country and resisting foreign enemies is the duty of every Liang person."

At that moment, Su Yunqing truly understood the meaning of not judging people by their status.

The sky gradually began to break at dawn. A lone, stray fishing boat, cloaked by the shadows of the trees, slowly approached their vessel.