Chapter 52: Night Raid

She tied her boat once more to the same stone pillar where Meng Hu had anchored it during their previous visit.

As the tide receded, Su Yunqing disembarked fully prepared. Drawing from her earlier experience, she kept her ears perked and remained constantly alert. In the absence of strong winds, falling mountain stones were always preceded by the sound of splitting rock fissures.

Whenever she heard this sound, she would press her body flat against the rock face and stand motionless, waiting until the clattering debris had plunged into the sea before resuming her meticulous search.

Dragon's Saliva Herb was exceptionally rare. She and Meng Hu had searched this very black copper stone cliff just last time; although she was familiar with the location, returning today increased the difficulty manifold.

Glancing up at the sun, she realized the tide would soon be coming in. Once the tide rose, the Dragon's Saliva Herb would be submerged, and staying at the base of the cliff would become extremely hazardous. She was forced to return to her boat before the waters returned.

After searching for a long time with nothing to show for it, she felt somewhat discouraged, realizing she was neither as clever nor as fortunate as she had imagined.

Fortunately, she had already pinpointed the location of the ink-feathered vajra's nest. Once night fell, she would be able to secure her boat right beneath the nest, climb less than two zhang upward, and easily capture them under the cover of darkness.

When facing the natural environment, animals were often far more sensitive than humans. The ink-feathered vajras must have chosen this location for their nest only after careful reconnaissance.

In other words, the area near the nest was unlikely to have any cliff fractures or falling rocks.

Therefore, climbing this section of the cliff was relatively safe, especially since she had made thorough preparations.

For now, she donned her bamboo hat, kept her small boat pressed tightly against the cliff face, and quietly awaited the fall of night.

Gazing out at the churning sea, her small boat bobbed up and down with the waves. The sun drifted slowly westward until its lingering glow dyed the entire sky red for the final time, and the gorgeous colors gave way to darkness.

She punted her small boat forward beneath the nest of the ink-feathered vajras.

Securing the boat to a sturdy stone pillar and taking protective precautions, she began to grope her way up the cliff face.

The cliff was steep yet uneven, providing reliable hand- and footholds everywhere. Moreover, having hauled countless buckets of water since childhood, Su Yunqing had very strong arms. With almost no effort, she climbed to the edge of the nest.

By the light of a half-moon hanging in the sky, Su Yunqing saw the sleek, glossy black feathers of the ink-feathered vajras gleaming with a faint sheen in the moonlight. They were fast asleep.

Just as she opened the cloth bag around her neck and reached out her hand to grab an ink-feathered vajra, she heard the sound of countless ships cutting through the surface of the sea.

Turning her head, she saw the exit of the cave she had passed through earlier, where countless large vessels were breaking through the waves and heading out toward the deep sea.

She looked further out into the distant deep sea—it was a vast, pitch-black expanse. What was that? The faint light of the crescent moon illuminated white banners fluttering in the night wind.

"Chiye?"

Indeed, though Chiye had escaped death by the skin of his teeth last time, he still harbored lingering ambitions. He had returned once more, and his objective this time was blatantly obvious: not merely plunder, but vengeance.

Vengeance against Dragon Hidden Mountain.

Clearly, the people of Dragon Hidden Mountain had also been on their guard; otherwise, they would not have sortied out to meet the enemy before the invaders even drew close.

Su Yunqing grabbed an ink-feathered vajra and shoved it directly into the cloth bag. "One is enough. Time to leave."

Tracing her steps from the ascent, she began to climb downward.

However, the ink-feathered vajra was a giant parrot and a wild bird that had never been tamed; how could it submit to human will so easily?

The three- or four-jin heavy creature thrashed violently inside the cloth bag on Su Yunqing's chest, exerting tremendous force. Su Yunqing had to constantly focus on her hand and footholds while gripping the cliff tightly without relaxation. The thrashing of the large bird steadily drained her strength.

*Crack.* A stone broke away from the cliff beneath her hand and plunged into the sea. In a panic, Su Yunqing concentrated all her weight onto her other hand.

"Not good!"

*Crack...*

*Thud...*

Su Yunqing, along with the parrot in the bag, tumbled straight down into the seawater. Fortunately, she was already halfway down, with only about a zhang remaining, and since she fell into the water, neither human nor bird suffered any serious harm.

The small boat was right beside her. She swam over with all her might, hauled herself up, and climbed aboard.

On a bitterly cold winter night, the seawater was bone-chilling. Su Yunqing was soaked to the skin, but she could care less. The tide was about to recede, and she still had to wait. Once the water pulled back, she would resume her search for the Dragon's Saliva Herb.

Although she had spent the entire day empty-handed, she had come too far to give up and leave like this.

Having lost its freedom, the parrot in the cloth bag grew tense to the point of madness, thrashing endlessly inside, scratching with its talons, viciously pecking at the bag with its massive beak, and emitting its unique, piercing cries.

Fearing that its calls would attract attention, Su Yunqing grabbed its beak through the cloth bag with both hands, gripping it tightly so it could no longer open its mouth or make a loud sound.

Amidst the biting winter wind, drenched in seawater with all her strength concentrated on holding the bird's beak shut, she watched the distant fires of battle gradually ignite and waited for the tide to recede once more.

Chiye had likely studied military strategy; he understood the tactic of using the enemy's methods against them.

He wanted to emulate the strategy Dragon Hidden Mountain had used against them previously, launching a sudden assault under the cover of deep night. Thus, at midnight, leading two thousand reorganized Japanese pirates and dozens of vessels, he bypassed Zhusha Islet and headed straight for Dragon Hidden Mountain.

However, he had overestimated himself and underestimated his opponent.

Dragon Hidden Mountain boasted high terrain and a sweeping field of vision. Although there was no full moon tonight, the sea was free of fog, and the guards had spotted them long before they drew close to the cliff face.

Consequently, the defenders immediately organized their forces to meet the attack.

It was only when the ships of Dragon Hidden Mountain were nearly upon them that the invaders realized they had been exposed. Panicking, they rushed to open fire, launching fire arrows according to their original plan.

Dragon Hidden Mountain had long since prepared for this. The wooden structures of all their vessels had been thoroughly soaked with water, and the fire arrows extinguished shortly after striking the hulls.

Ling Yuan led his men all the way up onto the deck of Chiye's flagship. Furious, Chiye drew his saber and stepped forward to engage him.

"I let you escape last time. I didn't expect you to deliver yourself right back to my doorstep so soon." Ling Yuan looked at him, his deep eyes filled with murderous intent.

"You—it's you!" Chiye took a wide stance, gripping his saber with both hands, his eyes wide with fury. "I came here today specifically to kill you and avenge my fallen brothers."

"You? We'll see who kills whom!"

Being outmatched previously in front of that brocade-clad guard commander named Gao had made Ling Yuan realize that there was always someone better, and heavens beyond the heavens.

He had always been praised as a juvenile prodigy, and over the past few years on Dragon Hidden Mountain, he had rarely met an adversary. But it was only after venturing outside the mountain that he had witnessed what true martial prowess looked like.

Even before his wounds had fully healed, he had begun training day and night with relentless fury. Today, he would use this Chiye to test his skills.

"Yah..." Trying to seize the initiative, Chiye gripped his saber with both hands and slashed viciously at Ling Yuan. Ling Yuan side-stepped and easily dodged the blow.

"Yah..." Pulling his blade free from the deck where it had struck, Chiye slashed at him again. Ling Yuan executed a graceful lower-body bend, the razor-sharp edge of the blade whistling through the air just above his abdomen.

After parrying two moves, Ling Yuan went on the offensive. His long sword sliced through the night sky, its cold glare dazzling the eye. Chiye cursed in Japanese and retreated step by step...

The sounds of battle shook the sea. The pirates had lifted a rock only to drop it on their own feet; all the ships of Dragon Hidden Mountain remained unharmed, while the pirate vessels caught fire one after another.

Down at the base of the cliff, Su Yunqing's lips had already turned purple from the cold. She had taken every conceivable preventive measure except for packing a spare set of clothes.

With trembling, stiffened fingers, she tied the parrot's beak shut with the cord of her cloth bag, cradled it in her arms, stepped off the boat, and searched the rock crevices for the Dragon's Saliva Herb, inch by inch.