knife

Chapter 385 Attacked
Jiang Shiyuan looked at He Yiming, and He Yiming also put down his wine glass and looked at him.

The room was so lively just now.

After a moment, it fell silent.
It was as cold as the weather outside.

"Chief He, we've been friends for years!" Jiang Shiyuan toyed with the wine cup in his hand and said indifferently, "I wonder what makes you want to make things difficult for this old man today? You've got your eye on those things on my ship? Surely not?"

He Yiming sighed: "I know you have powerful connections, Brother Jiang, but I have no choice. I really don't care about those things of yours."

Jiang Shiyuan's expression changed slightly: "What do you want to do?"

"Someone wants me to kill someone!" He Yiming said. "This person's surname is Han!"

Jiang Shiyuan took a deep breath: "Do you know who this guy surnamed Han is?"

"Of course I know, he's the eldest son of Han Tan, the Prefect of Ruyin Commandery!" He Yiming said, "There's also a woman on your boat, surnamed Jiang, isn't there?"

Jiang Shiyuan suddenly stood up: "He Yiming, if you harm a single hair on this woman's head, I guarantee your entire family will be wiped out soon!"

He Yiming tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp. He stood up and looked at Jiang Shiyuan, saying, "There's no other way. If I don't do this, my whole family will be wiped out immediately! After I do this, how your Chu Kingdom retaliates against me is a matter for later. I still have time to make arrangements."

"Zhang Quanyi?"

"Although the Qin Dynasty is now in decline and plagued by internal strife, it is not a place where you people from Chu can come and go as you please!" He Yiming sneered, "Since you're here, then don't leave!"

"He Yiming, you are deliberately provoking a war between our two countries!" Jiang Shiyuan roared. "Once war breaks out, countless lives will be lost, and many more families will be torn apart and wives and children will be separated!"

"The Qin Dynasty is now ravaged by war!" He Yiming chuckled. "In the last battle of Xiangcheng, it wasn't that your Chu state was so powerful, but that we lost to ourselves. If you come again this time, the situation will be different! You might not be able to win! Does your Empress Dowager intend to personally lead another expedition?"

"So that means there's no room for negotiation?"

"There wasn't one to begin with!" He Yiming said, "Brother Jiang, let's get started. If you can escape alive today, that's your skill. But even if you escape from here, you won't be able to save the people on the ship. Besides my elite gang, there are also Yang Lixin's men from Huai'an, a bunch of people at the seventh or eighth rank of Xuan Yuan. On your ship, besides yourself, only Wei Donglai can barely be considered a master. The rest of you can only wait to be slaughtered!"

Jiang Shiyuan said no more. He kicked over the table in front of him, sending it hurtling towards He Yiming. Using the force of the kick, he retreated and rushed towards the main gate. Facing the several men rushing towards him, he flicked his sleeves, and in the gentle breeze, several strong and vigorous men fell to the ground with screams, clutching their faces and crying out, blood trickling from between their fingers.

Fine needles, as thin as cow hair, were stuck into the faces of these people.

In a short while, the blood that had seeped out turned a deep green.

Jiang Shiyuan truly did not expect that today would be a life-or-death situation.

But now that things have come to this point, there's nothing more to say, and when the time comes to act, it will naturally be ruthless and merciless.

With a single move, he could kill someone instantly.

In that brief moment, Jiang Shiyuan actually figured out a lot of things.

The key is where the other party makes their move.

If Yang Quanyi simply wanted to kill Han Zheng or Jiang Ping, he could have achieved this goal effortlessly in Luoyang.

But he did this only after he had left the area controlled by Luoyang and entered He Zudao's territory.

Zhang Quanyi wanted to disrupt He Zudao's connection with the State of Chu.

So he coerced He Ziming into taking action, and then framed He Zudao for it.

Yang Lixin's gang was a group of lawless gangsters who were easily lured out. As the saying goes, money can move people's hearts, and what could sway these people was nothing more than wealth.

So as long as he can escape, Yang Quanyi's plan to frame him will be considered a failure.

If the goal of avoiding diverting trouble is achieved, then killing more people would be pointless and could even directly incite hatred towards him from the State of Chu and He Zudao.

So right now, my most important task isn't to rush back to save people, but to try and escape.

I'm sure the canal gang had their own way of quickly notifying the people who were going to take action.

Jiang Shiyuan had no choice but to take this gamble.

The gate is just around the corner.

Once you step over the threshold, your chances of escape will greatly increase.

But in that instant, a huge red cherry blossom appeared before them, and among the blooming red flowers, a cold shadow was hidden, full of murderous intent.

At least the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan.

Jiang Shiyuan raised his hand, and with a clang, the iron arm guard smashed the spear away, but his forward momentum was also stopped. Looking closely at the door, the man who was retreating while holding a spear was none other than Liu Chuang, the member of the Canal Gang who had led him here.

The sound of weapons whistling through the air came from behind; it was He Yiming charging in.

Jiang Shiyuan sighed deeply.
The Grand Canal Gang is a large and powerful organization with many skilled members. I'm afraid I'm doomed this time.

It wouldn't matter if only I died.
But think of Han Tan and Jiang Ping on the ship, especially Jiang Ping. If anything were to happen to her, even if I were to die, it would probably be difficult to quell the Empress Dowager's anger.

The family members in Nanchu do not know if they will survive this calamity.

As Liu Chuang slowly approached He Yiming, Jiang Shiyuan felt a surge of rage.

Even if I die, I'll drag as many people down with me.

The sky gradually darkened.

Fenglin Ferry is just a small ferry crossing. Large cargo ships like the one Li Dachui is on cannot approach it, especially during the dry season.

However, the ferry crossing can supply cargo ships with all kinds of daily necessities, and there are even all sorts of unnamed businesses on the shore to meet the needs of the energetic sailors on board, so the ferry crossing is quite lively.

As soon as the large ship dropped its anchor, several small fishing boats quickly rowed over, their oars flying, almost like a race. The small boats were being rowed so hard that their pointed bows were raised, making the people on board beam with excitement and cheer loudly.

A moment later, a small boat emerged from the pier.

The other small boats were equally resilient; seeing that they were outmatched, they all stopped.

The onlookers on the boat burst into applause.

Most sailors travel along this river, so such a scene is probably nothing new to them; it's just that businessmen from the shore are trying to drum up business.

Whether it's replenishing rice, flour, oil, vegetables, or vegetables, or taking people ashore for leisure, it's a pretty good business.

Just by looking at the scantily clad, voluptuous woman standing at the bow of the small boat, one could tell what was going on.

Li Dachui clicked his tongue in amazement, "Wearing so little, aren't you afraid of the cold!"

These people were definitely not the source of danger. Li Dachui glanced at them and found that the woman at the bow of the boat was just an ordinary person, while the two men rowing the boat were only barely beginners in martial arts. They were all about being thick-skinned, strong, and easy to use.

The sound of string and bamboo instruments reached Li Dachui's ears. He turned around and saw two painted boats, one red and one green, slowly approaching from around the bend. On the bow of the boats, young men in fine clothes sat with women, while heroes of the martial arts world drank heartily by the side of the boat. A troupe of musicians sat on the deck, and the sound of string and bamboo instruments filled the air. The most wonderful thing was that in the middle of the deck, there was a woman with a charming figure dancing gracefully.

The few small boats that had just stopped immediately resumed their frantic oarsing and rushed towards the pleasure boat.

Generally speaking, pleasure boats wouldn't patronize their business, but in the dead of winter, they might as well try their luck and see what happens!
As the two pleasure boats slowly approached from the left and right, surrounding the two cargo ships, Li Dachui breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally arrived.

Now that the moves have been made, there's nothing to be afraid of.

What's truly frightening is not knowing the other party's methods; the unknown is always terrifying.

Seeing Han Zheng also standing to the side watching with great interest, Li Dachui reached out and tugged at his sleeve, whispering, "Are you wearing armor?"

Han Zheng was stunned: "What?"

"There are assassins on the pleasure boat, and I'm afraid there are quite a few of them. Are you wearing armor?" Li Dachui asked.

Han Zheng looked up at the painted boat on one side, then at Li Dachui, and then at Jiang Ping.

Jiang Ping, who had been watching the commotion from the ship's railing, was now standing next to Li Dachui, her face beaming with excitement: "Any assassins? How powerful are they? I'm a sixth-grade Qi Master, and I'm wearing golden silk armor that makes me impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire. Li Bao, I can help you!"

Li Dachui chuckled: "Han Zheng, you'd better stick close to me later. This time, I'm afraid they're not here with good intentions!"

"Who wants to assassinate us? This is He Zudao's territory now. There are connections between Huai'an and Ruyin. By the way, Yang Lixin is stationed here. Does he have a large number of underworld figures under his command? Are they after the valuables on our ship?"

"Right now, no matter where the other side is, we have to survive first," Li Dachui said in a low voice.

No sooner had the words been spoken than the pleasure boat, which had been moving rather slowly, suddenly accelerated. Several small boats that were excitedly going to greet guests and try to make some business were caught off guard and were directly overturned by the huge pleasure boat. The men who fell into the water frantically paddled away from the big boat, but the poor woman at the bow was sucked directly to the bottom of the boat and was basically doomed.

The sailors on the ship were well-trained. As soon as they saw the situation, they knew something was wrong. These men usually wore soft armor and carried all kinds of weapons for emergencies. When they saw that something was wrong, they immediately retreated. The leader even called Han Zheng and the others to hide in the cabin.

They never expected that their first encounter would be a barrage of crossbow bolts.

Even Li Dachui's expression changed when he heard the distinctive sound of the crossbow bolts being fired.

This isn't robbery, is this the army preparing for an assault?
(End of this chapter)