Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 499 Falling into the trap
A clear whistle rang out across the river.

Without further ado, Zhao Zhongliang instructed his brothers: "Quickly, get closer to Liu Yigui's boat."

The small boat moved forward quickly, and Zhao Zhongliang continued to blow his copper whistle, while the brothers on the boat gripped their steel knives and clubs tightly.

Liu Yigui's men, who were inside the cabin, rushed out to check the situation upon hearing the noise: "What's going on..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was stabbed in the abdomen by one of Zhao Zhongliang's men. The guard's eyes widened, and before he could figure out what was happening, he felt another pain in his stomach and was kicked hard. His body then fell backward and into the river.

At Zhao Zhongliang's signal, the men on the boat shouted, "The government troops are catching up!"

……

Liu Yigui entered the cabin and was instructing his men to keep a close watch on the river.

"The militia has only temporarily held off the government troops. If the commander discovers any movement here, he might send small boats to sneak over. We cannot let our guard down."

The men responded.

Liu Yigui then looked at Cui Shiwu: "Since you are injured, you should not go outside."

Cui Shiwu said, "It's just that one arm is immobile. If those treacherous dogs from the imperial court dare to come closer, we brothers will go up and deal with them first."

The rest of the guards nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Cui Shiwu continued, "Brother Chuan once said that all our jobs are given by Manager Liu, so we have to protect Manager Liu's safety."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yigui smiled and reached out to pat Cui Shiwu's shoulder, but stopped abruptly because the other was injured.

Cui Shiwu laughed heartily: "Don't worry, Manager Liu, with Brother Chuan behind us, there's no way anything will go wrong..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a piercing whistle rang out.

Everyone in the cabin paled, and Liu Yigui also stopped smiling and quickly went out to see what was happening.

The whistle kept blowing, as if guiding something hidden in the darkness.

Liu Yigui frowned: "Why is it coming from behind?" He wanted to see clearly, but in the darkness, he couldn't make out anything.

After the whistle stopped, shouts came again.

"The soldiers have arrived."

"The officers and soldiers have caught up."

Liu Yigui was taken aback.

The guard said, "It sounds like Zhao Chuan and his group."

Liu Yigui also realized that Zhao Chuan must have discovered the soldiers' whereabouts and was warning them.

"It must be the government's reinforcements arriving. Hurry up," Liu Yigui ordered. "Protect the Third Manager and let's get through the checkpoint quickly."

They originally planned to proceed slowly to avoid alerting the government troops on the other side.

If the government troops knew that the person they were looking for was here, they would definitely abandon the militia and come after them.

But now that someone is chasing them, they can't care about anything else.

"Hurry, faster."

The people on the boat waved their arms frantically, and the boat immediately sped up.

Liu Yigui stared at the third manager's small boat, fearing something might have gone wrong there.

Zhao Chuan's warning brought them news, but it also alerted the government troops who were fighting with the militia.

Sweat immediately beaded on Liu Yigui's forehead. He hoped that the government troops would not have realized the situation by the time they came to their senses, and that they would have already fled far away.

But in the most critical moments, things usually turn out the worst. The sounds of fighting not far away seemed to have subsided considerably, but the current on the river was becoming increasingly turbulent. Liu Yigui stared wide-eyed, and by the last glimmer of light from the burning boat, he finally saw that several boats were approaching them.

Liu Yigui gritted his teeth and said, "Fire the signal arrow."

The signal arrow was fired to alert the ships ahead, instructing those carrying the Fang family members, Xia Ziqiao, and Ge Ying to change course and ram the government ships.

The situation on the river was unclear. These boats blocked the way so that the Third Manager's boat could leave smoothly. At this critical moment, he had no choice but to make a tough decision and sacrifice the pawn to save the king.

Several arrows shot into the sky, followed by the whistling of arrows and the smoke trailing from the shafts. In this life-or-death moment, Liu Yigui used his last piece.

After the signal arrow was fired, the large ship in front indeed changed direction.

The Fang family members on the boat sensed something, their faces filled with fear, and the women and children couldn't help but cry out.

Not only them, but Ge Ying also noticed that their boat slowly came to a stop, and then the bow began to turn around.

"What are you doing?" Xia Ziqiao questioned the guard. "We finally got out of the checkpoint, why do we have to go back?"

The guard said with a grim face, "Something has happened to Steward Liu, and we need to go and meet him."

Upon hearing this, Xia Ziqiao felt his head go blank. He grabbed the guard and said angrily, "You're not allowed to go. We're continuing on our way. You're not allowed to go back."

The guards, no longer showing the same respect as before, roughly ripped Xia Ziqiao away and threw him to the ground as if he were a pile of filth.

Xia Ziqiao's head slammed hard against the wooden planks of the cabin, and he immediately saw stars. His whole body ached, and it felt like several of his bones were broken.

The ensuing pain caused him to scream in agony.

But no one paid him any attention.

The bow of the boat turned back anyway, and Xia Ziqiao, powerless to stop it, could only plead, "Don't go back... I'll give you money... The Xia family has plenty of money... My father clearly made an agreement with you..."

Compared to Xia Ziqiao's panic, Ge Ying appeared remarkably calm. He opened the window and looked out, clearly seeing all the ships speeding back, just like them.

He carefully recalled everything that had happened that night: first they were surrounded, then they forced their way through, and now something had happened behind them, so they had to go back to rescue people.

They didn't seem like people being protected; rather, they were more like bait thrown out to attract the attention of the government troops.

They were the least important of the fleet.

Unimportant people will naturally be the first to be abandoned when something happens.

When they return, the people on their ship will surely fight to the death against the government troops, and their fate is predictable.

Ge Ying glanced at Xia Ziqiao, who was huddled in the corner, made up his mind, and quickly walked out of the cabin. The guards standing outside frowned when they saw him and were about to drive him away, but right under their noses, Ge Ying grabbed a plank of wood and jumped into the Bian River.

The guards were startled, only to see ripples appear on the river, gradually receding from them. They had no idea how far it was from here to the shore; even the best swimmers would likely run out of energy and drown.

However, the guards also knew that Ge Ying's choice was correct.

Rather than dying in a daze, it's better to take control of your life. Since you've already passed the checkpoint, you can escape if you're lucky enough to survive.

The authorities will definitely keep a close eye on them and won't care about someone who just swims away.

Hearing the commotion, Xia Ziqiao struggled to chase after them. He looked around blankly but couldn't find Ge Ying anywhere.

The guard glanced at him indifferently: "Ge Ying jumped down, are you going to follow her?"

Xia Ziqiao trembled even more violently and suddenly collapsed onto the deck. He remembered Ge Ying asking him if he could swim; Ge Ying probably already had this idea back then.

Even Ge Ying abandoned him...

Xia Ziqiao peered into the water and could only see a dark expanse. He knew he might be captured, but he didn't have the courage to jump off the boat.

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