In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

Then he pressed his ear against the wall and listened carefully. The dripping sound was clear, accompanied by some subtle noises.

"It's inside."

"But it should be blocked."

Upon hearing this, Huang Tu immediately joined forces with his men to push, but even they, with all their might, could not budge an inch.

"Your Highness, it can't be pushed!"

"What should we do? If we don't capture Ijiro, he can keep opposing us on the island and wage guerrilla warfare!" A guard frowned.

Li Yuanchang didn't panic; it was most likely a dead end inside, just like a tortoise shell.

The people inside could be driven to their deaths by dragging things out, but the real fear is that it will drag on for too long.

He held up the torch, staring thoughtfully at the gap at the very bottom of the stone door. The gap was at least a centimeter wide. Due to the limitations of ancient craftsmanship, it was impossible for such a stone door to fit perfectly.

You can clearly feel the airflow when you touch it.

His gaze suddenly fell on the torch in his hand, and a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Get some dry firewood!"

"quick!"

"yes!"

Everyone sprang into action.

This cave was the pirate crew's headquarters, and it had everything. Dry firewood wasn't hard to find, and they quickly gathered a large pile of it.

Li Yuanchang had the stones laid directly around the stone gate, and then set them all on fire.

A raging fire broke out, and thick smoke billowed into the sky.

"Take off your clothes, fan me!"

"Smoke them out!"

"yes!"

Everyone's eyes lit up; this was a great idea.

Li Yuanchang had someone fan him while he told the others to get ready.

With such thick smoke drifting in, it won't be long before the people inside can't stand it, or at the very least, they'll feel suffocated due to the lack of oxygen.

When things reach a certain point, the hidden Ijiro will naturally emerge.

At the same time, he sent several people to leave through another passage to contact Guo Chao and others.

With one of the two leaders dead and the other trapped, the main force of the pirate crew was almost wiped out, and the remaining pirates were no longer a threat.

At this point, it can be said that the overall situation is already settled.

Time ticked by, and the guards, who were standing in a larger, non-enclosed space, were all tearing up from the fumes.

Inside, it was even worse; Li Yuanchang could clearly hear a lot of violent coughing.

He estimated that there were at least twenty or thirty people inside.

To speed things up, he not only burned firewood but also threw in some dry grass, which anyone who has burned dry grass knows produces the most smoke.

Half an incense stick later.

Inside the stone gate, the coughing and talking grew louder and more urgent.

"They can't hold it in any longer!"

"Get ready!" Li Yuanchang shouted in a low voice.

More than ten crossbows simultaneously aimed at the stone gate, waiting silently, as if hunting.

After about twenty breaths, the person inside finally couldn't hold on any longer, and the stone door made a creaking sound as it was pushed open.

As soon as the stone gate opened, a large number of pirate warriors rushed out, all covered in soot and tears streaming down their faces, shouting as they charged forward.

"kill!!"

But this was destined to be a massacre.

"Fire the arrows!" Li Yuanchang roared.

Whoosh! !

The crossbow fire was incredibly powerful, as if divinely inspired.

puff puff puff...

"Ah!" The pirate warriors trembled like sieves and fell one after another like dumplings being dropped into a pot, so fast that even the guards couldn't touch them.

In just one or two encounters, a bunch of people died at the stone gate.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Li Yuanchang looked into the dark secret room and sensed that there were still people inside. With a glance, his guards kicked the fire directly into the room.

The flames streaked across the sky, illuminating everything instantly and leaving the people inside with nowhere to hide.

"Put it on again!"

The crossbow bolts rammed into the door, unleashing another barrage of shots, and the screams from inside never ceased.

After a barrage of fire, Huang Tu led his men in.

By this time, almost all the pirate samurai inside were dead, riddled with bullets. Arato and his men easily captured Ijiro alive.

"Kneel down!"

boom!

Ijiro's knee slammed heavily onto the ground, an arrow piercing his arm, and he screamed in agony, "Ah!"

Holding a Tang sword, Li Yuanchang looked down at the crowd with an overwhelming sense of oppression. He wasn't particularly happy; in his eyes, these people weren't even worthy of being called characters, just people who bullied ordinary people.

"You're Ijiro?"

"My lord, we have no grudges against each other in the past or present, so why are you attacking my place?" Ijiro asked, his voice trembling.

Li Yuanchang said calmly, "Your people have repeatedly caused us trouble. You call this 'no enmity'?"

"Your people plunder passing ships at sea and indiscriminately hunt down Tang Dynasty merchants. Is this what you call having no grudge against them?"

Ijiro was speechless, but his will to live made him plead.

"Take everything I have, just don't kill me!"

"Spare my life!"

"Money, food, territory, women—I'll give you everything!"

Li Yuanchang scoffed, "Even if I kill you, you'll still belong to me, won't you?"

Ijiro's face turned ashen and looked terrible.

"So you're determined to kill me?"

His hand slowly disappeared into his sleeve, but the moment he reached out, his personal guard saw through it.

boom!

Ijiro was instantly subdued, his hands were pinned to the ground, and the dagger in his sleeve fell out with a thud.

"Let me go!"

"Let me go!"

Li Yuanchang bent down and picked up the dagger from the ground. It was exquisite and inlaid with gemstones, clearly not something that could be found here.

"Tell me, where is the treasure vault?"

"You're dreaming! Unless you release me first, I will never hand over the location of the treasure vault to you!"

"No one else knows about the treasure vault except me. If I don't help you, you won't find it!" Ijiro threatened, having found his trump card.

A cold glint flashed in Li Yuanchang's eyes as he gripped the dagger in reverse and plunged it in.

puff!

The dagger pierced his palm, pinning him firmly to the ground.

"ah!!"

Ijiro's screams were like those of a pig being slaughtered, and his entire face was completely contorted in agony.

"Baka!"

"Baka!"

"I'd rather die than tell you!" he roared.

Li Yuanchang said calmly, "Not bad, you're a bit tougher than others. No wonder you became the chief."

"But going against me is the biggest mistake of your life."

"A desolate map!"

"yes!"

Huang Tu took the dagger and began the execution.

Click!

With a swift motion, Huang Tu sliced ​​off one finger, then the second.

"what!"

"ah!!"

Ijiro's screams were agonizing and frantic as he struggled on the ground in agony, but he was held down and couldn't move at all.

The excruciating pain in his fingers relentlessly eroded his body.

Li Yuanchang showed no pity. In later generations, this kind of guy would be considered a terrorist leader, and any country that captured him would send him straight to the underworld.

Their misery is what they deserve.

"Don't cut it!"

"don't want!"

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"I'll take you there! I'll take you to the treasure vault!" Ijiro shouted, almost crying.

"..."