Chapter Thirteen: A Deadly Predicament

Splash! Splash! Four spare boats hanging on the sides of the vessel were lowered into the water, manned by Yuan Manor's soldiers holding command tokens, dividing east and west. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the entire fleet at Red Leaf Strand received the same message: from this moment until dawn tomorrow, Red Leaf Strand was under complete lockdown, severing both northern and southern waterways. All vessels passing through were to either anchor in place and await the lifting of the ban, or take the northern route and detour southward. For a time, travelers exchanged uncertain glances, some harboring anger, yet none dared to voice dissent.

The Yuan family was, after all, one of Chu’s most powerful noble clans. To blockade Red Leaf Strand for half a day was nothing to them—should they wish to fill it in altogether, it would merit no more than a few complaints before the sovereign.

Meanwhile, Deng Tao, leading fifteen elite guards, took another boat straight toward the three vessels from which the arrows had been fired. Predictably, after boarding and searching, they found nothing suspicious; it was clear that after missing her mark, Yue Yao had already shifted her position.

This was a move to startle the snake from the grass, and also a case of turning the enemy’s tactics against them. Like a master chess player, every stone placed considered seven or eight moves ahead. Xu You’s maneuver was designed to set a dilemma before the Four Demons of the Arrow: either submit to the ban and wait until morning—by then, Yuan Manor’s great ship would have reached Jinling City—or launch an immediate attack at Red Leaf Strand, disrupting all their plans, turning initiative into passivity, and allowing Xu You to lead them by the nose.

Originally, four ships had been ahead of Yuan Manor’s great vessel, but all halted and withdrew to either side, clearing the way. The captain summoned all the strand’s haulers, who climbed along the steep cliffs on both banks, chanting as they pulled the massive ship, striving to cross the narrow, rapid waters as quickly as possible.

At the narrowest point, wave after wave crashed upon the hull, spray nearly engulfing the vessel. Even with the haulers’ efforts, the ship heaved violently. Guards stationed on both decks staggered and stumbled, chaos reigning for a moment.

Xu You emerged from the main cabin, brows furrowed. Left Wen hurried after him, urging anxiously, “My lord, the wind and waves outside are fierce, it’s best to remain inside—”

Xu You ignored him, striding to the stairway connecting both decks and shouting, “Du Bi, what kind of discipline is this? Have the men stand ready and hold their positions! No confusion!”

Du Bi stood on the port deck of the upper level. Seeing Xu You’s anger and about to reply, suddenly two white-feathered arrows shot silently from the water, burying themselves in the foreheads of the two lookouts atop the observation tower. One tumbled headfirst, plunging straight into the river.

Thud!

The sound of the body hitting the water caught everyone’s ears, stunning the already disordered assembly. At that moment, a small, frail figure burst from beneath the river’s surface, water spraying in all directions, refracting the autumn sunlight into a dazzling halo that was nearly blinding.

“Assassin!”

Du Bi was the first to notice, facing the direction from which the assassin emerged. Reacting instantly, he shouted a warning and drew his blade.

Clang!

Du Bi wielded a ring-pommel saber over four feet long. With a roar, the blade flashed coldly as he stamped both feet on the deck and leapt, hacking directly at the assassin’s face. It was not rashness but calculation—the assassin was midair, at the apex of his arc, with no leverage and his energy spent. With luck, this single blow could split him in two.

The saber’s gleam sliced through the air.

Yet before any motion could be seen, the assassin had already drawn a white-feathered arrow from his quiver, nocked it to his black wooden bow, and aimed at Du Bi mid-flight.

Whoosh!

The twang of the bowstring was like a wail from the underworld. Du Bi was seized by a sudden dizziness as the arrow shot like lightning toward his chest.

In this life-or-death moment, Du Bi clenched his teeth, regaining a flash of clarity. He barely managed to shift his blade from a vertical chop to a horizontal block. With a thunderous crash, the arrow struck the broadside of his saber, the force rebounding the blade into his own chest.

“Urgh!”

Blood spurted from Du Bi’s mouth as he was hurled back onto the deck, knocking down several guards who rushed to catch him. His chest caved in, and he lay motionless—gravely wounded.

The assassin, borrowing the momentum of his shot, flipped backward, tracing a graceful arc like a circling wild goose, and landed lightly at the prow—the only unoccupied, safe space on the ship.

Du Bi was counted among the top fighters of Yuan Manor’s guards, yet with the advantage of preparation, he couldn’t withstand even a single move from the assassin.

The name of the Four Demons of the Arrow was well-deserved!

The assassin’s gaze swept past the guards surging from all sides and fixed on Xu You, who stood at the very center of the upper deck. Having lain in ambush in the water, he’d been unable to aim at Xu You, and given Xu You’s skill, a single arrow might not suffice, so he’d chosen to eliminate the vantage points first.

Their eyes met.

Xu You at last saw the assassin’s face—narrow, elongated eyes cold as ice, a sharply pointed chin with lips thin to the point of incredulity, skin so pale it seemed to have never seen sunlight, almost luminous and unsettling. His frail body looked as if the slightest breeze could topple it, and yet in his hands was a black wooden longbow nearly two-thirds his own height.

A bizarre figure, exuding an unmistakable aura of lethal intent.

Killer Yao!

With a single glance, Xu You recognized him, and without hesitation retreated to the lower deck, as four elite shield-bearers, under Left Wen’s command, rushed to his side. Between Xu You and Killer Yao lay seventy paces and dozens of formidable guards.

No matter what, in such circumstances, Killer Yao could not hope to reach him. The wisest course was to dive back into the river and flee.

But the Four Demons of the Arrow did not earn their reputation by fleeing at the first failed strike—their specialty was seeking a path to survival within certain death!

Ten of Yuan Manor’s guards reached Killer Yao first. The five in front, shields on the left, sabers on the right, formed a crescent to confine him at the prow, while the five behind, armed with spears, leveled their weapons through the gaps between the shields.

Blades bristled, spears formed a thicket!

Five to a group, ten to a squad, equipped with blades, spears, and shields—this was Yuan Manor’s basic combat unit, the very force that allowed a noble clan to survive in chaotic times.

“Kill!”

The squad leader, one of the front five, issued the command. The two men on the outer flanks responded, positioning their shields low and cradling their sabers, rolling to the deck and then, with a strange motion, slashing at Killer Yao’s legs from beneath the rail.

The two beside the squad leader leapt at once, flipping head over heels and slamming their thick shields down from above with the force of a collapsing mountain.

Again, the squad leader shouted, “Kill!”

He braced his shield with his shoulder, saber pressed close along the edge, point aimed at Killer Yao, and lunged forward with a powerful step.

With him, the five spears behind thrust forward like vipers.

In an instant, Killer Yao was sealed off above, below, and on all sides—five shields, five blades, five spears. This mere squad of ten exuded the force of a thousand.

The only escape for Killer Yao was to retreat and dive back into the river. But once in the water, boarding again would not come so easily.

At this desperate moment, Killer Yao moved.

Instead of retreating, he casually stomped on the deck. The two guards attacking from below saw only a blur; somehow, their blades ended up pinned beneath his feet, their bodies shuddering as if glued to the boards, blood spurting from their mouths as they collapsed, paralyzed.

With a sidestep, Killer Yao’s toes lightly tapped the heads of those two fallen guards, then he charged straight into the squad leader’s shield and blade.

Crash!

The squad leader, a master of blade and shield with a steady stance, was prepared for a frontal assault—against any other, he had a dozen counters. But Killer Yao’s charge was lightning-fast and immensely powerful; before he could react, he was sent flying backward.

Killer Yao, his diminutive form curled tight, seemed to cling to the shield, brushing past the squad leader and the five spearmen. He raised his longbow overhead and plucked the string with a flick of his finger.

Three heads flew into the air.

Thud, thud!

In the aftermath, Killer Yao had advanced eleven paces from his point of boarding. The squad leader lay at his feet, every bone in his body shattered. Behind him, the two guards who attacked from below were dead with crushed skulls; three spearmen were reduced to headless corpses.

In the space of a single encounter, six of the ten-man squad lay dead.