Chapter 844: Chapter 844: Kill Them All
Cui Sanniang’s eyes were bloodshot, glaring ferociously at Xiao Lian Hua, "Write me a poem! If you write well, I’ll overlook today’s incident. But if not... why are you still standing there? Hurry and hold her down to write! Write for your old mother, or there will be hell to pay!"
In the end, she shouted at Second Master Liu and Xiao Cui with a crazed rage.
Second Master Liu immediately twisted Xiao Lian Hua’s arms behind her back and pushed her forward.
Xiao Cui and the others scrambled to help.
This was the second time Second Master Liu had seen Cui Sanniang in such a frenzy. The first time was when she found out about the madam of the Pavilion of Numerous Fragrances harming her, and the second was now.
With her forced to kneel in front of a small table, Second Master Liu clamped down on the struggling Xiao Lian Hua’s shoulders, his body completely overshadowing the small figure.
"I won’t write, I won’t write..." Xiao Lian Hua shook her head desperately, twisting her body but unable to break free from Second Master Liu’s grip.
Cui Sanniang stood at one side, trembling as she forced a brush into Xiao Lian Hua’s hand, pressing her head down to write, like a madwoman who lost her sanity.
Xiao Lian Hua screamed and refused, only to be pressed flat against the table, unable to move.
She bit her lip and viciously drew a big turtle. She wasn’t good at most things, but she was particularly good at drawing turtles.
Once, she drew a big turtle on a teacher’s back and got beaten and scolded by her mother for it. Her mother said a turtle was an insult and forbade her from insulting the teacher that way. Her mother taught her to respect her teachers and ordered her never to draw it again, but today she wanted to draw it for this old hag to see, to infuriate her.
Sure enough, Cui Sanniang flew into a rage, yanking Xiao Lian Hua up by her hair and slapping her hard.
Xiao Lian Hua grunted, her head turned to the side from the impact, her face immediately swelling red.
Falling from heaven to hell, from hope to utter disillusionment, the enormous disparity drove Cui Sanniang to madness.
Her eyes filled with malice as she stared at Xiao Lian Hua with her shaded eyes, then she let out a sinister laugh, "Second Master, if you like this girl, she’s yours now. I’ll watch the boat, you enjoy yourself."
With that, she turned to leave, but after a few steps, she glanced back and angrily shouted at Xiao Cui and the others, "You blind fools, why are you still here? Do you want to serve Second Master or what?"
Xiao Cui and the others, startled, stumbled out without a word, making sure to close the cabin door before leaving.
Second Master Liu was thrilled, repeatedly thanking Cui Sanniang, swallowing hard as he looked at the person he was holding.
He had long coveted Xiao Lian Hua, and now he finally had the chance to be close. Overwhelmed with excitement, he couldn’t wait for the others to leave before reaching out to touch her smooth cheek.
Before he could touch her, Xiao Lian Hua suddenly opened her mouth to bite him, prompting Second Master Liu to quickly pull back his hand.
Seeing Xiao Lian Hua’s face swollen and red from the slap, her fierce gaze reminded him of a little tiger—so cute and so pitiful.
Second Master Liu couldn’t help but feel a pang of compassion, "Xiao Hehe, why resist? Just obey Second Master, and I’ll treat you well."
Looking at the ugly, disgusting man before her, with eyes as slippery as a snake, making her feel sick, Xiao Lian Hua suddenly vomited all over the small table.
"Oh dear, you’ve made a mess," Second Master Liu quickly pulled her aside, away from the table.
He was about to clean up when he suddenly heard a "whoosh" as an arrow shot diagonally through the cabin wall, piercing the small window frame on the opposite side. It missed hitting him by mere inches, with a force that ordinary archers couldn’t achieve.
If Second Master Liu hadn’t just moved her away from the table, that arrow at that height would have struck him!
Cold sweat broke out all over Second Master Liu, and before he could react, he heard several more "whoosh" sounds as arrows flew through the air, followed by Cui Sanniang’s pig-like shrieks from outside.
What was happening? Could someone be trying to hijack the boat?!
Startled, Second Master Liu was about to head out. He glanced at Xiao Lian Hua, hesitated for a moment, and upon hearing Cui Sanniang’s terrified cries for him, as if she were injured, he could no longer wait. Leaving Xiao Lian Hua behind, he took out his weapon and climbed out of the cabin to the bow of the boat.
Inside the cabin, Xiao Lian Hua glanced at the arrow, wiped her mouth harshly, got up, and pushed the stern door open, crawling out and lying flat on the edge of the stern.
The moonless sky left the stern’s lanterns unlit, illuminated only by faint firelight from the cabin, making it dark and impossible to see anything clearly.
She peered over the edge and saw the river’s surface, pitch black with nothing visible but darkness.
Fear gripped her briefly, but she turned towards the bow direction and looked into the distance, spotting a large shadow on the darkened river ahead, like a silent demon approaching.
She took a deep look and then dove into the water, swimming away as far as she could, intending to find Xiao Hua Mei...
On the Flower Boat.
Second Master Liu reached the bow, passing Xiao Cui and the others, swinging his weapon to deflect an arrow, and jumped to Cui Sanniang’s side, warily eyeing the direction the arrows had come from.
Under the moonless sky, only their boat’s lantern illuminated the surroundings, preventing them from seeing who was shooting. Worse still, the previously calm river wind began to pick up, flapping loudly and causing the lanterns hanging at the cabin corners to sway wildly.
Holding her bleeding shoulder, Cui Sanniang’s expression betrayed sheer fear, her voice trembling as she called out loudly, "I don’t know which heroic figure you are, but we are honest folk here. Please, reconsider and spare us if you’ve got the wrong people."
Before she could finish, another arrow shot towards her. She screamed, frozen in place, just narrowly pulled away by Second Master Liu to avoid it.
Xiao Cui and the others had collapsed in fear onto the deck, huddling and trembling.
Soon, firelight began to dot that looming shadow, growing to reveal a large ship approaching, with a row of people visible on deck, particularly one prominent figure at the helm.
Small boats seemed to be lowered from both sides, with shadowed figures aboard rowing towards them.
Cui Sanniang immediately recognized that person on the large ship, her eyes wide with terror as she looked at Second Master Liu, who was equally frightened.
The two exchanged glances and realized that it was the same man who had boarded their ship at dusk!
On the large ship, Guo Shun held a bow, his face indifferent, his other hand raised to signal, "Kill them all."
"Yes!"
People on the ship quickly drew their bows and shot arrows.
Seeing this, Cui Sanniang’s legs gave out, and she fell to her knees, kowtowing and begging for mercy, "Spare us, officer, spare us! I don’t know how we offended you, but please grant us mercy, name your terms, and we will..."
Before she could finish, a barrage of arrows rained down upon them from the ship.