Chapter 845: Chapter 845: All Dead
Xiao Cui screamed loudly as if waking from a dream, scrambling toward the cabin in utter panic. The other two girls also came to their senses, vying to crawl into the cabin, one girl managing to crawl ahead midway.
Xiao Cui fell behind by a step. She directly grabbed the girl’s leg to drag her back, leading the charge to the cabin, but the two girls behind her clung tenaciously to her legs, preventing her from entering.
She kicked desperately backward, but the two girls behind wouldn’t let go no matter what.
Several stray arrows flew in, striking the girl in the middle instantly. There was a shrill scream, and the girl collapsed to the ground. Not yet dead, her body trembled as she grasped Xiao Cui’s hand, her eyes fixed on her, mouth uttering "Save me."
The other girl, terrified, immediately let go, crawled forward urgently, but after just two steps, an arrow pierced through her throat. She clutched her neck, writhed a few times in agony, and fell into the river, leaving a trail of blood.
The changes happened swiftly. Xiao Cui looked back, terrified out of her wits, kicking wildly at the girl’s hand to break free, even wetting herself in fright.
Over on Second Master Liu’s side, he quickly dragged Cui Sanniang up with sharp eyes and swift hands, defending with the other hand, blocking seven or eight arrows in succession while retreating towards the cabin with Cui Sanniang.
The people on the ship seemed to have anticipated this, firing arrows to cover the sides of the ship and the river surface near it, fearing they might jump into the water to escape, leaving the deck with fewer arrows.
Whether by luck or skill, or because those arrows were ineffective, Second Master Liu managed to block and retreat, getting only a slight graze on the thigh from one arrow.
On the big ship, Guo Shun frowned, said "Don’t stop," then tossed the bow to someone beside him, drew a crossbow from behind, calmly set it up, pulled out a bolt, and aimed it.
As Second Master Liu neared the cabin, a dense wave of arrows flew in, even more intense than before. Without cover, even jumping into the water would mean being shot dead in the river.
In great shock, he kicked away the dying girl, saw Xiao Cui blocking the cabin, elbowed her aside, pulling Xiao Cui over and pushing Cui Sanniang into the cabin.
With a grimace, he shoved Xiao Cui in front of him to block the arrows. Xiao Cui’s terrified scream was stuck in her throat as her body was hit by more than ten arrows, like a porcupine, dying incredulously.
Seizing the opportunity, Second Master Liu threw the body aside, rolled into the cabin, closed the hatch, as the sound of arrows continued, and the outside hatch was filled with arrows.
With a tense expression, he distanced himself from the hatch, glanced back to see Cui Sanniang kneeling alone, facing the cabin wall with her back to him, seemingly still in shock.
The stern cabin door was wide open, and not seeing Xiao Lian Hua, he guessed she might have escaped.
However, according to his reasoning, that little girl had never even boarded a ship, let alone knew how to swim, and jumping into the river would surely mean death.
In this life-and-death moment, there was no room for regret. Second Master Liu quickly approached the small window to pick up the small table to shield himself, as there was an exceptional archer on the big ship whose arrows could penetrate the cabin.
Passing by Cui Sanniang, he said tensely, "Sanniang, these people are very dangerous. We can’t afford to mess with them. We might have to abandon this ship."
He continued with instructions, "The ship is approaching from the bow direction. Before they get too close, we’ll dive into the water from the stern, first diving under the ship, then swimming out into deeper water. That’s our only chance to escape, with a slim chance of survival."
Earlier, there was no opportunity to jump into the water from the bow. Even if they did, they would be more vulnerable in the water.
Not minding the dirtiness of the small table, he placed it in the direction of the incoming arrows, feeling somewhat safer. He turned to see that Cui Sanniang still maintained her position facing the cabin wall, motionless.
Second Master Liu’s heart jumped, calling, "Sanniang? Sanniang?"
He turned her around, only to see Cui Sanniang with her eyes wide open, her chest bloodstained, having been pierced through the chest, silent and lifeless.
He pushed her to the ground in fright, looked at the cabin wall, seeing a hole where Cui Sanniang’s body was, also shot through.
He turned his head hastily, seeing another corresponding hole on the opposite side. The arrow that came through now had more power than the previous one.
Sweat appeared on Second Master Liu’s forehead, his heart pounding violently, fearing the small table might not withstand it.
He swallowed hard, apologized to Cui Sanniang, and lifted her body as a shield, dragging it to the stern’s cabin door.
Outside, the river surface was illuminated by the big ship’s lights, the stern no longer in total darkness. Without looking, Second Master Liu could deduce the big ship was getting closer, already sending arrows to cover almost the entire boat.
If he didn’t escape now, there might not be another chance.
He gritted his teeth, hurriedly rolled out a rope, tied Cui Sanniang’s body to his back, making it his human shield.
He figured there was only one powerful archer; otherwise, they would have been wiped out at the bow before, so as long as he avoided that one’s arrows, Cui Sanniang’s body could block the rest.
Once securely tied, Second Master Liu seized the opportunity, darted out, crouching low and quickly reaching the ship’s side, ready to jump into the water.
Behind him, he heard arrows hitting flesh, knowing Cui Sanniang’s body shielded him from the stray arrows. He quickened his movements, dove headfirst, pushing off the boat with his feet for momentum.
Simultaneously in mid-air, he sliced the rope binding him to Cui Sanniang with a knife, preparing to dive quickly when hitting the water.
Just as he severed the rope and freed Cui Sanniang’s body, a small bolt struck him in the back, and without a sound, Second Master Liu lost all strength, falling into the water, soon staining it red.
The big ship slowly approached, Guo Shun expressionlessly packing the crossbow, as if he hadn’t just killed people, showing not a trace of emotion, utterly cold-blooded.
The two small boats that had been sent down quickly approached the Flower Boat.
Once near the Flower Boat, the people from the small boats dived into the water to retrieve the fallen bodies. Soon, five corpses were neatly laid on the Flower Boat’s deck.
The leader of the small boat, dripping wet, climbed onto the Flower Boat. After a scan, he reported to the big ship, "Brother Shunzi, the madam and the Old Turtle are dead, along with three girls’ corpses. But there’s no match for a ten-year-old, possibly lost to the river and not retrieved."
"What about the cabin?" Guo Shun inquired.
"No one."
How could that be?
Guo Shun furrowed his brows, recalling the scenes just now, indeed never seeing a girl about ten years old.
The Guo family’s ship approached from the bow side of the Flower Boat. At that time, only the two lanterns on the Flower Boat’s bow illuminated the river, the rest, especially the stern, was a blind spot.
Could it be that someone had quietly escaped during that time?