Chapter 467 - 469: Neither Seen Alive Nor Found Dead

Suddenly, one of his underlings rushed in.

"Boss Huo, there’s more business!"

Boss Huo’s hand, which had been stroking the thigh of a beauty, jolted in shock.

Then... he flew into a rage.

"Business, my ass! Can’t you see I’m busy?"

The underling immediately lowered his head.

"Boss, I didn’t see anything!"

Although his head was bowed, he didn’t seem overly servile.

Boss Huo paid him no mind, pushed the beauty aside, stood up, and asked, "What kind of business is it? If I’m not familiar with it, I’m not taking it!"

The underling hurriedly replied, "The men report it’s a grain shipment from the Capital City to Jiangnan—six ships in total!"

Boss Huo hesitated. "Six ships of grain? That seems a bit too little!"

Unexpectedly, the underling contradicted him. "Boss, although it’s a bit on the small side, hasn’t the Master been saying lately that we urgently need grain?"

"Six ships isn’t too few, and the Master needs it urgently. We can’t let this opportunity slip!"

After hesitating for a moment, Boss Huo frowned and said, "But lately, the Imperial Court has been keeping a close watch. Just the other day, five hundred soldiers were stationed at the foot of the mountain. Who knows if they aren’t watching us!"

The underling looked up and sneered. "Boss, are you really concerned about such a small number of men?"

"Everyone knows our men can take on a hundred each. Besides, they’re just a bunch of landlubbers! Forget five hundred; even if there were five thousand, we’d make sure none of them returned!"

Boss Huo seemed persuaded. His knitted brows gradually relaxed, and after pondering for a good while, he finally made up his mind.

"Alright!"

"Since the Master has spoken, let’s hit this score!"

After speaking, he rubbed his hands together and eagerly began to issue orders. "Call the brothers! Follow me!"

The underling acknowledged with a "Yes, Boss!" and walked out smugly.

Once he had left, Boss Huo spat fiercely at his retreating figure.

"Pah! You little bastard! When I was out making a name for myself, you hadn’t even crawled out of your mother’s belly yet!"

"Just because the Master shows you some respect, you dare to run your mouth off in front of me!"

"After we pull this off, I’ll deal with your sorry hide!"

Cursing under his breath, he went to grab his weapons.

There’s no place without conflict; even a den of bandits has its own dynamics and internal strife.

As the sky gradually darkened, there was still no movement behind them.

Xia Tingfeng began to feel puzzled. "Could it be... the fish haven’t taken the bait?"

Rat, however, remained very composed. "Commander, let’s wait a bit longer! With the bait in place, they’re bound to bite!"

Having said that, the two continued to look back.

But as soon as they turned their heads, Xia Tingfeng saw a small boat at the very rear, just a blur in the distance.

It was tiny, too small to even be called a boat, merely the size of a canoe.

There were only two people on this small canoe, and they moved extremely fast, like a nimble snake zigzagging through the water.

It was unclear what technique they used. In the blink of an eye, the vessel shot forward a considerable distance.

Rat’s eyes widened in astonishment. "What in the blazes was that?"

Xia Tingfeng was also stunned. "It’s always what you fear most! If they catch us before we reach our destination, we’re doomed!"

He immediately gave the order. "Tell the men at the front to go full speed! They must hold on and not let them catch up!"

Until now, they hadn’t been going at full speed; after all, they were luring the enemy. Now, it was time to really push it.

After Xia Tingfeng’s command, the ships indeed picked up pace.

But... it seemed to be of no use.

The pursuers’ speed was still greater than theirs!

Xia Tingfeng stared intently behind them, watching helplessly as the enemy’s small skiff grew larger, gradually closing the distance.

"How much longer until we reach the river fork?"

Rat looked at the map and calculated. "About the time it takes an incense stick to burn!"

Xia Tingfeng nodded. "That’s about right. We should be able to hold on!"

After all, even if they caught up, they wouldn’t be able to overwhelm us immediately.

By then, I’ll find a way to delay them. In any case, I must lead them into the trap!

Xia Tingfeng’s gaze became increasingly fierce.

Rat, at his side, gritted his teeth.

You little bastards, you’d better not fall into my hands!

Time trickled by.

The enemy boat gradually drew closer, moving faster and faster. It was even on the verge of catching up with their rearmost ship.

"How much longer?" Xia Tingfeng asked.

Rat replied, "Half an incense stick’s time!"

In half an incense stick’s time, they would reach the fork.

Xia Tingfeng nodded. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, they felt a sudden impact, as if their boat had been struck by something.

Their large vessel jolted several times in the water. The gunwales dipped so low they almost touched the water’s surface, nearly shipping water.

"What’s going on?" Xia Tingfeng demanded, shooting to his feet in alarm.

Everyone looked bewildered. They were all landlubbers, just like him!

While they were still confused, a boatman from the bow rushed over, his face pale with panic. "Commander Xia, bad news! The boat has sprung a leak!"

"There’s a large hole, and the hull is already unstable! If we don’t plug it immediately, we’ll be swamped, and the boat will sink!"

"What?!"

Everyone panicked. A sinking boat? In this swift-flowing river, what would happen to a group of landlubbers if the boat sank? The outcome was obvious.

Rat’s face turned green. The map in his hands trembled. "Commander, I don’t want to die yet!"

Xia Tingfeng’s expression was also grim, but he had no time for fear and quickly asked, "How do we plug it? What do we use?"

The boatman looked around and explained, "There are spare hull boards in the bilge. There’s a round crank—give it a full turn, and a board will slide out to seal the breach."

"Then, we pump out the water, and the boat can be saved!"

Rat glared at the boatman, growing irritated. "Are you talking nonsense? That compartment is already flooded! None of us can swim, so how are we supposed to get down there?"

"You’re the one who can swim, why don’t you go down?"

The boatman almost burst into tears. "I’m just a boatman! I can’t turn that crank by myself!"

"Even under normal circumstances, it takes several strong sailors working together to turn it!"

Everyone was stunned again. "This..."

Rat was so angry he stamped his foot. "Why in the world did they make it so damn tight?"

The boatman quickly corrected him. "It has to be tight! If it were loose, wouldn’t the emergency board just rattle around? What if we hit a rock and the whole panel just fell off?"

Only then did everyone understand, and Rat stopped his complaining.

Everyone began to consider who should go. Even if it meant death, someone had to descend!

There were fifteen soldiers on the boat. They exchanged glances, and then all knelt on one knee.

"Commander Xia, I’ll go!"

"Commander Xia, we’ll go!"

"Yes! Even though we can’t swim, we’re strong! Even if it means dying, we have to see this mission through and capture those bandits alive!"