Chapter 101: Reputation, Too... Ruined

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Reputation, Too... Ruined

Miss Liu snorted. "What am I doing? That bastard Lu captured my brothers, so of course I’m using you to trade for them!" With that, she struck Zhi Wan on the back with the flat of her blade and snarled, "Enough chatter. Get moving!"

The piercing pain made Zhi Wan cry out. She staggered, nearly falling over.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Chen Jiu!" Nanny Fang’s eyes burned with fury when she saw this. She glared viciously at Chen Jiu, who was just watching from the sidelines. "You’re just going to stand there and watch them abuse the Miss?"

Chen Jiu snorted coldly and said with indifference, "What’s it to me? Lu Zhan was the one who wronged me first. Why should I keep being his lapdog?"

Nanny Fang was so furious she started to rush forward to scratch him, but Miss Liu sent her flying with a kick. "Old hag, if you don’t want to die, scram!"

Nanny Fang struggled to get up but couldn’t get to her feet. A trickle of fresh blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth.

"Nanny Fang!" Zhi Wan cried out in alarm, only to be slapped across the face by Miss Liu. "Shut up! One more peep out of you and I’ll kill you right now!"

"Miss!" Shuang’er shrieked, charging at Miss Liu. "I’ll fight you to the death!"

"Shuang’er, get back!" Zhi Wan cried out, ignoring the stinging pain in her cheek.

Just as it seemed Miss Liu was about to deliver a killing blow to Shuang’er, Chen Jiu suddenly stepped forward and knocked her unconscious with a single chop to the neck.

"That’s enough. Let’s not waste time," Chen Jiu reminded Miss Liu impatiently.

Miss Liu relented and continued onward, forcing Zhi Wan ahead of her.

Zhi Wan glanced worriedly at the unmoving forms of Nanny Fang and Shuang’er, forcing herself to stay calm. "Miss Liu, holding me hostage is useless. My cousin has always been unfeeling. He won’t release your people because of me."

"I wouldn’t be so sure. I’ve never in my life seen anyone as beautiful as you. Forget men—even a woman like me is captivated. I refuse to believe that Lu fellow can really stand by and watch his pretty little cousin die for nothing!" Miss Liu said with complete confidence.

Zhi Wan’s brow furrowed, but she said no more. A cold sweat broke out on her palms.

The fierce battle from moments ago had subsided. Bodies were strewn haphazardly across the deck. Judging by their attire, most of the dead were likely pirates.

There were also several severely wounded guards, either sitting or lying on the deck, groaning in pain.

Zhi Wan couldn’t bear to look and turned her head away. ’I can’t figure out what my cousin and Chen Jiu are up to.’

’The pirates have already been captured, so why is Chen Jiu still at Miss Liu’s side? What could he and my cousin be plotting?’

Before long, Miss Liu and Chen Jiu stopped walking.

Zhi Wan looked up and saw Lu Zhan and Duan Ling standing ahead in the torchlight. Behind them stood a group of guards, while several pirates were trussed up and forced to kneel on the deck.

"Lu Zhan! If you don’t want your pretty cousin to die by my blade, release my brothers!" Miss Liu shouted. She pressed the knife hard against Zhi Wan’s throat, leaving no doubt that she was willing to kill.

Though her heart was pounding with fear, Zhi Wan didn’t make a sound.

Just then, Lu Zhan’s cold, merciless voice rang out. "Her life or death has nothing to do with me."

Standing beside him, Duan Ling shot him a stunned glance. "Old Lu..."

Lu Zhan remained unmoved, his expression impassive.

Seeing this, Miss Liu’s brow furrowed for a moment before she sneered, "Do you really think I don’t dare to kill her?" With that, she viciously kicked Zhi Wan’s legs.

Zhi Wan cried out in pain and collapsed to her knees, her face deathly pale.

Duan Ling was so angry his fists clenched. He couldn’t stop himself from taking two steps forward, but Lu Zhan remained completely unperturbed.

Miss Liu grabbed Zhi Wan’s chin. "Scream," she snarled. "Scream until your cousin’s heart breaks and he decides to save you!"

Zhi Wan bit her lip and shot her a cold glare. "You might as well kill me!"

"A tough one, are you!" Miss Liu, infuriated, grabbed a handful of Zhi Wan’s hair and slapped her cheek with the flat of the blade. She looked at Lu Zhan. "Such a beautiful cousin... are you really willing to let her die? Fine then! With her to keep them company, I suppose my brothers won’t be lonely in the afterlife!" With that, she raised her sword to strike Zhi Wan.

"Stop!"

Lu Zhan suddenly shouted.

Miss Liu raised an eyebrow. "Just as I thought. It’d be a shame for such a pretty cousin to die."

Lu Zhan didn’t say a word, but a cold, murderous intent churned behind his calm facade. He suddenly drew his sword and sliced through the ropes binding several of the pirates.

Once free, the pirates scrambled over to Miss Liu.

Miss Liu said, quite satisfied, "Mr. Lu, you’re a reasonable man. Now, be so kind as to arrange a boat for me, so we can leave this place safely."

Lu Zhan turned his head to give a few orders, and someone immediately went to make the arrangements.

"I have made the arrangements as you asked. Can you release her now?" Lu Zhan’s voice was like ice.

"What’s the rush? Once we’re safely on board, we’ll release her!" Miss Liu snorted, keeping her blade pressed firmly against Zhi Wan’s neck, not daring to relax her grip in the slightest.

A few moments later, his men had a boat ready.

Miss Liu yanked Zhi Wan to her feet, keeping the blade at her throat, and shouted to Lu Zhan, "Don’t try anything funny, or I can’t guarantee my hand won’t ’slip’ and kill this pretty little cousin of yours!"

Duan Ling swore in anger. "You’d better not harm a hair on her head," he said coldly. "Or every last one of you will die!"

Miss Liu shot him a disdainful glance and, dragging Zhi Wan along, hurried toward the lower deck.

Chen Jiu and the other pirates hurried to follow.

Once they were on the small boat, Miss Liu called up to Lu Zhan on the large ship with a smug grin, "Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Lu! Don’t you worry, I’ll be sure to return this little cousin of yours!" With that, she let out a hearty laugh and ordered her men to row away quickly.

Lu Zhan stood on the deck, facing the wind. The river breeze whipped his cloak around him. His handsome face was shrouded in darkness, his expression unreadable, but his dark eyes remained fixed on the small boat as it receded into the distance.

"Old Lu, are you really just going to let them take Miss Zhi Wan? If they get away, even if you manage to rescue her later, her reputation will be... ruined! How will you explain this to your aunt?" Duan Ling asked anxiously. Just as he finished, he heard a loud SPLASH from the distance.

Before he could even process what had happened, he saw Lu Zhan swiftly unfasten his cloak, plant a foot on the ship’s rail, and leap into the river.

"Old Lu!" Duan Ling shouted in terror.

"It’s Miss Zhi Wan! They threw her into the river!" a nearby guard explained.

Duan Ling stared into the distance and, sure enough, saw someone flailing and struggling in the water. Lu Zhan was already swimming rapidly in that direction.

"Damn it!" Duan Ling roared, then ordered, "Quickly, help with the rescue!"

In an instant, the guards began diving into the river one after another.

Zhi Wan was seized by terror and helplessness as the icy river water flooded her nose and mouth.

She struggled instinctively, only to find that the more she fought, the deeper she sank.

Just as she was beginning to despair, a figure swam swiftly toward her, pulling her into a firm embrace.

Before she lost consciousness, she thought she saw the familiar, handsome face of her cousin.