The lame man, holding his torch, also panicked. “Second-in-Command, reinforcements have come from outside. What do we do now?”

Reinforcements had arrived!

Hearing the anguished cries of bandits coming from the upper deck, a jolt of surprise and relief shot through Ling Jingshu.

But this was not yet the moment to relax. These several fierce bandits, if cornered and desperate, were fully capable of killing all of them just to drag others down with them.

Ling Jingshu struggled to keep her voice even. “The situation outside is unclear. You should leave quickly — there may still be a chance to escape with your lives.”

The Second-in-Command bared his teeth in a savage grin. “Even if I go, I will not go empty-handed. Come with us. Otherwise, I will kill everyone on this ship right now.”

The bandits immediately raised their weapons. The gleaming long blades flashed a light that chilled the blood.

Ling Jingshu’s heart sank, but she dared not hesitate even for a moment. “Very well. I will go with you.”

“No — A’Shu, you cannot go with them.”

Ling Xiao was aghast when he heard this. He groped his way forward but stumbled over a chair underfoot. His knee throbbed with searing pain — it had certainly drawn blood.

He was so utterly useless!

Ling Xiao choked back his tears and called out in a strained voice. “A’Shu, let me go with them instead…”

Ling Ji too opened his mouth. “Shu, my cousin — you must not go with these bandits…”

The anguished cries from the upper deck drowned out both Ling Xiao’s and Ling Ji’s voices entirely.

The Second-in-Command, hearing one familiar voice after another, looked increasingly grim.

Those cries — they were all from his own men. He had no idea where these reinforcements had come from, but they were formidably fierce; in a mere instant they had gained the upper hand. If they delayed any longer, forget about carrying anyone off today — they might not even escape with their own lives.

The Second-in-Command made a swift decision and immediately blew the whistle in his mouth.

Four successive sharp blasts rang out!

Retreat at once!

The lame man held the torch aloft and led the way.

Just as the Second-in-Command was about to drag Ling Jingshu along, Ling Jingshu stepped forward of her own accord, still pressing the dagger against her slender neck. “Don’t touch me. I’ll walk on my own.”

Standing this close, she could already catch the rank odor of the man. Ling Jingshu’s stomach was quietly roiling with nausea. Her fair face grew even paler.

The situation was urgent. The Second-in-Command was in a rush to flee and had no interest in a struggle with Ling Jingshu. He pressed his long blade against her back and snarled, “Move!”

If he could get away with Ling Jingshu safely, there would be a great sum waiting for him. With silver, he would have no trouble recruiting more men. And if things turned truly dire, having a hostage in hand would at least buy him his life.

Ling Xiao finally stumbled and lurched out of the cabin.

But by then, Ling Jingshu had already descended from the cabin with the bandits. Without the torchlight, darkness swallowed everything again.

“A’Shu,” Ling Xiao called, tears streaming down his face, staggering blindly forward. “A’Shu…”

A hand gripped his arm firmly, and Bai Yu’s choked voice sounded in his ear. “Young Master. The young miss chose to go with the bandits to protect your life and everyone else’s. If you charge after her like this, not only will you be unable to save the young miss — you will also throw away your own life.”

Ling Xiao stopped short, then broke down and wept aloud.

“Young Master. You stay here. This servant will go find the young miss.” The moment Bai Yu finished speaking, she chased down into the lower deck.

In the vast three-tiered ship, only Ling Xiao’s grief-stricken sobs echoed. Ling Jingyan and Madam Jiang — whether from shame or relief — gradually let their own weeping subside.

Ling Ji, lying in the corner unable to move, lowered his head in silence.

What Ling Daye and Sun Shi were thinking, no one could know.

For now, the danger had not yet fully passed, and everyone held their silence.

It reads slowly, but all of it had unfolded in the span of mere moments.

Ling Jingshu, hemmed in on all sides by bandits, made her way to the second level of the cabin.

The bandit who had originally been guarding the male servants looked frantic with alarm. “Second-in-Command, by the sound of things, quite a few reinforcements have come. What do we do now?”

What else could they do?

Run, and figure out the rest later, of course!

The Second-in-Command cast that bandit a dark, foreboding glance. The bandit understood at once and immediately fell into step behind him.

“Miss.” Bai Yu came hurrying over, face streaked with tears but expression utterly resolute. “Miss, this servant will go with you.”

Ling Jingshu, who had kept herself outwardly calm and composed all this while, changed her expression the moment she saw Bai Yu. “Bai Yu, what are you doing here — go back, quickly.”

But Bai Yu refused to leave. She pleaded with the Second-in-Command, who had the air of a ferocious deity. “The young miss always needs someone to attend to her. This servant is willing to follow and serve the young miss, and will not cause any trouble…”

The Second-in-Command looked thoroughly impatient. “Keep up and don’t make a sound.”

He had seen plenty of people abandon their masters to save their own skin, but someone rushing forward to offer herself — that was a first.

Bai Yu quickly wiped away her tears and moved to Ling Jingshu’s side.

Ling Jingshu knew she could not drive Bai Yu away, and felt both anxious and deeply moved. But this was truly not the moment for words. These bandits were on edge and unsettled. If they were provoked into displeasure, they might very well cut down both mistress and maid then and there.

Until the very last moment, she must not give up any chance of escape!

As she walked, Ling Jingshu caught Bai Yu’s eye with a meaningful look.

Mistress and servant had long understood each other without words. Bai Yu grasped Ling Jingshu’s silent signal almost instantly, and gave the faintest, almost imperceptible nod.

When the Second-in-Command and his group emerged onto the upper deck, their expressions shifted at once.

Six towering vessels lined up in a row, encircling both the official ship and the three civilian boats on all sides. There was no way out.

Dozens of their skilled subordinates had all been subdued. Many had already stopped breathing, and many others lay in a cluster, groaning from arrow wounds and sword cuts.

The reinforcements who had boarded the deck numbered only a few dozen, each armed with a keen blade, every gaze sharp and steady.

Even more reinforcements stood on the decks of those six surrounding vessels, bows drawn and arrows aimed directly at them — a sight to make one’s blood run cold.

It was over!

All color left the Second-in-Command’s face. He felt as though ice had replaced the blood in his veins, cold through and through.

The lame man and the others were so frightened their legs buckled beneath them.

Just who were these reinforcements? These were no ordinary guards — these were true soldiers who had seen real blood and taken real lives. That self-assured and proud bearing of men who could face ten opponents alone was something no one could feign.

Young miss, we are saved!

Unable to contain the joy swelling in her heart, Bai Yu glanced swiftly toward Ling Jingshu.

But Ling Jingshu’s brow had furrowed. Her heart grew heavy.

So many reinforcements was of course a good thing. But with no hope of escape, these bandits would surely be all the less willing to let the two of them go…

True enough, the Second-in-Command screamed in a voice taut with fury. “Who is your master? Tell him to come out and face us! Otherwise, I will take both of their lives right now!”

Ling Jingshu’s heart clenched.

The guards did not stir. Only one of them turned and boarded the largest of the vessels.

The waiting was unbearably drawn out. Ling Jingshu could hear her own rapid, disordered heartbeat with perfect clarity.

So it seemed she was not as strong as she had imagined herself to be. In truth, she clung to life and feared death very much.

Ling Jingshu curled her lips in a self-mocking, bitter smile, then raised her eyes — and met a pair of cold, deep, fathomless eyes gazing back at her.