Though her hair was painfully pulled, Mian Tang didn’t struggle. Instead, she feigned fear.
The Japanese man’s shout attracted several others. After a brief exchange, one brought a damp cloth and roughly wiped Mian Tang’s face, revealing her stunning beauty.
The men were momentarily stunned, then overcome with lust, their hands reaching for her.
Mian Tang cleverly fell to her knees, pretending to cry, “Brave sirs, my father is wealthy. If you let me go, he’ll surely pay a large ransom.”
A Japanese who understood Chinese laughed, “Fine, have your father send lots of silver. We promise you’ll go down the mountain with another one inside you, ensuring your father gets his money’s worth!”
He repeated this in Japanese, eliciting raucous laughter from the ronin.
Outside, Lu Zhong, Lu Yi, and the others watched intently, their anger rising.
Lu Quan trembled with rage, drawing his sword to rescue the boss.
Lu Yi restrained him, suppressing his fury, “Don’t be rash. If we charge in now, we’ll ruin the boss’s plan. Let’s wait and see. If necessary, we’ll rescue her even at the cost of our lives…”
Meanwhile, Zhao Quan, exhausted from crying in his cage, looked over at the commotion. He blinked in disbelief, recognizing Liu Mian Tang among the Japanese.
Had the North Sea fallen? Was the Prince of Huaiyang’s family captured too?
As he gaped in surprise, Mian Tang glimpsed him and raised her voice, “Kind sirs, if you don’t release me, my… my husband will surely come looking!”
Hearing this, Zhao Quan quickly closed his mouth. Mian Tang’s identity seemed undiscovered, and he had never seen the Princess of Huaiyang so subservient and panicked. It struck him as odd.
A Japanese man grabbed her arm, lifting her, “Your husband’s a scrawny chicken. Our Japanese men have real strength. Play with me first, and I guarantee you’ll forget all about your man! Haha!”
Amidst the scuffle, a man on the outskirts called out, “Such a beauty, and you dare enjoy her yourselves instead of presenting her to Leader Sōka? How brazen.”
The men froze. Japanese hierarchy was strict; spoils must be offered to the leader, never kept for oneself.
This raid was led by a minor chief named Sōka Hisashi, so beautiful women were to be presented to him first.
Ordinary women might be overlooked, but one this beautiful was beyond their reach and must be offered to Leader Sōka.
Though Mian Tang couldn’t understand the Japanese, she guessed their intentions from their actions. She allowed two men to push her toward the center of the camp.
A massive tent stood in the center. As the flap lifted, a gust of alcohol, heat, and rouge assaulted Mian Tang’s senses, nearly making her retch.
The two Japanese men inhaled deeply, their faces showing intoxication.
Mian Tang suppressed her discomfort as she was pushed inside, quickly surveying the interior.
The tent was spacious. A small bed stood to the north, with long tables along the east and west sides laden with meat, fruits, and wine jars. In the center, on a large rug, sat a man with an open robe and a fleshy face.
This short, pot-bellied man, unable to reach his navel, was the Japanese Leader Sōka.
Seeing the tent open, the fat Japanese man’s face darkened. He barked out harsh words in Japanese, likely curses, but fell silent upon seeing Mian Tang. His mouth gaped as he stared at her, shoving aside the woman in his arms.
He nodded repeatedly, ignoring what the two men said and waving for them to leave quickly.
Mian Tang’s heart leaped. Only the fat Japanese man remained in the tent, and he was the highest-ranking in the camp. If she could capture him, not only could she escape, but she might also save the women and Zhao Quan.
They had left markers while tracking these Japanese. Fan Hu must be leading elite cavalry on the way. If she could delay for a while until the main force arrived, all would be well.
She picked up a bunch of grapes from a nearby table and walked behind the fat Japanese man, holding them above his head. Leader Sōka laughed heartily, tilting his head back to reach for the grapes while trying to embrace her from behind. Mian Tang dropped the grapes, dodging Sōka’s hands. She swiftly retrieved the willow leaf dagger from her hair bun and placed it against Sōka’s neck, whispering, “Don’t make a sound, or I’ll kill you.”
Sōka was startled but didn’t take the delicate woman with a tiny blade seriously.
He thought he could easily overpower such a frail woman. Believing her short dagger posed no real threat, he leaned back to dodge it, swinging both hands backward at Mian Tang.
Mian Tang stepped back, avoiding Sōka’s hands, and kicked his left and right shoulder blades with her toes. She struck acupuncture points, causing Sōka’s upper body to go numb and weak. He collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Mian Tang then kicked the acupoints on his hips, rendering his legs weak and useless. He lay on the ground, unable to stand.
Panicked, he was about to shout when Mian Tang struck his mute acupoint.
She kicked the fat on his belly, crouched down, and drew several bloody lines on his oily face with her short dagger. Placing it back on his neck, she said, “You’ve fallen into my hands. Behave, or I’ll stab you a couple of times.”
She then released his moot point.
Sōka now saw the woman with raised eyebrows glaring at him wickedly. She was no delicate flower, but a deadly female rakshasa!
The cuts she had made were deep. He hadn’t expected such a beautiful woman to be so ruthless, her hand steady –a formidable opponent!
Now powerless and not daring to resist, Sōka spoke softly in Chinese, “I understand, noble lady. Please don’t harm me. If it’s money you want, I’ll have my men give it to you…”
Mian Tang smiled, “How generous! Come, let’s take a stroll outside! Have your men release the people in the cages and the girls outside. Send them down the mountain. I’ll let you go at dawn.”
Sōka’s eyes darted about before he agreed.
Liu Mian Tang grabbed a long sword from the weapon rack in his tent and held it to his neck. After releasing the acupoints on his legs, she escorted him out of the camp.
Outside, the camp still reeked of drunken debauchery. Sōka called out with a gloomy face, but no one even glanced their way.
The pork belly grew furious and bellowed, “Bakayaro! Are you all dead?”
This outburst finally drew attention. When the ronin saw their previously discovered beauty holding a long sword to Leader Sōka’s neck, they were dumbfounded.
Mian Tang coldly ordered, “Quickly! Release those women and the man in the cage, or I’ll cut your leader to pieces!”
At that moment, Sōka, who had been cowering in the tent earlier, laughed wildly and said to Liu Mian Tang, “As a proud samurai, how could I face General Ōji if I surrendered to a woman? Even if you kill me today, you won’t leave this camp alive!”
He then shouted in Japanese, “Ignore me! Kill this vile woman with arrows!”
Hearing his command, some men indeed raised bows and aimed at Liu Mian Tang.
However, Mian Tang swiftly kicked the acupoint on Sōka’s knee, causing his legs to give way and forcing him to kneel.
She then hid behind Sōka’s bulk. Three arrows struck Sōka’s shoulders and belly, causing him to curse in pain, “Bakayaro! Bakayaro! Can’t you aim before shooting?”
As she cleverly used Sōka as a shield, Liu Mian Tang silently counted down, waiting for the knockout drug to take effect. Suddenly, she let out a shrill whistle.
The Yangshan brothers, waiting for the boss’s signal, sprang into action and charged towards the camp.
At that moment, Sōka watched in disbelief as his men began to collapse one by one, losing consciousness as they fell to the ground.
However, some ronin who hadn’t drunk the drugged wine drew their swords to fight.
The Japanese bandits now faced off against their Dayen counterparts.
The Zhong Yi brothers, recalling how these ronin had verbally abused the boss earlier, fought with intense hatred. Their blades showed no mercy, severing arms and legs.
Blood sprayed, brains spilled, and entrails littered the ground…
Zhao Quan, still hanging in the prisoner cart, watched the scene with horror, his pupils constricted.
He then saw his ethereal Mian Tang raise her long sword and slash diagonally at Sōka.
Sōka’s head flew off like a pig’s head. Blood gushed, staining Mian Tang’s snow-white undergarment like red lotuses blooming in the snow. The killing intent in her eyes mirrored that of his close friend, the Prince of Huaiyang…
This late-night raid didn’t last long. Most of the ronin, already drugged, were stabbed while unconscious.
“Boss! None escaped, they’re all here!” Lu Zhong reported excitedly to Liu Mian Tang after surveying the camp.
Liu Mian Tang nodded, walked to the cage with her sword, and cut the chains. She then addressed the Marquis of Zhennan, “I apologize for the delay in your rescue, My Lord. You must have been frightened…”
The Marquis of Zhennan tried to shrink further into the cage, trembling as he looked at the blood-splattered face of the Princess of Huaiyang, “Not… not at all…”