“Tingquan?” Chi Can murmured these two characters, looked deeply at Qiao Zhao, and said: “Li San, you call him Tingquan so naturally, yet you’re seven or eight years younger than him.”

“But Tingquan sounds better than Shao Dage.” Qiao Zhao played dumb.

Chi Can curled his lips.

Shixi sounded even better than Tingquan, but he’d never heard her call him that!

Forget it, he couldn’t be bothered to argue with someone else’s wife!

Chi Can continued the previous topic: “What are you worried about? For Tingquan and the others, night raids are commonplace.”

“I’m afraid there might be other hidden dangers on Mingfeng Island besides the Japanese pirates.” Qiao Zhao gazed into the distance, where the dark blue sea surface sparkled with fragments of light, mysterious yet filled with the unknown.

“Don’t worry, Tingquan won’t let anything happen to himself.” Chi Can looked at her steadily. “Because you’re here.”

Having said this, he tugged at the corner of his mouth and turned to leave.

During the night, the young lady bitten by the mad dog quietly breathed her last breath in her coma.

On a ship at sea, dealing with the dead was very simple—wrapped in a mat and thrown into the ocean.

The heavy object falling into the sea stirred up a splash of waves, which quickly returned to calm as if nothing had happened.

Only then did several women cautiously approach the deck, covering their mouths as they wept softly.

Chi Can raised his eyebrows impatiently: “Don’t wail in the middle of the night—it’s inauspicious!”

These women were truly ridiculous. When the person was alive, and they were asked to see her one last time, each one hid away, not daring to approach. Now that she was dead and thrown into the sea, they knew to cry.

Scolded by Chi Can, the women immediately fell silent.

Though the man before them was incomparably handsome, these women who had barely escaped death from the Japanese pirates had no heart to appreciate his beauty. They all looked hopefully at Qiao Zhao.

Knowing they were currently like startled birds, Qiao Zhao spoke calmly to comfort them: “It’s very late. You should all go back and rest. Nothing will happen.”

One of the women gathered courage to ask: “Miss Li, did those brave men go to attack Mingfeng Island?”

Qiao Zhao nodded.

“Then, what if—”

“You don’t need to worry about these things. Just wait peacefully.”

“Miss Li, my family lives in Baiyu Town. I’ve heard others mention that Mingfeng Island keeps many vicious dogs. If the brave men land on the island at night, they might very well be discovered by those dogs.”

“They’ll be careful.” Qiao Zhao was comforting these women as well as herself, her gaze involuntarily turning toward the distance.

As the night deepened, the large ship traveling on the surface was like a black beast, slowly approaching Mingfeng Island.

From the mouths of the captured Japanese pirates, they had already learned that Mingfeng Island was crescent-shaped. The landing area was a dense forest, and only after passing through this forest would they reach the Japanese pirates’ dwelling place.

This forest provided an excellent location for the island’s pirates to ambush and observe the situation. Combined with numerous vicious dogs patrolling the island, Mingfeng Island could be considered easy to defend but difficult to attack.

The ship gradually approached the island.

“General, something’s strange about the island. There are still lights at this hour.” Ye Luo said in a low voice.

Shao Mingyuan stood at the bow. Because he couldn’t see, his hearing had become even more acute.

“There are voices.” He closed his eyes as the wind flowed past his ears. “Very distant, rather chaotic.”

Ahead was a dense forest, and they could vaguely see dim lights, but the others could only hear the sound of waves lapping against the coastline. Even the rustling sound of wind blowing through leaves wasn’t that clear.

Xie Shengxiao couldn’t help but glance at the man standing with his eyes closed, feeling surprised.

Marquis Guanjun could hear voices?

“Having voices at this time is very strange.” After listening for a while, Shao Mingyuan instructed: “Bring those three Japanese pirates over.”

Soon, three men with their hands bound behind their backs were pushed before Shao Mingyuan.

“How many vicious dogs are usually in the forest?” Shao Mingyuan asked.

Ye Luo stood beside him expressionlessly: “The three men gave inconsistent numbers. Cut off one ear from each. If one person’s answer differs from the other two, cut off both ears from that person.”

He stepped forward to remove the cloth stuffed in the three pirates’ mouths, saying flatly: “Alright, same rules as before. When my hand signal drops, you may speak. Don’t rush ahead, and don’t lag. Do you remember?”

The three pirates nodded in unison.

Xie Shengxiao watched with alarm.

This guard beside Marquis Guanjun usually had no presence, but she hadn’t expected him to be so formidable at interrogating prisoners.

She couldn’t help but glance at Shao Mingyuan, seeing his expressionless face with not a ripple in his dark eyes, showing not the slightest tension about the impending battle.

Xie Shengxiao sighed inwardly.

No wonder Marquis Guanjun could become famous throughout the world. From his subordinates alone, one could see he indeed had extraordinary qualities.

Miss Xie’s gaze shifted to glance at Yang Houcheng, thinking: They’re all human beings—how can the difference be so great?

When Ye Luo’s hand signal dropped, the three pirates said in unison: “Eight!”

“Very good. Next question. If the dogs are alerted, how many patrol guards will come?”

Since Ye Luo made no gesture, none of the three dared speak. One even covered his mouth tightly with his hands.

Yang Houcheng whispered admiringly to Shao Mingyuan: “These three are very honest. None of them rushed to answer.”

Shao Mingyuan smiled without speaking.

Ye Luo’s voice was completely flat as he pointed to the pirate covering his mouth: “This one likes to rush his answers. I knocked out three of his teeth.”

Yang Houcheng: “…”

The pirate covering his mouth: “…”

Ye Luo raised his hand with an unchanged expression.

“Ten men!”

“Usually at this time, would there still be lights and voices on the island?” Ye Luo asked again.

“No.” The three pirates again spoke in unison.

Shao Mingyuan nodded lightly, and the three pirates were immediately taken away.

Yang Houcheng sighed in admiration: “Tingquan, only now do I understand why you wanted to keep three alive.”

If they had only kept two alive and their answers differed, determining who was telling the truth would require some mental effort. Three prisoners were different—each worried that only he would lie while the other two didn’t, resulting in only his misfortune. Therefore, they could only answer every question truthfully.

Shao Mingyuan raised his hand to take down the longbow on his back. He nocked an arrow and, before anyone could react, shot it toward the island.

The sharp arrow cut through the night sky and plunged deep into the forest.

The ship had not yet reached shore and was still some distance from the forest. Shao Mingyuan’s sudden action left Yang Houcheng puzzled.

“Tingquan—”

“Shh—” Shao Mingyuan gripped the black longbow, his eyes slightly closed.

After quite a while, he opened his eyes and said with certainty: “There are no vicious dogs in the forest, and no footsteps either.”

“So tonight, no dogs or patrol guards are blocking our path?” Yang Houcheng’s eyes lit up as he gripped his long blade excitedly. “Isn’t this heaven helping us!”

“Abnormal situations aren’t necessarily good things. Everyone, be extra careful.”

The ship reached shore, and the group silently disembarked, step by step, approaching the dense forest.

They passed through the forest with unexpected ease, and the scene that met their eyes left everyone dumbstruck.