Being in the middle of the river, Princess Han Yue immediately stood up: “Someone, go down to the bottom of the boat and take a closer look!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Da Chang also rushed in, soaking wet, holding a piece of board in his hand: “The bottom of the boat has been sawed open with a large hole, sealed with glue. Probably when the boat started moving, the glue dissolved, and water began coming in through the bottom.”

The attendant took it and saw that the edge of the board was indeed still coated with large clumps of soft glue.

“Can’t it be plugged?”

Chen Da Chang shook his head: “It’s too large, and the keel has been tampered with as well.”

Feng Miao Jun pointed at the wooden couch: “Dismantle it. Plug as much as you can to hold out a little longer. When can we reach the shore?” Seeing the Princess nod, the guards hurriedly disassembled the large wooden pieces and dove down to the bottom of the cabin to plug the hole.

The boat captain called out loudly: “It will still take half an hour.”

By now, both women had walked to the deck. Looking down, they saw the river water had already filled nearly half the cabin and was rising at a visible rate.

If more water came in, the boat would sink.

“At this rate, how can we last another half hour?” Princess Han Yue said angrily. “Feng Miao Jun, you dare involve me in this!” Her palm was raised, but for some reason, she didn’t bring it down. With thick fog all around and the shore at an unknown distance, even if she could swim, she couldn’t make it back.

Feng Miao Jun sighed deeply: “I wouldn’t dare, even with ten times the courage, but since we’re in this situation, let’s think about how to escape.” Chen Da Chang and the others had just brought out a large wooden barrel and were frantically scooping water out from the cabin. She pointed at the barrel, “If the boat sinks, Princess, you should sit in this. We’ll find some planks to use as floats.”

This was a large barrel used for washing vegetables, with a couple of yellowish-green leaves still hanging on the edge. Princess Han Yue’s face turned green. Had she been reduced to escaping in a dirty wooden barrel? She glared at her guards: “Call for help quickly!” With boats coming and going on the river, there might be rescuers nearby. Why were these idiots being so reserved? Did they expect the noble Princess herself to shout?

At her command, the guards began shouting for help at the top of their lungs. Though the mist was thick, it couldn’t block the resonant voices of the men spreading in all directions.

Unfortunately, Princess Han Yue’s luck was poor, and after waiting a long time, no passing boats came.

Despite their best efforts to block the water, it still flooded onto the deck. With the boat sitting so low in the water, it couldn’t be rowed anymore, and the boatman looked utterly dejected. Princess Han Yue and Feng Miao Jun carefully crouched on the gunwale, unwilling to get wet like the men.

Princess Han Yue said resentfully: “Who did you offend that would lead to such a watery grave!” In her heart, she blamed Feng Miao Jun, but she had climbed onto this boat of her own accord—no one had invited her. Besides accusing Feng Miao Jun of being a jinx, what other logical complaints could she make?

Most frustrating of all, even if she killed Feng Miao Jun now, it would only vent her anger but wouldn’t solve their current predicament.

“I’ve just arrived, who could I have offended?” Feng Miao Jun rolled up her wet sleeves. “It must be an enemy of my master.” She glanced at Princess Han Yue. “Does my master have many adversaries?”

“…Quite a few, I suppose?” Her mother had said the Imperial Master’s position tends to make enemies.

“This person knew I was attending the An Luo gathering, and knew which boat I’d take back. It seems they were also at the gathering.” Feng Miao Jun said softly, “Don’t be afraid, Princess. Someone will surely come soon.”

Perhaps her luck had finally turned. Just as the water was flooding over their shoes, a huge bat suddenly flew out of the thick fog and landed on the sail, not moving, its tiny eyes glowing red. As everyone was wondering at this strange sight, a light boat emerged from the fog, sailing toward them.

Everyone shouted with joy.

Skimming across the water, as it drew near, everyone could see clearly that it was a thin-bottomed fast boat with a maximum capacity of no more than twelve or thirteen people. Currently, there were already five men aboard, all with sharp, piercing gazes.

Feng Miao Jun imperceptibly let out a breath. She hadn’t been wrong; someone had indeed come, though naturally, the purpose wasn’t as simple as just rescue.

Drowning her would serve no purpose—they wanted her alive.

The thick fog hindered visibility, and the approaching boat was surprised to find so many passengers on the sinking vessel. Someone said to their leader: “The numbers don’t match.”

The leader looked at the bat and stated confidently: “This is the right boat.” The bat was responsible for tracking, and they were following the bat. They had been instructed to bring back a little girl from the boat. But now they saw there were two young girls!

Which one did their superiors want?

He simply waved his hand: “Take both girls!” As for the men, let them feed the turtles in the river. Anyway, the boat couldn’t fit so many people.

On the sinking boat, a guard said to the Princess: “That boat is too small; we can’t all get on.”

Princess Han Yue couldn’t help but frown. Her side already had seven people, plus Feng Miao Jun’s four, and the other boat indeed couldn’t accommodate them all. What to do? Could it be…

She hadn’t yet developed the iron heart of her elders and felt some reluctance.

Feng Miao Jun suddenly pointed out: “They’re hostile; the Princess need not worry about that anymore.”

As the two boats were about to collide, Princess Han Yue saw that the men on the other boat had drawn their weapons and had murderous intent in their eyes. She couldn’t help but be delighted: “Come on, seize that boat for me!”

She had been calculating who to leave behind—out of respect for the Imperial Master, she’d have to take Feng Miao Jun along, but some of her guards would inevitably have to be left behind. But now that the entire boatload was filled with bad people, she could seize the boat with a clear conscience.

Her guards immediately lunged forward, engaging in a chaotic battle with the other side. Feng Miao Jun waved her hand, and two of her guards also joined the fight, with only Chen Da Chang remaining to protect the two girls from stray arrows or hidden weapons.

This unexpected fight had quickly become a matter of life and death, and no one dared hold back. Soon, the river water turned red.

The men on the opposing boat were skilled fighters, but those assigned to the Princess by the Jin King and to the “disciple” by the Grand Imperial Master were also elite, with the advantage of numbers. Even if the opponents were agile, there was little room to maneuver in the confined space of the boat. In the blink of an eye, two of them had been stabbed into a hornet’s nest.

Princess Han Yue urged anxiously: “Hurry!” The edge of her skirt was already wet!

Chen Da Chang suddenly said: “Something’s wrong! Why are there only four people?” When the enemy boat approached, he saw clearly that there were five people on it. Where was the fifth?

It’s worth noting that this small boat was already half-submerged in the water!

His heart skipped a beat, and from the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted a black shadow emerging from the water. Without time to think, Chen Da Chang threw his arms around the two girls, knocking them to the ground: “Look out!”

Before his words faded, the water at the side of the boat exploded as a massive figure burst out, lunging directly onto the boat.

It was aiming for the two girls, and if Chen Da Chang hadn’t acted quickly, they would likely have been pierced with dozens of bloody holes—it was a giant gray-skinned shark, over two zhang (seven meters) long from head to tail, with a bloody maw so large it could easily swallow two Feng Miao Juns with room to spare!