Luo Yang was also stunned when he saw that desiccated corpse.

His eyes widened!

How could he have known what lay beneath the coffin?

Like Xiao Ba, he froze in shock!

Ji Yunshu’s hands were about to give out completely. She said, “Quick, protect the body.”

Her voice pulled Luo Yang back to his senses. He said, “What body? Saving you is more urgent.”

As he spoke, he was about to pull the desiccated corpse away, but Ji Yunshu didn’t let go. She insisted, “Don’t let this body get wet.”

“It’s just a corpse—why do you care?”

“Protect it!” Ji Yunshu shouted softly.

Having no choice, Luo Yang had to lift the desiccated corpse. Fortunately, it wasn’t heavy, so he hoisted it onto his shoulder in one motion.

But his movements were extremely rough!

It was like carrying a sack of grain.

Yet thinking about having a corpse on his shoulder made his whole body tingle with revulsion!

A wave of nausea churned in his stomach.

Immediately after, Ji Yunshu quickly sat up—she had nearly drowned!

She clutched her chest, gasping for breath.

If they had been any later, she might have suffocated to death.

“Are you alright?” Luo Yang asked.

She shook her head and looked around. The large ship had already tilted, and many parts of the hull had cracked open. River water was forcing its way through the fine fissures. In another moment, it would flood the ship’s lower deck.

“What are you looking at? Let’s go quickly! Do you want to die here?” Luo Yang pulled her up with one hand.

Xiao Ba also climbed up shakily, but because he was afraid of the corpse, he walked ahead.

The three of them proceeded through the ship’s corridor toward the exit!

Luo Yang carried the corpse on his shoulder, and with his injured ankle, he limped along with obvious difficulty. He simply couldn’t understand why Ji Yunshu cared so much about a dead person!

Especially such a dried-up corpse!

So as he walked, he asked, “Can I throw this corpse away? We’re trying to escape with our lives, not save a dead person. Besides, it stinks!”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help wrinkling his nose.

That smell was worse than Xiao Ba’s feet.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the odor of decay.

It just stank—stank beyond description.

Ji Yunshu, weak and feeble, followed behind him step by step, saying, “You can’t throw it away. If you want to get ahead in life, he is your benefactor!”

“What? A corpse is my benefactor? Miss Ji, did that coffin crush your sanity?”

Ridiculous!

This had to be the best joke Luo Yang had ever heard.

Ji Yunshu reminded him with a warning tone, “If you throw it away, you’ll lose your life too!”

“What nonsense! It’s just a dead person.” Luo Yang scoffed.

He didn’t understand what Ji Yunshu meant.

But ultimately, he didn’t throw the corpse away and continued carrying it forward. Though he didn’t know, Ji Yunshu understood clearly—this desiccated corpse was Prince Jing’an. Originally buried in Lingtang Commandery, his remains were now suddenly being transported back to Yanjing. This clearly had to be the Emperor’s order, and if so, it was of utmost importance!

If Luo Yang really just abandoned the body like this, when blame came down later, the Wen brothers would certainly kill him.

But if he saved it, he might be able to gain something from the Wen brothers—silver? Pearls? Treasure? Or perhaps… rapid advancement in his career!

In any case, they absolutely could not abandon it!

…

At this moment, the situation above had been brought under control!

Those black-clad figures had strong martial skills and were numerous.

Wen Che, suffering from a chronic illness, lacked strength. Exerting himself too forcefully would cause sharp chest pains. But Yi Wei’an was, after all, a military general. The men he had brought this time were all battle-hardened soldiers. Even though they had been stationed peacefully in Lingtang Commandery, their martial skills and fierce spirit remained undiminished. Therefore, those black-clad figures ultimately suffered losses and were killed off one by one.

The ship on the opposite side also suddenly lost control during their fight and rammed into this ship several times in succession.

At this moment, the large ship was tilting, slowly sinking bit by bit!

Corpses lay strewn across the deck, blood everywhere.

Wen Che’s body was propped against the ground, his chest laboring with discomfort.

Yi Wei’an immediately ran over and asked, “General Wen, how are you?”

He couldn’t care about his own condition and instead worried, “Go check on A’Yu, see how he is?”

Just as he spoke—

Shu Tian came up from the lower cabin carrying the unconscious Wen Yu on his back.

Seeing this, Wen Che struggled up from the ground with difficulty and hurried over. But when he saw the wound on Wen Yu’s arm, he was terrified.

“A’Yu? A’Yu?”

Shu Tian pleaded guilty, “This subordinate was incompetent and failed to protect the Second Young Master. Fortunately, the Second Young Master is fine—he just fainted.”

“Quick, quickly get something to stop the bleeding.”

Several men immediately removed their clothes and wrapped them around Wen Yu’s arm.

“There are no medical supplies on the ship to treat wounds,” someone said.

Without medical supplies, wouldn’t Wen Yu die from excessive blood loss?

Wen Che’s face went deathly pale!

He could only desperately press down on Wen Yu’s wound.

But Yi Wei’an noticed that both Wen Yu’s and Shu Tian’s clothes were wet. He asked, “Why are your clothes all wet?”

Shu Tian said, “Water flooded into the lower cabin. The ship is sinking.”

Upon hearing this—

“Oh no!” Wen Che and Yi Wei’an exclaimed almost simultaneously.

Both their faces changed drastically!

“Prince Jing’an’s remains are down below—go quickly!”

Yi Wei’an immediately led his men rushing down.

If something happened to Prince Jing’an’s body, his dream of staying in Yanjing would dissipate with this river water.

And the Wen brothers would certainly face punishment. By then, quite a few people would likely submit memorials accusing them of crimes.

The consequences would be simply unimaginable!

Yi Wei’an had just rushed to the bottom of the cabin when he saw water had already risen to knee level.

In that moment, he was truly terrified!

The remains of Prince Jing’an were probably soaking in the water by now.

His grand scheme had likely failed as well!

But who would have thought—suddenly he saw three figures walking out from inside.

Xiao Ba walked in front!

Behind him followed Luo Yang and Ji Yunshu.

And Prince Jing’an’s remains were on Luo Yang’s shoulder.

Seeing this, Yi Wei’an immediately rushed forward.

Hope was rekindled!

Before Luo Yang could react, the desiccated corpse on his shoulder had been taken away by Yi Wei’an and his men.

Upon discovering that the desiccated corpse hadn’t touched water and was completely unharmed, Yi Wei’an’s heart finally settled!

Luo Yang twisted his aching shoulder and said, “This corpse should be yours, right? You’re really something. If you hadn’t come to take over, I would have been crushed to death by the corpse.”

Yi Wei’an immediately had his men carry the body up, then looked Luo Yang up and down. “You saved it?”

“That’s right!”

“Thank you.”

Yi Wei’an was sincerely grateful and naturally held him in higher regard. Then he went up.

Luo Yang was momentarily stunned.

Xiao Ba said, “Brother, they seem very nervous about that dead person!”

Not just very nervous—extremely nervous.

Ji Yunshu, however, remained quite calm. She slowly walked ahead of the two and said as she went, “Let’s hurry up.”

Luo Yang caught up with a few quick steps and asked, “You said that corpse is my benefactor—what exactly do you mean? I don’t understand. Explain it clearly!”