Although the leader of the water bandits had died, there were still several heads in the Panlong Gully.

Wu Xiao had already unified the message of the returning batch of bandits, pushing the blame for the leader’s death onto the Qiyun Stronghold.

Those who had been loyal to the leader directed all their anger towards the Qiyun Stronghold.

Meanwhile, those with ulterior motives secretly rejoiced upon hearing of the leader’s death.

Although Wu Xiao hadn’t managed to seize the top position in Panlong Gully, after this return, he had effectively secured a leadership position.

Fearing the desperation of the people from the Qiyun Stronghold, they had set up an ambush near Panlong Gully in advance.

As the water bandit who had gone to report to the government returned to Panlong Gully, darkness had already descended.

He hid his severed fingers behind his back on the deck of the official boat, his face pale as he shouted to the water bandits blocking the route ahead, “The government is bringing five hundred taels of gold to ransom the woman!”

With the darkness obscuring any signs of his unusual complexion, the water bandits lying in ambush didn’t make a move upon hearing that the government was bringing ransom money.

After a moment, a row of canoes appeared in the opposite river area.

A minor leader from one of the water bandit dens shouted from one of the boats, “The official boat must not approach further. I’ve sent someone to inform the leaders. Just wait here.”

The water bandit with severed fingers disembarked from the official boat and rowed a canoe towards the vicinity of Panlong Gully.

He said to the minor leader, “I’ll personally inform Brother Wu.”

Assuming he wanted to boast about his achievements, the minor leader didn’t set up any defenses.

Instead, he gestured to let him pass, making way for his boat.

As the water bandit rowed, his movements with the oar seemed somewhat strange.

With the sky growing darker, torches were lit on both the water bandits’ and the officials’ boats.

In the shadows where the torchlight couldn’t reach, the blood in the river remained unseen.

After pointing out the positions of the water bandits lying in ambush underwater, the skilled officials dove in and subdued them.

To prevent the bodies from surfacing and revealing their presence, the corpses were tied to the bottom of the water bandits’ boats with ropes.

When one of the water bandit boats suddenly began to rock violently, Shen Yanzhi, standing on the deck of the official boat with his hands behind his back, coldly gave the command, “Attack!”

The official boat had been modified into a warship, with the wooden boards on the hull removed to reveal arrow slots the size of palms.

Countless arrows were shot towards the water bandits on the boat, who fell in large numbers in an instant.

The water bandits wanted to retaliate, but the official boat’s deck was now shielded by a series of shields, preventing their arrows from reaching their targets.

The minor leader, coming to his senses, shouted, “Jump into the river!”

In the past, diving into the water would have been their escape route, but today, countless skilled officials were already lying in wait underwater.

Arrows were shot from below, and the water bandits, riddled with arrows and bleeding profusely, met their end.

A torch fell on one of the boats, setting it ablaze.

The river water reflected the flames, covering the faint red hue of blood.

Only the strong scent of blood carried by the wind was present.

The water bandit with severed fingers didn’t dare to look back, unaware of the arrows aimed at him from the shadows behind.

Tears streamed down his pale face as he continued rowing towards the old lair of Panlong Gully.

The officials stripped the water bandit’s clothes and disguised themselves as water bandits, heading towards their old stronghold.

Seeing Shen Yanzhi also dressed as a water bandit, Chen Qing advised, “Master, this journey is dangerous. I promise to bring the princess back safely. You should stay on the boat and wait for news.”

Ignoring his advice, Shen Yanzhi felt the chill of the wet coarse cloth against his skin, penetrating to his bones.

Yet, he remained numb to it all.

In this coldness, he could only feel the warmth of something beating in his chest, reminding him that he was still alive.

“Being in the hands of such a group of people, Ah Zheng must be very scared. I’ll go pick her up myself.”

His voice was as soft as a whisper.

The cold moonlight fell on his handsome profile, and for a moment, his paranoid and gloomy face seemed to show a hint of vulnerability.

---

When the Fingerless Water Bandits arrived at the old nest of the Panlong Gorge, Wu Xiao was having a celebratory feast with several water bandit leaders, while the younger members were enjoying themselves, drinking and eating merrily.

Upon learning that the government was willing to offer five hundred taels of gold for ransom, Wu Xiao’s heart bloomed with joy.

He immediately asked, “Has the government brought all the gold?”

The Fingerless Water Bandits dared not meet Wu Xiao’s gaze, only nodding in response. “The government said they want to see the person first before handing over the ransom.”

Wu Xiao promptly instructed, “A few of you go to the dungeon and bring that woman out.”

With just this order from Wu Xiao, the government was willing to offer five hundred taels of gold.

Several leaders also wanted a share of the pie, so they became quite enthusiastic in their conversations with him, eagerly toasting him.

Taking advantage of the situation, the Fingerless Water Bandit suggested, “Brother Wu, shall I personally go to the dungeon?”

He had done a good job this time and wanted to curry favor with Wu Xiao for a better standing in the future.

But it was precisely this sentence that made Wu Xiao look at him more closely, noticing that one of his hands was always hidden in his sleeve.

For convenience in movement, water bandits often had their sleeves cut short, so it was normal for both arms to be exposed.

But hiding one hand in the sleeve and constantly avoiding showing it made him appear suspicious.

Wu Xiao asked him, “What’s wrong with your hand?”

Cold sweat instantly appeared on the Fingerless Water Bandit’s forehead, and he instinctively hid the hand behind his back. “It’s… nothing.”

If Wu Xiao saw that his hand had been punished, given his suspicious nature, he would surely suspect collusion with the government.

Sure enough, seeing his abnormal behavior, Wu Xiao grabbed a knife and approached him. “What’s nothing? What are you hiding from me and doing deals with the government behind my back?”

The other leaders watched with interest.

Terrified, the Fingerless Water Bandit ran for his life, but Wu Xiao threw the knife, hitting him squarely in the chest, and he fell to the ground.

Wu Xiao suddenly realized that the government’s intentions were not as simple as just bringing ransom.

He spat on the ground and cursed, “Tell the brothers guarding near the Panlong Gorge to be alert…”

Before he could finish, a loud explosion shook the ground, and the walls made of yellow soil began to crumble, sending dust everywhere.

“An earthquake?” The water bandits inside the house looked at each other.

A young member rushed in, panting, “Bad news! Qiyun Village is attacking from upstream of the Yuan River!”

“Qiyun Village?”

Wu Xiao and several water bandit leaders of Panlong Gorge were shocked.

Wu Xiao demanded, “What was that loud noise?”

The young member, with a mournful face, said, “Today, when you and the boss were attacking Qiyun Village, their people took advantage of it and stole the weapons we looted.

That loud noise was from Qiyun Village’s people using trebuchets to launch gunpowder bombs at us.”

The Lianyan Mountain is surrounded by cliffs dozens of zhang high on all sides, rendering siege weapons and rocks useless.

When they raided the Qiyun Village this morning, they only brought bows and crossbows.

However, Panlong Gorge didn’t have the natural defenses of Lianyan Mountain.

The people from Qiyun Village used the government’s siege weapons to attack Panlong Gorge, making the outcome of the battle overwhelmingly in their favor.

Several leaders’ faces changed drastically as they cursed, “What’s this? It’s like stealing a chicken and losing the rice!”

“They failed to take over Qiyun Village but instead took our weapons to attack our own lair? It’s embarrassing if this gets out!”

“Quick! Return the two women we captured to Qiyun Village! With their tactics, they’ll flatten Panlong Gorge if we don’t act!”

The leaders exchanged words on how to appease Qiyun Village and make them withdraw, but Wu Xiao’s expression turned dark.

“Return them? Do you think Qiyun Village will just let it go? Our only option now is to redirect the trouble eastward.”

When the leaders looked at him, he continued, “The government’s ships came from downstream of the Yuan River. Send someone to tell them that Qiyun Village took their wanted person and the batch of weapons.

I don’t believe the government can tolerate this. Send two blindfolded women to Qiyun Village and let them deal with the government! We’ll just watch from the sidelines!”

---

With cannons and gunpowder paving the way, the ambush set by Panlong Gorge in the nearby waters proved useless.

On a large boat, Wang Biao watched as the river bandits fled in disarray.

His booming voice echoed across the river, “If you know what’s good for you, hand over my military strategist’s wife and daughter from Qiyun Village!”

A man dragged a river bandit onto the boat and said to Chu Chengji, “Sir, we caught one alive.”

The bandit begged for mercy, “Have mercy, heroes! I only joined Panlong Gorge last month, and I have an elderly mother to support at home. I resorted to this to survive…”

A sword gleaming with cold light pressed against his throat.

Chu Chengji, wearing a dark robe, stood on the boat with a mask covering half of his face, hidden in the darkness.

His voice was colder than the night wind, “Where are the two women you captured?”

“In the dungeon! Heroes, please spare me…” The bandit cried.

Chu Chengji uttered two words, “Lead the way.”

Just then, several boats appeared ahead, with bound women wearing black cloth over their heads on one of them.

The river bandit on the boat shouted from a distance, “Heroes, today’s misunderstanding was caused by our former leader. He’s dead now, and the remaining leaders of Panlong Gorge don’t want to antagonize Lianyan Mountain. We’re returning these two ladies to you. Consider it settled between Panlong Gorge and Lianyan Mountain.”

With that, he bowed and signaled for the women to be sent over.

Chu Chengji looked at the woman in the blue dress with her head covered, and chuckled coldly, “Do you think I wouldn’t recognize even my own wife?”

When he smiled, he looked extraordinarily handsome, like tiny ice crystals forming on pine needles after a snow, cold but clear. Yet, as one approached, all they felt was an endless chill.

The faces of the river bandits across the way changed, but they refused to relent, “Heroes, what are you talking about? These two ladies were brought back by our leader.”

Chu Chengji couldn’t suppress his anger anymore. Without saying a word, he drew his longbow and nocked two arrows.

“Whoosh!”

“Whoosh!”

The arrows flew through the air, piercing through the black cloths covering the heads of the two women and continuing towards the rear.

With the cloths removed, the faces of the two women became visible to everyone.

Neither was Qin Zheng nor Lin Zhao, but rather two ordinary-looking women, their eyes filled with fear, their mouths gagged with cloth, clearly silenced by the river bandits.

Wang Biao couldn’t contain his rage. Pointing at the woman dressed like Lin Zhao, he questioned the river bandit, “Damn it, is this the daughter of my Qiyun Village? Did you lose your mind?”

The river bandit was furious but couldn’t retort, as he hadn’t expected to be exposed so soon.

Seeing a government ship approaching from afar, the river bandit gave up the pretense and smirked, “Now that all the government’s weapons are in your hands, come back for the women after you win against the government!”

Wang Biao was itching with hatred but had no immediate solution. He could only turn to Chu Chengji and ask, “Strategist, what do we do now?”

Chu Chengji looked at the dark and stern river and the nearby Panlong Gorge lair.

His cold eyes narrowed slightly as he said, “Move the boat away and negotiate with the government first. Don’t force it. Wait for my return.”

On the government warship, the weapons would undoubtedly be more sophisticated than those on their boat, leaving them at a disadvantage.

Wang Biao understood that Chu Chengji intended to infiltrate Panlong Gorge alone. He immediately said, “Strategist, the young lady is also in their hands. I’ll go with you!”

“No, you stay and command. If I haven’t returned in two hours, leave the government ship and return to Qiyun Village.”