Chapter 3: One of Us

Lin Zuo turned around abruptly and found a Japanese pirate standing a few meters behind him, staring at him fiercely, his hand also pressed on the hilt of his blade.

At the same time, he heard hurried footsteps coming from the room; clearly, Yagyu Ichiro and Lord Wu had also been alerted.

"Koufun shinaide kudasai, uchimawa no hito." (Don't get excited, one of us.) Lin Zuo said without thinking, his palms already sweating.

The ship was full of river bandits, at least several dozen of them. If he blew his cover now, he would truly die without knowing how.

Perhaps because his Japanese was quite fluent, or because his expression was calm and sincere, or perhaps the tattoo on his chest worked, in any case, the river bandit didn't doubt him after hearing this, and his hand moved away from the hilt.

"Nani ga okimashita ka?" (What happened?) The door of the room was suddenly pushed open, and Yagyu Ichiro walked out, frowning, and glanced at the two.

"Nani mo arimasen." (Nothing at all.) Lin Zuo answered first, handing over the wine pot he was holding: "Yagyu-kun, gochuumon no o-sake desu." (Yagyu-kun, this is the wine you ordered.)

As he spoke, his fingers brushed across the mouth of the pot, and a grain-sized pill was dropped into the wine pot without anyone noticing.

Yagyu Ichiro clearly didn't notice his small action, reached out to take the wine pot, and said, "Ikimashou, keikai shite kudasai." (Go, stay alert.)

Watching Yagyu Ichiro take the wine pot back into the room and close the door, Lin Zuo let out a long sigh of relief, feeling his back soaked with sweat, which felt chilly in the river breeze.

For the sake of safety, continuing to eavesdrop was impossible, but at least it was a narrow escape.

The medicine put into the wine pot was a potent Monghan Drug. He had heard that Yagyu Ichiro's martial arts were very high, so to prevent accidents, he would drug him first before arresting him to avoid any mishaps.

Now he just needed to calculate the time and wait for the drug to take effect.

"Lord Yagyu Ichiro, did something happen?" Seeing Yagyu Ichiro return, Lord Wu said, somewhat nervously.

"No need to panic, nothing happened." Yagyu Ichiro squeezed out a comforting smile at him and said, "It's very safe here, Lord Wu can rest assured."

"That's good." Lord Wu was clearly relieved.

"Lord Wu, shall I toast you again?" Yagyu Ichiro held the wine pot and gestured.

"No need, I'm not much of a drinker."

"In that case, I won't force you." Yagyu Ichiro casually placed the pot of wine on the table beside him, picked up a pot of green tea, poured two cups for himself and Lord Wu, and then said, "I will use tea instead of wine to toast Lord Wu again."

"Please."

Lin Zuo silently calculated the time in his heart. After about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, he quietly came to the side of the ship's railing. After confirming repeatedly that no one was around, he made two cuckoo calls toward the riverbank—"Cuckoo, cuckoo."

There was no one around, and the sound traveled far along the river breeze.

At the same time, in the dense forest on the riverbank, many figures suddenly appeared in the shadows.

"My Lord, Lin Zuo has sent the signal. Yagyu Ichiro is on the ship." A subordinate reported to Tang Xiao.

"Mm." Tang Xiao nodded, a flash of joy appearing between his brows. "Everyone listen to me. Later, you must catch this group of river bandits in one net. Ensure that not a single one escapes, especially that Yagyu Ichiro. He must not be allowed to run."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Action." Tang Zheng raised his fist, opened his five fingers, and clenched them again, making a gesture toward the merchant ship in the middle of the river. The subordinates behind him understood and dispersed one after another. A series of "rustling" sounds of shoe soles rubbing against branches and withered leaves echoed all around.

At the same time, on the wide canal, a Red Boat was sailing downstream, getting closer and closer to Yagyu Ichiro's merchant ship. A flag was erected on the Red Boat with the two characters "Rescue" written on it.

Seeing this Red Boat, the river bandits on the merchant ship didn't react much, because this type of Red Boat represented the "Red Boat Life Saving Association," an association organized by volunteers near Zhenjiang Prefecture, specializing in salvaging sunken ships and water rescue, which was a common sight on the waterways of Zhenjiang Prefecture.

Watching the Red Boat sail downstream, getting closer and closer to the merchant ship, just as the two ships crossed, the windows of the Red Boat's cabin suddenly opened wide, and more than a dozen grappling hooks flew out, grabbing the railing of the merchant ship.

Dozens of Embroidered Uniform Guards wearing Flying Fish Suits rushed out of the cabin, waving Embroidered Spring Blades in their hands, using the grappling hooks to gain leverage, and leaped toward the merchant ship.

At the same time, a burst of drum sounds suddenly rang out on the riverbank on the other side. Hundreds of Embroidered Uniform Guards rushed out of the forest, drawing bows and arrows, and launched an attack on the river bandits on the merchant ship.

Because the incident was sudden, the river bandits were completely unprepared and immediately lost their footing. Several river bandits were hit by arrows at the first moment, screaming as they flipped over the railing and fell into the water, splashing a large wave. The rest were also in chaos, running around on the ship in a mess.

In the cabin, Yagyu Ichiro stood up abruptly, smashed the teacup in his hand onto the ground, and pushed open the window.

The situation outside made his heart go cold.

"Lord Yagyu Ichiro, what happened?" Lord Wu was clearly panicked, grabbing Yagyu Ichiro's sleeve. "Didn't you just say it was safe here? How could so many Embroidered Uniform Guards suddenly appear?"

"Let go!" Yagyu Ichiro spat out two words through his teeth and turned to leave.

"Save me, I can't be caught by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Quick, quick, start the ship, take me away..."

Lord Wu was still hysterical, but Yagyu Ichiro clearly had no patience left. He flicked his sleeve violently, and Lord Wu fell out, his head hitting the corner of the table with a "thud."

Ignoring Lord Wu, who was clutching his head and crying for his father and mother, Yagyu Ichiro rushed out of the cabin and shouted at his subordinates: "Hangeki shite, karera o koroshite!" (Counterattack, kill them.)

Seeing their leader appear, the river bandits seemed to have found their backbone, drawing their weapons one after another and starting to fight with the Embroidered Uniform Guards who had boarded the ship.

At the same time, Tang Xiao on the riverbank frowned—at this moment, the river bandits and the Embroidered Uniform Guards were fighting together. If he continued to shoot arrows, it would be easy to hurt his own people.

He raised his hand and waved it over his head, signaling everyone to stop shooting, then shouted: "Everyone, board the ship quickly and catch them alive!"

"Yes!" A response echoed from behind. Hundreds of Embroidered Uniform Guards ran toward the river, jumped onto the small boats prepared in advance, and rowed toward the merchant ship in the middle of the river... ===== CHAPTER 4 =====