Chapter 171: Hand-to-Hand Combat

Tang Yan and the maids at the stern screamed in panic, scrambling over each other to flee upstairs. At the bow, Nie Hong, Pu Zhuang, and several of Xu Xinsu's guards rushed into the cabin to investigate. Shin'emon leaped up and knocked several lanterns in the cabin to the floor. Zhan Yi flipped over a table and pulled Chen Xin and Xu Xinsu behind its top.

Chen Xin shouted to Nie Hong and the others, "Everyone get down! Use chairs and side tables to block the left side, and find something to put out the lanterns."

Nie Hong and the others swiftly overturned the side tables and chairs, facing the direction of the other pleasure boat, while using a bamboo pole they had found at the bow to reach out and knock down the lanterns outside.

Amid the dimness, Chen Xin pulled the flintlock pistol from his bosom, took out a paper cartridge, and began loading. He said to Liu Minyou beside him, "Check on Zuo Changhao."

Liu Minyou was also somewhat nervous. Hearing this, he pulled over the fallen Zuo Changhao. Zuo Changhao was groaning faintly. Tearing open his lapel, Liu Minyou saw by the light of an unextinguished lantern by the gunwale that the crossbow bolt had penetrated deep into the flesh, but its position was below the left collarbone and had not injured any internal organs.

After the initial panic, everyone on the boat calmed down. The guards also drew their personal swords and blades, preparing for close-quarters combat. Pu Zhuang used his Qi-family saber to continuously whittle the bamboo pole, sharpening its tip to a point.

Except for Liu Minyou, all of them were men who had long lived by the blade. Even Song Wenxian had experienced many sea battles. Although he possessed no martial skill himself, he had the mental fortitude for this and was now hiding behind a table, remaining utterly silent.

Zhan Yi ran to the stern, grabbed a boatman who was crouching on the deck, and yanked him up. Holding a blade to his neck, he used the man as a shield and went to the stern to steer.

Xu Xinsu's voice rang out calmly, "Zhan Yi, do not make for shore. There may be a follow-up ambush on land."

Zhan Yi adjusted the tiller and immediately jumped back into the cabin. A bowstring twanged from the opposite side, and two crossbow bolts struck the boatman in the chest. Zhan Yi seized the moment to leap back into the stern cabin. The boatman lay kicking his legs at the stern, letting out low, guttural howls. The unsteered pleasure boat drifted along the Qinhuai River toward Wuding Bridge.

Chen Xin had now finished loading the powder and ball. He was long past being the panicked accountant on that sea vessel years ago; numerous battlefield experiences allowed him to remain calm in most situations. The enemy's plan was most likely to kill Xu Xinsu directly with powerful crossbows—that was the optimal approach. Boarding for close-quarters combat was only a backup plan. Given Xu Xinsu's resources, his bodyguards were certainly skilled fighters, and the enemy might not hold much of an advantage.

He poked his head out. The other pleasure boat was only about ten paces away and closing in. Shadows moved on its first deck—at least ten men or more. Inside the cabin, reflected lamplight flickered off weapons. The second deck was silent; there were likely crossbowmen positioned there as well. The pleasure boats behind them were still absorbed in the spectacle of the scholars beating Ruan Dacheng, a cacophony of voices rising with continuous cheers. Strains of wind and string instruments drifted from all around, and no one seemed to notice the lethal ambush unfolding here.

The men on the other boat seemed certain that their targets had no ranged weapons. A group of dark figures clutching Japanese swords emerged from the cabin and gathered at the bow, poised to leap across. Illuminated by the other lantern-lit boats, their ferocious faces were faintly visible. A large man in the lead loudly ordered the rowers behind him to speed up. With the cover of powerful crossbows, the normally perilous act of boarding had become a simple matter.

In the dimness, Liu Minyou listened to the sound of the other boat's oars cutting through the water. His heart pounded faster and faster. Panting heavily, he groped around on the floor but found nothing to defend himself with. Zuo Changhao groaned twice and whispered to him, "Inside my left sleeve." Liu Minyou reached over and felt the hilt of a knife. Gritting his teeth, he drew it out. At this point, he no longer cared whether he knew how to use it. Hearing the sound of the blade leaving its sheath seemed to ease his mind a little.

Xu Xinsu, unaware that Chen Xin had a handgun, quietly directed his guards to spread out by the windows and beside the door. Zhan Yi handed him a Japanese sword. Xu Xinsu took it with practiced ease and calmly waited for the melee to begin.

Gripping his short gun, Chen Xin moved to the entrance of the forward cabin. He called Pu Zhuang, who was holding the sharpened bamboo pole, over in a low voice and gave him a few instructions. He cocked the hammer; the lock inside gave a soft click as the flintlock entered its ready state. Chen Xin held the wooden stock beneath the short gun with his left hand and aimed from behind the door at the bow of the opposing boat.

The hull shuddered as the other boat's bow rammed into theirs. The leading big man and another killer were the first to leap across. A thunderous "Bang!" echoed far across the Qinhuai River. The leading big man crashed onto the deck with a thud, clutching his foot and screaming in agony. The killers were horrified; they had never imagined these men would bring a firearm to a brothel outing.

Chen Xin shouted, "All firearms, aim at the bow! Kill them all!" At the same time, he quickly moved away from the doorway. Hearing this shout, chaos erupted on the other boat's bow. The crossbowmen on the second deck loosed a few bolts blindly, hitting nothing.

Pu Zhuang, crouching on the ground, thrust his bamboo pole violently at another killer. The man was stabbed in the chest, but the crudely sharpened bamboo pole was no match for a true spear; it only penetrated a little flesh. However, the force sent the man tumbling into the river, throwing up a splash of water.

Chen Xin felt a secret surge of pride. The unexpected strike from the firearm had thrown the enemy into disarray. Perhaps he could even capture the bandit leader leading this group alive, and Xu Xinsu could use this man to make a major political move.

Just as he was feeling smug, the wounded big man on the deck rolled a few times, putting some distance between himself and the doorway. He sat up and bellowed, "They only have one firearm! All of you, get in there! If you can't kill Xu Xinsu, not a single one of your families will be spared!"

At these words, the killers seemed to transform. Howling, they leaped across one after another. Chen Xin was filled with regret; had he known this big man was so desperate, he would have killed him outright. He hurriedly moved away from the doorway and hid further back.

The bow rose and fell continuously as more and more killers jumped aboard. Pu Zhuang's bamboo pole was hacked apart, and he too retreated from the doorway. Thumping sounds came from the roof as men jumped over from the second deck.

Chen Xin and Pu Zhuang ducked back behind the tabletop. Seeing that Xu Xinsu and Liu Minyou were still there, Chen Xin felt relieved. Xu Xinsu was extremely important to him right now, and he had to be protected at all costs. Chen Xin took out powder and ball and began loading by touch.

At that moment, several torches were hurled through the cabin door, illuminating the dim interior. A killer roared and charged in, holding his blade vertically in front of him to guard against horizontal slashes. The moment he burst in, two Japanese swords slashed at him from either side—Xu Xinsu's two guards had coordinated perfectly. He managed to block the high strike, but could not stop the low one. Both his legs were severed at once, and his body crashed to the floor with a thud. A follow-up blade instantly took his head. But this sacrificial pawn had bought time for the men behind him, and several more surged in, their ferocious Japanese swords tracing arcs of light through the cabin.

Nie Hong and Pu Zhuang shouted and charged forward to join the fray. Zhan Yi and Shin'emon held the direction of the stern, fighting killers descending the stairs or jumping onto the stern. Once the melee began, the enemy's powerful crossbows became far less effective. Chen Xin had just finished loading his powder and ball and was about to go help at the front door when the window lattice behind him shattered with a crash. A killer leaped through and landed right behind Liu Minyou. Chen Xin raised his hand and fired, blasting a bloody hole through the killer's chest.

The moment Chen Xin fired, he immediately crouched. A crossbow bolt grazed his headscarf and flew past with a thud, piercing through the thin window lattice.

The shot killer slowly slid down the cabin wall.

He clutched his chest, coughing up copious amounts of bloody froth. Xu Xinsu gave a cold laugh and drove his blade into the man's neck.

Liu Minyou was crouched beside Xu Xinsu. He watched him withdraw the Japanese sword, and the blood from the killer's carotid artery sprayed out, splashing all over Liu Minyou's face. His hands trembled violently, and he could barely suppress the urge to scream.

Fierce fighting continued at both ends of the cabin, with casualties on both sides. The killers had the advantage in numbers—roughly twenty men—while Chen Xin's side had only ten guards. Two men had already fallen at the front door. At the rear, Shin'emon and Zhan Yi held the cabin entrance firmly; relying on Shin'emon's superb swordsmanship, they had already slain three men in succession.

The torches thrown in earlier had been trampled out during the fight, plunging the cabin back into dimness. The clash of weapons and agonized screams filled the cramped space.

Chen Xin was now growing tense himself. He took a deep breath, knowing this was a life-or-death moment and every second counted. He pulled out a third paper cartridge and began loading in the dark. Just as he finished priming the pan, the window the first killer had broken through sounded again. Two killers slid down from the second deck, smashed through the window, and landed in the cabin. Chen Xin shoved the handgun and the powder and ball into Liu Minyou's arms and shouted, "Load it!"

Taking advantage of the brief moment it took the two men to adjust from the light into the darkness, Chen Xin drew his short Japanese sword from his sleeve. He rolled across the floor to one man's feet and drove the razor-sharp blade viciously into the killer's lower abdomen through the groin. The killer's whole body convulsed, and he let out a heart-rending scream.

His face a mask of ferocity, Chen Xin twisted the hilt hard. The blade churned the killer's intestines to a pulp. Blood and fluids gushed down, flowing over Chen Xin's knife-hand and pooling on the floor. The killer went limp. Chen Xin grabbed him by the hair, shoved him aside, and then joined Xu Xinsu in flanking the other man. Just as they were gaining the upper hand, another figure dropped through the window, landing right next to Chen Xin. In his haste, Chen Xin stabbed the man in the shoulder. The man's Japanese sword was quite long, and he hadn't expected to be this close. Forced into a corner, he threw away his blade and tackled Chen Xin to the ground. This sea bandit was short and stocky, with immense strength in his arms and a savage ferocity. Within two moves, he had pinned Chen Xin to the floor and was trying to throttle him. Chen Xin, using his longer reach, kept clawing at the man's face, holding him off and preventing his hands from reaching his neck.

Liu Minyou's hands were shaking as he fumbled to align the torn opening of the paper cartridge with the muzzle, but he couldn't manage it. He knew this handgun was vital to them; the sooner it was loaded, the sooner they could prevent another death. When he saw Chen Xin being pinned down, a surge of hot blood rushed to his head. Forgetting all about loading the gun, and even forgetting the short knife beside him, he lunged over and swung the handgun by its grip, smashing it down on the sea bandit's head. The sea bandit, not expecting another person there, was knocked sideways. Liu Minyou roared hoarsely, bringing the grip down on the man's head again and again, as if each blow could drive away a fraction of the terror accumulated in his heart.

The first few blows left the sea bandit dazed and disoriented, but he was a battle-hardened man with a high tolerance for punishment, not someone Liu Minyou could compare to. After blocking one strike, he punched Liu Minyou in the face. As he pushed himself up after the blow, Chen Xin lunged back onto him, pinning him down. The three of them grappled on the floor in a tangled heap. The sea bandit was immensely strong; even the two of them, each struggling against one of his arms, could barely hold him, relying entirely on their body weight to keep this fierce bandit down. Chen Xin, straining with all his might to hold him, groped around the floor with one hand for any blade. But after all their thrashing, the weapons had been kicked out of reach. Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Xin saw Xu Xinsu still locked in combat with the other killer and appearing to be wounded. Anxiety burned in his heart.

Suddenly, the sea bandit beneath them let out a loud, agonized howl. Chen Xin turned his head and saw Song Wenxian, who had somehow crept out from a corner, jabbing his fingers wildly into the sea bandit's eyes. The bandit's hands were pinned, so he could only scream and twist his head away. Song Wenxian locked his arm around the man's neck and drove his fingers deep into his eye sockets. Blood and eyeball matter oozed out with every twist of his fingers.

The sight made Chen Xin's teeth ache. Finally, the sea bandit's grip loosened. Not caring whether the man was unconscious or dead, Chen Xin didn't pause to catch his breath. He scrambled up, grabbed a blade, and once again moved to flank the sea bandit attacking Xu Xinsu.

Breathing heavily, Liu Minyou crawled back to his previous spot and found the paper cartridge. He narrowed his eyes, calmed his mind for a moment, and in one motion, poured the propellant charge into the barrel.