Chapter Forty-Four: The Female Assassin Has Escaped

Matchless Iron-Blooded Ming Dynasty

The Red Maiden shook the fire striker in her hand threateningly and said, “Dog official, tell your lackeys to put down their muskets at once. I have a timid heart and can’t stand being frightened.”

“Put down your weapons,” Wang Pu said helplessly, turning to instruct his men. “Brothers, lay down your arms.”

The house guards, with no other choice, reluctantly set their muskets aside.

The Red Maiden arched her willow brows in triumph and mocked, “Dog official, you seem rather pleased with yourself, don’t you?”

“Ah, young lady, must you speak so harshly?” Wang Pu replied with a gentle smile. “Surely we can talk things through.”

“Enough nonsense!” The Red Maiden’s tone turned sharp as she suddenly snapped, “I’ve no patience for games. Take your men and sit in the corner over there. If you dare try any tricks, I’ll ignite the gunpowder and we’ll all die together.”

“You haven’t thought this through,” Wang Pu suddenly raised his voice. “If we go sit in that corner, what do you suppose will happen to us? As soon as you leave, you can just toss your fire striker down and all of us—myself and dozens of brothers—would be finished.”

“That’s right! We’re not fools; we won’t fall for your ploy!” Li Zushu, grasping Wang Pu’s intent, loudly echoed, “If you’ve got the guts, blow it all up! At worst, we’ll die together. With you two beautiful young ladies for company on the road to the afterlife, it won’t be lonely, eh?”

“Shut up!” The Red Maiden snapped in fury. “Another word of nonsense and I’ll set the fire for real!”

“Hey, don’t!” Wang Pu hastily waved his hands. “It was just a joke. No need to get angry, miss. We’ve never wronged you in the past nor have any recent enmity. Why make things so tense? Wouldn’t it be better if we all sat down together over some tea and talked things out peacefully?”

Back in his days as a street tough in modern times, Wang Pu had often faced tense standoffs like this one. He well knew the most important tactic was to stall for time—rambling on, confusing the opponent, and waiting for the right moment to strike unexpectedly and turn danger into safety.

“Bah!”

The Red Maiden, though bold and skilled in martial arts, was no match for Wang Pu’s cunning. Unable to see through his schemes, she spat and cursed, “Who wants to sit and drink tea with you? Shameless! You cost the lives of three thousand of my men—I’ve yet to settle that blood debt with you!”

“Ah, miss, you’re mistaken,” Wang Pu replied loudly. “It’s true you lost three thousand men at Jining, but I lost several hundred brothers too. If you want to claim a blood debt, shouldn’t I do the same? Where does this cycle of revenge ever end?”

The Red Maiden retorted, “We rebels and the officials are sworn enemies. It’s a fight to the death.”

“Exactly.” Wang Pu clapped his hands. “There’s enmity between the White Lotus and the court, that’s true, but there’s no personal grudge between you and me. I destroyed your men for my lord, and your people killed mine for yours. We each serve our masters; life and death are fate. No one else can be blamed, don’t you think?”

Just as Wang Pu was rambling on with the Red Maiden, Zhen Youcai was nervously organizing his men, preparing to rescue Wang Pu and the others. Wang Pu had deliberately raised his voice earlier to alert Zhen Youcai to act quickly. Now, Wang Pu could only count on this wily strategist.

The problem before Zhen Youcai was how to neutralize the threat of those dozens of barrels of gunpowder in the lower hold.

But such a minor problem was hardly an obstacle for the resourceful Zhen Youcai. He soon came up with a solution: the barrels of gunpowder in the hold would only be deadly if they all exploded at once. If only a single barrel went off, it wouldn’t be fatal.

Therefore, if they could pierce the hull in an instant and let river water flood in, the problem would be solved. Even if the female assassin ignited the barrel beside her, she’d be the only casualty—the rest would be soaked and unable to explode.

Zhen Youcai gathered a dozen strong swimmers and set at least ten “Dragon King Mines” under the ship’s hull and along the sides. These were essentially homemade water mines covered with feathers for waterproofing—a device originally invented by the famous general Qi Jiguang to fight off pirates, and retained ever since by the Ming navy.

The “Dragon King Mine” was fuse-ignited, so the fuse could be lit on the surface and then affixed underwater for a delayed detonation.

Below deck.

The Red Maiden, dizzy from Wang Pu’s endless chatter, finally lost patience and shouted, “Dog official, are you letting us through or not? If not, I’ll blow up the gunpowder!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Before the Red Maiden could finish her words, the dozen “Dragon King Mines” placed beneath and alongside the ship detonated in succession, blasting huge holes in the vessel. Icy river water surged in.

The Red Maiden and the White Lotus leader were knocked to the floor by the powerful shockwave before they even understood what had happened. The fire striker slipped from the Red Maiden’s hand and fell to the deck, extinguished by the rushing river before it even hit the boards. Wang Pu and his men fared little better, thrown about by the sudden explosion.

“Xiao Qi, take two men and get the general to the upper deck!” Scarface scrambled to his feet and shouted, “The rest of you, guard the hatch! Don’t let those two women escape!”

“Yes!”

Dozens of guards shouted in unison, brandishing their gleaming blades and gathering behind Scarface. Wang Pu and Li Zushu, meanwhile, were already climbing the ladder with Xiao Qi and two bodyguards. Zhen Youcai, waiting anxiously above, hurried to meet them and asked obsequiously, “General, are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Wang Pu said, shaking water from his clothes. “But you’ve destroyed this big ship. Gather the brothers—move everything off immediately. Send men in small boats to guard this stretch of river, post extra sentries on both banks, and this time, we must capture that female assassin!”

“Don’t worry, General,” Zhen Youcai grinned. “All the arrangements have been made.”

Below deck, river water poured in through more than a dozen holes.

Time passed in tense stalemate. Soon, the hold was almost flooded. Scarface, left with no choice, led his men up to the main deck, but the two female assassins below remained motionless. Even after half an hour, when the ship finally capsized, there was still no sign of them.

“Scarface,” Wang Pu asked, “the two female assassins weren’t blown up, were they?”

“No, definitely not,” Scarface replied with certainty.

“That’s strange,” Wang Pu muttered, frowning and scratching his head. “Could they have turned into mermaids and swum away? Search! Immediately send men to dive and scour the wreck. As for those two Jianzhou women locked below, I want them found—alive or dead, bring me proof!”

Thinking of Hailanzhu and Bumubutai, now sunk with the ship, Wang Pu felt a pang of regret. They’d survived so much danger and were so close to the capital, only to meet disaster here. But perhaps it was better this way; given their status and beauty, they’d never have met a good end in the capital.

Half an hour later, over a hundred divers surfaced one after another. The leader called out, “General, we’ve searched the entire wreck and the nearby river, but there’s no sign of the female assassins’ bodies, nor the Jianzhou women!”

“What?” Wang Pu exclaimed. “The Jianzhou women are gone too?”

“General!” As soon as Wang Pu finished speaking, another diver appeared, shouting excitedly, “General, I found a secret passage! The entrance is right here, but below the waterline!”

“A secret passage underwater?” Wang Pu’s fury flared. “Damn it, so that’s how those two assassins entered the city—from an underwater tunnel!”

From behind, Huang Degong barked, “General, I’ll take men down to pursue them at once.”

“Go!” Wang Pu commanded sternly. “Even if you have to chase them to the ends of the earth, don’t let those two assassins get away!”