This boat was no different from the others plying the Yongding River, stretching several zhang in length and capable of accommodating thirty or forty passengers and hundreds of bundles of goods. Judging by its shallow draft, it shouldn't have been carrying many people or goods. At both the bow and stern stood two sailors keeping watch, with strict vigilance all around. The dwarf used a bucket to scoop up some river water, filled a bowl with it, and went down into the cabin with a clatter.

  Although the thief's trail was discovered, Chen Zikong did not dare to move forward rashly. The bandits who had just robbed the ticket were always extremely nervous, and any slight movement would startle them into shooting wildly. He himself was bold enough, but if he forced the bandits to shoot recklessly, it wouldn't be good.

  Chen Zikong rowed the sampan, closely watching the movements on the big ship. He wore a bamboo hat on his head and a raincoat on his body, no different from the fishermen on the Yongding River. Moreover, there were many boats in the river, and the bandits did not notice him either.

  Yao Yilei was lying in the hold when she suddenly heard footsteps, looked up to see a grinning dwarf carrying a bowl of water walking over, propped herself up, tore off the gag from her mouth and said: "Miss Yao, have some water."

  After being kidnapped for several hours, Yao Yire had not eaten or drunk anything. She opened her mouth to take a sip of the water in the bowl, but it tasted earthy and was hard to swallow. She couldn't help but curl up her lips, her dry lips like withered flower petals.

  The dwarf stared at Yao Yire's pretty face without blinking, his throat moved slightly, and he couldn't help but stretch out his short arm to touch. Yao Yire felt a wave of nausea, and with a "pu" sound, she spat the water in her mouth onto the dwarf's face. The bowl fell onto the deck with a loud clang.

  "You stinky little girl, you don't know shame, today I'm going to pick this flower of yours." The dwarf was furious and reached out to tear open Yao Yili's clothes.

  The cabin door suddenly opened, and a ray of sunlight came in. A man in his thirties, dressed as a teacher, stood outside with a smile and asked: "Second Master, who made you angry?"

  The short and stout man wiped the water stains on his face and said, "Military advisor, it's you. You scared me to death. Anyway, I'm in the middle of interrogating her right now. Please step aside for a moment."

  The young man laughed and said: "Second master of the house, what's so special about this meat ticket? I think you're trying to steal a kiss."

  The dwarf was hit in the heart and his face turned red: "Military strategist, why don't you go first?"

  "Second Master, we are people of the Jianghu, and even thieves have their own code. A flower ticket is only worth something for a night, it's not valuable if you sleep with her. If you do, how can our friends in the business make a living? We can't break the rules."

  The dwarf reluctantly pinched Yao Yire's pale face and walked out with his two short legs. The man known as the military strategist gave Yao Yire a cold glance, closed the cabin door, and also shut off the light.

  On the shore, three fast horses came galloping, and the sailors on duty on the boat shouted: "Hei Feng is back!" While shouting, they jumped up and down, revealing the black handle of a gun at their waist.

  The military advisor shouted out of the cabin: "What are you shouting about? Put away your things."

  The sailor quickly covered the pistol with his coat, carried a long gangway and placed it on the shore. The three riders dismounted, took down the large bags from their horses' backs, put them on their shoulders, and the leader, a burly man, laughed heartily: "I'm back!" He climbed up onto the gangway, which shook violently, indicating that the weight on his shoulder was not light.

  There were many large willow trees planted along the riverbank, with branches stretching into the river. Chen Zikong used the willows to conceal himself and secretly observe the situation on the big ship. At this time, he couldn't help but feel suspicious - wasn't that big fellow Wei Sanpao? Why did his subordinates call him Heifeng Ye instead?

  Everyone, along with their horses, boarded the ship. The large wooden boat set sail and headed downstream. A group of people sat down in the cabin, the door was closed tightly, and the big man poured out all the things from his pocket onto the ground - gold bars, silver coins, jewelry, banknotes. Everyone felt dizzy and breathed rapidly.

  The dwarf was overjoyed, pouncing on the pile of banknotes and reveling in it. The big man picked up a silver dollar, blew on it, and held it to his ear, listening to its crisp ring. He grinned from ear to ear and exclaimed: "We've struck it rich! We're going to be rich beyond our wildest dreams! We won't have to work for ten years and we'll still have enough to eat!"

  Sitting next to him was the former guardian of Yao Gongguan, Lao Yan. He smiled and picked up a gold bar, wiping it on his clothes, emitting dazzling light that made people unable to open their eyes.

  "My god, I've never seen so much money in my life. If this were given to someone as a dowry, it would be enough for eighteen lifetimes." Old Smoke sighed, his eyes welling up with tears.

  "Follow me and you'll live a life of luxury, with fine food and drink. You won't regret it." The big man patted the old smoker's shoulder vigorously.

  "Hei Feng brothers, you're really something!" Lao Yan gave a thumbs up, sincerely praising, "You planned and prepared for just one day, successfully kidnapped the young lady from the Yao family, and even got the ransom. This deal was done cleanly and efficiently, not to mention in the Beijing-Tianjin area, but even among all of China's bandits, no one can pull off such a beautiful job."

  Hei Feng stroked his beard with a pleased smile and said, "The military advisor's plan is indeed superior. Little Su is simply the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang."

  "Right! Now the government troops must be attacking Wei Sanpao's stronghold. The military advisor is killing two birds with one stone, letting them bite each other, it's really brilliant."

  The military advisor smiled faintly, picked up a few banknotes in his hand to admire them, and suddenly changed his face: "How is it this!"

  "What's going on?" Hei Feng also picked up a banknote and turned it over in his hand, but he couldn't see anything unusual about it.

  "This is German mark, it's worthless." The military advisor said angrily.

  "A genuine banknote, how could it be worthless?" Heifeng examined the note in his hand again. It was a pre-World War I German mark issued by Deutsche Bank, with exquisite printing and a large face value, giving it a substantial feel.

  "Germany and Britain France fought a war, lost, the money is worthless now. This money can't even buy a box of matches." The military advisor threw the banknotes to the ground in hatred.

  Hei Feng also somewhat understood, in the past few years, Zhong Jiao notes depreciated, shops refused to accept paper money and only accepted silver and copper coins. It's probably this principle, after all, paper money is not as solid as real gold and silver.

  "Damn it, Yao Qizhen, dare to play with us, I'll screw his daughter right now!" The dwarf was the first to jump up.

  "Sit down!" Black Wind roared, and the dwarves immediately stopped drumming and sat down obediently.

  "General, you estimate, how much did the one with the surname Yao pay us?" Hei Feng said calmly.

  The military advisor took a glance and had an idea in his mind: "Tiaozi and Dayang are genuine, these pieces of jewelry are also worth some money, but they are still far from 500,000, I'm afraid it's not even close to 100,000."

  Hei Feng kicked over the small table and roared: "Not even 100,000 yuan, you're sending away a beggar? The surname Yao doesn't care about face, don't blame me for not being righteous! Come on, bring me the meat tickets!"

  "Yes!" Two men went down to the hold and dragged Yao Yile up. Lao Yan was afraid of being recognized, so he quickly pulled down his hat brim and covered his face with his hand, sitting in the dark.

  Miss Yao was thrown to the ground, her head hit the deck, and a lump suddenly appeared. Hei Feng grabbed her hair and scolded: "Your father didn't give enough money, you deserved to be unlucky, come and have fun with us!" After that, he tore open her shoulder clothes, revealing her white shoulders and a thin strap.

  Yao Yilei let out a shrill scream, which further stimulated the bandits' **. A group of people surrounded them, staring intently without blinking, even the two men at the stern who were supposed to be keeping watch were peeking through the gaps in the planks to catch a glimpse of the sensual scene inside.

  No one noticed that a dripping wet person slowly climbed up from the back of the boat, quietly approached them from behind, twisted one person's neck with one hand, and snapped his neck with a crack. The other person was about to shout when the dagger stabbed into his throat.

  Hei Feng stood in front of Yao Yire with his legs apart, untying the straps on his helmet. The dwarf was jumping up and down beside him, excitedly chattering away. But Jun Shi shook his head and advised, "Boss, I remember you once said that we are here to uphold justice and would never bully women, children or the weak. Have you forgotten?"

  "I haven't forgotten, but this time it's different. If she were a commoner's daughter, I wouldn't dare touch her. But this woman is the young mistress of a high-ranking official. By taking her, I'd be doing justice and redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor." Black Wind replied with a self-righteous tone.

  Yao Yilei's mind went blank, she had circulated in the Beijing social circle, but had never been intimate with a man, facing this group of brutal and filthy thugs, she was thoroughly desperate, only hoping that she could die before being humiliated.

  The military advisor sighed helplessly and was about to leave when a black shadow suddenly rushed over, knocking him onto the deck. He reached out to touch it and found a sticky patch of blood - a corpse.

  Gunfire erupted immediately, with splinters flying everywhere in the cabin. Hei Feng's pants were pulled down halfway, making it difficult for him to move. Upon hearing the gunfire, he dove onto the deck. Several of the standing bandits were hit by bullets and fell like blood-filled gourds. Lao Yan was caught off guard and also struck by a bullet, falling to the ground with labored breathing. Yao Yilei closed her eyes tightly, letting out ear-piercing screams nonstop.

  The sudden blow stunned everyone, but Heifeng was an old bandit who had been through the years and remained calm in the face of danger. He heard that the opponent used a Mauser pistol, which could hold at most ten rounds, and after firing all the bullets, he needed to reload. Taking advantage of the brief silence, he suddenly jumped up, picked up his own two pistols and swept them horizontally towards the outside.

  Another burst of gunfire, the thin wooden boat was riddled with holes, outside was quiet and still, only the sound of the wind, two shutter-like cabin doors swaying in the wind, making a creaking noise.

  Hei Feng's bullets were all used up, and upon touching his waist, the leather bullet pouch was empty. The military advisor on the deck pushed away the corpse that had been pressing down on him, panting heavily.

  "There's someone above." He whispered to Black Wind.

  Hei Feng threw the two guns onto the deck, making a loud clanging sound. He spat out a wad of saliva and shouted towards the outside: "Friend, I'm out of bullets, you must be too! If you've got guts, let's settle this with fists!"

  "Alright!" A voice responded from outside. Chen Zikong strode in, tossing the empty pistol onto the deck.

  Hei Feng looked him up and down, then suddenly burst out laughing: "It's actually you! Where are those two underlings of mine?"

  "They're gone, fed to the wolves." Chen Zikong replied with a cold smile, glancing at Miss Yao on the ground, as if he had arrived just in time.

  Yao Yilei's breathing quickened and she shouted: "I knew you'd come!"

  Chen Zikun winked at her, this was Julian's signature move, Yao Yilei's eyes suddenly became blurry with tears, it was him, no mistake! Chen Zikun was indeed Julian, and Julian was indeed Chen Zikun. Only he would be so mighty and invincible, only he would risk his life to rescue her without hesitation!

  "Hei Feng turned his head and looked at Yao Yire, then looked at Chen Zikun and asked: "Are you her man?""

  Chen Zikun shook his head.

  "So you're their housekeeper?"

  Still shaking head.

  "Mind your own business, you're just after the money, aren't you? There's plenty of it here, take it and go." Hei Feng scooped up a handful of silver coins and tossed them over, clattering loudly on the deck.

  Chen Zikun still shook his head firmly: "I want money and I also want people."