The first day has uploaded 30,000 words! Asking for collection and asking for red tickets!

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  Two seriously injured pirates stood at the bow of the painting boat, intently watching the battle ahead. Fu Qinghe and Lin Xie exchanged eye contact and hand gestures, quietly passing by on both sides. Fu Qinghe suddenly clamped his hand over a pirates mouth and nose from behind, not letting him make a sound, and with a swift and decisive thrust, stabbed the pirate in the throat with his spear. The pirate struggled silently under Fu Qinghes powerful grip for a while before losing consciousness.

  Fu Qinghe was worried that Lin Xies handling would not be clean, and while he killed, he kept an eye on Lin Xies side, ready to help him at any time - after Lin Xie passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, he could receive monthly silver from his clan and focus on reading books. He had been pampered for two years and didnt look like a martial artist at all; Fu Qinghe thought that even if he was calm and composed, killing was a technical job, and not handling it cleanly was normal - when he saw Lin Xies neat and efficient assassination technique, he was stunned, and his back was even a little chilled. He wondered if this kid came to ambush himself, could he escape?

  Lin Tie quietly placed the dead man on the deck, saw Fu Qinghe staring at him in a daze, and smiled: "Compared to Master Fu, Im not even worthy of being an opponent; killing people still requires some care, when can we spar?"

  Jian Lin was still in the mood to joke around, and Fu Qinghe also burst out laughing, saying: "Its fine to spar with martial arts, but lets not practice killing each other."

  Fu Qinghes murderous aura and technique, Lin Xuan looked at him, didnt seem like an ordinary martial artist or a bodyguard, each person has their own secrets, no need to break the pot to ask to the bottom. Turned his head to see Su Mei and Xiao Mans pale faces peeking out from behind the cabin door, witnessing the killing scene just now, Xiao Man even exaggeratedly covered her mouth with her hand, probably afraid that she couldnt control herself from screaming.

  "Drag the corpse in..." Lin Xuan said.

  Fu Qinghe felt that they couldnt stay on the deck, nor could they leave the bodies on the deck for people to discover. They also couldnt just throw the bodies into the water. The only option was to drag them into the cabin and hide them first, making it seem like everything was normal. He and Lin Xuan each dragged a body into the cabin.

  The little girl was so scared that she kept retreating backwards - last night when the pirates hijacked the ship, she and Su Mei locked themselves in the cabin, listening to the fighting outside without seeing any dead bodies with their own eyes. Now, seeing Lin and Su dragging a corpse into the cabin, how could a 14 or 15-year-old girl not be afraid?

  Su Meng calmed down a bit and looked at Lin Xie as if he were a stranger. She didnt react until he dragged the body in, then she suddenly stepped back.

  Su Meng stood there, feeling a bit awkward. Lin Xie raised his head and looked at her for a moment. As their eyes met, he felt as if he had been electrocuted, stunned by the depth of her clear and bright eyes. Was it really possible for such an exquisite woman to exist in this world?

  He had memories of Lin Xies past with Su Mei, but after being reborn, Lin Xies memories seemed to be shrouded in a layer of gauze, as if they belonged to someone else. His memories of Su Mei were like a beautiful womans picture printed on paper - the beauty of a woman could never be fully captured by a cold, two-dimensional image. The look in Su Meis eyes, a mix of panic and desperate attempts to calm herself, would evoke a desire to protect her in anyone who saw it.

  "Ah!" Su Mei realized she was in the way, and softly cried out as she took another half step back, wanting to help but not daring to reach out and pull the corpse.

  Lin Xuan thought that Xiao Man was a great beauty, but compared to Su Mei, she was still far from being mature. The beautiful woman in front of him had skin as white as jade, and lips as red as flames, with a perfect curve. Her delicate features made her look flawless, and her eyes sparkled with a unique charm. Lin Xuan had never seen such a beautiful woman before, not even in pictures. He thought to himself that it was no wonder the previous master was so infatuated with this woman, and no wonder the so-called Jin An Second Master had spent so much effort on her.

  "Spaced out again, miss shouldnt have come out..." Xiaoman had just seen Lin Xie and Fu Qinghe killing people outside, her heart was frightened, the bloody atmosphere made her almost unable to breathe. When she saw Lin Xie standing there in a daze, intimidated by Su Meirongs appearance, she felt that this bookworm looked familiar again, couldnt help but laugh out loud, and didnt think it was scary with dead people in front of her.

  Tell Xiaoman the truth, Lin Xie also felt a bit awkward, lightly coughed, cut off a large piece of dry cloth from the dead body, and said to Fu Qinghe: "Ill go outside to wipe away the bloodstains..." Last nights battle had left bloodstains all over the bow deck, but the new splatters were different, wiping them clean could slightly conceal it.

  Su Meng glared at Xiao Man, although in her eyes Lin Xie was no different from before, but she heard Xiao Man say that Lin Xie saved Fu Bo and then sneaked onto the boat with Fu Qinghe to wait for an opportunity to rescue them, and now he was killing people for them, so she couldnt tolerate Xiao Mans disrespect towards him anymore.

  Xiao Man just casually said, completely without the mind of a frivolous person before. She playfully stuck out her tongue and looked at Fu Bo with some difficulty, but bravely helped Su Mei together to drag the body into the cabin.

  In the blink of an eye, Lin Wei returned again, bringing with him two waist knives left behind by the pirates from other cabins, and holding two sets of clothes in his hands. Seeing Fu Qinghe sitting on the ground catching his breath, he handed one of the waist knives to him and asked: "Whats wrong?"

  "Theres nothing, the wound is a bit torn..." Fu Qinghe sat up straight, took over the waist knife and said, "Well just guard here, listen to the outside sounds, the pirates shouldnt be able to hold on for much longer, theyre trapped in the river fork and cant escape, we need to prevent them from killing people venting their anger..."

  "Can Master Fu be certain that the soldiers outside have received a message from Baisha County to rescue Su Mei?" Lin Xie asked.

  Fu Qinghe was suddenly startled, and hurriedly got up. Lin Xie said something that he hadnt thought of for a moment, urging Su Mei and Xiao Man: "Quickly gather your things and follow us to hide in the rear cabin."

  "Didnt the officers and soldiers outside come to rescue us?" Xiao Man asked in fright.

  "It could be that they have come to rescue us, or perhaps its the children being held in the rear cabin, but more likely its the naval patrol bumping into them..." Fu Qinghe said, and then explained to Lin Xie, "The twenty or so teenagers being held in the flower hall were all taken captive by this group of Donghai pirates when they raided Chongzhou County School three days ago..." This was what he had just heard from Su Mei.

  Fu Qinghe was also worried, if Lin Tie hadnt reminded him, he would have made a big mistake. He knew that the courts officials and soldiers were like bandits, with extremely bad morals, even more cruel than local bandits. If these two boats of naval officers hadnt been entrusted by Baisha County to rescue people, when they saw Su Mei and her sister, it was highly likely that they would have evil intentions, and the consequences would be unbearable.

  The seven ladies-in-waiting who had previously sponsored Lins education at the county school knew that families who could send their children to study at the county school were mostly wealthy, and she cursed in her heart: "Damn it, these pirates are not stupid, they know how to choose their targets, and they kidnapped so many people at once, maybe Du Rong is behind them, but they lack some luck." Seeing Fu Qinghe wanting to go out and take a look, she pulled him back and said, "Its also inappropriate to go to the stern cabin, the government soldiers will definitely search the ship."

  Hiding in the cabin wont work, and directly jumping into the water isnt suitable either. Who knows if the pirates cant win and will jump into the water to escape? Who knows if the government soldiers will pursue them in the water? Having two women with me in the water would be a burden.

  "What should I do?" Fu Qinghe was anxious for a moment and had no good plan.

  "Change into these clothes and blend in first," Lin Guan said, handing the clothes to Su Mei and Xiao Man, "Take a look at the situation before doing anything, it might not be a bad thing."

  "It can only be like this," Fu Qinghe knew that Lin Xie had a quick wit and couldnt think of a more suitable countermeasure on the spot. Listening to the sound, the government soldiers were gaining the upper hand, and it was possible that some pirates would flee over here later, "Ill go take a look at the cabin entrance, you all move quickly."

  Su Mengs cabin had a small room inside, where the two women went in and out to change clothes. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into handsome young men with clear eyebrows and bright eyes. They were about to head inside when Lin Xuan called out to them: "Wait..."

  Su Meng didnt understand his intention, and seeing him walk to the table to take down the crystal cover on the oil lamp, she thought he was greedy for the crystal cover and wanted her to hide it, anxiously saying: "Its not worth much money?"

  "Ordinary wealthy families cant even afford it," Lin Xuan said with a smile, walking over and sticking his hand into the glass case to wipe off some of the black dust. He told Su Mei, "Dont move..." and then wiped the black dust from the glass case onto her face. As soon as he touched her cheek, he felt an inexplicable tenderness that made him want to touch her more.

  Su Meng only then realized that Lin Xie was going to smear her face with dirt, and even though she was wearing mens clothing, the two of them were still too eye-catching. Seeing that he still had a mood for joking, the tension in her heart eased slightly. However, after smearing some dirt on Lin Xies face, she still felt a bit embarrassed, so she said: "Lets do it ourselves..."

  At a critical moment, there was no distinction between men and women, and besides, there was no time to dawdle. Lin Xuan said: "Theres no time, lets get started, you guys be careful to wipe your necks clean..." The face is smeared with black, but the neck cant be left white like snow.

  Su Meng also fell big and generous, cant say let Lin Fu help himself wipe his neck stiff? Slightly tilting her face, she let Lin Fu and Xiao Man help her wipe her face. She herself stained the lampblack on her hands and wiped her neck black, then together helped Xiao Mans face, neck, and exposed arms all become dark.

  "How?" Su Meng asked Lin Xie.

  Lin Tie still felt that Su Meis eyes were too alluring, and said: "Go inside, you guys remember to keep your heads down... Ill pretend to be a pirate and push you out later, bear with it and dont make a sound; Ill also set fire to this place, dont panic."

  "Ah......" Su Mei looked at Lin Xie in confusion, not understanding why he wanted to burn the painting boat.

  "Dont worry, the soldiers will put out the fire. Im just burning your stuff, dont be heartbroken." Lin said.

  "Who would feel heartache?" Su Mei thought Lin Xies words were interesting, there were many things in this house that she liked, of course it was heartbreaking to burn them, but she also knew that not burning them would only lead to the soldiers taking them away. Lin Xie didnt even allow her to feel heartache, she wanted to laugh, but felt that now wasnt the time for laughter. Strangely, being interrupted by him like this made her less anxious, thinking that he was really good at comforting people.

  Lin tied up the two girls and rushed to the back of the flower hall where the children were being held. With one kick, he kicked open the carved door with a lock on it, without caring about the more than 20 frightened boys inside. He violently pushed the two girls in, pulled out his knife and chopped at the door frame, menacingly shouting: "Be honest with me, stretch out your hands and Ill chop them off, stretch out your heads and Ill chop them off, stretch out your dicks and Ill chop them off!"

  Su Meng gave Lin Wei a push, who would have thought that he could still say such coarse and despicable words, seeing the bloodstains from the murder on his body, with an angry face, not even half of his scholars demeanor left. Knowing that he didnt want to reveal any weaknesses to the imprisoned youths, she found it amusing, but also felt that this push was too forceful, her arm was grabbed by him and hurt a bit.

  Lin tied back to the cabin door, Fu Qinghe asked him: "How is it?"

  "It can deceive for a while." Lin Xie said.

  "Thats enough. The officials and soldiers have come to rescue the hostages, and rescuing one person can get a reward of 100 taels of silver." Fu Qinghe said.

  "Damn it," Lin Xie cursed, "Inside, thirty children, save one person, a hundred taels of silver reward, thats three thousand taels of silver, three million coins, enough to rival the wealth of a large family. Subconsciously, he asked another question, "How much ransom do pirates want?"

  "It depends. The ransom could be as little as three to five hundred taels, or as much as eight thousand taels, anything is possible. Pirates always press for the lowest amount before taking hostages, they wont force people to hand over all their silver and ruin their families... of course, they also wont let these families off easy." Fu Qinghe replied.

  "Too greedy!" Lin Mou gritted his teeth and said, even if they averaged 500 taels of silver per person for the ransom, the 30 meat tickets would be a big deal worth 15,000 taels of silver. With less than 30 pirates, they wanted to take so much money, wasnt that greed? Were they going to wash their hands and quit after this one job?

  Fu Qinghe asked again, "Shall we go to the tail cabin or hide directly in the water?" He thought Lin Xie was quick-witted.

  "Wait a moment and then jump into the water..." Lin Mou said, retreating with Fu Qinghe first, setting fire to Su Meis cabin, taking advantage of the small flames, letting Fu Qinghe follow him to close the doors and windows of this cabin.

  Fu Qinghe didnt understand, and Lin Xie couldnt explain it clearly to him. How could he explain the role of oxygen in the air during combustion? With the doors and windows tightly closed, the indoor fresh air was insufficient, suppressing the spread of the fire. When the officers and soldiers came to search the cabin, they suddenly burst open the door, and a large amount of fresh air rushed in, causing the flames to surge up abruptly. That should be enough to keep them busy for a while.

  Lin Tie and Fu Qinghe retreated back to the cabin where the pirate corpses were hidden, these two pirate corpses also needed to be disposed of, lest the government soldiers discover that there were still others hiding on the ship.

  Lin Xie and Fu Qinghe tied the two corpses to a ballast stone and sank them to the bottom of the water. Throughout the process, Fu Qinghe was ashamed of himself as an old riverside hand, but he was also puzzled about where Lin Xie had learned such skilled moves from. He carefully observed Lin Xie, whose muscles, bones, and limbs did not seem to have practiced martial arts.

  The body can make skills better, but whether or not to use this skill, the body has no say. Lin Xie didnt know how to swim before, but now he does; Lin Xie hadnt practiced martial arts before, but it doesnt stop him from killing people now. Unlike fighting, killing is purely a technical matter, even if Lin Xies hands are weak, a pen and paper in his hand can become tools for killing. Of course, with better physical foundation, killing will be more convenient. Lin Xie couldnt explain to Fu Qinghe: the previous Lin Xie had already drowned, he was Tan Zhong, but he borrowed Lin Xies body and kept his memories.