Half an hour before the time.
"Boom!" A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky as a ship slammed into a pirate ship. The pirate ship shook violently as it toppled over.
At that moment, four men could be seen clutching onto the mast and rigging. The next thing they knew, the ship was toppling over. Their faces were filled with despair as they raised their hands to the sky. Even with the wind and waves, the screams of the pirates could be heard.
"Ying Zheng, I remember there's another ship. Should we chase after it?" Seeing the pirate ship being destroyed by the wind and waves, some of the pirates wiped the rain off their faces and looked around. However, they couldn't see anything.
Under normal circumstances, they could see up to thirty miles away. However, in such a stormy weather, they could see up to ten miles away.
"We're not chasing anymore. That ship is too fast. Damn it." Ying Zheng cursed. Chasing after the pirates in the wind and rain was not a good feeling.
"That's right. This ship is obviously a pirate ship. How did it run so fast?"
"I wonder how much they've gained. Ai, when we get back, we're going to be a laughing stock." The vice commander stood by the side and said.
"We have no choice. Pei Wuchen has ordered us to chase after them for an hour. If we can't catch them, we have to turn back immediately." The vice commander cursed, "Turn around, turn around immediately.
About fifteen miles away, there was a pirate ship.
The Daoist had been shot in the shoulder by an arrow and had cast a spell. He was exhausted. All of a sudden, someone shouted, "The enemy isn't chasing us anymore."
When the Daoist heard this, he heaved a sigh of relief and rolled down. The rain fell on the deck of the ship, and there were corpses everywhere. Many people were pulling on the sails and shouting, "Pull, quick!"
Captain's Quarters
The third leader was tall and strong. He had the waist of a bear and the back of a tiger. An arrow had pierced through his body. A physician stood beside him, his hands trembling as he tried to pull the arrow out.
The ship trembled, and the arrow trembled. Although the arrow was pulled out, the third leader was still in pain. He cursed, "Damn it. How can the people above control the ship? What's the situation outside?"
He then looked at the physician and cursed, "What's the point of keeping you around? You can't even pull the arrow out. How embarrassing."
His body was bleeding and he didn't look too good. At this moment, a Daoist was carried in. He had also been hit by an arrow and had fainted. The third leader looked at the Daoist and instructed, "Wake him up."
The doctor was filled with fear, "Third Leader, this Daoist is one of the Big Leader's men. Furthermore, he's injured. I don't dare to do anything to him. What if he dies?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? If you speak any more nonsense, I'll kill you. Now that we've been attacked by the imperial army, we've lost dozens of ships and thousands of men. We need to request for reinforcements and inform the main island."
"If there's any responsibility, I'll take it," said the third leader. He scolded the doctor fiercely, but in fact, he didn't punish the doctor.
What a joke. It wasn't like the Wokou pirates could openly go ashore for treatment. If they killed the doctor, would they just have to wait for death in the future? Even if he didn't kill him, the humiliation would leave a grudge in his heart. Changing the medicine during treatment would cost him his life.
"Very well, Third Chief, I will do it immediately." When the doctor heard this, he felt reassured and ordered, "Go and get a bowl of wine."
Sometime later, the wine was served, and the doctor inserted a silver needle into the Daoist's wound. The Daoist didn't wake up, so the doctor spat the wine onto the wound.
When the wine was sprayed onto the wound, the Daoist trembled in pain. He then regained consciousness and coughed twice before opening his eyes, "Have we escaped?"
Hearing the Daoist's words, the third leader replied, "We've escaped. However, we have to report this matter to our superiors. The enemy was too strong, and we weren't their match. We've implicated the Daoist leader."
"This isn't your fault. We have to report this matter as soon as possible." The Daoist coughed, his eyes were in a daze. He was panting as he gathered his strength, "Pull the arrow out!"
The doctor didn't hesitate any longer as he pulled the arrow out. Blood spurted out from the wound as the Daoist trembled in pain. He then stretched out his hand, "Sweet Dew Technique!"
The bleeding stopped immediately.
"I'll bandage the wound later!" The Daoist then said, "Remove Lochia!"
There was a flash of white light as rust started to seep out from the blood. Seeing this, the Daoist heaved a sigh of relief, "Use a needle and thread to sew up my wound. However, remember to leave a small opening to expel pus."
The doctor then got someone to take the needle and sew it up. The Daoist's blood stopped flowing, and his eyes widened. He committed this to memory. He never thought that wounds could be sewed up like clothes. In the past, he had bandaged his wounds with multiple layers of cloth, and yet the bleeding had not stopped.
The third leader looked at the Daoist and said, "Give me one too."
The Daoist thought for some time before stretching out his hand towards the third leader, "Remove Lochia!"
The Daoist also started to bleed. The arrows used in ancient times weren't made of stainless steel, and thus rusted easily. Some cruel archers would even soak their arrows in feces before they went to battle, and leave some rust on the wound. This resulted in tetanus. Many people didn't die on the spot, but instead died from high fever after a few days.
This was something that the Daoist sect had discovered long ago. However, they didn't know the exact reason behind it. The Daoist then said, "Third leader, the arrow is of the metal attribute, and contains the Golden Malice. Anyone who is struck by it will die. If it weren't for me, I'm afraid you wouldn't have survived."
"With such abilities, it's no wonder you're treated like guests by the officials." The needle and thread sewing up the wound was painful, but the third leader didn't think much of it. He frowned as he spoke.
"That's where you're wrong. The laws don't affect the nobles. Naturally, this is the same for the laws."
"Those officials with high ranks can't enjoy such blessings." The Daoist sighed, "If not, why would we end up like this?"
He then pointed at the third leader and laughed, "You're just a leader of a few hundred people. If you were to start a rebellion, I wouldn't be able to do anything to you."
"Not only that, you can't even use communication talismans when you're surrounded by soldiers or officials."
This world wasn't a game. How could Dao arts only be used to kill?
There were Dao arts that could cure illnesses and even produce children. It wasn't difficult either. However, the law didn't affect the nobles. This meant that the officials couldn't enjoy such blessings.
If it weren't for this rule, even the Emperor would have to flatter the Daoist. This was a godly doctor!
After some time, the outside world gradually calmed down. The third leader wasn't someone who didn't know what to do. He didn't even ask the Daoist to treat his subordinates. Instead, he urged, "Quick, quick, contact the main island and ask for reinforcements."
The Daoist nodded his head and took out a talisman. "Buzz!" Gradually, a bright light appeared, and a large hall appeared.
Golden Island
It was a lonely island that looked like a butterfly. It was narrow in the middle and wide in the east and west. It was 35 miles long and 15 miles wide. There was a stream running through it. The tallest mountain was less than 500 feet (150 meters).
Within the hall, the leader sat on the main seat. He was somewhat flustered, as though something bad was about to happen.
The Daoist beside him felt something warm in his chest. He reached out and touched the talisman. A Daoist appeared.
When the Daoist appeared, there was a cabin behind him. The third leader was lying on the bed, and his wounds could be seen.
"Third Brother, what happened to you? Are you injured?" The leader's eyes narrowed as he asked anxiously.
The third leader felt a warmth in his heart as he replied, "Boss, when we reached the sentry island, we realized that our enemies had escaped. We chased after them. We didn't expect the officials to go all out. We weren't a match for them. However, we managed to deal a heavy blow to them."
As the third leader spoke, he didn't dare to look at the Daoist directly.
"How many of us are left?" The Daoist wasn't in the mood to ask. He waved his hands and asked. Hearing these words, the third leader's eyelids twitched. How many of us are left?
Seventy? Eighty? He wasn't sure.
"Boss, we wanted to fight against the officials, but they were too strong. They defeated us all. It wasn't easy for us to escape. We don't even know how many of us are left. There should be a few hundred of us who escaped." The third leader spoke as he pushed the blame to the Daoist, "Fanban Zhengyi, we ambushed them but didn't send any reinforcements. He might have betrayed us."
"What?" The speaker didn't mean anything, but the listener took it to heart. The leader's heart instantly froze.
The leader was from the Central Plains, and his name was Fang Zhi. He wasn't a hero, but he was wise and resourceful. When the previous dynasty closed the country, Fang Zhi had long been involved in the smuggling trade. He was the leader of the sea merchants, and also the leader of the pirates. He controlled thousands of miles of the sea, and his influence grew. Even the Wokou pirates joined him. He didn't even care about Ji Bei Hou's men.
But as the war against the pirates was carried out, they opened up the ports and markets. Since there was peace, they could earn money. Why break the law?
Many of the sea merchants left, leaving only the pirates and Ji Bei Hou's men. This caused Fang Zhi to be in a weak position.
"Fanban Zhengyi refused to send reinforcements. Could it be that the pirates are planning to rebel?"
Just as the Daoist was about to speak, Fang Zhi interrupted, "Alright, where are you now? I shall send my second brother to fetch you."
Seeing that the talisman was deactivated, the third leader sighed, "Luckily big brother remembers our relationship. If not, I would be finished. I was really lucky. The enemy didn't realize that I was their leader, which was why they let me escape."
"Leader, there's something fishy going on." Just as the Daoist was about to advise him, Fang Zhi paced back and forth, his face was gloomy. He then spoke to the Daoist, "Of course I know that. Third brother may have suffered a great loss, but as long as he's safe, that's all that matters. Hurry and contact second brother, and ask him to fetch third brother."
The Daoist wanted to advise him, but after thinking for some time, he didn't say anything. He understood Fang Zhi's intentions. As long as he had the backbone, it wouldn't be difficult to form a team.
Under such circumstances, third brother could not be harmed. If not, Fang Zhi would lose his position as the 'Dragon King of the Seas'. He pondered for some time before retrieving the talisman and contacted the second leader.
"Second leader, the big leader has something to say …" Before the Daoist could finish speaking, Fang Zhi stepped forward, "Second brother, hurry and fetch third brother."
"What? What happened to third brother?" The spiritual light revealed that he was in the cabin of the ship, and the second leader asked curiously.
"Yes, he went to chase after the soldiers and got ambushed. He's stuttering. I think he's suffered a great loss. You have to go and fetch him immediately. Also, we don't know where Fanban Masaichi is. He might have betrayed us. You have to be careful."
The second leader was shocked. He understood the situation as well. Headquarters, Ji Bei Hou, and the pirates were in a balance. Third brother was suppressing Fanban Masaichi. Now that third brother had suffered a great loss, and Fanban Masaichi had betrayed them, they were in deep trouble.
This was because Fanban Masaichi was backed by the Yue Domain. Although the Yue Domain was only worth 30,000 stones, once they lost it, the entire pirate network would be in deep trouble.
"Big brother, don't worry. I understand what's going on!" The second leader replied, "I shall fetch third brother now, and interrogate him."
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