"Tsk, tsk! Deputy General Chen is out of men? Sending a little girl to deal with this old man?" Deputy General Hou looked at Zhong Li with disdain.
Zhong Li stood on the lookout tower, barely over ten feet in diameter, and looked at the man opposite her. She smiled and pulled off her waist token. "Zhong Li, Zheng of the Dali Temple. Sent by imperial decree to apprehend the rebel leader Hou Yong, not the little girl in your mouth."
"Zhong Li? Sounds familiar!" Deputy General Hou dug into his ear and smiled thoughtfully. "Oh! I remember now. The female coroner from Dali Temple who investigated the Chate Grass case and killed Xie Yunkun?"
Zhong Li pursed her lips and remained silent.
"I was wondering what kind of a tough woman could possess such skill. Now that I see... it was Xie Yunkun who was foolish! You won't have such good luck today. I've decided to kill you, then defile your corpse!" Deputy General Hou licked his lips and swung his saber towards Zhong Li.
Zhong Li was inferior to Deputy General Hou in terms of strength and explosiveness, but she was agile. Every time Deputy General Hou's saber was about to strike her, she easily dodged it.
"Bitch, if you have the guts, don't run! I'll use your blood to consecrate my saber!" Deputy General Hou was becoming impatient, sweat beading on his forehead, and he hurled curses.
Zhong Li showed no panic. She ignored Deputy General Hou's growls. As he let down his guard, thinking she would dodge again, she bent down gracefully. The dissection knife in her hand sliced through Deputy General Hou's soft armor, and she inverted the hilt, thrusting it forcefully at his Tanzhong acupoint.
In an instant, Deputy General Hou felt his arm go numb. If not for his quick reaction, the saber in his hand would have fallen.
Zhong Li pressed her advantage, circling behind Deputy General Hou. The dissection knife in her hand struck his Huantiao acupoint forcefully.
Deputy General Hou's thigh tingled, and he stumbled forward.
Zhong Li kicked hard against the side wall of the lookout tower and slid down beneath Deputy General Hou.
She aimed for his shoulder, her dissection knife flying out and piercing his Jianjing acupoint. At the same time, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and fell heavily against the wooden wall of the lookout tower.
Deputy General Hou lay prostrate on the ground, his body beginning to convulse violently. He tried to force his arm to rise, but found he had no strength at all.
"Stop struggling. These few major acupoints will leave you half-crippled for life," Zhong Li said with a cold snort, clutching her chest that ached from the impact.
"Little bitch... urk..." Deputy General Hou gritted his teeth in anger. Before he could finish speaking, Zhong Li had already flipped over and kicked him hard in the back.
"I advise you to watch your mouth!" she said, picking up the long saber Deputy General Hou had dropped. She grabbed his hair, and as he cried out in pain, she used her arm to force him against the edge of the lookout tower. Then, she shouted at the elite guards fighting on the deck:
"All of you, stop! If you want your master to live, then stop!"
As Zhong Li's words fell, everyone on the deck ceased their actions and looked up.
Simultaneously, the sound of weapons clattering to the ground echoed throughout the entire Da Yi warship.
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Lu Wuxie returned three days later.
Zuo Teng, the new leader of the Beichuan Gang, was captured alive and was being interrogated day and night by Lan Heng in the prefect's yamen.
"What did you say? Zhong Li didn't leave and took a team of elite new recruits to intercept Deputy General Hou's raiding ships?" Before Lu Wuxie could rest, Deputy General Chen hurried to his side and recounted everything that had happened after his departure.
"Yes!" Deputy General Chen cupped his hands and said, "This subordinate offered to escort Zheng Zhong away, but Zheng Zhong refused. Moreover, Deputy General Hou planned to sneak attack from the east. I was indeed unable to attend to Zheng Zhong at that time, and thus did not send her away from Jinzhou as arranged by the Young Lord.
Later, Zheng Zhong volunteered to intercept the attacking sailors. After consideration, I agreed."
"And so?" Lu Wuxie narrowed his eyes and looked at Deputy General Chen. "Chen Chong, you are clever. You captured all the rebels who attacked head-on, but at what cost? The sacrifice of the Dali Temple Zheng and over a dozen elite new recruits?"
Upon hearing this, Deputy General Chen lifted the hem of his robe and knelt on the ground. "Young Lord! This subordinate knows the consequences of disobeying the Young Lord's wishes, but I do not regret it. If sacrificing myself can save the hundred... urk..."
Before Deputy General Chen could finish speaking, Lu Wuxie landed a heavy punch to his face.
He staggered back a few steps, covering his face. As blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, he looked in surprise at the man in a fitted outfit with a cold expression opposite him. Having served in the navy for so many years, Chen felt that this was the first time he had encountered a man so swift and capable of striking him unexpectedly.
"Young Lord!" Deputy General Chen quickly knelt, and a tooth slid from his mouth.
Lu Wuxie looked at him with a cold expression. "Chen Chong, don't think that just because Guo Qi is dead and Deputy General Hou has been intercepted, you have a chance to become the Governor of Jinzhou Navy. I'm telling you, if Li'er doesn't return, you'll go with her to the grave!"
He shot Deputy General Chen a glare, snatched the outer cloak handed to him by Lin Jin, and strode towards the vicinity of the port. "Lin Jin, notify all our informants in Jinzhou hidden in the Feiyuan Pavilion. Not a single piece of news about Li'er must be missed."
"Yes!" Lin Jin nodded and hurried out.
Lu Wuxie walked out of the yamen, mounted his horse, and with a flick of the whip, he galloped towards the port.
Zhong Li, I won't allow anything to happen to you!
He frowned, muttering to himself.
At this moment, aboard the Da Yi warship.
Zhong Li leaned against the deck, looking at the thirty to forty rebel elites she had bound with ropes. Their leader, Hou Yong, had already been given medicine and passed out. According to the time, he should wake up around the time they reached the Jinzhou port.
"Zheng Zhong." A Wu walked over to her with a pot of water and sat down beside her, following her posture.
Zhong Li took the water, drank a few mouthfuls, and looked out at the vast, boundless sea. "How many rebel bodies did you manage to retrieve in total?"
A Wu replied, "Our brothers did their best. It took three days to retrieve all the rebel bodies that fell into the lake, about fifty-odd."
Zhong Li nodded and looked back at the pile of corpses not far away. "Those that were not found were likely burned to death on the warships. It's a pity their bones are gone."
"Zheng Zhong," A Wu said, turning to look at the woman's serene face. "This subordinate does not understand why you are so determined to retrieve the rebel bodies."
Since Zhong Li had defeated Deputy General Hou and his men with fewer forces, these dozen or so new recruits were utterly impressed. They had jumped into the water without a second thought to retrieve the rebel bodies as she had instructed.
Zhong Li turned her head, her gaze meeting A Wu's. "Although they were rebels, they were only following their leader's orders. Moreover, no matter what, they are people of the Southern Yue Kingdom, with the same blood flowing through their veins as us. Their families are waiting for them to return home in Jinzhou."
A Wu had not expected Zhong Li to say such things. He was shocked, then quickly stood up and knelt before her, bowing his head. "Zheng Zhong, A Wu truly did not misjudge you. I would have followed the wrong person!"
"A Wu, what do you mean by that?" Zhong Li asked, confused.
A Wu slowly looked up and smiled at Zhong Li. "Zheng Zhong may not recognize me, but you must surely know someone."
"Who?"
"Qi, from the Prince Xian's manor."