The river wind struck their faces, carrying a strong but not unpleasant tang of water.
Without a word, the experienced sailors each fetched a long saber from somewhere and set it close at hand. Their eyes roamed, their faces wary.
Several guards drew their sabers too, laying them across their arms as they slowly wiped the blades.
Steward Zhou stood in the cabin, his expression grave. His distinctive little eyes kept darting toward the river.
As they were about to pass through Reed Marsh, he cupped his fists and addressed everyone solemnly. "This is where the river bandits known as the River Swallower love to set ambushes. Every one of them is cunning and vicious. If they get aboard, no one on this ship will make it out alive. So if we run into them, I ask you all to spare no effort."
The moment he finished, someone in the crowd shouted for a reward.
Steward Zhou answered at once, without hesitation. "Rest assured, everyone. The Zhou Family is not stingy. If the river bandits appear, anyone who holds the ship and keeps them at bay will receive two taels of silver to start! If they dare board, that's another two taels for each one you kill, with no upper limit!"
With that assurance, the man who had started it cheered loudly and made no more trouble.
Just then, the river bandits arrived.
The reeds ahead shook violently.
More than a dozen small skiffs burst out of Reed Marsh, each carrying two or three fierce-looking bandits.
A bare-chested man stood on the lead skiff.
An axe for boarding ships rested on his shoulder, its haft soaked dark brown with blood.
At his command, all the skiffs swarmed toward the merchant ship.
Steward Zhou shouted, "They're here! It's the River Swallower's lot! Row hard! Break through!"
The merchant ship rode deep in the water. The sailors rowed with all their might, but it still crawled along like an old ox pulling a cart.
The skiffs, by contrast, were light and swift.
With one side fast and the other slow, they closed against the hull in a blink.
By then, the old escort had reached the deck, bow drawn and ready.
Once he judged the distance, his fingers suddenly released.
The bowstring hummed. His first arrow pierced a bandit's throat clean through.
The bandit tumbled into the river.
"Guard Sun, one killed, two taels! Limp Shen, write it down!"
Steward Zhou called out the reward from the cabin to raise their spirits.
Expressionless, the old escort drew a second arrow and aimed across the water at a bandit on another skiff.
The bowstring thrummed again. Blood burst from the bandit's left eye.
The arrow went through his skull. Before he could even scream, he toppled backward into the river.
A broad stain of deep red welled up across the water.
Everyone aboard took heart and began drawing bows and nocking arrows.
Arrows fell like rain, keeping the bandits from boarding for the moment.
The bare-chested man roared, "Throw the fire oil! Burn these bastards alive!"
Clay jars filled with black oil soon came flying onto the merchant ship.
A torch followed, tracing an arc through the air before landing lightly aboard.
Whoosh! Flames taller than a man leapt up in an instant.
The merchant ship was wooden through and through, with its hold packed full of cargo. Fire was the last thing it could afford.
Steward Zhou hurriedly called for people to put it out, and the deck descended into chaos.
The old escort was about to draw a third arrow when a hidden arrow flew in from the side and struck the hollow of his shoulder.
He grunted, and his longbow fell to the deck with a sharp clatter.
Chen Ye glanced over and saw that the old escort was still alive.
Leaning against the rail, the old escort gripped the arrow shaft with his uninjured hand, snapped off the fletching with a crack, then drew the long saber at his waist and braced for battle.
Without the old escort's arrows holding them back, several skiffs pressed against the hull amid the chaos. Grappling hooks landed over the rail one after another.
Chen Ye crouched at the bow, crossbow in one hand and the other gripping the rail to steady himself.
A bandit climbed up a rope attached to a grappling hook, exposing half his body.
Chen Ye immediately raised his loaded crossbow and fired.
He shot in haste, and the bolt missed the vital spot by several inches.
Even so, the bandit screamed in pain and fell thrashing into the water.
Chen Ye rushed over and fired two more bolts, finishing him off for good.
"Guard Chen, one killed, two taels!"
Before long, other bandits began climbing aboard one after another.
Chen Ye tried to draw his crossbow, but before he had found his footing, the ship lurched. His right foot slid half a step across the wet deck before he caught himself.
In that brief moment, a bandit had climbed onto the rail beside him.
He was too close. There was no time to redraw the crossbow and take aim.
Chen Ye dropped it without hesitation and drew the short saber at his waist. Wasting no motion, he slashed in from the side.
Blood and vigor surged through him, sending immense force roaring down the blade.
Cold light flashed.
With one stroke, he lopped off the bandit's head.
Blood spurted like a fountain.
The headless body fell limply into the river.
A second bandit had just climbed aboard. At the sight of Chen Ye drenched in blood, he froze, cowed by his ferocious presence.
Chen Ye seized that moment of hesitation and, without changing expression, raised his saber and brought it down head-on.
Before the bandit understood what had happened, he pitched backward into the river.
By then, cries of battle rang across the ship.
Chen Ye looked up and saw the Jianghu Guest locked in combat with a burly bandit wielding a short axe.
The axe had caught the Jianghu Guest's weapon, and the two blades were locked together.
For the moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
Chen Ye charged straight over.
The bandit spotted Chen Ye from the corner of his eye, abandoned the Jianghu Guest, and swung his axe.
Chen Ye slipped aside, knocked the axe haft away with the back of his saber, then brought the blade down in a reverse stroke. Its edge cut diagonally into the bandit's collarbone.
To his surprise, the blade lodged in the bone and would not come free.
He released it at once, clamped both hands around the bandit's axe-wielding wrist, and kicked the inside of his knee, forcing him face-down onto the deck.
Then he snatched up the short axe the bandit had dropped and brought it down.
"Guard Chen, four killed, eight taels!"
Sharp-eyed Steward Zhou had seen it all.
Suddenly, a bandit who had somehow crept behind Chen Ye appeared at his back.
By the time Chen Ye turned and saw him, it was too late to dodge.
The Jianghu Guest beside him came to his senses at once and drove his saber through the bandit's heart. He pulled it free and kicked the bandit into the river.
"You're a good man!" He wiped blood from his face and grinned at Chen Ye. "Now we're even!"
Chen Ye nodded on the deck, then quickly turned to join the fighting elsewhere.
Cries of battle rose on every side.
Chen Ye and the others fought fiercely without giving ground.
After who knew how much longer, the river bandits finally retreated.
Seeing no hope of boarding, the few remaining skiffs carried their wounded back into Reed Marsh.
The bare-chested man stood on the last skiff, watching Chen Ye and the others across the river.
Under his silent gaze, the merchant ship slowly sailed out of Reed Marsh and eventually vanished from those waters.
Only then did everyone aboard dare let out a long breath.
Those who needed bandaging tended their wounds; the rest took their chance to rest.
After the hard battle, Chen Ye was nearly spent too.
He sat on the deck, leaning against the rail as he slowly caught his breath.
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