Take His Place: General Li Xian, and Who Would Claim the Prize

Bai Changmeng said, "Central Lang General, what should we do now? Please give us your orders!" Li Xian nodded. "Our first priority is to tend the wounded and count our people, dead and injured." He immediately made detailed arrangements.

Rope ladders were rigged along the decks to bring the captives back aboard. Bai Changmeng cursed. "These pirates are cunning bastards. Sending them back one at a time means we can't turn around and strike at once."

More than half an hour passed before all the Cavaliers had been returned, but they had been drugged and remained unconscious. A small boat came from the distance, and someone aboard called, "Central Lang General, we've returned every last one of your brothers. Here's some incense to clear their heads. Rub it on their temples, and they'll wake soon enough. Hahaha! From now on, the sky is high and the earth is wide. Let's keep to our own waters and never meet again! Never meet again!" The pirate cupped his hands, tossed over a red wooden box, and promptly sailed away.

Li Xian caught it with one hand, opened the box, and took a careful sniff. Finding no poison in it, he passed it to Bai Changmeng and told him to apply it to the unconscious Cavaliers. After a while, hundreds of them began to stir, dazed and confused.

Li Xian thought, These brothers were captured and tormented on the island, but they stayed loyal. None of them turned traitor. The pirates schemed against them from the shadows; I can't blame them for this. He helped check their pulses, asked about their injuries, and arranged places where they could rest. With the Gold-Seeking Guard suddenly deprived of its commander, Zhao Yingqiong's plan to infiltrate the pirates might well snatch victory from danger, but it