I really don't want to take shortcuts anymore

Chapter 548 The So-called Righteous Thief

As night fell, the rain gradually got heavier. At first it was just a drizzle, but later it turned into bean-sized drops, hitting the oil-paper-covered windows with a crackling sound.

The wind was blowing and the waves were surging, the ship was becoming more and more bumpy. Luo Qianhuai held on to Master Mo's hand tightly and stepped onto the deck with difficulty. The ship was already surrounded by waves several meters high, which were climbing up the slope and into the valley from time to time. If it weren't for someone's extremely stable lower body and dry and steady hands, she would have fallen into the water.

Although the ship they were on was not big, it was more than 30 meters long and four or five meters wide. It was the most common cargo ship on the Wei River.

Today's storm was unbearable for people like Luo Qianhuai who rarely traveled, but in the eyes of the boatman, it was just commonplace.

"What are you doing out here?" The captain was holding a rope, directing the boatmen to climb up the mast and fold the sails. Suddenly he saw the two of them and frowned even more.

He had no time to elaborate with the two of them, and just said unhappily: "Hurry back to the cabin and find something to stabilize your body. The waves will be bigger later. If you accidentally fall into the river or get hurt, I, Qin Lao San, will not be responsible!"

"Don't worry, Third Brother Qin, I will take my wife back right away." Master Mo said loudly.

Qin Laosan would get to know the background of every guest who got on the ship. Seeing that he had a sword hanging on his body and spoke and acted in a martial arts manner, he would know that the guest knew some martial arts. As for how good his skills were, he did not care.

Not until the sails were folded and the sailors had gone into the cabin to avoid the wind did Qin Laosan, the last one to enter the passage on the deck, close the cover with his backhand, and just as he breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, he saw a figure hidden under the light.

"Young Master Du?" He stroked his chest and panted, "It's so stormy outside, why are you here instead of going back to the cabin?"

"Brother Qin San, I have something to tell you." Young Master Mo came out from the shadows.

In the wind and waves, Luo Qianhuai felt like a leaf, rising and falling with the height of the ship, with no end in sight.

Outside the cabin, there were sounds of babies crying, vomiting, and screaming, and it was impossible to tell where they came from.

There was nothing that could be done about it. With such a severe storm, even someone with excellent balance like her would inevitably feel dizzy, let alone other people.

She wanted to go to the next door to take a look, but the boat was tilted this way and that, making it impossible to walk normally. She could only tie herself to the bed and wait silently.

Mr. Mo came back once, and when he saw that she was fine, he left again. It was as if he had his own gravity field, and he was still walking steadily in this situation.

After finally making it to the second half of the night, the storm gradually subsided. After the turbulence stopped, Luo Qianhuai untied the belt on his body and was about to go find Master Mo, when he suddenly remembered what he had said before he left.

Don't worry about me, just guard the door and don't let anyone in.

She thought about it, bolted the door, rolled up her clothes and blankets and stuffed them into the quilt, making the shape of a slender and petite human body, then lowered the bed curtain and retreated into the gap between the end of the curtain and the end of the bed.

Sure enough, not long after, rustling footsteps were heard outside.

There was a gentle knock on her door.

Luo Qianhuai did not respond. Not long after, a thin bamboo tube was inserted through the gap of the old and leaky cabin door, blowing in wisps of bluish-white smoke.

Luo Qianhuai was well prepared for this, and she had already put on a strict defense mask. This thing has several layers, equivalent to an isolation mask, enough to isolate the poisonous smoke layer by layer.

The door bolt was opened with a knife, and a man walked in. The knife in his hand emitted a faint cold light under the moonlight that had just jumped out from the sea of ​​clouds.

Luo Qianhuai recognized him. He was a boatman on the boat. He looked honest and simple. He just stared at her for a long time when they first met. That look made her feel a little uncomfortable, but he never did anything beyond the rules afterwards. She didn't expect him to be so bold.

So the traitor that Mr. Mo wanted to catch was actually this person? Or in other words, there was more than one traitor.

Luo Qianhuai held his breath, watching the boatman approaching quietly, suddenly lifted the bed curtain, pressed the neck of the person in the bed, and said with a grin: "Young lady, your husband is not here..."

Almost at the same time, he realized something was wrong. The person under his palm didn't feel like a human. He was deceived!
He turned his head suddenly, but saw only a dark, ghost-like face. He was so scared that his breathing stopped for a second.

This second was enough. Luo Qianhuai took a step forward and stabbed him in the back accurately and fiercely.

These river bandits who commit evil on the river have taken countless lives, so there is no need to show any mercy to them.

No one is more familiar with the structure of the human body than doctors. Ending the life of such a person is to save more people, and she has no psychological burden.

The boatman fell down without saying a word. Luo Qianhuai pulled out the dagger and wiped it clean on his body with an expressionless face. Suddenly, he heard shouts and screams coming from outside.

So those pirates finally boarded the ship. I don't know where Mr. Mo is now and whether he can deal with them.

Luo Qianhuai felt a little heavy-hearted. She didn't know when she started to worry about his safety.

She thought about it, clenched the dagger in her hand and was about to go out, when she suddenly heard the sound of swords clashing outside, and chaotic footsteps coming hurriedly.

Luo Qianhuai quickly bolted the door, leaning against the door with his heart pounding, but he heard the footsteps stopping right outside the door of the young couple next door.

"Is it here?" someone asked grimly.

"I would never dare to lie." Another person's voice was full of flattery: "Who dares not to take seriously what the Second Master has told us to do!"

"That's better." The man knocked heavily on the door.

The young couple had heard the noise outside a long time ago and had blocked the cabin door tightly, not daring to open it.

But whether it was a door bolt or a heavy object, it couldn't keep people out.

With a few loud "bangs", the door was kicked open. The crying of the young woman and the baby, and the begging of the round-faced man followed one after another.

Luo Qianhuai held the dagger tightly in his hand and closed his eyes. The shouts and screams in the distance continued unabated. It seemed that Master Mo, Qin Lao San and others were still fighting with the bandits and could not take care of this side for a while.

Before, Master Mo told her that there were marks made by the Hongze thieves on the ship, which meant that the ship had the valuable goods they wanted, so she should focus on her own safety and not care about others.

Although he had a good eye, he could not tell who among the twenty or so guests on the ship had brought the valuables that even the Hongze thieves were interested in.

The Hongze Bandits were not ordinary pirates, but a group of fierce bandits entrenched in Hongze Lake, a tributary of the Wei River. They only did big business, for example, last year they robbed several ships of the tribute that the Qingzhou governor sent to Xijing, causing outrage among the government and the public.

However, when they sent troops to encircle and suppress the bandits, they were defeated because the terrain of Hongze Lake was too complicated and the bandit leader was too cunning.

Although the imperial court tried its best to cover up this matter, everyone who should know still knew about it. From then on, the Hongze Bandits were dubbed the righteous bandits. They simply declared that they would not rob ordinary merchants and civilians except for government officials and corrupt officials, and they became famous in a short time.