Chapter 73 Targeted

To be honest, faced with the ghost soldiers crossing the river, I had no solution at all. The only thing I could do was escape before they discovered us.

I looked at Lu Jiu and asked, "Can you swim?"

Lu Jiu replied, "A little, but with the Yellow River so turbulent, I think I'll be gone the moment I jump in."

I glanced behind the tower ship. Through the thick mist, the ships carrying the ghost soldiers were getting closer and closer. There was no time to think; I grabbed Lu Jiu and hurried below deck, where I found Li Dafa and the others.

Seeing my panic, Li Dafa asked, "Master, what's wrong? Why are you so flustered? Is something happening?"

"Listen to me. Everyone needs to jump into the river right now. Don't ask why. Once you're in, sink to the bottom, grab a handful of yellow mud, and hold it in your mouth. Don't spit it out. Stay underwater as long as you can. If you can't sink, swim desperately toward the shore. If you don't jump, there's only death ahead."

With that, Li Dafa and the others followed me to the deck, where we happened upon One-Eyed Dragon and his crew counting their money.

Annoying as they were, they were still living souls. I shouted at them, "One-Eyed Dragon, tell your men to jump into the river. The ghost soldiers are coming. If you don't jump, you'll die!"

"You little brat, you think I'm as crazy as you lot, jumping into the Yellow River for no reason?" One-Eyed Dragon sneered at me. "If you want to die, go ahead, but don't drag us with you."

I had no patience left for them. I pulled Lu Jiu up to the ship's railing and said, "Lu Jiu, once you're in the water, don't flail about. Hold your breath and pretend you're asleep."

I glanced behind the ship. Hundreds of ghost soldier ships were already breathing down our necks, and this time, I could clearly make out their shapes and what was on them.

They were rows upon rows of enormous warships, each with a massive sail bearing the character "Liu." At the prow of the foremost vessel, three ghost soldiers sat side by side atop three warhorses. Their faces were mottled with festering sores, and behind each of them was a long spear or sharp sword, corroded with verdigris. At that moment, they were gazing coldly at our tower ship, and it was obvious they had already set their sights on us.

As if sensing my gaze, the ghost soldier in the middle slowly turned his head and looked straight at me.

I knew that if he caught my eye and remembered my face, I wouldn't survive.

The instant he turned, I plunged into the river, followed by Li Dafa and the others.

"Attack!" The ghost soldiers behind had noticed our escape. At the command, the warships accelerated toward us, hundreds of ships overtaking our vessel in an instant. Countless ghost soldiers poured out from the ships, flooding onto ours.

"Who are you? Are you ghost soldiers? Master Pi, save me... ah!" The last, heart-wrenching scream of One-Eyed Dragon echoed across the ship, but I heard nothing more, for I was dragging Lu Jiu into the depths of the Yellow River.

No need to guess—One-Eyed Dragon had already met his end in the underworld.

The raging river tore at me, swallowing me whole. Using the force of the current, I pulled Lu Jiu quickly down toward the riverbed, grabbed a handful of silt, and stuffed it into my mouth.