Chapter 162: Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 FlamingoBees 

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 Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 

 Chapter 162: 

 

Just as she had knocked out the woman named Ji Zi, Mian Tang hadn’t used much strength, estimating that it was about time she would wake up...

Sure enough, after a short while, Ji Zi stumbled out, holding her neck and swaying unsteadily, then shouted loudly.

Mian Tang squinted her eyes and observed that several guards she had noted during the day quickly ran over.

They first rushed into the house to find it empty, then searched around the outside, causing a panic. A few quickly scattered to search for her, while one hurriedly ran off to find Eikushi-ji.

When Eikushi-ji arrived with his men, Mian Tang, hiding in the treetop, could hear his furious shouts: “Bastards, a bunch of idiots, letting her escape like this…”

In the past two days, Mian Tang had not learned many words from Ji Zi. Instead, she often heard the guards in the yard cursing at a group of men and women who had been tied up and gagged.

So, she understood the first half of what Eikushi-ji said.

Hearing this, a faint cold smile appeared on Mian Tang’s lips. Did he really think she was an innocent young lady who didn’t understand the world? If she were truly the wife of that Eastern man, would he really say things like "escape"?

Moreover, he claimed they had been married for three years but hadn’t visited her grandfather. This was simply nonsense.

After all, her grandfather was the closest person to her in this world. If she were married for such a long time, how could she not find a way to contact him? Go back to see her grandfather?

Most importantly, Mian Tang had listened to her grandfather's stories about his adventures in the martial world and had never had a good opinion of those small, raiding Japanese pirates.

Over time, Mian Tang had grown to dislike these little men.

While Eikushi-ji looked somewhat presentable, every time she heard his awkward speech, it reminded her that this "husband" of hers was not of her kind.

Mian Tang felt that she should never be intimate with someone who couldn’t even speak properly.

In any case, since she had already made her decision, Mian Tang held her breath and carefully surveyed her surroundings.

Over the past few days, because the Japanese were preparing to leave the island, many luggage boxes had been moved, and even at the entrance of Mian Tang's yard, there were several packed boxes.

During the day, it was too hot for the workers to continue under the sun, so they would stop to rest and load the boats at night.

Taking advantage of their distraction as they searched for her whereabouts, Mian Tang climbed down the coconut tree. Thanks to the shelter of the house, this area became an unseen blind spot.

After they had searched the room, they certainly wouldn't expect her to return there.

Mian Tang quietly jumped back through the window and leaned against the door to watch. Before long, she saw some porters coming by, carrying boxes in pairs toward the dock where the boats were moored.

She stealthily followed behind the two men. Sure enough, under the cover of night, the porters were also getting a bit lazy.

The two of them had only carried a few boxes when they stopped to rest. One even wandered off into the nearby bushes to relieve himself.

Mian Tang seized the opportunity, sneaking into the bushes to quickly approach the Japanese man. With swift and skillful movements, she knocked him unconscious, then hid him behind a large rock and stuffed a cloth into his mouth.

After that, she changed into his short robe and deliberately learned the habit of covering her brow with a towel like the Japanese did. Lowering her head and bending slightly, she managed to resemble the unfortunate man she had replaced under the cover of the night.

Hearing the people outside urging each other in a hurried manner, Mian Tang lowered her head and lifted a box behind the Japanese man, following him onto the cargo ship along with a group of over a dozen Japanese.

During this time, some armed Japanese men ran to the dock, chattering away. They guarded the port, not allowing the remaining Japanese to move any more luggage. Although Mian Tang couldn’t understand their words, she could guess that they were talking about a woman who had escaped, hence the decision to seal off the port and prevent anyone from entering or leaving.

Seizing the opportunity while the group of Japanese porters stood together quietly discussing, Mian Tang quickly slipped into a pile of boxes on the cargo ship to hide.

Soon, the loaded cargo ship would set sail.

Over the past few days, Mian Tang had observed the distant ships from her yard and noticed that these cargo vessels always had small boats tied to their sides as backups.

If she tried to steal a small boat from the shore, it would be easy to get caught and chased down by the men sent by Eikushi-ji.

Once the ship left the harbor, she could take the chance to sneak off the boat and paddle back to the coast, following the direction of the sun.

Although this plan had its unknown variables, Mian Tang’s intuition kept urging her, “Hurry and escape! You absolutely cannot go with them to the East!”

Thus, with Eikushi-ji and his band of Japanese set to depart, she decided to take the risk of being thrown to the fish in the sea and see if she could make her escape.

Mian Tang calmed her mind and waited for a while as the ship, which had been loaded since early morning, slowly sailed away from the port.

After calculating the right moment, Mian Tang nimbly emerged from the pile of boxes. Listening to the sounds of the sailors’ footsteps and their chatter on the deck, she gauged their positions and found an opportunity to slip over to the side of the ship. Using a dismantling knife she had snatched from the dock, she cut the ropes and secured one end of the rope around a mast, gradually lowering one end of the ship into the water. She then repeated the process to lower the other end of the ship.

As the ship was lowering into the water, Mian Tang felt a sense of relief and was about to jump off when suddenly, a gust of wind sliced through the air, and a long knife came at her.

Mian Tang quickly dodged and turned to see Eikushi-ji gripping a long knife, his gaze dark and ominous as he slowly said, “I couldn’t find you anywhere on the island, so I guessed you must be hiding on the ship.”

Watching the rope of the ship she had just managed to loosen being severed by Eikushi-ji, causing the vessel to drift further away, she coldly replied, “May I ask what you mean by deceiving me like this?”

Ying Zisi’s eyes flickered as he asked, “Have you… remembered?”

Mian Tang naturally wouldn’t reveal the truth. Instead, she responded ambiguously, “What do you think?”

Eikushi-ji knew that things had reached a point where he could no longer pretend to be her husband. He coldly stated, “You can’t escape. You might as well come with me to the East.”

Mian Tang smiled slightly at him and said, “Well, that depends on whether you have the ability!” With that, she swiftly turned her wrist and snatched a weapon from a nearby Japanese man, kicking him into the sea, and then brandished the knife, readying herself for a fight.

At this moment, the moonlight gradually broke through the clouds, pouring down like water and illuminating Mian Tang’s smooth face. The long lashes cast a shadow beneath her eyes, and as she tilted her chin in a provocative manner, she looked like a fairy rising from the mist…

Eikushi-ji tightened his grip on the knife, feeling an involuntary swallow in his throat. He vowed that no matter what happened, he would never return such a beautiful woman to Prince Huaiyang.

With this thought, he suddenly lunged forward, attacking Liu Mian Tang from an angle.

As their blades clashed, Liu Mian Tang realized that Eikushi-ji was no mere show. She had an old injury that prevented her from matching the strength of a robust young man.

Moreover, he had the advantage in numbers; she couldn’t afford to engage in a direct struggle. Therefore, her target was the leather water bags on the other side of the ship. With them, even if she jumped into the water, she could fill them with air and float away with the waves.

Just as Mian Tang was beginning to tire, a thunderous explosion suddenly rocked the ship.

Almost immediately, sparks like a starry sky appeared around the vessel, and two large ships emerged from the misty waters in the distance.

A loud voice called out, “Listen up, everyone on the ship! We are the soldiers of Great Yan. Surrender your weapons, or we will send you all to the bottom of the sea!”

At this moment, Eikushi-ji's subordinates rushed over in panic, reporting, “General, bad news! One side of our ship has been breached by cannon fire. This is a cargo ship; we have no means to retaliate. We should quickly take the small boats back to the island!”

Eikushi-ji’s heart sank as he realized the gravity of the situation. Turning around, he found that Liu Mian Tang was no longer on the deck…

Meanwhile, Liu Mian Tang, seizing the moment of the cargo ship’s cannon fire, quickly grabbed a water bag and jumped overboard. The enormous waves surged toward her, and the chilling sensation that invaded her limbs sent a shiver through her entire body once more.

She held her breath in the waves, trying to sink deeper, but it felt as though a voice was faintly calling out to her in her mind: “Mian Tang... you’re being disobedient again...”

At that moment, she felt a sharp pain in her head, nearly causing her to open her mouth and let seawater rush in.

Just then, someone suddenly grabbed her ankle, startling her into opening her eyes.

As she struggled to surface, the person who had pulled her up also emerged from the water, his face full of surprise. “Boss, I finally found you!”

Mian Tang focused and realized it was her trusted subordinate—Lu Yi.

At that moment, two more heads popped up from the water; they were clearly Lu Zhong and Lu Quan.

Since waking up, Mian Tang had felt as if the world had changed dramatically, everything different from what she remembered. Trapped among a group of foreign people she could not communicate with, she had been filled with uncertainty.

Now, seeing these familiar brothers made her feel as if a heavy stone had fallen from her heart, almost causing her to sink back into the water.

Lu Yi quickly said, “Hurry! Let’s get the boss into the small boat!”

The three of them had witnessed their leader fall into the water on the night of her disappearance, and they had rushed over to jump in after her.

Unfortunately, they were a moment too late. Although they later sailed after her, they couldn’t get close to Ko Island, and ultimately, their boat was destroyed. If it hadn’t been for other brothers coming to their rescue, they would have met a watery grave.

This time, they had come with Prince Huaiyang’s warship. In their eagerness, they found a cargo ship leaving Ko Island and had launched a small boat to investigate. Just as they were getting closer, they saw their boss jump from that ship, so they hurriedly jumped into the sea and finally managed to rescue her.

Once the three brothers managed to pull Mian Tang onto the boat, they were about to head back to the warship when Liu Mian Tang spat out the salty water from her mouth and pointed toward the brightly lit warship. “Whose warship is that?”

Lu Quan replied in confusion, “Who else could it be? It’s obviously Prince Huaiyang’s!”

Hearing this, Mian Tang’s eyes widened in disbelief as she glared at Lu Quan, who was rowing the boat, and exclaimed, “You know it’s that traitor Cui’s ship, so why are you rowing toward it? Are you all planning to trade me for a reward?”

Lu Quan covered his head with his hands, mouth agape, and stammered, “B-Boss, what are you talking about? Even if you sold me to the government office, I wouldn’t sell you out!”

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