Chapter 201 The ship is destroyed and plunges into the sea.
On the dark sea, the small sampan looked like a lonely leaf, swirling in the waves.
The brothers looked at Xia Qianqian and sighed inwardly. If their sister-in-law hadn't come this time, they would have been helpless.
"Sister-in-law, we're counting on you!" someone whispered.
“Brother, let me stay! This sampan can fit two or three people without any problem! More people means more help, and I can also keep watch for you!” Peng Fei said, not wanting to leave all the danger to Lu Zheng alone.
Lu Zheng's face darkened, and he waved his hand dismissively: "I can handle this little matter by myself. You all go into Peach Blossom Spring to rest and recuperate before fighting! I'll take care of things here."
After some arguing, Peng Fei and Lu Zheng finally went ashore together.
"Qianqian, we're leaving." Lu Zheng turned to Xia Qianqian.
Xia Qianqian nodded: "I'll take them inside first, and I'll come out to find you in half an hour."
Xia Qianqian's mind stirred slightly. She saw that, apart from Lu Zheng and Peng Fei, the rest of the brothers vanished from their spots in an instant.
After everyone left, Lu Zheng and Peng Fei worked together to push the small sampan into the water, the icy seawater splashing and wetting their trouser legs.
The two nimbly leaped onto the sampan, the wooden oars cutting through the dark sea as they rowed toward "Eagle Beak Rock," as Commander Li had mentioned.
The waves crashed against the ship's side, making a "whoosh" sound. The outline of the small island in the distance was faintly visible in the night, like a lurking beast.
Inside Peach Blossom Spring, however, lies a completely different world.
Xia Qianqian hurried into the room and looked at the small cradle in the middle. An'an was lying inside, her little mouth pouting, about to cry.
"An'an!" Xia Qianqian rushed over and hugged her son tightly. The little guy smelled the familiar milky scent and burst into tears. His chubby little hands gripped her clothes tightly, and he cried loudly and aggrievedly.
"Oh my little darling!" Old Hei gesticulated and came closer. "Miss Xia, you're finally back! We took turns holding him, but he wouldn't drink milk, and he shook his head when we offered him rice porridge. He only wanted you!"
Xia Qianqian tenderly kissed her son's little face and hugged him tightly. The little guy immediately found his target, and his aggrieved sobs gradually turned into satisfied sucking sounds, and his little brows relaxed.
After An'an had eaten for a while, Xia Qianqian carried him out of the house. Everyone was standing there waiting. Xia Qianqian smiled and said, "Go and rest."
"There's still half an hour left, so get plenty of rest." She paused. "Everyone, eat your fill, because we have a tough battle to fight later."
"Okay!" Everyone responded and went about their business. Xia Qianqian carried An'an back to the room.
An'an had already drunk her fill of milk and had fallen asleep without making a sound.
Xia Qianqian held him like that until time passed.
She glanced at her watch, then bent down and kissed her son's warm forehead before reluctantly putting An'an back into the swaddling clothes and tucking him in.
"An'an, be good." She squatted down by the bed, looking at her son's sleeping face. "Mom will be right back. I'll come back to be with you after this battle is over."
Xia Qianqian walked out of the house. In the open space outside, Lao Hei and the others had already neatly stacked the supplies—medicines, bandages, and food piled up like a small mountain.
"Miss Xia!" Old Hei was the first to greet her. "Everything is accounted for, and we're ready to leave at any time!"
Xia Qianqian raised her hand and looked at her watch: "It's been exactly half an hour. Lu Zheng and the others should be arriving at Eagle Beak Rock soon."
An anxious look appeared on Old Hei's dark face: "Then let's hurry out and meet them?"
"You all stay here and wait. I'll go scout ahead first. If Lu Zheng has safely landed on the island, I'll bring you out."
"Yes!" the crowd responded.
Xia Qianqian took a deep breath and disappeared into the Peach Blossom Spring.
The next second, Xia Qianqian had just emerged from Peach Blossom Spring and hadn't even had time to see her surroundings when a giant wave crashed down on her!
The salty, fishy seawater filled her mouth, icy cold and biting.
Lu Zheng reacted quickly, grabbing her collar and pulling her towards the sampan. Xia Qianqian staggered to her feet and realized that their small sampan was indeed like a leaf in a storm, spinning in the waves, and could fall apart at any moment.
Not far away, the dark Eagle's Beak Rock resembles a lurking giant beast, with waves crashing against the reef and breaking into white foam all over the sky.
"Go back to your space first!" Lu Zheng's voice was torn apart by the wind and waves, but it carried an undeniable force.
He gripped the oar tightly with one hand and held Xia Qianqian's arm like an iron clamp with the other, his knuckles turning white from the force. "Peng Fei and I will go ashore first to scout ahead!"
Xia Qianqian looked at his profile, which was soaked by seawater, and then at Peng Fei, who was lying on the stern of the boat, paddling frantically. The wooden oars plunged into the waves, creating splashes of water up to half a person's height.
The sampan was only a few dozen meters from Eagle's Beak Rock, but every bump felt like it was going to throw you into the sea.
"No!" Xia Qianqian grabbed Lu Zheng's wrist with her other hand, her fingertips touching the blisters on his palm. "If we're going to leave, we'll leave together!"
Lu Zheng was so anxious that veins were throbbing on his forehead. Just as he was about to try to persuade him again, Peng Fei suddenly shouted in a low voice, "Hold on tight! We're about to hit a reef!"
Before he could finish speaking, the sampan suddenly crashed into a hidden reef, and Xia Qianqian was thrown out. Without thinking, Lu Zheng rushed over and caught her, and the two rolled around on the narrow deck.
The icy seawater splashed all over them, but Xia Qianqian clung tightly to Lu Zheng's collar.
"Listen to me!" Lu Zheng panted, his forehead pressed against hers, seawater dripping down his jawline and onto Xia Qianqian's face.
It's too late!
Xia Qianqian's words were still stuck in her throat when, with a crisp "crack," the flimsy sampan shattered into dust in the giant waves!
The icy seawater instantly engulfed the three of them. Lu Zheng instinctively pulled Xia Qianqian into his arms, while Peng Fei was slammed against the rocks by the waves, groaning and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
boom--!
The shells crashed into the sea with a whistling sound, and the towering water column lifted the three of them even higher.
Xia Qianqian choked on seawater and vaguely saw a burst of fire suddenly appear on the island. Dense gunfire rang out like popping beans, and bullets whizzed overhead—it was the garrison of Xiaoshan Island!
"They're our own people! They're covering for us!" Peng Fei wiped the blood and water from his face, his voice hoarse but filled with ecstatic joy.
On Eagle's Beak Rock, a wounded soldier was firing a machine gun wildly, bullets hitting the rocks and sending sparks flying.
Commander Wang crushed the binoculars in his hand in the command post.
Every time the transport team came, it was a gamble with lives at stake, but he didn't expect the shelling to stop so quickly this time—as quickly as the silence after a storm.
"Quick! Go to Eagle's Beak Rock! Drag the living brothers back to me!"
The soldiers followed silently behind, knowing that the chances of surviving such artillery fire were lower than winning the lottery.
But when they reached Eagle's Beak Rock, they witnessed an astonishing scene.
On the dark sea, three figures were desperately climbing up the rocks. One of the women was particularly conspicuous, clutching a canvas bag tightly in her arms.
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