The moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, and in the darkness, the sounds of fighting and shouting that had been filling the ship gradually faded into the distance.
Song Ning's silenced gun went unnoticed amidst the commotion.
As I stepped out of the cabin and onto the bow of the ship, I heard the sound of clashing swords outside.
Song Ning took a few steps forward in the dark. Outside, flames were already raging, illuminating people's faces with a bloody glow.
There were only a dozen or so people on the merchant ship, plus some who left in escape boats. There weren't many people left on their side, and their clothes were different from those of the river bandits. Song Ning quickly recognized his own people.
Yang Tou was covered in blood from being slashed, but he didn't fall down, still holding the knife.
There were too many enemies, and Yang Tou and his men were no match for them and were quickly surrounded.
Song Ning hid in the shadows and fired a shot at the person closest to him.
The man suddenly fell to the ground, and the people around him immediately became alert, but they did not see anyone or hear any noise. Song Ning hid in the shadows and did not dare to come out.
Yang turned his head and saw Song Ning gesturing to him from the shadows.
Song Ning fired a few more shots at those people, and several of them inexplicably fell to the ground. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yang Tou picked up the knife beside him, and before they could react, he leaped up and stabbed several people in succession.
Right next to them were the pirates' boats, both of which were much bigger than theirs.
People were still coming to them from the ship.
After dealing with the remaining bandits, Yang and his men quickly ran towards her.
"Miss Song, didn't I tell you to leave? Why are you still here?"
"I can't abandon my friends," Song Ning said with unusual firmness.
"You should leave now. You have two girls; if these people catch them, things could get very bad..."
Yang Tou didn't continue, but Song Ning understood that once a woman fell into the hands of these people, she would be raped and then killed.
"We can't leave. The lifeboats have already been rowed away."
Yang Tou spat out a mouthful of blood: "These bastards, a bunch of grown men, run faster than girls."
"It's all about saving your life, which is only human nature."
At times like this, it doesn't matter if you're male or female, young or old; the most important thing is to survive.
They had already experienced this when they fled famine before, so it's not surprising.
"We need to think about how to deal with the current situation. It seems that there are quite a few of these river bandits. If it comes down to numbers, we definitely can't win."
After excluding those who left in the lifeboats, there are now less than ten people left. If they fight head-on, they will surely die.
Yang Tou had just noticed that Song Ning seemed to have some kind of weapon that could kill without getting close, so he immediately asked, "What are your thoughts, Miss Song?"
As the saying goes, to catch a thief, first catch the king. Since we can't eliminate so many people in one fell swoop, we should at least take out the leader first. Without a leader, things will be much easier.
"But we don't know the leader of the bandits, so how can we get close to him?"
After thinking for a moment, Song Ning realized that there was no other way to resolve this matter.
After whispering something to a few people, Yang Tou frowned and asked, "No, this is too dangerous."
"There's no better way now, we can only try. If it works, we can save our lives."
"But...you're just a young girl, what if..."
"Don't worry, I will take good care of myself."
The group looked at each other, and having no other choice, they finally nodded.
They found Shi Tou and Xiao Cui in the cabin; the two of them had indeed stayed inside the cabin and hadn't gone anywhere.
Seeing that Song Ning had returned unharmed, Xiao Cui immediately rushed over.
There are bandits outside, so there's no time for idle chatter; we need to hurry.
After explaining the situation to the two men and clarifying their respective roles, Song Ning left the cabin.
As soon as the man on the bow of the boat saw someone emerge from the shadows, he raised his knife and lunged at her. Song Ning quickly dodged to the side and shouted, "Don't kill me! I'm here to deliver a treasure map to you!"
The river bandits, who only kidnapped people for money, stopped when they heard Song Ning say there was a treasure map.
The two men in front exchanged a glance and scoffed, "A treasure map, huh? Brothers, do you really believe that?"
Having said that, he leered, stroking his chin and looking her up and down: "But... this chick is quite pretty. Taking her back will surely entertain the boss, hahaha..."
Amidst malicious laughter, Song Ning's eyes darkened slightly, then she shouted again, "It's true, I really do have a treasure map, right here."
Then, in full view of everyone, he handed over a picture he was holding.
Everyone was stunned for a moment. There really was one?
"Brothers, I was kidnapped by the people on this ship. They heard that I had a treasure map, so they captured me and threatened me to lead them to the treasure."
"Brothers, this was passed down from my ancestors. I'm truly desperate. Brothers, I'll give you the treasure map; please save me."
With a terrified expression and tears streaming down her face, Song Ning handed the map to those people.
This is a treasure map! Better safe than sorry.
Especially for river bandits, if they really had treasure, why would they bother with killing?
After taking the blueprints from Song Ning, the group looked at them for a long time, but couldn't figure them out.
However, they all share the same understanding: if you don't know someone, then it must be true.
If even they can understand something, it's definitely not a good thing.
So, they quickly sent someone to deliver the drawings.
Song Ning sat on the ground and waited. After a while, someone came out from outside.
The man yanked her up from the ground: "Our boss wants to see you."
Song Ning was overjoyed and made a hand gesture behind his back, which was naturally seen by the others in the shadows.
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