Chapter 400: A Deadly Battle at Sea
Shen Yuexi stood on the bow deck, holding the side of the ship, looking at the endless sea in front of her.
The salty, wet sea breeze whipped towards her, stirring her long hair. The boat beneath her feet cut through the waves, its deck rising and falling, making her feel unsteady. Fortunately, the boat was large, so it wasn't as bumpy as a small boat.
The ship was heading south, and this was the second time the sun had risen from her left. The first time, she had spent the day lying in the cabin because she was seasick. Now that she was finally no longer seasick, she came out to get some fresh air.
A few gray-white seagulls perched on the side of the boat looked at her curiously. When they saw Xiao Zhuo coming over, they all flew away in a flash.
"Yuexi, I just asked the captain," Xiao Zhuo supported her shoulders from behind, "If everything goes well, we'll be able to see the island in an hour."
Shen Yuexi nodded and looked back at the three white sails in the middle of the ship that were blown up by the wind. On top of the largest sail, a green flag was fluttering violently in the wind.
The green flag had a white jade pendant embroidered in the center. It was the same Dragon Jade Pendant that Xiao Ming had given to Pei Jingyun, and that Empress Wen had given to Xiao Zhuo. The pattern on the flag was incredibly lifelike, identical to the jade pendant she had seen before.
"So mother used a jade pendant as a flag," she said, gazing at the flag in a trance. "I should have thought of that earlier."
She understood when Su Mo handed her the flag.
It was Xiao Ming who gave Pei Jingyun that jade pendant that caused her to secretly develop feelings for him, leading her to do countless unimaginable things for him. This jade pendant was of great significance to Pei Jingyun, so she naturally made it into a banner.
Xiao Zhuo said, "Mother loves Father deeply, but she is trapped in her inner demons and cannot extricate herself. We are going to the island to see her this time, but we only have this one boat, so I'm afraid it won't be smooth sailing."
Chen Yuexi smiled and said, "Didn't my sister-in-law say that only this ship can hide from the enemy fleet? If we change to other ships, even if they fly this flag, the enemy will be able to identify them. We will first get past the enemy's interception fleet, and when we reach the island..."
She patted the pocket of the bag she carried across her body and continued, "That's what I'll rely on then."
Xiao Zhuo said, "If you hadn't explained the universal manufacturing machine to me, I would have really thought you were a god descending to earth."
Shen Yuexi reached out and gently scratched Xiao Zhuo's cheek, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. I asked you the exact name of this jade pendant before, and you said it was called the Dragon Jade Pendant, but Big Bear couldn't restore it. Now it's hanging on the top of the mast like a flag. Take a closer look and see if you can recognize it."
Xiao Zhuojun blushed and said, "I really only know it as the Dragon Huan Jade Pendant..."
"Brother, what are you discussing?" Xiao Beiheng took Su Mo's hand and walked out of the cabin and came behind the two of them.
There was only one ship available for this voyage. Xiao Beiheng and Su Mo disguised themselves as a sailor and a maid and boarded the ship with Shen Yuexi. Their goal was the same: to find Pei Jingyun on the island.
Chen Yuexi smiled and said, "I asked my husband if the jade pendant on the flag had a name, and he said it was called the Dragon Jade Pendant."
Xiao Beiheng shook his head repeatedly and said, "Brother, you are always well-informed, but this is wrong. Dragon Huan Jade Pendant is just the name of a category of jade pendants, not the name of this jade pendant. There are many other jade pendants called Dragon Huan Jade Pendants."
Su Mo gently pushed Xiao Beiheng and said, "You are still showing off your knowledge here. Just tell your sister-in-law."
Xiao Beiheng coughed and said, "This jade pendant belongs to the Dragon World Jade Pendant, but its color is as white as ice, so it is also called the Ice Flower Dragon World Auspicious Cloud Pendant."
"Ice Flower Dragon World Auspicious Cloud Pendant?" Shen Yuexi repeated.
Xiao Beiheng raised his hand and pointed at the flag, saying, "It's called the Auspicious Cloud Pendant because the surface of the jade pendant, although seemingly smooth, actually has auspicious cloud patterns on it. You can't see it unless you look closely."
Shen Yuexi asked curiously, "How come my brother knows so much about jade pendants?"
Su Mo smiled and reached out to pick up a jade pendant from Xiao Beiheng's belt. "He likes to wear this thing. Big brother doesn't wear it often, so naturally he doesn't know much about it. Look, he's even dressed up as a sailor, and the jade pendant is still hanging on his waist."
Xiao Beiheng felt a little embarrassed and said, "If Momo doesn't like it, I'll take off the jade pendant."
While they were chatting, Shen Yuexi called out to the Universal Fabricator in her mind, "Big Bear, are you there?"
Big Bear's cheerful voice immediately rang out: "Dear Master, Big Bear is here. What do you want to make?"
"Make an Ice Flower Dragon World Auspicious Cloud Pendant?" Shen Yuexi asked tentatively.
She had asked Daxiong to make a Dragon Jade Pendant before, but Daxiong said that there were 561 different shapes of Dragon Jade Pendants, and that he couldn't make one without specifying which one. Now that Xiao Beiheng had given her the names, she wanted to see if Daxiong could make one.
"Dear Master, I'm collecting the raw materials for the Ice Flower Dragon World Auspicious Cloud Pendant. The progress is 90%... 100%!"
Big Bear completed the collection almost instantly.
"Pause, pause." Shen Yuexi shouted in her heart.
It was not because of anything else, but because she saw Xiao Beiheng's jade pendant suddenly fall off his belt, clattering onto the deck and breaking into pieces.
What a mistake, she forgot one thing.
At the beginning, Queen Wen hollowed out a part of the Longhuan jade pendant to hold the white silk for Xiao Zhuo. It was equivalent to that the jade pendant was originally missing a part, so Daxiong naturally could not use these fragments to make a complete jade pendant.
Now, Big Bear has taken away some of Xiao Beiheng's jade pendant in order to collect materials for making it...
She was about to smile awkwardly when Su Mo squatted down and picked up the broken jade pendant. She said, "The jade pendant was clearly tied properly, how could it suddenly fall off?"
Xiao Beiheng was also confused and was observing it with Su Mo when Xiao Zhuo suddenly drew his sword and said, "There is an assassin on the mast."
When everyone heard these two words, they were startled and looked up at the mast.
Long appeared out of nowhere, standing on a tall mast in a sharkskin bodysuit, arms crossed over his chest, and said, "This subordinate greets the Young Master and Young Madam."
Su Mo's face turned pale. She looked up and said, "Why are you also on the boat? We have clearly searched everywhere."
She used a trick to trick Long into giving her the flag and the ship. Fearing that the assassins would follow her aboard, she and Xiao Beiheng searched every cabin before the ship left the harbor, even the barrels containing supplies, but found no one.
"To be honest, Madam, we approached by diving," Long said calmly, "and then when the ship hoisted the sail, we climbed up. Of course, you couldn't spot us."
At this moment, two more female assassins in sharkskin jackets leaped up from either side of the ship, forming a triangle with Oboro, surrounding the four of them. One was Xun, and the other was Xue.
Xiao Beiheng placed his finger on the hilt of the Yanque Sword and asked, "Why did you follow me?"
Long flipped over, jumped down from the mast and landed on the deck, then stood up and said, "Young Master, Young Madam. We can't let Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi go to the island. The master has clearly ordered them to be killed. If we let them go to the island, we will be violating the master's order and can only die to atone for our sins. So..."
As she spoke, she slowly drew the scimitar from her back and said, "No matter what, we have to kill you today."
Xiao Zhuo's face was stern as he said to Long, "Very good. Since we are all on the boat and have nowhere else to go, let's end it here."
Su Mo nervously ran to Shen Yuexi, took Shen Yuexi's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, it's dangerous here. Let's go to the cabin to hide first."
Shen Yuexi looked at Xiao Zhuo and saw him nod slightly, then said, "Okay, let's go."
Seeing Shen Yuexi and Su Mo close together, the three assassins did not ask any questions and let them walk towards the cabin. Then they drew their scimitars and surrounded Xiao Zhuo.
Xiao Zhuo drew out his sword and remained silent.
It was useless to say anything at this point. Long had already explained the reason why they had to assassinate him, and there was a vast ocean around them. Everyone on the ship had nowhere to escape and could only fight for life and death.
Long glanced at Xiao Beiheng standing next to him and said, "Young Master, we want to kill Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi. Which side are you on?"
Before Xiao Beiheng responded, Su Mo turned around and shouted, "Beiheng, protect big brother."
"What Momo said," Xiao Beiheng drew out the Yanque Sword without hesitation and stood with Xiao Zhuo, "is my decision."
Long smiled and said, "Young Master, if there is still a glimmer of hope, we don't want to fight you. Since you have made your decision, I am offended. We must complete the task assigned by the master. Go!"
As Long finished speaking, the three assassins simultaneously swung their scimitars and rushed towards Xiao Zhuo and Xiao Beiheng.
As soon as Shen Yuexi entered the cabin, she heard the clanging of swords coming from the deck. She couldn't help but worry and said to Su Mo, who was busy locking the door, "They've already started fighting. We can't hide here."
Su Mo locked the door, turned around, and said nervously, "Sister-in-law, these assassins didn't dare to attack all the way because they were afraid of hurting Bei Heng and me. Now they are risking everything."
Shen Yuexi said anxiously: "Then why are we still here? I'll go out and help them."
Su Mo blocked the door with her body and said, "Sister-in-law, don't be impulsive. You know that the other party is very powerful. That night, Bei Heng had a hard time just dealing with Long."
"That's why I want to go out," Shen Yuexi anxiously stretched out her hands and shook Su Mo's shoulders, "Open the door quickly."
Before Su Mo could respond, a cold female laugh suddenly rang out in the room: "Chen Yuexi, you don't have to go out."
Following the sound, a woman wearing a sharkskin coat flashed out from under the bed. She slowly stood up with a dagger in hand and said, "I am the assassin 'Defying Heaven', named Qiong, and I am here to send you to the west."
Shen Yuexi's scalp tingled, wondering how many assassins were lurking on the ship, even one hiding under the bed. However, she was puzzled by the fact that these assassins had stayed on the ship for a whole day without taking any action. Why?
When Su Mo saw the assassin appear in the room, she rushed over and stretched out her arms to stop Qiong, shouting to Shen Yuexi, "Sister-in-law, hurry up..."
Just as she shouted, Qiong waved her hand and a puff of smoke blew in her face. Su Mo shook twice, collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.
Shen Yuexi asked anxiously: "What did you do to your sister-in-law?"
"Haha, I won't hurt the young lady. This is just a small trick to prevent her from interfering with us." Qiong held the dagger and walked past the unconscious Su Mo. "We can't let you go to the island. You and Xiao Zhuo must die."
Shen Yuexi stepped back, using the table in the room to separate Qiong, and put her hand on the cloth bag at her waist and said, "Don't come over, I don't want to hurt you."
"Hurt me?" Qiong laughed. "You probably don't know my martial arts skills. Even Long can't beat me. You actually say you're afraid of hurting me? How ridiculous."
She walked around the table and approached Shen Yuexi step by step, her eyes fixed on Shen Yuexi's belly.
"You must die, and your children must die too. This is the master's command. You have offended."
Shen Yuexi put her hands in the bag, leaned back against the cabin wall, and said calmly: "I really don't want to hurt you. Too many people have died in this war. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."
"I know you're scared," Joan continued. "I'm going to kill you quickly and without any pain."
Before she finished, Shen Yuexi had already pulled out a dark object from the cloth bag at her waist, pointed it in her hand, and said in a stern tone, "Don't force me, this is a gun."
Joan raised the dagger: "What gun? Are you kidding me?"
Just as she was about to rush forward, Shen Yuexi's finger pulled the trigger of the pistol.
Bang!
A wisp of smoke rose from the muzzle of the gun.
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