“Rely on those good-for-nothings?” William Brooks snorted disdainfully. “Three days ago, the county school in Chongzhou was raided. There were over a hundred Ninghai garrison soldiers in Chongzhou city, and yet, weren’t they routed by just thirty or fifty pirates?”

Henry Clark knew that William Brooks deeply hated these Eastern Sea pirates, but if someone was kidnapped within Weiyang Prefecture and then rescued by the Ninghai garrison, what face would William Brooks have left? He said, “It’s just a mere songstress, not worth troubling the Prefect to mobilize troops overnight. The official letter can wait until tomorrow.”

William Brooks gave a cold snort and said nothing more, simply gazing at the receding black shadow in the middle of the river under the bright moonlight.

Only then did Samuel Foster realize that William Brooks was still brooding over being refused at dusk. If his guess was right, the bandits were likely a group of Eastern Sea pirates. If they sent word to the Ninghai garrison at full speed now, there should still be time to intercept the pirate ship before it reached the sea. Of course, Samuel Foster did not forget the conflict between William Brooks and the Ninghai garrison. Besides, William Brooks was one of the main officials advocating for the formation of a new local army outside the garrison system. So he said nothing more, not even for show. He ordered the county constable to lead the swordsmen and archers along the riverbank in pursuit, and, noticing there were still people alive in the river—likely boatmen who had survived by falling into the water—he quickly organized a rescue.

Volume One: Mountain and Sea Pirates

Chapter Five: Ears Beneath the Boat

The pursuers on the shore trailed them for nearly half an hour, only to be blocked by a river branch that turned into the Baishui River.

Seeing the reinforcements on the shore blocked ahead and receding into the distance, and with no boats in pursuit on the water, Edward Sullivan knew that with just him and John Foster, it would be nearly impossible to save Grace Bennett. Besides, John Foster was seriously wounded. He said to John Foster, “Your wound needs to be treated on shore…”

John Foster shook his head and said, “Young Master Sullivan, you should go ashore yourself. If I survive, I’ll repay your great kindness!” Judging by their speed, they would reach the mouth of the Baishui River and enter the Yangtze before dawn. Right now, they didn’t even know which faction these water bandits belonged to. Leaving the boat now would mean abandoning Grace Bennett.

“What great kindness? We’re just escaping for our lives together. Let me help you treat your wound first, Master Foster. Soaking in the water will only make it fester…” Edward Sullivan didn’t say whether he would go ashore or not. He had John Foster turn around and lie on the oar so he could bandage the wound. Even if he did go ashore, at least John Foster would still be able to fight. After all, Grace Bennett had been generous to him. Still, he found it odd—John Foster was just a bodyguard hired on the pleasure boat. If he left now, no one would blame him. Why did he think he could save someone right under the noses of seventy or eighty water bandits?

John Foster endured the pain as Edward Sullivan removed the broken blade. To distract himself, he asked, “A few days ago, did I see you almost drown after falling into the water, Young Master Sullivan?”

“I don’t know how, but I suddenly learned…” Edward Sullivan replied casually. He remembered that when he was a child, he had struggled for a long time to learn to swim. His father had ruthlessly thrown him into the water, and he had flailed about, swallowing several mouthfuls of water, until his feet touched the riverbed and, all of a sudden, he could swim—this was Tan Zong’s memory, and had nothing to do with the former Edward Sullivan. Presumably, others had similar experiences, so he used it to brush off John Foster’s question, not worried about being found out.

John Foster assumed Edward Sullivan had saved him by sheer luck and didn’t expect much from him. Seeing that most of Edward Sullivan’s body was in the water, making it convenient to treat his wound, he felt a bit puzzled.

Besides the two of them, Edward Sullivan had just tied two floating corpses and a short oar to the stern. Others might not guess his intention, but John Foster, with his experience, quickly figured it out: the two corpses could provide extra buoyancy and save energy during escape, and, crucially, could be used as decoys to distract the water bandits. If the bandits fired arrows, the corpses could serve as shields.

The two corpses were both boatmen from the pleasure boat. Even knowing this, John Foster thought he would hesitate to use them for escape, but Edward Sullivan was quick-witted and decisive. John Foster hadn’t interacted much with Edward Sullivan before and had thought he was just a useless scholar infatuated with the young lady. He hadn’t expected him to be so alert and calm in a crisis—truly impressive.

John Foster was about to persuade Edward Sullivan to stay and wait for a chance to rescue the young lady together when he felt the boat suddenly slow down.

“Why are we slowing down now?” Edward Sullivan wondered, letting John Foster rest on the stern oar, trying to keep his wounded arm and shoulder out of the water. He swam a little ahead and saw a dark shape on the water—a fast paddle boat coming upstream. Someone at the bow was waving a red lantern, seemingly signaling something—Edward Sullivan didn’t recognize the lantern signals, so he swam back to the stern and said to John Foster, “There’s a fast paddle boat ahead, looks like it’s here to meet them…”

After a while, the fast paddle boat came alongside the pleasure boat. Hearing footsteps, five or six people jumped aboard. They spoke in low voices in the distance, but with the sound of the waves, Edward Sullivan couldn’t make out what they were saying. Soon, he heard the group heading toward the stern.

“This woman’s life is in our hands. Master Parker, go in and talk to her. If she behaves, we’ll escort her to Jin’an with all due respect…” The voice was low and hoarse, as if his throat had been cut and was leaking air.