There were several cabins at the stern. Edward Sullivan first retreated to the cargo hold where the book chest was kept. Hearing light footsteps, he waited until Little Grace pushed the door open and entered, then suddenly grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth and nose tightly to prevent her from making a sound. He whispered softly in her ear, “It’s me! Don’t make a sound.” Only after she saw his face clearly did he let go.

Little Grace stared at Edward Sullivan in panic, completely unprepared for him to be hiding on the boat. After a night of fright and grievance, it was as if she had suddenly found an outlet for her emotions. She held back her voice, clutching tightly at the front of Edward Sullivan’s clothes, not letting her soft body, pressed against his chest, slip down. She pleaded in a low voice, “Young Master Sullivan, you have to save me and Miss…” Completely forgetting that just last night, she had thought this man before her was utterly useless.

Edward Sullivan thought to himself that this girl was at most a middle schooler—a loli. Her soft body pressed tightly against his chest, her clothes thin, and he could feel the two peach-sized mounds on her chest, not yet fully grown but with a certain budding charm. Seeing her beautiful eyes brimming with tears beneath long lashes, her delicate face pitiful and her eyelids swollen—who knew how long she had cried yesterday—he couldn’t help but feel both pity and a stirring in his heart, reminding him of the girl who used to sit in front of him in middle school.

Edward Sullivan pointed at the floor and said to Little Grace, “Master Foster is below…” Telling her that John Foster was just in the lower stern cabin was to give her hope, so she wouldn’t become a complete burden.

Edward Sullivan tapped lightly three times on the cabin wall with his finger, and after a moment, John Foster came in holding that short spear.

Seeing that John Foster was unharmed, Little Grace was overjoyed, and tears finally fell as she sobbed softly, “I heard the thieves outside say that Fu Bo was dead. Miss almost fainted from crying, and we thought all hope was lost…” At this moment, she suddenly remembered that Edward Sullivan was just a useless scholar, and shyly struggled out of his embrace, placing all her hopes on John Foster. “Fu Bo, hurry and kill all those thieves…”

Edward Sullivan cursed inwardly—women really are so realistic!

“Young Master Sullivan saved me,” John Foster said. “There aren’t many thieves on the boat. Young Master Sullivan and I will wait for the right moment to act…”

Little Grace glanced at Edward Sullivan, the doubt in her surprised eyes all too obvious—how could it possibly be him who saved Fu Bo?

Edward Sullivan didn’t know what Grace Bennett thought of him before, but in his memory, Grace Bennett had always treated him with courtesy. This girl, however, made no effort to hide her feelings; whatever she thought was written plainly in her eyes.

Edward Sullivan felt bitter, grabbed her hand, and said, “Now’s not the time to talk. Hurry and take your things back, don’t let the thieves get suspicious, and let Miss Bennett rest assured…”

Little Grace hesitated for a moment, not pulling her small hand away, letting Edward Sullivan hold it. Strangely, she felt that the useless scholar she usually looked down on could actually make her feel at ease. After a night of panic and near despair, anyone’s appearance would make her instinctively want to rely on them. The young girl didn’t understand the difference in her heart, only thinking it odd that she was willing to let him hold her hand. Remembering how she had just been pressed against him so awkwardly, she felt a bit shy and was almost too embarrassed to look up at him. Obediently, she watched as he picked out a few books and some worn wooden hairpins, then followed him out of the stern cabin.

Edward Sullivan leaned close to Little Grace’s ear and gave her a few instructions before letting her return to the bow. He hid in the shadows, watching her enter the front cabin. He didn’t know if Little Grace had attracted the attention of the pirate guards, but he heard someone complaining loudly: “Damn it, this job isn’t for humans. The deck’s been pierced through! Who knows what Boss Zhao is thinking—what good could come from over there? Could it be better than having fun with these two women?”

“Enough nonsense, or I’ll cut out your tongue!” another voice scolded the first.

Edward Sullivan lay low for a while, but hearing nothing useful, he retreated and described everything he had seen to John Foster in detail.

John Foster frowned in thought and said, “They’ve wedged the windows shut from the outside with wooden pegs to guard against people inside. They didn’t expect there would be anyone else on the boat…”

He was thinking of taking advantage of the thick fog to sneak over, open the window, and rescue the two women first, then look for a chance to get ashore.

John Foster’s plan wasn’t very feasible, but Edward Sullivan didn’t directly reject it. He just quietly reminded him, “Miss Grace Bennett is locked up at the front…”

Several pirates were guarding the bow, and a few injured ones were in the cabin next to Grace Bennett. Pulling out the pegs from the outside to open the window and rescue them would be hard to do without making some noise. And even if they managed to rescue them quietly, to avoid being discovered by the pirates, they’d have to immediately go into the water. The thick fog on the river would help hide their movements, and the current could give a rough sense of the direction to shore, but by now the boat had already left the mouth of the Baishui River and entered the Yangtze. This stretch was the lower reaches of the Yangtze, the river was vast, and with the autumn tide not yet receded, the river was nearly twenty or thirty li wide. Even if the pirates didn’t chase them into the water, Edward Sullivan didn’t feel confident he could get someone safely to shore.

Seeing John Foster getting anxious, he comforted him, “There are still dozens of hostages on the boat. These pirates will definitely wait until they get the ransom before heading out to sea for Jin’an…”

The mouth of the Baishui River was less than three hundred li from the Yangtze’s estuary. If the pirates didn’t delay along the way and went with the current, they could reach the sea before dusk. Once they were out at sea, rescuing anyone would be even harder. But since the pirates were keeping dozens of hostages on board, they’d likely finish this business before leaving, which meant they still had plenty of time. Edward Sullivan didn’t want John Foster to be too hasty.