Edward Sullivan's furrowed brows did not relax. He felt an almost instinctive aversion toward the so-called government soldiers, and his head and mouth still seemed to ache with the memory of being shot. He and John Foster first hid in the aft cabin, fearing the pirates might adjust their defenses on the ship and stumble upon them.

They didn't go down to the lower aft hold, but instead stayed by the partition door of the aft cabin on the first level, keeping an eye on the situation outside.

The pirate ship dragged the pleasure boat into a narrow reed-lined channel. The pirate ship was heavily fortified and well-armed. To prepare for a major battle, they naturally adjusted the positions of the two boats, moving the pleasure boat to the inner side while the pirate ship blocked the channel from the outside. All the pirates rushed to the front to defend against the enemy. With the main threat approaching, only two pirates, both seriously wounded and with their combat abilities greatly diminished, remained on the pleasure boat.

"What a good opportunity!" Edward Sullivan whispered softly, picked up a short knife, and, together with John Foster, crept toward the bow. The pleasure boat was trapped on the inner side of the river channel, and all the pirates were on the front sailboat, standing guard. The fast paddle boats from Ninghai Town had already closed in and begun shooting arrows. The pirates at the front naturally paid no attention to this side, while the two seriously wounded pirates left on the pleasure boat stood at the bow, fully focused on the battle ahead.

Volume One: Mountain and Sea Pirates

Chapter Seven: The Government Troops Stir Up Trouble

The two seriously wounded pirates on the pleasure boat stood at the bow, fully absorbed in watching the battle ahead. John Foster and Edward Sullivan exchanged glances and hand signals, then silently crept up from left and right. John Foster suddenly clamped one pirate's mouth and nose from behind, muffling him to prevent any sound, and, without hesitation, drove a spear into the pirate's throat. Under his powerful grip, the pirate struggled in silence for a moment before dying.

John Foster had originally worried that Edward Sullivan might not handle things cleanly. While killing his own target, he kept an eye on Edward Sullivan, ready to help at any moment—after all, since Edward Sullivan passed the scholar's exam, he had been able to collect a monthly stipend from his clan to focus on his studies, and in the past two years had grown soft and delicate, hardly looking like a martial artist. John Foster thought, no matter how calm and composed he seemed, killing was a technical skill, and it was normal if he couldn't do it cleanly. But when he saw Edward Sullivan's swift and efficient killing technique, he was momentarily stunned, even feeling a chill down his spine, and wondered if he could escape if this kid ever tried to ambush him.

Edward Sullivan silently laid the corpse on the deck. Seeing John Foster staring at him in a daze, he smiled and said, "If I were to spar with Master Foster, I wouldn't stand a chance, but I do have a bit of experience with killing. How about we have a match sometime?"

Seeing that Edward Sullivan could still joke at a time like this, John Foster also laughed and said, "Sparring in martial arts is fine, but let's skip the killing part."

The ruthless efficiency of John Foster's killing technique made Edward Sullivan think he didn't seem like an ordinary martial artist or escort. But everyone has their secrets, and there was no need to pry. Turning his head, he saw Grace Bennett and Little Grace, both pale-faced, peeking out from behind the cabin door, having witnessed the killing just now. Little Grace even exaggeratedly covered her mouth with her hand, probably afraid she couldn't stop herself from screaming.

"Drag the bodies inside..." Edward Sullivan said.

John Foster agreed—it made sense. They couldn't linger on the deck, nor could they leave the bodies there for someone to find, and tossing them overboard was not an option either. The only choice was to drag them into the cabin and hide them for now, making everything on the pleasure boat appear normal. He and Edward Sullivan each dragged a corpse into the cabin.

Little Grace shrank back in fear—last night, when the pirates attacked the boat, she and Grace Bennett had locked themselves in the cabin, listening to the fighting outside but never seeing a dead body. Now, seeing Sullivan & Bennett dragging corpses into the cabin, how could a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl not be terrified?

Grace Bennett was a bit calmer, looking at Edward Sullivan as if he were a stranger. When he dragged the body inside, she seemed to snap out of it and stepped back.

Grace Bennett was standing in the way a bit. Edward Sullivan looked up at her, and when his gaze met her clear, deep eyes, he was momentarily stunned, as if struck by lightning. Was there really such a stunningly beautiful woman in the world?

He had Edward Sullivan's previous memories of Grace Bennett, but now that he had come back to life, those memories felt as if they were separated by a veil, like they belonged to someone else. His memories of Grace Bennett were like pictures of a beautiful woman printed on paper—yet a woman's beauty could never be fully captured by a cold, flat image. The panic and forced composure in Grace Bennett's eyes would make anyone instinctively want to protect her.

"Ah!" Grace Bennett realized she was in the way, let out a soft cry, and stepped further inside, wanting to help but not daring to touch the corpse.

Edward Sullivan thought Little Grace was a budding beauty, but compared to Grace Bennett, she was still far from fully grown. The beauty before him had skin like congealed cream, white as fresh snow, and beneath her elegant, straight nose, her fiery red lips formed a perfect curve. Her delicate features were flawless, and her gaze radiated a unique, refined charm. Edward Sullivan had never seen such a beautiful woman, not even in pictures. No wonder the previous owner of this body was so infatuated with her, and no wonder the so-called Second Young Master of Jin'an went to such lengths for her.

"Spacing out again. Miss really shouldn't have come out..." Little Grace had just seen Edward Sullivan and John Foster killing outside and was terrified, the smell of blood making it hard to breathe. But when she saw Edward Sullivan stunned by Grace Bennett's beauty, she suddenly found this bookish man familiar, and couldn't help but laugh, no longer feeling that the corpses before her were so frightening.