Edward Sullivan still thought Grace Bennett's eyes were too enchanting, and said, "Once inside, just remember to keep your heads down as much as possible... In a moment, I'll pretend to be a pirate and push you out. Bear with it and don't make a sound. I'll also set this place on fire, so don't panic."

"Ah..." Grace Bennett looked at Edward Sullivan in confusion, not understanding why he wanted to burn the pleasure boat.

"Don't worry, the soldiers will put out the fire. I'm just burning your things, so don't feel bad about it," Edward Sullivan said.

"Who would feel bad?" Grace Bennett found Edward Sullivan's words amusing. There were quite a few things in this room that she liked, and of course it would hurt to see them burned, but she also knew that if they weren't burned, the soldiers would just take them. Yet Edward Sullivan wouldn't even allow her to feel bad about it. She wanted to laugh, but felt it wasn't the right time. Strangely, his interruption made her less anxious, and she thought to herself that he really knew how to comfort people.

Edward Sullivan led the two women straight to the flower hall at the back where the children were held, kicked open the locked carved lattice door, and without caring about the twenty or so panicked youths inside, roughly shoved the two women in. He drew his knife and hacked it into the doorframe, threatening fiercely, "Behave yourselves! Stick your hand out, I'll chop it off; stick your head out, I'll chop it off; stick your dick out, I'll chop that off too!"

Grace Bennett was shoved to the ground by Edward Sullivan, never expecting him to say something so crude and vulgar. Seeing the blood from his earlier killing still on him, his face fierce and angry, there was no trace of a scholar left. She knew he was just trying not to give himself away in front of the imprisoned youths, and though she found it funny, she also thought he pushed her too hard—her arm even hurt from his grip.

Edward Sullivan returned to the cabin door, and John Foster asked him, "How did it go?"

"We can fool them for a while," Edward Sullivan replied.

"That's enough. The soldiers are here to rescue the hostages—saving one gets you a reward of a hundred taels of silver," John Foster said.

"Damn it," Edward Sullivan cursed. There were thirty children inside; saving one meant a hundred taels, so that's three thousand taels of silver—three million coins, enough for a wealthy family's entire fortune. He subconsciously asked, "How much ransom do the pirates demand?"

"It depends. As little as three to five hundred taels, as much as eight or ten thousand taels—anything's possible. Before taking hostages, pirates always check the family's background. They won't force people to hand over more than they can, but they won't let them off easy either..." John Foster answered.

"Too greedy!" Edward Sullivan gritted his teeth. Even if the average ransom was five hundred taels per person, thirty hostages would mean a fifteen-thousand-tael windfall. For less than thirty pirates to demand so much—if that's not greed, what is? Could it be they're planning to quit after this one big job?

John Foster asked again, "Should we go to the stern cabin, or just hide in the water?" He thought Edward Sullivan was quick-witted.

"We'll jump straight into the water in a bit..." Edward Sullivan said, then retreated with John Foster, setting fire to Grace Bennett's cabin while the flames were still small, and had John Foster help him tightly shut the doors and windows.

John Foster didn't understand, and Edward Sullivan couldn't explain it clearly—he couldn't very well explain the role of oxygen in combustion, could he? Sealing the doors and windows would cause a lack of fresh air inside, suppressing the spread of the fire. When the soldiers came to search and suddenly broke open the door, a rush of fresh air would make the fire flare up, causing chaos among them.

Edward Sullivan and John Foster retreated again to the cabin where the pirates' bodies were hidden. These two corpses also needed to be dealt with, to prevent the soldiers from realizing there were others hiding on the boat.

Edward Sullivan and John Foster tied ballast stones to the two corpses and sank them to the bottom of the water. Throughout the process, John Foster felt ashamed of himself as an old hand, and was puzzled as to where Edward Sullivan had learned such practiced methods. He observed Edward Sullivan carefully—his muscles, bones, and limbs didn't look like someone trained in martial arts.

A good body allows for better use of technique, but whether you have the technique or not isn't up to your body. The old Edward Sullivan couldn't swim, but now he could. The old Edward Sullivan hadn't trained in martial arts, but that didn't stop him from killing now. Unlike fighting, killing is purely a technical skill—even if Edward Sullivan was physically weak, a pen or a piece of paper in his hands could become a weapon. Of course, having a stronger body made killing easier. Edward Sullivan couldn't explain to John Foster that the old Edward Sullivan had already drowned, and he was actually 谭纵, merely borrowing Edward Sullivan's body and retaining his memories.

Volume One: Mountain Pirates

Chapter Eight: Soldiers Like Bandits

Once everything was settled, they heard chaotic footsteps at the bow of the boat—presumably the few remaining pirates were fleeing toward the pleasure boat. If they didn't escape now, when would they? Edward Sullivan and John Foster climbed out the window, ready to jump into the water. Just then, a pirate escaped past the window. Seeing Edward Sullivan and John Foster, an old and a young man, climbing out, he froze. As he was about to shout for his companions, Edward Sullivan lunged at him, and they tumbled into the water together. In the water, Edward Sullivan hooked his arm around the pirate's jaw, pressed his blade to the man's neck, and with a single stroke, watched as a line of blood swirled through the river like an ink-wash landscape painting.

Apparently, some soldiers saw people fall into the water and fired a volley of arrows. The arrows lost their force in the water, so Edward Sullivan had to dive down, pick up an arrow, and stab it into the pirate's chest before letting the body float up. He and John Foster continued to hide underwater beneath the stern's oar.