Eric Bennett had been using Little Grace's silver all along, and only started using gold leaves when he paid off that young woman's debt. He had just learned that these gold leaves bore the mark of the Imperial Household Department, let alone knowing about such hidden marks. However, the two people who took his gold foil, or their superiors, could easily recognize it. Those who lent money at high interest always had official connections, and the gold leaves minted by the Imperial Household Department had a warning for imperial criminals. Of course, they would immediately report to the authorities. If the local officials in Hankou couldn't catch up, they would definitely seek help from the Green Standard Army's patrol boats to catch the imperial criminal.

That was all there was to it.

"So, you're saying you only came to arrest me because you were tipped off by this thing, but you don't actually know what crime I committed."

Eric Bennett said after pondering for a moment.

The officer nodded.

"That's fine then!"

As soon as Eric Bennett finished speaking, he suddenly pulled the trigger.

A minute later, he ejected a magazine and replaced it with a new one, tossing the empty one straight into the surging river. He glanced at the drifting corpses of the Qing soldiers floating downstream—none of the thirteen were left, all becoming fish food in the Yangtze. He took out a lighter, accepted a piece of clothing handed over by Little Grace, set it alight, and threw it into the cabin of the warship.

"As for you all, what should I do with you?"

He looked at David Brooks with annoyance.

"Master, I beg you to spare me! I have an eighty-year-old mother above and a young child crying for food below!"

David Brooks was so terrified that he fell to the deck, kowtowing and pleading repeatedly. His steward, other attendants, even the boat owner and his crew all knelt down as well. They were truly scared out of their wits—this guy had killed over a dozen Green Standard soldiers without batting an eye, and his methods were bizarre and terrifying. Especially those little black iron balls—when thrown, they exploded like thunder, killing several at once. In their eyes, he was no different from a demon; who would dare have any other thoughts?

"Enough, stop wailing. Can't you come up with something new to say? Pack your things and swim to shore yourselves!"

Eric Bennett said to Old Brooks in exasperation.

The latter hurriedly scrambled into the cabin to gather his belongings. The shore was only a few dozen steps away, and since they all grew up by the river, everyone could swim a bit. They didn't even bother waking the still-unconscious concubine—one by one, they jumped into the water and swam to shore. Not just them; while Eric Bennett wasn't paying attention, the boat owner and several crew members also jumped overboard, disappearing into the river. Though they were reluctant to leave the boat, survival came first—who would stay on a boat with an imperial criminal who might not even be human?

What if he ate people?

"Damn it!"

Eric Bennett looked speechlessly at the pitch-black river. In the blink of an eye, only he and three women were left on the boat. Oh, and one young girl.

"Master, what should we do?"

Little Grace asked timidly.

"Let's go. I'll take you to be bandits!"

Eric Bennett said, then started pulling up the anchor himself. With the current pushing, the sand boat slowly moved forward. He hurried to the rear wheelhouse; earlier, when boarding, he had watched the boat owner steer. With his wealth of modern knowledge, he had basically grasped the principles. After fiddling around for a bit, he actually managed to get the boat back on course. Fortunately, he was going downstream, so as long as he didn't veer off and hit a shoal or hidden reef, he'd be fine. Below Wuchang, the Yangtze's channel was wide enough for destroyers, so a twenty-meter-long boat wasn't that hard to handle.

He kept going until dawn. Near Ezhou, he encountered another sand boat, and Eric Bennett paid to hire a few boatmen from it to steer for him, following that boat downstream. He was a bit nervous passing Ezhou, but nothing happened. He could now be sure that Beijing hadn't sent an express courier; otherwise, the news would have arrived by now. If the Viceroy of Huguang's office put two and two together with that gold leaf, they'd immediately deduce his whereabouts. If that happened, not only the Green Standard Army under the Viceroy, but even the Eight Banners troops of Jingzhou and Jiangning would be mobilized.

As for now, of course, he had to make his escape.

The sand boat, going downstream and lightly loaded, had its sails full and was no slower than a modern steamboat. He sailed anxiously past Jiangning, finally able to relax. Using the excuse of sailing alone to Yangzhou, he left the hired hands in Zhenjiang, then headed south from Jiangyin and entered Taihu Lake.

What he didn't know was that, on the very same day, a four-hundred-li express courier from Beijing had already arrived in Jiangning, delivered to both the General of Jiangning, Simon Reed, and the new Viceroy of Liangjiang, Alan Reed. These two Manchu high officials were utterly shocked—the emperor had acid thrown in his face, was kidnapped to Zhuozhou, and remained unconscious after being rescued. The culprit was even said to be a sorcerer. What kind of situation was this?

They say that when a nation is about to fall, monsters and demons appear.

But the Great Qing is at its height—how could a demon appear now, and such a brazen one at that, who dared to attack the emperor himself? Doesn't he know the emperor is the true Son of Heaven, protected by the gods?

Uh, apparently not. If he were, he wouldn't have had acid thrown in his face.