Shi Lang frowned and asked very seriously, "Then who's second?"
Aobai's face darkened instantly. His brows bristled like a furious tiger's whiskers. "Are you playing games with me? Enough nonsense. Are we making this exchange or not? Say one more useless word and I'll kill him first. After that, I'll fight you to the death."
Shi Lang was completely stuck.
The divine instruction from Dao Xuan Tianzun had been clear. Engage in awkward banter.
But now the other side was threatening to kill the hostage if he said another frivolous sentence. What kind of situation was this? He wanted awkward banter. The enemy wanted efficient murder.
Shi Lang felt sweat gathering at his temples. He had never been good with words. Sword, cannon, formation tactics, yes. Flowery speech and clever talk? That was not his battlefield.
At this critical moment, his lack of scholarly refinement betrayed him cruelly.
"Of course we'll exchange," Zheng Sen suddenly said.
His voice was calm, steady, even polite.
"The life of any subject of our Great Ming, whether general, soldier, commoner, or even pirate, is precious beyond measure. A one for one exchange is not a loss. It is an absolute triumph."
He spoke as if discussing tea prices.
"Naturally we will trade. However, the method and the process deserve careful thought. We cannot simply shout 'exchange' and expect you to obediently release him. You would worry we might break our word, would you not?"
Shi Lang's eyes immediately shone.
"Little Sen, you truly are clever! Now we can continue our awkward banter."
Even Aobai hesitated.
The reasoning was sound.
After a moment of thought, he said, "Prepare a small boat. I will row to shore. Once I reach land safely, I will release him."
Zheng Sen immediately replied, "And after that? Once you release him and scramble ashore, what prevents us from firing a cannon at your back?"
Aobai froze.
Indeed.
What prevented them?
This was becoming extremely awkward.
At that exact moment, high above on the rigging of the mast, a small figure had already climbed into position.
The Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun.
He grabbed a rope.
And slid down.
Zheng Sen continued speaking smoothly, "We are not like you barbaric tribes who go back on your word. Our Celestial Empire values propriety. Words once spoken are like water poured onto the ground. They cannot be taken back. Perhaps you might try trusting us and release the man first?"
Aobai was listening intently.
Suddenly, a shadow dropped from above.
A puppet figure slid down upside down, stopping directly in front of Aobai's face. Head first. Eyes wide. Mouth stretched into an exaggerated grin that was both ridiculous and horrifying.
Then it began laughing.
"Wah ha ha ha ha ha! Yee hee hee hee hee hee!"
Aobai screamed.
"Ahh!"
It was the dead of night. He had been fully focused on negotiation. His nerves were already tight. And suddenly something descended from the sky, upside down, grinning and cackling like a ghost from hell.
Even the bravest warrior could have his soul shaken loose by that.
His grip slackened.
The hostage reacted instantly.
He ducked, rolled backward across the deck, and scrambled away like a startled rabbit.
Gunshots exploded.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Flintlock rifles roared in unison.
Aobai's massive body jerked as bullets tore through him. One hole, then another, then several more. He did not even have time to scream properly before his enormous frame toppled backward and slammed onto the deck with a heavy crash.
Silence.
The hostage staggered to his feet. He stared at the dangling puppet in disbelief.
Then he shrieked, "A monster!"
Thump.
Shi Lang boarded the ship and kicked him flat.
"What monster? Mind your words. That is Dao Xuan Tianzun."
The hostage scrambled up again, trembling. "Forgive me. It was my incompetence that allowed the Manchu general to capture me and disrupt your plan."
The Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun smiled.
"You did very well. You cut off the Qing army's retreat. You were brave and rendered great merit. When you return to Zhoushan Island, a great reward awaits you."
The hostage stared in horror.
"The monster is talking again!"
Thump. Thump.
Shi Lang and Zheng Sen kicked him down simultaneously.
"We told you. It is Dao Xuan Tianzun. If you keep calling him a monster, are you courting death?"
---
While Aobai and Zhun Ta's forces were being encircled and eliminated, another storm was gathering elsewhere.
On the waters near Pi Island, the true elite forces of the Qing army had begun their advance.
Gūsan Ejen Samushika personally led the Eight Banners elite infantry. They moved stealthily toward Jianggao Bay at the northwest corner of the island.
This was no small raiding party like Aobai's unit.
This was a massive fleet.
Hundreds of strange transport boats cut across the dark sea. More than ten thousand soldiers filled them. And unlike previous battles, there were no Ming defectors or half hearted Joseon auxiliaries here.
Every single one was Manchu.
There was an old saying.
If the Jurchen do not number ten thousand, they are not worth fearing.
If they do number ten thousand, none can oppose them.
Samushika believed this deeply.
His ten thousand elites were unstoppable.
Unless.
Unless the opponent was not human.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a subordinate whispered, "General, something strange swam past beneath the water just now."
Samushika replied impatiently, "This is the sea. Are fish not allowed to swim?"
The subordinate shook his head. "It did not look like a fish. It looked like a person. It shot past with a whoosh."
Samushika scoffed. "How could a person swim that fast? It must have been a fish."
No sooner had he spoken than the lead transport boat suddenly began rocking violently.
The soldiers aboard panicked.
"What is happening?"
"Why is the boat shaking?"
A soldier lost his footing and splashed into the sea.
Nearby boats extended paddles to help him grab on. They pulled desperately.
Suddenly the man screamed.
"Something is attacking me in the water! Ah… ah… ahhh!"
The men on deck hauled him up with a final heave.
He collapsed onto the planks.
There was a massive gash across his lower abdomen. Blood poured out freely.
"What attacked you?"
"What was it?"
"I… I don't know," he gasped. "A knife… I… mm…"
His head fell to the side.
Dead.
The boat fell silent in terror.
"How can there be a knife underwater?"
"Are these Ming water demons?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Water demons are used in river battles. Who uses them in the open sea?"
"I saw it!" someone shouted, pointing into the darkness.
They all stared into the black water.
The night was thick. The sea was ink. Their eyes could not pierce the depths.
But they saw it.
A black shadow. Human sized. Moving impossibly fast beneath the surface.
Then gone.
"It looked like a person."
"No person can swim that fast. Nor stay underwater that long."
"Then what is it?"
The shadow darted beneath another transport boat.
That boat immediately began rocking violently as well.
The soldiers aboard turned pale.
Everyone understood one thing clearly.
If you fell into the water, you died.
They clung to the sides desperately.
But fate always chooses someone.
One man slipped.
Splash.
He plunged into the sea.
Paddles extended again in panic.
But it was too late.
The man surged upward, half his body breaking the surface as he tried to climb back aboard.
Then he let out a scream that tore through the night.
"Ah!"
The sound froze the blood in every soldier's veins.
Something was in the water.
And it was hunting them.