Chapter 469: Danger Looms Once More
The black sea wailed beneath the crashing waves. Wind and rain raged wildly, magnifying the terror a hundredfold, until even the darkness seemed to howl.
The brief awkwardness between Zhu Ping’an and Li Shu vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. He had not meant it, and in a moment balanced between life and death, there was no room for such trifles.
“Hold tight to the cabinet. Once the naval patrol ahead turns back to assist, we’ll be saved,” Zhu Ping’an said, deliberately steering the conversation elsewhere.
“Mmm.”
Li Shu lay sprawled across the wooden cabinet, face turned away from him. A soft, kitten-like sound escaped her cherry lips in response. Even now, the tips of her ears were flushed crimson, her heart beating so wildly she feared it might leap from her chest.
“They’re so far away… will the navy even see us? Will they make it in time?”
The little maid, unaware of what had just transpired, lifted her round face and peered anxiously into the endless dark. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but a vast, ink-black ocean. Her worry deepened.
“They’ll see us. A signal was sent when the pirates attacked. They should be here soon.”
Zhu Ping’an’s tone was firm, resolute.
Hearing such certainty, the little maid’s fear eased somewhat. If the young master said they could see them, then they surely could. If he said help was near, then it must be near. Her trust in him was unwavering.
His body remained submerged in the freezing water, both hands gripping the cabinet tightly. With part of its buoyancy supporting him, his exhausted muscles finally found a sliver of relief. Every fiber of his being ached as if soaked in sourness. Without this cabinet, he would likely have sunk already to feed the fish below.
Waves continued to crash over them. Each time one approached, Zhu Ping’an would call out encouragement, urging Li Shu and the maid to hold fast.
As for the others from the ship—whether they lived or died—he could no longer spare the strength to think about it. His heart wished to help; his body could not. He could only hope Heaven showed them mercy.
But against such monstrous waves, the odds of mercy were vanishingly small.
Zhu Ping’an, Li Shu, and Hua’er were fortunate—blessed to encounter this cabinet at the brink of despair. Without it, they would already be nothing more than bait in the sea.
Clinging to it now, they felt a deep, almost disbelieving gratitude. Grateful for the cabinet. Grateful to have escaped death.
Yet their relief came too soon.
Nature’s fury had not finished with them.
From afar came another thunderous roar. A wave several zhang high surged toward them like an unbridled warhorse, screaming and howling through the night. Even its sound alone carried a trembling horror.
“No matter what happens next, don’t let go of the cabinet. Leave the rest to me.”
Hearing the approaching roar, Zhu Ping’an spoke with grave seriousness. For safety’s sake, he swiftly untied his belt. Casting aside concerns of propriety, he attempted to bind Li Shu and the maid to himself—but his belt was too short.
Just as regret flickered across his face, a soft, fair hand extended a pink silk ribbon toward him.
“Use mine,” Li Shu said quietly.
“And mine too!” the little maid added, offering her own.
Without hesitation, Zhu Ping’an knotted the ribbons together with his belt, fastening the three of them around the waist into a single unit. That way, if either of the girls lost their grip under the next wave, they would not be swept away and separated forever.
He had barely finished tying the knot when the towering wave arrived.
Though smaller than the one that had split the ship in two, it was still immense.
“Careful—hold tight!”
He had time for only that one warning before the wave crashed down upon them. It felt as though a charging boar had slammed into his body. His bones seemed ready to shatter. Worse still, the force dragged them deep beneath the surface.
Water burst violently into his mouth and nose, burning, stinging, tearing through his lungs.
Darkness.
Descent.
Suffocation.
I cannot give up. I will not give up. My life cannot end here.
A ferocious will to survive ignited within him. One hand clamped onto the cabinet with desperate strength; the other pressed downward against the water. His legs kicked furiously. With the aid of an upward current, he broke the surface once more, gasping raggedly for air.
The cabinet bobbed up beside him.
But Li Shu and the maid were nowhere in sight.
The wave’s violence had torn them free.
Yet Zhu Ping’an had prepared for exactly this. The belts bound them together.
The instant he surfaced, he hauled on the makeshift rope. The weight at the other end reassured him. Soon, he dragged Li Shu upward. She burst through the surface and immediately spat out a mouthful of seawater, coughing violently.
Moments later, the maid emerged as well, coughing even harder before dissolving into loud sobs.
Another life reclaimed.
But before they could savor their narrow escape, something unexpected occurred.
They were not alone at the cabinet.
Clinging to the opposite side was another figure.
A pirate.
His clothing marked him clearly—an islander’s attire, his features fierce and hardened by violence. The terror had not yet fully left his face, but already the joy of survival was rising in its place.
The first colossal wave had dragged his comrades into the abyss. Only because he had grown up by the sea—his swimming skill exceptional—and because of a sliver of luck, had he survived.
The second wave had nearly broken his will to live. Just when despair had overtaken him, fate had intervened. The cabinet had surfaced beneath him like a gift from Heaven. With the last of his strength, he seized it and rose.
Heaven truly does not block every path, he thought wildly. I survived!
And fortune did not end there.
As his joy swelled, he realized the cabinet bore not only himself—but two breathtaking beauties. One of them was so stunning that tears nearly welled in his eyes. In all his years as a pirate, he had never seen such peerless beauty. A woman like that deserved to be dragged back and taken day after day.
Great disaster brings great fortune indeed.
Ecstasy filled him.
Oh—there was also a weak-looking scholar beside them.
No matter. Such a frail bookworm would soon sink and feed the fish. A man like that living at all was an offense. With his strength, he could crush ten such scholars with ease.
The pirate’s gaze swept over Zhu Ping’an and the two women, thick with malice.
The moment Li Shu and the maid saw him—the fierce, savage pirate—they froze. The little maid, in particular, began trembling violently, shrieking in terror at the sight of him.