Chapter 470: Take Care, I Won’t Be Seeing You Out

There are simply too many unforeseen turns in a person’s life.

The moment Zhu Ping’an saw the pirate suddenly surface from the sea, he knew at once—this was another you-die-or-I-die moment. He drew in a sharp breath, squeezing the last remnants of strength from his exhausted, weakened body.

After soaking in seawater for so long, everything he had relied on—lime powder, his short dagger, and the rest—was gone.

Only one truth remained:

When enemies meet on a narrow path, the brave prevail.

The struggle for life and death erupted without warning. The pirate rose from the sea, casting a malicious glance over the three of them. His eyes burned with naked cruelty. Possess the women. Kill the men. Such was the savage logic ruling his mind. Driven by that brutal instinct, he lunged straight at Zhu Ping’an.

He had barely broken the surface before he attacked.

It happened faster than thunder following lightning. The bun-faced little maid and Li Shu had not even processed what was happening before the pirate, face twisted with bloodthirst, hurled himself at Zhu Ping’an.

Though the attack was sudden and ferocious, Zhu Ping’an had recognized the instant he saw the pirate that this would be a fight to the death. So when the pirate’s hand shot forward to seize his throat, Zhu Ping’an reacted just in time, throwing up his arm to block the choking grip.

Only then did Li Shu and the little maid come to their senses. Their screams tore through the air.

The pirate was vicious. To him, killing was as natural as Zhu Ping’an wielding a brush and ink. Just as Zhu Ping’an had several styles of calligraphy, the pirate had several ways to end a life.

He was slightly surprised that this frail-looking scholar had managed to block his chokehold—but he did not worry. He had a hundred ways to kill a weak bookworm. When his hand was stopped, he immediately drove his knee upward with brutal force into Zhu Ping’an’s abdomen.

The knee strike came without warning. Untrained in martial combat, Zhu Ping’an never saw it coming. It felt as though a bull had stomped on his stomach. His internal organs seemed to shift violently out of place.

A mouthful of blood nearly burst from his lips.

At that very moment, his desire to strengthen his body burned fiercer than ever. Without physical resilience, all thoughts and strategies were meaningless in the face of danger.

Awareness was one thing. Strength was another.

From the very beginning, this life-and-death struggle had been unequal. No matter how sharp Zhu Ping’an’s mind, how quick his thinking, how many ideas he possessed—before absolute strength, they were nothing more than dragon-slaying techniques with no dragon to slay. Useless. Powerless.

After landing the knee strike, the pirate’s expression grew even more bloodthirsty. As Zhu Ping’an instinctively doubled over from the blow, the pirate’s fist crashed into his head.

For an instant, the world spun. It felt as though a hammer had struck his skull.

Seizing the advantage, the pirate slipped behind him, locking one arm tightly around Zhu Ping’an’s neck and pulling back with all his strength, determined to strangle him to death right there.

In truth, the pirate himself had little strength left. He had just survived several massive waves and was already at the end of his endurance. But even at the end of his strength, his physical condition far surpassed Zhu Ping’an’s by several times.

“Master—!”

Seeing blood trickling from Zhu Ping’an’s mouth as he was choked, the little maid burst into tears. Fear forgotten, she rushed forward, clawing and biting at the pirate. She opened her small mouth and bit down hard, using every ounce of strength to pry at his arm.

It was as futile as scratching an itch.

If anything, it only further stirred the pirate’s savagery. He tightened his grip even more.

The taste of blood filled Zhu Ping’an’s mouth.

He could feel his strength slipping away bit by bit. The suffocation made his vision blur; his eyes felt as though they were bulging from their sockets. He must look hideous right now, he thought wryly, attempting a self-mocking smile—but no sound emerged.

Just a few more breaths. Just a few more, and this weak scholar would be dead.

The pirate grinned, tightening his hold.

And just as he believed he held the entire world in his grasp—everything changed.

Li Shu, who had been crying and clawing uselessly like the little maid, suddenly seized her moment. While the pirate’s attention wavered, she yanked the hairpin from her head and drove it with all her strength toward the back of his neck.

In ancient times, decorative hairpins were not merely ornaments—they were also weapons for self-defense. But over the years, people had come to value beauty and forgotten their lethal potential.

The sharp hairpin pierced into the pirate’s neck without warning.

A bloodcurdling scream ripped from his throat.

He twisted around, eyes blazing with murderous fury at Li Shu, who stood trembling, still gripping the hairpin. Blood streamed from his neck. He looked like a beast ready to devour her whole.

The human neck is not easily penetrated. Li Shu had stabbed the harder area near the back of his neck, where bone and spine lay beneath. She had already used all her strength, yet the hairpin sank only about an inch.

Even so, the pain was excruciating.

The pirate involuntarily loosened his hold on Zhu Ping’an.

His face contorted as he turned toward Li Shu, murder blazing in his eyes. He was about to strike her—

Zhu Ping’an seized the opportunity.

Breaking free, he spun around and snatched the hairpin from Li Shu’s trembling hand. Then, with lightning speed, he drove the sharp point into the weaker right side of the pirate’s neck, pouring every last ounce of strength into the thrust.

It was like piercing a ripe watermelon.

The hairpin tore through flesh and sank in to the very end. Blood erupted instantly, spraying over Zhu Ping’an’s hand.

Zhu Ping’an had studied biology in the modern era. He understood the structure of the human body far better than Li Shu. He knew precisely where the neck was most vulnerable—and he struck without hesitation.

The spot he chose contained the trachea, esophagus, and major arteries. He aimed directly for the carotid artery. A strike there would deprive the brain of blood, robbing it of control, resistance, and movement.

The entire sequence—from Li Shu’s initial stab, to the pirate turning his head, to Zhu Ping’an’s fatal thrust—took less than a second.

One moment, the pirate thought he possessed the world.

The next, he was on the one-way road to the underworld.

With his artery pierced clean through, blood supply to his brain cut off, his movements grew sluggish and unfocused. He instinctively reached to cover the wound, but blood streamed through his fingers. He tried to shout, but no sound came—only a hoarse gurgle.

“Farewell. I won’t see you off.”

Zhu Ping’an gave him no chance.

After piercing his neck, he lifted his foot and kicked the pirate off the floating cabinet and back into the sea.

The pirate fell backward into the water, one hand reaching weakly upward as if grasping for salvation. Blood spread across the surface, staining the seawater crimson. A wave surged forward and swallowed him whole.

With his artery severed, even immortals could not save him. As he sank into the sea trailing blood, it would not be long before the scent attracted sharks or other predators of the deep, reducing him to nothing.

Watching the waves carry the body away, Zhu Ping’an clung to the cabinet and let out a long, trembling breath.

Then he turned toward Li Shu.

Pulling at the corner of his blood-stained lips, he gave her a sincere smile of gratitude.

If not for her, the one sinking into the depths just now would have been him.