"Do you mean the boat is leaking?" Qin Chuyuan guessed and asked according to what Gong Xiaohua said and previous conversations.
"I suspect that's the case. Let's go check the bottom of the boat first."
The two went to the bottom of the cabin, and by now the water in the cabin was almost overflowing over their knees. Water kept gushing in from dozens of holes in the bottom and sides of the boat.
"The edges of the holes are uneven, obviously deliberately chiseled. It looks like the previous collision of the boat was intentional." Qin Chuyuan said while touching the holes on the side of the boat.
"That's right. At that time there were people under the boat. They took advantage of the loud noise of the impact and secretly chiseled out holes of various sizes on the bottom and sides of the boat. This not only changed the direction of our boat, but also allowed water to slowly enter the cargo hold from the bottom. After we were away from the crowd, the boat sank to the position of the side holes because of the water intake, and then began to flood rapidly until it sank."
"In order to chisel so many holes at the same time underwater, it must have taken a lot of manpower and time to practice so precisely. It seems that the other party is not only good at plotting, but also has the intention to kill us." Qin Chuyuan analyzed.
"Let's go. The water will rise quickly soon. We need to prepare to abandon the ship as soon as possible."
"Okay."
The two came out of the cabin, and suddenly there were fighting sounds from above. They quickened their pace, followed the sound, and came to the front deck to see more than a dozen masked men in black fighting with the guards.
"You take the others and leave." Gong Xiaohua said to Qin Chuyuan.
"Okay, be careful."
"Don't worry." After speaking, she quickly drew a short knife from her boots, shot it out with her hand, and the short knife flew out and collided with the folding fan that was rushing towards the Crown Prince's throat in midair, making a "ding" sound and falling to the ground.
Then she rushed forward quickly and joined the battle to stop the encroaching steps of the killers with the guards, buying everyone time to escape.
On the other side, Qin Chuyuan came to the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness, this boat will sink soon, we need to leave as soon as possible."
"How come?"
"The bottom of the boat was chiseled through by the enemy and is taking on water continuously."
"I see, go and inform the Crown Princess and the others quickly." The Crown Prince said to one of the guards in front of him.
"Yes."
"Let's go."
So a group of people and women, protected by several guards, walked towards the stern.
With Gong Xiaohua joining the fight, the guards were obviously much more relaxed, especially the one with the folding fan. Several masters surrounded him but he still managed to find an opportunity to almost hurt the Crown Prince.
On the other side, the one fighting with Gong Xiaohua was obviously Nangong Jue whom she hadn't seen for months. He took the opportunity between their fight to ask her solemnly, "Do you know who you are trying to kill?!"
"Just the Crown Prince of the Da Ye Dynasty." Nangong Jue said indifferently.
"Then you still dare to come here to assassinate him."
"Killers are desperate, given enough rewards, I can kill whoever I want. I just didn't expect you to be here too. You'd better not stop me, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Then you'll have to get through me first." After speaking, Gong Xiaohua took the initiative to attack. She flashed forward, stepped up, and chopped down towards his neck with her palm as a blade. Her palm cut through the air with a swoosh.
Nangong Jue leaned back slightly to dodge the attack, while throwing out a punch carrying tremendous force to fiercely attack her face.
In a flash, Gong Xiaohua grabbed his wrist, took advantage of the situation to flip over his head and land behind Nangong Jue. Nangong Jue quickly turned around and swept his leg horizontally to attack her back.
A fierce grappling battle broke out, their figures moving quickly, fists and feet crossed, each move intended to maim. Their palms, feet, elbows and knees were all weapons of attack. The two fought evenly matched.
Not far away on another boat.
"Young master, something doesn't seem right on the she-devil's boat. There are sounds of fighting. Should we go help?"
It turned out that several of He Lianyu's men didn't see the she-devil's appearance. Out of boredom and curiosity, they had instructed their boat to follow the other boat, not too close or too far.
"You're so kindhearted. What if they're assassins? You're hurrying to go die!" He Lianyu, who was sitting on the deck drinking, kicked at the man's waist.
"The young master thinks everything through." The kicked man dodged He Lianyu's kick and flattered him. If they were assassins, with their level, not only would they not be able to help, they might end up dragging themselves into it. There was still plenty of time in life for them to enjoy. It wasn't worth it.
"That arrogant she-devil, it's time someone killed her arrogance." He Lianyu said resentfully. He had been singled out for intensive training every day in the barracks, and was still covered in bruises.
"The young master is right. Someone needs to teach the she-devil a lesson."
The assassins this time were much more capable than the last wave in Nanlong Prefecture. Luckily there were many guards.
Still, after repeated clashes, many guards on their side were already injured or dead, and they were gradually falling into disadvantage, slowly being pushed back to the stern by the assassins.
"Why haven't you left yet?" Gong Xiaohua shouted when she saw everyone still on the boat.
"All the lifeboats are gone. Be careful, Xiaohua." Qin Chuqin looked at Gong Xiaohua worriedly.
It turned out when the group arrived at the stern under the protection of several guards, preparing to take the lifeboats and leave, unfortunately all the ropes tying the small boats were already cut, and several boats were missing.
Gong Xiaohua's eyebrows were tightly knitted. At this rate, they would all die here sooner or later.
Some of the women, seeing assassins approaching ahead and no way to escape behind, were already in despair. They cried, "Save us. Someone come and save us."
"Help!"
Hearing the cries for help ahead, He Lianyu couldn't bear it after all: "Tell the boatman to get closer to take a look."
"But young master–"
"I told you to go, so go. Stop blabbering."
When the boat got closer, everyone looked ahead and were shocked. Among the group of people standing at the stern were the Crown Prince's cousin, cousin's wife, and Ling Long. And their boat was still sinking.
And not far away were assassins continuously approaching. They intended to kill them all: "Hurry up, steer the boat over there."
Seeing He Lianyu's boat, everyone was overjoyed and rushed onto his boat while crying.
"Cousin, cousin's wife, Ling Long." He Lianyu called out.
"We owe you our lives today." The Crown Prince thanked He Lianyu.
Seeing that the target and most of the people had already escaped onto another boat, the assassins launched a fierce offensive, especially towards Gong Xiaohua. They saw that she had been hindering Nangong Jue. If this continued, their mission would fail.
Suddenly, not far behind Gong Xiaohua, a fallen assassin abruptly jumped up, wielding a huge saber, taking advantage of Gong Xiaohua's fight with Nangong Jue to stab her from behind.
"Xiaohua, watch out!" Qin Chuyuan, who was waiting at the back, called out too late. He ran behind Gong Xiaohua and used his body to shield her, taking a stab in the abdomen before falling into the lake.
"Qin Chuyuan!"
"Young master!"
"Ah Yuan!"
Gong Xiaohua's eyes turned red. She twisted the sneak attacker's neck and broke it with a backhanded chokehold, then jumped into the lake after him.
