Unexpectedly, the man in black was extremely agile. He leaned back in a very strange posture to avoid the blade, and then kicked forward with his legs, hitting Qiu Yi between the chest and abdomen.
This place is called the diaphragm. Although it is not a fatal part, it is surprisingly painful when hit. Qiu Yizi is also a mortal. When he was hit hard here, he immediately shrank into a ball in pain, curled up on the deck and couldn't say a word.
The man in black took advantage of Qiu Yizi's injury and fell to the ground to hide in a dark corner nearby, and no one knew where he hid.
It was not until this time that the sailors on duty in various parts of the ship ran to Qiu Yizhi's side. Seeing that it was the distinguished guest invited by the old ship owner, they hurriedly helped Qiu Yizhi up and asked in a flurry:
"My lord, where is the assassin?"
"Where did the assassin come from, sir?"
Qiu Yizi finally caught his breath and looked around. He saw that the surroundings were shrouded in endless darkness. There was no way to find the trace of the man in black. He took a deep breath to relieve the severe pain in his chest and abdomen. He said, "I don't know where the assassin ran away. Don't just stand there. Light the torches quickly to illuminate the surroundings so that we can find him better."
One of the sailors seemed to be the leader and said, "The most feared thing on the ship is fire. All the things that can start a fire are stored in the cabin below the waterline. Without the order of the old master, the young master and Boss Cai, no one can take them without permission..."
Qiu Yizi was in so much pain that she panicked. Without thinking carefully, she said, "Then go and tell these people what happened. This assassin is very skilled in martial arts and is very secretive. You must act together in groups of three or more. You must not be left alone and let the assassin take advantage of you."
Although Qiu Yizhi had a reputation, he was still a guest on the ship. It was certainly inappropriate for him to give orders like this. However, the situation was urgent and he could not care about these etiquette and rules. The sailor who had just spoken agreed, picked a few trusted brothers, and went into the cabin to look for people.
After such a commotion, Qiu Yizhi and his group who were sleeping in several nearby cabins were awakened. His eight personal soldiers immediately filed out of the cabins, each holding a weapon and with nervous faces. Yuchi Jiming had already dressed fully and was guarding Qiu Yizhi.
Qiu Yizi was afraid that the assassin had not yet disembarked, so he quickly ordered, "Don't worry about me, go and protect Mr. Lin and Miss Wen. Tell them that I told them not to go out. Just stand guard outside the door, and don't let even a fly in!"
Several soldiers heard Qiu Yizhi's trembling voice, but his tone was very firm. They quickly agreed and walked back to the cabin. It was Yuchi Jiming who stepped forward and said, "The cabin aisle is narrow. Eight people are enough. I'd better stay by my uncle's side."
In fact, Qiu Yizi had just been frightened and was very scared. With Yuchi Jiming guarding beside her, she felt relieved and her tone became calmer: "That's good. But this assassin is dressed in black and is very fast. I'm afraid it will be difficult to find him. Even if we find him, it will be difficult to capture him. Jiming, you better be careful."
As he was talking, he heard an old voice coming from the direction of the cabin beside him: "The world has really changed now. In the middle of the night, an assassin actually dared to sneak onto my boat to cause trouble. If I catch the assassin, I will chop him up and feed him to the sharks with my own hands!"
It was Li Zhi's voice.
Qiu Yizhi heard this and shouted, "Old captain, be careful, the assassin is still on the boat!"
Li Zhi was not afraid, and said with a smile: "Every word Lord Qiu said was right, except for the last sentence. Now it is not me that should be watched out for, but that blind assassin. I have ordered people to go to the lower cabin to get candles, and I will light up the deck thoroughly, and then see how I catch this little thief and tease him to entertain you!"
As they were talking, a dozen sailors each carried a large bundle of torches and piled them on the deck.
At this time, Li Shengjie was also awakened by the commotion outside the cabin. He yawned and walked forward, asking what happened. Although Li Shengjie was an extraordinary martial artist, he was still very childish. When he heard that there was an assassin on the ship, he was extremely excited. He was the first to bend down and pick up a torch. He walked quickly to Li Zhi and said happily, "It turned out that there was a rat on the ship. Don't worry, Dad. Watch how I catch it."
As he spoke, Li Shengjie took a match, lit the torch and said to the sailor beside him with a serious expression: "This assassin is mine, don't try to snatch him from me!" As he spoke, Li Shengjie had already lit the torch, held it in his hand and gradually dispelled some of the darkness around him.
When Qiu Yizi heard this, he was about to say a few words of praise, but suddenly he remembered that when he followed Emperor Zheng Rong to the north to burn grass, Zheng Rong once reminded him: Whenever marching at night, either the whole team relies on the stars to determine the direction and advances in the dark; or the whole team holds torches and lanterns and moves in a high-profile manner - in short, it is best not to let the enemy discover your whereabouts, otherwise at least the chief commander should be hidden among the crowd.
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizi was already panicking, knowing that the assassin was hiding somewhere and might be waiting for a torch to be lit to expose the leader on the ship so that he could take the opportunity to strike!
So Qiu Yizi didn't have time to explain. He took a step forward and snatched the torch from Li Shengjie's hand. Ignoring the pain caused by a spark falling on the back of his hand, he swung the torch and threw it into the sea.
However, Qiu Yizi was still too slow. The assassin was extremely calm and experienced. After being discovered by Qiu Yizi, he did not hide in any corner of the deck, but quickly climbed up a mast to the crossbeam, lay down and hid, waiting for the moment when the enemy was in the open and he was in the dark, so that he could strike and hurt people.
Li Shengjie's careless action just now really gave the assassin an excellent opportunity. With the fleeting light in the dark night, he was able to see the target clearly. He crawled on the beam and swung his right hand, shooting a hidden weapon straight at Li Shengjie's face.
This hidden weapon was specially made for assassinations. It was pitch black, just right for hiding in the darkness. Although it was not flying fast, it made no sound at all. Even a martial arts master like Yuchi Jiming could not detect this silent, invisible hidden weapon that was flying closer and closer.
However, Li Zhi, who was standing behind Li Shengjie, instinctively discovered the approaching danger and quickly pulled his beloved son Li Shengjie aside. Before he could say a word to him, he heard him scream "Ouch!" and he had been hit by a hidden weapon.
Li Shengjie heard his father's miserable cry and quickly steadied his steps. He asked with concern, "Dad, what happened? Are you okay?"
Li Zhi endured the pain and refused to agree to Li Shengjie's request. He pointed his hand in the direction where the hidden weapon came from and shouted, "The assassin is over there. Catch him!"
Everyone looked in the direction where Li Zhi stretched out his hand, and sure enough, they vaguely saw a figure moving quickly on the mast beam.
When the boatmen and sailors on the deck saw this, they were about to step forward to capture the assassin, but they heard Yuchi Jiming shout, "Wait a minute!" After that, he took out a handful of copper coins from his arms and held them in the palm of his left hand, and with his right hand he kept taking out three or five copper coins, and continuously threw them in the direction of the black shadow.
It turned out that ever since Yuchi Jiming had thought of a quick solution and killed Gu Erniang and other good fighters with a few copper coins, he felt that using copper coins as hidden weapons for self-defense was both convenient and inconspicuous. Therefore, he carried a handful of copper coins with him at all times and practiced his hidden weapon skills diligently. Finally, they came in handy again tonight.
Wherever Yuchi Jiming's copper coin went, there was a sound of metal and hard wood colliding. If you listened carefully, you would find that among the raindrop-like sounds, there were two sounds that were different from the others and seemed particularly dull - they were the horrible sounds made when human flesh and bones were pierced.
Following these two not-so-obvious sounds, the outline of the black shadow shook, and finally it could not stand, and fell from the beam about two meters high, making a loud noise.
The sailors waiting on the deck knew that the black shadow must be the assassin, so they rushed forward and found a man in black lying at the foot of the mast. He had fallen and fainted. His right leg, from the calf to the thigh, was pierced by four copper coins and blood was oozing out.
The sailors had just seen the assassin injuring people, and they knew they could not be careless. They searched the man inside and out and took out his two sets of hidden grappling hooks, nine darts, and four daggers. After making sure that he had no other weapons on him, they dragged him in front of Li Zhi to wait for his punishment.
Li Zhi looked at the assassin who was being trampled to death by the crowd, coughed lightly, and said, "It's late at night, I won't interrogate him. Tie him up tightly and hang him upside down on the mast. Let him bask in the sun for two days! Also, send a few more people to guard the boat at night, and the rest of you can go back to sleep peacefully. It's just a rat, there's no need to mobilize a large force."
Having said that, Li Zhi turned around and walked into the cabin.
Qiu Yizi saw that Li Zhi's movements seemed a little unsteady, and knew that although the old ship owner was not young, his legs and feet were still flexible. He must have been injured somewhere, so he barely endured the pain to calm people's hearts.
So Qiu Yizi hurried forward a few steps, grabbed Li Zhi's hand, and immediately felt that Li Zhi's palm was sweating and trembling. Qiu Yizi knew that the injury seemed serious, and hurriedly said: "Thanks to the old ship owner for showing up in time, otherwise my life would be over. Come on, please invite the old ship owner to my room, I want to thank him in person!"
Having said that, Qiu Yizi personally supported Li Zhi and walked towards her room. As she walked, she called for Li Shengjie to come along.
Li Shengjie was a careless man and did not notice anything unusual about his father. When he heard Qiu Yizi's call, he followed him without thinking.
But Li Zhi turned his head and said, "Old Cai, come with us."
Old Cai was still thinking about how to organize defense against the assassin, but he did not expect that his ship owner would call him over. Although he was a little suspicious, he did not dare to refuse and ran up.
So Qiu Yizhi supported Li Zhi and walked towards his cabin almost step by step. Li Zhi still pretended to be nonchalant and resolute, looking around with his head held high, as if he was deliberately walking slowly to inspect the ship's defenses.
However, once he entered the cabin, Li Zhi could no longer hold on. His legs went limp and he immediately collapsed to the floor.
Qiu Yizhi had long guessed that Li Zhi was injured, but seeing that he looked calm, he did not expect that his injury was so serious. He quickly ordered his soldiers, "You guys, guard the door of the cabin, and no one is allowed to enter!"
Then he said to He'er, who was standing there in a daze, not knowing what was going on, "He'er, quickly tidy up my room so that the old ship owner can have a rest."
He'er also knew that the situation was urgent, and had long since put aside her willful temper. She agreed without hesitation and turned to walk towards Qiu Yizi's room.
But Lin Shuhan said, "The adults' room is a shared bed, and Miss Wen's room is not convenient either. Let's clean up the student's room first and let the old captain rest!"
Qiu Yizhi thought it made sense, so he asked Li Shengjie, "Young Captain, is this okay?" (To be continued)