A ringing still buzzed nonstop in her ears when Hua Duomei finally forced her eyes open. She stared in shock — in less than half an hour, the smooth cabin ceiling had been ripped open into a huge gaping hole. Seawater had not poured in yet, but sea wind howled through the opening, leaving the cabin in total chaos. The air reeked of gunpowder, thick enough to choke.

  Luanshanyun's men scrambled up and down the deck, rushing to prepare for battle without falling into panic.

  Yet, after giving out her order, the pirate queen herself did not move an inch. She had already drawn the sword at her waist, pointing it straight at Leisalong, the man who had disguised himself as a Moshe tribesman captive and sneaked onto her grand ship.

  The moment the first cannon fired, Leisalong had lunged forward to cover her with his own body, shielding her completely. Now Hua Duomei stared at his tall, straight back, while Shuangjiu stood facing Lü Yun, who had drawn her sword to confront him. The sea wind still swept violently into the cabin, splinters of wood flying everywhere, tangling the two people's hair and billowing their clothes.

  "Let go of her!" Leisalong's deep voice boomed over the surrounding shouts. One of his hands still gripped the long chain that bound her body. She quietly channeled her inner strength and pulled hard several times; she strained until her palms burned and swelled, yet she could not break the chain. But the iron locks holding the six chains embedded in the ship's planks had already been pulled loose.

  "Bring me the key!" he snapped.

  His building master was indeed a scoundrel, but seeing her chained up layer upon layer like a beast, abused and humiliated — no matter how strong, how cold he was, even if he hated her to the bone, wanted nothing more than to punish her harshly, he could not help but ache for her.

  When she made others suffer, he had wished she would taste that same bitterness herself.

  But now that someone had actually granted that wish, he was so furious he only wanted to spill blood, to tear anyone who had hurt her into pieces to quench the hatred in his heart!

  On the other side, sharp light glinted in Lü Yun's eyes, madness gathering between her brows.

  "I threw the key into the sea long ago. You're welcome to go look for it——" The words had barely left her mouth when her long sword moved, cutting swiftly and lightly, straight toward Leisalong's face.

  The two grappled. Leisalong fought with only one hand, while the other kept straining to loosen the embedded heads of the long chains.

  Hua Duomei did not dare make a sound to stop him, afraid she would distract him. Instead, she coordinated with his force with her legs and waist, pulling and twisting with all her might. Then came a series of cracking snaps, and she finally tore all the embedded locks free.

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  "Leisalong, watch out!"

  She cried out in alarm. The two, locked in a deadlock, suddenly both lunged for the six chains. Each wanted to pull her closer to themselves. Leisalong's powerful fist wind forced that bright red figure back several steps, and in that momentum he looped all the chains across the notch of his hand, secured them tight around his thick wrist.

  After neutralizing his fist wind, Lü Yun lunged at him again, her momentum fierce, her eyes nearly splitting with rage.

  Leisalong could not dodge in time and refused to let Hua Duomei go. As he retreated hastily, the tip of the sword sliced a cut across his shoulder. Fortunately the wound was not deep, but Lü Yun immediately followed with more ruthless strikes, giving him not a single moment to catch his breath.

  "Leisalong, let go of me! Don't protect me!"

  He stubbornly dragged the chains along the ground; the heavy chains left half his body almost unable to move, and he still had to fend off Lü Yun's attempts to snatch her, so his arm took another sword strike!

  What was this! When Hua Duomei caught sight of blood seeping from his shoulder and upper arm, more blood seeping out every time he strained, her heart twisted in pain.

  To her anxious shouts, Leisalong turned a deaf ear.

  "Put me down somewhere, I can help you——" Even if she couldn't move freely to fight, she could still pick up splinters and other small objects and use them as hidden weapons to protect herself, even help him drive the enemy away!

  Boom——Bang!

  But before she could finish her frantic outcry, the ship suddenly tilted and shook violently. The tremor was so strong that everything not bolted down in the cabin tumbled everywhere, and it was almost impossible to stay on one's feet.

  "Boss! Those two Moshe tribesmen slipped to the bottom hold and are scuttling the ship!"

  "Two ink ships are ramming us with their bowsprits again! Hold steady!"

  As the three Fu Lu Shou sisters called out their warnings in sharp voices, another deafening crash rang out, and the large ship was hit at both the bow and the stern.

  Hua Duomei was pulled once more into a thick, solid chest, and the man crouched low to shield her with his body.

  Amid the violent shaking, a flash of silver silver caught Hua Duomei's peripheral vision and came flying toward them. Lü Yun, thrown off balance by the tremor, had thrown her sword!

  "Leisalong!" Hua Duomei screamed, straining her body to move.

  He would not let the woman in his arms rush forward recklessly. Leisalong reacted incredibly fast: he swung his arm across to block the long sword, and it immediately lost its aim. The tip of the sword "thunked" deep into the nearby ship's planks. But this feint had left his chest and abdomen wide open, and Lü Yun struck with both palms at once!

  The angry peach blossom eyes, blazing to kill her opponent, widened in shock in an instant. Because that "living treasure" had thrown herself in the way at the last critical moment, right into the path of Lü Yun's icy palm strike. It was too late for Lü Yun to pull back.

  "Da Xiang!"

  The man roared in fury. All Hua Duomei knew was that her body was sent flying, and she felt no pain for a moment.

  The wind suddenly grew stronger, and the sun blazed brighter, bright enough to sting the eyes...

  The sun? She squinted, dazed, and then there was a loud "plop", salty cool water swallowed her, filling her nose and mouth.

  So... she had fallen through the hole in the cabin, into the sea...