The Red Mansion

Chapter 19: Arrows Coming (Part 1)

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai lived together in a spacious cabin, along with Tongxi and Ying'er.

Tongxi is Aunt Xue's personal maid, and Ying'er is Xue Baochai's personal maid.

At this time, the river where the Xue family's ship passed was relatively calm, and the shaking in the cabin was very slight. Xue Baochai took the opportunity to lean against the window and read, immersed in the book.

Aunt Xue sat opposite Xue Baochai, sipping tea and admiring the scenery through the window.

The two maids, Tongxi and Ying'er, were making lace.

Suddenly, Xie Jixing's voice was heard outside the door: "Oh no! The pirates are coming! Hurry, men, grab your weapons and come out to resist the pirates..."

This sudden cry startled the master and servants in the cabin, and then their faces changed drastically.

The pages of the book in Xue Baochai's hand trembled.

The teacup in Aunt Xue's hand also trembled, and the tea almost spilled out.

Tongxi and Ying'er stopped what they were doing and looked at each other, fear and anxiety in their eyes.

The coziness in the cabin was instantly broken, and a tense atmosphere filled the air.

Aunt Xue said in disbelief, "River bandits? Could it be that Xie Jixing was just yelling nonsense? How could river bandits suddenly appear and rob people?"

Before she finished speaking, she hurriedly stuck her head out of the window and looked around. Her face turned pale and she said to Xue Baochai in a trembling voice, "There's a pirate ship coming towards us! There really are pirates! What should we do? What should we do..."

Tongxi and Ying'er turned pale upon hearing this, and stood there at a loss.

Xue Baochai was so frightened that she clenched her hands tightly together, her knuckles turning white, but she still forced herself to remain calm and gently comforted Aunt Xue: "Don't panic, mother, we... the men on our boat may be able to stop it..."

When she said this, even she felt powerless. Her voice was so weak that it seemed that even the wind could blow it away.

This time when they came to Beijing, the Xue family only brought four or five households of servants, two or three old maids, and young servants, a total of no more than a dozen people, of which there were only seven men.

The men included Xie Jixing, four male servants, and two servants, Ji'er and Li'er. Even if Xue Pan, the only male master, was included, there were only eight men.

Xue Pan, Ji'er and Li'er all have low combat capabilities.

Fortunately, Xie Jixing was loyal and brave, and the four male servants were all strong and healthy.

Although Xue Baochai was panicked, she still held on to some hope. She hoped that the number of pirates they encountered this time was not large and their strength was not strong, and that the men on the Xue family's boat could resist them.

Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous. Not only would a lot of her belongings be looted, but she would also most likely be ruined...

Thinking of the consequences, Xue Baochai couldn't help but bite her lips, pinching her fingertips into her palms, and her heart beat as rapidly as a drum.

The atmosphere in the cabin was so solemn that it was suffocating!
……

……

The cabin where Xue Pan lived was also spacious.

When Xie Jixing's cry was heard, Xue Pan, his servant Jier and two male servants were gambling in the cabin. Dice and a pile of silver coins were scattered on the table, and the atmosphere was quite lively.

"What? There are pirates coming to rob? I'll go take a look." Xue Pan's first reaction was not fear, but curiosity.

Because he had been on the boat for more than ten days, the initial novelty had been completely worn out by the long and boring journey, and was replaced by stuffiness and boredom. When he suddenly heard that there were pirates, he subconsciously found this matter exciting and interesting.

However, when Xue Pan ran to the deck in high spirits, he witnessed with his own eyes the two pirate ships approaching rapidly and aggressively, and saw more than a dozen pirates holding weapons, with ferocious faces and murderous intent. Xue Pan immediately no longer found this matter novel and interesting. Instead, he was filled with deep fear. He was so scared that his eyes widened and his mouth opened wide. He seemed to be nailed to the spot, and his breathing became rapid.

"What...what should I do?"

Xue Pan muttered to himself, his voice trembling. He knew that the crisis before him was not a risky game, but a life-and-death situation. He was like a frightened bird, at a loss.

At this time, the two pirate ships were approaching the Xue family ship. In addition, this section of the river was narrow, so the Xue family ship had no way to escape. More than a dozen bandits who had been hiding in the cabins of the two pirate ships had emerged and crawled out of the cabins.

I saw these dozen or so bandits, all holding weapons. Some held knives, flashing with cold light; some held swords, sharp and threatening; some held axes, heavy and powerful; and some held flying hooks...

The flying hook is shaped like an anchor, with four sharp curved hooks, an iron chain attached to the back end, and a hemp rope tied behind the iron chain.

The flying hook is a powerful weapon of pirates. They often use it when robbing. The flying hook can hook onto ships.

Li Liu, the bandit leader, is holding a bow and arrow at this moment, and his archery skills are quite good.

Li Liu's eyes were sharp. When he saw Xue Pan appear on the deck, with his experience in looting and sharp mind, he immediately guessed that this person's identity was extraordinary. So he raised his bow, pulled the bowstring, aimed at Xue Pan, and with a whoosh, an arrow broke through the air and went straight towards Xue Pan.

Arrow coming!

Xue Pan was so frightened that he stood there motionless, completely unaware of Li Liu's actions.

"Master, be careful!"

Seeing the arrow about to hit Xue Pan, at the critical moment, Xie Jixing, who was standing next to Xue Pan, was quick-witted and pulled Xue Pan away. Xue Pan stumbled and almost fell, but luckily avoided the fatal arrow.

However, although Xue Pan escaped the disaster, the servant Jier standing behind him suffered misfortune.

The arrow shot into Jill's chest.

Before Jill could even let out a scream, her eyes rolled back and she fell heavily to the deck with a bang. A glaring arrow was stuck in her chest, and blood quickly stained her clothes red, which was a shocking sight.

Jier followed Xue Pan out of the cabin. After leaving the cabin, he saw the menacing pirate ship and murderous pirates. He was so scared that he quickly hid behind Xue Pan. However, he did not expect that this hiding would become a trick of fate.

He hid himself obviously to protect himself, but it ended up making him Xue Pan's scapegoat and the first person in the Xue family to die tragically today.

Xue Pan watched Ji'er fall to the ground with his own eyes. He was so frightened that his face turned pale and his body trembled uncontrollably. He did not even bother to thank Xie Jixing for saving his life. He only shouted in fear at the top of his voice: "The water bandits are cruel! Quick, everyone, resist the water bandits..."

Li'er, who was jealous and disgusted with Jill, looked at Jill's tragically dead body. What surged in his heart was not pleasure, but deep fear. He felt that he would soon die tragically at the hands of the pirates like Jill.

"Don't be stunned! Take this and follow me to kill the pirates!"

Xie Jixing suddenly stuffed a red tasseled spear into Li'er's hand, his eyes as sharp as a knife, and his tone was full of unquestionable command.

Li'er's legs were shaking. Normally he wasn't very courageous, but now facing the shadow of death, he seemed to be forced to muster up courage. He gripped the cold red tasseled spear, and the tip of the spear trembled slightly in the air, as if he was also nervous about the upcoming battle.

There is one more update.

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(End of this chapter)