### Chapter 3: The Undercover Line Turns Out to be a Romance (20)
In the grand Giant Wave Gang’s Lehua Town branch, who would have thought it could be thrown into chaos by just two people? If this news gets out, who knows how many people will be laughing their teeth out!
And let’s not forget, Lehua Town is at the crossroads of east and west, a crucial stronghold for the Giant Wave Gang’s next expansion. Jin Wen had spent nearly a thousand taels of silver to become the branch master, so he absolutely couldn’t let these two mysterious intruders ruin everything he’d built!
While Jin Wen commanded his gang members to board the remaining ships and move toward the cargo vessel, he personally hopped onto a small boat, zooming in on the target like a hawk.
Sure, there were over twenty corpses floating on the water, but that was nothing compared to the sheer size of his crew of over two hundred people. Fueled by the allure of gold and silver, their morale soared!
At that moment, the cargo ship trapped on the shoals was completely surrounded, with nearly a hundred archers aiming their arrows at the two targets. It was a net so tightly woven that even if they grew wings, they wouldn’t escape.
“Boss, that woman in red is…”
One of the gang members whispered a few words to him.
Jin Wen smirked. This was what they called finding a hidden path after days of seeking; this girl had just dropped into his lap. Who would’ve guessed the very day after he executed one of her accomplices, she waltzed right back into his territory?
Did this so-called “stepping into the red dust” think the Giant Wave Gang was weak and easily pushed around? Was she here to provoke them again to make a name for herself?
Haha, well now, you’ve walked right into my elaborate trap! Let’s see what happens when you mess with the Giant Wave Gang!
“k*ll them! Leave no survivors!”
“Yes, Boss!”
A sailboat, nearly a meter taller than the cargo ship, slowly approached, with over thirty gang members eyeing their targets like hungry lions. As soon as the two vessels were parallel, they would leap down from above.
On that cramped deck, those two had no hope of escape.
Little Recipient had never seen a scene that could rival water battles fought by naval armies, and with a hundred archers poised to strike, he couldn’t help but tremble.
But trusting Sister Hong Chen, he stood tall, ready to face the impending onslaught.
“Ah Yuan.”
For the first time, Sister Hong Chen called him by his alias.
Little Recipient perked up, “Sister, don’t worry. Whatever you say, I’ll do it.”
“Ah Yuan, if you d*e here today, will you blame me?”
For some reason, he detected a hint of sadness in Lin Nan’s tone.
Little Recipient shook his head vigorously.
“If it weren’t for you, Sister, I’d probably live the rest of my life in misery. Rather than survive by crawling, I’d prefer a glorious d*ath. I don’t blame you; it’s my fault for being unskilled and wasting precious time.”
Lin Nan sighed, “Good kid, you’ve got some guts after all.”
Little Recipient rarely heard her praise.
For some reason, hearing those words ignited a fierce determination within him, a resolve to d*e for someone who truly understood him.
Lin Nan’s voice became cold again, “Ah Yuan, you must hold out alone on the deck for at least half an incense stick’s time. During this period, I can’t help you. Remember what I taught you, and find a way to live.”
Just then, the big ship collided violently with the cargo ship, and Little Recipient and Lin Nan were both jolted back a couple of steps to stabilize themselves.
At this moment, over ten gang members brandishing shiny knives jumped onto the deck, rushing at the two with wild abandon.
Little Recipient instinctively looked for Sister Hong Chen, but to his shock, she had disappeared!
She left? Did she abandon him?
No, that’s impossible!
That thought barely formed before he forcefully shook it out of his head.
She said to hold out alone for half an incense stick, so he had to complete the task Sister Hong Chen had given him.
“Wah! d*e, you little brat!”
The gang members’ shouts were too close for comfort; in the next second, their knives would be slicing in.
Little Recipient scanned the surroundings; he remembered what Sister Hong Chen had said about finding a wall when surrounded.
And not far behind him, the tall mast was exactly the high wall he desperately needed!
He immediately turned and sprinted to the mast, long sword tucked at his waist, hands and feet working in tandem as he swiftly climbed up.
Even though he had never learned to climb poles, thanks to some basic skills in lightness techniques, scaling that smooth mast was a piece of cake.
In just a few seconds, Little Recipient scampered up to the observation platform in the middle of the mast like a little monkey.
Meanwhile, the thirty-plus gang members who had climbed aboard were gaping up at him, not knowing what to do next.
“Let’s just chop the mast down! Won’t he just fall?”
“Chop it down? Have you seen how thick that thing is? Even if you and I had axes, it would take at least half an hour!”
“Why don’t we just climb up there?”
“Go ahead, but if he kicks you from above, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Tempted by the high bounty, a few reckless gang members took their weapons in their mouths and started climbing the mast.
Just as that gang member had predicted, Little Recipient had the absolute advantage from high above. The mast, having been weathered by time and rain, was extremely smooth.
To climb up successfully, they had to use all four limbs at once. If they tried to free one hand to wield a weapon, they’d end up in a precarious position; at that moment, all Little Recipient needed to do was disrupt them slightly, and they would topple off the mast.
“Burn it down!”
“Yeah, burn it down!”
Blinded by rage, the gang members paid no heed to the shipmaster’s cries. First, they booted the pleading shipmaster aside, then gathered some scrap wood, cotton, and hay to stack at the base of the mast.
Flames leaped up immediately, sending a thick cloud of smoke enveloping the observation platform completely.
Under the scorching smoke, Little Recipient couldn’t even open his eyes as tears streamed down his face. With all the toxic fumes he inhaled, he coughed uncontrollably, feeling like he wouldn’t last much longer.
“Hahaha, kid, hiding up there, now you know the consequences, huh?”
“Better jump down voluntarily and fight with us than get burnt to a crisp! We’ll at least leave you with a whole corpse.”
“Cough, cough…”
Little Recipient continued to endure, refusing to give them any response.
“d*mn it! Keep burning!”
As the gang members piled on more wood, the sturdy mast finally caught fire, flames racing up rapidly.
It wasn’t long before Little Recipient, covering his mouth and nose atop the tower, felt a searing heat beneath him.
Has the half incense stick time arrived?
He didn’t know.
All he knew was that before Sister Hong Chen came to rescue him, he could not fall into enemy hands!
Even if he had to d*e here in flames, he wouldn’t budge an inch.
Sister Hong Chen, where are you?
As long as he could even see her once before dying, he’d be satisfied.
