Chapter Seventy-Five: The Maelstrom

The explosion shook the cabin once more, tossing both those locked in combat and those taking shots from the shadows into utter disarray. The blast from the fire jar had finally allowed seawater to flood in from below; the very spot where the keel had once been was now gaping with a half-foot hole.

“So close!” he thought.

In truth, the power of the fire jar had already exceeded Kou Li’s expectations. After all, the bones of a deep-sea leviathan were unimaginably tough; if several fire jars detonated together, it might truly be possible to snap the keel completely.

But aside from Kou Li, the others were either dead or wounded. The Wolf with Wings of the Water Dragon Gang was nowhere to be found—perhaps he’d lost his group, or maybe the pirates had killed him along the way.

Kou Li’s mind raced. Now was not the time for secrecy or hidden tricks. He pressed his left hand against the keel and formed a strange incantation with his right. A biting cold surged from the Frost Soul Pearl at his neck, down his arm, and into the keel.

Under this influence, the yellow threads within the keel began to vanish at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Back during the battle over the Wordless Diagram, two “immortals” had fought with earth-shaking ferocity. In the end, aside from the fortune of snatching the diagram, one of them had left this Frost Soul Pearl behind as his legacy.

Strangely, the instant Kou Li had acquired the pearl, its name and the method to wield it had all poured directly into his consciousness, a profound and mysterious sensation. He suspected that with the death of its previous owner, the pearl’s defenses had been lost, allowing him to seize it with such ease.

Regardless, aside from its partial failure on Huo Jundong, the freezing technique had never once let him down. It seemed not only to freeze the physical world, but to chill even the soul itself.

Moreover, this freezing seemed to have a special effect on whatever resided within the keel.

Kou Li stomped hard, twisted his waist and swung his arm with the force of three combined energies—the Mountain-Sitting Single Whip. With a thunderous crash, nearly half a yard of the keel shattered at once.

The keel hadn’t been blasted apart—it was frozen to fragments.

At the sound, Mo Yi materialized at the opening like a ghost. Without a word, he leapt down. Kou Li noted, however, that his face was unusually pale.

Then a strange roar rang out. Not far away, a blood-soaked giant of a man charged forward, his face contorted in fury, his body slashed with more than a dozen fresh blade wounds. Yet he seemed impervious—his legs as thick as an elephant’s, crashing down with silent weight, covering thirty feet in a single stride as he gave chase.

Kou Li gazed at him with deep intent. The captain of the Blood Shark, his strength far surpassed that of the “Master Jiao” Kou Li had killed before. With consummate mastery of his fists and a monstrous physique, he was indeed a formidable foe.

But now was not the time to engage. With a flash of his blood-red eyes, Kou Li slipped beneath the waves, leaving his pursuer grasping at empty water.

“Damn it, coward! You sneak!” Guo Feng struggled, his shoulder and abdomen wet with blood from gunshot wounds. On the battlefield, it was never just about fists.

A massive foot stomped down on his stomach, grinding the lead deeper and wringing scream after scream from Guo Feng. His handsome features twisted in agony as the Blood Shark’s captain snarled, “Coward? I’ll see you can’t even die as a man!”

...

With the lungs of a tiger, Kou Li dove nearly a hundred yards before finally surfacing. Suddenly, he realized something was wrong. The gambling ship, once hemmed in by the Blood Shark and Bone Shark, had broken free of the encirclement at some unknown moment.

Meanwhile, the Xu family’s modified vessel was now caught, most unfortunately, between two pirate ships—unable to advance or retreat. Remembering the sudden disappearance of the Winged Wolf, Kou Li instantly understood, grinding his teeth: “Well, well, so we really were just bait!”

Yet what he still could not fathom was how, under the dual watch of Luo Yanzong and Zhong Quan, Young Master Wolf had slipped away ahead of time. Or had those aboard the other ship always planned to abandon them from the start?

He drew a deep breath and plunged back beneath the waves—this time, the Xu family’s ship was his only hope.

Aboard the Xu vessel, Xu Kaishan, Young Lord Huang, and the few remaining boxers all wore faces as dark as storm clouds. The Wolf with Wings truly lived up to his reputation: not only had he broken his promise and sailed ahead, he’d even turned to attack their own ship, using them as a stumbling block for the Shark ship’s advance.

“If I ever set foot on shore again—” Young Lord Huang’s delicate face was so pale it seemed almost translucent. She began to wonder if she was cursed by the very feng shui of Guangdong, for why else would misfortune dog her every step? The ship she’d so carefully prepared had now become a hindrance.

“We can’t delay any longer,” Xu Kaishan gritted his teeth. He couldn’t fathom how a simple escort mission had come to this. “Throw overboard all cannon, arms, food, wine, and even the ballast stones—just flee!”

“But without weapons, how can we escape? We’ll never make it to shore alive!” Young Lord Huang blurted out.

“That’s why we can’t head for shore. The only chance we have is to bet that their real target isn’t us, but Young Master Wolf.” Another voice broke in suddenly.

“It’s you!”

Young Lord Huang stared in astonishment at the drenched yet peculiarly spirited Kou Li. “You’re still alive.”

“What, did Young Master Wolf claim our plan had failed? I thought as much.”

“He climbed up at the stern, said he was an acquaintance,” explained two crewmen.

“He’s an acquaintance,” Xu Kaishan took a deep breath and shouted, “Do as I say—set course for deeper waters!”

With a chorus of splashes, the Xu family’s ship, under a hail of pirate fire, fled in the opposite direction. Deprived of suppressing fire, the deck, cabins, bow, and stern were all battered relentlessly by waterborne weaponry.

Fortune within misfortune: the Xu vessel was a government ship, modified and acquired by Xu Kaishan’s father through connections, making it exceptionally sturdy.

Luckier still, the only remaining shark ship whose keel had not been shattered—the Savage Shark—did indeed change course, chasing after the gambling ship.

Kou Li’s eyes flickered like a great tiger’s. Cradling the still-unconscious Lin Su’e, he darted about the deck. With his skill and vision, he could evade nine out of ten long-range attacks, so long as the pirates didn’t board. If they did, even his superlative martial arts would be for naught.

Perhaps it was due to the damaged keels, but the two remaining shark ships gradually slowed in the water. Twice more, the Koga Ninja assassins attempted to board, only to be repelled by Kou Li and the ship’s boxers working together.

As the Xu vessel was battered nearly to splinters, it finally broke free from the encirclement—thanks largely to the pirates’ focus on pursuing the gambling ship. The dozen remaining pirate vessels lay mainly in wait to prevent escape toward the shore.

And so began a chase that lasted three days and three nights.

“Water…!”

“Is there any water left?”

Those who had so cheerfully thrown supplies overboard now paid the price. The dozen or so survivors on the ship were gaunt, their hair matted and faces haggard, lips crusted with layers of white. Even Young Lord Huang, usually the epitome of elegance, was deathly pale, her hair a tangled mess.

“Cousin, this is the water I was allotted.” Lin Su’e, delighted with the tiny cup she’d managed to save, offered it to Kou Li.

Young Lord Huang’s share was an entire sack.

There was at least one advantage to being simple-hearted—no matter how dire the environment, she remained cheerful.

Seeing Kou Li too dazed to respond, Lin Su’e bit her lip, then gently cradled his head in her lap, dripping water into his mouth little by little.

Though Leopard Embryo Pills were not poison, their aftereffects were severe. Coupled with his wounds and exhaustion, Kou Li had been limp and feverish these past two days.

“If this keeps up, we’ll die of thirst before anything else,” croaked the deputy boatswain. Five pirate ships still trailed them, ten miles astern.

“The navy’s charts show a deserted island not far from here,” Xu Kaishan said quietly. “My father knows of it. He’ll send help.”

“If only we still had water,” someone muttered. The last drop had been divided moments ago.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Every head turned upward. At some point, the sky had gathered a mass of clouds, rolling and surging like waves. With muffled thunder, heavier and heavier raindrops began to fall—a veritable blessing for the parched souls below.

“Rain! Rain—storm!” Xu Kaishan’s face changed. Rain at sea was no blessing; it often signaled a coming storm and chaos. Sure enough, with the rising wind, a visible waterspout spun toward them at terrifying speed.

“Reef in the sails! Change course—there’s no time!”

As the veteran sailors screamed orders, waves rose higher and higher, some crashing over the bow.

Dozens of miles away, the raging sea churned with vortex after vortex—signs of fierce underwater currents and the birth of a colossal storm.

As Lin Su’e panicked, her arm was suddenly gripped by a large, steady hand. At some point, the half-conscious Kou Li had awoken. In a low voice, he said, “Find some rope—tie us to the mainmast. Whether we live or die is in your hands now.”

“Oh! All right!” Lin Su’e, finding her rock at last, hurried to obey.

The sky was thick with thunder-laden clouds, lightning lanced down, and the sea raged with torrents and mountainous waves. The peril of the world, the fury of nature, the insignificance of man—at that moment, all were revealed in their fullness.

Kou Li tilted his head back, staring at the churning heavens. His body was wracked with weakness, but his gaze still burned with defiance.

“Heh! You damned heavens—this time, I bet you can’t claim my life!”