Chapter 22: It Is He, It Is She

On the deck of the Xue family’s large vessel, only four men remained: Xue Pan, Xie Jixing, a manservant, and the page Li'er.

The manservant, who had been defending the eastern side alone, was trembling with terror, his face as pale as parchment. The two men who had originally defended that side with him had already been shot dead by Li Liu. Now, Li Liu was drawing his bow and aiming an arrow directly at him; the shadow of death loomed heavily over his heart.

At this critical moment, the manservant suddenly saw an arrow streak through the air like a bolt of lightning, striking down one of the river bandits beside Li Liu. Immediately following it, a second arrow whistled through the air, felling another bandit whom Li Liu had been using as a human shield. Terrified, Li Liu scrambled into the cabin, shouting, "Government troops are here! Retreat!"

The manservant hurriedly looked toward the rear and saw a large ship approaching rapidly, its prow cutting through the water with an imposing momentum. Those two lifesaving arrows had been fired from that very vessel. A wave of relief washed over the manservant, a sense of having narrowly escaped death. "It’s the government troops," he murmured. "The government troops have come to save us!"

Xue Pan, Xie Jixing, and Li'er had been defending the western side. Xue Pan and Li'er were gripped by extreme fear, shaking uncontrollably with ghostly pale complexions, for the bandits on the western side were on the verge of boarding. Even a fool like Xue Pan knew that if the bandits climbed aboard, they would certainly kill him, his mother Aunt Xue, his sister Xue Baochai, and the other women, and the vast wealth carried on the ship would be lost.

Just as Xue Pan was falling into despair, the cry of "Government troops, retreat!" came from the east. The bandits on the western side, who were about to board, suddenly stopped, steered their boats away, and fled in a panic, following the eastern bandit vessel.

Excited yet confused, Xue Pan widened his eyes and asked, "What is happening? Why did the bandits suddenly run away?"

Xie Jixing and Li'er were equally bewildered. Having been fully occupied with the western defense, they had not noticed the commotion on the east side. They instinctively turned their gaze toward the manservant.

Gasping for air and wiping cold sweat from his brow, the manservant said excitedly, "Government troops have arrived behind us! They shot two arrows, killed two bandits, and the rest were so scared they ran off!"

Hearing this, Xue Pan and Li'er were overjoyed, and even Xie Jixing could not hide his relief. The three men hurried to look toward the rear and indeed spotted a large ship approaching rapidly. Even more encouraging was the sight of a figure standing on its deck, dressed in an official military uniform, projecting an aura of awe.

Xue Pan was so excited he almost jumped. "Wonderful! A heaven-sent salvation!" he exclaimed. Not forgetting his mother and sister, he hurriedly added, "I must go tell Mother and Sister at once; they must be terrified!" Before the words were even out, he turned and rushed into the cabin.

***

While the men of the Xue household engaged in a desperate battle on deck, the women had gathered in the cabin where Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai resided. The atmosphere within was suffocating. Including the elderly nurses and young maids, ten women were gathered there, their faces etched with fear and despair.

The constant sounds of shouting and slaughter hit their hearts like heavy hammers. They believed today would end in catastrophe; the bandits were numerous and fierce, and they doubted the men on the Xue ship could hold them back.

Aunt Xue was weeping, her hands tightly clutching a handkerchief. "What are we to do? I fear Pan'er and the others cannot stop those bandits..."

Xue Baochai was also pale, her body trembling slightly. She held her mother’s hands tightly, attempting to offer comfort, though her own palms were ice-cold. A loyal old nurse held a pair of scissors, her expression tinged with sorrow. "Mistress," she said to Aunt Xue, "if the bandits break in, this old servant will give her life to protect you and the young lady!" Others kept their heads bowed, silently calculating that if the bandits broke in, they might submit to save their own lives.

In this atmosphere of despair, Xue Pan suddenly burst into the room. "Mother! Sister! The bandits have been scared off!"

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai were stunned at first, then filled with an indescribable joy. Yet, they found it hard to believe—how could the few men on their ship have frightened off such fierce bandits?

"Government troops have come to save us!" Xue Pan repeated excitedly. "We are safe!"

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai finally let out a sigh of relief, their faces bright with joy. The room descended into a flurry of surprise; some wept softly, some pressed their palms together in prayer, and others hugged each other in excitement. Aunt Xue immediately stood up to head outside, eager to see the situation for herself. Even Xue Baochai, usually so mindful of etiquette, ignored such formalities and followed closely, equally curious about the scene outside.

The ten women, led by Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai, exited the cabin and gathered on the deck. There, three corpses lay—the page Ji'er and two manservants killed by Li Liu. Another manservant had fallen into the water and been hacked to death by the bandits; his body was not on deck, but lost in the Grand Canal.

Despite their anticipation, the gruesome sight shocked Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai. Several women on deck began to wail; they were the families of the fallen servants. Hearing their heart-rending cries, the sorrow of Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai deepened.

Xue Pan felt the grief as well, knowing the three men had sacrificed themselves for the Xue family. Though he was a man of sentiment, he could not dwell on the grief; he was preoccupied with the relief of survival and focused intently on the ship behind them.

Pointing to the large vessel in the rear, Xue Pan said impatiently, "Mother, look! The government troops are on that ship behind us. Wait... is that... is that the man surnamed Jiang?"

As the two ships drew closer, Xue Pan clearly saw Jiang Nian standing on the deck of the rear ship. He was struck dumb, finding it truly hard to believe. *How could it be that Jiang? Am I seeing things?*

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai also looked toward the rear, and both saw Jiang Nian. Xue Baochai, in particular, had an indelible memory of Jiang Nian’s appearance. Both women were stunned.

*"It is him!"* Xue Baochai exclaimed inwardly.

*"It is her!"* On the Jiang family ship, Jiang Nian had spotted Xue Baochai as well. He could not help but exclaim internally. *The people I saved from the bandits this time are the Xues? Is it really such a coincidence? It seems this must have something to do with destiny again...*