After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Within a few breaths, flames shot into the sky outside; it was unclear whether torches had been added or the ship had been set on fire.

Wenbin and Li Mo reacted quickly; they had already grabbed their weapons, left the cabin, and stood guard outside Jiang Xiaoqi's door.

"Wenbin! Li Mo! Come in!"

Upon hearing their young master's voice, the two quickly slipped inside and locked the door from the inside.

The boat was still rocking, but the group had gotten used to the degree of swaying.

"Master!"

"Young Master, what's going on outside?"

Shh~ Let's wait and see.

The two nodded in agreement and stayed by their young master's side in the storeroom, never leaving his side.

"Clang! Crack! Crack!" The sound of weapons clashing came from outside the door.

The flames flickered and clashed.

"Kill! Leave no one alive, not even those who are still breathing!"

Jiang Xiaoqi felt a chill run down his spine. There were hundreds of soldiers on the ship. Could they be no match for the bandits?

How many people did the other side mobilize? Did they send out their entire force?

Jiang Xiaoqi frowned slightly, turned to look at Wenbin and Li Mo, and whispered, "You two stay here, I'll go out and check the situation."

"Young Master!" Before the two could react, Jiang Xiaoqi had vanished like a ghost.

On the ship, swords clashed and shouts of battle rose and fell.

Jiang Xiaoqi looked around and saw corpses lying on the deck, the ground stained red with blood.

Although the soldiers fought bravely, the enemy outnumbered them and they gradually found themselves at a disadvantage.

Taking advantage of his small size, Jiang Xiaoqi moved precisely and hid in blind spots.

"Help! Help! Uncle Li! Save me!"

A seven or eight-year-old girl was lifted up by her hair. The thief knew he had captured a key person and was not in a hurry to end the girl's life.

They simply dragged the person up to the highest point of the deck so that someone would see clearly and hesitate to act rashly.

Wenbin and Li Mo, having not seen their young master return for a long time, finally stopped obeying orders and waited in the storeroom.

The two of them came out together and fought their way to the vicinity of Jiang Xiaoqi's location.

Before they could regroup, Wenbin was slashed in the arm by a group of thieves who suddenly rushed out.

"what!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Xiaoqi turned around and saw Wenbin lying in Li Mo's arms, covered in blood.

"Wenbin!"

Jiang Xiaoqi's eyes turned cold. He drew his sword and charged towards Wenbin and Li Mo. His swordsmanship was fierce, each strike precisely taking a life.

Numb, sharp, and decisive.

This was his first time killing someone.

Seeing this, the bandits from other directions all rushed towards him and attacked.

Jiang Xiaoqi cleared the way and finally reached Wenbin and Li Mo. He shook the sword slightly, and the blood on the sword fell to the ground.

He weaved through the incoming weapons, his swordplay as swift and fierce as a storm, preventing the thieves from getting close.

Jiang Xiaoqi mechanically drew and sheathed his sword, his light-colored brocade robes becoming stained red with the enemy's blood.

Seeing that the number of bandits around them was decreasing, Jiang Xiaoqi took a moment to check on Wenbin's injuries and found that he had only lost consciousness due to excessive blood loss and was not in any danger to his life. He then breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that all was lost, the last few bandits turned and jumped into the river.

After the battle ended, Jiang Xiaoqi threw away his soft sword and sat wearily on the ground. He knew that his swordsmanship had long surpassed Lin Feng's, but he had never thought of using his swordsmanship to kill.

The ground was littered with corpses, but there were not many soldiers; most were people who had boarded the ship. One of them was someone who had been ahead of him in line on the day he boarded, and it was said that he was going to take the ship back to his hometown to get married...

"Waaaaah, waaaah..."

A burst of crying interrupted Jiang Xiaoqi's thoughts.

It was the girl who was kidnapped by thieves.

The girl was so frightened that her legs went weak, and blood was flowing from her neck, a wound inflicted by the thieves when they held her hostage.

Jiang Xiaoqi ignored it; a wound less than half an inch long wouldn't kill him, and if he received treatment later, it might heal on its own.

Wenbin's injury was more serious, so he took out a clean handkerchief and first wrapped it up for Wenbin.

We should get the person back to the warehouse before applying the medicine and re-bandaging them. It's too dirty and messy outside, and to avoid infection, we shouldn't treat them here.

"Young Master, let me do it!"

He'd been supporting Wenbin the whole time, but he hadn't helped the young master fight the enemy at all. He's so useless.

Jiang Xiaoqi naturally knew what Li Mo was thinking. He didn't want to argue, after all, given his height, if he carried Wenbin on his back, Wenbin's legs would drag on the ground the whole way...

Jiang Xiaoqi and Li Mo took Wenbin back to the warehouse, pretending to take out the best wound medicine from the bundle but actually taking it out from the exquisite space.

Li Mo removed Wen Bin's blood-stained clothes, revealing several long wounds.

Jiang Xiaoqi carefully treated Wenbin's wound, then took out several clean handkerchiefs from her spatial storage to bandage it, and finally tied two handkerchiefs together to immobilize the arm.

Ignoring the approaching, orderly footsteps outside, Jiang Xiaoqi was only grateful that she had brought all the necessary items.

To prevent the wound from becoming infected and causing a high fever, he asked Li Mo to brew some herbs with anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing effects so that Wenbin could drink them once he woke up.

Li Mo followed instructions and used the small ceramic stove in the young master's room to decoct the medicine. The same small ceramic stove reminded him that just two hours ago, the three of them were using this same ceramic stove to stew fish soup.

How could things have changed so quickly? He shouldn't have listened to Wenbin and gone out to find the young master with him; he should have gone alone.

Wenbin is the worst at fighting; he'll only hold us back. It's all my fault for not stopping him...

"Li Mo, don't overthink it. This isn't your fault, nor is it Wenbin's fault!"

"Master?!"

Does the young master have mind-reading abilities, or did he accidentally say it out loud?

"What does this have to do with you? It's the thieves' fault, the world's fault, and the fault of those who use others as bait!"

What's wrong with being used as bait? Is it wrong that it's not plump enough to attract big fish?

Jiang Xiaoqi finally understood everything. It was ridiculous. During the day, the three of them were fishing in the river, and that very night they became bait for others to fish. The change of identity was so sudden and unexpected!

I wonder if the person holding the fishing rod is satisfied with tonight's catch, or if they've caught a big fish!

The fish is too big; be careful he doesn't choke to death!

Jiang Xiaoqi turned to look at Li Mo, "Why are you looking at me?! Look at the medicine furnace!"

"Ohhh! Yes!"

Li Mo snapped out of his daze and hurriedly went to the small ceramic stove to check on the medicine. Thankfully, it hadn't boiled over.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Jiang Xiaoqi gestured to Li Mo not to open it yet.

A group of figures were reflected in the door. Through the crack in the door, Jiang Xiaoqi could see that the people who came in were a group of armored soldiers, led by a young general.

The person was about to knock on the door again, but Jiang Xiaoqi opened it first.

The young general sized up Jiang Xiaoqi and asked, "Are you Scholar Jiang?"

"Yes, may I ask what brings you here, General?"

The general smiled slightly, "Miss said that a boy of six or seven years old, dressed in brocade, saved her. The general specially sent us to express our gratitude!"

"No need! I'm not doing this specifically to save any young lady; I'm just trying to protect myself!"

If you really want to express your gratitude, then reimburse me for my page's medical expenses. He's currently unconscious and needs money to find a doctor!

The young general was a little surprised. He had already used the word "general," yet this young scholar was only thinking about asking his page for medical expenses!

"Oh, okay, I'll go back and report right away. It won't be less than promised. Um, about your servant's medical expenses..."

"Yes, thank you!"

Jiang Xiaoqi closed the door and turned around to see Li Mo walking over with a bowl of medicine. The two exchanged a glance and said nothing more.