She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Chapter 372 Internal Strife Erupts

Upon hearing this, Chu Zhiyi frowned slightly: "We know nothing about Daben Prefecture. If they are sent there, I'm afraid they will be difficult to save!"

“Your Highness, those old people are so pitiful. No matter how difficult it is, we must try. Also, I heard from the Japanese soldiers that there is a steamship on the Japanese mainland. I want to get my hands on it.”

Shen Man always remembered that she had promised Master Sun that she would build him a ship, but later she was too busy with business to find the time to do it.

If we could get our hands on another steamship from the Japanese, we could take it back with us and put our minds at ease.

"Alright, since Man'er wants that ship, let's go to Ohon Province. But before we go, we have to eliminate all the Japanese on Mosuo Island and turn it into our base."

Furthermore, I have ordered a search for Zilu within a hundred-mile radius. Once we find her, we will formulate our next plan.

"Okay!" Shen Man nodded in agreement. Seeing that Chu Zhiyi still had things to do, she took the papers and left.

On the other side, after escaping the dock using her earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that allows one to burrow underground), Zilu quietly appeared in a secluded spot overgrown with weeds.

She was covered in mud, her hair was disheveled, and she looked extremely disheveled, yet she couldn't hide the resentment in her eyes.

She looked up toward the dock, gritted her teeth, and cursed under her breath, "Chu Zhiyi, Ding Man, I will pay for this debt tenfold today!"

However, since it was not far from the dock, she was worried about being discovered and dared not stay there for long.

She tidied herself up a bit, then fled like a ghost to the nearest fishing village, intending to find a place to hide first, and then find a way to return to Mosa Island at night.

Zilu was lucky and soon found a dilapidated house near the village entrance.

She stepped inside and saw cobwebs everywhere and dust filling the air.

But at this moment, she couldn't care less about anything else. She found a sturdy wall to lean against, her mind preoccupied with how to turn the tide.

As night deepened and the moonlight dimmed, Zilu crouched low and slipped out of the dilapidated house, like a hungry night cat, silently making her way to the seaside.

The seaside fishing village was quiet and peaceful, and the villagers were already fast asleep.

Her gaze swept among the fishing boats, finally settling on a relatively light one.

Zilu crept closer, quickly untied the ropes, skillfully jumped onto the boat, and rowed off under the cover of night, heading towards Mosuo Island.

Upon arriving at Mosa Island, Zilu was about to return to her residence when a group of people blocked her way.

The leader was dressed in a black robe, his entire face covered by a black cloth, revealing only a pair of sinister eyes.

This person was none other than the black-clad leader Shen Man had met in the stone house, Kudo Kawa.

When Zilu saw Kudo Kawa, her face instantly turned extremely ugly, and she secretly groaned inwardly.

Kudo Kawano was the junior deputy of the Ohonshu Shinto shrine. Before their arrival, he had been in charge of abducting people from the Akane and sending them all to Ohonshu.

Over the years, he has supplied thousands of high-quality men to Ohonshu with his ruthless methods and cunning schemes. Because of this, he has won the trust of Yamaguchi Daimyo, who is also her father.

Kudo Kawa is not only proficient in some strange and inexplicable witchcraft, but also quite skilled in medicine. He can concoct all kinds of peculiar medicines, which can either cure diseases and save lives, or harm people invisibly.

Although Zilu is the eldest daughter of the Yamaguchi family, she is still somewhat afraid of this person deep down.

After all, Kudo Kawa held a very important position in his father's heart, and his ruthless methods made him unpredictable.

"Miss Yamaguchi, didn't you take people to Rongzhou to exchange ships with the Chiyan people? Why did you come back alone? Where are the others? And what about that ship?" Kudo Kawa quietly observed Zilu for a long time before suddenly speaking.

Zilu forced herself to remain calm, straightened her back, and tried to intimidate the other party with her authority: "Young Vice-Captain Kudo, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? Today's plan went awry. The Crimson Flame people are cunning and treacherous. Our men were ambushed and captured by them!"

"Miss Yamaguchi, do you know how much damage you've caused us this time? That ship of supplies was enough for three months of our needs! And those dozens of Crimson Flame Men were captured with great effort, and we were about to successfully modify them and send them to Ohon Province, but now you've lost them all, causing all our previous efforts to be in vain! How am I supposed to explain this to the Daimyo?"

Kudo's eyes flashed with anger and resentment. He had originally hoped that Zilu would bring people to eliminate the anti-Japanese forces that had suddenly appeared in Rongzhou and clear the way for them to capture people in Rongzhou.

Unexpectedly, after arriving in Rongzhou, they not only failed to help, but also led the Crimson Flame people to Demon Island, causing their hiding place on the island to be exposed, and they also lost all the people they had painstakingly captured.

Otherwise, with those dozens of Crimson Flame Men, he could have gotten a reward of over a thousand taels of silver from the Yamaguchi Daimyo.

Zilu was furious when she heard Kudo Kawa's accusations, but she also knew that she could not show weakness at this time, otherwise it would be difficult to win over the crowd.

She gritted her teeth, a ruthless glint in her eyes: "Young Vice-Commander Kudo, don't forget your place! I am heartbroken by the failure of this operation, but I have been trying to make up for it. Don't worry, I will send a message to my father by carrier pigeon first thing tomorrow morning, asking him to send reinforcements and supplies. At that time, I will definitely be able to recover the losses."

"Hmph, easier said than done!" Kudo Kawa was clearly unconvinced. "Ohon Province is far from here, and it will take half a month for reinforcements to arrive. What do we do before then?"

The island's defenses had been largely destroyed by those Crimson Flame people, many soldiers were injured, and morale was low. Moreover, the island's supplies would only last for another seven or eight days at most, and the Crimson Flame people could attack at any moment.

"Ms. Yamaguchi, you need to give us an explanation now, otherwise, the brothers on the island may no longer be able to trust you to follow your orders."

As soon as Kudo Kawa finished speaking, his subordinates around him echoed him, whispering among themselves, their dissatisfaction with Zilu evident in their words.

Zilu's heart sank upon seeing this. She knew that if this matter was not handled properly, internal strife would inevitably ensue, which would be a further blow to their already disadvantaged position.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and think of a solution.

Suddenly, an idea struck her, a sly glint in her eyes: "Young Vice-Captain Kudo, I know you're worried about the current situation. How about this, I'll tell you the detailed plan for this operation and the arrangements to come, and we can discuss it together and deal with it together. After all, we're all working to complete our mission in the Crimson Flame Kingdom. What do you think?"

Zilu tried to appease Kudo Kawa first, and then make a long-term plan.