Chapter 68: Found Them; Xiao Xi Arrives in a Great Ship

“That is the Second Young Lady of the Bai Family’s ship.”

“Are you certain?”

“Positive. Our people saw the Second Young Lady herself disembarking. There is no mistake.”

“I never imagined that the people we snatched up so casually back then would become our greatest obstacles. Those two women of the Bai Family have delayed our plans so much. Now that both of them are gone, no one is left on that island who can withstand our assault.”

“In that case, can we retrieve our weapons?”

“Beyond the weapons, there are significant grain stores on that island. Once we seize it, it will serve perfectly as our supply base. When we bring these weapons and grain back, it will surely aid our Master in conquering the world!”

“Fortunately, we prepared early. However… will it really work this time? I heard the Bai Family has three sisters. Although the two older ones have left, isn’t there still a younger one? She seems quite clever.”

“No matter how clever, she is but an eight year old child. What use could she be? The two older ones were the real obstacles because their strength was freakishly immense. Setting the eldest aside, even the second one had the skill to pierce a willow leaf with an arrow from a hundred paces. It is a good thing we sent those people to test them first, otherwise, had we charged in blindly, they would have been difficult to handle.”

“I wonder where they learned such skills. From what I know, even the strongest martial arts masters are weaker than them.”

“No need to rush. Once we land on the island, we can set up ambushes. They will be ignorant of the situation and completely off guard. It will be the perfect time to catch a turtle in a jar.”

“Just like how they dealt with the pirates?”

“Different. They did it for themselves, but we do it for the great cause of the nation.”

…

“Little Young Lady!”

“Something has happened, something terrible has happened!”

“It is bad! They have already launched the assault. Our people couldn’t hide in time, and many have been injured.”

“Those people are coming on strong, seemingly intent on breaking through immediately.”

By the time Bai Miao stepped out of the house, bad news was already arriving one after another.

She walked quickly to a high vantage point, took out the binoculars she had obtained from the Modern Plane, and looked into the distance. She found that, just as reported, the people attacking the island this time were indeed aggressive. They were far more organized than the attackers from a few days ago and had deployed many more men.

After watching for a moment, Bai Miao made a decision. She took a whistle from her bag and blew it hard.

Soon, waves of whistling echoed across the island.

As the whistles sounded, the islanders who had been resisting the invaders quickly scattered in all directions. Within moments, they vanished from the sight of the attackers. Simultaneously, Bai Miao left quickly, leading her people to hide inside the houses. Before long, the buildings were empty, with not a soul to be seen.

…

“They’ve all disappeared.”

“They must be hiding. This island is only so big; even if they hide, they can’t go far. Order the men to search. So many of them are injured; we must strike while they have suffered heavy losses. Otherwise, it will be too late once those two sisters who left get word of this.”

“Yes!”

…

“Second Young Lady, good news! The people on shore say they have seen your eldest and second brothers. Although they look older now than they do in the portraits, the witness insists it was them and saw them just a few days ago. If we pursue them now, there is a great chance of finding them.”

Bai Xi was overjoyed. Just as she was about to order the pursuit, a rider came galloping from a distance, shouting as he rode.

“Second Young Lady, something has happened!”

Bai Xi immediately went to meet him. “What is it?”

“Second Young Lady, our people left by the coast received word that a large force was seen heading toward our island. It is very likely they are going to attack us.”

“Second Young Lady, we must return immediately!”

Bai Xi did not panic. She simply asked, “When did this happen?”

“Several days have passed since we received the news. If we don’t leave now, it will be too late.”

“Several days… they intend to settle this quickly. If something has happened on the island, it is already too late for us to make it back in time,” Bai Xi said in a low voice.

“But if we don’t go back now, won’t our island be in trouble?”

“No. Have you forgotten the Underground Tunnels I had you dig?” Bai Xi looked at the men, continuing as their eyes lit up with realization. “The tunnels have been continuously expanded over these years. If trouble arises, Miao Miao will react. Although this might affect the crops on the surface, the people won’t be in much danger.”

As she spoke, the others also realized the truth.

“With the Underground Tunnels, the Little Young Lady will definitely have the chance to take command.”

“That’s right, the Little Young Lady is so smart. As long as they enter the tunnels, they will definitely be safe. Our returning now might actually interfere with her operations.”

“Mhm. It will only take a few more days. We will settle things here quickly, find them, and return immediately.” Bai Xi looked toward the river. “Eldest Brother and Second Brother are in this area. We have searched for them for many years. If we don’t find them now, who knows when the next chance will be. As for the island, with Miao Miao there, you can rest easy. She will be fine.”

…

“Little Young Lady, the count is finished. Two people are seriously injured, the rest have minor injuries, and no one has died.”

“Little Young Lady, their men are searching for us above, but our tunnel entrances are well hidden. They haven’t discovered a single tunnel yet.”

“They ate a lot of our grain!”

“Some of our fields have been destroyed!”

Bai Miao kept a straight face, her expression serious. She looked at the people before her and spoke earnestly, “The grain they ate, the fields they destroyed, and the people they injured… all of this must be avenged. Do exactly as I say…”

When it came to warfare, Bai Miao had zero experience. She didn’t even have experience in physical fights. After all, she had never been separated from Bai Yu and Bai Xi before. As long as those two were around, they could handle any situation that required fighting.

Bai Miao’s advantage was that she had read enough books, and those books were from the modern era. When it came to war, almost everything detailed in those books involved battles where the few defeated the many. She could find many historical battles that were similar to the current situation.

She didn’t need vast personal experience. As long as she followed what was written in the books, she could counter the large force currently roaming freely on the island.

…

“There are too few fish here.”

“The fish are scarce and they’re driving the prices down. With only this much, it’s hard for us to survive. Eldest Brother, let’s change locations again.”

Bai Qiao looked at the meager amount of fish and shrimp they had caught, his face etched with worry.

They had arrived here by accident and couldn’t speak the local language, which made buying and selling goods very difficult. Even though they had learned some of the local tongue over the past two years, they were still subjected to price gouging. Local people could trade the same amount of fish for far more supplies than they could.

But there was nothing they could do. Back in their own country, they had faced price gouging, let alone now in a foreign land where they were just two families who didn’t speak the language well. Now, they only hoped to trade for supplies and asked for nothing else.

However, the fish in the river were truly too small. If the prices were pushed any lower, they would have to go hungry every day.

Over these two years, both Bai Qiao and Bai Yang, as well as their wives, had aged significantly.

“We will leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Alright.”

Bai Yang lowered his head to move the punting pole. Just then, he heard a shout drifting from the distance.

“Eldest Brother! Second Brother!”

“Who is calling for Eldest Brother and Second Brother? Why does it sound like our native tongue?”

Bai Qiao raised his head, squinting at the flag on the approaching ship. He reached out and tugged at Bai Yang. “Look at that ship. Is the character embroidered on that flag a ‘Bai’? The same ‘Bai’ as our family name?”

“It looks a bit like it, but I can’t see clearly,” Bai Yang said, also squinting to get a better look.

Just then, the voice from the distance rang out again.

“Big Brother, Second Brother! Big Brother, Second Brother, it’s me, Bai Xi! Big Brother… Second Brother… I’m Bai Xi!!!”

“Big Brother, did that person just shout that she’s Bai Xi?”

“It sounds like it, and she really does look a bit like her,” Bai Qiao stepped forward, scrutinizing the distance. “The more I look at the character on that flag, the more it looks like ‘Bai’. Second Brother, is that a ‘Bai’?”

“I think so. It really seems to be.”

As the ship drew closer, the voice became even clearer.

At that moment, someone else stepped out from the cabin. “Why do I hear someone shouting ‘I am Bai Xi’? It really sounds like Xiao Xi’s voice.”

“Second Sister-in-law!” Bai Xi saw the person exiting the cabin and immediately waved both arms, shouting at the top of her lungs. “Second Sister-in-law!”

“Xiao Xi,” Second Sister-in-law recognized her voice. She hurried to the bow of the boat and yelled back, “Xiao Xi, is that you?”

“It’s me! I’m Xiao Xi, Second Sister-in-law!”

“Xiao Xi, it really is you!” Second Sister-in-law’s face was instantly covered in tears. She turned back to call the others. “Eldest Sister-in-law, Eldest Sister-in-law! Xiao Xi is here! Xiao Xi has come in a big ship!”

Eldest Sister-in-law walked over from the other side, still holding a spatula.

The distance between the two sides was closing now, and Bai Xi’s figure became clearer to the group. The younger children had been very small when they were separated, and their memories had faded over the years, but they were starting to remember now. They began shouting “Auntie” in the sharp, piercing voices unique to children.

By this point, both sides were certain of each other’s identities. The adults stopped shouting, simply watching in silence as their long-lost kin appeared before them.

Bai Xi did not leave them in suspense for long. Once they were close enough that she didn’t have to strain her voice, she told them the thing they worried about most. “Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt are both fine! We found them several years ago. You don’t need to worry.”

“Father and Mother are alright? You found them?”

“Yes, we found them. They’re fine,” Bai Xi said directly as the vessels drew closer. “However, there is a small crisis right now. Follow me first. We’ll talk as we move. We can’t afford to waste time here.”

When she said this, both families nodded in succession.

“Alright, we’ll follow you.”

“We’ll do whatever you say. We’ll listen to you.”

As they spoke, Bai Qiao and Bai Yang immediately went to work the oars.

While the vessels moved forward side by side, Bai Xi brought the younger children from the two boats onto the large ship.

They were older than Bai Miao, but their current physical stature was significantly smaller than hers. When Bai Xi held them in her arms, it felt like she was holding Bai Miao when she was only five or six years old.

But it was alright. At long last, she had found them.