Seeing that Lu Xunguang firmly refused, Li Ying argued, "I know that rescuing the hostages is extremely dangerous. If the situation turns bad, I'll surely protect myself. I won't act recklessly..."
According to what Xiaoliuzi said, these pirates were all burly and extremely brave in battle. She knew that two fists couldn't fight off so many. Since she had decided to take this risk, she was going to make thorough preparations.
As she was speaking, Shihu had already brought the saltpeter and a box of firecrackers as she had ordered. Seeing that everyone refused to let her go and deliver the ransom in person, Li Ying stopped arguing. She took a stone mill and started preparing on her own.
She ground three parts of saltpeter and two parts of sugar into fine powder, mixed them together, and heated the mixture over a low flame until all the sugar powder melted into a brownish - colored syrup. Then she poured it into an emptied coconut shell and buried a wax string in it.
After peeling out the gunpowder from the firecrackers, she mixed it with half the amount of chili powder and pepper powder, filled the remaining coconut shells with the mixture, leaving a fuse. After it cooled, it solidified into a hard lump.
Granny Sun and the others didn't understand what she was up to. Li Ying explained confidently, "Once the saltpeter - sugar syrup block is ignited, it will release a large amount of thick smoke. With the cover of this smoke bomb, even if the pirates attack, I can lead everyone to safety."
"As for these firecrackers, when set off, the pungent chili powder will be blasted into the air, just like tear gas. It will make the pirates cry and suffer. If the situation is really critical, it can buy us a glimmer of hope."
"Even if the pirates search our bodies before we board the ship, with the disguise of the coconut shells, it's not easy to be detected. I'm sure I can bring the villagers back safely."
She had the space to rely on, so she wasn't afraid of the pirates' body - search. But to completely dispel Granny Sun and the others' doubts, Li Ying still carefully considered all the potential risks.
Seeing the two things she had prepared, Granny Sun didn't dare to stop her, but Lu Xunguang still frowned seriously.
"Aying, I know you're smart. But there's a natural physical difference between men and women. Moreover, those pirates are outlaws who live on the edge of death. If they get desperate and decide to die with you, even with the smoke bomb for self - defense, you're just a weak woman. It's really too dangerous."
He looked deeply into her eyes, with an unshakable determination.
"Aying, I can never allow the slightest unpredictable risk to happen to you."
He spoke firmly. Li Ying knew his words made sense. She also knew that Lu Xunguang loved her so much that she was speechless for a moment.
"But those pirates clearly came for me. If I don't show up, I'm afraid they won't release the hostages easily."
Everyone looked at each other. Just as they were in a dilemma, a gentle and elegant voice sounded.
"As long as there's a man accompanying you, Xunguang will feel at ease? This is not difficult."
The speaker was Su Buchi. He was slender, with red lips and white teeth. He walked gracefully to Li Ying's side and said calmly, "I'll dress up as a woman and go with Miss Li. Won't this solve the problem?"
Although he was a gentle scholar, when he first came to the fishing village, he was ordered by Yan Lianzhi to repair the latrines. He was not as weak as he seemed.
Li Ying let out a sigh of relief and smiled, "It's the best if Uncle - Master is willing to help."
However, Granny Sun and the others looked at each other with a strange look on their faces after hearing his words.
Su Buchi didn't waste any time. He borrowed two sets of clothes from a burly woman in the village and put on a little rouge and powder. His eyebrows and eyes were originally delicate. With lipstick on his lips and his slender waist, he really looked like a weak and charming woman, making it hard to tell his gender.
Granny Sun, regardless of her old age, bowed deeply to Su Buchi and said, "Mr. Su is so righteous. You've gone to such lengths for Aying and the villagers of the fishing village. I thank you on behalf of everyone!"
Only then did Li Ying realize that for these ancient people who adhered to strict rules, wearing a woman's dress was a great humiliation.
Su Buchi dressed up as a woman without hesitation just to accompany her on the ship and prevent the pirates from doing anything improper. In her eyes, this might not be a very important thing, but in fact, it was a great sacrifice.
She looked into Su Buchi's calm smile and felt a little uncomfortable. Just as she was about to thank him, he seemed to have seen through her mind and said first, "Miss Li, don't worry. I know I'm weak. When we get on the pirates' ship, I'll follow all your and Xunguang's instructions and won't act rashly."
Li Ying was worried about the villagers in the village and didn't want to waste any time. She put the 500 taels of silver they had collected into a box and took the lead to board Xiaoliuzi's small boat.
Lu Xunguang and Su Buchi followed closely behind, exchanging a tacit look.
Although they didn't say it out loud, they both clearly understood each other's intention - no matter what, they would never let Aying suffer the slightest bit!
The boat sailed quickly. Before long, they could see the pirates' big ship in the distance.
Lu Xunguang whispered a warning to her and Su Buchi to be careful. Then he took a deep breath, dived into the water like an osprey, and disappeared into the waves.
Before long, several small boats surrounded Li Ying and Su Buchi. The leader, holding a steel fork and covering one eye with a piece of deer - skin, sized her up menacingly.
"Are you Li Ying? Have you brought the 500 taels of ransom?"
Li Ying pointed to the box in Su Buchi's arms and pretended to be scared, stuttering, "I... I've prepared it... Big brother, please take the silver and release the villagers of our fishing village..."
Su Buchi lowered his head slightly, looking meek, looking like just a taller woman.
The pirates saw that there was only Xiaoliuzi, a teenage boy, on the boat. They watched as the three of them honestly took out all the things they had on them, which were just some "moon fruits" as offerings and fire starters. They were quite satisfied and let down their guard. They pushed and shoved the three of them towards the big ship.
The pirate, seeing Li Ying's graceful figure, got lustful and casually reached out to touch her waist.
Su Buchi took two steps forward imperceptibly. The pirate's vulgar, big hand landed firmly on the flesh beside his hipbone.
As a scholar, he had never suffered such humiliation. He was shocked and angry, and his face flushed red. But in the pirate's eyes, he just thought Su Buchi was a shy young woman. He was quite proud and showed his yellow teeth, chuckling.
Li Ying frowned, but Su Buchi just took a deep breath and signaled her with his eyes that Lu Xunguang hadn't sneaked onto the ship yet, and they still didn't know where the hostages were being held. So they shouldn't act rashly.