Chapter 964: Let Me Die
Propelled by the momentum of his leap from the ship, Li Daoxuan plunged several meters deep into the water. Opening his eyes, he saw nothing; the river’s murky visibility was not nearly good enough to discern anything from a distance.
No major issue, though. Knowing the general direction was enough.
Li Daoxuan’s body, crafted from special materials, began to function, its inherent buoyancy preventing him from sinking, holding him suspended in the water.
He peeled back the silicone skin on the soles of his feet, flipped open two small covers, and a pair of propellers emerged beneath them.
Mystical drive! Spin!
The propellers immediately whirred to life, rotating rapidly and propelling him towards the ship's hull.
Frog kicks and crawl strokes were child's play; his current posture was perfectly straight and still, like a superhero soaring through the heavens.
In the blink of an eye, Li Daoxuan reached the ship's bottom. Now he could see something: not far ahead, underwater, two young women were frantically treading water.
They were bewildered. They had intended to jump into the water, using their swimming skills to escape by diving. Instead, the moment they entered the water, they were seized by an irresistible current, dragging them downward. No amount of paddling helped.
Just then, Li Daoxuan spoke: "Don't be afraid, ladies, I am here."
A normal person couldn't speak underwater; opening one's mouth would flood it. But Li Daoxuan could, defying all scientific principles. After all, the Heavenly Lord's speech didn't rely on vocal cord vibrations, but on metaphysics.
That voice traveled through the water, clearly reaching the ears of the two young women.
The two women shuddered. Turning their heads, they saw Li Daoxuan, who was clearly not treading water, swiftly darting towards them.
They were shaken to their core, but these were no ordinary women; they were adept at navigating the complexities of male society, possessing exceptional adaptability. Seeing the situation, they knew escape was impossible. A demon was approaching.
Xue'er sharply nudged Chen Yuanyuan, who understood immediately.
Now, it was time for Plan B: the feigned suicide ploy.
The two instantly abandoned their attempts to swim to the surface, switching instead to exaggerated flailing and kicking, pretending to struggle as if drowning.
A few seconds later, Li Daoxuan arrived. With his left arm, he scooped up Xue'er. With his right, he embraced Chen Yuanyuan.
A normal person attempting to hold two struggling women like this would be unable to swim, only to be dragged down to drown with them.
But Li Daoxuan was completely unaffected. Holding both women, he shot upwards, breaking through the water's surface with a splash.
The moment they surfaced, Xue'er shrieked, "Let me go! Let me die! I don't want to live!"
Chen Yuanyuan hadn't anticipated such an act, but with Xue'er leading the way, she quickly followed suit: "Let me die, please! Just let me die! Why save me?"
Li Daoxuan thought to himself: *These two are suspicious. Earlier, I saw them frantically paddling, battling the current, seemingly desperate to survive. Yet the moment I called out to reassure them, they started flailing?*
*Highly suspicious.*
*No need to expose them just yet. Let's see how they continue their performance.* By this time, the Black Pearl had halted, its propellers stopped, no longer moving forward. The turbulent currents had also subsided. Li Daoxuan, still holding the two girls, hovered beside the ship's hull.
Rope ladders hung from the ship, sturdy sailors clinging to them.
Two sailors started to reach out for the girls, but then remembered they were soaking wet. Reaching out in such a situation would be improper, a breach of decorum between men and women. The girls were already trying to kill themselves; if they touched them, wouldn't they just give them another reason to try again? They quickly retracted their hands.
They twisted ropes into loops and secured them around the women's waists.
The crew on deck quickly pulled, heaving and hauling the two women aboard.
Li Daoxuan himself was in no hurry to board. Underwater, he retracted the propellers from his feet, resealed the silicone surface, and only then grabbed a rope ladder, slowly climbing up.
When he climbed aboard, he saw the two women sitting on the deck, wrapped in high-grade wool blankets from the Warm and Sleepy Textile Factory, their heads bowed, appearing utterly dejected. A group of other women crowded around them, asking in a flurry of voices, "What happened?"
"Why did you suddenly try to kill yourselves?"
"Why are you so despondent?"
Li Daoxuan didn't expose them, continuing to watch with a detached gaze.
Zhu Piaoling rushed over, his face etched with anxiety: "What are you doing? Why try to die? Especially you, Xue'er, didn't you say you wanted to live out your days peacefully in the Prince's residence? I even promised you that. Why are you still so distressed?"
Xue'er burst into tears with a soft whimper, truly turning on the waterworks, her acting utterly convincing. In an instant, she was weeping torrentially, consumed by an unbearable sorrow: "This lowly one's fate is too bitter... This lowly one just realized that 'once one enters a noble's gates, it's like a sea so deep.' This lowly one's entire life will be confined to a tiny courtyard in a prince's residence. Peaceful, yes, but utterly devoid of hope..."
Reaching this point, she suddenly seemed to have a revelation and cried out loudly, "Since I already want to die, I'm not afraid of offending anyone in the Prince's residence. This lowly one dares to say anything now... Although the Prince of Qin's heir is only an heir, isn't he actually a forty-year-old old man? This lowly one would have to force smiles and entertain such an old man for the rest of her life. My heart truly aches..."
Zhu Piaoling froze in shock.
He turned, looking glumly at Li Daoxuan, who merely spread his hands. "She's not wrong, you know."
Zhu Piaoling grunted.
He clutched his chest, wounded!
Ten thousand points of critical damage!
Chen Yuanyuan also began to cry: "This lowly one is only twelve years old... I don't want to marry a forty-year-old man. After much thought, I joined Sister Xue'er in throwing myself into the river."
Zhu Piaoling grew anxious: "His Highness the Prince's heir doesn't look old at all! Although he's forty this year, he looks very young, and his mindset is young too. He's full of vitality, just like someone in their twenties!"
This time, it wasn't just Xue'er and Chen Yuanyuan.
Several other women spoke up simultaneously: "Lies!"
Zhu Piaoling was stunned.
Li Daoxuan chuckled inwardly: *Amusing. This farce is getting more and more interesting.*
Zhu Piaoling, utterly dejected, tilted his head back to gaze at the sky. "Alright, so the Prince of Qin's heir is such an unbearable figure in your eyes, hmm? Tsk, tsk, tsk. You'd rather die than be his concubine, tsk, tsk, tsk..."
His tone grew increasingly desolate. Finally, with a deep sigh, he turned to the other women around them. "Do you all feel the same way?"
The group of women were speechless. They certainly didn't want to die, nor did they dare to offend the Prince of Qin's heir or voice their true thoughts.
But their expressions betrayed them!
Zhu Piaoling instructed a guard to bring a wooden box. From it, he took out a thick stack of indentured servitude contracts. He sighed, "I was worried about your safety, so I planned to deal with these in Shaanxi. But who would have thought, who would have thought the Prince of Qin's heir would be so unpopular with you... that you'd be so eager to die? Well, then, I'll handle them now."
The women gasped.
They realized what he was doing: he seemed to be intending to tear up their indentured servitude contracts!
Sure enough, Zhu Piaoling grasped the thick stack of contracts, striking a righteous and benevolent pose, radiating a powerful aura of human compassion.
Then, with a resolute twist of both hands, he tore...
It was too thick; he couldn't tear it!
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