Chapter 74 - Trouble brews
"Yui Mei, why are you headed towards the harbor?"
Yui Mei glanced up at Li Yong when she heard that.
"Same to you, Lord Li Yong, with the current affairs, it's dangerous at the harbor, you know?"
Li Yong snorted.
"I'm a soldier, a fighting scene is just a trivial matter to me. But it's better for you to stay at the restaurant. I'll fetch you after I check the things there."
Yui Mei objected to that comment.
"If it's a battle, then there might be injured people over there, right."
Both of them stopped on their tracks and tried to stare each other down.
"…Can't be helped then. Don't stray from my side."
Yui Mei refused to back down, so Li Yong gave in.
With this, both of them started to walk again towards the harbor.
And the place was in chaos.
"No more ships!?"
"There are guys falling into the sea, we have to pull them out!"
"Lord Li Min's going!!"
Different voices rang out all around them while Yui Mei tried to take a peek by standing on tiptoe.
There was a huge ship, and several midsize boats swarmed around it.
"Are those…pirates? This close to the shore?"
Yui Mei wracked her brains when she heard Li Yong's murmur.
"Don't they usually do piracy in places that no one would pass through?"
Help could readily come at this distance, so the pirates would be at a disadvantage in this place.
"The boat returned with wounded people onboard!"
Yui Mei forgot all about her question when she heard that shout.
"Here! I can help with that! Where are the wounded!?"
Yui Mei raised her hand and yelled, and the crowd spontaneously parted.
"Over here!! Don't know who you are, but that's a relief!
She dashed towards the voice. Li Yong was right on her heels while mumbling 'can't be helped, then'.
They saw the boat being pulled into the harbor. There were several injured men onboard along with the rower.
"They were slashed. The gashes are shallow but they're bleeding too much."
Li Yong stated that as he stood beside Yui Mei.
In that case, they had to treat the wounds and warm their bodies right away or else it would be dangerous.
"Excuse me, please get some cooking water! Do not use sea water! And get some clean cloth, too!"
Yui Mei shouted at the people around her, and they brought a pot of water from a nearby restaurant.
She soaked the cotton cloth that she brought in the water and started to wash the wounds.
By the way, it's been her habit as a housekeeper to always bring this cotton cloth with her so she can readily wear her mask and head scarf.
Yui Mei then ripped the new cloth into bandage strips, then she tightly wrapped the wounds up to their chests, near their hearts.
"Keep it like this until the blood stops. Gently carry them to a calm place and change their drenched clothes!"
"Y, yeah."
The people were dumbfounded as Yui Mei energetically handed out instructions, but even if somebody mumbled 'who is that girl taking charge?', but they never said that directly because of Li Yong's intimidating presence beside her.
Yui Mei continued giving first aid until all the injured men were treated.
"Hey sis, you got some great skills there, huh! We're gonna go bring the wounded guys in, so come along with us!"
A guy called out to her from one of the fishing boats when they finally reached the harbor.
"Hey! Don't go answering on your own!"
Li Yong scolded Yui Mei when she replied immediately, but he still went with her.
And so, both of them decided to board the boat and set off to the sea.
The guys were thrashing their arms in a frenzied attempt to swim towards the boat, and the people on board started to grab on to them and they heaved them over one after another.
Yui Mei checked their condition, while Li Yong helped in pulling them up.
Li Yong stared at the merchant ship while rescuing the men.
"That is not the work of pirates."
Yui Mei also looked up and turned her gaze towards the merchant ship.
"They're too organized. Those guys must be well trained."
"Oh, Lord Li Min also said the same stuff as you, bro."
The owner of the fishing boat replied to Li Yong's words.
'Heh, the same thing as Lord Li Min, huh?'
In that case, this was really suspicious.
Yui Mei was perplexed. What on earth is happening here?
While they were conversing this way, the boat finally reached its maximum capacity, so it was decided that they would temporarily return to the harbor..
It was at that time.
Splash!!
Just when they thought that waves sprayed over them, a drenched man grabbed on to the boat.
"There's a woman on deck!"
The man grinned lecherously as he hollered. Apparently, he was one of the mysterious 'pirates' and he swam over towards them.
"Hiiii, we're followed!?"
The men thought they were saved so they hurriedly scrambled away from him in terror. Because of that, the boat started to sway vigorously.
'I'm gonna fall, we're gonna fall, so stay still!!'
Yui Mei hastily held on to the gunwale, but a hand stretched out from the sea and grabbed her wrist.
She shrieked.
Some of his comrades were apparently in the sea, too.
"Yeah, it's really a lass, she's plain but she's a chick, no doubt about it."
'Plain!?'
She knew she was homely, but anyone would get angry if that was said to her face, naturally.
Yui Mei scowled, then something suddenly flew past her face, and the man was thrown into the sea.
"Keep your filthy hands off her, you scum."
Li Yong had kicked that guy.
He was gripping a short sword in one hand.
Li Yong usually carried a much longer sword, but it's difficult to handle that in a crowd of people, so he brought this blade with him just this time.