Chapter 286: Let Him Take It

Hanchuan reached the helm as Zeyu sat up, dragging a hand over his face before reaching for the wheel.

The approaching light passed across their windshield, forcing them both to turn away until it moved on.

Behind them, Qinghe continued bailing while Shichen held their flashlight over the open hatch, watching the water gather around the board.

"Switch that off for a moment," Hanchuan told Shichen, steadying himself against Zeyu’s seat. "I can’t see past the glass with both lights on."

Shichen lowered the flashlight, leaving them with the dim glow from the controls. Hanchuan waited for his eyes to adjust and began to make out another boat behind the approaching one.

People crowded its sides, some sitting with their knees drawn up while others stood holding on to whatever they could reach. Whenever the first boat changed direction, the second followed a little later.

Zhiyi moved beside Hanchuan, trying to see past his arm. He caught her hand before she could stand and guided her back behind the seat, where the windshield offered some shelter from the wind.

"Stay here for me, sweetheart. Zeyu might need to turn before I can warn you." Hanchuan moved her hand onto the seat support and brushed the wet hair from her cheek.

She was still shivering, and he hated leaving her there when he had only just managed to get her resting against him. "Keep hold of this until we know what they want."

She tucked her bare foot beneath her skirt while he returned to Zeyu.

The other engine had grown louder, and its light was moving across their deck again. Zeyu glanced at Hanchuan, then started the engine at his nod.

As their boat began moving, someone shouted from the darkness. "Watch where you’re going! We’ve got a towline between us!"

Zeyu eased off while Hanchuan searched the water.

The rope appeared as the boats rose on a wave, stretching across the space they had been heading toward.

Beyond it, someone in the crowded boat stood and waved both arms before another passenger pulled him down.

The man with the light lowered it enough for Hanchuan to see the towing boat. Three men were outside its covered section: the driver, the man holding the lamp, and another near the bow with a loose coil of rope.

That last man was watching Qinghe empty the bucket over the side.

"You’re taking on water, aren’t you?" he called, lifting the coil where Hanchuan could see it. "Let us pull you along. There are more of us farther out, and you can’t keep doing that all night."

Hanchuan stayed beside the helm, keeping himself between Zhiyi and the other boat.

He couldn’t see anyone steering the crowded vessel behind it, though several passengers were watching them now. One woman had risen far enough for her face to catch the light, her mouth moving as she called something he couldn’t hear over the engines.

"Where are you taking them?" Hanchuan asked. "We haven’t seen anything out here since the rain cleared."

The man glanced behind him before moving closer to the bow. "They’re waiting farther out. You can follow us, but if you want a tow, you’ll have to hand over your fuel. We’re already burning enough pulling that lot."

Zeyu’s fingers tightened around the wheel. Their engine was running, and nothing about its sound suggested they needed towing. Hanchuan watched the stranger’s attention move from the open hatch to the seats, lingering where Zhiyi sat behind him.

"We’ll keep our fuel and go on our own," Hanchuan replied. "Move back a little so we can turn without catching your line."

The stranger threw the rope before Hanchuan finished speaking.

It struck the windshield and dropped beside Zhiyi, who pulled her foot away as Jingwei reached across with the boat hook. He lifted the rope clear of the seat and pushed it over the side, but the other man leaned out and caught the hook before Jingwei could bring it back.

"Leave it alone, will you?" the stranger snapped. "I’m trying to get you tied on before we drift apart."

The boats bumped together, knocking Qinghe against the seat.

Water spilled from his bucket while Shichen caught his shoulder, keeping him from falling into the open hatch. Hanchuan grabbed the back of Jingwei’s jacket as the stranger pulled on the shaft.

"Let him take it," Hanchuan said close to Jingwei’s ear, reaching for the knife at his friend’s belt.

He raised his voice toward the man still hanging over the side. "We’re not coming with you. Keep your hands off the boat and let us leave."

Instead, the stranger dragged the hook toward himself and tried to catch it beneath their rail.

When it slipped, he grabbed the rail with his free hand and brought one boot over the side. His driver kept the boats close, watching without telling him to get back.

Hanchuan opened the knife and caught the man’s sleeve before his foot reached the deck. He drove the blade into the forearm holding the rail, then shoved him back toward his own boat as the man cried out.

The lamp swung wildly, lighting faces and water before another hand reached across. Jingwei struck it with the flashlight, forcing it away from Hanchuan’s shirt.

Zeyu pulled ahead as the boat hook fell between the hulls. Hanchuan kept hold of the rail until they separated, watching the stranger collapse against his companion with his injured arm clutched to his chest.

Once there was water between them, Hanchuan crouched beside Zhiyi, keeping one hand against the seat to steady himself.

She had drawn her bare foot beneath her skirt, and he was reaching to check it when she caught his wrist. Her attention had settled on the blood soaking into his cuff.

"He didn’t hurt me, sweetheart," Hanchuan told her, turning his arm so she could see where the blood had run beneath his sleeve.

She pushed the wet fabric back a little farther before loosening her grip, and he brushed his lips against her forehead. He would have stayed beside her, but the bow struck another wave, jolting them both against the seat.

At the open hatch, Shichen leaned harder against the board while water spilled around its edge. Qinghe struggled to fill the bucket without knocking into him, his shoulder pressed against the seat for support.

Hanchuan waited until Zhiyi had a firm hold, then rose far enough to look back at the other boat. Its light still followed them, but the gap had widened.

"We’ve got some distance now. Slow down before we shake that patch loose," Hanchuan told Zeyu, resting a hand on his shoulder so he wouldn’t have to turn. "I’ll watch behind us while you find a speed they can work with."

Zeyu eased back on the throttle, and Qinghe managed to lift a full bucket without spilling half of it.

Hanchuan folded the knife and returned it to Jingwei, then moved beside Zhiyi again. She leaned against his leg while he watched the light behind them settle on the wounded man.

The driver bent over the side, reaching toward the towline. Hanchuan expected him to pull the crowded boat closer, perhaps to bring someone aboard who could help with the injured man.

Instead, he drew the rope up and cut it, leaving the passengers shouting behind him as he turned his boat toward theirs.