She would have to think later about how to use these cannons, discussing it with her grandfather and Qi He.
With that decided, she glanced at the three large ships still floating on the sea. The Wokou would not come until low tide, so Fu Xinci decided to send a letter to her grandfather and Qi He first to prepare them.
Making up her mind, Fu Xinci turned back. She didn't ride her horse; instead, she used her special ability to move forward, which was no slower than riding a horse.
When Fu Xinci, with a solemn little face, swept before her grandfather and Qi He like a gust of wind, Grandpa Meng knew that something major might have happened by the sea.
"Grandfather, Brother Qi, there are three pirate ships in the sea. Conservatively, there should be no fewer than 150 people."
"A conservative estimate means at least 150 people. If we divide them evenly, how many Wokou will each of us get?"
"Do we even need to calculate that? Each of us will have to deal with at least ten Wokou." Meng Qitian said, then he suddenly glanced at his grandniece, "With Xinci here, how many we can each take down will be up to our own skills."
"That seems about right." Meng Yutang felt they needed to sharpen their skills, as it would be difficult to snatch kills from their younger sister.
Grandpa Meng was not as optimistic. He glanced at Qi He and said, "Little He, you need to send someone to deliver a message to your father. We have too few people here."
"Grandpa Meng, I understand." Qi He replied, then asked Meng Yuluo to deliver the message to his father.
Meng Yuluo was not happy about the task, but obeying orders was a basic soldier's quality. He shouted, "Understood!" and turned his horse to gallop back, intending to return quickly.
Under a gesture from Qi He, the others spurred their horses towards the pine forest.
Reaching the edge of the pine forest, they saw Fu Xinci's white horse. They followed her example and tied their horses in the pine forest.
Fu Xinci, however, had already reached the seaward side ahead of them. She hid behind a thick tree trunk and could observe every move on the three pirate ships without a telescope.
The three pirate ships remained in place, but she had a nagging feeling that someone on the middle ship was peeking at the shore and the pine forest.
Could it be?
Thinking of a possibility, she quickly retreated, not daring to touch anything in the woods.
"Sister Fu, what's wrong?"
It was Qi He who first noticed Fu Xinci's unusual behavior.
"The Wokou have 'thousand-mile eyes'. Everyone be careful. Be extra cautious when walking, don't touch any branches or leaves, and don't leave the woods."
"Yes." Qi He led the response, then reiterated to his companions to do as Xinci said.
They had all grown up together, and they were aware of Fu Xinci's capabilities. Knowing that Fu Xinci was wary enough to come back and warn them, everyone understood the need for extreme caution and dared not take a single misstep.
When everyone was about fifty paces from the edge of the pine forest, Qi He told them to stop. He asked everyone to wait for a moment, and then he, along with Grandpa Meng and Sister Fu, walked another forty paces forward.
"It's fine, they won't spot us from the enemy ships."
Fu Xinci didn't mention that she had already enveloped the three of them with her special ability. Even if they walked closer in broad daylight, those with "thousand-mile eyes" would only see a patch of greenery.
The three of them stopped only after finding a vantage point most favorable for observing the enemy.
Fu Xinci took out the telescope as usual and handed it to her grandfather first.
Grandpa Meng took the telescope and, after just a glance, muttered softly, "Disgraceful things."
After the old man cursed, he dared not show the "thousand-mile eyes" to his granddaughter. Instead, he handed it to Qi He.
Qi He was somewhat puzzled when he heard Grandpa Meng cursing. When he looked through the telescope and saw that most of the Wokou on the pirate ships were bare-chested, only wearing a loincloth below, he immediately wanted to throw a grenade and blow all these impudent bastards to smithereens.
Fu Xinci had excellent eyesight and had already seen it.
At this moment, seeing her grandfather and Qi He being protective and not wanting her to see, she pretended to have forgotten and didn't ask for the telescope back.
Qi He kept the telescope in his hand, staring at the actions of those Wokou.
"The tide is going out soon," Grandpa Meng said softly, glancing at the sky, and everyone's nerves tensed.
The sound of "dada dada" of horses' hooves came from afar. Fu Xinci looked back.
"Ci'er?"
"It should be Yuluo bringing people over."
A quarter of an hour later, Meng Yuluo arrived with ten archers and Yu'er.
After Qi He went to assign tasks to the archers, Yu'er quietly snuck up to his grandfather and sister to greet them. "Grandfather, Sister."
"Ah. Did Yu'er ask to come himself?"
"Yes. When the horn sounded, Father took us to the mountain pass to help. But we are all young and can't be of much help. I was worried, and then Cousin Luo happened to be sent with the message. Uncle Qi's side couldn't spare too many archers, so I volunteered to come over and help out."
"Did your Uncle Qi agree?"
"Yes. When I practiced archery at home, Uncle Qi saw me many times. Uncle Qi even said he had confidence in me."
For an eight or nine-year-old child, receiving the approval of an elder was very important, especially when that elder was the most respected person in Eagle's Beak Cliff.
Fu Xinci looked at the smile that always lingered on Yu'er's face and was happy for him. She only cautioned him, "Yu'er, don't stray too far from Sister when the fighting starts."
"Don't worry, Sister. Yu'er understands." Yu'er knew this was his sister's concern and he couldn't distract her.
As Grandpa Meng said, "The tide has receded."
Everyone's focus intensified.
The sound of "huala, huala" of water gradually receded, and the bottoms of the three large ships settled firmly on the beach.
Qi He held the telescope, his eyes fixed on the people disembarking from the three pirate ships.
He could clearly see the greed on the Wokou's faces and the bloodthirsty glint in their eyes as they climbed down from the ships.
"Little He, have you clearly seen how many people they have?" Grandpa Meng was most concerned about this.
"There are no less than fifty Wokou on each ship. I roughly counted, and there are about two hundred in total."
"We have twenty-nine people in total. Some of us will have to kill at least ten Wokou." Yu'er had already placed his crossbow on a tree branch he deemed suitable, which would better help him maintain balance.
Grandpa Meng also took out the handgun his granddaughter had given him. Just as he was about to aim, Fu Xinci took out a silencer and helped her grandfather attach it.
"Ci'er, what is this?"
"Grandfather, this is a silencer."
"What is a silencer?" Qi He asked, glancing enviously at the firearm in Grandpa Meng's hand.