Captain – Chapter 392 – The Cat Teaching the Tiger, Keeping One Trick Back

The emotion-severing thrust connected.

With a deep, muffled sound, that exquisite rapier plunged deep into the youth’s body, positioned just a few inches above his heart.

Because of the blood-channeling patterns on the rapier that caused it to embed deeply in flesh, even though Vivian thrust with great force, piercing Richi’s body, only a short tip of the blade emerged from his back.

The effect of insufficient sharpness was that most of the young woman’s force was channeled through the blood grooves, acting upon the youth’s body.

Thus Richi could no longer advance but was driven backward by the oncoming tremendous force, retreating unstoppably until hitting a wooden wall and stopping.

It was the outer wall of the captain’s cabin.

The two, one in front and one behind, had “chased” across nearly half the deck.

Only now did time seem to flow again, and only now did extremely thin, scattered streams of blood begin to flow from where the youth had been pierced by the rapier.

“You really don’t show any mercy at all.”

Cold raindrops fell with a “pitter-patter,” striking Richi’s snow-white face. In his usually indifferent blood-red eyes, traces of pain were faintly visible, indicating how deep the pain must be.

Anyone with a blood-grooved blade deeply embedded in their body, used as a point of leverage, and pushed backward such a distance, couldn’t possibly remain expressionless.

Even the Blood-Eyed Butcher couldn’t.

After taking a few sharp breaths, when the pain from within his body had somewhat dispersed, or rather numbed, the youth finally had the spirit to smile bitterly.

“You brought this on yourself.”

Looking at that face so close to her, now so familiar, watching the large drops of water—indistinguishable as rain or sweat—flowing down his forehead, Vivian lowered her eyelids slightly and spoke in a somewhat hoarse voice.

She had finally shown some emotion.

Rеaԁ оո ΚαtRеαdiոgCαfе

Because from the moment she thrust her sword until this very moment, the youth had shown no intention of fighting back, not even the slightest attempt to dodge.

He was like a wooden figure, allowing her to stab and push him, remaining motionless and silent throughout, perhaps due to guilt.

“Yes, I brought it on myself.”

Allowing fresh blood to soak through his cloak, making that scarlet color even deeper, the youth had no intention of breaking free, only smiling faintly.

“However, I must admit, your strategy is decisive enough.”

From a distance came the sound of metal clashing against metal, faintly visible as the flash of blades and sparks, but Richi didn’t glance that way, still looking at the young woman up close.

“Let that scholar… oh, perhaps I should say First Mate Isaac, use his immortal body to hold back Roy, then rely on your combat prowess to deal with me first, creating a two-against-one situation.”

Pausing, the youth nodded appreciatively, quite contentedly saying: “To have made such progress in such a short time is impressive.”

From a blank slate unaware of schemes to someone who could silently plan with Isaac, coordinating skillfully—Vivian’s changes were indeed not small.

“Learned from you.”

That he could recognize the “old pirate’s” identity didn’t surprise the young woman; after all, he had also obtained considerable intelligence from the Lady.

And her changes—whether being able to set aside prejudices and fully cooperate with a pirate she internally resisted, or understanding schemes and strategies, predicting enemy intentions—were indeed related to him.

“Even this stabbing position, I suppose you chose it long ago?”

To this, Richi didn’t sigh, only looking down at where the rapier had entered, the corner of his mouth revealing a barely perceptible smile.

Because the wind and rain were too heavy, the steps too hurried, an extremely faint brittle sound had been masked when the rapier approached his body earlier.

But of course, neither he nor she would easily overlook it.

Reαԁ οո ΚаtRеaⅾіոɡСafe

Because it was the sound of a crystal vial breaking, and judging by the range the rapier could cover, the small insect inside had also been pierced.

It was the poison insect he had cultivated most carefully, his most deeply hidden killing move, which had taken countless lives in the past. Even Roy was wary of it, always carrying a small bag of gunpowder for protection.

Therefore, many people, including Vivian, would believe that in that captain’s duel on the Mermaid, he had ultimately held back.

Because at that time, the Golden-Eyed Devil had already used the gunpowder meant to ward off the poison insect in the process of shielding herself and rushing out of the captain’s cabin.

If the poison insect had fluttered forth at that moment, even if it couldn’t take a life, it would have been enough to distract.

And in such a dangerous combat, being unable to concentrate was tantamount to seeking death, especially as Roy was already nearly exhausted.

Although Vivian’s current situation was different from the captain’s at that time, unable to judge the potential impact of that poison insect, she had unhesitatingly chosen to eliminate it.

Hence this thrust.

This thrust, though seemingly not lethal, was not because the young woman was showing mercy, but because she understood that Richi, also a Death-Fearer, could not be killed.

So what she needed to do was to prevent him from acting as much as possible.

Just like a sword thrust through the youth, with its tip embedded in the outer wall of the captain’s cabin, nailing him like the son on the holy book to a cross.

Or perhaps, piercing through both him and that slender crystal vial, eliminating the Blood-Eyed Butcher’s most feared and guarded killing move.

The youth’s earlier look of pain was likely due to the influence of the poison insect’s blood.

As for how she knew the location of the crystal vial…

Just as Richi had demonstrated when he returned, Vivian wasn’t actually so easily fooled, nor was she naive. Just as Richi could gradually understand and see through her during their interactions, so could she.

Reaⅾ oո КatRеαԁіոɡСаfе

Perhaps as early as when they were drinking together, she had already been preparing for this.

Who knew what those seemingly curious, caring questions meant deep in the young woman’s heart?

Perhaps even she herself wasn’t clear.

“Maybe.”

Precisely because her true intentions were unclear, Vivian’s response wasn’t as indifferent and direct as before, but gave an ambiguous answer.

“Anyway, you can’t move now, and your hidden trick is gone, so just stay here quietly. I’ll try to… spare a life.”

The “life” in “spare a life” naturally referred to Roy’s life.

What Vivian said seemed to already be fact.

Relying on the natural tacit understanding created by her bond with the Lady, the combined efforts of the Blood Craver and the pirate First Mate had completely changed the situation.

The balance brought by the youth’s appearance had once again been broken.

If the young woman returned to the battle, Roy’s suppression of Isaac would naturally cease, and at that point, retrieving the goddess statue would only be a matter of time.

And once the magical box and the key were reunited, this game would end.

Let it end like this.

Thinking silently, Vivian made up her mind, taking one last look at the youth before turning around, intending to end everything as planned.

But at this moment, the youth said a phrase.

“The cat teaching the tiger.”

Rеαⅾ οո KαtReаdiոɡСafe

Her movement suddenly halted, and the young woman somewhat stiffly turned her face, once again casting her gaze on Richi’s face, then saw his clear smile.

At this moment, he truly looked like a child.

But… a mischievous child.

“The cat teaching the tiger” is an old proverb, whose specific meaning he had once explained to her. To summarize simply, it’s about a tiger learning many skills from a cat, but then wanting to eat the cat in return.

But in the end, the tiger didn’t succeed, because the cat hadn’t taught it to climb trees—the four words the youth hadn’t completed from the proverb.

Keeping one trick back.

The cat teaching the tiger, keeping one trick back.

You learned a lot from me, discovered some secrets through subtle questioning, but… that was intentional on my part.

Richi didn’t say these words, but the proverb he uttered, along with that expression, was clearly telling Vivian that that wasn’t everything.

Whether what you learned or what you understood.

It wasn’t all.

Before she could fully comprehend the youth’s meaning, the young woman suddenly felt a slight itch on the back of the hand holding the magical box.

As if a colorful small insect were crawling across it.

The discomfort was like having all her thoughts seen through.

She suddenly felt cold.