Chapter 1390

Taking a boat down the Baiquan River could save three days of travel. "That dog-son surnamed Xue isn't taking the Mother Rock Cliff route or the Tao Water route; is he on guard?" The brothers didn't know that the Left Chancellor had run into trouble, but instinctively felt something was wrong.

They had suffered through a day and night of heavy rain at the Mother Rock Cliff, eating dry rations and drinking cold wind, only for Xue Zongwu to never go to the Mother Rock Cliff at all, preferring to take a detour rather than risk the canyon.

This dog thief was indeed as cunning as a dog.

By the time the Weng brothers tracked Xue Zongwu's troop again, they thought they would stay in Tao Water. After all, within a fifty-mile radius, Tao Water was the most prosperous, with food, entertainment, and reception; how could it be worse than staying in a small rural town? The Weng brothers had also been to Tao Water and speculated that Xue Zongwu would likely spend the night there, so they hurried and rushed, almost running their horses' legs off, finally arriving in Tao Water before Xue Zongwu and starting to set up! Three days, they had been on the road for three days, changing horses several times, and hadn't closed their eyes at all!

Fortunately, they had excellent cultivation and strong bodies; otherwise, few people could have held on.

Weng Su knew a few farmers in Tao Water who often delivered poultry and fruit to the Feng family's kitchen. He intended to use this connection to infiltrate the Feng family and take the opportunity to strike at Xue Zongwu!

Who knew... who knew that even after the connection was made, Xue Zongwu passed by Tao Water without entering! And again, they only found out the next day!

Weng Su was so angry he almost vomited blood.

Weng Xing asked: "Brother, are we still going to do it on the boat?"

"Yes. There are many people rushing to cross, and there aren't enough boats or boatmen. We'll just go onto his boat as boatmen in broad daylight." Weng Su sneered, "That dog thief Xue thinks a mere natural chasm can stop us? Naive! I've fought wind and waves and caught fish in the sea; I can go anywhere on land or water!"

The brothers had been to sea and worked as freelancers before, knowing that as long as one's water skills were good, rivers, lakes, and seas were the best escape routes. Once they killed someone, they could jump into the water and vanish without a trace.

Thinking it meant they could do it; the Weng brothers adapted to the situation, changed into five-tenths-new bamboo cloth clothes, and hurried to the Dragon Mouth Ferry Shipping Department.

Just as Weng Su expected, the Shipping Department hadn't expected so many dignitaries to suddenly gather at Dragon Mouth Ferry, and every single one of them was someone they couldn't afford to offend. They were short of boats and skilled workers. When the two burly men arrived and claimed to be experienced old boatmen who could row and carry, the Shipping Department's recruitment boss didn't think twice and took them in, pointing to the nearest large boat: "You two, get on that one!"

This boat was also loading cargo, and Weng Xing saw that a large pile of boxes were all sealed, with the character "Tribute" written on them.

A few boxes were particularly large and heavy, requiring four or five laborers to lift them together before they could shakily get them onto the boat. There were also two supervisors on the side shouting: "Careful, careful! If the tribute gifts fall into the water, ten of your lives won't be enough to pay for them!"

Weng Xing spat internally, wondering whose blood and sweat this was scraped from, to be offered to Heaven Water City.

Truly, the dry die of thirst, and the flooded die of drowning.

The supervisor added: "Orders from above: those three boxes contain fragile items, so handle them gently and don't put them at the very bottom."

Weng Xing was distracted, but Weng Su immediately pulled the recruitment boss away two steps, and before the man could turn hostile, he handed over a few copper coins: "Which family has the highest official rank here?"

The recruitment boss pointed to the ferry: "It seems to be General Xue, the one with the indigo sea beast carved on the prow."

Shipping power at the ferry was tight, and this was the time for seniority; with Xue Zongwu's power, he naturally had priority.

"Also, the boat next to it is said to be the Royal Palace Special Envoy's boat." That was the family with the particularly large and heavy boxes.

Weng Su took out a little more broken silver and shook it in front of the recruitment boss: "I heard the dignitaries give generous rewards; could you trouble yourself to arrange for us to go to General Xue's boat?"

What was difficult about that? A mere trifle. The recruitment boss was long used to simple-minded big guys having their own little thoughts; he accepted the silver, waved his hand, and told someone to take them over to carry the heavy items.

The two went one after the other, carrying a fat pig onto the boat; what they saw along the way were indeed guards in light armor and weapons. Anyone miscellaneous who got close was immediately driven away.

A slave from some family was careless and dropped two copper coins into the gap of the wooden pier bridge. He hurriedly bent down to pick them up, ignoring the guards' shouting.

A guard of Xue's flew into a kick and sent him into the water.

However, when the Weng brothers crossed the pier to board the boat, they were only questioned and checked, and then waved through.

The large boat Xue Zongwu was riding on, in addition to the two hundred elite soldiers he brought, was also equipped with fifty or sixty miscellaneous workers—someone had to control the boat, cook, carry cargo, and serve the distinguished guests.

The Weng brothers were applying for this miscellaneous worker position.

The two easily bluffed their way through, put the fat pig into the cargo hold, and Weng Xing gave his brother a thumbs-up:

"It really is his boat. We got on the right one; brother, you're really amazing."

Weng Su raised his head and smiled confidently: "Let's go, hurry and move the other cargo."

They couldn't let the guards get suspicious.

The two went off and on the boat, moving four or five times in a row; even ordinary laborers weren't as capable as them.

On the last trip, they were moving a few large wine jars onto the boat. Weng Xing smelled the wine fragrance seeping from the lid and couldn't help but swallow his saliva: "Brother, did you see that person?"

"That person" referred to Xue Zongwu.

"Not yet, but he's likely already boarded and entered the cabin. I just saw his personal guard."

Once the supplies were moved, the large boat set sail.

The brothers climbed onto the deck and looked back; the large Dragon Mouth Ferry became smaller and smaller in their field of vision and soon disappeared into the mist.

"The boat trip will take three days, no rush." Weng Su patted his brother's shoulder, "Let's recharge our energy first and act tomorrow night."

Counting it up, they hadn't slept or eaten properly for five days and nights. Assassinating Xue Zongwu was definitely a high-difficulty technical job; they had to be fully rested to invest themselves with the most enthusiasm and energy.

In order not to arouse suspicion, they followed the boat foreman's instructions and finished seven or eight physical tasks in a row, and were even praised for it.

The sky turned dark, and the river surface was pitch black.

The two were exhausted and starving, yet one delicious dish after another was sent out from the kitchen. Those were for the dignitaries and guards; there was no share for the boatmen, so they could only watch and smell, swallowing their saliva wildly.

"Shall we go steal some food tonight?" Weng Xing couldn't remember at this moment how he had fallen from upholding justice to stealing food on an enemy's boat to fill his stomach.

But those dishes were truly fragrant; even if he could only gnaw on a few pork fat dregs, it would be good! Weng Su stopped him: "Be firm! Remember our goal, don't create extra complications."

After finally finishing work, the two ate a few salty steamed buns with hot water, lay down in the bottom cabin with the other miscellaneous workers, and fell asleep instantly.

At this time, He Lingchuan and Dong Rui were on the boat behind, about two hundred zhang away from the Weng brothers.

(End of chapter)