Chapter 1391

In terms of high-end enjoyment, the Yao Nation was far superior to other places on the Flash Gold Plain; large river boats like this were built as cruise ships, with food, drink, prostitution, and gambling—as long as there was enough silver.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui's dinner was like both steamed buns and mantou, but made of fine white flour, then roasted over a fire until the outer skin was slightly charred; when scraped with a small knife, it made a rustling sound. Inside, it was stuffed with honey, ham, fish floss, and pickled small olives, tasting of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and spicy all at once.

Even the wine on the boat had a faint woody fragrance, which was very novel.

After the meal, He Lingchuan went to the bow of the boat to blow in the wind.

This was a habit he had developed while at Yangshan.

The Baiquan River was not as vast as the ocean; the clear waves were gentle, and drifting on the calm water was a different kind of experience.

Dong Rui also moved over and whispered: "I went around the cargo hold, everything is normal."

"Are the boxes okay?"

"All safe and sound, very quiet." Dong Rui chuckled, "I'll bring a jar of wine down tomorrow night."

"Don't get caught."

"Rest assured. The cargo hold is stuffy and damp; usually, not even a ghost goes there." Dong Rui sighed, "That place is truly not for humans."

He Lingchuan smiled: "Before boarding, I received intelligence from Afeng; they observed for a few days and found that the most capable strategist, Tong Huan, and several elites were missing from that troop. I reckon he left this group in Shuangxi in case of emergencies."

Xue Zongwu left his clever brains in Shuangxi to deal with Qingyang's tricks.

"Those few subordinates of his have very good cultivation and combat power. It seems he's worried about people coming at him hard."

If Qingyang used soft tricks, Tong Huan would deal with them; if he came hard, Xue Zongwu's subordinates could meet force with force.

Quite thorough consideration.

"Great news." Dong Rui gave a thumbs-up. He Lingchuan had only stolen a few account books and set a fire in the government office, and he had already tricked Xue Zongwu into reducing his guard strength for the return to the capital.

The chances of their side succeeding had increased a bit more.

Dong Rui poked his chin forward, "Hey, the boat trip is three days, any ideas?"

The bright moon hung high in the sky, and they could see many boats ahead, shadowy and indistinct.

There were many people on the boat, so Dong Rui could only use code.

He Lingchuan shook his head: "Just ride the boat in peace."

"Why?"

"The boat is a closed space, and the personnel are relatively fixed; unless we encounter strong winds and waves, it's hard to create accidents to stir things up." Only muddy water makes it easy to catch fish. If the water is too clear, the fish will see you first. "Look at this weather, the next few days will likely be calm."

Dong Rui also knew a little about celestial phenomena; he looked up and sighed.

Indeed, this Baiquan River was too calm, and the boat was moving steadily.

"Our 'friend' chose Dragon Mouth Ferry because he liked the safety of the boat trip." He Lingchuan said softly, "He abandoned the Mother Rock Cliff and took a detour, which shows he has already increased his vigilance. Do you think he won't be strictly on guard on the boat?"

Making a move on the boat was definitely not a good idea.

Dong Rui chuckled: "Maybe those few men in black are also here; they'll come to stir things up."

"Then that wouldn't be stirring things up, it would be courting death." He Lingchuan pointed into the water, "There's something in the river."

Dong Rui was slightly startled: "What?"

"A school of big fish, all over a zhang long. The largest are over two zhang, with whiskers by their lips." Under the moonlight, the great river was like an ink pool, pitch black; no one could see what was in the water, except for the Soul-Absorbing Mirror. "Full of sharp teeth, hmm, they might be catfish demons."

"Passing demons?"

"No, they've been following us the whole way." He Lingchuan looked at the pitch-black river water, knowing there were things swimming back and forth underneath. "To be precise, they've been following near this fleet since Dragon Mouth Ferry, never leaving."

Dong Rui reacted immediately: "Good fellow, our good friend found water spirits to escort him?"

The Yao Nation was a proper Flash Gold powerhouse, with Yuan power and enfeoffed mountain and water spirits. Outside of official channels, Xue Zongwu could still mobilize such a force.

If anyone wanted to plot against him on the boat, they would inevitably jump into the water to escape afterward. At that time, the water spirits would deliver a lesson they would never forget.

With this school of catfish demons patrolling, the water route was no longer safe.

Dong Rui understood: "No wonder you kid are sitting still." So he had seen the catfish demons patrolling early on.

He Lingchuan sighed. He had indeed been tempted before boarding the boat to crush Xue Zongwu on the road. But once the Soul-Absorbing Mirror discovered the catfish demons under the water, He Lingchuan understood that this was a trap! Xue Zongwu had set a trap for assassins.

Then, besides the catfish demons, Xue Zongwu must have prepared other gifts for ill-intentioned assassins, and He Lingchuan respectfully declined.

"I wonder if those few men in black will make a move." He Lingchuan yawned, "If they don't die even after this, it means they have destiny, and I might even help them later."

Luck is also a part of strength.

Early the next morning, Weng Xing was woken up by the boat foreman's loud voice: "Get up, all of you, a bunch of lazy pigs, get out here and work!"

He rubbed his eyes and got up slowly.

Usually, he would get up before the rooster crowed to regulate his breathing and practice, but he had been so tired over the past few days that he had actually slept soundly in this bottom cabin full of sweat and foot odor.

He looked left and right but didn't see his brother.

Where did he go?

The laborers around were all cursing as they got up, and Weng Xing put on his boots while stuffing a bun into his mouth.

When he climbed onto the deck, Weng Su also came over, helped him move a box, and whispered: "Not good."

Perhaps because they had received too many bad messages recently, Weng Xing's heart didn't skip a beat, and he only asked: "What's wrong?"

"That dog... that person doesn't seem to be on this boat."

"... Brother!" Weng Xing's hands loosened, and the box almost fell to the ground, but thanks to his brother lifting it up, he said, "You're my own brother, don't tease me!"

"Before dawn, I went to the stern to relieve myself." He had drunk too much water last night. "I happened to hear two guards on duty on the level above chatting about having a big meal last night."

"Does that even need saying?" Weng Xing immediately felt the bun he was chewing wasn't fragrant anymore. The dishes served out last night had made him drool.

"They then said that because the General wasn't on the boat, these dishes were left unused, so they were rewarded to them."

Weng Xing was stunned for a long time: "Then where is the General?"

"If he's not on this boat, he must be on another!" Weng Su gritted his teeth until they creaked. "This dog thief, cunning as a ghost!"

Xue Zongwu didn't take the Mother Rock Cliff route, which showed he was on guard. When he arrived at Dragon Mouth Ferry, he used a diversionary tactic, putting all hundred-plus guards on this boat while he quietly boarded another.

The brothers stood on the deck and looked out; sails were like banners, and who knew which boat Xue Zongwu was hiding on! They could only sigh at the sails and temporarily give up on this idea.

Weng Xing's shoulders slumped: Had they worked so hard to track the enemy for a hundred miles, guarding the mountain rocks in wind and rain, and working as laborers through wind and waves, only to be played around by their enemy in the end?

"Then what do we do now?"

"I ask you, A-Xing—" Weng Su said seriously, "Do you want to give up?"

Weng Xing was startled and shook his head vigorously: "No! Brother Tu treated us with great kindness, I must avenge him!"

It was just as well that there was no one around, so he dared to say this.

A mere setback didn't hurt their muscles or bones; how could he take it to heart?

"Good, that's my brother!" Weng Su said with relief, "Let that dog thief be free for a few more days; we'll eat and sleep, and settle the score with him once we get ashore!"

Weng Xing gritted his teeth secretly and encouraged himself: "Yes!"

"Hey, what are you two dawdling for?" The boat foreman called their names from not far away; two burly men moving one box, taking a long time to advance a zhang—was this appropriate? "I'm talking to you two, yes, you two. This boat doesn't keep trash! Move faster."

The Baiquan River was calm, and nothing happened.

The Weng brothers diligently inquired, wanting to find out which boat Xue Zongwu was hiding on, but how could that be easy?

Two days later, the boat trip ended, and the passengers went ashore.

Only then did the Weng brothers see Xue Zongwu walk off an unremarkable small boat; that boat carried no more than seventy or eighty people.

Immediately, a group of guards crowded over, protecting him in the middle, and walked away as if he were the moon surrounded by stars.

"Dog thief!" The brothers were squeezed into the crowd preparing to disembark, only daring to curse under their breath, "He looks radiant!"

"Of course, he's eaten well and slept well for the past two days, with people specifically serving him!" Unlike them, who had worked as laborers for two and a half days on the boat! At this moment, the guards on their boat called the boat foreman to the side and whispered.

The boat foreman gestured over here, and the guards' eyes were also unkind.

Weng Su saw it at a glance and felt something was wrong, saying to his brother: "The wind is tight."

Weng Xing was startled and looked at the river surface.

As long as his brother gave the signal, he would jump!

Sure enough, after the guards finished listening to the boat foreman, they beckoned four or five companions and walked quickly toward them.

It was indeed aimed at them! Weng Su acted as if nothing was wrong, but secretly channeled his true power.

"These two—" the guard leader pointed and shouted sternly, "Take them away!"

He pointed straight at... the side of Weng Su.

Several guards rushed over like wolves and tigers, dragging away the two laborers beside Weng Su.

"Ah, we're innocent, we didn't do anything!" The two laborers screamed, but no one paid attention.

"...?" The Weng brothers looked at each other. A false alarm? The guards successively took away three or four more people, all miscellaneous workers, before letting everyone else off the boat.

By the time the guards on the boat had already left, Weng Xing approached the boat foreman and whispered: "Why were those people arrested?"

"The adults around General Xue said that assassins had mixed into this boat, and asked me to help find suspicious characters!"

The brothers were shocked: "Ah, what kind of people are suspicious characters?"

"Those who are clearly here to work but don't put in effort, those who are always looking around, those who are always whispering together." The boat foreman pointed to the backs of the miscellaneous workers taken away by the guards, "See, those are all of them, so I reported them to the adults."

Weng Su could only sigh insincerely: "So, so that's it; General Xue is truly amazing."

"If they had worked as diligently as you two, they wouldn't have been treated as assassins."

(End of chapter)