Chapter 21: Consider yourselves lucky

"Brother, drink." Heipi picked up a bowl of wine, clinked it with Datou, and drank it in one gulp, then complained: "It's pitch black here, not even half a shadow, and I don't know what kind of madness the boss is having, insisting that the two of us guard here."

"You don't understand, this is called 'better safe than sorry'." Datou grabbed a pig's trotter and gnawed until his mouth was greasy. "The Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander has come to Zhenjiang Prefecture, mostly for us. How can we not be careful?"

"If you ask me, since the Embroidered Uniform Guard is here, why don't we run away early? Are we waiting here to lose our heads?"

"The boss thinks so too. I heard him say he wants to do one last big job and then leave." Datou lowered his voice and said. "So in these last two days, we can't be too careful."

"Brother, what you say makes sense. We'll suffer for two more days, and then we'll follow the boss to eat and drink well." Heipi picked up the wine bowl and said: "Come, I'll toast you another bowl."

"Cheers."

However, just as the two of them raised their wine bowls to their mouths, some intermittent talking suddenly came from an alley not far away, which sounded exceptionally clear in this deserted environment.

"Who!" Heipi and Datou stood up abruptly and looked in the direction the sound came from. However, the light was dim at night, and they couldn't see anything. They could only hear a faint sound coming from the air, which seemed to be a woman's moaning mixed with a man's panting, which was as fine as a mosquito's hum at first, and then gradually became self-forgetful.

The two looked at each other, and their expressions gradually became lewd.

"Shall we go take a look?" Heipi asked with a smile.

"Shh." Datou put a finger to his mouth, signaling Heipi to be quiet, and then looked back at the shipyard.

"Quietly, don't let the boss know."

"Alright."

The two of them walked on tiptoe, crouching, toward the direction the sound came from. And they didn't notice that just after they left, Tang Zheng and Su Xiaoxi sneaked into the shipyard from the unguarded gate.

……

"Hmm, hmm."

"Don't do that, it's itchy."

"You dead ghost, be gentle."

The woman's suppressed murmurs and panting came from the alley, falling into the ears of Datou and Heipi, causing a surge of blood in both of them.

I didn't expect to run into a pair of wild mandarin ducks in this pitch-black night. It was boring to guard the gate, but now they weren't sleepy at all.

The two of them walked stealthily to the wall, hearing the woman's voice continuing to come from behind the wall. The two of them looked at each other and smiled, and at the same time stretched their heads out.

There was nothing behind the wall, and the woman's moaning stopped abruptly.

Heipi and Datou looked at each other, their expressions bewildered.

"Where are the people?"

"I don't know."

The next second, a black shadow descended from the sky, and two hand-knives cut into the necks of Datou and Heipi like lightning.

The two of them hadn't even reacted before they fainted.

"Meeting me, consider yourselves lucky." Lin Zuo said to himself, his voice having returned from a female state to a normal male state.

Ten years ago, he was good at ventriloquism; simulating the chirping of insects and birds was not a problem, and imitating various dialects and even learning Japanese was not difficult. Disguising a woman's voice was just a piece of cake for him.

If it were any other Embroidered Uniform Guard, they might have killed them just now. However, Lin Zuo didn't like killing, and these two were just small shrimps; killing them was meaningless. The most important thing was to find out the truth about the water transport corruption and fish out the big fish hidden behind the scenes.

So he didn't take action just now.

Lin Zuo was very confident in his hand-knives. These two would have to be unconscious for at least a few hours before waking up, and they wouldn't disrupt his next plan.

He didn't look at them again, dragged their bodies into the darkness to hide them, then ran all the way to the low wall outside the shipyard, braced his feet on the wall, and his body rose into the air like a big bird, his figure then disappearing on the other side of the low wall.

……

In a corner of the shipyard, there was a low two-story building, which was originally for the workers in the shipyard to rest and stay. Because of its age, it looked very dilapidated from the outside.

At this moment, in a room on the second floor, a flickering candle jumped on the table.

Li Sheng was sitting opposite a mysterious person wearing a bamboo hat. Li Sheng picked up the wine pot and poured himself a cup, then prepared to pour wine for the mysterious person wearing the bamboo hat, but was blocked by his hand.

"I haven't touched a drop of alcohol for ten years. Please feel free, Li Sheng-kun."

His speech was a bit stiff, as if he was not very proficient in Chinese, and his voice was also very low, with a sinister air.

Li Sheng didn't mind, smiled and said: "That's fine. I've long heard that Yagyu Ichiro-kaku is cautious in his work, which is why I dare to cooperate with you with peace of mind."

After speaking, he picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp.

The mysterious person wearing the bamboo hat opposite raised his head slightly, revealing the face under the bamboo hat—from the corner of his eye to his forehead, there was a four-inch-long scar, and the flesh and skin rolled up like a thick dark red centipede, showing how deep and heavy the wound was at that time.

"Li Sheng-kun, thank you for your hard work last time. This is your reward." Yagyu Ichiro placed a silver note on the table and pushed it toward Li Sheng.

Li Sheng just glanced at it, and a smile appeared on his face. Presumably, the numbers on it made him very satisfied.

However, he didn't take it, but pushed the silver note back.

"Li Sheng-kun, what do you mean by this?"

"Compared to the big thing we are preparing to cooperate on, what is this small money?" Li Sheng said with a smile: "I want to do big things with Yagyu Ichiro-kaku."

Yagyu Ichiro stared at him for a few times, then laughed too, but because of the terrifying scar, his laughter was uglier than crying.

"Li Sheng-kun, is the news about the ship of precious tribute that you said would be transported to the Capital via the canal waterway last time accurate?"

"Of course it's accurate." Li Sheng said immediately: "The ship carrying the tribute is already docked at Xijin Ferry. If there are no accidents, it will set sail tomorrow night after worshipping the River God."

Yagyu Ichiro: "The waterway at Xijin Ferry is narrow, and the water level is not deep enough. Our ships are not easy to enter."

Li Sheng: "Don't worry, according to the hydrological laws of Zhenjiang Prefecture, there will be a tide around the hour of the Rat tomorrow night. At that time, the water level at Xijin Ferry will rise, and your ships will be able to enter and exit at will."

Yagyu Ichiro pondered for a moment, suddenly raised his head and looked at Li Sheng, and asked: "Li Sheng-kun, if it were just this ship of tribute, you shouldn't have specifically invited me over, right?"

"Of course." Li Sheng poured himself another glass of wine, then drank it in one gulp: "I won't speak in riddles in front of you. Since you are here, why don't we cooperate and do a big job thoroughly."

Yagyu Ichiro's eyes lit up: "Oh? What plan does Li Sheng-kun have?"

Li Sheng: "Zhenjiang Prefect Zhou Yunqing only knows how to worship the Bodhisattva. The defense of the Xijin Ferry area has always been my responsibility. At that time, I will find a way to restrain the patrol ships in the Xijin Ferry area, and you can take advantage of the empty port to go ashore and plunder."

Yagyu Ichiro: "I heard that an Embroidered Uniform Guard Imperial Envoy recently came to Zhenjiang Prefecture, and he is also a Commander?"

Li Sheng: "That is true, but don't worry, I have already settled him with silver."

Yagyu Ichiro: "Are you not worried about exposing yourself by doing this?"

"After finishing this job, I will take some trusted subordinates and leave with you, and never return to Zhenjiang again." Li Sheng sneered: "By then, we might have to make a living under Yagyu Ichiro-kaku."

And Yagyu Ichiro, upon hearing this, also showed a smile at the corner of his mouth, and took the initiative to pick up the wine pot and pour a full glass for himself and Li Sheng.

"If Li Sheng-kun is willing to come and help me, it would be like adding wings to a tiger."

"Yagyu Ichiro-kaku, didn't you say you don't drink?"

"For Li Sheng-kun, I am willing to break the rule." Yagyu Ichiro said, picking up the wine glass: "Please!"

"Please!"

And the two of them didn't notice that at this moment, an eye peeking through a small hole in the window paper blinked gently. ===== CHAPTER 22 =====