Chapter 442: Winds and Clouds Change (4k)

Sharp sparks burst from Wei Lin's eyes, and wherever they swept, everyone couldn't help but lower their heads.

A deathly silence.

The grievances between the Commandant and the Deputy Commandant had existed for a long time, and since their ancestors, it had been this way; disgusting each other was the norm.

Everyone knew it.

The Duke of Liang was sharp and irritable, and Wei Lin was his spitting image; the two sides were always like fire and water. As subordinates, they should have been used to it long ago.

Rumble~

Thunder rolled across the sky, lightning intertwined, the silver light was dense, and heavy rain fell from the dark clouds.

Third floor of the Demon Suppression Division.

Raindrops crumbled into scattered white dots.

Xu Xu Yuelong closed the window, blocking the water spray and noise on the windowsill, returned to his seat, and enthusiastically draped his arm over the shoulder of Sui Sui Hongyan, the Deputy Commander of the Demon Suppression Division, boasting that heavenly anomalies were rare, could cleanse True Qi, boost the spirit, and had many benefits.

Thirty thousand taels—you can't lose out, you can't be cheated!

Money spent can be earned back, but if you miss the anomaly, it won't come again!

"If you can use this opportunity to give birth to a spiritual form, it's truly worth more than thirty thousand taels of gold!"

Sui Sui Hongyan raised an eyebrow, didn't answer directly, but instead shook his tea with interest.

"I heard people say you quoted Wei Lin fifty thousand taels of silver?"

Xu Xu Yuelong admitted: "That's right! You all know about the little mess between him and me."

Commander Zuo Heng crossed his hands, pressed them onto the table, leaned forward, and asked with a smile: "In the River Patrol Office, you're the deputy; aren't you afraid Wei Lin will use his status as Commandant to hold it against you?"

"That's why I came to find you, isn't it?" Xu Xu Yuelong opened his hands, a smile rising on his face. "You all are of one mind with me; if you get on the boat and take a stand, for other Great Martial Artists it's thirty thousand, but I'll give you a discount—twenty-eight thousand! How about that?"

Zuo Heng sneered.

"Two thousand taels to help you speak up? Are you dismissing a beggar? You and Wei Lin have an old feud, but I don't. On the contrary, I quite appreciate him; his temper is foul and his personality is bad, but he's just strong enough. Among our generation, he's at least in the top five."

Xu Xu Yuelong grinned.

"Twenty thousand!" Sui Sui Hongyan put down his teacup. "I'll buy one of your boat tickets, and the other ten thousand taels will be to help you with this favor."

"Twenty-five thousand! No lower!" Xu Xu Yuelong also crossed his arms and leaned forward. "The Three Judicial Departments have already agreed. If you don't come, it'll be troublesome for me, but with several Great Martial Artists added together, it's enough!"

Sui Sui Hongyan lowered his head to ponder, looking at Zuo Heng.

After a long time.

"Twenty-three thousand!"

Xu Xu Yuelong slapped the table: "Deal!"

Sui Sui Hongyan stood up from the ground.

"I'm going to get the money!"

Three Judicial Departments.

Xu Xu Yuelong took a sip of strong tea and talked eloquently.

"Twenty-five thousand! No lower! Sui Sui Hongyan and Zuo Heng of the Demon Suppression Division have already agreed. If you don't come, it'll be troublesome for me, but it's not like I have no other way! I'm pulling you in to bolster the momentum!"

"Twenty-five thousand..."

The first and second in command of the Three Judicial Departments looked at each other, repeatedly calculating in their hearts.

"Twenty-four thousand!"

"Deal!"

Qingjiang Shipyard.

Rainwater dripped along the brown branches folded by the bamboo hat; Liang Qu crossed a puddle and looked up into the distance.

His vision jumped out of the square inch, and the world was gray and misty.

Everywhere were shipwrights holding out oilcloth, catching the rain and grabbing the four corners, covering the cut boards and timber.

The steward passed by several shipwrights, took the lead to guide the way, and introduced the ships one by one, from wide-bellied boats to multi-story large ships, with all kinds of performance complete.

Liang Qu was dissatisfied with all of them.

"Are there any that are fast? The size doesn't matter."

After thinking about it, Liang Qu added, "It doesn't have to be too fast, just enough to travel a thousand li a day."

For this trip into the marsh, the number of people wouldn't be too many, at most a hundred or so; a few more boats would be enough to hold them. He wanted a king of cost-effectiveness.

This trip was him and Xu Xu Yuelong selling boat tickets for profit, which was a bit like doing private work, so it might not necessarily be reimbursed.

The steward pondered for a while and led Liang Qu to another dock, where the ships inside were all glowing with a faint azure light.

"Azure Cloud Wind Boats! The entire keel is built with Azure Water Wood, and the ship ribs are mainly Purple Spirit Bamboo, light and nimble, with fast speed."

"For an ordinary double-masted sailing ship, every watch, if it's a tailwind, travels about seventy li, but the Azure Cloud Boat can increase that by half again. Even against the wind and water, it can travel over a thousand li a day, unlike ordinary ships that have their speed cut in half when going against the wind!"

Liang Qu nodded slightly.

Ship navigation doesn't talk about speed per hour, but about watches.

One day and night is about ten watches, one watch is about 2.4 hours.

With a tailwind, one watch travels seventy li, the speed is thirty li per hour, which is seven hundred li a day.

The Azure Cloud Wind Boat increases that by half, so it's about seventeen hundred li a day.

Observing the openings on both sides and the ropes on the ship, it could be expected that with human and beast power added, the ship's speed would be even faster.

Calculating based on the distance between Pingyang Prefecture and Bai Awei, with a tailwind and favorable current, it would take less than three days to arrive, leaving plenty of spare time.

Excellent performance!

"Not bad, that's the one!"

"Lord Liang is still the Minister of Waterways, and needs to coordinate the use of ships. In one go, you can dispatch..."

Liang Qu reached out and took off the waist token, tossing it to the steward.

The steward reached out to catch it, wiped the water stains off the surface, and the bright "Xu" character flashed with clear light. He was startled and hurriedly handed it back.

Liang Qu said: "I'm using the ships on behalf of Commandant Xu."

"Since it's Magistrate Xu's request, Lord Liang has the authority to dispatch any ship currently built and still in the port."

Liang Qu roughly scanned the number of ships in the dock.

"Ten Azure Cloud Boats, each equipped with ten small shuttles, loaded with ten days of living supplies, parked at the entrance of the River Patrol Office by the second quarter of the Chen hour tomorrow. Can you do it?"

"Ten Azure Cloud Boats, equipped with ten small shuttles each, totaling one hundred shuttles, loaded with ten days of supplies, will definitely be delivered by the Chen hour tomorrow!"

"Good!"

The next day.

The world was overcast, and the uniform Azure Cloud Boats were parked neatly at the entrance of the River Patrol Office, drifting with the waves.

The registrars sent soldiers and river officials to check up and down, looking for leaks and filling gaps.

In Ran Ran Zhongshi's study on the second floor of the opposite government office, it was a scene of chaos.

Everyone gathered around, offering congratulations.

Ran Ran Zhongshi had come out of seclusion!

Great Martial Artist Ran!

Digesting the many things that had happened in the last two days, Ran Ran Zhongshi let out a long breath.

"Luckily I came out a day early; if I missed the anomaly, that would be a huge loss."

Ke Ko Wenbin counted on his fingers: "Counting Master A-Shui, we have three Great Martial Artists now! Invincible!"

"Good, good, good, our River Patrol Office is flourishing!"

"Great Martial Artist Ran! A Grandmaster is imminent, and a Wu Sheng is in sight!"

Bai Bai Yinbin started a commotion: "You come out of seclusion and run into an anomaly; how come all the good things happen to you? Doesn't this call for a treat?"

Ran Ran Zhongshi waved his large hand: "Treat! What do you want to eat? Report the dishes now! I'll have people prepare them immediately! We'll open for business when we get back!"

"A three-thousand-year-old Vermilion Fruit to freshen the mouth!"

"Bring two Flat Peaches that add twenty years of life!"

"Bring two more vats of Heavenly Immortal Spring to rinse the mouth! Don't dilute it with water! I want the thick pulp!"

Ran Ran Zhongshi rolled up his sleeves: "You all are too polite. Why wait until we get back to eat these? I'll knock you all out now, and you can eat them in your dreams immediately!"

"Pfft, stingy."

"I became a Great Martial Artist, not a Wu Sheng!"

Bai Bai Yinbin stuck out his long neck: "Stingy and petty, you don't even have the spirit of a Wu Sheng; how can you become a Wu Sheng in the future?"

Ran Ran Zhongshi was furious.

"Today, divine power is with me; I didn't intend to see blood, but you all insist on testing its edge!"

"Big Brother Xu Yuelong, save me!"

"Alright!"

The crowd didn't stop their lively chatter, and Xu Xu Yuelong stepped forward to stop them.

"Since Ran Zhongshi came out of seclusion early, we should leave as early as possible. The original plan was tomorrow afternoon, so let's move it up to this afternoon."

No one could say for sure when the Long Qi would appear, so to avoid deviation, it was best to arrive two days early.

The anomaly was a major event, and the crowd couldn't care about offering congratulations, scattering one after another.

Once the study was empty, Xu Xu Yuelong pulled a thick stack of silver notes from his sleeve and slapped them into Liang Qu's hand.

This stack of silver notes was completely different from ordinary thousand-tael or hundred-tael notes.

The texture was unusually thick, quite like animal skin, and it was densely covered with seals and various shades of azure patterns, looking extraordinary just by sight.

"Not counting your Master and Senior Brothers, Ran Zhongshi and the others, there are nine Hunting Tiger Realm experts, sixty-eight Wolf Smoke Realm experts, and twenty-seven Galloping Horse Realm experts.

I gave some people a discount for part of it, counting your thirty percent, it totals 189,900 taels. I've rounded it up for you to 190,000 taels!"

Liang Qu: "!!!"

How much?

190,000 taels!?

Heavens!

For a moment, Liang Qu, hearing this exaggerated number, felt his heart pumping faster, blood rushing to his head, and he felt dizzy.

Liang Qu had struggled in Xiangyi County for half a month and only made 70,000 taels; Xu Xu Yuelong turned his hand and made 190,000?

Is money really this easy to earn?

"Did Commandant Wei pay?"

Xu Xu Yuelong nodded, then shook his head.

"Consider it paid."

What does "consider" it paid mean?

Seeing that Xu Xu Yuelong had no desire to explain.

Liang Qu didn't press for the bottom of the matter and carefully put away the silver notes.

Even though it was only nineteen sheets of parchment, tucking them into his pocket made him feel a heavy weight.

He looked left and right.

"Can I go back for a moment?"

Xu Xu Yuelong raised an eyebrow: "Ran Zhongshi came out of seclusion early, and we're leaving this afternoon; your things are already prepared, what are you going back for?"

"It's my first time carrying so much money; I'm not at ease bringing it out."

Liang Qu was truly afraid that he would accidentally have his "gold coins exploded" by someone else; even if someone stole one sheet or he dropped one, his heart would ache to death.

An astronomical amount of wealth he had never seen in his life!

"If you put it at home, you..." Xu Xu Yuelong thought for a moment, then changed his tone. "Look at you, as if you've never seen money before. Go quickly and come back quickly."

Liang Qu hurriedly called Chishan, slipped back to his residence, carefully put the dozen or so silver notes into the secret compartment of the wooden box in the quiet room, and repeatedly observed them.

Awesome!!!

Inside the secret compartment were dozens of silver notes of different denominations, totaling 70,000 taels!

After totaling it up, Liang Qu's total wealth exceeded 260,000 taels!

Wealthy!

Unprecedentedly wealthy!

This money could be used to buy precious plants, worth at least 100,000 taels of Water-Marsh Essence!

The twenty-plus Galloping Horse experts weren't worth much, but those dozens of Wolf Smoke experts and nine Hunting Tiger experts were truly dripping with oil.

Liang Qu had fantasized before that if everyone gave him a little money, he could become a big tycoon.

Now, relying on Xu Xu Yuelong, it could be considered a disguised realization of his dream.

"Hoo~"

Deep breath.

Liang Qu calmed his mood, didn't return to the riverbank immediately, packed his things, asked the Grandmaster for two more small orders, said goodbye to everyone at home, turned around, and ran to the mansion to call his Senior Brothers and Master.

Hearing that they were leaving a day early, the two Senior Brothers at the martial arts hall didn't dawdle, shouldered their bags, and headed toward the fleet.

Not having entered Wolf Smoke, not having formed True Qi.

The actual gains from going as a Galloping Horse expert wouldn't be too many, but following along to increase one's knowledge was never wrong.

The level of one's vision determines one's judgment of things, and also indirectly determines one's life choices.

Broadening one's horizons had benefits, and anyway, they didn't need to pay.

"Li Libo, Chen Jiechang, going out on this trip, at least seven days, at most ten; the martial arts hall depends entirely on you! Don't let them cause trouble.

Especially in the second courtyard, there are a few lads whose relationship isn't right, as if they're about to fight for jealousy over Tian Jin Yuan; keep an eye on them!"

Before leaving, Hu Qi repeatedly exhorted.

Chen Chen Jiechang nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, Cao Shixiong Hu, we will pay more attention."

Liang Qu handed over two bottles of Snake Bone Pills, one bottle each; he had more than a dozen bottles of this elixir.

The two were pleasantly surprised: "Water Brother, this..."

"If fellow countrymen don't help, who will? Practice diligently, strive to break through the three gates as soon as possible, so you can become a River Chief. If you encounter something you can't solve, go find Cha Qing and the others to help."

Hu Qi agreed: "Right, go find your colleagues at the River Patrol Office to help."

After the martial arts hall expanded, they accepted not just little apprentices, but also those at the first and second gates, teaching them some low-level martial arts.

Relying solely on Chen Chen Jiechang and Li Li Libo, they really might not be able to suppress the scene if a major incident occurred, but with colleagues at the Galloping Horse level helping out, there would be no problem.

After handling many matters, the crowd set off for the River Patrol Office.

Fine rain drifted in the sky.

The painted boats at the mouth of the Great Marsh were docked at the shore, with only sporadic fishing boats going out.

Mid-May, the temperature changed drastically, climbing continuously, and frequent rain had already begun to appear.

In another month, it would be about time to enter the plum rain season...

Liang Qu stood at the bow of the boat and looked out, able to see people from all directions running out of the streets and alleys, gathering toward the shore in the fine rain.

At least Galloping Horse, mostly Wolf Smoke, mostly people from the three major government offices, a small portion from the prefecture city, such as the former Pingyang County Magistrate Magistrate Jian Magistrate Jian Zhongyi, now the Pingyang Prefecture Magistrate, and a small handful of people he didn't recognize.

Among them, Liang Qu also saw Sui Sui Hongyan, the Deputy Commander of the Demon Suppression Division who had joined in the siege of the Ghost Mother Sect last time, boarding the ship after congratulating Ran Ran Zhongshi on becoming a Great Martial Artist.

Rivers entering the sea, silent and soundless.

Ten large ships, each with shipwrights and soldiers, but loading an extra hundred or so people was still more than enough.

Until there were almost no heads on the riverbank, Liang Qu saw Wei Lin walking out of the government office, bringing his group of subordinates into the ship, unable to tell if he was happy or angry.

How exactly was it paid?

Xu Xu Yuelong's appearance of being happy but not entirely happy was quite intriguing.

Alas, there was no time left for Liang Qu to delve into it.

The soldiers came forward to report that the personnel were all present, and he turned and ran to coordinate the direction of the ships.

Set sail!

The anchors were retracted from the water, and the ten azure boats gradually slid into the deep water, oars extended from both sides, darting out at high speed.

More than two hundred finless porpoises, led by their respective leaders, followed the ships on both sides, splitting the waves.

The river wind grew stronger, the large ships unfurled their sails, and headed toward the depths of the Great Marsh.

Half an hour later.

Liang Qu had the ships change direction.

The soldiers were slightly surprised, but didn't ask much, pushed the crossbars, and faithfully executed the order.

Xiang Xiang Zhangsong on the deck noticed the abnormality, ran to the cabin to ask: "Why did you change direction?"

There were no obstacles on the Great Marsh; once the location was determined, wouldn't a straight line be enough?

Liang Qu was very calm: "If we don't change direction, what if someone takes advantage of being close to the shore to use some method to send news back, wanting to avoid buying a boat ticket? Once we're far away and they can't see the ships, they won't be able to follow, and even if they receive the message, it will be the wrong location."

The anomaly was vast, and if someone sneaked in, it wouldn't necessarily be discovered, but that was stealing money from his pocket!

Hiss!

"Is this the correct direction now?"

"No, we have to change it again in a while."

The soldiers were convinced.

Another hour.

The soldiers moved out wooden buckets and applied demon-repelling ointment to both sides of the ship.

The ships changed direction again.

Two changes of direction, once to the left, once to the right, and only now were they sailing on the true route!

By midnight.

The soldiers lit incense from the bow of the ship.

Ointment and incense, both working together.

Except for the finless porpoises that had undergone specialized drug-resistance training and had no adverse reactions, the fleet had almost never encountered any underwater spirit monsters.

The same waterway.

Several large snakes of different colors watched the fleet drift past from afar, and upon smelling the pungent odor remaining in the air, turned around to avoid it.

Demon-repelling ointment and incense were instinctively hated by ordinary spirit monsters, but their effect on demons was much worse.

Those who could speak human language had their own judgment.

But the odor was just a symbol, a symbol that the fleet was under the protection of the Great Shun.

"Let's go, we'll be at Pingyang Prefecture soon."

The red-scaled large snake watched for a moment from afar, then lowered its head and moved forward. ===== CHAPTER 443 =====