Chapter 582: [Nanyang Water Fortress] (Lower)

Zhou Mo sighed and said, "I originally wanted to swim back to the opposite bank, but the Da Yong navy's small boat spotted us first and rescued us." His words were full of helplessness; in fact, he had originally intended to follow Hu Xiaotian's plan, taking Long Xi Yue advantage of the chaos to flee back to Dakang, but he never expected fate to toy with them— the rescue ship sent by the Da Yong navy discovered them. Although Zhou Mo could have escaped easily, Long Xi Yue lacked such ability, and he dared not risk the princess's safety, so he could only go along with the mistake, being rescued by the Da Yong navy's small boat and brought onto this warship.

Hu Xiaotian secretly lamented that this excellent escape opportunity had been ruined by the Da Yong navy; now he could only take things step by step. He stood up, approached a Da Yong officer on the scene, clasped his fists, and said, "General, we are the Dakang marriage envoy dispatched by the Dakang Emperor to escort Princess Anping to Yongdu for her wedding to the Seventh Prince of Da Yong. We did not expect to encounter disaster while crossing the river. May I ask which Sir commands this navy? Could you take us to see him and explain the situation?"

The officer looked at Hu Xiaotian, his eyes showing no friendliness at all, and coldly replied, "You only need to wait here; when the general wishes to see you, we will meet naturally." He waved his hand, and two Da Yong soldiers stepped forward, gesturing for Hu Xiaotian to return to his original seat.

Hu Xiaotian had no choice but to return and sit beside Wu Jingshan, lowering his voice: "Things don't look good; they are not friendly toward us."

Xiong Tianba said, "Could they be looking for the princess? If the princess died, would they send us back to Dakang?"

Xiong Anmin scolded, "Nonsense, shut your stinking mouth! The princess is a child of heaven, protected by the heavens—how could anything happen to her?" In fact, he himself felt that the princess was eighty or ninety percent likely to have met with an accident.

Apart from Hu Xiaotian, Zhou Mo, and Zhan Peng, no one knew that this young soldier was actually Dakang's Princess Anping. Everyone assumed the princess was more likely to meet misfortune than good fortune, and they all instantly became listless and dispirited.

After another hour, the warship began its return voyage; they realized the ship was not taking them back to Dakang, but was carrying the thirty-odd survivors toward Da Yong's Nanyang Water Fortress.

When they left the dock at Dakang's Qinglong Bay, the two ships together held nearly a thousand people. Now only thirty-six have been rescued, while hundreds of corpses were found at the scene. The Da Yong navy did not discard these bodies; instead, after fishing them out of the water, they also brought them to Nanyang Water Fortress.

When Hu Xiaotian and the others arrived at Nanyang Water Fortress by warship, it was already evening; the setting sun slanted west, its reddish glow turning the river water into a sea of fire. A breeze stirred, and countless points of golden light sparkled on the river surface, making it appear shimmering and gorgeous—yet this seemingly beautiful river mercilessly swallowed hundreds of lives.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but think of Ji Feihua. He was merely a pawn in Ji Feihua's hand; at the crucial moment, Ji Feihua unhesitatingly abandoned him, and the underwater assassin who struck was almost certainly sent by Ji Feihua. The thought felt like a sharp blade piercing deep into his heart, tormenting him to the extreme.

Nanyang Water Fortress harbored over thirty warships, their banners fluttering, troops standing in neat rows, armor gleaming—mighty and vigorous. Compared to the desolate, dilapidated Qinglong Bay of Dakang, the contrast was like heaven and earth, incomparable. Seeing this, Hu Xiaotian and his companions couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Dakang and Da Yong now wax and wane oppositely, their strength no longer comparable; the once Central Plains hegemon Dakang has become a feeble old man on his last breath, while the thriving Da Yong, rising like the midday sun, would hardly spare them a glance.

After being brought to Nanyang Water Fortress, they were temporarily stationed on a drill ground. The Da Yong side did not grant them proper courtesy, merely sending a squad of soldiers to supervise their movements. Among the thirty-six, more than ten were injured, five seriously so, lying on the ground groaning incessantly. Wu Jingshan went over to negotiate, asking the Da Yong side to summon a physician for treatment, but they showed no interest whatsoever.

Hu Xiaotian could only do it himself, helping several fractured warriors immobilize their injuries with sticks and wooden boards, performing simple wound treatment. Though he possessed medical knowledge, he lacked the necessary instruments. Fortunately, he had the Soul-Returning Pill that Qin Yutong had given him; he administered it first to the most severely wounded, at least preserving their lives.

The Da Yong navy also laid out the salvaged corpses on the drill ground. Gazing at the neat rows of bodies, Long Xi Yue felt her chest and abdomen churn, and she could not hold back, turning her head to vomit.

A hand reached out from beside her, offering a damp handkerchief. Long Xi Yue lifted her head and saw Hu Xiaotian's warm smile. She took the handkerchief, wiped her mouth, and Hu Xiaotian whispered, "Where is Zijuan?"

Long Xi Yue shook her head, crystal tears welling in her eyes, and whispered, "Just now the ship suddenly caught fire; Elder Brother Zhou and the others protected me as we fled, the situation was utterly chaotic. I had wanted to bring her along, but we got separated in the midst of it." In such circumstances, there was indeed no time to worry about much else.

Hu Xiaotian nodded, then softly instructed Long Xi Yue, "From now on, no matter what happens, you must not reveal your identity; I will handle everything."

Long Xi Yue hummed in agreement, her beautiful eyes full of sweet affection. Although the future is uncertain, having her beloved by her side means she will not fear whatever occurs.

Hu Xiaotian went to Zhou Mo's side and quietly charged him with continuing to bear the responsibility of protecting Princess Anping.

Wu Jingshan looked around, but among the survivors he saw no trace of Wen Boyuan. Feeling bitter inside, he thought: the princess is missing, and Wen Boyuan has vanished as well—if either of them came to harm, it would be more than he could bear. Although he also suspected that the mid-river shipwreck today might be linked to Wen Boyuan, at this moment he secretly prayed for both of their safety.

In the distance, several people carried a corpse onto the riverbank. Several surviving warriors recognized the body as Wen Boyuan's; more than ten of his followers rushed forward, surrounding the corpse and wailing. Among them were naturally some putting on an act, but others genuinely felt affection for him—after all, they had shared host and guest. Wen Boyuan's death was gruesome: blood loss and prolonged immersion in cold water had turned his face as pale as paper, his eyes still wide open, and even more shocking, a long sword was lodged in his chest—this was the Tiger Soul he never parted with, its icy blade piercing his torso. Anyone could see that Wen Boyuan had certainly been killed by another.

Wu Jingshan suppressed his rising fear and approached as well, certain that the corpse was Wen Boyuan's. He then collapsed to the ground, beating his chest and stamping his feet, crying, "General Wen… General Wen… how could you suffer such misfortune, dying so young… truly heaven envies talent… heaven envies talent…" His panic reached its peak; after muttering to himself, he thought that even if he managed to return to Dakang safely, and even if the Emperor pardoned him, Grand Preceptor Wen would surely not let him off lightly. As the chief marriage envoy this time, with the Grand Preceptor's son dead, would they not blame him?

Nearby rose a wail of loud sobbing, even more anguished than Wu Jingshan's. Wu Jingshan turned to see the one bawling until the sky darkened—it was Hu Xiaotian. This fellow was absolutely feigning sorrow like a cat crying over a mouse; given his relationship with Wen Boyuan, he surely wished the man dead, and now seeing Wen Boyuan die an untimely death, he was secretly delighted. Wu Jingshan naturally understood Hu Xiaotian's motive: he was putting on a show for the crowd to distance himself from suspicion, and in fact Wu Jingshan himself harbored a similar thought.

Hu Xiaotian saw Wen Boyuan's corpse having been fished up, and silently cursed heaven for being blind. Seeing the long blade plunged into Wen Boyuan's chest, he inwardly thought, "Not good." He had originally could have drowned him in the water, leaving no trace; this stab was somewhat superfluous, but what happened underwater nobody knows. Even if one could determine that Wen Boyuan was murdered, who could link it to him? Nevertheless, Wen Boyuan did not die by his hand; his killer was someone else.

Wu Jingshan and Hu Xiaotian feigned grief, letting out a few howls and squeezing out a few tears, then stepped aside. Wu Jingshan, at a loss, said, "Sir Hu, even General Wen is dead—what are we to do?"

Hu Xiaotian replied, "It's not just him who died; the princess hasn't been found either—she may well have met with misfortune."

Wu Jingshan's face turned ashen as he exclaimed, "Oh dear, Sir Hu, we're in serious trouble now! If the princess has come to harm, will the Emperor spare us?" His gaze then drifted to Wen Boyuan's corpse in the distance as he added, "Even if the Emperor does not kill us, Grand Preceptor Wen will certainly not forgive us."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Sir Wu, that's not right; we are victims too. We were supposed to be on the same ship as the princess, but Wen Boyuan insisted on separating us. There's something I don't know whether I should say."

"Please speak, Sir Hu!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Although Wen Boyuan is dead, he had been plotting harm against the princess all along; this mishap during the river crossing is also his doing. If he hadn't brought in two hundred warriors of unknown identity to join our entourage, how could such a thing have happened?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Jingshan immediately grasped that Hu Xiaotian intended to pin all the blame on Wen Boyuan. He turned his thoughts: given the situation, this was the only way out—since Wen Boyuan was dead and could not speak, blaming him was preferable to blaming themselves. Wu Jingshan nodded and said, "Sir Hu makes sense; it's all my fault. Had I insisted on reasoning and kept the princess aboard the same ship, perhaps this tragedy would not have occurred."

Hu Xiaotian added, "This also cannot be blamed on Sir Wu; Wen Boyuan commanded many men, and since leaving the capital he has acted arbitrarily, never heeding our opinions. We are powerless—how could we possibly contend with this gang of warriors?"

Wu Jingshan nodded repeatedly. (To be continued~^~)