Chapter 366: The Ferry Crossing on the West Side of River Mouth Town — Eating, Crossing the River, and the Ice Surface

Led by Knight Lanisha, the team of Hunters walked north along the west side of the Kendall River for over a day. That evening, they arrived at the riverbank by the road, cleared away the accumulated snow, and emptied a small space capable of holding the carriage and three horses.

Everyone lit the firewood carried on the carriage and rested warmly through the night in the freezing, snowy weather.

In the wilderness blanketed by heavy snow, it was difficult to find shrub branches for a fire because they were all covered by the vast expanse of white. If not for the old Hunters' rich wilderness experience reminding everyone, no one would have remembered to bring such things. After all, when camping, one usually only looks for combustible materials after setting up camp.

The horses were covered in thick, cold-proof fabric, and Knight Lanisha also completely unfastened and lowered the external horse armor on her warhorse. Everyone huddled beside the horses to keep warm, eating charred Bread heated by the flames in their hands, and listened to the old Hunters tell seemingly endless eerie stories, slowly enduring the night in the harsh, snowy wilderness.

The next day, they continued along the road that was barely distinguishable until noon, when they saw wooden houses built along the riverbank.

"That is a part of River Mouth Town," a young Hunter who had become familiar with the area introduced the town ahead to Jier.

Jier looked carefully: "Is it a bit too small? The farms we encountered along the way all seemed larger than this River Mouth Town?" Jier pointed and counted the number of houses, discovering there were only thirty-some wooden houses of various sizes along the riverbank.

This number was even fewer than an average Village, and it could hardly be called a town. At the very least, shouldn't it be much larger than Doraerlin Village?

On the carriage beside him, an old Hunter driving the carriage laughed: "Fool, that is only a small part of the town. River Mouth Town is divided into three parts; this is the part on the west side of the riverbank."

He pointed with the slender whip in his hand toward the opposite bank of the Kendall River: "There is another part on the east side of the riverbank. And on the north side of the intersection of the Kendall River and the Umi River is the main body of River Mouth Town. The vast majority of the population and houses are there."

Jier spread his hands: "Then how do we get across?"

"There is a ferry crossing in the town. No matter where on the river channel you want to go, the boatman will take you there. But in this weather, it looks like we might not need to take a boat?"

Soon, after passing a fork in the road, the team of Hunters turned right and entered the road leading to the town.

Heavy snow was falling, so even as they approached the town, they did not hear much of the usual bustle of a village. Like other villages in Kendall, River Mouth Town was also surrounded by a Wooden Wall outside the fields.

Arriving at the town gate, Knight Lanisha jumped directly onto the town's wooden gate tower, displayed her identity, and called for the town gate to be opened.

Jier and his group then walked into the town one by one.

Since he knew this was merely an auxiliary area of the town and not the main body, Jier no longer had any expectations for the town.

Knight Lanisha jumped down from above again, hitting the ground with a thud, shaking and kicking up a large patch of the accumulated snow at her feet.

After returning to her warhorse, she spoke: "The time is still early. Don't stay here; you go directly to the ferry crossing, and I will go find the clerk in charge here."

Having said that, she struck the metal armor on the horse's belly with her metal Boot, and after a clanging sound, the warhorse trotted along the road toward a tall, pointed-roof building.

Accompanied by a Militia member from River Mouth Town, the others stepped through snow as thick as that outside the town and arrived at the ferry crossing.

Calling it a ferry crossing, it was actually just small piers built with Stone. In the piers frozen by the river water, Jier and the others saw some ferry boats with large bellies capable of carrying people.

These ferry boats had no sails; after all, they were just transport boats traveling back and forth on the sides of the river, and there was simply no space to deploy sails.

They relied on large water wheels extending from both sides to paddle the water surface to move forward.

Jier found it very interesting after seeing it; after all, similar paddle wheels only appeared in his previous life after the invention of the steam engine. And he knew very clearly that there was no steam engine technology here, so what was providing the power for that thing?

Although the ferry crossing was not large, it was an important jurisdiction, so there was a house for the manager here.

Jier and the others drove the carriage into the courtyard next to the ferry crossing. After everyone tidied up simply, they hid under the rain-sheltering wooden porch of the house to avoid the snowfall and waited for the Knight to return.

Unlike usual, after trekking through thick snow for many days of snowfall, everyone's physical strength was greatly depleted, so Jier rubbed his stomach, said a word to the other young Hunters, and walked out of the courtyard into the town.

Needless to say, he was looking for a tavern or similar establishment. As the main facility in this small area, there must be a tavern and inn outside to provide services to traveling Caravans.

As expected, looking carefully at the two sides outside the ferry crossing, there was an inn and a tavern. The tavern was quite large, but with the heavy snow falling, there were only a few footprints at the wide entrance.

Opening the wooden door and pushing aside the insulating Linen Cloth curtain, Jier suddenly felt a wave of warmth.

"Welcome! Welcome to the 'Falling Water Drunkard' tavern on this snowy day. A new face, that makes it even more rare. It's all this damn weather's fault; on days when it snows, there are too few guests willing to come out and enjoy themselves here." A tall woman walked over. She was dressed capably, but the muskrat fur scarf wrapped around her neck looked both warm and beautiful.

After she came over, she wiped the snow off Jier's Cloak with a clean rag in her hand of her own accord. After Jier thanked her awkwardly, he was guided by her to the bar in the center of the tavern.

The Falling Water Drunkard tavern looked large from the outside, and the space inside was indeed not small. Just the long wooden tables were arranged in three rows, looking like they could accommodate at least sixty people to drink, eat, and enjoy themselves together.

And besides the long wooden tables used by large groups, many individual seats were provided in the corners of the tavern.

Although it sounded good, it was probably because of the heavy snow outside that there were very few patrons in the tavern, so the proprietor naturally did not light enough lighting, only lighting Oil Lamps at the bar and where a few patrons were seated.

"Young man, what would you like to order? First time here? Our Roasted River Fish is very good. Winter river fish have thick Grease on their bellies to survive the winter; when you pan-fry them, you don't even need to add oil. The fatty fish belly will naturally render out Grease." The waitress serving the guests gestured to introduce their signature dish to Jier, and even took out a small wooden board on which a plump Da He fish in a dinner plate was painted with exquisite brushwork.

Jier swallowed his saliva and coughed: "What about drinks? The food is good, I'll take it. But what do you have to drink here? Tell me about it."

The waitress snapped her fingers, and the waiter behind the wooden bar opened a sliding wooden cabinet, revealing small barrels of wine: "We have everything, what would you like?"

Jier did not drink much hard liquor, so he pointed to the barrel containing beer: "Give me a large mug of that. By the way, do you have hot thick soup here?"

The waitress looked through a stack of small wooden boards beside the bar: "Look, we offer these types of hot soup. I don't know if you're used to them; they are all fish-based soups."

Jier curiously took them to choose, and under the waitress's introduction, he chose a Fish Paste Vegetable Thick Soup with few bones; however, he ordered ten portions at once.

"At the ferry crossing, I have nine companions; they also need these hot foods to warm up their bodies. You can deliver them there, right?" Jier asked.

Upon hearing that Jier wanted ten portions, both the male and female waiters were very happy to say that as long as it was in the town, it was fine, let alone the very nearby ferry management office.

The price of the items was not cheap, but the ingredients were very substantial. The river fish in the Roasted River Fish was actually as big as Jier's arm. He only ate one-third of the fish belly meat in one meal, and the rest had to be packed into a clean fine cloth bag to be eaten later. Of course, in such cold weather, it wouldn't spoil at all; left outside, it could be eaten for the whole winter.

The portion of Fish Paste Vegetable Thick Soup was also very large, and Jier mainly used his stomach to hold this.

After a large bowl of hot thick soup containing fish meat went down, his whole person became spirited.

As for the beer, he really couldn't drink it anymore, so he had to pour out the clear water in his personal water skin outside the tavern and have the waiter help him fill the water skin with beer.

No one mocked him; for one, his attire did not look like someone short of money, and for another, he wore a Long Sword at his waist whose Sword Sheath would emit a faint cyan light in the dimness. Whether it was the male and female waiters in the tavern or the patrons not far away, they all greeted Jier cautiously and did not cause any trouble.

The waitress chatted with Jier while he was eating, curiously asking about Jier's identity.

Hearing that Jier was a member of the Hunter team under Knight Lanisha, those who had heard this name finally set their minds at ease. In recent years, the news of Knight Lanisha and her Hunter team suppressing the Northern Wolf Pack was known to those who were slightly well-informed. The waitress even wanted to catch a glimpse of Knight Lanisha, the only female Knight in Kendall County.

Jier had no objections; after all, this had nothing to do with him.

After paying the money, Jier walked out of the Falling Water Drunkard tavern satisfied, carrying the bag containing the uneaten fried river fish, holding the beer-filled water skin at his waist, and returned to the courtyard of the ferry management office.

Knight Lanisha was talking to a middle-aged man dressed elegantly, and beside them followed several locals. Listening to the conversation, they seemed to be Local Guides.

As for the other Hunters, they were each holding a wooden soup bowl in one hand and dipping Bread into the hot thick soup with the other, eating with great relish.

Seeing Jier walk over holding his stomach, they all nodded at Jier with satisfaction, and Jier also waved his hand to signal them not to mind.

Knight Lanisha saw Jier walk over holding his full stomach and glared at him: "You all have finished eating or are eating. This Knight is still hungry?"

Jier chuckled: "Knight, the food at the tavern named Falling Water Drunkard outside is good; you can go and taste it, the time is still early anyway."

The female Knight snorted, and the middle-aged man beside her took the opportunity to say ingratiatingly: "Lord Lanisha, this young man is right. Our tavern here serves guests coming from the south and going to the north and has always received the satisfaction of guests from all over. Since you haven't eaten yet, why don't we go over and eat first? It just so happens that we can use this time to let my men go and investigate the ice conditions on the river surface. What do you think?"

"Lead the way." Knight Lanisha was actually hungry too; after all, compared to ordinary people, their appetite as Knights was generally larger, and she was actually already a bit hungry by now.

The middle-aged man gave some instructions to a few local Local Guides, then accompanied Knight Lanisha to the tavern across the courtyard. As for those few Local Guides, they first ran over to their carriage and pushed it; this situation made Jier and the others very nervous, as the items on the carriage were of great value, those Metal Clamps were not cheap, and the other supplies were also very important for their hunting expedition.

But fortunately, after Jier walked over with his hand on his sword, these few Local Guides explained the situation to him.

It turned out that heavy snow had fallen recently, and with the very low temperatures, the Kendall River had frozen over entirely. The ferries usually used to travel between the various areas of River Mouth Town had already been frozen into the harbor.

It wasn't impossible to find a way to get the boats out, but it was unnecessary. Because the river channel could now be crossed by pedestrians on foot, and there had been no reports of anyone falling under the ice.

Since that was the case, the clerk responsible for managing the local area had asked these Local Guides, who traveled the river channel year-round, to see if the carriage brought by Knight Lanisha could cross the river on the ice.

"So that's how it is." Jier then moved closer, watching them push the carriage to test how heavy it was.

After roughly estimating the weight of the carriage, these few Local Guides went into the ferry management office, took out some ice-breaking tools, and reached the frozen surface of the Kendall River along the stone path of the pier.

Jier came to the courtyard entrance and looked at these Local Guides.

They first used an Ice Pick to knock a depression into the ice surface, then placed a Long Drill with a handle into the groove on the ice, and then two people, each holding one side, grabbed the drill handle and began to turn it.

The Long Drill with the hard metal head soon drilled a hole two fingers wide. Then they removed the drill and took a wooden pole with a hook on the front to reach into the hole and measure the thickness of the ice.

After measuring, they piled the ice shavings from the drilling back into the hole to fill it, and urinated into the gaps of the hole to freeze it solid.

Repeating this, they measured in a straight line from the ferry crossing toward the center of the river.

Knight Lanisha and the middle-aged man managing the local area soon returned. Knight Lanisha was holding a wooden cup of ice-cold beer, drinking as she walked.

"The taste and portions of the food in your tavern here are quite good, not losing to the signature tavern in the main town across the river." Knight Lanisha seemed to be eating happily, patting the middle-aged man on the shoulder with her hand.

The middle-aged man, while unobtrusively increasing his distance from the female knight, said: "As long as you like it, to receive such praise from you, I think this is the greatest honor for the Falling Water Drunkard Tavern."

The two walked over, and Knight Lanisha saw Jier standing at the courtyard entrance, so she asked: "How is it? The matter of the ice surface." As she spoke, she drank the remaining beer in her cup in one gulp.

Jier pointed to the few locals returning from the river surface in the distance: "They are back, there should be a result very soon."

Nodding, the female knight handed the empty beer cup to a young Hunter who was taking nine empty soup bowls to the tavern to return the tableware: "Take this too, no need to pay, this cup of beer was on the house from the tavern's waitress."

Soon, the few locals who had gone to measure the thickness of the river ice returned; their faces were flushed, and they appeared somewhat exhausted.

"How is the situation?" The middle-aged man asked, rubbing his shoulder which was aching from the female knight's pat.

The few locals bowed and said: "Reporting to you, sir, the ice is already very thick. Although it gets thinner from the riverbank toward the center, the ice thickness in the middle of the river channel can support the carriage in the Knight's party."

However, they added another sentence: "But the things in the carriage are very heavy; if you want to be safest, unloading a portion of the cargo and making an extra trip would be better."

The middle-aged man glanced at Knight Lanisha.

The female knight said: "It is already afternoon now. Unloading, crossing, coming back, reloading, and crossing again. It is difficult to finish before night falls. Can it be done in one trip?"

The middle-aged man and the locals were somewhat troubled, as if they had no way.

But Jier pointed to the few small wooden boats standing in the courtyard. These small boats, which could hold at most three people, were small and light; at this time in winter, they were all stood up in the courtyard against the side of the house.

Jier pointed to these small boats and said: "We can make use of these small boats."

"How?" Knight Lanisha asked, and the middle-aged man nearby had people bring these small boats over. These small boats were indeed light; two people could move them down and place them on the ground.

Jier walked over and pulled a small boat, dragging it lightly through the snow-filled courtyard; don't look at him as young, but his strength was actually more outstanding than several locals older than him.

The small boat was pulled lightly by him in the courtyard. "Everyone look, the bottom of this small boat is not pointed, it is very flat. As long as we tie it to the back of the carriage with a Rope, and load a portion of the carriage's cargo onto the small boat, it will be fine. The weight on the carriage is shared to other places. And dragging a few of these small boats that have no weight is nothing for three horses and us six young lads."

Knight Lanisha's eyes lit up: "Very good, let's do it this way. Everyone move quickly, strive to reach the main town of River Mouth Town before dark. We have a house there, and we can stay and rest there tonight."

The middle-aged man managing this place clearly had no momentum to object or anything else, so he had to direct his men to move the wooden boats to the edge of the ferry crossing and then tie them together with a Rope.

And Jier put the things on the horse he had been leading into the cargo carriage, then used a Rope to connect the Muan, Jiansheng, and other things to the carriage.

The group arrived at the edge of the ferry crossing and followed the gentle slope along the edge onto the ice.

The thick ice was covered with snow; stepping on it was not slippery, and it was very steady.

Tying the Rope connecting the three small boats to the back of the carriage, Jier and the young Hunters then moved many Metal Clamps packed in Linen Cloth bags off and placed them onto the small boats behind the carriage.

"Baifei, I will leave the small boats at the ferry courtyard on the opposite bank; remember to send someone to retrieve them later. I am leaving, thank you for your help." Knight Lanisha sat on her warhorse, saying goodbye to the middle-aged man on the stone pier of the ferry crossing.

"Goodbye, Lord Lanisha, you are welcome to come here again." The middle-aged man rubbed his shoulder, saying insincere words.

Jier had a strange expression on his face; he did not believe that the female knight with superhuman vision had not noticed the other party's expression. This was likely either Knight Lanisha's wicked sense of humor, or the two knew each other from before.

"Let's go, baby. Everyone, I will reach the other side first. Pay attention to the ice cracking while walking on the ice. If something is wrong, turn back." After saying this, Knight Lanisha rode her heavy warhorse, trotting 'da-da-da-da' toward the opposite side.

As for the Hunters, an old Hunter rode on Jier's horse to lead the way, while the remaining three old Hunters controlled the direction of the carriage from the carriage.

And behind, the six young people including Jier were in pairs, supporting the small wooden boats on both sides with their hands as they pushed.

In fact, the main pulling force came from the carriage. The three horses pulling the carriage were even easier than before. And the three small wooden boats behind did not bring any obvious resistance.

It seems Jier's plan was good.

They quickly crossed the wide surface of the Kendall River. In the icy world, the gloomy weather constantly scattered an infinite number of snowflakes; looking north and south along the river channel, it was boundless, the gray-white snowy ice surface, in the distance, seemed to have already connected with the same sky, no matter how Jier looked, he could not see clearly.

The old Hunters sitting on the carriage in front, fearing that the young people behind would feel bored, simply sang a ballad to relieve their boredom.

"My lover, that long war, when will you return."

"My husband, that blood-stained relic, I never want to see."

"My child, I do not pray for you to perform meritorious service, nor do I ask for you to be killed."

"My father, I hope to grow up quickly, to fight side by side with you, so you can come home early."