Chapter 90: The Pirate Ship

After bidding farewell to Wuming, Duan Fengyun and the other two mounted their fast horses and galloped once again toward the Garrison Line.

Upon hearing the sound of fast horses approaching their position, the Garrison Army immediately gathered their men to prepare for the enemy.

By the time Duan Fengyun and the other two reached the Garrison Line, the garrison soldiers were already standing in battle formation.

The commander of the Garrison Army, Ma Li, stepped forward and asked:

"What is your business coming to my Garrison Line?

Please turn your horses around and return as quickly as possible."

Duan Fengyun replied:

"Go ask your Emperor who we are and why we have come to the Garrison Line."

After hearing this, Ma Li was somewhat annoyed by Duan Fengyun's insolence, but just as he was about to lose his temper, he was stopped by his military advisor.

"General, don't you find the faces of these three people very familiar?

Are they not the very people His Majesty told us we must treat with courtesy here?"

After hearing the advisor's words, Ma Li looked at the faces of Duan Fengyun and the other two, and they were indeed very familiar.

Ma Li ordered his attendant soldiers to retrieve the portraits of the people the Emperor had entrusted to him from the military camp.

Ma Li took the portraits from the attendant and looked at them, then compared them with the faces of Duan Fengyun and the other two.

After repeated confirmation, he was certain that the three people before him were the very three the Emperor had ordered him to treat with courtesy.

His aggressive stance instantly softened; he knew that not long ago, the Emperor and all the Emperor's ministers had been kidnapped, and the Emperor had nearly lost his throne.

It was said that three heroes and outstanding figures had stepped forward to save the Emperor at that time, driving the Dongying people who had kidnapped the Emperor back to Dongying.

It seemed the three people before him were precisely those three heroes: Duan Fengyun, Nie Feng, and Bu Jingyun.

Thinking of this, he dared not be negligent and looked at Duan Fengyun and the other two with flattery, saying:

"Hero Duan, Hero Nie, Hero Bu, this is truly a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple.

Forgive me for being blind and failing to recognize the three heroes.

Please, three heroes, do not take offense."

Duan Fengyun waved his hand and said:

"There is no need for such high-sounding words. We have come this time preparing to go to Dongying; do you have a way to send us to Dongying?"

Ma Li could not help but be shocked; these three were actually going to Dongying single-handedly. He did not know if it was because their skills were high and they were bold, or if they were ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.

But since these three could rescue the Emperor single-handedly, it showed that they must possess peerless martial power, which was why they had the confidence to venture into Dongying alone.

He replied to Duan Fengyun:

"Hero Duan, Dongying is at the end of this sea, and our Garrison Army has no ships to go to Dongying.

However, there are many merchant ships traveling to and from Dongying every day; the three heroes can use the merchant ships to head to Dongying."

Ma Li then pointed to a large ship not far from the crowd and said:

"The merchant on this ship travels between Dongying and our Zhongyuan to trade in cloth.

If the three heroes wish to go to Dongying, I can go talk to their Boss and see if they can take the three heroes along."

After Duan Fengyun and the other two conferred, Duan Fengyun spoke up:

"Then I will trouble the General, but please ensure you conceal our identities from these merchants; I am worried they might leak our whereabouts."

Ma Li nodded, then took his attendants, mounted their fast horses, and headed toward the merchant ship not far away.

Ma Li usually took good care of these traveling merchants.

Taking people's money to resolve their troubles.

Ma Li also turned a blind eye to some of the merchants' behaviors, so after some discussion, the ship's Boss easily agreed to Ma Li's request to take three people along.

Ma Li also followed Duan Fengyun's instructions and told the ship's Boss that Duan Fengyun and the other two were just going to Dongying to visit a distant relative, not revealing their true identities to the Boss.

Ma Li returned to the army and informed Duan Fengyun that everything had been arranged properly.

After Duan Fengyun expressed his gratitude, he entered Ma Li's military camp to wait for the merchant ship to set sail.

About an hour later, the sound of drums rang out outside the camp, and Ma Li explained to the puzzled trio:

"This is a ritual before the merchants set sail, symbolizing peace, safety, and great wealth.

At the same time, the sound of the drums also indicates that they are about to set sail.

Three heroes, please pack your things; I will immediately arrange for someone to take you over."

After Duan Fengyun and the other two changed into simple, low-key clothing, they walked out of Ma Li's tent.

Outside the tent, Ma Li's personal soldiers had already prepared horses and were waiting for the three.

Seeing Duan Fengyun and the other two walk out, a personal soldier greeted them:

"Three heroes, General Ma has ordered me to take you to the front to board the ship; please mount your horses, three heroes."

Nie Feng nodded in thanks:

"Thank you, little General."

Thus, the three, led by the personal soldier, arrived at the ship.

The personal soldier said to a man dressed in brocade and jade:

"Boss Wang, these three are our General's distant relatives.

They are going to Dongying to find an old friend, so please take good care of them, Boss Wang."

The Boss surnamed Wang laughed readily:

"Rest assured, rest assured. General Ma's business is my business; I will certainly bring these three young men safely to Dongying."

The personal soldier said to Duan Fengyun and the other two:

"Then the three of you will follow Boss Wang's ship to Dongying; I wish you a smooth journey."

After the personal soldier finished speaking, he rode off on his horse.

Duan Fengyun said to Boss Wang:

"Boss Wang, we will trouble you for this journey. We three brothers do not like being disturbed, and we hope Boss Wang can arrange a quieter environment for us on the ship."

After speaking, Duan Fengyun took a Night Pearl from his chest and handed it to Boss Wang.

The knowledgeable Boss Wang knew at a glance that the Night Pearl in his hand was no ordinary item.

Boss Wang, who had been serious just a moment ago, instantly became all smiles and said obsequiously:

"Young master, rest assured. I will definitely have someone arrange everything well for you."

Boss Wang immediately called someone over, pointed at the three of Duan Fengyun, and whispered to the servant.

After the servant left, Boss Wang spoke up:

"Three young masters, please rest assured, it has been arranged properly for you."

After Duan Fengyun nodded in thanks, he and Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun boarded the ship.

After boarding, the three of them were taken to the top level of the ship, where they could have an unobstructed view of the sea scenery and would not be disturbed by anyone.

Nie Feng mocked himself:

"Truly, taking people's money means helping them resolve disasters.

This room should be the one Boss Wang usually stays in himself, because Junior Brother Duan gave him a Night Pearl, he gave it to us.

By the way, Junior Brother Duan, where did you get that Night Pearl? Looking at this, it shouldn't be a common item, right?"

Duan Fengyun laughed:

"This Night Pearl is nothing; I took it from the Search God Palace before. There are more than ten left in Duanqing Ju, and thinking I might use them when going out, I brought a few with me."

After hearing this, Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun both gave a thumbs up; for this Junior Brother Duan of theirs, they were truly impressed and convinced.

Duan Fengyun was never one to suffer a loss; a person who would pluck a feather from a passing wild goose, how could he possibly suffer a loss.

While the three were talking, the ship had already set sail, and the three stood by the window, looking at the boundless sea.

Duan Fengyun had been to the seaside many times in his past life, but how could the ocean, which had been unrestrictedly exploited by humans in his past life, compare to the clear and transparent blue ocean before his eyes.

Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun had never seen the sea, so they were also very amazed, and the three of them looked out the window for a long time.

The ship was not like land; after watching for a while, the three felt a hint of fatigue, so they sat cross-legged to regulate their True Qi to maintain the best mental state.

At this time, the boss surnamed Wang was whispering with a group of his subordinates in the warehouse.

One of the subordinates said:

"Boss, look at these three brats, they spend money lavishly; they are clearly wealthy people.

Although the three of them are each carrying weapons, they are so young that their weapons are probably just for show, and their strength certainly isn't much."

"Why don't we sneak into their room and finish them off, then see how much gold and silver jewelry is in their luggage."

"The luggage of the leading brat looks heavy; one can tell at a glance that it is gold and silver jewelry."

The boss surnamed Wang said:

"I know, these three brats are clearly children of wealthy families."

"But they seem very familiar with that Ma Li, and I am worried about what kind of background they might have."

The subordinate replied:

"Boss, what are you afraid of?"

"For so many years, we have used the reputation of the cloth business to kill and rob on the sea; how much blood of prominent figures have we already shed?"

"Even if these three brats were the sons of the Emperor himself."

"If we kill these three, who would know it was us?"

"When asked later, we will just say that after the ship reached the shore, we all went our separate ways, and we know nothing."

It turned out that this boss surnamed Wang used the reputation of trading cloth between Dongying and the Shenzhou Continent, but in reality, he organized a group of people to specifically rob ships and passengers traveling back and forth on the sea.

Because they never left any survivors, no one knew their true identity.

They had no idea how many people's blood was on their hands, and seeing Duan Fengyun's lavish spending, they prepared to reach out to the three of them.

But they did not know that Duan Fengyun and his companions were not docile sheep, but tigers who had no interest in bothering with a group of rats like them.

After Boss Wang and his subordinates conspired, they prepared to strike at the three of them.

Boss Wang had someone put Mongolian Sweat Drug into the food and wine, then had someone send it to the three of them.

"Clang, clang, clang."

The three of them, who were closing their eyes and regulating their breath, were awakened by a knock on the door.

Nie Feng opened the door and saw it was the servant delivering the food and wine.

The servant said:

"Three masters, our boss is worried that you might not be used to the food on the ship."

"So our boss specially instructed the kitchen to prepare these dishes for the three masters, and this bottle of wine is also our boss's private collection; please enjoy, three masters."

After the servant smiled, he handed the food and wine to Nie Feng and left.

After Nie Feng placed the food and wine on the table, he called Duan Fengyun and Bu Jingyun over to eat.

Nie Feng was about to move his chopsticks when Bu Jingyun knocked them away; Nie Feng looked at Bu Jingyun in confusion.

Bu Jingyun said:

"The smile of that person just now carried murderous intent; this food and wine must have a problem, and this ship must also have a problem."

Duan Fengyun nodded in agreement.

Although the servant's murderous intent had been hidden well just now, it had still been seen through.

Duan Fengyun poured all the food and wine into a wooden barrel on the side, and the three pretended to be unconscious to see what exactly this boss surnamed Wang wanted to do.