Chapter 2659 - 332-335

Chapter 332: Bandits Came When Anchored At Yingzhou

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Yingzhou was located north of the Yangtze River, surrounded by countless mountains and valleys. Towards the east was the fertile Jiangnan region and northwest of it was the center of the Qing Kingdom, the important city of Jingdou. This province, Yingzhou, was not far from two of the wealthiest areas, and it was also at the crossing of the Wei River and the Yangtze River. Logically speaking, merchants should have be flocking there. The province should look lively and be full of happy citizens.

Yet, the actual Yingzhou seemed to be rather run down. It wasn't that everything was gloomy, or that the houses were old. It was that the people on the street all had on dreary expressions and seemed lifeless. The street vendors were also spiritless. Even the savoury crepes all looked cold and limp.

The pier outside the city also wasn't very active. The boats that went up and down the Qing River usually chose to anchor at a pier further down, rather than here. There were only a few desolate boats, and this made the newer ship to be even more noticable.

As for why Yingzhou was this way, the heavens were the first to be blamed. Last year, the Yangtze flooded and broke through a dam upstream. The river poured into the plains, killing countless people and destroying many homes. Fortunately, after the disaster the weather quickly cooled and there weren't any outbreaks of disease. But this kind of tragedy took the spirit out of Yingzhou.

The officials were second to blame. The currently appointed Zhizhou of Yingzhou was once the Emperor's student, but he didn't have an ounce of the Emperor's blessing. All he knew how to do was show off his power to the city, suck up to his superiors, and bully the merchants and commoners. Forget repairing the river, he couldn't even maintain standard law and order. He only knew how to collect outrageous amounts of taxes. There was an ongoing rumour that this Zhizhou official had connections with the bandits across the river.

The bandits were the third to blame. The Yingzhou people were a brave group. Throughout their history, they had the fearless tradition of raising their weapons and pitchforks against officials. Now that they'd been stuck with such a horrible official, there were naturally going to be more bitter and poor commoners.

However, that year, the situation had changed significantly. First, the Zhizhou of Yingzhou was invited by the Overwatch Council's Fourth Bureau's Zhuzhou City's Inspection Division to have tea. Just as the people of Yingzhou were celebrating this, hoping that the Zhizhou was finally going to fall, the Zhizhou respectfully returned. And, just as the people were disappointed that Yingzhou was going to continue to fall into ruins, he passed away!

People from Jingdou came to investigate the death for a long time, and confirmed that the Zhizhou did not die from some conspiracy plan. He'd just died from illness.

On the day the Zhizhou died, the commoners of Yingzhou silently lit countless strings of firecrackers. Of course, no one said it was to celebrate the death of the god of plague. But if someone didn't know of the real reason, they would have simply thought that all the people of Yingzhou had chosen that day to get married.

Another change was that the bandits in the mountain across the river seemed to have settled down more. The largest of the bandit camps had been wiped out in a day, and the bandits had fallen apart. There was rumour that some important person from jianghu had come to Jiangnan to try and take over their control.

…

…

The Yingzhou people hadn't been happy in a long time, so they pretended to celebrate an early New Year.

Because the Zhizhou had died, next year the court would send in another Zhizhou. The bandits had fallen apart, but more would come about. The commoner's life would go on just as difficult as before and wouldn't be affected in that regard.

In a room beside the pier, a dozen hard laborers were crowded together talking. Even if they were just casually speaking, acting this relaxed in broad daylight was not, after all, the attitude hard laborers should have with their job. The hateful expressions on their faces revealed some of their true intentions.

The person that they were all circled around was a woman. She was around 20 years old and had regular features. She wouldn't be considered beautiful, but there was a toughness between her eyes. The moment she opened her mouth, the men around her all obediently shut theirs. She acted like she was in charge.

"Check it carefully. It's a tea collecting merchant, from Jingdou."

"Sister Guan, they have guards on their ship," one of the hard laborers reminded.

Sister Guan was one of the infamous chief bandits near Yingzhou. She hadn't been in Yingzhou for long, but she had already gathered much support from a large amount of head bandits. According to the gossip, she was being strongly supported.

Sister Guan laughed coldly. "It's just a merchant, what's important about that? Besides, you've all done this before. You don't need me to tell you how much the chest in the back room weighs, right?"

They were talking calmly, but once the chest was mentioned, the laborers eyes all began to burn hotly. On the jianghu, a proper bandit looked at the imprint of carriage wheels to determine the weight of the cargo, and from there they could determine its value. But the bandits near Yingzhou were more like water bandits. They were best at looking at how low the ship sat in the water to determine what the ship was carrying.

Yesterday, a large ship had suddenly stopped at the pier. The ship looked to be almost brand new, and the color of the lichen on the ship informed those who spent their lives on the docks that this ship probably hasn't been in the water for that long. As Yingzhou rarely saw ships of that size anymore, it was a rare opportunity for looting. While everyone was disembarking to sort out the food, vegetables, and water supplies, someone had already closely investigated the ship and knew everything there was to know about it.

What confused the bandits was that since they were tea merchants, why would they have such heavy cargo in the back? As for how the ship sat in the water, it was clearly different from usual ships. This question was finally answered when a female cook, who was an undercover spy, went on board. In a closely guarded room at the back of the ship was a chest. Looking at the condition of the boards and the light scratches on the metal key, the bandits were shocked to discover that the chest was actually full of silver.

"No one would bring this much silver to Jiangnan just to collect tea."

Sister Guan also had some doubts, but since the man had taken over the bandits near Yingzhou, he needed to bring in some big money, to give these sweat stained bandits some payment. Besides, what the man was planning to do once spring arrived did require a lot of silver. Otherwise she wouldn't be so busy, capturing ships all over the place.

One of the bandits also thought it was strange and said, "The ship sits low in the water, but there's no cargo on board. Maybe they have river stones in the bottom hold that aunt didn't notice."

Sister Guan shook her head. "It's not a seafaring boat, why would it need ballast to hold it down? I just find him strange, the merchant of that big ship. Why does he need so much cash?"

"Cash is good." A bandit giggled strangely and said, "We wouldn't dare withdraw the money if we stole banknotes." This comment immediately earned the agreement of the other men and they all laughed together, with their greed obvious in their voices.

Sister Guan furrowed her brows, "The question is, what merchant still brings cash? Aren't they worried about safety issues?"

The bandits watched Sister Guan and observed that this chief was usually bold and ruthless in her actions, and precise in choosing her targets. Taking advantage of the opportunity of there being no Zhizhou, she had taken them on a few large raids. The only thing was that she was sometimes a little too careful. If she was concerned about issue of safety, why ask them? She should go ask the stupid tea merchant himself.

Sister Guan waved her hands to call over the aunty who was responsible for collecting the information. The aunty was dark skinned and lean. She said pleasantly, "You can relax. There are only a total of a dozen or so guards up there, with a serving girl and one child. The master is a frail looking young man, who's very beautiful but doesn't know how to be discreet at all. I think he's probably some good-for-nothing second generation of a wealthy family, who's been sent by his seniors to Jiangnan to toughen him up."

He brought a serving girl, probably because the young merchant found the nights too lonely. Sister Guan laughed coldly and felt herself relax. If the tea merchant was a serious merchant, he wouldn't be bringing a woman with him onto the Yangtze. Perhaps he really was some useless second generation man who thought the shiny silver was more satisfying to bang together than actual paper bills.

As for the dozen or so guards, she didn't consider them a threat at all. She had around a dozen good men under her, each who were a lethal bandit with the blood of multiple lives on their hands. She believed, when they boarded the ship that night, that the guards would either be killed or flee into the river.

The bandits around her looked at each other and smiled sinisterly. "Sister Guan, after we're done tonight give the girl to us as a reward."

Sister Guan blinked and looked at them disdainfully. "Look how mature you all are! As long as the silver is ours, the other things are naturally in your hands."

She paused and then laughed out loud, sounding cold and sinister. "Move quickly, and don't leave anyone alive. Afterwards, drag the ship to the Two Tigers beach and set it on fire."

It was a peaceful night outside of Yingzhou city. The moon above the towering mountains across the river shined brightly onto the endlessly running river. It seemed to calm down the roaring sounds of the water. A few lonely boats were anchored at the pier. The hour of zi had passed and everyone was sleeping soundly. The lights on the ship had been put out long ago, and the merchants had gone to sleep much earlier.

Under the gentle caress of the moonlight, a dozen black shadows soundlessly moved to the riverbank and dived into the river. They swam underwater until they reached the back of the largest ship and then removed the objects that resembled grappling hooks. Some were empty handed and climbed up by the tow line, like a bunch of soaked monkeys. They were all incredibly talented and agile.

In mere seconds, these night attacking bandits had already climbed on board the huge ship and disappeared into the darkness.

Sister Guan held a sharp knife between her teeth as she climbed silently onto the second level. Using the shadows of the ship's cabin as cover, she headed straight towards the back. They had discussed this plan in detail back in the warehouse and knew the layout of the ship by heart. They knew that the chest of silver was in the back cabin.

Behind her in the dark, she heard a faint choking sound and then closely following, the sound of a person softly falling onto the deck. She furrowed her brows and thought, Don't those bastards know to strike more carefully? What if they alerted all the guards at once? Although they weren't scared of fighting, it would still be a hassle.

Arriving outside the cabin, she unexpectedly saw that there were no guards. A few stifled groans could be heard throughout the dark ship. Sister Guan knew that her subordinates were gradually reaching the middle cabin. Feeling slightly reassured, she hooked the door handle with her finger. She placed a little pressure with the tip of her knife, and quietly opened the cabin door. She immediately spotted the chest in the dark.

Using the weak light shining through the front window as a guide, Sister Guan had a clear view of the size of the chest, and couldn't help but sucking in a cold breath. The aunt had not been clear. She had only said that given the size and weight of the chest, it probably had over thousands pieces of liang. Sister Guan touched the chest in disbelief, taking in the size. My god, she thought, how much silver is needed to fill a chest this big?

She felt a trickle of fear. To be able to carry this much silver, even if he was a second generation from rich family, he had to be one of the richest second generations in Jingdou. After they were discovered, even the man behind her probably couldn't stand up against the anger that would come from all of Jingdou.

Don't kill that second generation man! This was the first thought that came to Sister Guan's mind, but she immediately figured that what is done cannot be undone, and she couldn't keep hesitating anymore. Besides, this much silver was enough to do anything they wanted.

She carefully took out her tools and worked on the chest for a long time before managing to get it open.

A flash of silver light immediately filled the cabin.

Sister Guan dumbfoundedly stared at the chest in front of her. Her face was struck by shock and disbelief.

Even though she was the type of person who lived her entire life on the razor sharp edge of a knife, and had seen plenty of silver covered in blood, tonight, she was entranced by the rows of neatly arranged silver ingots. Her usually cool gaze began to reveal traces of greed.

She immediately came back to her senses. No matter how bright the moon was, and no matter how beautiful the silver was, it was impossible for it to shine with such allure.

She suddenly turned her head and looked behind her, only to find a serious looking middle-aged man who held a white lantern in one hand, and an extraordinarily long sword in the other. The man was looking coldly at her.

Tiger Guard Gao Da had already done as Fan Xian ordered. He had given Sister Guan plenty of time to admire the silver, and very slowly raised his sword to attack.

Sister Guan raised her own knife.

But that slow and long sword was an unstoppable force. In a flash, it had broken through the infamous female bandit's defenses and those on her crew. She had to watch, in deadly pain and with her courage disappearing, her left hand get chopped off. Fresh blood spewed out along with the feeling of burning pain

The middle cabin in the ship was lit up. Sister Guan's hair was dishevelled and her mind in a muddle as she was dragged into the room.

The bandits that had followed her onto the ship had been disarmed and knocked unconscious earlier. They were tied up securely and laid out neatly on the deck. The few on duty Sixth Bureau swordsmen wearing black were acting like nothing had happened, and continued to guard their own direction.

She raised her head and saw, through the strands of her hair, the tired, irritated, and handsome young man sitting in the tutor's chair. For some reason, a chill ran through her. Who exactly lived on this ship, to be able to have such martial arts masters guard his ship? The man with the sword earlier, was also a master of the art. Now, she realized that the young second generation that the aunt spoke of was not any normal tea merchant.

"Guan Wumei?" The young man on the chair glanced at her chopped off hand and, still facing the hatred filled female bandit, yawned. His face was full of interest as she asked questions.

Naturally, the man was Fan Xian. He had stopped in Yingzhou, originally to clean up some of the things connected to Hong Zhu's case, but had unexpectedly caught the attention of some foolish bandits. However, he realized at once that the woman in front of him was the same woman from the portrait in the Overwatch Council's file they were pursuing and he couldn't help laughing. He thought to himself, I was just wondering how to open the Jiangnan matter, and here it's already been delivered right to my door.

Chapter 333: The Qing Kingdom's Largest Bandit Ship

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Hearing the other party causally call out her name, the female bandit was stunned. She stared at Fan Xian, her gaze as piercing as a knife. Her left hand was clutching tightly at the wound where her hand used to be.

"I've fallen into your hands today. What should I call you, sir?" she asked viciously.

Fan Xian sat in his chair and stuck a finger in his ear, as if he couldn't feel the hatred of the other person's glare.

He smiled and said, "I'm the owner of this ship, and you're the bandit. What right do you have to know my background?"

Guan Wumei only felt a deep flash of pain in her right arm. Seeing that her wrist was cut shorter, her face went white. She knew that she'd hit rock bottom that day, so she gritted her teeth and said, "Please lay out your terms."

Fan Xian glanced at her with amusement and thought that this situation was absurd. He and his group had been delayed by some matters, but he didn't expected his ship to be so attractive to others. It hadn't even been a day and it had already drawn out Yingzhou's infamous female bandit. What's more, after the female bandit in front of him had been captured, not only was she not afraid, she wanted him to lay out his terms.

"What kind of terms?" Fan Xian dipped his finger into some cold tea and carefully rubbed it between his eyebrows, flicking up the small hairs at the ends.

"The dark terms or the light terms? Human terms or ghost terms?" he asked.

Behind him, the ship's curtain moved slightly and Sisi, wearing a big coat and rubbing her tired eyes, walked out in a daze.

"Young master, why are you up?" she mumbled. She was blinded by the lights in the room, and it took her a moment to see the scene clearly. When her eyes landed on Sister Guan's sliced off hand, she couldn't help but let out a scream at the horrifying and bloody sight.

She only screamed for a moment before Fan Xian covered her mouth with his hand.

Mockingly he said, "Do you want to wake up everyone in Yingzhou City?"

From Danzhou to Jingdou, the bloodiest sight Sisi had ever seen was the time when the second young master of the Fan family, Sizhe, had been punished. She had never seen missing hands or feet, and she was shaking from the shock and struggling to calm down. Fan Xian pinched her waist and said, "Go back to sleep; this is serious business."

Sisi couldn't resist taking another look at Guan Wumei before she nodded and turned around to head back to her room.

"Is he awake?"

"No," Sisi continued. "I don't think Sir Shi is awake either."

"Xiao Shi sleeps like a pig. Back when I used to make a bunch of noise, he only knew how to stay asleep next to the pretty girl beside him. What does he really know about the things that happen outside his room?"

At this point, Guan Wumei's pain was making her lips twitch and her face turn green. However, her ears could still clearly hear the conversation above her between the young man and his serving girl. She felt like the situation was getting even more strange. Just who exactly was on this boat? After being attacked at night by bandits, they were still acting calm, and even had the time and energy to chat. If the other party didn't have extreme confidence in themselves, then the other party was just stupid. Of course, she knew that the former was much more likely. She just didn't know how they were going to deal with her and her people.

Having ushered Sisi into the guest cabin, Fan Xian's smile immediately faded. He said gently, "Guan Wumei, of Jiangbei Road, Ezhou. Your father is from Guanhe Mountain and your mother is of the Xia family. You've lived in poverty since a young age, and you were eventually sold to a brothel. Later, you became the concubine of an official in Ezhou, but because you couldn't stand the humiliation of your mother-in-law, you killed her in anger. You were sent to prison but miraculously escaped. After this, you became the mistress of a mountain village, and even later, the mountain village was destroyed. Then, you came to the area around Yingzhou."

Guan Wumei was shocked to her core and seemed to even have forgotten the pain of her lost hand. How could the man in front of her know so many details of her past? Did he lay out this trap on purpose to capture her?

"Who exactly are you? How do you know so much about me?" she viciously asked with her hoarse voice.

Fan Xian shook his head and said, "My memory is pretty good, but this information isn't much because you're not an important person."

Guan Wu Mei has had an extraordinary life, and could be considered one of the most infamous and dangerous bandits on the Yangtze River. Having unexpectedly been caught, being unable to put up a fight, and having the other party act unbothered and dismissive of her made her feel a trace of humiliation at this harsh reality. The tone and attitude of the young man sitting in front of her forced her to admit that he really didn't consider her a worthy opponent.

"Since you know who I am, then you should know that I have someone working behind me. Unless you have us all killed, then I don't think this will end well."

Guan Wumei was consumed with pain and began to stupidly threaten her enemy. She hoped that when they punished her people, he would be a little merciful.

The cruel reality broke her illusion. Fan Xian smiled and said, "That's exactly what I want to do."

Guan Wumei was startled and suddenly felt a chill come from behind her. She quickly turned her head. The sounds of sharp blades being drawn against countless throats rang out. It was a horror to hear, as if the kitchen behind a stone house was killing dozens of hens at the same time.

After the dozen bandits that had followed Guan Wumei onto the ship had their throats slit by Fan Xian's guards, the guards simply threw them overboard after double checking that they were all dead. They acted professionally and not even one drop of blood landed on the deck. The splashing of water quieted after only a moment, as the widely flowing river took all the bodies and blood into its depths.

He didn't even blink at having a dozen people killed; he was so ruthless.

Guan Wumei's eyes finally revealed her fear. Seeing how the other party had acted, it was clear to her that they were used to doing this type of cruel behavior.

Turning back, she saw the young man withdraw the hand gesture he'd used to give his order. Involuntarily, her voice shook and her teeth chattered as she said, "Don't kill me."

Her teeth wouldn't stop chattering and she was making a strange sound. She made herself swallow and forced herself to calm down. Since they hadn't killed her at the same time as the others, there was still a chance of survival.

"Please give me my family's leader face." Guan Wumei kneeled in fear on the ground and begged Fan Xian.

"Your family leader?"

Thinking of the man's power, some hope rose in Guan Wumei's heart.

"After seeing how your subordinates act with such strength, I think you're both of the same road. My leader is the head of the Jiangnan water bandits. He has hundreds of ships under his command and countless amounts of capable people. If you're thinking of coming to Jiangnan to plan something big, you'll certainly get along with him and enjoy talking to him."

Fan Xian ignored the female bandit's inappropriate word choice, but he could tell that she was asking for mercy and trying to use that so-called "head of the Jiangnan bandits" to threaten him. He couldn't help laughing and thought, This trip to Jiangnan is truly very interesting.

"Head?" he asked warmly. "Are you talking about Seventh Ming? The seventh son of the Ming family, the one that was never truly accepted into the Ming family? I heard that his mother died many years ago, and after old master Ming passed away, the oldest young master took over the family and sent out assassins everywhere to kill this illegitimate child who was an embarrassment to the family.

"But in reality, it was because the old master Ming left too many valuable things to Seventh Ming. Seventh Ming had nowhere to hide, so he decided to throw in his lot with the dark side. He changed his name, overcame his impetuosity, and was very patient. He quietly sent out his own assassins and now, five or six years later, he's finally made a bit of a name for himself."

"The head of the Jiangnan water bandits, Xia Qifei, the poor illegitimate child, Seventh Ming—how did he end up like this?" Fan Xian furrowed his brow, as if he thought that this person in Jiangnan who was of some status was actually very far from what he had imagined. "He's actually allowing his subordinates to run around stealing silver? This method is much too pathetic. Has he been running low on silver recently?"

Jiangnan had always been wealthy, and when the palace treasury was built, it produced even more wealthy people. But other than the salt merchants and sea merchants, the two most famous families were the Cui and Ming families. These two families had intermarried for generations and were friendly with the Eldest Princess. Who knew how much money they'd made depending on the palace treasury? The Cui clan was in charge of smuggling to the North of the palace treasury, while the Ming family, according to the investigations by the Overwatch Council, should be responsible for all of the smuggling headed towards Dongyi City, as well as the overseas business.

Fan Xian had come down to Jiangnan to manage the palace treasury. Now that the Cui clan had fallen, his first order of business was to stun the Ming family. Naturally, he had done his homework well before leaving the capital. After talking all night with Mr. Yan, he had long decided on his plan.

He had spoken slowly in the cabin and almost scared Guan Wumei to death, who was kneeling on the floor. Ever since her young master had been chased out of the Ming family, he'd been planning for all these years on how to take back the family business. However, his true identity was their closest guarded secret. The heads of the Jiangnan water villages had no idea that their boss was actually a descendant of a wealthy family. The Ming family, those rich merchants, were also completely in the dark. They even sometimes had shady business deals with the water villages in Jiangnan.

Other than herself, nobody knew of this secret because of an extra layer of closeness with Seventh Ming, one that outsiders didn't know about. Guan Wumei didn't believe that there was another person who knew the head of Jiangnan's water villages', Xia Qifei's, true past. How could she expect this young master in front of her to break through to the truth at once?

Fan Xian suddenly thought of something and smiled happily.

"I get it now. The Cui family fell, and although the Ming family is sad, they are also happy to take over the Cui family's portion. I'm guessing that Seventh Ming wouldn't pass up this opportunity to enter the market and set himself up against the Ming family. In March, the palace treasury will put out new bids, and the Jiangnan water villages will be a blank slate. Seventh Ming wants revenge, and he wants to steal the palace treasury sales documents. This all needs money, and it's no wonder he's as anxious as ever."

Guan Wumei stared at Fan Xian with terror, thinking, What god is this frail looking young man? How does he know so much? The matters of the palace treasury were closely guarded court secrets, yet the other party guessed young master's true thoughts in just a moment. She saw that there was a warm smile on the corner of Fan Xian's lips, but her body was frozen and unable to move.

"Seventh Ming doesn't have very good etiquette. Why bother for just a few hundred liang of silver?" Fan Xian sighed.

Before he had come to Jiangnan, he originally had a measure of curiosity for the Seventh Ming that the Overwatch Council had discovered in their secret investigations. After all, the other party had a somewhat similar past to him. Now that he had discovered that the other party's methods weren't very good, he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

He sighed to himself and lowered his head. It was only then that he noticed the silent Guan Wumei with her own head down. He smiled apologetically and said, "I like to talk to myself sometimes. Don't worry, I'll stop your bleeding in a moment."

Guan Wumei asked, "Why not kill me instead?"

Fan Xian thought about this and said, "I'm not someone who likes to kill people. Besides, I still have to talk business with your master. If I killed his cousin, I'm afraid he might get too vengeful without knowing enough information. It could damage the business between us."

That night, Guan Wumei had been stunned so often that she felt numb now. Since this man was able to discover the young master's true identity, then of course he would be able to find out about the connection between them. Only, he'd said…business? She wished she could be reincarnated.

With difficulty she said, "Sir, my family leader is currently downstream."

By this point, she guessed that Fan Xian was likely a representative from a great power in Jingdou, and that was why he had such powerful guards and knew so many secrets. She gritted her teeth and said, "Tonight was our fault. I'll bring gifts as an apology in the future."

After hearing their previous conversation, she thought that the other party would let her go. Unexpectedly, the young master sank into deep thought and for a while, didn't speak. Unable to help herself, she dejectedly said, "Sir, we all walk the jianghu. You've already killed a dozen of my subordinates. Is that not enough to satisfy your anger?"

"Jianghu? Does this world really have a jianghu?" Fan Xian smiled slightly. "Besides, those kills weren't enough to satisfy my anger; it was just one way to deal with the issue. I won't let you leave this ship, at least until I need you to. This is to prevent you from slipping up and revealing my identity. That would just bring unnecessary trouble to Jiangnan."

Guan Wumei didn't understand what he was saying, but she did recognize the great amount of self-confidence in his tone. In a hoarse and hopeless voice she asked, "Matters of the jianghu are resolved on the jianghu. What exactly do you want to do?"

There was absolute silence in the cabin, and after a moment, Fan Xian laughed lightly.

"You're mistaken. I'm not of the jianghu." He propped up his chin and looked at Guan Wumei's white face with amusement. "I don't have the time or effort to deal with such a messy and chaotic place as jianghu."

Guan Wumei thought that her enemy was becoming more and more mysterious. Unable to stop herself she asked, "Who. . . who exactly are you?"

"Me?" Fan Xian thought about this seriously. "I am a no-good, waiting to die second generation man. Of course, I might be the most powerful second generation man in all of the Qing Kingdom."

Thinking of her men's guesses before they had boarded the ship, Guan Wumei almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You're a bandit." Fan Xian stared into her eyes, and spoke each of his words clearly. "And I am a powerful bandit. Now that you're on my bandit ship, I, as the host, will look after you well. Of course, your Seventh Ming is also about to come onto my ship, and he won't be getting off again in this lifetime."

Guan Wumei finally understood that this other party didn't want to do business with Seventh Ming, they wanted to use him for their own ends.

"You're only dreaming! You're only worthy enough to polish my master's shoes!" she viciously spat.

Fan Xian didn't get angry, he just laughed out loud and rose from his chair. He took out a golden needle and pricked her a few times near her elbow to stop the bleeding. He was originally going to respond to her, but then decided that there wasn't much point. He thought, Your master, that Seventh Ming, will likely be sincerely polishing my shoes n just a few days. I only hope that you won't be too surprised when it happens.

…

…

After everything was dealt with, the sailors who had been waiting in the lower level brought up a huge bucket of water from the river to wash away the spilled blood. Although Guan Wumei was the only one who had bled on the ship, she'd lost a lot of blood from her severed wrist and it took quite some effort to clean it all up.

The wind picked up again after all the cleaning was done. Everyone yawned exhaustedly and went back to sleep. The ship resumed its silence, as if the earlier events had never happened.

"Go to sleep; there will be someone on duty for the late shift," said Fan Xian, glancing at Gao Da. The regulations of the Qing Kingdom officials demanded that personal guards worked in two shifts, but Fan Xian forcefully changed it to three shifts. Although there were less people each shift, he believed that those capitalistic people in the world had their own reasons for splitting the people they exploited into three shifts. It probably ensured better work efficiency.

Pushing aside the thick, cloth curtain, he walked along the passageway that went through the cabins until he reached the end. Fan Xian stopped and twisted his head to glance at Shi Chanli's room. As expected, the scholar was still sound asleep. Su Wenmao had woken up a long time ago and was guarding the door with an exhausted expression. It was deep into the night, and the two didn't speak to each other.

Walking to the room opposite of his own, Fan Xian said something to the Tiger Guards on duty outside and gently pushed the door open. He walked straight to the bed and sat down. Looking at the little boy beneath the blankets, he remained silent for quite some time.

The Third Prince had regular features and seemed very delicate in his young age. But, Fan Xian knew that this kid was a lot tougher than he looked. The ship rocked and he pulled up the blanket on the bed, covering the boy's shoulders. The wind on the river was icy, and it wouldn't be good for him to catch a cold.

The Third Prince's tightly shut eyes twitched slightly.

Fan Xian laughed quietly. The child had probably woken up long ago, and was only pretending to be asleep. He suddenly realized that a child of eight or nine that was easier to wake up than Shi Chanli probably had many burdens weighing down on his heart. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but emotionally sigh. It was easy, when born to a royal family, for immoral desires and ploys for power to result in the creation of strange children. This little boy was sometimes loathsome, but he was also very pitiful.

He didn't have the energy to expose the child's trick, but he instead lost focus and thought of the issue Wan'er had reminded him of. He had something completely different in mind, but couldn't make up his mind just yet.

The shopkeepers from the Qingyu Hall were not on the ship heading south. Since Fan Xian was secretly going to Jiangnan, the group of family members heading towards Danzhou needed to look very realistic. At the middle of the Wei River, the fake Commissioner would have already led the group east. Along the way, there were Black Knights protecting them, and they had all of the shopkeepers. Everyone in the court would probably think that he was travelling with that group, and no one would ever imagine that he'd already reached the crossing point of the Wei River and the Yangtze River.

Although they were taking the waterways and couldn't have the Black Knights give them the quickest and strongest defense, Fan Xian wasn't worried at all about their safety. There were seven Tiger Guards on board, as well as swordsman from the Sixth Bureau. With so many masters and assassins on one ship, besides a personal visit from a Great Grandmaster, who in this world could even manage to touch his finger?

His warm hand gently patted the Third Prince's back, but his face was turned away and lost in thought. The most valuable person on the ship was this prince. With such a valuable gem like this beside him, even if wanted to use his privilege to move his family soldiers and provincial warriors in the future, he could probably find a good excuse to do so.

The current scenario was a bit odd, but Fan Xian was a daring man and didn't care much for the dignity of the royal family. Continuing to treat the Third Prince as a student and younger brother was already giving the Emperor and Yi Guipin a good reputation.

After making sure everything was as it should be, Guan Wumei, with her severed hand wound, was thrown into the ordinary prison in the lower level. It was only then could Fan Xian completely relax. Rubbing his slightly swollen temples, he returned to his room to find a sleepy Sisi half sitting on the side of the bed. She had her chin propped up with one hand, and her entire body swayed back and forth with the rocking of the ship. The girl was amusing. She was already this sleepy and she still didn't fall down.

Fan Xian chuckled and knew that she wouldn't let herself sleep until he was resting as well. Not daring to make a noise, he tiptoed over and slid one hand under her arms and another under her knees. She was a wearing a red and green old coat and felt like a big round bundle. It was like he was holding a large furry bear.

He carefully placed Sisi onto the bed, not wanting to disturb her dreams. Unexpectedly, she still woke up and opened her eyes, her sleepy confusion immediately disappearing. She forced herself to sit up and said with a smile, "I'll spread out young master's blanket."

Fan Xian gently laughed and scolded her, "I've already slept earlier; who needs sheets? You're already disorientated from sleeping; go rest."

Sisi covered her mouth and laughed. "The bed is all cold now. When you were little, you hated cold blankets. Didn't you always have me warm them first?"

Hearing these words, Fan Xian paused and suddenly reminisced the time the two of them had spent together in the old manor, back in Danzhou a couple years ago. In just a blink of an eye, two years had passed. He'd been busy scrambling for power, getting married, and going out as an envoy. Without meaning to, he had drifted apart from Sisi. Luckily, Sisi still treated him with intimacy. Unintentionally, his heart warmed as he smiled at her.

"Are you going to warm my bed tonight?"

These words were a bit flirtatious, but they both were aware that Sisi was a girl who would eventually have to prepare herself to marry. She'd already, long ago, prepared herself mentally for that. She blushed slightly at his question, and didn't make a cheerful reply as she would have in the past. She only took off her outer coat and slipped herself entirely under the blankets.

She slid into the young master's bed with only a headful of black locks visible on the white pillow. It was ridiculously alluring.

Fan Xian paused, then removed his clothes and burrowed into the blankets as well. While they were in Danzhou, they'd grown up together and shared a bed numerous times. They'd rolled around together in the blankets on plenty of occasions. Other than that final thing, they'd already done every other possible intimate act multiple times.

The lights had yet to be put out in their cabin. Fan Xian hugged the girl from behind, his hands wrapped around her front. He held onto her slightly cold hands. His chest was pressed against her back, and he could hear her breathing in front of him. Without thinking, he tightened his hold on her even more.

"I'm 20, young master," Sisi gently bit her lower lip as she said this. There was a trace of grief and hidden bitterness in her voice.

Fan Xian didn't say anything back. He just breathed in the light scent of her hair and took in the feel of her nimble body with his embrace. He easily allowed his mind to return back to the situation in Danzhou. His whole body felt unbelievably relaxed and at ease.

Chapter 334: A Situation

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Unable to sleep at night, he could hear the wind outside sing over the river.

Fan Xian gave up and opened his eyes. He whispered in the ear of the girl next to him, "What about being 20? Getting impatient?"

Hearing this, Sisi got angry and sat up in the bed. She bit a piece of hair near her lip and was so angry she couldn't speak.

Fan Xian paused and quickly pulled her back down. He knew he had said the wrong thing. For Qing girls, most were married around 15 or 16. There were not many like Sisi, who was still a maiden at 20. Although Fan Xian always had thought that 20 was the perfect time to mature, in most people's eyes, Sisi had already become an old maid.

Although everyone was polite to Sisi for the sake of old ancestors in Danzhou and Fan Xian, particularly in the Fan Manor, there was always talk going around. Since Fan Xian continued to not take her as a concubine, this further encouraged this atmosphere.

Thinking about this carefully, Fan Xian knew that he had not dealt with this matter well. He always thought that there was no rush, but he never thought about it from Sisi's perspective. For a girl to be 20, even if in that other world it would be the same as a 30-year-old-virgin girl, no matter who it was, she wouldn't be able to accept this tragic reality.

Sisi curled up her body. She ignored him and slept with a pained heart.

Fan Xian thought about it and then smiled. "Speaking of which, we haven't lain in the same bed for two years." Back when they were in Danzhou, although the two years elder Sisi would always sleep to one side, Fan Xian had long developed the bad habit of going to her bed to fool around for a while after getting up.

"The young master has grown up. Naturally you can't always fool around with the servants." Sisi buried her head into the blankets as her voice buzzed back.

"I want to fool around for a long time." Fan Xian didn't try to coax her, he just said warmly and gently, "With an ugly mug like mine, only you wouldn't be disgusted with me."

Sisi sputtered with laughter, "If you have an ugly mug, then how will all the girls under heaven survive?"

Suddenly the master and servant both fell silent. They were both thinking about how this line was Wang Xifeng's self-disparaging comment from Story of the Stone. They slowly began to think of the times in Danzhou when each night one person would copy the book and the other would hold up the picture.

In those days, every time Fan Xian would use a delicate xiaokai to "copy" the Story of the Stone, Sisi would be beside him making ink, adjusting the light, lighting incense, and preparing a midnight snack. The two of them perfectly created the saying, "to copy books in the night with a red sleeve adding incense." Speaking of which, Sisi was Fan Xian's first reader in this world.

…

…

Fan Xian turned the girl's body around and forcefully pulled her into his embrace and said, "Since you laughed, don't cry again. Listen to me tell you the joke where a man is not even as good as an animal."

Sisi curiously opened her eyes and waited for him to open his mouth and finish telling this famous joke. Finally, she couldn't resist burrowing into his embrace and laughing. Mischievously she said, "Ah, so you are saying you weren't even as good as an animal all these years."

"Now that I think about it, that does seem to be a problem," Fan Xian said, acknowledging his mistake. "I admit that these words are shamelessly hypocritical. Of course, most importantly is that I don't know exactly what you were thinking."

"What was I thinking?" Sisi was confused.

Fan Xian sighed in his heart and didn't say anything. Suddenly Sisi understood what he was saying and was surprised, as well as moved. Although his thinking was indeed absurdly muddled, as to be prepared to consider how she felt, but…it did feel very warm.

"Young master, do you remember when we were little…and the time you hit Steward Zhou?"

"Of course I remember." Fan Xian smiled. "That fellow, he dared to be impolite to you. See if I didn't make him bloom with color."

Sisi gathered the courage to look at his face and couldn't speak for a while. After all, she was a girl; how could she say such intimate things? That day, Fan Xian had hit Steward Zhou until his face swelled, and that day, the plum flowers in Sisi's heart also blossomed.

At that time, Fan Xian was only 12, and Sisi was no more than 14.

Fan Xian did not know what the girl was thinking and instead thought about the scene at the time. Involuntarily he said, "I really hit him hard that time."

Sisi huddled in his embrace and laughed out loud, "You have strong hands."

"Strong hands?" Fan Xian chuckled. His left hand lowered in the blanket and just happened to slap onto Sisi's round, pert butt. The girl only wore light sleeping pants, and they were very thin. The palm made contact with the butt with a crisp crack.

Memories were always good, and flirting was always pleasurable. Master and servant played around like this and didn't speak for a while. Only in the dark and quiet of the night, with the gentle fragrance of the blankets, the air started to warm up. Fan Xian finally began acting like an animal; his two hands had long been restless and began searching up and down.

…

…

"Lights—the lights are still on," Sisi said with embarrassment.

At this moment, Fan Xian had entered the animal realm of primates and was as anxious as a monkey. Hearing those words, he stuck out his left arm and swung it back. He thought that this martial technique, the coffin-breaker, he had learned from Ye Ling'er, should be able to easily send out a breeze and extinguish that candle flame. However, he sent out the strike and the flame remained steady.

It was only then that he remembered all his zhenqi had dissipated, and he couldn't extinguish a flame at a distance anymore. Muttering a few curses, he reached under his pillow for the small crossbow he kept in his sleeve. He turned around and pulled the trigger in a rush.

There was a soft hissing sound as the crossbow arrow flew through the flame and embedded itself in the wood of the cabin with a muffled thud. The flame immediately went out, and darkness claimed the cabin.

…

…

He had made a big mistake.

He hadn't even had time to enjoy the sweetness of the darkness before hearing the wind whooshing outside. A number of masters gathered in a moment outside his room. He heard the sound of swords being drawn and crossbows armed.

When Fan Xian had shot at the flame, the sound of the arrow hitting the wood was light but had fallen onto the ears of these professionals and was alarming. Since there was a prince and commissioner aboard, the guards were extremely alert. From the outside came the sound of a Tiger Guard's alert voice.

"Sir, is there a problem?"

Fan Xian rose in anger but also felt lucky that these loyal subordinates had not directly rushed into the room. He turned back to see the girl hiding a smile in the blankets and felt a great bitterness and indescribable frustration.

Not a word was said all night.

Fan Xian was up early the next morning. Today, he didn't let Sisi help him brush his hair and put on his clothes. The girl was a little inconvenienced and could only continue resting on the bed.

Fan Xian brought in a bowl of porridge, a few pieces of cornbread, and some salted vegetables, and helped the poor girl have breakfast. Having completed what a man should do, he walked out of the cabin to the head of the ship. He gazed at the vast and mighty surface of the river and welcomed the chilly winter breeze. He felt energetic everywhere in his body and not a thread of discomfort.

After the morning fog retreated, the ship left Yingzhou. In reality, most of the people on the ship were still asleep. At this moment, Fan Xian turned his head back to look and saw that the pier had long disappeared behind a group of mountains and could not be seen.

"You rise early." Su Wenmao spoke from the side respectfully, but his gaze flickered up and down Fan Xian's body. The joke from last night already had spread. While no one dared say anything to his face, they all found it secretly amusing.

Fan Xian did not noticed his subordinate's unfriendly gaze and casually exchanged a few words. His gaze shifted to the side and saw the Third Prince and Deng Zi Yue coming out of the cabin.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Fan Xian respectfully greeted the Third Prince, and didn't hold back at all. He didn't lose any discipline just because they were no longer in Jingdou.

The Third Prince had a childish beauty. He accepted this greeting with some embarrassment and didn't move.

After Fan Xian had finished his greeting, he consciously, immediately straightened and stood steadily in front of the Third Prince without saying anything.

The Third Prince scratched his head and wrapped his hand around his fist. With much grievance, he saluted deeply to Fan Xian. "Student greets Sir Siye."

The two of them were both beautiful but full of complicated thoughts, and their ages were far apart. After their strange ritual, they began their day aboard the ship. On this ship, other than Fan Xian's usual subordinates, were a few tutoring serving woman from the palace and two eunuchs. They were all specially trained in the palace to serve the princes, but Fan Xian and his people were bold and forced these people to remain in the lower levels, not allowing them to come out.

On Fan Xian's side, of the Eighth Bureaus, other than the Sixth Bureau who were responsible for the assassination security, he also had transferred two officials from the Second Bureau and Fourth Bureau. The Second Bureau official was responsible for maintaining the smooth communication of intelligence reports, and the Fourth Bureau official was responsible for communicating with the various Inspection Division officials of the Overwatch Council along the banks of the Jiangnan.

Fan Xian's own teacher was from the Third Bureau and was now in control of the First Bureau. Thus, it meant that there was more than half of the Overwatch Council's structure on board this ship. Although there were not many people, the different divisions worked smoothly together.

Life on the ship was boring. When this group had first left Jingdou, they were fascinated by the scenery along the river for the first few days but gradually became bored of looking. Adding to the fact that the wind on the river was very chilly, most of the people who were not on duty holed up and rested in their rooms.

Fan Xian and the Third Prince stood at the head of the boat, watching the oncoming canyon, and talked quietly about something. The Third Prince often nodded, and Fan Xian's face appeared warm.

Su Wenmao stood behind and watched the commissioner with the prince, but he was thinking of a different matter. Why did the ship have to carry such a large chest of silver ingots?

Having finished talking, Fan Xian left the Third Prince at the head of the boat to imitate Jack and walked away.

Su Wenmao looked at the boy at the head of the ship and asked with a pained face, "Sir, if His Highness catches a cold, it will not be good."

"I'm training his will." Fan Xian had not been gentle to the Third Prince on this trip and maintained his distance. This not only surprised the people on the ship, but probably also struck the Third Prince as very strange.

"Sir, that chest of silver…" Su Wenmao probed.

Fan Xian shook his head, "Just guard it well. Since that woman has already seen it, just make sure no one else touches it."

Su Wenmao acknowledged the order and didn't continue to ask questions.

Fan Xian stretched and suddenly realized that he was sitting on a big ship with a chest of silver and was bringing a beauty to Jiangnan; it really did seem like the actions of a second generation. It was a pity that the weather was not very good, otherwise he could sunbathe and have some cold fruit juice. That would be even better.

"Guan Wumei has been locked up by us." Su Wenmao furrowed his brows. "How can we let the head of the Jiangnan water bandits, Master Xia, know? We will arrive in Yangzhou in the afternoon. Should we inform the local official to get the message out?"

Fan Xian thought about it and shook his head. "No need, I don't want him to know who I am for now. These criminals on the jianghu will only act carefully once they find that they can't be sure of the other party's inside information. What I want to see is how much he is willing to do for this matter."

"Then…"

"Don't let the Fourth Bureau spread the information." Fan Xian smiled and said, "Last night, wasn't there an aunt that was left by you in Yingzhou? Naturally, she will try to contact Xia Qifei."

...

...

Today, the most terrified person in the Qing Kingdom was the aunt that Fan Xian spoke of.

The private ship at the Yingzhou pier had already left. The aunt stood dazed at the edge of the pier. She had a bag of not completely cured meats in her hand and didn't even bother answering the occasional person who asked her for a price. She was a spy the bandits had placed in Yingzhou and usually was responsible for finding information. Yesterday, she was the first to figure out the situation with the chest on the ship.

It wasn't a big deal that the ship had disappeared considering the way Sister Guan and this group of bandits did things. After they had killed the people and taken the goods, they would sail the boat away that night, beach it, and then burn it to remove all evidence.

Thus, when she saw the ship was gone this morning, she thought that Sister Guan and them had already succeeded. However, she had waited on the pier for half a day but there wasn't any message.

Sister Guan hadn't returned. Second brother hadn't returned. No one had returned.

Just like that ship, all the bandits had disappeared without a trace and never appeared again. She waited all the way until dusk, but the pier remained as quiet as death.

It wasn't until now that the aunt was sure something had gone wrong.

Her bottom lip quivered and she found it difficult to believe this reality. Even if the guards on the ship were too strong, there should have been sounds of a struggle and the officials should have reacted. How could there not have been a single sound at all? Was that ship a ghost ship that casually stole the lives of a dozen people?

That night, she changed her outfit and wrapped up her hair. She hid the valuables in her home and spent a large amount of money to rent a carriage. She traveled through the night along the difficult to traverse mountain paths heading downstream. She passed Yangzhou and did not stop, and she continued east until she reached the county that was about to enter Jiangnan Road.

This trip took her an entire two days. During the trip she only had a few sips of water and did not eat any food at all.

She was a lower-level personnel, and would have had great difficulty in meeting the master of Sister Guan, but perhaps her sunken eyes made the adviser responsible for receiving visitors believe her words. With a serious expression, he brought her to the back garden.

In the most forbidding back garden in the city, the Jiangnan water bandit, the big boss who was not yet 30, the man who was famous on the jianghu, Xia Qifei closed his eyes and listed to the aunt's words. He slowly opened his eyes; they were cold and threatening.

"As long as that ship is still on the water, stop it."

Ships were, naturally, always on the water.

The heroes of the Jiangnan waterways under Xia Qifei had countless ships. This order revealed a strong self-confidence as well as a faint anger.

Chapter 335: You've Been Surrounded

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

As the water dried up in the winter, laborers were like ants as they worked hard to move rocks and sand on the two sides of the river to make repairs. Rumors said that the silver hadn't been completely handed down. So other than the subcontractors, the other commoners were all very lifeless. No one wanted to work hard if they were busy all day but were still not able to put even bronze in their pockets. Only the laborers dawdling over their work had the extra time to go have a look at the river they had long tired of looking at and mimic the civil officials far above them.

When they looked, everyone was surprised to see that on the Yangtze heading toward Jiangnan Road there suddenly appeared many boats. They were currently cruising up and down the river. Shipping in the winter couldn't compare to that of the other three seasons and was very rarely this lively. It was like in one night someone used magic to airdrop all these ships onto the river.

There were big and small boats of all different shapes and speeds. There were even three slightly refitted trimarans. The trimarans were for the exclusive use of the navy and were very fast. It was not permitted for commoners to use this type of ship. Similarly, the men on these ships had bulges around their waist that were probably hiding their swords. Other than the scaling on their dark cheeks, there was a silent killing intent and alertness.

It was only the famous water bandit who could gather so many ships on this stretch of the waterway to the entrance of the Jiangnan road in just two days without alerting the officials to come and have words. Just considering the power to control the Yangtze River, not even the famous families of Jiangnan could compare to the Jiangnan water bandit.

The full name of the Jiangnan water bandits was Jiangnan and Associated Areas of the 12 Connected Docks (this name was cute). They made a living on the web-like waterways, and all goods, guests, or other business had to first pass by them, particularly the private salt and tea business as well as the horse trade. This let them hold great power. After the Ming family fell, the person who went by Xia Qifei became the head boss of the water bandits and worked to better his relationship with the officials. It was rumored that this Master Xia could call the Admiral "brother."

No one could stop a rogue joining the local authorities. Thus, over the years, although it appeared that the water bandits reduced their black market trading, they had started coming out of the water weeds of the lakes and honorably entered into the public, stronger than before.

It was this kind of powerful force that could sweep their way across the river without obstructions and search the ships along the bank despite the protestations.

The person who gave the order was the head boss of the water bandits, Xia Qifei. Although he didn't particularly care about the deaths of his subordinates, Guan Wumei, who had suddenly disappeared, was related to him on his mother's side, so she was a relative. Furthermore, what made him more wary was the question: what kind of god could take away such a big piece of meat from him so quietly? He had suffered a great and confusing loss.

In March, the palace treasury was going to reopen its doors. In previous years, it was always a small portion for the Cui family or Ming family, but everyone knew that the Cui family had fallen and the Eldest Princess had handed jurisdiction of the palace treasury to Commissioner Fan of the Overwatch Council. Thus, Xia Qifei decided to try and see if he could, in the new circumstances, strike while the opponent was weak and openly take back what once belonged to him.

But, the palace treasury business was too large, so it would take at least 100,000 silver to get it started. In March, even if he just wanted to enter the door of the god of wealth for some tea, the amount of money he would have to bring would scare people to death.

The already fallen Cui family and the still prosperous Ming family had this power, but Xia Qifei did not. Even though he controlled the largest gang on the waterways, the money in his hands, when compared to the Ming family, was like that of a beggar's. Thus he was anxiously scraping coin from everywhere and even secretly ordered Guan Wumei to restart the bandit business.

He wouldn't even let go of a small sum of silver; it was clear that he was close to going crazy. It was like the saying, "the getting of one penny daunted the hero." The first problem the heroes of jianghu who wanted to learn how to do business ran into was money.

At such a crucial moment, Xia Qifei was very careful and did not lose his cool. He wondered if the incident that happened near the Yingzhou shore was targeted at him.

When the incident occurred, he had been in Shazhou encouraging a Jiangnan navy garrison Xu Shoushan to drink. The rumors on the jianghu were always a bit exaggerated. The highest level of the navy he could contact at the moment was at the garrison level.

After Sir Xu heard what happened, he remained silent and allowed Xia Qifei to search for that ship. But he still gave the water bandit people a warning: everything must be cleared up before March began, when the commissioner would arrive in Jiangnan from Danzhou. After everything is sorted, make sure everything is clean and the smell of blood does not linger around you.

They couldn't help feeling confused when dozens of Jiangnan water bandits' ships searched the river a long time but did not find an easily identified ship. Xia Qifei listened to his subordinate's report and narrowed his eyes coldly. "Seems like those people haven't come down …that chest is not easy to move off the ship. They should still be near Yangzhou. Have you checked?"

That man wearing a white cloth around his head to protect it against the wind on the river was embarrassed,

"We calculated the time and with two days, the ship should have reached the area around Shazhou …who would have thought the opposition was too lazy to move?"

Xia Qifei was unbelievably angry and almost kicked him. He scolded, "Are you a pig?" He paused and then said darkly, "Search upstream. I want to see them if they're alive and their bodies if they're dead. I don't care what it costs, tow that ship back to me!"

The man took his orders and left; he didn't notice that the master's words revealed that his confidence was falling.

Xia Qifei sat next to the window and couldn't calm his anger for very long. This half a year of his life was the most important half a year; he would definitely not allow anyone or anything to interfere. Otherwise, the revenge he had been planning for a long time would have to be planned again.

He swallowed the bowl of cold tea in one gulp, but it made him even warmer. His eyes revealed an unreasonably angry spirit. He walked to the middle hall to wait for his brothers' good news. He undid the buttons on his chest and revealed the lines of scars on his yellow flesh. However, these scars were strange. They were in neat and tidy rows. They didn't look like they were from knife and axe wounds during combat on the jianghu, rather they were like whip scars after being captured.

…

…

At noon, a large ship slowly sailed away from the busy and flourishing Yangzhou pier and headed downstream.

At the same time, dozens of Jiangnan bandit ships aggressively sailed upstream against the current. Braving the dangers of traveling by night, they searched for a trace of their enemies.

The heavens did not purposely make time for hide and seek. Before the sun had completely sank behind the mountains, the two parties finally met on the calmest section of the Yangtze River, the Jingbo Crescent.

Dozens of boats swiftly caught up. The water bandits' natural ability to steer a boat was demonstrated efficiently. With just a few changes, they had surrounded the big ship.

The ships of the Jiangnan water bandits' carefully surrounded the ship from Jingdou. The trimaran that was the leader edged closer to the big ship. The big ship already had stopped, appearing to have given up resistance.

The head water bandit on the trimaran yelled toward the big ship, "People on the ship, listen up. You are surrounded. Immediately put down the weapons in your hands and accept a search."

The big ship remained absolutely silent.

The head water bandit hesitated slightly before he made a hand gesture and six boats edged closer at the same time. They stretched out long bamboo poles and hooked them on to the sideboard of the big ship with some difficulty. They unsheathed the short knives they carried and prepared to forcefully board the ship.

It was at this moment that the big ship suddenly moved.

This move was one of full acceleration and at a speed that left the water bandits staring and tongue-tied. The big ship charged toward the outside of the surrounding boats and, in a split second, the massive momentum of the big ship tore apart the bamboo poles and hooks that had just landed on the sideboard. A dozen water bandits who had been climbing up fell tragically into the water. The big ship stirred up countless waves, creating chaos on the surface of the river.

The large bandit ship directly blocking the big ship crashed into the ship from Jingdou without any fanfare—and then without fanfare—turned around, snapped at the waist, and gracefully slid away.

Of course, this elegant move was accompanied by the splitting of the deck and surprised cries of the sailors.

…

…

Leaving white waves in its wake, the boat from Jingdou quickly headed downstream. They left on this mirror-like section of the river countless pieces of wooden debris and water bandits floating on the surface.

The head water bandit grabbed the edge of a boat and steadied himself in the big waves. He stared with shock at the tail of the big ship and felt a strange shock in his heart. This ship…was too solid. And how did the sailor manage to get the ship from an absolute standstill to such a speed? It seemed like they were even better than me!

The sailors on the ship from Jingdou were all teachers of the Quanzhou sailors who had been split up. They spent many years studying the art of water battles, so naturally their command of a big ship during a water battle was much higher than these Jiangnan water bandits, who were like ants trying to swallow an elephant.

However, sailing on the river ran the risk of there being reefs under the water, and so they did not dare sail rashly straight ahead. Thus, the ship did not have full sails or a speed advantage when compared to the trimarans the sailors' used. The Jingdou ship had only broken through one line of defense when at least ten boats began to tail them.

At this moment half the river was blue and the other half red. The ship from Jingdou was in front while the boats of the Jiangnan bandits were behind. They sped downstream and drew countless light scars on the surface of the water, churning up the yellow water of the river fiercely. It looked like a wonderful picture of a battle of a hundred ships.

"Use the throwing hooks!"

Seeing that the ship from Jingdou was aggressive and made of some strange, tough material, the head of the Jiangnan water bandits began to yell loudly and, at the same time, made a few hand signals. Although the wind was very powerful on the river and immediately blew the words from his mouth to the ends of the earth, the water bandits around the big ship saw the hand gestures and retrieved a pile of rope. They began to toss it at the big ship.

A dozen ropes flew through the sky and drew beautiful arcs before landing accurately on the deck of the big ship. The hands of the water bandits were well-practiced; it was clear they were used to this kind of work. Following that, the sailors tightened their hands as the rope with the hook caught firmly onto the boards of the ship. At this moment, the two parties traveled at a similar speed, and the rope was not as rigid as the bamboo poles. The water bandits did not worry anymore and began to climb along the rope toward the big ship with great agility.

…

…

When they again reached half way, a pitiful half way, a dozen windows opened along the side of the big ship. From each window extended a long axe that chopped viciously at the people on the rope—only the whistling of the axes and the tragic screaming could be heard. Blood scattered on the four winds of the river and lost limbs fell into the waves. In just a moment, the water bandits had suffered great casualties.

A few nocked arrows aimed coldly at the surrounding ships. Although they didn't fire, their intent to shock sufficed. They seemed to be saying, "if anyone else dares to come near, they will be killed without question."

In the back, the head of the water bandits stared with shocked eyes and was strangely exposed. He felt a chill in his heart. He had spent many years eking out a living on the river and had experienced countless attacks, so of course he knew that the longbow, spear, and axe were the standard accessories for court sailors.

"Is this some conspiracy?"

…

…

The ship only had its sails down and moved at an extraordinary pace. They were about to leave the Jingbo Crescent and arrive at the waters of Shazhou.

The head water bandit stared viciously at the still trapped ship. He knew that although the other party had been unexpected, prepared, and powerful, as long as they remained on the river, his people—who had grown up on the riverside—would find a way to sink them to the bottom. After all, even elephants are afraid of ants. What he needed was time.

As if hearing his demands, four big ships suddenly appeared ahead on the river. They were lined up across the river and perfectly blocked the passage going downstream. The four ships each had three floors and were extremely big. The shadows they cast on the river stretched out enormously and appeared to be very mighty.

The head water bandit squinted as he gazed at them and discovered they were the ships of the sailors who had been secretly cooperating with him these past few years. He couldn't help but be overjoyed, and yelled, "Brothers have come to help; there's no need to be anxious!"

The ship from Jingdou continued to silently rush downstream. It was as if the four ships of the Shazhou sailors did not exist, and they also seemed tragically suicidal.

…

…

Seeing the scene before him at dusk, the head of the Jiangnan water bandits was stunned and sat down on the ground.

Just as the ship from Jingdou was about to be caught between the front and back and sink into a dangerous situation, the four military boats of the Sha Lake sailors downstream moved aside as if it they had planned it beforehand. They made way for the ship from Jingdou and allowed the ship to leisurely and smoothly flow downstream with the water.

What was happening?

The head water bandit couldn't believe his eyes, but a scrap of intelligence in his mind told him that the ship he and his crew had been chasing for a while—and the four giant ships with the sailors—really did look similar.

There was no more time to think. The four ships were like four giant beasts lined up in front of the water bandits' boats with a strong sense of domination.

The head water bandit recognized the official that stood on the lead ship. It was Master Xia's acquaintance, sailor of the Sha lake garrison, Sir Xu Shoushang.

Xu Shoushang stood coldly on the leading ship. It seemed that his clothing had been put on in a rush; the belt was not properly buckled, and it looked funny. He gazed down at the "familiar face," and furrowed his brows. He used his gaze to show that the other party should quickly surrender but didn't wait to see if they understood or not before speaking in a mighty voice.

"People on the boat, listen closely. You have been surrounded. Immediately put down the weapons in your hands and accept a search."

...

...

Shazhou was at the entrance to Sha Lake. The waters had dashed against each other for millennia and left countless acres of fertile soil. Adding to the fact that the common people worked hard to cultivate the soil, the city had long been a famous grain production site near the Yangtze River. With the withdrawal of sailors from Quanzhou a dozen years ago, Sha Lake became the Qing Kingdom's largest base for sailors after they accepted a portion of the sailors. Tens of thousands of sailors and navy officials' day-to-day lives depended on this city at the throat of Jiangnan.

The sweat stained sailors of the navy brought the people of Shazhou endless headaches, the local girls endless dangers, and the law and order countless problems. However, at the same time, they brought to Shazhou endless amounts of silver and business opportunities. The government salaries the court gave these single men each year were mostly spent at the brothels, gambling dens, and restaurants. Thus, Shazhou's entertainment industry, or more accurately the third sector of the economy, was very developed. There were all kinds of restaurants, the west side was full of beautiful women, and the dice rolled from dawn until dusk in the east side—it was unbelievably lively.

Today, a few people walked out of Shazhou's most famous inn. This combination of people was rather strange: there was a young master, a girl, a scholar, a child, and following behind them were a few respectful looking guards. The group of people immediately rented a large carriage and drove directly toward the south of the city.

This group of people was naturally Fan Xian, Sisi, the Third Prince, Shi Chanli, and the normal looking Tiger Guards. They had stopped in Yangzhou for a night, decided their next steps, and had the local Fourth Bureau people move the Sha Lake sailors; as to what procedures were used, it was better not to know. They expected that the military would protect the people of the Overwatch Council at all costs. It seemed that Fan Xian was not going to continue hiding his identity, which confused Su Wenmao, who had remained on the ship.

Fan Xian let the big ship deal with the water bandits on the Yangtze River while he took his people and disembarked ahead of time at night in Yanzhou. They took a carriage and comfortably followed the public road to Shazhou—they did it in secret and no one noticed anything.

The atmosphere in the south of Shazhou was tense. There were people of all kinds mixing and mingling here. Everyone knew that the big boss of the waterways, the Jiangnan water bandit Master Xia, was currently doing something, although they didn't know the details. But, from the endless flow of head water bandits that came and left that little yard, they knew this matter had run into some trouble.

The little yard didn't look like much, but everyone knew that it was the Shazhou branch of the Jiangnan water bandits' 72 connected docks.

Thus, when Fan Xian's carriage came within a few dozen feet of this little yard, it had been noticed by someone much earlier. Particularly the spies that the water bandits had scattered in the street. They were all staring hard as if they wanted to determine the intentions of these people. In the dim light of dusk, no one noticed that the swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau, who looked so ordinary, already had taken up the best positions on this street.

As the carriage came nearer and nearer to that branch, gradually more people came closer and watched the car, intentionally or otherwise. The atmosphere was a bit tense. The people in the carriage seemed to not have sensed anything and drove directly to the gates of the yard before stopping. A scholar lifted the curtain to descend from the carriage and walk up the stone steps. With a calm expression, he respectfully greeted the thugs by the door and said a few words.

In a moment, a man who appeared to be an advisor with small eyes and down-sloping eyebrows came out of the branch. Wearing a cautious expression, he looked at them and asked with narrowed eyes, "Who are you people? Why do you want to see Master Xia?"

The scholar was Shi Chanli, and he had never spent time on the so-called jianghu. Seeing the advisor's expression, and the thugs that had come up around him who were clearly wearing weapons, the scholar truly felt panic in his heart. He silently cursed his teacher for being so unreasonable as to make him do this kind of thing, but he pressed on nervously and said, "We come from Jingdou and would like to see Master Xia. We have important business to discuss."

The advisor of the branch looked at him disdainfully and was not impressed by the other's state. He took a sideways glance at the carriage and said, "You, or someone in the carriage? If it is someone in the carriage, why do they not come out? Such secretive behavior is not the way of a guest."

…

…

The three people in the carriage were not listening to what was being said outside. Fan Xian had thrown Shi Chanli out there because he had the idea to train his student's spirit. At this moment, he was focused on speaking to the Third Prince. He said warmly, "Your Highness, the people we have seen along the way from Yangzhou to Shazhou are all very different from the people in Jingdou. Please remember this well."

Traveling through the night, Fan Xian purposely had the Third Prince come into contact with the common people along their way to have him see the truest form of common life. No matter if it was an old man carrying firewood or the lady selling cold tea in a stall, he would purposely stop and exchange a few words.

As to teaching a prince, Fan Xian had no experience and no methodology. He could only feel his way slowly and try to see whether or not this method worked.

Shi Chanli seemed to have smelled something strange about Fan Xian's plan and couldn't help worrying for his teacher. The Third Prince accepted it all calmly and remained silent with a maturity that was beyond his years. He also didn't talk carelessly.

"The commoners live a hard life," the Third Prince replied respectfully. "Although the tax in the Qing Kingdom is not high, the commoners continue to live a difficult life. However, the people we have seen along the way often appear content and happy, thus we know that the commoners' demands are not high at all. The most important thing for the court is to first satisfy the people's basic need for food and clothing."

Fan Xian was purely like a blind man leading the way. What did he know about how to govern the world? He nodded non-committedly and said, "The commoners are easily placated, and yet everything the palace and courts need, and government salaries, all come from the people. In the future, when Your Highness helps the Crown Prince to govern the world, you must remember to take with moderation. As long as you don't exceed limits, there is no harm done."

The Third Prince looked at Fan Xian and smiled innocently. "Teacher, the people of Yangzhou are far more ferocious than those of Shazhou. Over there, the people's faces are full of resentment, probably because the court has taken too much."

On the ship, this young Third Prince had asked with great intimacy to call Fan Xian teacher, rather than Sir Siye, purposely drawing Fan Xian closer. Fan Xian had tried to stop him a few times to no effect and let him have his way. Hearing these words right now, he instinctively thought of the Zhizhou of Yangzhou that he had shadily killed and did not want to continue this conversation. He changed the topic and asked, "As to …the Jiangnan water bandits, does Your Highness have any thoughts?"

"Teacher has said that even xia use force to violate rules, and the so-called water bandits are more so like that. They are nothing more than a water-based underworld, the gangsters of the river. They murder for money and use force to accumulate wealth; they do not have the chivalry of the xia that teacher has talked about." A flash of hatred flickered across the Third Prince's delicate face. "In my opinion, the army should be called to capture them all once and for all. The leaders should be beheaded, and their followers banished to the northern frontier."

Fan Xian paused and said, "We've said before that folks' customs are formed through geographical and living environments. If you clear them all out like a wild fire, perhaps you will be able to remove all the weeds for a moment. However, if you don't start with the people and they cannot survive, they will still fall into banditry, and it will be a like a spring wind that revives the weeds. Such a cycle. When will it end?"

The Third Prince thought for a while and then shook his head. "Teacher is wrong. Of course the court has to severely punish these rebels. You've said before the Jiangnan water bandits must have ties with the sailors of Sha Lake to be able to survive. If these rebels are allowed to secretly destroy the discipline of the court, how will we put things in order in the future?"

He continued coldly, "To placate the people and have them lead good lives is a certainty in a world without thievery. We cannot be soft-hearted toward those thieves who dare to poke their heads out. Those who should be killed must be killed!"

Fan Xian gave him a faint smile as he looked at the Third Prince. He discovered that this child was indeed much more direct than him but was still some distance from him in terms of hiding his intentions. To bravely contradict him to his face was probably to demonstrate his frankness and sincerity, and using the word "suppress" to deal with the water bandits was to show him that he was decisive and honest. To make Fan Xian feel his sincerity—Fan Xian wanted to use the Jiangnan trip to purposely influence and change the Third Prince. Of course, the Third Prince would want to influence him too, although the kid did not do it smoothly. He had to acknowledge that such scheming at a young age was impressive.

"Then why did Your Highness not object…my visit to the Jiangnan branch of the water bandits?"

"Teacher has his clever plans, and they are not something I could guess," The Third Prince chuckled, recovering his calm.

Fan Xian's eyebrows twitched. He knew that the Third Prince did not know the details, but he should be able to guess his general intentions. He laughed at himself and thought that he was indeed a hypocritical man. At this moment, the conversation outside the carriage had been going on for some time. Not knowing what Shi Chanli said, although the advisor's expression finally became a bit panicked, the thugs that surrounded the carriage edged in even closer.

The curtain of the carriage lifted and Fan Xian stepped down first. He looked around at the scene by the dusky light and seemed not to care about the water bandits that were coming closer.

Then he turned around and led the Third Prince and Sisi down.

The Third Prince stood beside him and smoothed out his clothing. He looked with great interest at the thugs around them and asked quietly.

"Teacher, are these the so-called jianghu people?"

Fan Xian replied, "I guess so."

The Third Prince was a little excited, but did not feel any fear. After all, he was a prince. What did he know of the dangerous jianghu? As he was beside Commissioner Fan, there was even less concern for his safety. Ever since the Hanging Temple incidence, the Third Prince had decided that if Commissioner Fan was there, then no one could harm him. Furthermore, all the people in the world knew of Fan Xian's past…the royal family was ruthless, but the Third Prince thought that Fan Xian was an exception to this rule.

Fan Xian turned his face to glance at him and asked curiously, "Young master, why are you not afraid at all?"

The Third Prince laughed out loud and said, "Teacher is here, what is there to be afraid of?"

In everyone's hearts, Fan Xian was still that martial legend that could stand shoulder to shoulder with Haitang of Northern Qi; no one knew his true situation. It was uncertain why Fan Xian would dare to enter so deep into the tiger's den without consideration for his own safety.

The conversation between the two of them landed in the ears of the Jiangnan water bandits and explained the other person's identity. That child was probably a son of a big family, and Fan Xian, this beautiful scholar, was a private tutor. Only, he seemed to be a little young.

"Young master, let's go in."

Without paying attention to the alert and nervous gazes of those around him, Fan Xian was calm and unruffled. With one hand he held the hand of the young child, and the other held the girl's hand, and they walked toward they gate of the yard.

Shi Chanli lowered his head with shame as he caught up to them. He had completely failed the test this time. Teacher had instructed him not to reveal his identity, but he also wanted to walk through the door openly and honorably. The scholar really didn't know what to do.

The expression on the advisor's face flickered without stopping. Looking at the combination of people of the party, he guessed that the other party was the enemy Master Xia had been desperately searching for. But …how did they have the guts to come to their door? When did they get off that ship?

At this moment, countless Jiangnan bandit brothers and subordinates were working hard to find traces of Fan Xian and the other on the river as they engaged in a deathly battle with that big ship. Who would have guessed that the enemy they were searching for would come to Shazhou and so arrogantly arrive before the door of the brank and burst right in?

"Take them down!" The advisor's face was green one moment and white the next. He seemed to have never met such arrogant enemies. He felt a bit panicked in his heart, but all bullheaded people, other than idiots, had something to rely on. However, Master Xia was in the yard. If he dealt with this himself, it might cause big problems.

With this shout, the thugs all pulled out short knives and charged toward Fan Xian and his group, roaring.

…

…

Fan Xian felt his right hand being slightly squeezed and turned his head to look. He saw that the Third Prince had maintained his innocent smile, but his palms had unconsciously tightened. He was probably still a little scared despite his acting.

"Confidence." Even at such a crucial moment, Fan Xian did not forget to explain. "People of the royal family must have the confidence to suppress all emotions."

Dundundundun, it was like that song had absurdly begun. The Jiangnan water bandits of Shazhou also saw an absurd scene. They watched as countless small knives flew up from the yard gate, like it was raining, mysteriously leaving the control of their hands.

Following that were numerous muffled sounds, but any thugs who blocked Fan Xian's way were all set flying.

…

…

Gao Da led six Tiger Guards in like a gust of wind to stand beside Fan Xian and the other three. He silently pulled out the long knife from behind his back, appearing very imposing, and stunned some of the thugs back. He was easily dispelling those who would block his way.

Fan Xian continued to lead the two people calmly toward the garden. Accompanied by the tragic cries and flashing swords, his steps remained steady.

"Even faced with 10,000 people, I will continue forward," he explained to the Third Prince beside him. "The court doesn't need to deal with the jianghu people. We only need to assign tasks to them, so before you meet don't discuss anything."

The Third Prince nodded. His eyes skipped around the fights beside him, and he thought that this kind of feeling was very nice. He was excited, and his palms began to sweat.

"Why are these…jianghu people's martial arts not that good?" The Third Prince was slightly confused by the reality before him.

At this moment, some of the Jiangnan water bandits were lying on the ground and hadn't gotten up in a while. Those who could still stand now stared at Fan Xian and his group with fear in their eyes, particularly when they saw the silent long knife wielders, and were stunned into silence. The advisor was soaked in cold seat as his eyes stared at those hands that held the swords firmly. In his heart he cried: When did these masters suddenly appear on the jianghu? And they were only guards for someone.

…

…

At this moment, the group had reached the bottom of the stairs. Fan Xian stopped hist stride and said to the Third Prince, "What is the purpose of learning to fight? It is the same as studying, it is for power, advantage, and fame. Whatever the jianghu can give fighters, the temple can give them more. That is why all the truly famous scholars are all officials of the court, and the truly outstanding fighters all fight for the court. The young master should not be fooled by those words. The jianghu is a poor place, how could a futureless job such as collecting protection money attract true masters …?"

Right before the room of the main hall, the head boss of the Jiangnan water bandits, Xia Qifei, finally came out. He stared coldly at the approaching people and said, "Everyone back down; stop being so embarrassing. I'll meet these respected guests from Jingdou."

At this moment, his expression was calm, but his heart was completely stunned. He had long guessed that the other party was from that ship from Jingdou. How could he have guessed that they wouldn't avoid him and instead tyrannically find their way to him?

Without waiting for him to extend an invitation, Fan Xian and his group naturally entered the middle hall as if they had returned home.

Fan Xian invited the Third Prince to sit in the host's seat and then sat himself down grandly at the side. Sisi and She Chanli quietly stood behind him, and the seven Tiger Guards spread out across the middle hall with their hands on the handles of their knives.

Seeing the actions of the other party, Xia Qifei almost blew up in anger. Was this still his territory or not? He forcefully suppressed his anger and respectfully bowed to Fan Xian. "Greetings, Sir…only, there are exceptional people in the wilderness of the jianghu, perhaps your words earlier were a bit unjust."

At this moment, if he hadn't figured out that Fan Xian was a powerful person from Jingdou, then he truly was stupid, thus he must suppress his anger. Within the realm of the Qing Kingdom, the court's terrifying existence was as strong as a plank of metal. Any party who set themselves against the power of the government would always disappear tragically without a trace in the end.

"Xia Qifei?" Fan Xian looked at this dark and ruthless person in front of him and checked his identity before smiling warmly and saying, "For now, I don't want people to know I am a guest in your manor. Many people saw earlier, go deal with that. This will be slightly difficult. Consider it the first test."