As night fell, a solitary boat drifted on the Xiangjiang River.
On the boat, Gu Ning'an and his three companions were sitting around a wooden table inside the boat's canopy.
In front of each person was a small, earthy yellow bowl, filled with slightly yellowed brown rice porridge. Pieces of fish of varying sizes floated in the porridge, filling the air with a rich, savory aroma that lingered around everyone's noses.
The group didn't speak much; each one used their bamboo chopsticks to eat the fish porridge, some taking large mouthfuls, others small bites.
"Old Wen, I have to say, your cooking skills are really impressive!"
"Before you became a beggar, you weren't a fisherman, were you?"
"Otherwise, how would you have such good skills?"
The fastest eater, Wei Hai, put down his bowl and chopsticks, giving the old beggar a thumbs up several times.
Hearing this, the old beggar just smiled and said, "Before I became destitute, I often went fishing. Over time, as I did it more and more, my skills naturally improved."
Wei Hai wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, frowning and saying, "If you can fish, why not make yourself a fishing rod and go fish instead of begging on the streets and living off others' charity?"
Upon hearing this, the old beggar rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, you had a decent life before too, so how did you end up having to rely on relatives?"
"I've never seen anyone run a tavern and then shut it down themselves!"
"Hey!" Wei Hai was provoked by this, his eyes wide. "I'm talking to you properly, why can't you understand kindness?"
The old beggar clicked his tongue and replied, "I'm also talking to you properly, drink less alcohol!"
"Alright, alright! Since I've eaten your porridge, I won't argue with you!" Wei Hai stood up and walked toward the front of the boat. "I've slept enough during the day, I'll keep watch at night, you all go ahead and sleep."
"Oh, you drunkard, you still have a bit of conscience!" The old beggar's voice floated over.
Wei Hai snorted coldly and sat down by the riverbank.
Seeing that the two were often arguing, Gu Ning'an and Li Xunshan went from occasionally trying to mediate to completely ignoring them.
Anyway, the two of them would end up ignoring each other for a while, and this gave the boat a bit of quiet time.
After eating the last piece of fish from his bowl, Gu Ning'an put down his bowl and chopsticks and casually picked up the ones left by Wei Hai and the old beggar on the table, stacking them together. "I'll wash the dishes."
"Don't bother! Let me do it," the old beggar said, waving his hand as he tried to take the bowls.
Li Xunshan, still holding his bowl of porridge and not yet swallowing it, shook his head repeatedly.
"Hurry up and drink, once you're done, give me the bowls. It's just washing dishes, anyone can do it." Gu Ning'an extended his hand toward Li Xunshan, holding the bowls.
Li Xunshan finished his porridge, just about to speak, when suddenly, urgent calls came from the front of the boat: "There's a situation!"
At the sound of these words, the three inside the canopy immediately stepped out.
They saw Wei Hai, holding an oar, crouched down and watching the river surface with vigilance.
Following his gaze, they saw a ship, several times larger than their own wooden boat, rapidly approaching them!
"Just our luck, we've run into water bandits!" Li Xunshan said as he raised his hand. "You all move back, I'll try to handle this."
When none of the three moved, Li Xunshan stopped trying to persuade them. After all, in the blink of an eye, the bandit's fast boat had already approached them.
"Damn it! I thought we'd catch a big fish, but I didn't expect even beggars to be on this boat!" On the bandit's boat, a burly man with a long beard and hair cursed loudly, holding a curved sword.
On the opposite side, Li Xunshan cupped his hands and bowed. "Good sirs, we are all poor people, I hope you will spare us…"
"Bah!" The bearded bandit roared, "Since you know what we do, you should know the rules! Don't force us to take action!"
"Impudent!" A loud, commanding voice suddenly rang out from the wooden boat. Looking toward the source, it was none other than the old beggar!
He had completely changed his demeanor, and his murky eyes had become unusually sharp. "In the third volume of the Great Qian Law, anyone who robs money shall be exiled to the army at lightest, or behead at worst!" [Changed Da Qian to Great Qian to match Gate of Stellar Scars' translation since they use the same name. It seems this empire/dynasty is pretty common among Chinese novels.]
"You dare to rob on the Xiangjiang River? Do you not fear being caught and executed?"
"I'll tell you, even at night, there are patrol boats on the Xiangjiang River. If you cause a commotion, none of you will escape!"
The bandits on the boat actually felt some fear in the face of the old beggar's imposing stance, especially when he recited the Great Qian Law. They almost imagined a judge sentencing them for their crimes!
However, despite the old beggar's commanding presence and his perfectly timed threats, his beggar's clothes and disheveled appearance quickly made the bandits regain their composure.
"Damn it! You smelly beggar, do you have a death wish or what!"
"You've never had a full meal, but you can recite the Great Qian Law like it's a poem!"
"Enough talk! Let's send this old beggar to the afterlife!"
The bandits, embarrassed by the scare, waved their long knives and looked ready to rush forward and tear the old beggar apart, throwing his body into the river to feed the fish!
Seeing the situation was about to get out of hand, Li Xunshan quietly moved his hands behind his back, his figure slowly edging toward the edge of the boat.
Noticing this, Gu Ning'an sharply observed two bulges at Li Xunshan's waist. Judging by their shape, they were likely the hilts of two short blades.
"Gentlemen! Gentlemen!" Wei Hai stepped forward, cupping his hands in a bow while smiling and trying to appease the bandits. "It's all a misunderstanding! This old beggar has some issues with his mind. You're all noble people, please don't mind him!"
The bearded bandit sneered, "You sure know how to handle things… fine, since your attitude isn't bad, I won't kill anyone today… If you can gather forty taels of silver, I'll let you go. How about that?"
"Forty taels!"
"That's too much! We're on a broken boat, there's no way we could have that much money."
"Good sir, could you be a bit more lenient and accept less?"
Wei Hai's face darkened, and he bitterly smile as he bowed.
"Damn it, you want a way out but refuse to take it!" The bearded bandit made a move as if he was about to jump onto the wooden boat!
Li Xunshan raised both hands, clearly about to draw his blades, when Wei Hai stepped forward and held his hands down, whispering, "Don't make a move…"
Li Xunshan gave him a deep look, and gradually relaxed his hands.
"Good sirs! Good sirs!"
"We'll pay!"
As he spoke, Wei Hai sat down on the boat deck and quickly took off his shoes.
A sound of "ka-da" rang out as dozens of silver pieces, about the size of a pinky knuckle, fell onto the deck.