“My goodness, I was so scared I didn’t dare breathe. The two ships were so close I could count the nose hairs on that old man. That was really close!” Chou Yu scrambled up in a rush once the ship had sailed far away.
“That ship had at least twenty or thirty people on it. Just those two who came over to talk—their temples bulged high, their eyes gleamed sharply, and their forms didn’t budge like mountains despite the ship’s rocking. They must be experts among experts.” It seemed he’d adapted to the idea of one ship, one fate. Shi Lei spoke freely in front of everyone without hesitation.
The usually taciturn Shui She suddenly spoke up. “Experts among experts—so what? In Startled Fish Rapids, only those who can handle a ship can survive.”
“Well said.” Zhong An stood up, dusting himself off. “However skilled in martial arts, they still could only take the return route.”
“Plus they can’t swim, so they have even less options.” With the heart-stopping lamplight gone from the river surface, Mo Zi began pushing aside the concealing vines.
“They can’t swim?” Old Guan was very surprised. “Brother Mo, how do you know that?”
Huh? Wasn’t that what the goateed man said? Mo Zi’s words reached her lips, then suddenly stopped at the tip of her tongue. She paused. Those two men had been so close to the Yongfu at the time—she’d heard every word clearly. Why was Old Guan asking as if he hadn’t heard? He’d been crouching right beside her.
“What dialect were those people speaking? All that jabbering sounded like bird language—I didn’t understand a single word.” Fei Xia’s comment resolved Mo Zi’s confusion.
But solving one puzzle created another.
“They were speaking the Daiqiu language.” Bai Yu crossed his arms, looking thoughtfully in the direction where that ship had disappeared.
The Daiqiu language? Why hadn’t she noticed at all?
“The Daiqiu language?” At his age, Old Guan had traveled to many places. After thinking, “I once visited border towns in Daiqiu. They spoke the same language as us.”
“Daiqiu originally had no written language of its own. It wasn’t until they founded their nation a hundred years ago that they began using our Great Zhou script. Now their spoken and written languages are unified, mostly the same as ours. But Daiqiu’s imperial relatives, nobility, and high officials still learn the language passed down orally by their ancestors through generations. Based on Chinese characters, they developed a rare script called Eagle Script, only used when displaying noble status or as a secret language. Because Eagle Script’s structure is extremely complex and books written in it are all kept in the imperial palace, almost no one from the other three nations can understand this writing. If you found old people in Daiqiu itself, they might understand the spoken language. However, those who can read the script probably number only a thousand.” Zhong An gave everyone a lesson.
“So that means they’re probably Daiqiu nobility?” Chou Yu stuck out his tongue. “Daiqiu just occupied Yuling, yet nobles are running into our territory—don’t tell me they also want to go to war with Great Zhou?”
As long as one was male, one cared about national affairs.
“Definitely spies.” Old Guan also inserted his opinion.
“Although Daiqiu is currently attacking Yuling, there are still Daiqiu merchants moving about in Great Zhou and Nande. Those people just now spoke the Daiqiu language, but we didn’t see them write Eagle Script. Maybe they’re just ordinary traveling merchants.” After Zhong An said this, it seemed somewhat like stabilizing people’s hearts.
“Ordinary merchants traveling Startled Fish Rapids—then what does that make us?” Chou Yu was bold as brass, with the pride of the boat gang—sworn never to lose face to anyone.
Zhong An thought to himself that these boatmen were quite unusual.
They were definitely not ordinary merchants—moreover, they’d come under royal command as imperial family. The young marquis. The prince’s brother. That ship carried truly extraordinary personages.
However, Mo Zi didn’t reveal a single word of what she’d heard, because she couldn’t. If she did, how would she explain understanding the Daiqiu language? Her registry under Qiu Sanniang recorded her as a Yuling refugee. Though she’d lost her memory, when she told Qiu Sanniang she was from Yuling, it had felt completely natural. Moreover, whenever she encountered books related to Yuling, she instinctively wanted to read them, like the Yuling Night Boat Chronicles. Daiqiu? She’d had no impression of it before, until tonight. The young marquis and Miss Ye’er—the ripples they stirred in her heart weren’t affection or longing, only a displacement and panic of the soul.
Those people couldn’t be her countrymen. The only possibility she could think of was that due to her nation’s destruction and family’s ruin, she subconsciously felt anger and fear toward Daiqiu’s imperial family. This should make sense.
She was just a small woman. National affairs had nothing to do with her. Even if she didn’t speak out, she felt no guilt in her heart.
“Whether spies or merchants, never mind them. Let’s hurry and continue on.” At her command, the Yongfu sailed out from beneath the dark cliff face and headed toward Startled Fish Rapids.
Bai Yu, Zhong An, and the others returned to the cabin.
Shi Lei saw it was just their own people and said, “The old boatman hit it right—if not Daiqiu spies, then what? Brother Zhong An, even you misjudged. They can’t possibly be ordinary merchants.”
Bai Yu curved the corner of his mouth. “You think he truly didn’t know?”
Zhong An put away his playful smile and said seriously, “I just didn’t want to arouse the suspicions of those smuggling boatmen. That girl had a phoenix stone hairpin—a gemstone produced in Daiqiu’s Beihua that glows purple under light. Even in Daiqiu’s palace it’s considered top grade. How could she be an ordinary person? I’m not worried about spies. I’m only worried they have the same purpose as us—both heading for that person.”
“This…” Shi Lei hadn’t thought that far. “That can’t be? I mean, that person caused Daiqiu to suffer quite a few setbacks. Now that something’s happened to him, wouldn’t they gloat over his misfortune?”
“That person caused Daiqiu to suffer losses—does that mean he was any better to our Great Zhou? Aren’t we still under orders to bring him back?” Zhong An’s hand somehow held a fan, waving it to create gentle breezes.
“How can that compare? He was originally a Great Zhou person. A traitor to the nation should naturally be punished by us according to national law.” Thinking of this, Shi Lei clenched his teeth. “If not for Great Zhou and Nande always being peaceful, we should have pursued him long ago.”
“This person has real capability. Clearly a corrupt official, yet he could climb to the position of prime minister—below one, above ten thousand—making Nande’s old emperor rely on him all these years.” Zhong An closed his fan and slapped it against his palm.
“Those who commit many injustices will hang themselves.” Bai Yu said only one sentence.
“Indeed. Now that Nande’s new crown prince has ascended the throne, he immediately confiscated his family property and exiled him a thousand miles. Damn it, this is called reaping what you sow.” Shi Lei seemed to have suffered at his hands, his words激情激昂.
“However, given the extent of his bribery, his crime deserved execution, yet he was only sentenced to exile. I say this new Nande emperor is probably incompetent, lacking even the decisiveness to make an example of someone.” Zhong An played with his fan.
“The weaker a foreign sovereign, the stronger Great Zhou becomes.” Bai Yu’s gaze was cold. “Nande sits isolated in warm, humid lands, never aspiring to progress, coveting comfort and ease. They’ve always emphasized civil over military, valued extravagance while scorning poverty—incomparable to our emperor. Exile was the Nande sovereign’s greatest mistake. Though that person’s greed is extreme, his talent truly overshadows the world. If you can’t use him, you should kill him. If my guess isn’t wrong, that Daiqiu ship went to rescue him, not kill him.”
“Doesn’t that make them just like us?” Shi Lei’s eyes widened. “What’s really going on?”
“Impressive.” Zhong An lowered his eyes in brief contemplation. When he raised his head again, understanding had dawned. “Both our sides have become puppet strings, being used by someone?”
“The worst part is, knowing this, we still have to be led along.” Bai Yu furrowed his brow tightly, feeling quite displeased.
At that moment, the ship suddenly lurched violently.