It started raining.
If this rain had come earlier, the outcome might not have been certain. Yu Zhong sighed, only to discover blood spurting even more from his throat.
Those three boys—he had watched them grow up. Before their father died, he cursed his three sons as worthless, telling Yu Zhong it would be best to kill them to spare them the shame of living and disgracing the Lu family name. However, who was he? Having listened to this elder brother for over ten years, did he have to keep obeying? He wanted him to kill them, so he deliberately didn’t kill them. Letting the Lu family’s three worthless sons wander all over the world, begging humbly to fill their bellies—wasn’t that delightful?
When a person is about to die, certain memories become especially clear. He never remembered seeing his elder brother smile when saying those words, but now he clearly recalled that smile. So it turned out that even the most worthless son was someone a father wanted to protect. He had fallen for a provocation tactic. If he had eliminated them completely back then, how could he have ended up like this today?
“Give me a quick end,” he wanted to say, but his throat only produced strange gurgling sounds. Yet he was certain those three brothers understood his meaning.
However, they didn’t move. The youngest one’s eyes were red, as if about to cry. Of course, it wasn’t sadness—he was probably happy to kill him with his own hands. But really, what damned cowards. If not for that strange ship, could they have killed him? He wanted to curse again, but this time, his body tilted to one side and sank into the water.
Yu Zhong was dead.
Stinky Fish knelt in the small boat, bawling loudly. Fat Shrimp and Water Snake leaped into the river, and only after a long while did they board the ship, dripping wet, sitting on both sides of the boat’s edge, not saying a word.
At this scene, Mo Zi’s eyes reddened too. This was the first time she wasn’t afraid of the dead person before her. Seeing Fat Shrimp slit Yu Zhong’s throat, she clenched her teeth, but felt the satisfaction that he deserved to die.
The rain fell harder and harder, but the wind was so strong it blew her dress as if it were dry. It seemed only her hair was wet, plastered messily against her cheeks. Raindrops slid down her neck, absorbed by the cotton cloth then seeping back out, reflecting the vast bleakness of the river water.
The two large fires had burned almost completely. Waves of river water extinguished the oil on the surface, and dense raindrops doused the fires on the ships. The air was full of the burnt fragrance of wood, covering the fishy smell of torn flesh. Yet there were still screams of agony.
Xiao Wei, leading his men, was doing the final cleanup. He said they couldn’t leave anyone alive, otherwise if they fell into Yuling people’s hands, their whereabouts would be hard to hide.
She didn’t stop him. She was even somewhat grateful that he had taken the initiative to handle the aftermath.
Returning to the main ship, the four large contraptions had already been flipped back into the cargo hold. Old Guan was leading everyone to scrub the deck, taking advantage of the rain. Fat Shrimp rolled up his sleeves to help. Water Snake went down to the rudder cabin. Stinky Fish had recovered his grinning face, getting in the way and causing trouble for the people working diligently.
The battlefield that had just been engulfed in raging flames seemed as if it had never happened.
But that was only “as if.”
Ding Gou, who had been silent for a long time, said, “It was simply a one-sided victory. Looking at it this way, whether we encounter Yuling troops or Daqiu troops, they’ll all just be delivering themselves to death.”
“War is nothing but superior numbers and force. No matter how formidable we are, we’re just one ship—we can’t withstand being surrounded from all sides. Moreover, Yu Zhong’s group underestimated us, which was also the main reason they lost so quickly,” Zan Jin said instead.
Ding Gou elbowed him, eyebrows askew, teeth gritted as he spoke. “Would it kill you to say something nice?”
“Huh? You’re trying to say something nice to Brother Mo?” Zan Jin had a look of sudden realization. “How come I can’t tell? You didn’t use a single word praising Brother Mo’s abilities. Let me teach you. Listen carefully. Brother Mo is the world’s number one in intelligence, number one in capability, number one in looks—number one in everything.”
Ding Gou’s jaw nearly dropped.
Mo Zi laughed so hard at these two brothers that her stomach hurt.
She returned to the cabin to change clothes and sat in the main cabin talking with Yang Qiao, her mood already calm. Seeing Xiao Wei enter holding the blood-stained Yinyue sword, she didn’t even furrow her brow.
Instead, it frightened Yang Qiao until her face turned deathly pale, her breathing momentarily difficult.
“The road ahead is long—it’s either them or us.” Mo Zi poured her a cup of hot tea. “Qiao Qiao, we can only look after ourselves.”
Yang Qiao looked deeply at Mo Zi, gripping the handkerchief in her hand tightly, then nodded heavily. “I understand. As long as we’re all alive, that’s good.”
“Exactly. However many of us came, that’s how many should go back. That’s the best outcome.” Wei Jia tugged at Xiao Wei. “I told you to wipe your sword clean before coming in—you frightened Yang Qiao for no reason.”
“We captured Boss Wu alive, along with Loach and two Daqiu guests.” Xiao Wei ignored Wei Jia and said to Mo Zi, “Do you have anything you want to ask? If not, leave them to me to interrogate.”
Mo Zi took out a jade seal from her sleeve. “Qiao the Fourth stole this. The Yuling side only recognizes the seal, not the person. Boss Wu and Loach are useless to me. As for what collusion the Daqiu people had with Yu Zhong, of course I’ll have to trouble you to interrogate them. Anything that has nothing to do with this ship, I can’t be bothered with.”
At this time, Zhong An cleared his throat. “Mo Zi, only you on the ship are fluent in the Daqiu language.”
Putting the jade seal back, seeing Stinky Fish, Zan Jin, and Ding Gou still fooling around outside, she reminded them not to forget to lock the cabin door.
After Zhong An let Xiao Wei look several times, he steeled himself. “Could we perhaps take a look at those weapons?”
“No.” Mo Zi calmly refused. Though she had personally built this ship, she hadn’t yet considered whether to let Great Zhou use it as a reference.
“Mo Zi, you’re the Chief Director of the Ship Bureau.” Xiao Wei didn’t understand why, even at this point, he was still being refused.
“That’s right. But having become a Great Zhou official, the things in here—” Mo Zi tapped her temple with her finger, “still belong to me. The purpose of building this ship was to help us smoothly enter and exit, not as a weapon of war, so I refuse.”
“What a pity. I originally wanted to take another look at those giant crossbows.” Wei Jia shrugged, a smile on his face. “Forget it. We can’t force people, and besides, it would make my divine bow jealous.”
Yang Qiao covered her mouth and laughed.
The atmosphere eased.
Zhong An thought he should at least accomplish one thing and spoke up. “Those two Daqiu people have suspicious identities. They might be able to provide some information about the Daqiu capital. Please help us out.”
Mo Zi actually felt helpless too. She intended to get along harmoniously with Xiao Wei and his group, but he always harbored an excessively eager desire to seize her ship, forcing her to keep her distance. Although she understood this was his “occupational hazard,” understanding was one thing, but she still resisted. That said, Wei Jia was also a general, and he was much more reasonable.
“Alright.” Refusing one thing, agreeing to another—this was the effort she made.
“Good then. After dinner, we’ll interrogate them.” Zhong An breathed a sigh of relief.
“Boss Wu and the other—I’ll spare their lives temporarily, just in case. How should we deal with Qiao the Fourth?” Xiao Wei didn’t bring up the mechanisms again. He too had learned to be clever and not clash head-on.
“Stinky Fish and his brothers agreed to let him go. After all, he stole the jade seal, making up for his faults with merit. We just need to bring him ashore. He has connections in Yuling and can find his own way back to Hua Zhou.” Mo Zi said.
“No.” Xiao Wei objected. “We can’t let him go immediately. If he goes back and lets something slip, it will make people suspicious of our identities. He needs to stay with us through everything.”
What he said made sense, so she listened. “I’ll discuss it with Stinky Fish and his brothers.”
Later, Qiao the Fourth agreed to stay with the ship. To Mo Zi, he seemed especially happy about it, even though Stinky Fish didn’t give him a pleasant look.
They set off again that night, expecting to reach shore the next morning. Leaving the deck to Old Guan, she walked into the guest cabin holding the Daqiu people and immediately smelled a strong odor of blood.
“You used torture?” In the cabin she had carefully arranged? They should have been kept in the cargo hold.
“No. One of the Daqiu people had wooden splinters pierce his arm, but he seems unwilling to let us bandage it.” Xiao Wei pointed at the spotted cotton cloth on the ground. “Look, he tore it off himself.”
Mo Zi looked at the two men—one middle-aged, one young, both with resolute gazes and stubborn expressions.
“Your names. What are you doing in Great Zhou?” she asked in the Daqiu language.
When the two heard her speak Daqiu, surprise showed on their faces.
The middle-aged man spoke. “You’re a Daqiu person?”
This question was hard to answer. Mo Zi smiled slightly. “Speaking the Daqiu language doesn’t necessarily mean one is a Daqiu person. You’d better tell some truth, otherwise you’ll suffer. It’s just asking your names and purpose. In any case, you’ve already been captured. Insisting on these things doesn’t have much meaning.”
“My name is Su Pei. This is my steward, Su Lan. We two snuck into Great Zhou to trade fur goods, taking Boss Wu’s ship via Yuling to return to Daqiu. We didn’t expect to encounter this kind of thing.” The middle-aged man spoke.
“You’re Han people?” The surname Su.
The middle-aged man admitted it.
Mo Zi’s gaze carefully examined the two. Su Pei was Su Lan’s master? This steward looked even more refined and fair than his master.
“Su Lan, since you’re a servant, won’t you speak up for your master? At such a young age to become a steward, you must be quite capable.”
Su Lan raised his head, straightening to speak, but was stopped by Su Pei. “The goods are mine. The decision to enter Great Zhou was also mine. One person takes responsibility for their own actions. This child is young—please spare him.”
“You’re truly a loyal servant.”
After Mo Zi praised him, she said to Xiao Wei, “The young one is called Su Lan, the older one Su Pei. They came to do fur trading. Su Lan is the master, Su Pei is the steward.”
Su Pei’s eyes widened as Han words burst from his mouth. “No, I’m the master.”
“So you can speak Han.” Xiao Wei smiled coldly.
“Su Pei, let me.” Su Lan spoke gently. “I am the eldest son of the Su family. Our family has fallen on hard times and life is difficult. Hearing that Great Zhou urgently needs fur goods, I took the risk to try. I know you all think we’re Daqiu spies, but we truly aren’t.”
“Though I want to believe Young Master Su’s words, Yu Zhong seemed exceptionally concerned about you two, even bringing you along when fleeing for his life. If your identities weren’t special, why would you receive such treatment?” Mo Zi hit the nail on the head.
“Perhaps… it’s because of the middleman.” After Su Lan spoke, Su Pei cried out.
“Young master, you mustn’t reveal that person’s name.”
“Mustn’t reveal it?” Xiao Wei’s eyes were merciless. “Then we can only use torture. Let’s see if your refined young master can endure it.”
Mo Zi’s expression was gentle instead. “Since it’s a middleman, he must make connections for many people. If we keep it secret, he won’t know it was you who told.”
“That person is a great merchant of Yuling who trades between the two countries. The common folk sing about him—’Has left but no right, has money but no wine.'” Su Lan was clever. The name didn’t come from his mouth, but he gave them a clue.
This person—Mo Zi knew him.