Ming Nian dared not speak, but believed himself to be the most panicked, only fearing he would become a burden to the lord and Mo Zi. Because he was the only one who openly stayed close to the lord, and had no way to evacuate first with the others.

“Yuan Cheng, Ming Nian, stand up.” With no time for pleasantries, Mo Zi spoke very quickly. She needed weight pressing downward. “Stinky Fish, right propeller forty-five degrees forward, left propeller stationary.” Her hands clapped the adjustment levers as her feet stepped on the right lateral paddle.

“Have we been discovered?” Stinky Fish remained calm in the face of change, switching which wheel he pedaled. “Can the rear rudder turn right thirty degrees?”

“Yes.” Mo Zi allowed it, then answered the previous question. “There are no rocks underwater in this area, and the shaking was from top to bottom, left to right—highly likely it was a bamboo pole from the left patrol boat. So reaching directly below them as quickly as possible is safest.”

“You can lie down now.” She said again to Yuan Cheng and the other. “If we sink too low, the propellers will get tangled in water plants.”

This wasn’t Stinky Fish’s first time piloting this boat. While operating skillfully, he calculated, “Ten large rotations northwest—shall I straighten out?”

Mo Zi agreed. “Straighten out, stop, and wait to see what happens.”

The left propeller turned again until the magnetic needle fixed on the south character. Judging by feel that they were traveling straight, only then did Stinky Fish stop his movements.

Outside the glass fragments it remained dim and murky. He couldn’t help but say, “If only this glass were more transparent.”

Mo Zi certainly had the same regret. She knew the principle of glass but didn’t know how to refine it or the processing procedures, so she couldn’t put her mind to that aspect. The glass fragments had poor transparency—they could only be useful in strong light or at very close distances, but it was still better than having no transparency at all.

“How long will the air in here last?” While waiting, Yuan Cheng asked a very crucial question.

“Hmm—two people for two hours, four people half that. But the later it gets, the thinner the air becomes. People will experience weak limbs, dizziness, and blurred vision, so we must let Fatty Shrimp and Water Snake find us within half an hour. Otherwise there could be danger.” By then, there would be no strength left to control the boat.

Hearing this, Ming Nian cried out softly, “But reaching the river mouth alone will take most of half an hour.”

Mo Zi smiled. “Who said we’re going to the river mouth? This thing’s equipment isn’t sufficient. The lake water is relatively calm, so my crude handiwork can barely cope. Even so, I still have to worry about encountering water plants. Entering the river would mean waiting to crash into rocks. Power and strength are weaknesses I currently cannot overcome.”

Ming Nian only half-understood.

At this moment, people were also talking directly above them.

“What’s wrong?” The leader on the left patrol boat pushed the dazed young soldier. “I told you the pole won’t reach the bottom, yet you didn’t believe your leader.”

“Leader, I think I just struck something.” The young soldier inhaled and tilted his head. “Something hard, yet it moved. It wasn’t like the muddy bottom, and definitely not a rock.”

Hearing this, the leader didn’t rush to mock him. He snatched the bamboo pole, asked for the location, and probed down. The result was that every thrust came up empty. “What thing is there? Are you fooling me?”

The young soldier hastily said he wouldn’t dare. He probed again himself, and indeed there was nothing. How strange. “Leader, I dare swear, I absolutely struck something, and it pushed back so hard my hands went numb. Could it be a water ghost?” After saying this, he shivered twice.

The leader grabbed the young soldier by the collar. “If you struck a water ghost, it wouldn’t be hard—it would be soft and cold. Maybe it was a carp spirit. Have you heard the story of the carp spirit on this lake?”

The young soldier shook his head.

“The legend of the carp spirit has circulated in this area for a long time. But I heard that last year someone saw it with their own eyes—a huge black shadow underwater, five or six zhang long. So some bold fishermen came specially to catch it, but didn’t even haul up a single fish scale.” The leader acted mysterious. “I reckon you, youngster, were lucky enough to encounter it.”

The young soldier was so frightened his mouth twitched and he stuttered, “Le-leader, d-don’t scare me. The carp spirit… I struck it once. It won’t want me to pay with my life, will it?”

The leader was about to laugh at him when the scout boat they’d sent out returned. He quickly focused on the serious matter, asking his subordinate, “Did you find out what’s happening? All that commotion.”

From earlier, seven or eight boats had arrived from the south river mouth direction. Though dawn had just broken, they were setting off firecrackers and fireworks, drums booming, making a tremendous racket up to the heavens. Although it was over two li away from them, he still had someone go investigate.

The subordinate brought up several jugs of wine and also handed over a large red envelope. “The second wife of Tianship Association Leader Fu Tian just gave birth to a big fat son. Leopard Gang’s Xu Jiu brought eight boats to worship the dragon gods in all directions, seeking great water fortune and destiny for the child.”

The leader accepted the red envelope. “Xu Jiu has always been generous. After we get off the boat later, us brothers will have a good meal together.”

The young soldier pouted and said, “It’s just the birth of a son. When my mother gave birth to me, my father just worried about not being able to feed me.”

The leader gave him a look. “Can you compare yourself to Fu Tian’s son? His martial arts are so good that passing the military examination for top scholar would be a piece of cake. Moreover, he’s not only a gang leader but was once the alliance chief of the Boat Alliance, and is now the chairman of the Tianship Association. Even if it’s a son born to a concubine, jianghu people aren’t like official families—legitimate and illegitimate sons aren’t distinguished so strictly. Fu Tian dotes on his second wife. It’s even possible that the second wife’s son will inherit his position in the future. Don’t you see? His son-in-law worshipping the dragon gods on all sides for his brother-in-law—that’s a sign.”

Then his expression turned serious as he called out, “Brothers, let them have their celebration. We keep our eyes sharp and do what we’re supposed to do.”

The young soldier returned to his position. All around both boats, before and behind, left and right, the green waves lapped gently. Morning light gradually brightened, the lake surface emerald green like jade. Forget people—even a bird passing would have to go through dozens of pairs of eyes. Feeling that the mastermind of the emperor’s assassination inside couldn’t fly away even with wings, he bounced his foot up and down, counting the moments until he could go drink.

Yet right under these dozens of pairs of eyelids, no one could imagine that the person they were strictly guarding had already escaped, and using an inconceivable escape tool at that.

Two li—originally not far at all. But Mo Zi and the others were completely in a sealed cabin, and having encountered this incident, they had expended more effort and wasted time, making the previously fairly fresh air begin to feel stuffy when breathing. However, what worried Mo Zi wasn’t the question of whether the air quality was good or not, but the possibility of deviating from their direction. A tiny error in the beginning leads to a huge mistake in the end. The compass gave the general direction correctly, but this lake wasn’t considered large. Even though she and Stinky Fish had rich experience, inside this fish belly where they couldn’t see ahead clearly, they felt somewhat like blind men feeling an elephant, unable to fully deploy their skills.

Having traveled roughly two li, through the glass they could already make out the deep blue of the lake water, yet Mo Zi felt even more uneasy.

Stinky Fish’s intuition was also strong. “Why haven’t the brothers arrived yet? They agreed to rendezvous within a hundred zhang. Brother Mo, should we keep going forward?”

As soon as he finished speaking, as if heaven wanted to play a joke, the tail section of the Dolphin Boat sank down. Though it came suddenly, Yuan Cheng and Ming Nian, who had been lying down but gripping the poles as instructed the whole time, didn’t slide down.

Stinky Fish immediately cursed. “Damn it, what now?” He stepped down hard with his foot and his expression changed. “Brother Mo, the main propeller won’t push through.”

Mo Zi was also alarmed. After the alarm, she used her brain. After brief thought she said, “We might be tangled in water plants.” The thing she’d worried about had indeed happened. “Just now we were avoiding the patrol boat. When we adjusted back, there was a deviation—the Dolphin Boat left the original low-grass area.”

“No wonder people haven’t come yet—maybe they just can’t find us.” Stinky Fish cursed but wasn’t nervous. “We probably didn’t deviate far. Should I try pedaling with full force?”

“Don’t rush. I’ll test with the lateral paddles on both sides first. You check the left and right rotations.” If the main tail propeller was damaged, the already weak propulsion would become even weaker. If Water Snake couldn’t find them—she didn’t let herself think about it.

After various adjustments by the two, the situation was more serious than they’d thought. Of the three propellers at the tail, only the right one was normal. The Dolphin Boat couldn’t budge.

Hearing the usually talkative Stinky Fish go quiet, Yuan Cheng knew things were bad. At this moment, even comfort would probably only have a counterproductive effect, so he remained silent.

Instead, Mo Zi took the initiative to speak to him. “Yuan Cheng, let’s wait a while. If Water Snake and Fatty Shrimp can’t find us, they’ll definitely search the vicinity, and there’s still enough air in the boat. Until the last moment, let’s not deliver ourselves into a trap.” He and Ming Nian had poor swimming skills—if they had to abandon the boat, they’d have to surface immediately, and couldn’t guarantee the soldiers wouldn’t see them.

“On the boat, you’re in charge. I understand the rules.” Yuan Cheng’s tone was relaxed.

“With this escape, we won’t be able to enter Great Zhou again in the future.” Conserving oxygen, not sighing. “Will the Emperor get angry and join forces with Daqiu against Jin Yin?”

“Then Young Master Jin is just unlucky.” It didn’t concern him. Breathing slowly.

“It’s all Xiao Wei’s fault.” She had just learned that he went to the Emperor to request marriage to her, and that he could also choose his own marriage. Based on first-come-first-served, the Emperor had ignored her refusal. “No matter how I think about it, I don’t seem to have ever made any ambiguous gestures that would mislead him. I clearly told him I don’t like him. Why must he insist on marrying me? I thought encountering Wu Yan was bad enough.”

“Liking you isn’t his fault. But going through His Majesty to issue an imperial marriage decree—that was being too clever by half. First, he feared you wouldn’t agree. His Majesty dotes on you, is like your elder, earns your respect. Second, he feared his family would object. With His Majesty intervening, he doesn’t have to trouble himself with persuasion. Third, he feared I would preemptively strike first—I cannot disobey an imperial command. He didn’t consult you and did the entire thing alone because he clearly knew what result awaited him, but absolutely didn’t want to bear that result. He gambled, staking all his conscience and grace for a future with you as his wife, then to move you and cherish you until you also developed feelings for him over time.” Yuan Cheng’s view of Xiao Wei was always matter-of-fact. “Apart from this, he had no way to attract your heart. However, this way I’ve reaped ready-made benefits—eloping with you in a dignified manner. If others say I’m fleeing from guilt, at least I can use you as an excuse to refute them.”

Mo Zi laughed. “Right now we’re helpless both above and below. Who knows, we might still get caught and taken back. Then don’t expect to escape again. Yet you can still secretly rejoice. Yuan Cheng, I bow in defeat.”

Stinky Fish interjected, “Having encountered you two, Ming Nian and I bow in defeat. Wait then. You two can really chat.”

“Stinky Fish, little brother, when you marry a wife in the future, you’ll definitely be able to chat better than us.” Yuan Cheng’s words had double meaning.

“Lord Yuan, I plan to marry a wife who doesn’t like to talk. I can already talk enough. If I add someone eloquent, there’d be no living the rest of my days.” Stinky Fish quite seriously expressed his attitude.

Ming Nian thought for a long time and decided to break the silence. But when he turned his head, he saw a large face pressed against the glass fragment. He was so startled he gasped in reverse, only then realizing the air had become very heavy. Deep breaths seemed unable to fill his chest.

It turned out the situation had long been dire. Those two people’s idle chat was only to steady others’ hearts.