How did they know the ship had lurched?
Because Cen Er, grabbing the cabin door to come in with a warning, had his cheek flesh pile up, distorting his mouth. Looking at the six men in the cabin, despite their excellent skills, each was utterly helpless. Originally sitting cross-legged on the boards, they were now airborne.
The ship plunged downward, then suddenly shot straight up, heavily catching the six men falling toward it, slamming them so their chests surged and roiled. Cen Er became a spread-eagle shape sliding all the way into the cabin.
After one plunge and one surge, the ship sailed steadily again. Everyone seized the opportunity to catch their breath.
“What happened?” Shi Lei shouted loudly, reaching back to rub his bear-like back that had been painfully struck. “Don’t tell me we hit another ship?”
“Enter…” Opening his mouth, Cen Er spat out half a mouthful of river water. “Entered the rapids. Brother Mo told me to come in and tell you—those who get seasick stay put, those who don’t come out and help.”
“Seasick what…” Shi Lei had wanted to say they’d been on the boat for three days—if they were going to get sick, they would have already.
Then came another wave of sharp plunges and surges. With nothing at hand to grab, he rolled and slid, crashing into the attendant following Bai Yu. Hearing an “aiya” cry, he hurriedly turned back. Before he could see clearly, a patch of yellow-white-green substance appeared on his robe, reeking of sourness, rushing straight into his nose.
“Mother of mercy! You tofu flower, actually seasick…” One hand covering his nose, the other hand tearing off the soiled fabric and throwing it away in disgust. “This old man would rather bleed than be stained with such filth…”
Before finishing his words, the third wave, the fourth wave… continuously violent ups and downs.
Shi Lei finally felt his stomach begin churning like the ship. The hand covering his mouth moved to his belly. Each time he tried to use his inner energy to suppress the nauseous sensation, a more powerful impact scattered it. His massive body suddenly seemed so insignificant in the narrow cabin. As his vision tilted left and swayed right, he saw Cen Er sitting against one leg of a broken table, a cloth rope firmly binding his waist to the table leg, holding a bag in his hands with his mouth positioned just right, vomiting quite comfortably. In his heart, he cursed the bastard repeatedly—since he was prepared, why didn’t he say so earlier?! Head spinning and eyes whirling, the moment he cried out and vomited, he thought—this Startled Fish Rapids absolutely drowns fish without paying compensation.
As soon as Bai Yu left the cabin, with sharp eyes and quick hands he grabbed a wooden pole beside him. Looking left and right—good heavens! The river surface barely a hundred feet wide sloped steeply downward. Waves rolled with white foam, striking the ship’s hull and stirring up sheets of water droplets that hurt when they pelted people. Behind, fierce waves and strong winds pursued closely. On both sides, strange rocks and treacherous peaks offered not a crack to avoid danger. Ahead, danger loomed everywhere—from time to time, one could see dark hidden reefs, sinister and terrifying. The great winds and waves he’d previously experienced seemed so ignorant and feeble on this stretch of water.
Impossible! His first instinct. No ship could navigate through such roaring waves, and no ship could avoid so many hidden reefs and floating rocks without suffering any damage. If someone could master such waters, the Great Zhou navy would have no fear of powerful enemies.
“Move aside!” A whistling sound, a human shadow.
Bai Yu pressed tight against the cabin wall. He saw the smuggler he’d looked down upon, a thick cloth rope tied around his waist, forcefully step on a post with his right foot, and like a swallow skimming water, easily part the curtain-like dense river waves to reach the ship’s left wing. The bamboo pole inserted into the river, that Brother Mo coiled both feet around the pole, his body completely outside the ship, exposed to the murderously surging massive waves. Then, just when he almost thought the person would be swallowed, Brother Mo pulled the rope at his waist—not only did his feet step back onto the ship’s deck, but before the wave hit, he pulled the bamboo pole back. After the great wave passed, he repeated the poling motion—each time by a hair’s breadth. The water droplets were ice-cold, yet he watched with nervous sweat. That Brother Mo had no martial arts foundation, but his boat-poling movements were something even a person with exceptional martial skills might not accomplish.
“What do you need us to help with?” Zhong An came out. Behind him were no others—including Shi Lei, all were seasick in the cabin.
Old Guan and Fei Xia were jointly controlling the giant oar on the right side, shouting to Zhong An and Bai Yu, “Lower the sail! Take down that remaining sail!”
“Use a knife to cut the ropes on the mast. Quick! We’re about to hit a reef!” Mo Zi also shouted loudly.
However, amid the roaring of raging waves, all the loud shouting became gentle whispers.
Zhong An and Bai Yu knew not a moment could be wasted. They stepped forward like arrows—
Half an hour later, Bai Yu and Zhong An sat back-to-back. On one side was a boundless expanse of reed flowers, on the other the fine ripples after wind and waves had calmed. Who could imagine that in the deepest part of Startled Fish Rapids, it was so peaceful as if heaven and earth joined—fish leaping, birds flying, even a wisp of wind extremely luxurious. White bones piled up, making the path they’d come seem panic-stricken. Waves as soft as silk, reed flowers as beautiful as feathers—like rewards for the brave.
Thud, thud, thud—footsteps landing on the deck. Water droplets clinging to clothes from the wild waves bounced off one after another—just a final display of arrogance. Soon, they seeped into the ship’s wood, as if they’d never existed. Old Guan’s group, like the two men sitting on the deck, were soaked from head to foot, clothes clinging tightly to their bodies, utterly bedraggled, too exhausted to speak. They sat down with a thump, just gasping for breath.
“We…” Zhong An coughed violently several times, face covered in water that he’d accidentally inhaled through his nose, choking him. “We’ve retrieved our lives, right?”
“That—” Old Guan gasped heavily. “Hard to say.”
Bai Yu recalled what the Wei family’s Seventh had said about Reed Flower Beach, so his gaze turned toward that expanse of reeds not far away.
Chou Yu had sharp eyes. Seeing this, he said, “Brother has good eyesight. These beautiful reed stalks show no mercy when taking lives. Growing too densely, not only is it hard for ships to enter—there are also man-eating crocodiles. If you’re not fiercer than them, you’ll become their food. Once you go in the wrong direction and run into the Nande border guard garrison, that’s walking into a trap—immediate execution on the spot would be treating you well.”
Zhong An’s forehead gleamed. “Didn’t they say there were no defenses?”
“They said few defenses, not none at all. One water and land camp of about a hundred men, plus three military grain reserve stations with five-person teams each.” Chou Yu recited like a precious treasure.
“About a hundred men, but we only have twelve. Ten to one—no chance of winning.” Zhong An calculated.
“That’s why we can’t clash head-on with the water and land camp. We can only go around them.” Mo Zi walked onto the deck.
Bai Yu glanced at her with an indescribable strangeness. They were as bedraggled as drowned rats, yet her dark face was clean, she’d already changed into dry clothes, only her hair carried water color amid black shine—but it had also been freshly combed, not a strand out of place. This man was so very much like a woman—dark-complexioned yet still very concerned with appearance.
Mo Zi didn’t care how others looked at her. The water battle that had just turned rivers upside down had long since washed away the makeup on her face. Although her chest was bound with wide cloth strips, she still feared moisture clinging might reveal telltale traces. She naturally didn’t mind Old Guan and the others seeing, since they already knew she was female. But Bai Yu, Zhong An, and their group were too mysterious for her to trust. So once the waves passed, she ran to the cargo hold to change clothes and reapply makeup.
“How do we go around?” Zhong An also noticed she’d changed clothes, but with more pressing matters at hand, he didn’t particularly suspect anything.
“Stop the nonsense. First go see if those good friends of yours are still alive, then we’ll jump ship and discuss further.” Chou Yu jerked his chin, smiling wickedly.
Jump ship? Swim across? How to deal with the crocodiles?
Question marks struck Zhong An’s head one after another, impossible to sort out.