Super Divine Daoist Skill-Chapter 116 - 115: On Board with Thieves? (Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 116: Chapter 115: On Board with Thieves? (Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

For the next two days, Bai Ziyue ignored any external gossip and stayed at home, focusing on training the Inner Cultivation Technique, the Vajra Glazed Body.

After two days, aided by the doubled cultivation speed effect of the Dharma Incense and Soul Calming Incense, Bai Ziyue made significant progress.

He could clearly feel that his heart had been strengthened. When it beat, it was surging and powerful, making his power grow faster and fiercer.

Even his physique and strength showed improvement, increasing slightly.

However, at this moment, he still hadn’t trained the Inner Cultivation Technique, the Vajra Glazed Body, to the entry level.

Therefore, in terms of actual strength, his improvement wasn’t as substantial as he had imagined.

After two days, Bai Ziyue was not entirely ignorant of the outside world.

Apart from occasionally hearing people chat while dining out, the day before, Qin Shaoping had specifically visited, discussing various matters while seeking advice on martial arts.

Thus, Bai Ziyue learned that, despite the current calm appearance outside, as if nothing had happened, the tension in Qinghe Town was mounting.

In recent days, Chief Clerk Li had frequently appeared, visiting the key figures of various local forces, either intimidating or enticing them. Leveraging his official status, he had launched a grand campaign to exterminate bandits.

Soon, it would spread and reach the ordinary people.

And the opportunity was about to come.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

Suddenly, an urgent knocking sound came from outside Bai Ziyue’s courtyard gate.

"It seems I will have to take this trip after all,"

Thinking this, Bai Ziyue didn’t hesitate and immediately opened the gate.

As expected, right outside was Steward Xu, a close associate of Hou Linkun.

Previously, Hou Linkun had asked Bai Ziyue to repay a favor, originally intending for him to deliberately lose in a contest and surrender the outstanding disciple to Li Yingru.

This self-destructive request was something Bai Ziyue naturally refused to do.

Consequently, Hou Linkun presented another demand.

Bai Ziyue, being someone who valued integrity and repayment of favors, plus finding the task seemingly not too difficult, agreed.

Now, it was time for him to fulfill his promise.

"Young Hero Bai, I entrust the master’s task to you,"

Steward Xu said to Bai Ziyue.

"Lead the way," Bai Ziyue replied calmly, "Furthermore, once this task is completed, consider my debt to Mr. Hou repaid.

I hope you’ll convey this to Mr. Hou."

"Naturally, as long as the goods are delivered smoothly, Young Hero Bai will surely have repaid the favor from back then. The master would certainly not require any more from you."

Steward Xu nodded repeatedly and began to walk outside.

Bai Ziyue followed him with a composed expression.

Hurrying along, Bai Ziyue soon accompanied Steward Xu to the bank of a large river.

Steward Xu whistled lightly, and a small boat emerged from under a willow tree not far away.

On the boat, several strong and robust men, their faces tanned by the sun, rowed the boat right over.

"Master Xu, thank you for your efforts,"

The leading man greeted Steward Xu before turning his gaze to Bai Ziyue and hesitantly asked, "Can this young hero really ensure our safe passage across the river patrols?"

"Currently, the patrols on the river are mostly members of our Sunburst Gang, and by my side is our sect leader’s disciple.

With him vouching, any cargo can be easily transported to the other side."

Steward Xu spoke confidently.

"In that case, I feel at ease,"

The leading man finally relaxed and said.

"Wait, I want to ask, are you sure the cargo is only cotton?"

Suddenly, Bai Ziyue frowned slightly and asked.

Upon hearing this, the men’s hearts tightened, exchanging glances before looking at Steward Xu.

"Haha, of course it’s cotton, although mixed with some contraband salt.

Young Hero Bai, I’m sure you understand, if it were just cotton, the master wouldn’t need to ask you for help with the escort.

Though contraband salt is regulated by the government, it is highly profitable.

Because of the urgency this time, the master thought of you, knowing your influence means the river patrol disciples wouldn’t dare inspect your cargo..."

Steward Xu explained lightly without changing his expression.

"I hope it’s not any government-prohibited items; otherwise, we will be in serious trouble."

Bai Ziyue nodded, seeming to accept the explanation, as he knew Hou Linkun must have invited him because the cargo included regulated items.

Contraband salt was indeed one of the regulated goods.

There might be other items mixed in as well, but as long as they weren’t explicitly banned by the government, he didn’t mind too much.

"Of course, we wouldn’t dare touch those items, even if we were bold enough. Getting caught with them would be certain death."

Steward Xu hurriedly spoke.

"Then let’s go."

With that, Bai Ziyue lightly jumped and crossed a distance of four to five meters, landing on the small boat.

The crew exchanged glances, greeted Steward Xu, and quickly began to row.

In an instant, the small boat sped across the river like a sharp sword.

After half an hour, the small boat appeared on the wide river. From a distance, they could still see the bustling scene at Qinghe Pier, full of people coming and going.

On the river, now and then, various sizes of boats could be seen passing by.

"Young Hero Bai, on this Qinghe River, besides the Water Bandits, it’s your Sunburst Gang’s Water Hall members that are the most troublesome.

If we encounter them, we’ll have to be extorted, handing over some silver taels to pass.

Although being extorted by them is better than running into Water Bandits, we earn hard-earned money. After being extorted, our profit decreases significantly.

Now, with Young Hero Bai here, we can finally expect a better gain."

The leader of the crew said with a face full of emotions.

"The government? I remember that the government also has patrol boats that occasionally patrol this river.

If we run into them, my face won’t be enough to get by. Things will be just as they are supposed to be."

Bai Ziyue said calmly.

This trip carried a certain amount of risk for him as well.

If they were caught by the government, his fate wouldn’t be any better.

As for the crew’s complaints, Bai Ziyue didn’t pay much attention to them.

Those who rely on boat transport for living, were they really the good people they claimed to be?

Bai Ziyue had spent some time as a hotel worker at the Ming Pearl Restaurant and had heard a lot of talks. The Qinghe River was filled with Water Bandits, and some merchant ships went missing or were robbed. Was it really all done by those notorious Water Bandits? ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Not necessarily.

Black-on-black killings between merchant ships were not unheard of.

One could say, anyone who spent long periods on this river, whether they claimed innocence or not, were likely to be bandits in disguise.

This boatman who called himself Chang the Second, along with his crew, claimed honesty, but from the various scars on their bodies, Bai Ziyue could tell a thing or two.

"Government? The officials usually patrol around in the morning hours. Now, it’s already afternoon; there wouldn’t be a single patrol boat from the government on the river."

Chang the Second said confidently.

Nodding silently, Bai Ziyue refrained from saying more.

Indeed, they hadn’t spotted a single government patrol boat along the way.

However, members of the Sunburst Gang’s Water Hall showed up patrolling now and then.

Since Bai Ziyue and his group were on a small boat, the Water Hall disciples didn’t pay much attention even if they noticed them.

Another half hour passed, and their group finally rowed their small boat into a dense area of reeds, capable of hiding three to five medium or small merchant ships without being discovered.

Under the control of the boatmen, the small boat weaved through the reeds skillfully, taking some time before Bai Ziyue saw the view open up ahead.

Soon, he spotted a moderately sized merchant ship, capable of carrying dozens of tons of heavy cargo, docked by the riverbank.

The moment Bai Ziyue and his party appeared, voices started calling out to them.

"Old Chang, you’re back."

"Chang the Second, how is it, can we pass through?"

...

"Don’t worry. This time, I brought a powerful figure with me. This will ensure we get through the patrol and deliver the goods smoothly."

Chang the Second quickly responded, signaling his crew to moor the small boat beside the merchant ship.

Someone threw down a rope, and the people on the small boat nimbly climbed up.

Refusing any assistance, Bai Ziyue leaped towards the bow, lightly touched down on the merchant ship, and landed smoothly.

Glancing around the merchant ship, including the new arrivals, there were a total of thirty people. All had faces tanned by the sun, some dressed in martial outfits, others bare-chested, but without exception, they all bore various old and new scars, giving them a tough appearance.

At that moment, most of them were discreetly observing Bai Ziyue, with eyes filled with suspicion, hope, and a touch of indifference.

Bai Ziyue also took a good look at them, and in an instant, he felt a chill.

These people didn’t look like ordinary boatmen. Instead, they looked like... Water Bandits.

Real Water Bandits!

Looking again at the merchandise on the ship, layers of cotton were placed on the outer layer. From his perspective, Bai Ziyue could see that underneath the cotton were large wooden crates.

It was obvious that the real cargo they were transporting was inside those crates.

Moreover, it was clear that the crates couldn’t be holding illicit salt.

The weight of illicit salt would be too much for these light wooden crates to bear.

"Have I boarded a pirate ship?"

Bai Ziyue couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

...

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