Chapter 30: Chapter 30
The following day.
Old Zhou, a fisherman from Sanshui Prefecture, was casting his nets in the river.
One throw, and—
“Huh — heavy one today!”
“A big fish! Come help, boy!”
He hollered for his thirteen-year-old grandson.
The net was too heavy. He was getting on in years — couldn’t haul it up alone.
A scrawny, sun-darkened boy dropped his oar and scrambled over.
“One, two, three — heave!”
As the net broke the surface, half a human body appeared tangled in the mesh.
“AAHH!”
The boy went white. His hands slipped. The net plunged back into the water.
“Old Zhou — catch yourself a big one?”
Nearby fishermen noticed the commotion and called over with grins.
“It’s… a body.”
Old Zhou’s face was grim. He’d spent the better part of his life on this river. In times like these, a corpse turning up in the water was nothing unusual. But one sliced this cleanly in half — that was a first.
“Pull it up and take it to the magistrate.”
An experienced fisherman spoke up quickly.
If they dumped it back and it was discovered later, the authorities would drag them out here to retrieve it anyway. Better to get it over with.
“Give me a hand!”
“The boy’s frozen stiff.”
Old Zhou nodded.
Several weathered fishermen clambered aboard his boat and hauled the net up together.
“Good lord…”
Even these veterans flinched at the sight.
But by unspoken agreement, no one said a word. Injuries like these were clearly the result of jianghu business. The less they knew, the better.
Before long, the half-corpse had been delivered to the Sanshui Prefecture magistrate’s office.
Shortly after, several horses thundered out of the city gates.
By nightfall—
A man who moved with a tiger’s authority rode in at the head of a dozen mounted riders, driving hard into Sanshui Prefecture.
They made straight for the magistrate’s office.
Several constables were already waiting inside.
“Chief Long!”
A constable in captain’s insignia hurried out to greet them.
“It’s confirmed — it’s my brother?”
The newcomer was Qian Long — the Fifth Boss of the Moon Lake Strongholds, and Qian Bao’s elder brother.
“I… can’t be certain, sir. I only met Master Bao the once.” The constable captain chose his words carefully. “The body was pulled from the Tianshui River. I’ve sent the fishermen back out to search, but the other half hasn’t turned up.”
“I’ve sealed the news on my end.”
In truth, the captain was about eighty percent sure it was Qian Bao. But with the body in that state, he couldn’t guarantee it.
Qian Long was the Fifth Boss of the Moon Lake Strongholds — a fifth-rank master.
If a misidentification set the man off, the captain might not live to see morning.
Qian Long strode to the mortuary slab. He lifted the white cloth himself.
“URGH—”
One of the river pirates who’d ridden with Qian Long nearly lost his stomach.
“My brother’s corpse makes you sick?”
Qian Long turned on the man.
The pirate dropped to his knees, terror-stricken:
“Mercy, Chief Long! Mercy!”
One finger extended.
A lance of gang qi shot forward.
BANG!
The pirate’s skull burst apart. Blood and brain matter splattered across the floor.
No one in the room dared draw a breath.
“One blade, two halves — it’s the Demon Blade from Nanyang.” Golden Whip Tang Ru, the sixth-rank fighter who’d accompanied Qian Long, finished his examination. His face was carved with gravity. “Extremely vicious bladework. However, Qian Bao’s organs show separate injuries — this wasn’t a one-strike kill. He fought the wielder before going down.”
In recent days, the story of Ye Qingmei and a mystery blade-wielder killing a Red Lotus Sect branch master had swept across Nanzhou. The branch master was only sixth-rank, but Ye Qingmei’s fame ensured the story traveled fast. Everyone was speculating about the identity of the masked swordsman.
From half a corpse alone, Tang Ru had extracted a surprising amount.
“Where is Ye Qingmei now?” Qian Long demanded.
“She surfaced in Mingzhou Prefecture yesterday,” Tang Ru replied quickly. “She’s traveling with Shen Huchan of the Shen family.”
“I don’t care about the Shen family.” Qian Long’s voice was ice. “Right now, only Ye Qingmei knows who killed my brother. Find her first.”
“What about the Red Lotus Sect’s herb shipment?” Tang Ru asked carefully. “Do we still proceed?”
“Notify the Three Rivers Fortress — stand down for now.”
“And tell Jin Buhuan to search the river. Every body, found. I want a full report — and any leads.”
…
On that same day.
Li Suifeng finally boarded a large ship with his contingent of Canal Gang disciples.
The vessel was loaded with the branch’s tribute for headquarters — herb crates and mineral consignments filling half the hold.
Accompanying Li Suifeng was Yuan Hai, an elderly eighth-rank retainer.
“Boss Li — everything’s loaded and secured.”
“Ready to cast off.”
Yuan Hai stood at Li Suifeng’s elbow.
“Ah, originally Elder Qin was supposed to sail with you, but he’s been unreachable the last couple of days. No idea where he went. So the old bones will have to do.”
“You’re too kind, Retainer Yuan.” Li Suifeng didn’t put on airs.
Yuan Hai was only eighth-rank, but he was even older than Qi Hu. Decades of jianghu experience. And Li Suifeng had no quarrel with the man.
Yuan Hai had served the previous Helmsman. After Liu Zhenhe’s appointment, Yuan Hai had been quietly sidelined.
A man without much presence these days.
“Shall we?”
“Mm.”
“Raise the sail!”
At Yuan Hai’s command, the crew hoisted the canvas. At the sail’s peak, a single enormous character was stitched: CANAL.
Ordinary river pirates who spotted the Canal Gang’s banner generally gave the ship a wide berth.
Only the Moon Lake Eighteen Strongholds were bold enough to ignore it.
Nanyang Prefecture sat at the far north of Nanzhou. Their destination lay at the far south — Tianhe Prefecture, the most prosperous city in the entire province.
Nanzhou’s waterways were extensive, but the voyage from Nanyang to Tianhe still required a full three days.
The further south they traveled, the livelier the rivers grew. Larger vessels became a more common sight.
The Canal Gang’s reputation might have dimmed in recent years, but it was still Nanzhou’s premier faction.
Flying the Canal Gang’s colors, no one was foolish enough to start trouble.
Three days passed without incident.
They arrived safely in Tianhe Prefecture.
“Boss Li — we’ll be pulling into our Canal Gang wharf shortly.”
Yuan Hai breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
“Once we dock, the branch clerks will send men to offload. We just hand over the manifest.”
“Today, the brothers can take some time to explore Tianhe Prefecture. This is the greatest city in Nanzhou — the prosperity here makes Nanyang look like a fishing village.”
“Especially the pleasure houses. Tsk tsk…”
A look of fond reminiscence drifted across the old man’s face.
Li Suifeng eyed him with faint bemusement. Yuan Hai had seemed perfectly upright the entire voyage. And at sixty years of age, the man was still daydreaming about brothels.
Still going strong, indeed.