Chapter 173

Inside a small courtyard in Wuwen County.

"Sir, I had them confirm it three times. We are certain that after Lady Dai split her forces in the small county of Tianchi, the only ones by her side, apart from those traveling with her by water, are a group of Xuanxiao Cavalry traveling by land. The two groups combined still total two hundred people, with no additions."

"Furthermore, whether in Tianchi at the beginning, Baiming at the previous ferry crossing, or now in Wuwen, Lady Dai has not stayed for a short time. Every time she arrives in a new town, she spends a lot of time in eateries and grocery stores, rarely returning empty-handed."

In the simple and unadorned courtyard, Diting stood beneath an osmanthus tree, holding a cluster of golden osmanthus flowers as brilliant as fireworks.

While listening to his follower's report, the man's pale, slender fingers brushed through the cluster of golden osmanthus. He casually plucked a single flower, but instead of holding it to admire or smell, he merely gave it an indifferent glance and mercilessly tossed it onto the ground. "After she arrived in the new town, did she meet up with the team she had separated from earlier?"

"Yes," the follower replied. "Traveling by water is faster. After Lady Dai arrived in the town first, she would always meet up with the main force before setting off again."

Diting suddenly asked, "She must have changed ships along the way, right?"

The follower blurted out, "How did you know?"

Diting merely chuckled lightly.

Since they were transporting goods, it was impossible for the shipowners not to care about time. She was so leisurely; even if she offered silver, not all shipowners would be willing to accept it.

However, he couldn't be bothered to explain this to others.

"It's good that she can change ships. Our opportunity lies only on the rivers. Have someone arrange for small boats." Diting plucked another osmanthus flower, but this time he didn't throw it on the ground. Instead, he crushed the flower juice with the pads of his fingers. "We must hurry with this matter and get it done before any potential reinforcements arrive."

*

Dai Li settled in at the relay station in Wuwen County. After resting quite leisurely for two days, she finally waited for the travel-worn land forces to arrive.

Just like last time, after the two groups met up, they handed over what needed to be handed over and reported what needed to be reported. Everything proceeded step by step.

Bai Jianping returned from outside. "My lady, I went to the ferry crossing to ask. Two tower ships indicated they could take us for a leg of the journey. One of them is more spacious but relatively old; the other is smaller but has the advantage of being new. Which one do you prefer, or should we just take both and merge two of our three squads into one?"

Their forces on the water were divided into three squads. On the way from Tianchi to Wuwen, because the boatmen were in a hurry, they had changed ships twice.

In other words, only one tower ship and the personnel on it had remained exactly the same, accompanying them from the very beginning until now.

Dai Li's fingertips tapped quickly on the desk a few times. "We'll take the large ship; we won't need the small one. Have Song Asan and his squad come over and ride the large ship with us. As for Zhang Danchen and his men, they will continue on the original ship. There's no need for them to change."

The "Song Asan" and "Zhang Danchen" she mentioned were both lieutenants under Bai Jianping's command.

Bai Jianping nodded. "Merging two squads into one means you will have more people by your side. That's good."

Dai Li: "When did you arrange with the shipowner to set sail?"

Bai Jianping said the middle of the Chen hour tomorrow morning.

Dai Li asked him again, "Does the large ship have small boats prepared for emergencies? If not, it's best to prepare one or two. I accidentally heard that water bandits used to haunt this stretch of the waterway. Although I later inquired carefully and learned that was over a decade ago, it's always better to be safe than sorry."

Bai Jianping suddenly realized, "It is still you, my lady, who thinks thoroughly. I will go handle it right away."

*

In the blink of an eye, a night passed. As the eastern sky turned white and the town slowly awakened from its silence, a new day arrived as promised.

Today they were to go to the ferry crossing to board the ship at the middle of the Chen hour, so Dai Li got up a bit earlier than usual. However, this "early" was entirely relative to herself.

The ferry crossing in the morning was already extraordinarily bustling.

Various sizes of cargo ships and boats were lined up like shuttles. Familiar boatmen and merchants gathered together; after clearing their money and goods, they left with faces full of smiles. There were also young merchants who looked like fledglings, wandering around among the ships, going back and forth to compare goods.

Suddenly, a small commotion arose in this little market at the ferry crossing.

The ferry crossing in the small county was not very exquisite. It was not paved with bluestone slabs like in large commanderies, nor was it as tidy as a big city. Occasionally, there were a few dead fish and rotten shrimp on the road, baked by the sun until they rotted and stank.

The ferry official here was as lazy as officials in many other places. Like a fat cat that didn't like to move, he rarely came out of his exclusive room.

But today, the rarely seen ferry official seemed to have been replaced with a new core. He was busily running back and forth around the group led by a young woman wearing a veiled hat.

He was extremely attentive, following closely step by step, the corners of his mouth almost grinning to the roots of his ears. Where was his usual dismissive attitude towards boatmen and fish merchants?

"Who is that? To actually have Ferry Official Gao accompany her, what a grand display."

"It's not just Ferry Official Gao. That man wearing green clothes with a round belly is clearly Magistrate Chen. Tsk, I wonder which noble family's dignitary is traveling, surrounded by attendants. There must be at least fifty people accompanying her. Old Sun, do you think it's possible she might have her private troops sweep up all my fish goods?"

"Stop joking. Just these little fish and shrimp of yours? How could they catch a noble's eye? Furthermore, when such wealthy families travel, their cooks prepare top-grade ingredients well in advance; there is no need to buy things at the last minute."

"Speaking of which, if it were over a decade ago, such a grand traveling party would most likely attract the Wuwen water bandits. I still remember how brutal and unreasonable that overlord of the waters was back then. He loved targeting those tall tower ships to slaughter the fat sheep."

"You said it yourself, that was over a decade ago. Nowadays, the area around Wuwen is very peaceful. Besides, she has so many troops; what could possibly happen?"

"True."

...

The owner of the large tower ship newly rented yesterday was surnamed Zhou. He was in his forties or fifties, with a round figure, and smiled like a Maitreya Buddha, looking very easy to get along with.

He ordered his subordinates to set up the boarding plank early to respectfully welcome the fat sheep... no, the distinguished guest on board.

Dai Li took off her veiled hat and smiled at the person in front of her. "For the next leg of the journey, I will have to trouble you, Captain Zhou."

"Taking people's money and doing their bidding loyally; you are too polite." Captain Zhou bowed his waist a bit lower.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with him, Dai Li looked at her upcoming resting place.

The tower structure of this tower ship was located in the middle and rear of the ship, occupying about half the space. In front stood a tall mast, with a small piece of white cloth tied to the top, fluttering in the wind.

On the mast, rolled-up canvases were gathered together. At about three-quarters of the way to the top, there was a small circular disc similar to a lookout tower, which could hold about one person.

Net-like hemp ropes hung down from above, connecting all the way to the small disc. Climbing up the ropes was the only way to reach the small disc. On both sides of the deck, square wooden boxes half the height of a person were piled up one by one.

These wooden boxes were very old. Some of the wooden boards had been touched so much that they gleamed with a woody luster; who knew how many years they had been used.

Strangely enough, the boxes were not completely sealed. The side with the lid had a few holes the size of chicken eggs, but there seemed to be a layer of cloth covering the inside. It was gray and murky, making it impossible to see what was inside.

Perhaps they were some fruits and vegetables that needed to be placed in a cool and well-ventilated area. Song Asan thought to himself idly.

The tower ship was three stories high, and Dai Li's party occupied the entire third floor and half of the second.

Once everyone boarded, the gangplank was retracted, and the large tower ship, which had caught the attention of all the boatmen and merchants at the Wuwen ferry crossing, slowly pulled away from the shore.

Time slowly flowed by, and the golden sun gradually slanted to the west, signaling the arrival of the evening meal.

Bai Jianping, as usual, sent their own cooks to borrow the kitchen. However, the soldiers returned and said, "Commander Bai, they have already prepared dinner for us."

"What is going on? Didn't we agree with Shipmaster Zhou earlier that we would prepare our own dinner?" Bai Jianping frowned.

The soldier scratched his head. "We did. But maybe the ship merchants are greedy for money, so they're going out of their way to be accommodating."

This wasn't an isolated incident. When they first chartered the boat, it was the same. They had clearly stated they would prepare their own meals, but the merchants still sent over snacks or after-dinner fruits.

Bai Jianping said, "Decline it. We don't need any of it."

With the meals arranged, Bai Jianping thought the day's matters were settled. Yet, just as he was about to eat, the Second Young Master walked in. The Commandant usually dined with the Mistress. Could something have happened?

While Bai Jianping was feeling puzzled, Qin Yanzhou got straight to the point. "Commander Bai, there is a man in the escort guard team with a black hairy mole by his mouth. I just saw him sneaking suspiciously into a room on the first floor."

Of course, this statement was a lie.

But Bai Jianping didn't know that. He drew in a sharp breath. "To think we actually hired someone with light fingers?"

The first floor was the area where the ship merchants lived.

Bai Jianping was deeply disgusted. "He boarded the ship with us. If a theft occurs, won't the blame fall on us? Dealing with a petty thief is a small matter, but ruining the Mistress's reputation is a big deal."

Growing angrier as he spoke, Bai Jianping immediately declared, "I will go apprehend him."

"Hold on, Commander Bai!" Qin Yanzhou stopped him. "To catch a thief, you need to catch them with the loot. I only saw him acting suspiciously; I didn't actually catch him stealing anything. Besides, he has likely already left. If we grab him now without proof or evidence, and he adamantly denies it, it will only make us look like we are throwing our weight around."

Bai Jianping calmed down.

He then listened as Qin Yanzhou continued, "Several martial artists were hired along with him. However, it is currently unclear whether this is just a personal issue with him, or if we inadvertently hired a whole den of thieves. Commander Bai, it would be better to first take inventory to see if anything is missing, and to strengthen our guard tonight to prevent any thefts from occurring. Once we reach the next town, we can replace this entire batch of men."

Bai Jianping agreed.

After Qin Yanzhou left, the battle-hardened commander stood by the window for a long time.

The window was wide open, and the moisture-laden wind from the river blew in, carrying a few hints of the fishy smell of aquatic goods, which wasn't a pleasant scent. And blowing in along with it was a cloud of suspicion.

This strange feeling had been present ever since they split their forces, though it was initially suppressed by the Mistress's words, "I have already sent word to the Marquis."

Later on, the Mistress changed her usual quiet demeanor and insisted on sightseeing, causing the doubts to resurface. And now, his confusion was like an inkstone being constantly ground with an inkstick, its color growing increasingly dark.

The Second Young Master just said someone sneaked into the first floor.

Why didn't he catch him when he saw it? He himself said that to catch a thief, you need the loot. If he had quietly followed him at that moment, wouldn't he have caught the man red-handed?

Or perhaps, that man was no petty thief at all, and...

Bai Jianping shivered, breaking out in a thin sweat at his own terrifying conjecture. He stepped out of his room and ordered, "Arrange two extra shifts to stand guard together tonight."

He hoped he was just overthinking things, and he hoped the Second Young Master was simply too lazy to catch the thief himself, which was why he didn't step forward.

...

Inside a room at the far end of the tower ship's first floor.

"It's nightfall, but they look very vigilant to me. There are many soldiers on guard tonight. Brother, what should we do?"

"What's the rush? It takes three days by water from Wuwen to reach the next county. It's normal for them to be cautious on the first day of sailing. Haste makes waste. Just wait."

"Of course I can wait, but I'm afraid those dozen or so brothers can't."

"They traveled through the night to get here and haven't slept a wink. Now they have food, drink, and a place to sleep. Why wouldn't they be able to wait?"

"Then I won't touch the white cloth on top. I'll swap it for the red one tomorrow... Brother, it's tomorrow night, right?"

"Tomorrow night it is. The day after tomorrow, the ship should be near Xin County. With so many people around, it will be inconvenient to make a move."

...

The thick black night faded with time. When the horizon took on the pale color of a fish's belly, yesterday had become a completely turned page.

Bai Jianping leaned against the railing and gazed into the distance, watching the green mountains on both banks retreat and the white waves tumbling on the river. As the fishy wind blew against him, his confusion only deepened.

Nothing happened last night. It was a peaceful night.

Could it be that he was overthinking everything?

Perhaps the lack of troops on this journey had put him under too much pressure, causing him to have these baseless fantasies.

His heart remained restless and uneasy.

And this uneasiness peaked after another sunset, just as he was about to fall asleep, when there was a sudden knock on his door.

The person outside the door took Bai Jianping by surprise.

It was Dai Li.

Her words astonished Bai Jianping even more: "Commander Bai, I suspect we have boarded a pirate ship."