Chapter 257 Madam's Misstep
Chapter 257 Madam's Misstep
At two quarter past midnight, the moon was half full.
On the wide water near Fuzhou city, forty or fifty colorful river cruise boats are scattered all over the place.
Everyone was quietly waiting for the outcome of the tide race when a rumbling sound of thunder rang out in the east. Pieces of white waves kept coming. The entire Yuhu Lake was like a wine cup being lifted up by an invisible giant hand and shaking left and right.
Most of the ordinary tide-watchers gradually dispersed, and the remaining fishing boats hid behind the building ship to reduce the impact of wind and waves.
"Wow..."
The sloop rode the waves and came from the east of Yuhu Lake. It had no boat lights and very few people noticed this lone boat on the river.
Zhang Yujing stood at the bow, looking at the crescent moon in the sky. The water ball in his palm rolled and changed shape constantly, wrapped in the Beiming Qi, sometimes boiling and evaporating, sometimes freezing, transforming between the yin and yang poles...
Taoist internal strength places great emphasis on understanding.
Some mysterious things cannot be obtained through hard work alone. They require constant comprehension and contemplation, which is both a process of practicing skills and tempering one's state of mind.
"Mr. Zhang, is our ship approaching?"
"Hold on the surface half a mile from the Fowell."
Liu Zhong originally thought that Mr. Zhang had a good relationship with the Fuwei Escort Agency, but now it seems that is not the case.
"If you don't have power, how can you have blessings? You will only bring disaster upon yourself."
Zhang Yu looked at the huge characters "Fuwei" on the ship under the illumination of the ship's lights, and felt that they were covered with a layer of cruel blood color, which seemed to be the background color of this world. Then he thought of Lin Pingzhi rescuing Yue Lingshan, his brows furrowed slightly, and some sadness arose in his heart.
"Lingshan..."
He was not a petty person who was easily jealous. He just lamented that fate was like the surging tide. When the great force of heaven and earth came, ordinary people could only go with the flow and involuntarily walk their own destiny.
"No matter what, I will do my best to prevent you from taking that desperate path."
The colorful boats on the lake may seem scattered across the lake, but they actually have a special meaning.
According to the closeness of their relationship, these powerful families gathered together and worked together to resist the growing waves.
Only the Lin family's Fuwei was lonely and alone in a corner.
The Fuwei Escort Agency is wealthy and powerful, but it still lacks the word "noble".
To put it bluntly, the old and powerful families in Fuzhou Prefecture did not look down on the Lin family, who came from the grassroots. They did not want the Lin family to join their circle and be on equal footing with them, so they secretly competed with them.
Lin Zhennan spent a lot of money this time, vowing to win the prize of Jianghai Dragon God Society, hoping to prove himself with his strength.
On the third floor, in the viewing pavilion, Lin Zhennan and his wife were having a drink under the moon.
There were hundreds of people on the boat, half of them went to protect the young escort leader and fight for the tide. Now he seemed a little lonely.
It is early summer in the south of the Yangtze River, and the night wind is not too cool.
Mrs. Wang changed into a plain cloth jacket and skirt. Her breasts were still prominent and eye-catching, but she had removed the silver hairpins and beads on her head, and her hair was tied up high. She seemed to look much colder and duller.
Lin Zhennan asked, "My lady's dress during the day was very beautiful. When did you change it?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Fufu couldn't help but frowned slightly: "What's there to see? The moon is past the zenith and should set. The same goes for people. Don't cause trouble."
Lin Zhennan was quite open-minded and said with a smile: "You are too cautious. We are a martial arts family, not a corrupt Confucian family. We don't need to learn from them to deliberately tear off the female training page by page and paste it on the door. Just do what you like. Besides, who dares to be rude to my wife, Lin Zhennan?"
Mrs. Wang quickly shook her head: "That's not the case."
She felt that she seemed to have overreacted, and looked at Lin Zhennan, glaring at him in reproach.
"I am old and not young anymore, how could anyone be rude to me?"
Lin Zhennan held his wife's hand and whispered, "Who said that? My wife is very pretty and beautiful, much better than those yellow-haired girls. It's a pity that your husband...is not energetic enough, otherwise how could you leave...the hairpin box empty and the sword sheath without a tool?"
A few years ago, when he was still in his prime, the two of them still had sex frequently. Unfortunately, when they were escorting a caravan in the north, because the goods they were transporting were extremely valuable, several groups of underworld people targeted them.
As the chief escort, Lin Zhennan had some reputation in the underworld and could only escort the convoy himself.
Along the way, they burned incense in temples and built bridges over rivers, but fighting was inevitable.
As luck would have it, he taught someone to use a dart to hit the inner thigh, which probably injured the meridians. Since then, he has been unable to do things well.
The reputation of Fuwei Escort Agency was saved.
The lady's happiness is...
Lin Zhennan has always felt guilty.
When Mrs. Wang heard the boudoir talk of youth, such as "the hairpin box is empty and the sword sheath is empty", her face turned red: "At this age, Ping'er is already an adult, why are you still talking about these things..."
Just as they were talking in private, they suddenly felt the hull shake, followed by a warning sound from below.
"Pirates are boarding the ship!"
"Go and inform the chief escort."
“Dang, dang~”
As weapons clashed, screams were heard.
Lin Zhennan and his wife didn't have time to think, they took out the swords from the Wang Pavilion and ran downstairs quickly.
"Which thief dares to come here and seek death!"
Lin Zhennan jumped down the stairs and reached the second deck. He was shocked by the scene in front of him. There were only six people on board, wearing black clothes and masks, holding iron swords.
The thirty or so escorts and porters were totally unable to stop them. Not only had they been attacked to the second floor, but all those lying on the deck were from the Fuwei Escort Agency, while the other side was unharmed.
"When did this group of experts appear in Fuzhou Prefecture?"
Lin Zhennan was secretly frightened. He held his sword across his body and his tone couldn't help but slow down.
"Which hero are you in the martial arts world? Are there any misunderstandings when you come aboard to visit me?"
The leader was a tall and thin man with arms longer than his knees. He held an ordinary iron sword in his hand, which was stained with blood. For some reason, he did not speak. He turned his head and gave a look to the short and fat man next to him.
The short and fat man said, "Captain Lin, we brothers are passing hairy gods, evil ghosts who have abandoned their homes. We came here tonight for no other reason than to borrow some money from the Fuwei Escort Agency."
"How much do you want?"
"One hundred thousand taels."
Lin Zhennan was quite tough and said in a cold voice: "I run an escort agency business and I have always respected my friends in the martial arts world. If you are short of money for travel, please ask the Fuwei Escort Agency kindly and I will give it to you. If you want to take it by force, I can use the 72-stroke Sword Technique passed down from my ancestors to fight against evil spirits!"
The Fuwei Escort Agency has been established for three generations, and one hundred thousand taels of silver can be raised.
Just giving this money would destroy the reputation of Fuwei Escort Agency. What else can an escort agency that can't even protect itself protect?
The short fat man laughed and said, "Why are you talking so much? If you don't want to give me the silver, I'll just capture your beautiful wife to pay the penalty!"
"How about five hundred taels for one time?"
"This is more valuable than the courtesan on the Qinhuai River."
It's strange to say, except for the short and fat man with a northern accent who was speaking, the other five people seemed to be dumb, and they didn't say a word. They just stood by with swords in hand and were on guard.
"You bastard, your mouth is full of shit, I will cut off your mouth!"
At this time, Mrs. Wang had come down the stairs. She had a hot temper and saw that the other party was aggressive and obviously did not want to make peace. Hearing such rude words, she could no longer bear it. She picked up the golden knife and killed him.
"Wildfire burning the sky!"
"What a sassy personality, I like it!"
The short and fat man jumped out first, holding out his iron sword, and with a clang, he blocked the golden sword that Madam Wang was about to chop down. He remained calm and said with a grin, "Push harder, push harder, yes, push harder! Didn't Madam Lin have dinner tonight?"
He laughed loudly, grasped the sword with both hands, pushed it upwards, and knocked away the golden knife.
Mrs. Wang leaned back, staggered, and retreated three or four steps.
"Mrs. Lin, are you not full? If Chief Lin doesn't allow you to be full, why don't you go to other houses to eat? Hahaha..."
Mrs. Wang's eyes were wide open with anger. She rolled up her skirt and tucked it around her waist, revealing her snow-white knee-length pants and her round legs. She moved nimbly on the deck as the knife moved.
"The golden sword conceals the light!"
The golden knife slashed forward steadily and fiercely. The short and fat man quickly stepped back. The blade passed by his chest, only three inches away. He was secretly shocked and cursed, "What an evil woman!", then he responded seriously.
"Evil woman, look at the sword!"
This short and fat man is called Jia Renda, and he is naturally also a disciple of Qingcheng Sect. He has mediocre martial arts skills and a mean character. Yu Canghai dislikes him, and his fellow disciples also look down on him. However, he is one of the few northerners in Qingcheng Sect, and it is easier for him to hide his identity than the men from Sichuan who speak in Shu dialect.
Mrs. Wang fought with him for twenty or thirty rounds, but she couldn't defeat him. Instead, she was overwhelmed by his dirty words and retreated repeatedly.
"Oh no, Madam is going to lose!"
Lin Zhennan was watching in amazement. Madam Wang came from a prominent family and her family also inherited martial arts. She never lost her skills after marrying into the Lin family. The two of them practiced often. Although Madam Wang was slightly inferior to Lin Zhennan, she was already a top-notch fighter in the Fuwei Escort Agency.
"Ma'am, be careful!"
Seeing that Madam Wang was forced to the side of the ship, Lin Zhennan had no room to maneuver on the narrow second floor, and he didn't care about the rules of a one-on-one duel, so he rushed to rescue her with his sword, but was stopped by the tall and thin man...
Two hundred steps away, waves were rising without any wind, and the waves were getting faster and faster.
The sloop rocked from side to side and looked dangerous.
Liu Zhong hurriedly put down the boat ingot and pushed four counterweight boxes, each weighing over 100 kilograms, into the water.
Zhang Yu felt it was unnecessary and did not stop it.
The Fuwei was decorated with lights and it was as bright as day.
The shouts and cries were drowned out by the thunderous sound of the sea tide. Several flares were fired and exploded in the air. That was the Lin family's distress signal. Several miles away on the river bank, warships of the Fujian Navy were patrolling.
"what!"
The woman screamed.
"Pfft!"
On the surface of the lake, waves splash high.
Zhang Yu stood at the bow and saw clearly that the woman in the white dress screamed and fell off the boat. She was still struggling on the lake, trying to get to the side of the boat, but was pushed outward by the undercurrent. It was obvious that the woman did not know how to swim and was about to be completely submerged by the waves.
"She should be Lin Pingzhi's mother."
Zhang Yu looked at the woman who fell into the water and said to himself.
"Well, let's just consider it as repaying Lingshan for saving my life."
(End of this chapter)