Chapter 4238 — No Going Back

What was more, judging by the manner in which these four carried themselves, they hardly seemed like ordinary pirates. Who on earth were these four, really?

And this place was shrouded in sea mist on every side, front and back—under normal circumstances one could barely see a thing. Even if the other party were all peak late-Golden Core experts, there was no way they could have made out anything in the distance through such a vast fog. So how had they come to be lying in wait here to raid the escort? Judging from the way they had charged straight in without the slightest deviation earlier, the enemy had clearly been prepared in advance and had come for this very ship!

Li and Guan were full of suspicion and bewilderment, yet no one was about to enlighten them; they could only swallow it all down. Pirates were invariably savage and cruel, and to have kept their lives at all was already more than they could have hoped for—who would dare run their mouth now? Never mind provoking the other side to impatience; in matters like this, knowing too much—especially anything touching on the other party's identity—could truly cost a man his head. Knowing too much was no good thing, and as veteran escorts of long experience, they still had that much sense.

The voyage passed without a word. After two full days and nights, the ship finally came to shore at a strange dock, and the leader of the four barked coldly at them, "Get off, all of you—now!"

Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan exchanged a glance, then nodded hastily again and again; without a word they leaped from the ship.

These past two days they had lived in constant dread, fearful that the other side might change their minds at the last moment and kill them to silence them. Now at last their ordeal was over, and of course they fled as fast as their legs could carry them.

Wei Zhao, however, seemed lost in thought. At last he cast one look at those four peak late-Golden Core experts, but said nothing, and likewise took Huang Xiaotao by the hand and went ashore.

Once the four of them had been driven off the ship, it did not linger in the least. It hoisted sail and departed at once, and borne by the strong sea wind, it vanished from their sight within moments.

"Brother Li, Brother Guan—what do we do now?" Wei Zhao turned and asked the two.

"What can we do? Figure out a way back, quick as we can!" Li Yanji answered testily.

"Hmph. The escort business was going along just fine before, and this time we get saddled with you two—a whole trip wasted for nothing, and on top of that we'll be sure to catch an earful when we get back. What rotten luck, right to the bone..." Guan Zhiyuan muttered sourly from the side. His meaning was plain: in his view, the whole misfortune of this trip came down to their having run into Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, those two jinxes.

Wei Zhao frowned, yet kept his expression unchanged and paid the man no mind. He only gave Huang Xiaotao a meaningful shake of the head, signaling that she too should hold her tongue.

Just as they were speaking, Wei Zhao's eyes suddenly lit up—on the other side of the dock he had spotted a small sailing boat, a sign hanging from its bow bearing three large characters: Weihu City.

"Anyone else for Weihu City? Just two spots left. We cast off any moment now—anyone going? If you're going, hurry up; miss this ready-made chance and you'll have a long wait ahead..." A deckhand on the boat was bellowing at the top of his lungs.

The four exchanged a glance and quickly threaded their way through the crowd. At the same time Wei Zhao smiled to himself—the scene felt somehow familiar. It rather had the flavor of the mortal realm, of those unlicensed drivers at the big and small coach stations hollering for passengers.

"No need to shout, mate—we happen to be going to Weihu City," Li Yanji said, striding ahead, and at once moved to step aboard. He had been to this place a few times before; it already lay beyond the bounds of the Weihu Sea, and boats bound for Weihu City were few. Miss this one, and the next would likely be at least ten days or half a month away—longer still if luck was against them.

"Hold on—the four of you?" The deckhand did not step aside from the gangplank. He glanced at the four of them and shook his head decisively. "No, no. Only two. Not one more."

"Two go, four go—it's not as if we're not paying. Why can't you take even one more? Refusing money that's handed to you—you're quite the character, mate!" Li Yanji could not help frowning.

"Sir, this is a small boat," the deckhand said with an ingratiating smile. "It's not like those big vessels that can take a few extra without a care. Our capacity is limited—two more at most..."

"Hmph. All that talk is just to squeeze out more money, isn't it? Fine, I won't stoop to argue with the likes of you. We'll pay double fare for the two extra—that settles it, doesn't it?" Li Yanji curled his lip with the air of long experience.

"Ai yo, sir, I'm truly not trying to pull the wool over your eyes—who doesn't want to make money if he can?" The deckhand waved his hands with a pained look. "You know as well as I do how fierce the wind and waves run in these waters. Overload her by even one man and the risk grows a great deal. I truly dare not take this money!"

With matters having come to this pass, Li Yanji and Wei Zhao and the others could only look at one another, speechless.

If they forced their way aboard, it was not merely that the deckhand would refuse—the crux was that the passengers already on board would refuse as well. Should something go wrong and the boat capsize, would not everyone be carried down to the grave with it? No one could bear the blame for that!

Just as they stood at an impasse, Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan, who were in front, exchanged a glance, then suddenly walked straight onto the gangplank and said to the deckhand, "Then it'll be the two of us."

The deckhand blinked, threw a startled glance at Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao left standing where they were, and then, urged on by Li and Guan, hastily cleared the gangplank and let them aboard. At once the boat cast off without lingering and hoisted sail.

"This... what are we going to do?" Watching the sail recede into the distance, Huang Xiaotao turned to Wei Zhao, her mouth agape in astonishment.

"Nothing for it—we'll ask around some more." Wei Zhao shook his head helplessly. He truly had not expected Li and Guan to do such a thing—to simply abandon the two of them and run off. True, they were hardly acquaintances, but they had after all set out together on this escort; one way or another they had been companions on the road. To act like this was simply laughable and exasperating at once.

The two made a circuit of the dock. Since this was already a different sea, boats were many here, but those bound for Weihu City were exceedingly few. In the end Wei Zhao found only a single notice board marked Weihu City, and beside it a stretch of empty water—not a single boat.

"Young man, might I ask—are there any boats here bound for Weihu City?" Wei Zhao inquired of a deckhand sitting nearby eating his meal.

"Weihu City?" The deckhand paused and set down his chopsticks. "There are, to be sure—but the soonest boat won't leave until the eighth of next month. You two will have to wait a while."

Reckoning the days, today was only the tenth, which left nearly a whole month to wait. At these words Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao were struck utterly speechless. (To be continued..)