Chapter 4239 — Adventure in the Rufeng Forest

"Hey there, you two must be new here, eh? This is the Zhenduan sea region, and Wei Arc City lies in the Wei Arc sea region. The road from here to Wei Arc City isn't just long—the worst of it is that the powers in the two sea regions are forever at war, and everything's in utter chaos. If you haven't squared things away with the right people at every level, you simply can't get through!" the attendant explained to them. "That's why ordinary passenger ships won't touch this trade at all. Along the whole dockside, only two or three veteran boats with seasoned crews run this route, and a round trip takes a full month. So of course you'll have to wait a while..."

"Even if there are only two or three, and each round trip takes a month, that still doesn't mean we should have to wait a whole month, does it? When you say the eighth of next month, young man, are you talking about the one that just left?" Wei Zhao said with a frown.

"Just so. Actually, apart from the one that just left, there's a somewhat larger one besides. It set sail half a month ago and should be docking at Wei Arc City right about now; it'll be back here in another half month. But every berth on that ship was booked out well in advance, so you two will have to wait a while longer," the attendant said with a shake of his head, then suggested, "If you're set on leaving on the eighth of next month, shall I reserve two berths for you? There's a deposit of ten spirit jades, though."

"Very well, many thanks." Wei Zhao thought it over; as things stood, there was nothing else to be done. He handed the attendant ten spirit jades on the spot. Whatever happened later, reserving two berths was surely the wiser course—and even if they ended up not taking the ship, he hardly minded wasting ten spirit jades.

"Right you are. The eighth of next month, then—do come early, you two." The attendant took the spirit jades and at once hurried off to a wooden hut that looked like a toll booth, returning with two tickets for Wei Zhao and his companion.

Tickets safely stowed, Wei Zhao turned to Huang Xiaotao and said, "We're here now, so let's make the best of it. Since we've no other choice at the moment, we may as well look around while we're here."

"All right. The Enforcement Hall's intelligence said Wu Baoliang had appeared in the Wei Arc sea region, but the report may not be accurate or timely, and there's no saying he's still lingering there. He might well have slipped off to the waters around here," Huang Xiaotao offered by way of comfort.

"Mm, you have a point. We'll try our luck here first, then," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

In truth, as he saw it, being stranded here for the time being and unable to return was not necessarily a bad thing. After all, Cheng Qitian was still lurking over in Wei Arc City, watching like a tiger. For now, out of sight was out of mind—he had neatly sidestepped that threat.

"Actually, something strikes me as very strange. Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan both lost the escort cargo, yet they just abandoned the two of us and rushed back in such a hurry. Isn't that going out of their way to invite a scolding? I can't fathom what they're thinking..." Huang Xiaotao suddenly could not help muttering.

"They must have schemes of their own. They'll go back and pin the blame on the two of us, and by the time we return, the matter will long since have been settled beyond dispute," Wei Zhao said with an indifferent smile.

Given how those two had treated him and Huang Xiaotao with such cold disdain, it was not hard to guess. But Wei Zhao had agreed to become an escort by pure accident; he cared nothing for such things, and could not be bothered to fret over whether those men would fling mud at them.

"If that's really what they're up to, they're utterly despicable. It was their own surrender that brought this about in the first place—otherwise the cargo might never have been lost at all," Huang Xiaotao said indignantly.

"The heart of man lies hidden behind the flesh; who can say?" Wei Zhao shook his head, then went on, "Actually, what I find stranger is something else. Those four masters at the peak of late-stage Golden Core clearly came prepared, with a plan already laid. Yet out in that vast sea fog, they had no way of knowing our escort route—so how could they possibly have done it? Unless..."

"Unless what?" Huang Xiaotao blinked and asked.

"Unless there's more to this than meets the eye." It was only a bold conjecture on Wei Zhao's part, and he had no solid evidence as yet, so he did not elaborate. Instead he said, "Never mind. If we're to stay here a month, we'd best go find an inn to put up in first."

"All right." Huang Xiaotao nodded. Suddenly she felt a little heavier, and realized Wei Zhao had taken off his own outer coat and draped it over her shoulders, and her heart warmed at once.

Wei Zhao had done so because of the lesson learned before. Though Huang Xiaotao wore a veil, so that others could not make out her features, her shapely, well-turned figure could not be hidden, and it still drew glances easily enough.

Should they run into another piece of goods like Cheng Qitian, it might well mean fresh trouble. But now, with the coat draped over her, her figure was covered as well, and no one would pay her any further mind.

The two of them straightway left the docks and headed for the town not far off. Like Wei Arc City, this place too was the heart of the Zhenduan sea region, and its name was cut from the same cloth: Zhenduan City.

Rumor had it that the Zhenduan sea region was far more chaotic even than the Wei Arc sea region, though one could feel it plainly enough from the scene back at the docks—there were far, far more people here than in Wei Arc City.

Once the two entered Zhenduan City, this became all the more evident. The main streets were thronged and bustling, a sea of bobbing heads, packed to the brim with people—a scene of glittering prosperity and lively clamor. That long-absent feeling even made Wei Zhao think involuntarily of the mortal world.

Only on the commercial streets of the great cities of the mortal world—and only during holiday sales, at that—could one hope to see such a packed crowd. As for the rest of Cloud Ladder Island, even the Central Island market could not boast such congestion.

Wei Zhao was secretly alarmed. Pulling Huang Xiaotao along, he squeezed into the crowd and drifted with the current; yet after walking a full half-hour, he discovered to his astonishment that finding a ship to Wei Arc City was the least of their troubles—even finding an inn was a fond hope.

They had already wandered three streets and passed at least seven or eight inns, but every single one had a "No Vacancy" sign hung out plainly for all to see.

"What on earth is going on with this place?" Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao exchanged looks, both of them baffled. Even on their first visit to Zhenduan City, they could plainly feel that something was odd about the place.

Just as the two were puzzling over it, the flow of people carried them to a plaza, where they heard many voices crying out, one rising as another fell. Every one of them was full of vigor, but the crowd was so vast that the din of the throng soon drowned them out again.

Still, with Wei Zhao's keen hearing, so long as he put his mind to it and drew a little closer, he could make out what these people were calling.

"Adventure in the Rufeng Forest—forming a party! Two spots left, setting off any moment now—cultivators at Golden Core and above, don't miss out!" This was the cry nearest to Wei Zhao and his companion; it carried with real force, cutting clear through the crowd even where they stood. (To be continued...)