Chapter 4238 — No Going Back
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"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..)