Chapter 4239 — Adventure in the Rufeng Forest
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"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.