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Night had fallen, and a bright full moon had appeared in the quiet sky.
On the dark river, the great ships continued sailing, their many banners bearing the Song family's name from Lingnan fluttering high above, illuminated by lanterns.
The four imposing merchant ships plowed through the waves like beasts prowling through the night, sailing upstream with the wind. They were neither especially fast nor especially slow. Though they had never acted with any domineering arrogance, the many small boats, fishing vessels, merchant ships, official boats, and wandering martial artists they encountered along the way all hurriedly made room for them, not daring to so much as brush against them.
That wasn't just because the Song family's four ships were large. More importantly, they belonged to the Song family of Lingnan!
No one would be foolish enough to provoke the Song Clan and bring trouble upon themselves. Even the desperate outlaws who made their living on the river during these turbulent times were no exception.
After all, the Song family was the most powerful and influential aristocratic clan in the south of the Sui dynasty, with connections throughout both the underworld and the authorities. Moreover, the Song Clan was backed by Song Que, the world's foremost master of the blade, known as the Heavenly Blade and once named Duke Who Pacifies the South by Emperor Wen of Sui. The Song family was therefore influential both in official circles and the martial world. People instinctively showed its members extra respect, and even the various rebel armies who had risen against the Sui voluntarily gave them a wide berth.
Of course, none of that mattered right now.
On the leading ship of the four Song family salt traders, Song Shidao, the young master of the Song Clan and son of its