Crossing the River

Shen Yi pondered for a moment:

"If it were me."

"I would definitely lie in ambush along the only road you must take back to Broken Blade Hall. So the next stretch is the most dangerous."

Qin Jianghe held a different view:

"This place is close to Broken Blade Hall's territory."

"Unless everyone in Broken Blade Hall has rebelled, they would never dare make such a grand display."

Shen Yi curled his lip.

He had never placed his hopes in others.

Nor had he ever failed to prepare for the worst.

"Leave now, or wait until nightfall?"

Qin Jianghe narrowed his eyes slightly:

"Now!"

With that, he strode down the hillside.

Shen Yi immediately hurried after him.

A mountain seen from afar could run a horse to death.

Broken Blade Hall on the plains looked as though it was not far away.

But the mountain roads were rugged, and the woods thick.

Shen Yi and Qin Jianghe walked for over two hours before they finally left the foothills and reached the plains.

In the distance.

The rushing Source River stretched across before them.

There were scarcely any travelers along the banks, though many boats moved upon the river. In the lands south of the river, boats had always been the usual means of travel.

The two followed the river for half an hour.

At last, they saw the ferry dock.

At the dock.

Several ferries of varying sizes were moored there. Boatmen in rain capes chatted idly at the pier, their oars in hand.

When they saw Shen Yi and Qin Jianghe approach.

They all cast appraising looks their way.

Shen Yi swept his gaze around, then asked an elderly boatman nearby, "Old sir, how much to cross the river?"

The boatman looked at the two men carrying blades, their bodies steeped in the air of the martial world. His expression turned somewhat timid as he answered in a low voice:

"F-five copper coins."

Shen Yi glanced at Qin Jianghe. Qin Jianghe was asking a slightly younger middle-aged man nearby.

Then he held up five fingers to Shen Yi.

The fare was the same.

Shen Yi asked:

"Old sir, are you all villagers from around here?"

The old boatman lowered his head as he replied:

"Yes. We all make our living off the water."

"When there are passengers, we ferry them. When there aren't, we fish. We all charge the same price to cross the river. You can choose any of us."

Qin Jianghe gave Shen Yi a faint nod.

What he had learned was much the same. The boatmen all knew one another and were old acquaintances; there were no unfamiliar faces among them.

Qin Jianghe swept a glance over the covered boats moored there.

He pointed at a relatively spacious one:

"Then this one."

That boat belonged to neither of the two men who had just spoken with Qin Jianghe and Shen Yi.

For the sake of caution.

Qin Jianghe was still counting on catching them off guard.

Clang.

A skinny young man, thin as a monkey, stood up from among the gathered boatmen, delight gleaming in his eyes:

"Honored guests, that's my boat."

"You two get aboard first. I'll be right there."

Shen Yi and Qin Jianghe stepped onto the boat and sat inside the black canopy.

The young man untied the rope.

Then leaped onto the bow.

Shen Yi took five copper coins from his purse and handed them over.

The young man snatched them up, carefully counted them again, then happily raised the oar and called out:

"Honored guests, we're setting off!"

So far, nothing was out of the ordinary.

Splash, splash.

The river parted to either side as the covered boat cut through it.

"Honored guests, there's freshly brewed wine in the canopy."

"If you don't mind, you can use it to warm yourselves."

Shen Yi was not particularly attached to wine.

But he glanced at Qin Jianghe. Ever since entering the canopy, the man had sniffed once, then stared fixedly at the wine gourd hanging from the curtain.

The faint fragrance of wine drifted out, making Qin Jianghe's heart itch.

"You want a drink?"

Qin Jianghe swallowed and gave two dry laughs:

"Young brother, you may not know this, but Old Qin here loves a good drink."

"I haven't had any for the past two days, and my craving has flared up."

Shen Yi rubbed his chin.

He wondered whether Qin Jianghe truly intended to casually drink wine from some unfamiliar boatman aboard a ferry.

If so, he would just count it as having saved an idiot.

Seeing Shen Yi look at him as though he were a fool, Qin Jianghe hurriedly explained in a rough voice:

"Hey, hey, what kind of look is that?"

"I can still tell what matters most."

"If I want to drink, I'll wait until we reach a tavern in Clear River Town and drink my fill. Don't take me for an idiot."

Shen Yi folded his arms.

He gave an "oh" and withdrew his gaze.

By then, the boat had crossed halfway.

Through the bamboo-woven curtain, Shen Yi could already glimpse the scenery along the far bank.

Near the shore, the aquatic grass grew increasingly lush.

The young boatman smiled:

"Honored guests, we'll reach the shore very soon."

Suddenly.

A faint, nearly inaudible whoosh sounded.

The young man's voice cut off abruptly.

With a splash, something fell into the water outside.

Shen Yi's expression sharpened. Something had changed.

Splash.

Water broke both before and behind them!

Two black shadows shot out from the river one after the other.

They landed on the decks at the bow and stern of the covered boat.

The two drew their sabers and were just about to charge into the canopy.

With a crisp bang.

A fierce blade force suddenly burst from within the canopy.

It carved a circular slash in all directions.

Clang! The two black shadows were forced half a step back, while the entire black canopy was sent flying by that single strike, crashing into the river.

Qin Jianghe held the Sunken Gold Blade, his back pressed against Shen Yi's.

Shen Yi took in the situation.

He had originally suspected the young boatman, but it seemed the man had merely been another sacrificial pawn in the ambush against Qin Jianghe.

At that moment, the two figures at the bow and stern.

Were both drenched from head to toe, their builds lean and powerful.

They had reacted swiftly when blocking Qin Jianghe's strike just now, and did so without difficulty. One look was enough to tell that they were experts at fighting underwater.

Qin Jianghe's expression turned grave.

"The Four River Devils?"

"Those yakshas really spared no expense!"

Four Devils?

That meant there were two more.

The thought had barely crossed Shen Yi's mind.

When a thunderous boom erupted beneath their feet.

Two gleaming long spears instantly pierced up through the bottom of the boat. Shen Yi and Qin Jianghe flashed aside at top speed.

The silver spearpoints grazed past the tips of their noses.

They had nearly been skewered straight through the heart.

"Qin Jianghe, die!"

The two devils aboard the boat seized the chance as well. Their two broad sabers swept in from above and below, as though intending to chop the pair into several pieces.

Shen Yi drew his blade in a horizontal sweep.

He poured his inner breath into it with all his strength and met the attack with a horizontal slash.

Bang.

The blade shattered into fragments of various sizes. Driven by Shen Yi's inner force, they shot toward the enemy like a sudden rainstorm.

"Ah!"

That man was pierced all over by blade fragments, countless bloody holes opening across his body.

Even one of his eyes was struck by a broken edge at just the right angle. He flew backward and fell into the river.

Meanwhile, Qin Jianghe exchanged several clanging blows with the broad saber behind him. His wounds had already burst open, and his face had turned pale.

River water gurgled through the holes in the boat beneath their feet.

The boat would sink within a few breaths.

Yet the Four River Devils grew even more frantic. Shen Yi sensed a surge of force churning beneath the boat.

He hastily hurled the hilt in his hand, forcing Qin Jianghe's opponent back with a clang.

Then he seized Qin Jianghe's arm and leaped with all his strength.

Almost at the very instant the two rose into the air.

Boom!

Two currents of force shot up from below and pierced through the covered boat. With a twisting churn, the entire boat cracked sharply and split cleanly into two.

Shen Yi locked one hand around Qin Jianghe's arm.

He spun and flung him away.

Qin Jianghe's body was immediately hurled toward the riverbank.

"Get up there first!"

But Shen Yi himself fell diagonally toward the Source River.

In the river, two powerful figures came cleaving through the water like swimming dragons, while the other two swam toward the shore.

The danger had not yet passed!