Boarding the Ship

The boatman and the onlookers nearby were all stunned for a moment.

Chen Ye set down the stone lock, switched hands, and lifted it again, his movements clean, crisp, and fluid.

A martial artist who has undergone Mortal Shedding possesses a physical strength of around two hundred catties, so lifting a hundred-catty stone lock with one hand is more than enough.

Yet, on this pier, those capable of such a feat could be counted on one hand.

The middle-aged man standing on the other side hurried over, his tone urgent: "We want this man."

Zhou is in his forties and serves as the caravan manager in charge of recruitment; he was so anxious about the lack of manpower that blisters had formed on his lips.

Several guards originally scheduled for the caravan had fallen ill just before departure, and since the merchant ship was already fully loaded, every extra day it remained docked meant further losses.

He had already hired two people on the spot along the way, but one vacancy remained.

Seeing Chen Ye display such skill, Manager Zhou made the decision to hire him on the spot.

"Our compensation is based on the guard tier: two hundred wen a day, with room and board included. Is that acceptable?"

Chen Ye calculated rapidly in his mind.

Two hundred and sixty wen a day.

Five days would equal one tael and three mace of silver.

If he were to redeem his life, that would mean consuming one day every five days.

Too little.

"Three hundred and fifty wen!" Chen Ye patted the blade at his waist: "If you agree, I can board immediately, and I guarantee I am worth the price."

Manager Zhou gritted his teeth and said: "Fine, three hundred and fifty wen. Pack your things and get on board immediately! Once on board, you eat, sleep, and live on the ship; you are not allowed to disembark until we reach the capital to unload the cargo."

"Deal."

Three hundred and fifty wen.

Three days would redeem ten days, with one day left over to breathe.

Enough.

The selection was quickly finalized.

Under Manager Zhou's arrangement, Chen Ye boarded the merchant ship.

Just as they entered the cabin, Manager Zhou paid six days of wages in advance to stabilize the men.

Thus, Chen Ye received his first payment before even starting work: a full two thousand one hundred wen.

Seeking convenience, Manager Zhou gave him two taels of silver fragments directly, with the remaining one hundred wen covered by dried meat from the ship's stores.

Chen Ye did not quibble.

With two taels of silver in hand, Chen Ye did not hesitate and immediately converted them into eight days of lifespan.

[Remaining Lifespan: 48 days]

The merchant ship set sail.

On Great Peace Lake, the lake water surged.

The distinct, fishy scent of water rushed toward him in the air.

That night, Chen Ye slept on a communal bunk by the pier, placing his crossbow and short blade by his pillow before drifting off.

Compared to sleeping in wild, dilapidated temples or piles of withered leaves, where every closed eye brought nights filled with the sound of wind and cranes, this was the first time since escaping the Gao Family that he did not need to sleep with one eye open.

His long-taut nerves slowly began to relax on the ship.

He slept without dreams.

The next morning, Chen Ye woke up feeling refreshed.

Only then did he have the leisure to properly examine the merchant ship.

It was a medium-sized flat-bottomed cargo vessel, its hold filled with cloth, tea, and medicinal herbs, while the deck was stacked with spare ropes and several barrels of fresh water.

There were five guards on board in total, two of whom were veteran escorts and retired guards accustomed to this route.

The remaining three were all temporary hires like Chen Ye.

Manager Zhou assigned everyone their watch shifts, and meals were provided collectively.

Chen Ye was assigned the night shift, leaving him the entire day to move about freely or rest on the ship.

That afternoon, several merchants hitching a ride were gathered together, gossiping and complaining incessantly about how merchant ships heading to the capital were constantly being cut in line.

An elderly merchant among them sighed and said: "Everyone knows whose coattails they've climbed; complaining is useless."

"Whose coattails?"

"Whose else? In the capital, who else could it be but the Xie Family?"

Hearing the words Xie Family, Chen Ye could not help but perk up his ears.

A guard accompanying the boat had drunk too much of his own rice wine and started cursing the Xie Family in the capital for being scum.

"Last year, our escort agency did business with the Xie Family in the capital, and that silver still hasn't been settled. It caused several of my brothers under me to not even have a decent New Year."

Someone from the capital nearby chimed in: "The Xie Family is a second-rank noble house; who doesn't know they're the type to eat people without spitting out the bones? They only swindled your money and didn't take your life—you should be grateful."

These people on the boat all traveled to and from the capital, so they were well-versed in the affairs of the aristocratic families there.

Once the conversation started, the group quickly began chatting away.

Chen Ye listened silently from the side, gathering from their words that although the Xie Family was vast and powerful, their reputation among the common people was quite poor.

"The Cui Family is upright, but unfortunately, their influence isn't as great as the Xie Family's. Their business interests overlap significantly, and now that they've clashed in the imperial court, they are often at odds."

One of the guards spoke up, and as soon as these words were out, everyone nodded repeatedly.

"The Cui Family has many daughters and few sons; there are only two direct-line young masters in this generation, and the rest are all young ladies. Their martial arts foundation isn't as thick as the Xie Family's either. Fortunately, the Cui Family knows how to manage things and can still maintain the prestige of a second-rank noble house, but it's hard to say what will happen in the future."

A martial artist with a saber at his waist nearby said impatiently: "Enough about the Cui Family and the Xie Family. What does it have to do with us folks who work hard for a living? They fight back and forth, but in the end, isn't it us subordinates who suffer? If you ask me, it would be best if all these powerful nobles just dropped dead."

Once this was said, the group immediately lost interest in continuing the conversation.

"Alright, alright. Everyone get some good rest. The stretch once we enter the Reed Marsh is the hardest to navigate. Don't let anything go wrong when the time comes."

Chen Ye sat to the side, holding his bowl and eating silently, taking everyone's words to heart.

Regarding the Xie Family, he had only heard them mentioned by Zhang Tieyi and the others before, knowing only that they were a top-tier wealthy clan of the Jing Kingdom.

Other than that, he had no other impression.

Now, hearing it from the others, he realized that even a top-tier wealthy clan of the Jing Kingdom had a rival of equal strength.

At the very least, this Cui Family was not on good terms with the Xie Family.

The merchant ship left Great Peace Lake and entered the channel of the Grand Canal.

The Grand Canal channel was narrow, with many shoals and dense sluice gates. Night navigation had poor visibility, making it the easiest place for collisions, groundings, and other accidents to occur.

Therefore, most merchant ships stopped sailing after dark to reduce risks.

As a guard, Chen Ye did not participate in labor during the day, but he was responsible for keeping watch at night.

After nightfall, the river surface was completely quiet.

Chen Ye, on duty, sat by the ship's rail, found a whetstone, and began sharpening the short blade he had brought.

The blade had no nicks, but its condition was not ideal.

According to those "old hands," there was no telling how many water bandits were in this Grand Canal.

It could be said that there was a bandit every ten miles, all living by licking blood off the edge of a blade.

He had to be twelve times more alert and could not relax for a single moment.

Otherwise, one careless mistake would lead to the fate of being thrown to the bottom of the lake to feed the fish.

In this world, human life was even more worthless than he had imagined.

On the sixth day of entering the river, the merchant ship sailed into a narrow waterway densely covered with reeds on both banks.

Everyone on the boat fell silent in unison.

According to past custom, this was the place where water bandits were accustomed to setting ambushes.