True Heart

"But he is my friend, Gu Yanzhi!" Gu Yanzhi's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth gritted.

"A friend?"

Gu Wanshan acted as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world. He set down his teacup and scoffed, "Yanzhi, you are still too young. In this bustling metropolis, what does 'friend' even mean?"

"A wretch who relies on pulling a rickshaw to survive, who just happened to stumble upon the threshold of the Lianli mid-stage, and who is already over thirty—his vitality is set, and his life has reached its limit."

Gu Wanshan's gaze was disdainful:

"If he were in his early twenties, or a master at the Lianli late-stage, he might barely qualify as a 'friend' of the Gu Family, worth the effort to recruit. But a mere mid-stage martial artist of thirty? Buying him for a hundred silver dollars to block blades on the river—that is a perfectly fair trade!"

"Father!"

Gu Yanzhi slammed the folding fan in his hand onto the floor. With a sharp crack, the ribs snapped.

His chest heaved violently. Facing his father's cold, indifferent gaze, he roared, word by word:

"Friendship is about sincerity and treating others with heart! You calculate everything so precisely, treating human lives like numbers on a ledger. If there isn't even that shred of honesty, why would anyone risk their life for you?!"

"Those bought with silver are nothing but fair-weather friends who scatter when the tree falls! What use are they when the Gu Family faces a life-or-death crisis?!"

Gu Wanshan's expression darkened, and he slammed his hand onto the sandalwood table: "Insolent! How dare you speak to me like that!"

Gu Yanzhi did not retreat a single step. He took a deep breath and turned away with resolve:

"I was the one who invited Lu Zhen onto that boat. I cannot let him die as your scapegoat without knowing why. I am going to the river to save him!"

With that, Gu Yanzhi tore off his silk long gown and strode out of the main hall without looking back.

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

The steward nearby was so terrified he didn't dare breathe. He leaned in cautiously: "Master... the young master is so impulsive, and blades have no eyes on the river. The Shen Family is playing for keeps this time. Should we send men to intercept him?"

Gu Wanshan sat in his armchair, his walnuts beginning to rotate in his hand again. He stared at Gu Yanzhi's disappearing back, remaining silent for a long time.

After a while, he coldly spat out three words:

"Let him go."

Unless he sees blood, this boy will always think the world of martial arts is just the righteous vengeance written in books, never understanding the true law of the jungle.

Just as the steward was about to withdraw, Gu Wanshan's low voice drifted out from behind him again.

"Tell A-Kuan to take the Black Guard and follow him."

"Yes!" The steward let out a sigh of relief, bowed respectfully, and retreated.

The steam-powered iron ship churned upstream.

By late afternoon, the river channel ahead narrowed abruptly.

The cliffs on both banks rose a thousand fathoms high, like two pitch-black swords thrusting into the clouds, squeezing the river into a treacherous, narrow slit.

"We've reached Soul-Falling Gorge."

Zhao Si stood at the bow.

This Soul-Falling Gorge was a notoriously dangerous spot on the Yangtze, with swift currents and dense hidden reefs.

Even more ominous was the fact that as soon as the iron ship entered the gorge, a thick, impenetrable white fog rose from the river without warning.

The thirty-odd guards who had been joking on the deck fell silent, instinctively gripping the hilts of their blades.

"Brother Zhao, this fog is suspicious."

Hou San stepped forward, his Triangular Eyes filled with the vigilance of someone facing a great enemy: "It's too quiet all around. Even the water birds have stopped calling. It feels strange."

Chen Er hunched his shoulders, his teeth chattering: "Yeah, Captain, you don't think some monster is going to crawl out from the bottom of the river, do you?"

Zhao Si scanned the surroundings, and seeing that only his trusted brothers were gathered nearby, he lowered his voice:

"Put your hearts at ease! Don't be so jumpy."

"To tell you the truth, this river trip is a 'Empty Boat Ruse' set by Old Master Gu!"

"The hold is filled with nothing but ballast stones and scrap metal. This ship is just bait designed to lure the Shen Family's elites out of their holes!"

The men gasped in unison.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Zhao Si's eyes: "But don't panic, the Old Master has already made arrangements.

Hidden in the secret compartments of this ship are ten Western repeating firearms and six heavy armor-piercing crossbows.

As long as the Shen Family dares to approach, they won't be leaving alive! Besides, our second fleet is downstream; they will rush here to surround them the moment they hear the signal flare!"

Hearing this, the guards finally felt their hearts settle. A few of the bolder ones even began to flex their muscles, ready to make a killing with the power of the firearms.

Only Lu Zhen felt a chill in his heart.

An empty boat ruse? Bait?

No matter how brilliant Gu Wanshan's schemes were, he was still placing the lives of everyone on this ship onto a gambling table. With the thick fog on the river, once the fighting started, even the best firearms would miss their marks, and blades had no eyes.

Lu Zhen would never entrust his life to someone else's calculations!

"Brother Zhao, I'm going back to my cabin to adjust my internal energy and prepare for battle." Lu Zhen found a casual excuse.

"Go ahead, get your strength up. It's going to be a tough fight later." Zhao Si nodded, suspecting nothing.