Greed

At first light the next day, the fleet set sail as planned.

The moment Wei Luo and Liu Changle boarded, they went into their cabin and did not show themselves again. Everyone assumed they were afraid of Feng Sihai.

Near noon, the fleet was less than ten li from Shanyang County.

Ahead lay a narrow stretch of water several hundred meters long, the only route into Shanyang County.

Naturally, it was also the perfect place to ambush passing vessels, so water bandits often appeared in these waters.

Water bandits were generally not very powerful and only dared rob small boats. Against a large Yao Family ship equipped with guards, they rarely dared make a move.

Perhaps they were simply unlucky. The moment they entered the narrow channel, the ship at the front accidentally struck a reef.

A small hole had been torn in its hull, so it could only stop for repairs.

Feng Sihai nearly laughed aloud at the sight. This was truly an opportunity sent by heaven. If he did not act now, he would be letting heaven's gift go to waste.

He immediately went into his cabin, fetched a jar of wine, and kicked open the door to Wei Luo and Liu Changle's room.

"What is that smell? So sweet and fragrant?"

The moment he entered, he frowned. Turning his head, he saw Wei Luo and Liu Changle holding wine bowls, staring at him in surprise.

The wine in their bowls was reddish-brown, clearly a sweet fruit wine.

It was perfectly normal for sweet fruit wine to give off a sweet fragrance, and with Wei Luo and Liu Changle having been suppressed, it was also normal for them to drown their sorrows in drink.

Feng Sihai found nothing strange about it and immediately put on an apologetic air.

"Brothers, I acted impulsively yesterday. We can call it no friendship without a fight. This wine is your old brother's apology!"

As he spoke, he poured himself a bowl of wine and drained it in one gulp.

A smile immediately spread across Wei Luo's face.

"Brother Feng, you are too serious. The two of us were young and ignorant."

Liu Changle quickly followed up.

"Yes, yes, yes. Brother Feng's palm technique is truly solid. I benefited greatly from yesterday's fight. I feel like even my fist technique has improved quite a bit!"

Feng Sihai froze, thinking, Yesterday, this brat was still like a dim-witted fool. How had he suddenly gotten clever today?

Yet perhaps because he had drunk the doctored wine, his own mind was not working too well either. He actually stood shoulder to shoulder with Liu Changle, as close as old friends.

"Is that really so?"

"It really is!"

Amid their mutual flattery, the atmosphere became utterly harmonious. The three were only a step away from kneeling on the spot and swearing brotherhood.

"Come, come, come—drink!"

Wei Luo raised his bowl to drink, but Feng Sihai stopped him and insisted that Wei Luo and Liu Changle drink his wine instead.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Drink mine... how could it be the same... give me some face... if you don't drink, you're refusing to give me face!"

After a round of tugging and pulling, Wei Luo and Liu Changle watched Feng Sihai fill their bowls with poisoned wine. At last, they could not keep up the act any longer.

"Fuck it, I'll drink your head!"

Liu Changle smashed his wine bowl and sprang up.

But at that moment, a flash of cold light had already burst forth beside him.

Wei Luo never liked wasting words when he made a move. The dagger hidden in his sleeve shot straight for Feng Sihai's heart.

Feng Sihai was startled by the thunderbolt assault and dodged with all his might, but the dagger still plunged viciously into his shoulder. Blood instantly soaked through his clothes.

Liu Changle's fist also slammed into his lower abdomen, nearly knocking the breath out of Feng Sihai.

"You've eaten from the inside and sold it out, betrayed faith and righteousness, and even tried to harm us with such a clumsy trick. Feng Sihai, today is the day you die!"

Liu Changle's words left Feng Sihai utterly shocked.

This was completely beyond his expectations. They had only met three days ago—how had they learned of the plan he had been plotting for so long?

Countless questions surged through his mind, but Feng Sihai had no time to think. Wei Luo and Liu Changle charged at him together.

Feng Sihai's expression twisted viciously.

"So what if you know? Between the two of you and me, it is not certain who will be the deer and who the hunter!"

Though he said that, the moment Feng Sihai assumed his stance, his expression changed. Before the fight even began, he felt his limbs go weak.

"You despicable bastards! You actually set a trap for me!"

When traveling the martial world, you might not use incapacitating smoke, but you could not afford not to have it.

After Wei Luo had wiped out the Fish-Dragon Gang's branch last time, he had understood that principle. He had then spent money to buy another tube.

The facts proved that it was a sound principle.

Feng Sihai was ultimately not at the second Blood Qi refinement. He was already at a disadvantage facing two opponents alone, and with the incapacitating smoke added in, the outcome went without saying.

A few minutes later, Wei Luo punched Feng Sihai in the chest, shattering his heart meridians.

Feng Sihai died!

Before Wei Luo had even caught his breath, cries of killing came from outside.

Wei Luo hurriedly opened the door and went out to look.

On both riverbanks, more than a hundred water bandits had appeared at some unknown time. They were likely Feng Sihai's outside support.

Some water bandits had already climbed aboard and wounded several Yao Family boatmen.

They were called water bandits, but some wielded sickles while others held pick handles, wildly swinging their weapons. They were clearly a motley rabble.

At that moment, Yan Dashun and the others were fighting the water bandits with blades in hand.

Though Yan Dashun and his men were much stronger than these water bandits, they could not withstand the enemy's numbers. Several of them had already been cut down.

Even the one ear Yan Dashun had left had been hacked down to half an ear.

Seeing this, Wei Luo immediately led Liu Changle to charge toward the bow.

Several blind fools still tried to climb aboard, only for the two men to smash their brains out with a few punches.

"Die!"

After Liu Changle seized another man and snapped his neck, the surrounding water bandits finally realized that the two were no ordinary men and no longer dared approach.

Wei Luo directly hurled Feng Sihai's corpse to the ground and shouted fiercely.

"Your insider, Feng Sihai, is already dead! If you don't stop, I'll beat every last one of you to death!"

Corpses lay strewn every which way at Wei Luo and Liu Changle's feet. Feng Sihai's corpse had also taken several blows meant for Wei Luo, leaving him in an exceedingly miserable state.

The water bandits still fighting were so frightened that their courage drained away. Everyone stopped.

"Feng Sihai is dead! There are martial artists—run!"

Once the first person fled, the water bandits all threw down their weapons and jumped off the ships, fleeing in miserable disarray.

Wei Luo watched the water bandits disappear into the distance but did not pursue them.

What water bandits? They were merely displaced refugees who had been fooled by Feng Sihai.

Thus, the fleet's crisis was finally resolved.

And if Wei Luo had not learned of Feng Sihai's plot in advance, everyone aboard would likely have died.

Yao Song soon emerged from the cabin to take charge, counting the casualties and tending to the wounded.

Before long, the fleet set off once more.

Two days later, the fleet returned to Pingjiang Town.

The moment they disembarked, Wei Luo, Liu Changle, Yan Dashun, and the others were invited to the Yao Family estate.

Everyone knew it was time for rewards according to merit.

Yao Song had prepared a feast to welcome them back and wash away the dust of their journey.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, Yao Song led them to the accounting room.

"Yan Dashun, the brothers have all worked hard on this trip. One tael of silver for each man.

"The brothers who died will also receive compensation—five taels each. My Yao Family will not treat you poorly."

Yan Dashun was overjoyed when he heard this.

Though this trip had been rather dangerous, they had always lived with their lives balanced on the edge of a blade.

One tael of silver was already extremely generous, and the families of their fallen brothers would not need to worry about money for the time being.

"Thank you, Third Master Yao, for your consideration!"

After Yan Dashun and the others received their money, they looked toward Wei Luo and Liu Changle.

The fleet's safe return this time had, at its root, depended on Wei Luo and Liu Changle.

The Yao Family had used more than half its assets for this business venture, directly avoiding losses of nearly a thousand taels.

"Liu Changle, here are twenty taels of silver, a small token of regard from my Yao Family."

At the mention of twenty taels, Liu Changle's lips immediately curled upward.

He had never earned so much money in his entire life. He had thought ten taels from the Yao Family would already be quite good, yet they had given him so much at once.

Yan Dashun and the others watched with envy. The remaining seven or eight brothers combined did not have as much as Liu Changle.

Next came Wei Luo. With the Yao Family being so generous this time, everyone thought Wei Luo would surely receive even more.

Yet Yao Song also pushed forward twenty taels of silver. Everyone was stunned when they saw it.

If Wei Luo had not exposed Feng Sihai this time, the Yao Family would not even have gotten their ships back, yet they were only giving him twenty taels?

But Yao Song merely smiled and said.

"Wei Luo, these twenty taels are only your reward. In addition, my Yao Family wishes to retain you in an honorary post, with a monthly wage of ten taels of silver!"

The moment Yao Song said this, everyone was dumbfounded.

Ten taels a month for an honorary post—the Yao Family truly thought highly of Wei Luo!