The fog over the Clear Source River grew ever thicker.
On Virtue Cloth House's cargo ship, the hands went about their duties as usual. Everything proceeded smoothly, with laughter and chatter rising from time to time. They had traveled this stretch of the Clear Source River countless times and knew its every detail, so even as they were about to pass Soul Bewitchment Bend, not one of them felt the slightest fear.
But at that moment, someone noticed something was wrong.
"Not good! Unidentified vessels are approaching!"
The warning spread, jolting everyone who had been laughing and talking. At that very moment, the fog was forced apart, and three dark shapes squeezed out of it.
"River bandits! The river bandits are here..."
Once the newcomers' identities were confirmed, someone immediately cried out in alarm.
At those words, the entire cargo ship descended into chaos. Yet with the fog obscuring their view, it was already too late by the time they spotted them. They were traveling downstream, and at this point, neither changing course nor turning the ship around was realistic.
"This is River-Sweeping Bandits territory. Why would they attack us? Virtue Cloth House gives them no small amount of money every year. Are they really going to tear off all pretense with us?"
Having guessed the attackers' identities, everyone aboard was filled with confusion. But Lin Yong, the captain, understood something.
Have we been discovered? How could that be?
His face dark as still water, Lin Yong thought it over carefully, yet he could not determine where the news had leaked. For safety's sake, he had deliberately waited until today to bring An Yuxuan aboard. After so much time had passed, most outsiders believed An Yuxuan had either fled away without a trace or fallen into someone's hands, and the