Across from him, Xie Chuantang had buckled her saber back on and looked up.
"This ship actually isn't an official vessel, or one belonging to the Taiping Canal." Pei Ye laid a few copper coins on the table.
Xie Chuantang knitted her brows, but Pei Ye closed the documents, looking thoughtful.
Had they not already been targeting the King of Yan's Residence, that name would indeed have been almost invisible throughout the entire affair, from the prison to Carp Hall, then the Taiping Canal, and now this. Above Carp Hall was the Taiping Canal; above the Taiping Canal were the Phantom Tower and Yu Sicheng. They were the enemies now standing in plain sight.
Even now, this ship was not directly controlled by the Taiping Transport Gang. The King of Yan's Residence had handed over all the profits and power, and thus concealed itself. Beneath the cover of this enormous web of interests, there was no knowing what it was pushing forward.
Fortunately, however, what he was pursuing now was precisely this underlying thread.
"Then whose is it?" Xie Chuantang looked at him.
"The owner operating this ship is called Fengshui Dock."
"Fengshui Dock vessel coming through! Please keep clear!"
A shout rang out in the faint dawn light, startling the dogs, donkeys, horses, and cattle at the ferry crossing. An early passenger standing at the bow turned to look. Over the river's thin morning mist, the towering silhouette of a ship approached from midstream.
"Setting sail this early-even folks doing big business think they aren't making enough." The boatman muttered in his raspy voice and twisted his oar. His covered boat spun half a circle and retreated out of the main channel.
The passenger turned back, anxious. "Hey, couldn't we just push a little harder and get across?"
"With