Chapter 692: Traveling by boat
The man had a weather-beaten face, his skin like leather kneaded and scoured a thousand times. He wore the same straw sandals as the man who had left, seemingly bought from the same stall. His trouser legs were bound, exposing half his calves; all he lacked was a bamboo hat to complete the most usual waterman's attire.
But a sword in a worn leather sheath hung at his waist, and his shoulders and neck lacked the slight stoop of years of labor. His whole figure was relaxed and upright.
Qiu Qianshui watched him for a while, then slowly raised his hands in a fist salute. "Fortress Master He, long time no see."
It was indeed the Fengshui Dock master who had vanished late last autumn, before the new year: "Strange Flood Dragon" He Changge. Unlike Wild Goose Dock, Fengshui Dock was a major gang ranked among the top five on the Eight Waters. He Changge was not only a highly seasoned second-realm grandmaster but also He Wujian's only son, giving him a unique prestige among the Eighteen Docks.
Before the new year, the Southern Golden Wind had been sunk and destroyed at Yang Family Ferry, "Black Cloud over the River" Chen Renzhong had died, and He Changge's whereabouts had become unknown. Fengshui Dock had then been carved up from all sides, like a great fish truly dead in the water, eaten down to its skeleton in a day and two nights.
Qiu Qianshui had not expected him to be alive.
"Fortress Master He, have you returned to Fengshui Dock lately?" Qiu Qianshui paused, glanced back at Qiu Luo surrounded by the others, then looked back. "My dock has some news."
"We've all made our living on the water for decades. What could possibly be new?"