Before nightfall, Marten Dock had learned that the great ships of all three northeastern docks had been burned. Word said the fires had raged on the river all day, even boiling its surface.
Jianghu rumors were often exaggerated, but within a day or two, they could hardly have strayed too far from the truth. At least Zhu Gaoyang and Pei Ye were certainly real, and so was the burning of the bait and ships.
Unlike the previous docks, which had been caught utterly unprepared, the people under Marten Dock were rather apprehensive. Zhu Gaoyang's name needed no introduction, while the legendary Pei Ye was the ruthless fellow who had laid his sword against the Fourth Prince's neck in front of the Sage. Everyone relished such things as gossip, but when it was coming for their own heads, they could hardly help swallowing nervously.
Everyone knew Zhu Gaoyang's temperament, but "Pei Ye" still left them uneasy.
Another piece of news was circulating, however: last night, aboard Wild Goose Dock's ship on the Floodwaters, all six of Mirage City's Azure Wind Envoys had appeared. Before everyone's eyes, two of them had had their throats cut and heads severed by Pei Ye and Zhu Gaoyang respectively. Their heads still hung from Wild Goose Dock's mast.
No one quite dared to verify this openly, but it was almost certainly true. Mirage City had already issued an unprecedented Azure Wind Order in every direction, demanding that anyone who spotted either man report to their dock master, and that neighboring major docks join forces to ambush, kill, and intercept them. It very much looked as though all Eight Waters would encircle the pair.
Everyone knew what sort of man Zhu Gaoyang was, and knew Pei Ye must be no ordinary figure either. But the county