"Wait, my lords."
Just as five or six members of the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry drew their blades and rose together, a towering man in plain cloth stepped out from behind a tree of his own accord and tossed a thick-backed saber onto the ground before them. "My lords, I am a saber-bearing steward of the Longwhale Gang, ordered to protect our ice-breaking crews on this trip... I saw your fire after returning from a search of the surroundings and came straight over. That was what caused this misunderstanding."
"If so, why did you not approach us directly?"
Zhou Xingfan had not even put on his brocade uniform, yet he had already slipped into his role and begun barking questions.
"Please, gentlemen, don't joke with me." The big man answered frankly. "You belong to the Jing'an Directorate. Our Longwhale Gang may help with government work, but at heart we're still men of the rivers and lakes. Once I got close enough to see who you were, I could hardly hide fast enough. How would I dare approach?"
"Then why didn't you simply leave?" Zhou Xingfan pressed with a sneer.
"I wanted to, but wasn't this Zhang Sanlang, renowned throughout the land?" The big man remained unruffled. "I got so caught up looking at him that I disturbed you, my lords."
The man was rather interesting. With a single remark, he had tacitly admitted to eavesdropping while flattering Zhang Xing, who was in charge, yet he had never actually confessed to eavesdropping. There was something to him.
"Since you're a good fellow, come have a drink." Zhang Xing finally raised his head, first gesturing to Qin Bao with his chin before calling to the man.
Without picking up his saber, the man walked over and seated himself openly beside the fire under