Chapter 278: Su Zhao's Probe

The reason the man had let go of the ship was that he had noticed cultivators flying back and forth over the island on patrol. Looking again, he could see many people on the island carrying timber aboard one ship after another.

After observing the surroundings and glancing at the darkening sky, he decided to move closer and investigate. Once again, he silently submerged.

He dared approach because this was the rolling open sea. On a lake inland, he would never have risked it: ripples caused by movement through the water could easily expose him. Here, the ocean waves quickly swallowed such signs. As he drew near the island, a confused jumble of bubbling and knocking sounds reached him through the water. Following the noise, he moved beneath one of the ships and quietly surfaced again at its stern. He did not even need to press his ear against the hull.

From inside the hold came the clatter of hammering, together with the rasp of saws cutting through wood. And it was not only this one vessel. From many of the ships to either side came the sounds of carpentry. The man considered climbing aboard for a closer look. In the end, for safety's sake, he abandoned the idea.

He searched through the water for a while, then moved farther away from the island. Surfacing now and then at a distance, he circled it once and counted the ships. Once he had a rough number in mind, he sank beneath the surface and sped away.

He stayed underwater for a long distance before surfacing to breathe. Only after he was thoroughly clear of the area and certain no one on the island could see him did he repeatedly scan his surroundings. Then he leapt onto the surface and raced back across the waves... Dakan City was the last major city on Niu Youdao's route before the Qi capital. As always, Niu Youdao wandered around the city at leisure.

Halfway through his sightseeing, a Wuliang Mountain disciple appeared. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, he gave Black Peony a slight nod from a distance. Black Peony was different from Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao truly was wandering around for pleasure. Black Peony might appear to be accompanying him casually, but she was never genuinely relaxing. Watching their surroundings was one of her responsibilities.

Yuan Gang had reminded and instructed them about this long ago, even giving a certain amount of training to the people who stayed beside Niu Youdao. Cultivator or not, there were some things cultivators simply were not as good at as professionals. When training them, Yuan Gang had made the matter explicit.

Master Dao was the helmsman, the head of everyone around him. His safety came first. Nothing could happen to him. If something did happen, none of them would have an easy time afterward. Anyone at Master Dao's side had a duty to protect his safety, filling gaps and reminding him of things he might overlook. After all, Master Dao was only one man. He had only one pair of eyes and one pair of ears.

He could not possibly keep track of everything around him at every moment, especially when traveling outside. Black Peony gave the faintest nod in acknowledgment. The Wuliang Mountain disciple immediately departed.

Later, when Niu Youdao stopped at the roadside and crouched to watch a craftsman carving woodblock prints, Black Peony bent down beside him. While chatting and laughing naturally, she quietly murmured into his ear, "Gongsun asks that we return."

Niu Youdao gave a slight nod to show he understood, but made no move to rise. He remained crouched there until he had slowly admired all the displayed woodblock prints to his satisfaction. Only then did he leisurely stand. Linghu Qiu was standing nearby with his hands clasped behind his back, looking at woodblock prints hanging for display. He had never possessed much interest in such things. But traveling with Niu Youdao, this slow-moving tortoise, had ground away even his temper. Gradually, he had learned patience.

If Niu Youdao wanted to admire them, then admire them they would. There was nothing else to do anyway.

"Elder Brother, I have some business and will return to the inn first. Will you stay here and keep looking?" Niu Youdao asked beside him.

Linghu Qiu turned in astonishment. You are going back, and I am supposed to keep admiring this rubbish?

"Then let's go back together." Linghu Qiu waved a hand.

When they returned to the inn and Linghu Qiu saw men stationed outside Niu Youdao's room to prevent anyone from approaching, he exchanged a glance with Hongxiu and Hongfu. They all understood. Something had probably happened again.

Although they still could not tell exactly what Niu Youdao was doing, none of them believed his snail's pace throughout the journey was as simple as it looked. Niu Youdao entered his room, and Black Peony quickly shut the door.

Gongsun Bu, who had been waiting inside, stood. Excitement showed faintly on his face. "Master Dao, we've found the place where the seagoing ships are being modified."

Niu Youdao looked surprised. "That fast?"

Only five days had passed since he gave the order. Goldenwing messages themselves took time to travel back and forth. Redeploying manpower took time. Identifying waters that matched the required conditions also took time.

They already had results?

Gongsun Bu nodded. "Yes. The people from the other states are still on the road. The men already in the State of Qi's coastal waters began carrying out the task first, and one of them found the place on the very first day of the actual search. That was only possible because we'd already fixed the direction of the investigation. Otherwise, with ships constantly coming and going across the sea, no one could have known which vessel had anything to do with our target."

"Good!" Niu Youdao's spirits rose as well. "Where?"

Gongsun Bu gestured toward Black Peony. She immediately brought out the map, unfolded it, and hung it on the wall.

Gongsun Bu studied the map briefly, then pointed at an area of sea southwest of the State of Qi. "Approximately here. There's an island. This stretch of water is filled with hidden reefs. Ships unfamiliar with the safe route don't dare pass through at all. Even those that know the route generally have no reason to wind through this area. The conditions match what we predicted."

Niu Youdao asked, "Has it been confirmed?"

Gongsun Bu said, "Yes. The exact number of ships anchored around the island couldn't be counted safely at close range because cultivators patrol the island. But the scout estimates there are roughly two hundred vessels, all large seagoing ships of the type we identified. He didn't dare go ashore, but he submerged beneath the vessels to investigate. He confirmed that the ships are being modified." Niu Youdao asked again, "How long would it take those ships to reach the State of Qi's coastline?"

"Just as Sister Peony judged—within roughly one day."

"Roughly two hundred ships? Looks like they're planning to move far more than ten thousand warhorses!" Niu Youdao gave a cold chuckle. Then he looked at Gongsun Bu and spoke with emphasis. "Have your people watch that place closely. The moment they see any sign the ships are being moved, report back immediately. Remember this: they do not need to do anything extra, and they do not need to take risks. Just watch. Above all, do not alert the snake by striking the grass!"

"Understood!" Gongsun Bu accepted the order at once.

After seeing him out, Black Peony returned. Niu Youdao was pacing the room in thought, so she stood quietly aside without disturbing him.

Abruptly, Niu Youdao stopped and turned toward her. "There's no longer any reason to remain here. We leave for the Qi capital immediately. Go tell Linghu Qiu and see what he wants to do."

What else could Linghu Qiu possibly say? He had supposedly come on this journey to help Niu Youdao. Naturally, he would depart with him at once... Huyan Wei was extremely efficient when he handled things. He had said he would buy up the houses around the Tofu House, and he had bought them.

He had said it would be done within three days, and there had been no possibility of the matter dragging into a fourth.

Across a narrow alley from the Tofu House, inside a private room on the upper floor of a neighboring building, Qin Mian stood by the window overlooking the alley and watched outside. At the table behind her, Su Zhao sat in plain robes, slowly eating a bowl of freshly made tofu pudding.

"He's coming," Qin Mian suddenly called softly over her shoulder.

Su Zhao set down her spoon and slowly rose. She moved to the window and looked through the half-open shutters into the alley. Yuan Gang was walking out from deeper inside. Qin Mian went to the window facing Ming Lake and waved a handkerchief. At the bend in the alley, a little girl in dirty clothes appeared holding a bowl of tofu pudding. Perhaps because she suddenly ran into Yuan Gang, her hands loosened. The earthenware bowl shattered against the ground with a crack. The tofu pudding spilled everywhere.

Looking at the food scattered over the ground, the little girl's mouth drew down in grievance. Tears rolled from her eyes one after another as she slowly crouched, apparently intending to pick it up. Yuan Gang stopped in front of her.

A man so large bent down for such a small child, slowly crouching in front of her. "It's broken. Leave it."

The girl sobbed miserably. "It was for Grandma."

Yuan Gang reached out and helped her stand. He wiped away her tears. Rare tenderness appeared on his normally stern face.

"It's all right. Buy another one."

The little girl shook her head through her sobs. "I don't have any money left."

Yuan Gang took out a handful of coins and offered them to her. The girl shook her head and stepped back, clearly afraid to accept money from a stranger.

"I know your grandmother..." Yuan Gang said something more, then reached out and took the girl's hand.

One tall figure and one tiny figure walked away from the alley hand in hand.

A little later, Qin Mian, who had been craning out the front window toward the Tofu House, drew her head back in and laughed softly. "That big fellow really did buy the girl another serving. A larger one, too."

Su Zhao, who had remained silent, slowly came to the same window. The girl now carried a small earthenware pot instead of a bowl, tied securely with hemp cord so it could be carried by the handle. She went happily on her way. Su Zhao slowly returned to the table and looked at the tofu pudding in her own bowl. Her thoughts would not settle.

The warm image of that large man and tiny child walking hand in hand remained in her mind and refused to fade.

That day, when An Taiping had said there was "no distinction between high and low, noble and base," the words had shaken her inwardly.

The reason they had struck so deeply was that no one knew the torment she carried in her heart. She yearned for a happy ending with that man whose intelligence bordered on the uncanny, whose appearance was refined and handsome, and whose ability was so formidable.

But what was she?

A woman of the pleasure quarters. Worse, everyone knew she was the forbidden woman of a certain prince. That reputation could never be erased.

Facing the realities of this world, she had asked herself more than once, and had asked Shao Pingbo more than once as well:

Would he truly marry her?

Shao Pingbo's answer had always been unequivocal. Yet she still carried an uncertainty she could not put into words. If Shao Pingbo truly achieved great success one day and stood high above others, would he genuinely marry a woman with a reputation like hers? In this world, An Taiping's words were almost shocking enough to overturn convention.

It was not only the three young troublemakers who had found them unbelievable. Even she had thought them extraordinary, despite the fact that they touched the softest place in her heart.

And afterward, that An Taiping had even used his own body to shield a maid from a pleasure house, taking the lashes of those chaotic whips in her place. Su Zhao had suspected he was putting on an act. So she decided to test him again.

She wanted to see what kind of man An Taiping was when he was not standing before a crowd, when no one was watching him in private. Some things did not require grand demonstrations. A single movement, a single glance, could reveal the truth. Yet what had just happened went far beyond what she had expected from the test. The tenderness he showed to one poor little girl made her scalp tingle.

Only now did she understand, deeply and unmistakably, what "no distinction between high and low, noble and base" meant in this man's heart.

This man truly did not belong with the values of this world. He was someone who genuinely would not care whether a woman had come from a brothel!

[End of Chapter 278]