Chapter 46: Boarding the Ship

Early the next morning, at the port of Changning River, dozens of freight carriages were parked before a massive vessel. Armed guards moved back and forth, loading cargo onto the ship. Others stood guard a hundred meters away to prevent anyone from approaching. This was the convoy of the Prince Fu's Estate.

The accumulations of decades were vast; even with every guard in the estate being a post-natal martial artist, it would still take a couple of hours to load everything. Yu Xian stood on the deck, the Seven-Star Treasured Sword hanging at his waist, his hand resting on the railing as he felt the river breeze. Beside him was Doctor Huang, who had come to bid him farewell.

"Doctor Huang, the day the city falls is fast approaching. If you stay, your chances of survival are slim to none. Why not come north with us? The Prince's Estate is certainly not short of a meal for you."

Doctor Huang stroked his goatee and said, "Brother Yu, this old man is fifty-six years old this year. Over the years, in my pursuit of studying various medicines, I have inflicted quite a few ailments upon myself. I likely don't have many years left. As the saying goes, it is hard to leave one's homeland, and fallen leaves return to their roots. This old man still wishes to die in his hometown. Besides, I am a doctor. Even if the rebel army arrives, I imagine they won't make things too difficult for me."

With that, he pulled a slightly frayed booklet from his bosom. "However, the ways of the world are unpredictable. In the unlikely event that this old man unfortunately perishes, it would truly be a pity for this medical art to be lost. I ask that Brother Yu kindly find a successor for me. Otherwise, if my life's research is left without an heir, I would not rest easy even in the netherworld."

Yu Xian paused, accepted Doctor Huang's medical heritage, and sighed, "It is a pity that I will no longer be able to drink your medicinal wine, Doctor Huang."

Doctor Huang laughed heartily in response, "It is already an honor for this old man's wine to find a kindred spirit. The journey ahead is long and arduous. Brother Yu, I wish you a safe trip, and may we never meet again."

He cupped his fists, turned around, and strode down the gangplank. His retreating figure possessed an inexplicable air of nonchalance.

Yu Xian put away Doctor Huang's medical manual and turned his gaze to a third person.

"Elder Ding, you are an elder of the Changle Sword Sect. Why do you also wish to come with us? I have already given the antidote to Chief Constable Zhou. As long as you are willing to cooperate with him, I believe he will not withhold your antidote."

Ding Gongfeng offered a bitter smile and said, "Lord Supervisor, I would love to stay, but I am afraid I would lose my little life if I did. Chief Constable Zhou has already made up his mind to go down with the ship. Even though he promised to hand over the antidote formula after defending the city, the others in the Tribute Pavilion will not be so willing to obey. I am unattached and unburdened; rather than throwing my life away following him, I might as well head north with you. At least my survival will be guaranteed. Furthermore, I was first an elder of the Changle Sword Sect, then entered the Zhuxian Alliance, was subsequently subdued by the Qinglong Society, then joined the Prince's Estate, and am now commanded by you, Lord Supervisor. Aside from following you, where else can I go? If I return now, I won't be able to give anyone a clear account."

Yu Xian smiled. "You certainly are honest."

After his identity was exposed, Ding Le had very straightforwardly spilled all the details of his background. He had grown up in the Changle Sword Sect since he was young, and later, when he went out to hone his skills, he accidentally learned of the existence of cultivators. After breaking through to the pre-natal realm, he joined the Zhuxian Alliance, attempting to ambush cultivators through the alliance in order to obtain their legacy. However, after several operations by the Zhuxian Alliance, he had almost lost his life while gaining absolutely nothing. Thus, he had returned to his sect, keeping only a nominal affiliation with the Zhuxian Alliance to gather intelligence, though his obsession with the cultivators' legacy never faded.

It wasn't until two years ago that the grand elder of his sect introduced him to the Qinglong Society. This was a rising organization, yet immensely powerful. It was rumored that the leader was a cultivator, and as long as one made sufficient contributions to the society, one would have the opportunity to become a cultivator themselves. One could only guess how many martial arts veterans had been lured in by this promise. Ding Le had received a mission from the Qinglong Society to infiltrate the Prince's Estate as a spy. Originally, after entering the estate, he had wanted to use Yu Xian to establish his authority, raise his status in Prince Fu's eyes, and thereby gain access to the estate's secrets. As a result, he had been slapped into a miserable state by Yu Xian, forcing him to keep a low profile and serve the estate wholeheartedly. Finally, while waiting, he had managed to make contact with his handler, passing out intelligence from the estate and looking forward to an inside-and-outside coordinated attack to complete his mission and become a cultivator.

To his surprise, his handler had promptly turned around and attempted to abduct and violate the Princess Consort, nearly burning him to death when he tried to block the way. After that, his identity as a spy was exposed by Yu Xian, and for the sake of his life, he had no choice but to change masters once again. It could be said he had gained zero benefits and had only been ordered around to do menial labor. Now, he just wanted to find a place where no one knew him and live out the rest of his life in peace.

"Protect the Princess Consort until we reach the capital, and I will give you the antidote so you can leave."

Seeing that Ding Le wished to stay, Yu Xian allowed it and gave his promise to reassure him.

Ding Le's expression lit up with joy. "Really?"

Yu Xian said quite honestly, "You are already a person of four different factions. Even though you are poisoned by me, I do not wish to keep such an unstable factor by my side. So rest assured, your value is not yet great enough for me to break my promise."

The poison in Ding Le's body was insolvable to ordinary martial artists, but it was not very effective against cultivators. Even a cultivator at the middle stage of Qi Refinement could help him clear out the Gu worms through physical contact. Moreover, he lacked any firm stance; once cured of the poison, he could turn traitor again in a split second. Keeping him around was simply because his strength as a grandmaster martial artist made him useful for doing odd jobs along the northern journey.

Unfazed by Yu Xian's depreciation, Ding Le instead said with delight, "Lord Supervisor, rest assured. Along this journey, I will definitely protect the Princess Consort and the young prince."

"I shall wait and see," Yu Xian said indifferently.

Ding Le retreated full of hope, even rolling up his sleeves to help the estate's guards load the cargo, putting on a thoroughly dedicated appearance.

Yu Xian cast his gaze into the distance and saw many ordinary people by the riverbank, families and households kneeling toward the port from afar, begging the nobles to pity them and grant them a way out by leaving a spot on the ships for them. With the city gates now closed and the waterways blocked by imperial soldiers, a single boat ticket was worth a thousand pieces of gold. These people could neither afford the price nor find any connections, so they could only resort to such methods.

Before long, managers from several wealthy households in the city disembarked from another ship. They strolled through the crowd making selections, picking out girls with pretty faces and dragging them onto the vessel. The others stared blankly; some even actively pushed their own sons and daughters forward, begging only to be allowed aboard together.

"The rebel army won't massacre the city when they break through. These wealthy families are just afraid of losing their fortunes. Why are you all in such a rush to flee along with them? Taking all your belongings onto a ship with no support, do you really think you can follow them all the way to the end?"

Yu Xian sighed inwardly. He could not save everyone. He was fleeing for his life himself and lacked the confidence to persuade others, so he withdrew his gaze and pretended not to see.

However, just as his mood turned somewhat vexed, the cries of a girl reached his ears.

"I'm begging you, I don't want to get on the ship! Let me down, I want to find my father!"

He turned his head to look and saw that at the entrance on the other end of the deck, a pale-faced, unsteady-footed young lord was watching smugly as two servants dragged a young girl aboard.

"You're the ones begging to come up yourselves, I didn't force you. Since the journey is lonely, this young master will graciously accept you. Take her to my room first; I'll slowly play with her tonight."

The young lord laughed wildly and instructed the manager nearby, "Wu Liu, go back down and pick a few more for this young master. It's usually not easy to get to play with a decent maiden."

Damn it, a ready-made punching bag delivering itself to his doorstep!

Yu Xian rolled his neck, flicked his wrist in a sword flourish, walked straight forward, and slapped the young lord across the shoulder with the flat of his sword.

"Let her go."