It was raining heavily at the Star Pier, and everything was covered in rain. It was dark, just like that rainy night thirty years ago.
Uncle Ming held an umbrella, and the lenses of his glasses were covered with a thin layer of mist, making it difficult to tell what he was thinking or looking at.
Luo Wei and Haruyo each held a black cloth umbrella with a wooden handle, just like their habit in the police academy.
"You've always said you wanted to go out and have a look, why don't you go with Yin Xiu and the others?" Luo Wei asked.
"Go north and seek death?"
Haruyo sighed, "I also know what level I am. It's okay to fight a few gangsters. How about running to the north? If you throw a brick, you can knock out dozens of masters. I'm going, I'm just a burden." .”
Luo Wei spread his hands, "It seems we can't be of much help."
"Not necessarily."
Haruyo suddenly blinked at him, "You know that Father Benjamin, right?"
"I know, I've dealt with him several times, what's wrong?"
"I met him recently and we got along quite well with him. He taught me a trick that can help Yin Xiu and the others even if they are far away."
"What?" Luo Wei asked in surprise.
Haruyo crossed his fingers together, bowed his head and said devoutly: "Pray."
"..."
Luo Wei straightened his collar and looked into the distance.
At the edge of the pier, Ma Xiaoyu and Yin Xiu stood together, holding an umbrella together.
"Your shoulders are wet."
Ma Xiaoyu gently stroked the water droplets off half of Yin Xiu's shoulders.
"No big deal."
Yin Xiu moved the umbrella closer to Ma Xiaoyu, "Actually..."
"Actually what?"
Ma Xiaoyu looked up at him, and the long silver earrings on her ears swayed, making Yin Xiu's eyes blurred.
After a pause, he said: "Actually, what I want to say is that the north is not a good place to go. My trip now must be very difficult and dangerous.
Although I didn’t have to go, I went because I wanted to.
But as for you, Xiaoyu, I really can’t think of a reason why you must go to Changbai Mountain. ”
"If you can't think of it, just think about it slowly."
Ma Xiaoyu glared at him, "Do you know how troublesome it is for a girl to pack her clothes for a long trip? I brought two suitcases, and now you ask me if I can not go?
What, are you entertaining me? ”
Yin Xiu shook her head repeatedly, "I don't dare. No one dares to entertain you while I entertain you."
"You better be!"
Ma Xiaoyu glared at him again, and then turned her gaze to the sea.
The night rain fell, and the sea became dark and mysterious.
The two stood in silence for a while, and then the boatman began to call for people - the time for sailing was approaching.
Yin Xiu and Ma Xiaoyu walked to the side of the boat.
It was a medium-sized ship with huge, powerful metal turbines installed on both sides.
The larger these steam-driven turbines are, the more powerful they are.
When fuel is sufficient, these boats will soar on the water like flying fish, bump through the waves, and quickly disappear from the sight of others.
In order to enable fast navigation over long distances, almost all equipment that hindered navigation was removed.
There is no viewing platform, no lifeboat, and even the windows are only small and narrow, used for ventilation.
Only at the stern of the ship was a mast as thick as a bowl erected, allowing sailors to climb to the top and look at the movement on the sea.
The sailor shouted twice, and a man emerged from the cabin, and he happened to meet Yin Xiu's eyes.
"Is it you?"
"Are you, a sea dog?"
"Thank you for remembering me, Emperor."
The seal touched his bald head sheepishly.
"You don't box anymore?"
"Why do we still box? The Kowloon boxing ring is gone, and..."
He touched the long incision on his abdomen, "This scar you gave me will remind me all my life that the boxing ring is more dangerous than the sea.
I originally wanted to box for a few more years, but this wound stopped me from thinking too much.
It just so happened that the apprentice of the ship king Li, that is, the gown, fell into the sea after eating a midnight snack last week and drowned, leaving the ship and a group of sailors who didn't know what to do, so I took over. ”
"Continue to be a pirate?"
"Don't dare to talk nonsense!"
The seal made a silencing gesture.
“If you are caught being a pirate, you will be hanged, and it is a sunset industry, and you can’t make much money.
Become the king and hegemon at sea, only to end up selling the stolen goods ashore and still have to suffer the indignity of those second-rate dealers? I can't do it.
So what I am currently engaged in is the most promising and prosperous industry. People in the industry call it population transportation. ”
"It's just smuggling!" Yin Xiu said clearly.
"Call it whatever you want!"
There was a trace of blush on Sea Dog's face, "Anyway, right now, I am the only one in the entire Hong Kong Island who can take such an order.
If Mr. Liu hadn't given us enough money, we really wouldn't want to travel so far, from Hong Kong Island to outside the customs!
I traveled all over Kyushu! Along the way, we would encounter pirates, marine police, court sailors, and foreign warships. If it had been anyone else, no one would have dared to accept it, no matter how much money it was! ”
As he said that, he glanced at Yin Xiu again, "But if you are here, the emperor, everyone can feel at ease. At least I dare to sleep during the night watch."
"You better not sleep!"
Yin Xiu reminded: "If you fall asleep and hit an iceberg in the middle of the night, our entire ship will be ruined! We will die!"
"Hey, where did the icebergs come from in the subtropical zone? Are you lying to me that you haven't studied geography?"
While the two were chatting, Uncle Ming caught a glimpse of a figure from the corner of his eye.
Taoist Master Qingyun came again, holding a paper umbrella in one hand and the scepter representing the authority of the Heavenly Master in the other.
Seeing the stick is like seeing a person. Uncle Ming, Yin Xiu, and Ma Xiaoyu all stood in awe, stood up straight and saluted him.
Taoist Priest Qingyun responded to them and said to Yin Xiu and Ma Xiaoyu: "The Heavenly Master said that he asked me to give you a ride."
Hearing this, Uncle Ming was quite surprised.
If Taoist Master Qingyun comes by himself, then he will come. This is his personal choice.
But if he comes with this scepter, it represents Nangong Baixing and the entire Maoshan Sect.
The entire Maoshan faction came to see Yin Xiu and his party off?
"Master Heavenly Master, do you have any instructions for us?" Yin Xiu asked.
Qingyun shook his head, "The Heavenly Master only asked me to see you off. There is no need to say anything or do anything. I just watch you leave Hong Kong."
"Oh, I understand." Yin Xiu nodded.
This is very similar to Nangong Baixing's way of doing things.
There were no instructions or words, but asking Taoist Priest Qingyun to come with the staff was already a statement.
At the same time, two more people came into the rain.
The leader was Lin Hu. He was wearing a coir raincoat and a bamboo hat. His footsteps brought up mud and water in the rain, but he did not show any signs of stagnation.
Behind him was a man who was about the same size as him and looked thinner.
"Yin Xiu! I'm here to give you a ride today!" Lin Hu said boldly.
"I'm interested." Yin Xiu nodded at him.
Without waiting for Yin Xiu to ask, Lin Hu took another step to let the man behind him reveal himself.
Like those I saw before, this man was probably in his early thirties, very thin, and his face was pale, as if he had not seen the sun for a long time.
Just looking at his walking pace, Yin Xiu could already see the weakness inside him. It was obvious that his foundation had been damaged and had not healed for a long time.
This man has a pair of knife eyes, and when he looks at you lightly, it is like a knife, slicing from the top of your head to the soles of your feet, as if he wants to see through your entire being.
The most special thing is that he carries six long swords on his back, black, white, blue, red and purple, and the six-color hilts are particularly dazzling.
"This is Ren Qi."
Lin Hu laughed awkwardly, "He wants to come to see you, but I lost the fight, so I can only bring him here."
"Did you lose?" Yin Xiu couldn't help but be a little surprised.
Lin Hu was at the seventh level of the Mysterious Entrance, coupled with the increasingly sophisticated Cangzhou Spear. As far as weapons were concerned, Yin Xiu thought that it would be difficult to even get close to him.
And such a person who could hardly find any opponent actually lost the fight without any injuries on his body.
Sometimes defeating the opponent without causing the opponent to get hurt is a more terrifying display of strength.
Because it means he can move freely and everything is under control.
"Wait!"
Yin Xiu suddenly remembered another thing, "Only a few people know that we are leaving Hong Kong. It just happened that he came at this time?"
"Actually..."
Liu Banxian got out of the cabin.
"Actually, we are not the only ones who know that I want to go to Changbai Mountain. This is such a big event. How could I not publicize it before departure? So I told a few mamasangs I knew in the nightclub, as well as a few bosses and reporters. ”
"How many?"
Yin Xiu couldn't wait to push Liu Banxian's head into the water right now.
"Liu Banxian, do you know what secret operations are!?"
"I thought the news wouldn't spread so quickly..." Liu Banxian wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I'm convinced."
Ma Xiaoyu also sighed, walked to the side and looked at Yin Xiu, with an expression like "You are not careful in making friends."
"My name is Ren Qi, and I want to go with your ship outside the customs." The swordsman suddenly said.
Yin Xiu glanced at him and refused: "Our ship is not a ticket seller, and you can't come just because you have money."
"I don't have any money either." Ren Qifeng said calmly.
"Why do you want to go outside the customs?"
Yin Xiu and him looked at each other, and the murderous aura could be felt even without speaking.
"Like you, I want to go to Changbai Mountain."
"Is it that simple?"
"It's not simple either."
Ren Qi said: "I want to go to Changbai Mountain and kill the White Lotus Saint."
"Do you have a grudge against her?"
"It's not like we have any grudge against her."
Ren Qi said calmly: "I have a grudge against the White Lotus Sect. It turns out that I was an errand in Da Nei. Leng Yu, one of the four famous swordsmen, maybe you have heard of this name."
Yin Xiu looked at Ma Xiaoyu, then at Uncle Ming and others, and the responses she received were all confused and shaking their heads.
"Never heard of it," Yin Xiu said, spreading her hands.
"It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of it."
Ren Qi coughed twice, "Anyway, the White Lotus Sect has a grudge against me. Half of my family members died at the hands of the White Lotus Sect, so I want to take revenge."
"But you are from the imperial court, and I don't believe you."
"I'm not done yet."
Ren Qi looked calm, "The other half of my family died at the hands of the imperial court."
"Why are you looking for us?" Liu Banxian was also confused.
"Because you have a boat and I have no money."
"But people who eat in a restaurant will not share half of their food with a beggar just because they see him hungry."
"I'm not a beggar!"
Ren Qi's eyes widened, "I am not an expert at the moment, nor anything else. I am just a person who wants to seek revenge from the imperial court and the White Lotus Sect.
But the imperial court is too big, and I haven’t figured it out for a while. The White Lotus Sect is not big, so I want to start with them first. ”
"Your ambition is not small."
Yin Xiu grinned, "Then tell me, what are the benefits of having me as an extra burden on the ship."
Ren Qi crossed his arms and looked calm.
"I'm just a fellow shipmate. I won't ask you what you are going to do. If you can guess it, I won't tell you.
Whatever happens to you along the way, I'll help you sort it out. ”
"How long have you been in Hong Kong Island?"
"Seven years."
"Seven years? Why didn't you do this before and wait until now? Just because you have no money?"
Ren Qi just looked at the rain curtain, "Seven years is neither short nor long. I was depressed for some time, just drinking and smoking, which made my body useless.
It wasn’t until recently that I realized clearly that if I don’t do some things now, I won’t have the thought or energy to do them in the future. ”
"Which sword do you usually use?"
Yin Xiu looked at the sword pouch on his back.
"Use all seven."
"Show me?"
Ren Qi shook his head, "You will see blood when the sword is taken out of the scabbard."
"Okay!"
Yin Xiu nodded, "I can take you with me."
Ren Qi was a little surprised by how straightforward he was, "What do you want me to do?"
"It's very simple."
Yin Xiu pointed at Liu Banxian, "You protect him for me. Before arriving at Changbai Mountain, if he loses a hair..."
"I'll give you a life!" Ren Qi's eyes widened.
"Okay! It's a deal!"
Luo Wei and Uncle Ming looked on in confusion and just shook their heads.
For such an unknown person who broke in halfway, Yin Xiu only asked a few questions before letting him on board.
Lin Hu, on the other hand, watched with red eyes. What is chivalry and what is Jianghu? Isn't it right in front of him?
After the seal inspected the ship, he signaled to Yin Xiu that he could board the ship.
"Brother Xiong didn't come?"
"This bad boy is probably still angry."
Uncle Ming crossed his arms, "But it's okay. He will be fine in a few days. You don't have to worry about it."
"I know, tell him I'm sorry for me."
After saying goodbye to everyone one by one, Yin Xiu held onto the railing and sent Ma Xiaoyu into the cabin first, and then got in herself.
The ship's engine started, pushing it slowly away from the port.
At this moment, a hoarse shout came from the rain curtain.
"Yin! Show!"
Yin Xiu poked his head out of the cabin and saw a bloated figure running awkwardly on the shore.
When he came closer, Yin Xiu recognized the person as Cai Huaxiong.
But his eyes were red at this time, his face was covered with stubble, and he looked very haggard, as if he hadn't slept in several days.
"Yin! Xiu!" he shouted again.
"Here! Here!"
Regardless of the wind and rain, Yin Xiu stood on the deck and waved to him, her eyes also turning red.
"Yin Xiu! Go on! I made this for you!"
Caihuaxiong used all his strength to throw a long package over, and it almost fell into Yin Xiu's hands.
"What is this!?" Yin Xiu shouted.
Naihuaxiong on the shore also opened his mouth wide, as if he was saying something, but the sound of rain blocked everything, and no other sound could be heard except the sound of water waves breaking.
At the same time, Caihuaxiong's figure was gradually isolated by the rain curtain, and finally there was only boundless darkness all around. Uncle Ming and the others could no longer be seen, and the lights on the shore could no longer be seen.
Yin Xiu and the others finally embarked on their journey to the north.
Yin Xiu stood in the rain, feeling that the package in his hands was so heavy that it made his hands tremble. (End of chapter)