The caravan traveled west along the boundary river for nearly half an hour. Instead of dissipating, the dense fog grew even heavier.
Zhao Si rode on his horse, his left hand gripping the reins, while his right hand unconsciously reached for the red sandalwood box in his chest pocket. Inside the box lay a glazed wolf sculpture, personally handed to him by Lord He before his departure.
"Get this done, and I guarantee you a promotion to sentry commander."
Lord He's words still echoed in his ears. Zhao Si grinned, feeling that this errand was truly exhilarating.
Making a trip to Wild Fox Beach, handing these fancy trinkets over to the Herlen barbarians, and bringing back cattle, sheep, and grain for the deputy general's estate—he, Zhao Si, would be the number one hero.
As for some imperial envoy, what did that have to do with him?
Qian Fugui rode a skinny donkey, bumping along at the tail end of the caravan.
He hadn't said much along the way. It wasn't until they reached the outskirts of Wild Fox Beach that he reined in his donkey, wiped the moisture from his face, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Master Zhao! Wild Fox Beach is just ahead!"
Zhao Si raised a hand, and the caravan came to a halt.
The riverbank was covered with crushed stones. The sound of the boundary river's water was hidden behind the fog, indistinct to the ear.
Zhao Si jumped off his horse and stomped on the ground a few times. It was solid, with no mud.
"Not bad."
Qian Fugui led his donkey over and lowered his voice. "Master Zhao, regarding the handover procedure, the imperial envoy previously set the rules..."
"What rules?"
"Red and blue lanterns." Qian Fugui quickly pulled out an oil-paper package and opened it. Inside were two folded lanterns, one red and one blue.
"The imperial envoy said that we hang the red lantern on the south bank, and the Herlen people hang the blue lantern on the north bank. The goods are pushed to the sandbar in the middle of the river, and both sides retreat a hundred paces. No one crosses the boundary, and neither side sees the other's face."
Zhao Si took the lanterns and turned them over to look at them.
"What's the use of this piece of trash?"
"Master Zhao, this is a signal. Only with the lanterns can we confirm that we are on the same side. The contact on the Herlen side recognizes this pair of lanterns..."
"Shut up."
Zhao Si threw the lanterns on the ground and stomped on them.
Qian Fugui's words caught in his throat.
Zhao Si crouched down, scratched two lines on the ground with his short sword, muttered something, and then looked around.
The fog was too thick; anyone three steps away was just a blurry gray silhouette.
"Manager Qian, how many years have you been working in this border market?"
"To answer Master Zhao, I've been in office for six years."
"Then tell me." Zhao Si stood up, pointing the tip of his sword toward the river. "On a foggy day like this, if we light lanterns at Wild Fox Beach, will the hidden sentries of the patrol camp be able to see them?"
Qian Fugui froze for a moment.
Zhao Si sneered. "One red and one blue, hung on the riverbank. What's the difference between that and telling the whole world that we're doing business here? Was that woman named Xu kicked in the head by a donkey?"
"Master Zhao, this..."
"Cut the crap!" Zhao Si raised his voice and jutted his chin at the guards behind him. "Go find a boat by the river. No torches, no lanterns, no noise. I'll row to the middle of the river to make the exchange myself."
Qian Fugui quickly followed and grabbed Zhao Si's sleeve.
"Master Zhao! Master Zhao, please listen to me! I didn't set these rules; the imperial envoy agreed on them with the Herlen man, Sarhan! If you don't hang the lantern, how will the people on the other side recognize that you are..."
Before he could finish, the cold back of a blade was pressed against Qian Fugui's cheek.
"Say one more word, and believe it or not, I'll throw you in the river to feed the fish."
Qian Fugui's mouth snapped shut.
Zhao Si sheathed his sword and strode toward the river.
Two guards had already found a dilapidated flat-bottomed ferry boat in the reeds. The bottom of the boat had two holes the size of fingernails, which they plugged with rags, making it barely usable.
Zhao Si took the red sandalwood box from his chest, weighed it in his hand, carefully tucked it back, and patted the pouch on the other side of his waist.
Inside were two sealed jars of strong liquor samples.
"Zhang Tiezhu, you watch the men and carts on the shore. I'll be right back."
"Brother Si, why don't I go with you..."
"No need." Zhao Si stepped onto the boat. The boat swayed twice and steadied.
He picked up the oars and dropped a sentence in a low voice, "Too many people going will alert the enemy. That stray dog Sarhan is dying to do business with us. Once I show him the goods, won't he have to beg me on his knees?"
The oars entered the water, and the boat left the shore.
Qian Fugui stood on the crushed stones of the riverbank, watching the small boat being swallowed inch by inch by the thick fog. Only the creaking sound of the oars drifted over, growing farther and fainter.
He lowered his head, his gaze falling on the crushed red lantern at his feet. Its paper frame was broken, and the red gauze was torn into several pieces, rolling toward the reeds in the river breeze.
A passage Xu Qinghuan had told him before she left now spun in his mind word by word.
"Manager Qian, if someone doesn't follow the rules, you don't need to do anything. Just watch."
What did "just watch" mean?
Qian Fugui hadn't understood at the time.
Now, he seemed to understand a little.
...
Middle of the river.
Zhao Si rowed for about half an incense stick of time. The sound of the oars became more muffled, and the fog was so thick that he could barely see the bow of the boat. He stopped rowing and pricked up his ears to listen.
Another sound of oars came from ahead.
The other party also had no lights and was moving in the dark.
Zhao Si felt secretly smug.
That old fox Sarhan was truly an expert used to smuggling! He thought the same way, knowing that lights couldn't be lit on a foggy day, knowing that this kind of business couldn't see the light of day.
"It seems this errand is going even smoother than I thought," Zhao Si muttered softly. He secured the oars on the gunwale and freed his hands to adjust his collar.
Lord He had said to keep Sarhan under control and not give him a good attitude.
This Herlen barbarian was already a stray dog in the royal court, begging us to sell him things.
The more anxious he is, the more we have to put on airs, so the price can be driven up.
The shadow of the opposite boat gradually emerged from the fog. At first, it was just a dark silhouette, then the upward curve of the bow, and then a human figure squatting on the boat.
Zhao Si cleared his throat.
"Sar..."
A morning breeze swept across the river from east to west, carrying the fishy smell of the river water, blowing open a corner of the thick fog between the two boats.
The person on the opposite boat stood up.
The man was tall, wrapped in a dusty gray woolen cloak with the hood pulled very low. But in the moment it was lifted by the wind, half a face was revealed beneath the brim.
High cheekbones, rough skin, and on the left cheek, there was an old scar from a knife slash that ran diagonally from the brow bone to the corner of the mouth.
On the shore, Qian Fugui stood on his tiptoes, desperately peering toward the middle of the river.
The fog was too thick; he couldn't see anything.
But that morning breeze also blew to the shore, bending the reeds on the riverbank, and the thick fog briefly tore open a rift.
Qian Fugui squinted his eyes to look.
The scabbard of the curved sword hanging from the waist of the man standing on the bow of that boat was inlaid with a row of thumb-sized silver rivets, and the tail of the scabbard was decorated with a cluster of wolf hair tassels.
Qian Fugui had seen this type of scabbard design in the border market; he had only seen it on the military officers of the Herlen Khanate!
The newcomer was actually not Sarhan!
