The soldier at the entrance stopped him. "Captain Sheng, what business do you have?"
Sheng He was even more furious. On his own turf, yet he had to be announced just to enter this Jinyang Army camp.
But now wasn’t the time for a full-blown conflict with the Jinyang Army. He forced himself to take a few breaths before suppressing his anger. "I need to speak with your commander."
Before the soldier could relay the message, Xia Chanyi emerged from the tent. "What business do you have with me?"
Seeing her nonchalant demeanor, Sheng He’s heart, liver, and lungs trembled with rage.
"You... what do you people of the Jinyang Army mean? You said you’d take the boat out to test its performance and come right back, yet you haven’t returned till now. What’s the meaning of this?"
Xia Chanyi snorted coldly. "I should be asking you the same. My Lord went out to test the boat and hasn’t returned. You need to give me an explanation."
Sheng He was stunned, incredulous. "What do you mean? You owe me an explanation!"
Xia Chanyi frowned tightly. "What explanation do I owe you? The boat is yours, and the people piloting it were arranged by you."
"My Lord hasn’t returned yet. Either your boat has a problem, or your people do. If you won’t give me an explanation, why should I give you one?"
"You—" Sheng He angrily raised his hand to point at Xia Chanyi.
With a sharp swoosh, Xia Chanyi’s broadsword pointed at Sheng He. "What? Are you trying to silence me?"
Sheng He: "..."
He withdrew his hand awkwardly and took another deep breath to calm himself. "Please, just tell me truthfully: where have you taken the boat?"
Xia Chanyi’s eyes turned cold as she sheathed her sword. "You should be telling me where you have taken my Lord’s boat."
She looked Sheng He up and down with suspicion. "The boats you gave us Jinyang Army—are they all junk? Did they fall apart at sea?"
Then, her voice turned indignant. "Don’t try to shirk responsibility! The boat and the crew are yours. Now the boat hasn’t come back, so something must have happened."
Sheng He fumed. "The crew is ours, yes, but most of the people on board are from your Jinyang Army. Our people are just sailors—what could they do?"
"What could they do?" Xia Chanyi shot back. "At sea, sailors have plenty they can do."
"So, you noble families—using a few dozen crew members to make my Lord disappear, just like that!"
Then, as if struck by a revelation, she said, "No wonder you insisted on using your own crew to sail. So that’s your scheme. It seems you want to make enemies of the Jinyang Army!"
Sheng He’s heart pounded violently. "Don’t you slander me!"
Recalling something, he lashed out, "You’re the ones who planned this all along! That’s why you loaded so many things onto the boat."
"You... you didn’t sail it back to Gefeng, did you?" Sheng He exclaimed in shock and fury.
Xia Chanyi: "..."
"Gefeng has no sea and isn’t coastal. How could we sail it back? Carry it back on our shoulders? If you want to smear and slander us, at least use your brain and come up with a plausible excuse."
Sheng He retorted, "Even if the boat can’t be carried to Gefeng, you could have docked it somewhere else!"
Xia Chanyi sneered. "Don’t you know better than us where it’s safe to dock? Where is there a place to dock?"
Sheng He saw she was unyielding, showing no sign of guilt, and felt a splitting headache. His thoughts were in turmoil, as if something beyond his control was at play.
Knowing there would be no result in debating further, he turned and left.
Xia Chanyi shouted after his back, "Your noble family must give our Jinyang Army an explanation, or be ready for our retaliation!"
Sheng He stumbled, nearly losing his balance. He turned back to look at Xia Chanyi.
Seeing her cold and fierce expression, she looked as if the nobles really had done something to Princess Jinyang.
He couldn’t help but frown, doubting his own judgment for the first time. Could something really have happened to the boat?
Without another word, Sheng He mounted his horse and galloped toward Dongcheng County. This matter had to be reported to the clan head for a decision.
Night fell, and lanterns were hung on every boat. In the vast, boundless sea, this faint light was nearly nonexistent, but it served to indicate their positions to one another.
Under normal circumstances, sailing at night was extremely dangerous—visibility was poor, and it was impossible to discern directions.
However, for Jiang Jin, who had a compass and a telescope, it posed no problem at all.
Xie Nanxiao touched the night-vision telescope, grinning widely. "Lord, I’ll take the night watch. You should rest."
Yun Chengxuan refused to be outdone. "I have good eyesight too. I want to take a watch!"
Jiang Jin glanced at him and thought to herself, Given your habit of falling asleep when walking, stand guard?
But Yun Chengxuan had no such self-awareness. He scurried up to the observation deck and occupied the prime position.
Xie Nanxiao shrugged. "Lord, I’ll head up too."
Jiang Jin nodded, handed him a thin blanket, and signaled that if Yun Chengxuan fell asleep, he could stay there to rest.
Dongzhi and Bailu had already prepared a cabin for her onboard.
Bailu was also a member of the intelligence unit.
Ding Ying had stayed in Gefeng, overseeing the operation of intelligence outposts and the collection and summarization of information.
This trip for Jiang Jin wouldn’t just last a day or two, so she had to bring someone from the intelligence unit to stay updated on developments and handle emergencies.
In the early morning, the sea breeze was gentle, carrying the saltiness and freshness of the ocean.
Greeting the morning light, Jiang Jin stretched lazily. She had slept well through the night, undisturbed except for the sound of the tides.
Looking up, she could faintly make out Xunfeng Island, but at the boat’s speed, it would still take about an hour to get there.
She climbed up to the observation deck.
Yun Chengxuan lay there sleeping, completely at ease, with faint snoring.
Xie Nanxiao saw her and immediately stood straight. "Lord."
Jiang Jin nodded. "Go rest for a while."
Xie Nanxiao almost said he could keep going, but remembering there would be much to do when they reached the island, he knew he needed to replenish his energy.
He nodded and descended from the observation deck.
Shortly after breakfast, they neared Xunfeng Island.
Wang Liang, clearly experienced and familiar with the terrain, led the boat toward a small sandy beach.
The seawater there was crystal clear, and the seabed was visible. There were no hidden reefs, and the water was deep enough.
The boat’s speed had already slowed significantly.
Wang Liang pointed in a direction. "Lord, how about we dock over there?"
For long-term anchoring, simply dropping the anchor wouldn’t be enough; they’d also need to fasten the mooring lines.
The spot he pointed to was not far from the beach, and conveniently, two large trees stood on the shore to tie the ropes.
Jiang Jin nodded. "Fine."
The boat stopped about five or six zhang from the shore, no longer able to proceed forward without touching the bottom.
The anchor was dropped.
Jiang Jin looked at the rugged, rocky island, a smile spreading across her face. She pointed toward it and said, "Let’s go ashore!"
The small boats carried onboard were lowered into the water one by one.
These boats were tiny, meant to hold just a few people. Every cargo ship or warship usually stored two or three of them for emergencies.
Yun Chengxuan was very excited. After a full day and night aboard, he had grown tired of sailing—mainly because, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t catch any fish, which sapped his interest in the experience.
Later, when he had time, he planned to jump into the sea and catch fish by hand. If he couldn’t hook them, he could certainly grab them—he was great at fishing that way!
Then, recalling something, he asked, "Aunt, are there wild boars on the mountain? I want to go hunt some game."
Jiang Jin shook her head. "Probably not."
