Sun Zheng was both excited and worried. He was excited because they might have found help, but worried that they might have run into another band of bandits.
Fortunately, luck was on their side. The other ship had no strange objects hanging from it, such as salted fish, so they probably weren’t pirates.
However, as the distance between them closed, he finally got a clear look at the person standing on the deck opposite.
“It’s you!” Sun Zheng cried, furious and terrified all at once.
Ji Wangfei was likewise shocked and enraged. Out of habit, he reached for the saber at his waist, only to grasp empty air. That was when he remembered that his weapon had been taken. He had no weapon left at all.
Xie Nanxiao frowned, looking puzzled. “You know me?”
He turned to Qiu Wu beside him. “Am I really that famous?”
Qiu Wu replied with a perfectly straight face, “You probably captivated him with your peerless beauty.”
Xie Nanxiao: “…”
That was rather overstated.
Sun Zheng was so angry that he could no longer maintain a scholar’s dignity. He raised both hands and pushed aside the disheveled hair hanging over his eyes.
“You despicable villain! You’ve already robbed us of everything we had. What else do you want?”
It wasn’t that he was unwilling to tie up his hair. It was simply that after his hair crown had been stolen, there was nothing else on the ship he could use to bind it.
As someone who had been born into wealth and privilege, he couldn’t bring himself to do as others did and use a strip of cloth. It would be far too humiliating.
Xie Nanxiao was stunned by his words. Then, touching the eyepatch over his right eye, he suddenly understood.
“Oh. Was the person you encountered a handsome man who was blind in his left eye and looked somewhat like me?”
Sun Zheng was livid. “What handsome man? That was obviously you!”
Xie Nanxiao waved a hand. “Although your failing eyesight caused you to mistake me for someone else, I won’t blame you. After all, he does look a little like me—because he’s my younger brother.”
With that, he sighed. “My brother is a good-for-nothing. Of all the things he could do, he chose to become a pirate. As a matter of fact, I was the one who blinded that eye of his. And yet he still went ahead and became a pirate without hesitation.”
As though remembering something, he asked, “What? Did he rob your ship?”
Sun Zheng tossed his hair back. “Do you take us for fools? You’re clearly the same person!”
Xie Nanxiao looked helpless. “He’s blind in his left eye, while I’m blind in my right. Can’t you tell left from right?”
He then pointed to a black, watermelon-seed-shaped mole on his left cheek. “And I have this large mole on the left side of my face. See? It’s absolutely genuine.”
When the people opposite him failed to respond, he didn’t seem to mind.
“Forget it. This isn’t the first time I’ve been mistaken for someone else. I only came over to see whether you needed any help. Since you don’t, I’ll be on my way.”
With that, he was about to order the fleet to turn around.
Ji Wangfei’s heart jumped. “Wait. You really can help us?”
To be honest, he also believed that the man before him was the Salted Fish Pirate. They looked far too much alike. Their expressions were different, though—the man before him seemed more serious.
As for which eye was actually blind, who could tell with it covered by an eyepatch?
Besides, what were the odds that one man was blind in his left eye while the other was blind in his right? Why not just be blind in both eyes?
And that so-called mole was practically sliding down his cheek toward his chin along with the sweat.
Seriously, he wasn’t even putting any effort into making the lie convincing.
But what choice did Ji Wangfei have?
If no one helped them, there was a very real chance that they would all die at sea.
Hearing him, Xie Nanxiao gave a hearty laugh. “Of course. I, the Garlic-Head Hero, am always happy to help people. What do you need?”
Ji Wangfei frowned. “You can see for yourself that our ship can’t hold so many people. We’re also out of food. We hope you can help us.”
Xie Nanxiao smiled with righteous generosity. “No problem, no problem.”
As he spoke, he snapped open a sheet of white paper. Written on it were the following words:
Passenger transport: one hundred copper coins per person per li.
Food: one guan per meal.
Ji Wangfei stared at him in disbelief. “What is this supposed to mean?”
Xie Nanxiao looked at him strangely. “Can’t you tell? The prices are clearly listed.”
Sun Zheng choked. “Didn’t you say you were helping us? Why are you charging us?”
Xie Nanxiao looked even more puzzled. “We don’t know each other. Why would you assume I’d help you for free?”
He gestured toward the fleet behind him. “My brothers need to eat, too, and maintaining our ships costs money. How could we possibly do this for free?”
Sun Zheng gritted his teeth. “Aren’t you the Garlic-Head Hero? How can a hero who performs acts of chivalry still talk about money?”
The name itself was ridiculous. It was so random that it made no sense at all.
Xie Nanxiao spread his hands. “Heroes need to eat, too.”
Sun Zheng was rendered speechless. After a long while, he finally said, “Since it was your younger brother who robbed us, shouldn’t you make amends on his behalf and help us for free?”
Xie Nanxiao shrugged. “Forget that younger brother. A brother like that isn’t worth keeping.”
Sun Zheng: “…”
Ji Wangfei was seething inside, but he could see the reality of the situation clearly. Their priority was getting everyone safely to Feng’an County.
“You really can transport us to Feng’an County? Can you lower the price?”
One hundred copper coins per person didn’t sound expensive, but they had a great many people. A thousand passengers would already cost one hundred guan. The real problem was that they had no money left.
Xie Nanxiao shook his head. “I can’t lower it. Oh, I forgot to mention—the price is one hundred copper coins per person per li. It’s calculated according to the distance.”
Ji Wangfei froze. Once he understood, he nearly vomited blood.
“Why don’t you just rob us?”
One hundred copper coins per li!
Feng’an was at least seven or eight hundred li away. How much would that cost?
This man really had the nerve to name such a price!
Xie Nanxiao didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. “You don’t have to take our ships. I’m very famous in this region. My prices are fair, I never cheat anyone, and I never force anyone to buy my services.”
“What about food? Do you want any? One guan per meal. That’s a very fair price, isn’t it? We are at sea, after all.”
Ji Wangfei: “…”
For him, that price naturally wasn’t much. In Sizhou, he could casually spend several taels of silver on a meal. But for the oarsmen and soldiers, it was far too expensive.
The main issue was that there were simply too many of them.
Counting the oarsmen, sailors, marines, and everyone else, they had at least eighteen hundred people, if not two thousand. Even if they ate only one meal a day, that would cost one or two thousand taels of silver daily. And people doing strenuous labor, such as the oarsmen, obviously couldn’t survive on one meal a day.
Ji Wangfei really wanted to refuse.
But faced with the possibility that refusing meant death, he chose to compromise.
When they said they had no money, however, Xie Nanxiao refused to accept it.
“If you don’t have money, why did you keep talking to me for so long? Aren’t you just wasting my time?”
Ji Wangfei gritted his teeth. “Once we reach Feng’an, I’ll send someone back to Sizhou to fetch the money. I won’t default on the debt.”
Xie Nanxiao shook his head. “Who knows whether you’re telling the truth?”
Ji Wangfei: “…”
Who was the real swindler here? Did this man have no self-awareness at all?
In the end, the two sides finally reached an agreement after Ji Wangfei offered the three ships they had left as collateral.
And despite insisting that they didn’t want to take the passenger ships, they still transferred five hundred people over so that their own vessel wouldn’t sink.
In Ge Feng, inside a secluded alley, Li Fu and Third Brother Li were speaking in hushed voices.
Third Brother Li’s tone was ingratiating. “Well? How did it go?”
A trace of hesitation flashed through Li Fu’s eyes. “No. If we’re discovered, our entire family will be finished. I can’t gamble with my family’s lives.”
Ever since Third Brother Li had moved in next door, he came to Li Fu’s home every few days to chat. Little by little, the two became familiar with each other.
It was only recently that Third Brother Li finally revealed his true purpose.
He actually wanted the designs for the repeating crossbow!
Third Brother Li’s eyes flashed with gloom, but his face remained warm and smiling. “A thousand taels of silver would be enough to support your entire family for several lifetimes. All you have to do is draw a few blueprints.”
Li Fu lowered his head in thought. After a moment, he shook it. “My lord has shown me great kindness by recognizing my worth. I cannot do such a thing.”
