Chapter 55 Lanterns - Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road
After resting, the four left the inn and found a place that sold boat tickets.
"How many people?" The old man selling tickets asked without looking up, his voice dry and hoarse as if he had phlegm stuck in his throat.
Four.
When do we depart?
"tomorrow."
Where to?
"Jiangzhou".
At this point, the old man finally raised his head, surprised for a moment, then carefully examined the four people, his cloudy eyes slightly narrowed as he looked them up and down, as if assessing their value.
"What are you going to Jiangzhou for?" the old man asked, seemingly casually.
"Visiting relatives."
"Visiting relatives?" The old man's gaze was deep and meaningful as he said, "Jiangzhou is such a rich place, yet it has produced such beautiful and charming people like you. It truly is a nurturing place."
After saying that, he ticked off a mark on the thick stack of names and asked, "What is your name and where do you live?"
"You need to fill in your name too?" Bai Yuheng raised an eyebrow. "I heard that this ferry crossing is the most lenient, and it seems that you don't need to fill in your name?"
"Ha," the old man snorted, "who told you that?"
"No one specifically mentioned it, but I noticed that not many people on your list need to write their names and hometowns. Why do we need them?"
Bai Yuheng tapped the old man's list with her slender white fingertips.
"Uh..." The old man suddenly realized they weren't illiterate boatmen, but rather well-dressed, distinguished young men from wealthy families. He grinned, revealing his large, yellowed teeth, and said, "The name requirement is optional; I forgot to remind you..."
"oh."
Seeing that the delicate, innocent-looking woman in front of him didn't persist, the old man breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that thankfully she was easy to fool.
Fearing he might say too much and make a mistake, the old man promptly gave them boat tickets, collected their fare, and gave them a few more instructions on not missing their departure time before hurriedly attending to the next person.
The four men, holding their boat tickets, stepped out of the simple shed. A slightly fishy and salty breeze blew by, and the four men huddled together, whispering among themselves.
Cen Ying asked, "Why did that old man ask about our place of origin?"
Bai Yuheng said, "He probably saw that we were dressed in extraordinary clothes and that we were going to Jiangzhou to visit relatives. Jiangzhou is the most prosperous place in this dynasty, so he had bad intentions and wanted to find out our background."
Cen Ying was startled: "Will they attack us?"
"We don't know yet, but we're probably being monitored right now."
The four of them walked back normally, but could vaguely sense the gazes around them.
"Those heartless shipping merchants!" Cen Ying said angrily through gritted teeth.
"So what should we do?"
"Let's board the ship as usual tomorrow," Li Tiankuo said. "Once we arrive in Jiangzhou, I'll go find the prefect to handle things here."
“Alright.” Bai Yuheng nodded. “The most urgent thing is to find Xiao Can and appease him so that we can go and search for the remaining fragments of the Four Directions Mirror.”
"Hmm." Cen Ying was still a little worried, but seeing that everyone had said so, she stopped thinking about it and figured things would work themselves out.
The four walked back to the inn, where lanterns and decorations were everywhere, and people were bustling about.
Everyone was carrying a beautifully crafted lantern, and Cen Ying, feeling envious, said, "Since we have nothing to do now, why don't we go for a stroll?"
Bai Yuheng met Cen Ying's expectant gaze and couldn't bear to refuse, so she nodded: "Okay, it's been a long time since I've been shopping."
The two hit it off immediately, and then looked at the two men beside them, politely asking, "Would you like to come along? If not, you can go back and rest first."
The two exchanged a glance, both understanding the meaning in each other's eyes.
"go!"
Since neither of the two men had any objections, the four of them happily headed to the night market.
This town is called Yueqing Town. It is located at the intersection of two prefectures. A major shipping river passes through here and branches in four directions. The main channel flows into the sea. There are countless ships coming and going. As a result, this place is not only densely populated, but also extremely prosperous in commerce.
Cen Ying, always bold, stopped a pretty young woman and asked, "Miss, may I ask where you bought your lantern? It's so beautiful!"
The girl was a little shy and timidly showed them the way, saying, "There's a shop called Fancy Lantern Shop just around the corner not far ahead. That's where they sell them."
"Hey hey hey! Thank you so much!" Cen Ying stood on tiptoe and could vaguely see the shop's signboard.
The girl kindly reminded them, "If you want to buy them, you'd better hurry. These lanterns are limited edition; once they're gone, you'll have to wait until the next Lantern Festival."
Bai Yuheng wasn't surprised: "So popular!?"
"Yes, those lanterns are all unique, transported from Jiangzhou. I heard they were made by a master craftsman who specializes in making lanterns for the royal family!"
"Le Ying is gone!"
The woman's companion waved and called out to her from the stall in front.
"You go ahead, we'll go take a look ourselves." Cen Ying didn't want to keep them any longer, so she quickly thanked them, "Thank you so much, young lady!"
"You're welcome." The girl smiled shyly, picked up her lantern, and ran to her companion.
Cen Ying also pulled Bai Yuheng through the crowd and ran to the front of the fancy lantern shop.
The lantern shop was brightly lit and filled with all kinds of lanterns. Each lantern had a sign in front of it. Cen Ying, with her sharp eyes, immediately spotted the limited edition lantern that the girl had mentioned earlier, which was hanging at the very back.
"Shopkeeper, I want the last one inside!"
"I'll take the last one, shopkeeper!"
The two voices spoke in unison.
Cen Ying raised an eyebrow and turned her head to meet the gaze of a man who was the one she had been arguing with about the lantern.
They both saw the tension in each other's eyes.
"I paid first, so it should be sold to me." Cen Ying said without further ado, simply tossing the money bag onto the table.
The shopkeeper glanced at the money bag and saw that it was quite heavy. His eyes lit up, and he was about to accept it when the man next to him said, "Give it to whoever has more money!"
After saying that, he threw the two full money bags on the counter, looking arrogant and haughty, which made Cen Ying grit her teeth in anger.
She declared that the man she disliked the most right now was the one in front of her, and that Cui Mingcan should move to the back of the line.
Cen Ying was no pushover either. She pulled a spirit stone from her sleeve and said, "This is a common spirit stone in the cultivation world. It can be used in medicine to protect the soul and body, and it can also be used for trade with the demon immortal world." Cen Ying was smug and raised her eyebrows provocatively, "This top-quality spirit stone is worth a hundred taels of silver!"
The onlookers were speechless with astonishment at the extravagance of the two, and those who knew about it or had heard of it gasped in surprise after Cen Ying took out the spirit stones.
Are these two showing off their wealth?
Absolutely despicable!
The young master gritted his teeth; no one had ever dared to defy him before. He pulled out a gold coin from his pocket and said, "This gold coin of mine can buy that lantern, right?"
The shopkeeper's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he exclaimed repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes!"
Those who had initially wanted to compete instantly lost interest, reluctantly took back their money, and simply watched the spectacle, all wondering who would win the lantern.
The servant beside the young master was sweating profusely, constantly wiping his brow. He tugged at the young master's sleeve and whispered, "Young master, please don't buy it. That gold ingot was a gift from the old lady. If the master finds out, you'll definitely be in trouble..."
The young master glared at him, completely unconcerned, and then looked at Cen Ying smugly. He was taller than her and looked down on her like that, which made Cen Ying furious.
"What? Can you still come up with money? If you're out of money, just admit defeat, and I can give you this lantern."
Cen Ying gritted her teeth. She swore this was the most annoying person she had ever met, even more annoying than Cui Mingcan. Although he looked decent, he was not cute at all!
However, Cen Ying had no extra money. All the money her father had given her before she left had been spent, and she didn't know if there was a bank here where she could withdraw money.
But she didn't want to admit defeat to this annoying guy, so she gritted her teeth and was about to pull Bai Yuheng away.
"It's just gold, isn't it? As if everyone else doesn't have it." Bai Yuheng took out two pieces of gold with better color and larger weight from the Qiankun bag tied to her waist, and said with a simple and innocent look.
"You...you can hold this much gold in your money bag!?" Clearly, this young master had confused the main point and was focusing on her Qiankun bag. Bai Yuheng was afraid that he would take a liking to it, so she tugged at her clothes to cover it up.
Cen Ying paused for a moment, then whispered to Bai Yuheng, "Yu'er, forget it. I don't want that lantern. Don't waste your money."
Bai Yuheng smiled and comforted her, shaking her head: "It's okay, just consider it a gift from me, it's not expensive."
The man then realized that he had been outdone.
The entire audience erupted in uproar.
Who wouldn't be surprised that a lantern bought for two pieces of fine gold was considered inexpensive?
Even the way he looked at her changed.
Could it be that this wealthy businessman is hiding in Yueqing Town?
Some people with ill intentions were eager to try and strike up a conversation with her.
She was then blocked by two men beside her, their cold gazes sweeping over her, making her intimidating and unapproachable.
At this moment, Bai Yuheng only had the lantern that Cen Ying wanted.
"Shopkeeper, is this enough?"
The shopkeeper had never seen anyone pay such a high price for a lantern he had acquired that wasn't even of high quality. But since someone was willing to be a sucker and offer such a price, he was naturally happy to see it happen. He hoped that if they bought a few more, he could make a huge profit! He could recoup his investment by selling just one!
"Enough, enough, enough!" The shopkeeper's face was all wrinkled from smiling, afraid that she might change her mind if she came to her senses, so he immediately told the shop assistant to take down the last lantern.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Cen Ying said with a mischievous grin, looking at the young master opposite her, “I wonder if this young master would like to raise the price?”
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he looked at him excitedly, his heart pounding with emotion that was hard to describe.
The young master's face flushed red, and he gripped his fan tightly, unable to speak. The servant, fearing he might act impulsively, kept pulling him back.
"Hmph, I never take what others love. Since you like it and are willing to pay a high price for it, I am willing to give it to you."
After saying that, he even bowed to her in a proper manner.
The servants behind him breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Cen Ying's anger, which had just subsided, flared up again, and she snorted coldly, "I see that you really like this lantern, and you are willing to do me a favor. Since you are willing to bid against me multiple times, I will not be the bad guy and will give it to you."
The two went back and forth, which made the shopkeeper very anxious, fearing that the gold he had just gotten his hands on would slip away.
"You two..."
"It was given to her/him."
"this……"
"I don't want it anymore."
The two spoke in unison.
The shopkeeper was on the verge of tears, seeing his promising business slip away. He was now seething with anger and snapped, "You two are playing me for a fool!?"
The young master wanted to say something, but was pulled away by his servant.
In the blink of an eye, the shopkeeper was glaring at them angrily.
"Shopkeeper, we'll take the lantern, but—" Cen Ying's anger subsided and her mind cleared, "but we have to change the price."
The shopkeeper was truly afraid of them. Seeing that no one was willing to buy, he had no choice but to nod in agreement and accept a piece of gold, a bag of silver, and a spirit stone. Fortunately, the price was just over his principal, so he made a small profit and didn't lose money.
Cen Ying, carrying a lantern, happily pulled Bai Yuheng toward the next stall.
"Thank you, Yu'er!" Cen Ying hugged her tightly, overjoyed.
Bai Yuheng smiled and said, "What's the big deal?"
"Seriously, how do you have so much gold?" Cen Ying bent down to look at her Qiankun bag and asked in shock.
Bai Yuheng smiled but offered no explanation.
As one of the four elders of the Tianyan Sect, he must have some assets. Otherwise, how could he support an entire sect with just the tuition fees paid by his disciples when they joined the sect and the wages he earned from exorcising demons for people when he went down the mountain?
The reason these elders were able to be elected as elders was not only because of their seniority and strength, but also because of their wealth!
But Bai Yuheng herself couldn't say exactly how powerful her wealth was.
Anyway, she hadn't counted the money, she wasn't short of it, and she didn't really have a concept of money; as long as it was just enough, that was fine.
After strolling around the night market, the four of them, still thinking about their boat trip the next day, returned early to shower and rest.
The next day.
When checking out, it was the waiter's father who processed the refund, but the waiter was nowhere to be seen. Other people came and served the food and wiped the table.
"Shopkeeper, what happened to the waiter from yesterday?" Bai Yuheng asked casually.
The waiter's father glanced at her again and chuckled, "Hey, this girl can't sit still all day. She's either pretending to be a waiter or acting like a cat or dog. She's probably out having a blast!"
Bai Yuheng nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
As the group left the inn, the innkeeper wiped his face, his smile vanished, and his dark, shrewd eyes stared intently in the direction they had gone.
The four arrived at the dock.
After checking our tickets, we queued up and boarded the ship.
This was an enormous ship, several times larger than the merchant ships next to it. Bai Yuheng counted them; it had four decks.
There were quite a few people standing on each deck.
Bai Yuheng followed closely behind and stepped onto the boat.
The steward told them the location of their cabin, but fearing that the distinguished guests might not be able to find it, he asked a junior crew member to take them there.
They live on the top floor.
The young crew member looked to be only ten years old, thin but also sturdy, and nimbly led them upstairs.
"Honorable guests, your rooms are on the innermost floor and are connected. Our cooks will bring your meals up. If you wish to take a bath, that will cost an extra fee."
Clean water is scarce on the ship, so not everyone can use it freely, but as long as you pay, everything is fine.
Bai Yuheng and the others nodded.
Fortunately, it's not far from here to Jiangzhou, so we can bear with it.
After the group went upstairs and recognized the guards at the top of the stairs, the young crew member led them to their respective rooms.
There's an old saying that goes, "Enemies are destined to meet."
At this moment, Cen Ying encountered her nemesis—the man who had argued with her over buying lanterns the night before.
"What a small world!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
