"My lord, is there anything else we need to do?" Xiang Yu asked.
"No, it's unnecessary now!" Lin Mo replied. "The people of Xuanhua Palace have already done everything that needed to be done for us!"
"Where are Tokugawa Iemochi's retainers?" Xiang Yu asked again.
“If the lord is poisoned on such a major festival as the Sea Festival, his subordinates will definitely blame each other and cause internal strife!” Lin Mo said. “Let’s go, there’s nothing to see in a massacre!”
They hurried away, found their horses, and mounted them.
The horse shook its head impatiently, its nostrils flaring as it smelled blood.
The music ended, the crowd dispersed, leaving only a lonely drumbeat, slow and monotonous, echoing in the sky like the heartbeat of a giant beast. The dark sky wept, the long river gurgled in response, some cursed, some died.
Lin Mo's face was wet.
Rain is just rain. Nothing more.
They rushed toward the city gate.
Lin Mo looked up and saw Xiang Yu rushing along, splashing water with every step.
He also saw Chu Ji, which was wet and covered in blood!
Clearly, the Dongpan soldiers who blocked the road had all been killed by Xiang Yu.
~~~
Lin Mo and his companion rode eastward for an entire night.
On their journey, they would also catch glimpses of other people: Dongpango farmers in the fields, swineherds, cowherds, and messengers along rutted roads.
"Did you know? Just yesterday, during the Marine Festival celebrations, Lord Tokugawa was poisoned to death!"
"It's said that it was Lone Wolf's men who did it! Because they were very dissatisfied with Lord Tokugawa's surrender to Emperor Ashikaga!"
"How come I heard it was done by the people of Great Xia?"
"How is that possible? Why would the people of Great Xia come to Xiaotian City?"
"That's unclear!"
All the miscellaneous information boiled down to one thing: Tokugawa Iemochi is dead.
His retainers began to accuse and attack each other.
The forces that have been painstakingly gathered together will likely soon fall apart.
"That suits me perfectly!" Lin Mo thought to himself. "If Dongpango falls into chaos, the threat to Great Xia from the east will be eliminated."
After cycling for another two days, they arrived at a small port city.
The area around the dock is mostly comprised of shops, inns, and taverns.
To the east of the port lies the bay, where the seawater shimmers with blue-green light under the sun.
"My lord, there's a boat!" Xiang Yu said, pointing ahead.
Three ships, Lin Mo thought, three ships in total.
The first two were just river oar boats with a shallow draft, which were fine for traveling in shallow waters, but difficult for going out to sea.
The third ship was larger; it was an ocean-going merchant ship with two oar bays, a reinforced bow, and three tall masts. Its sails were rolled up, and the ship was very large.
The two of them arrived at the side of the boat, where barrels of cargo were being pushed and rolled onto the gangplank.
Upon seeing Lin Mo, a sailor on deck shouted at them in a language they couldn't understand.
Lin Mo shouted in his newly learned Dongpan Go language, "I want to see the captain!"
Seeing Xiang Yu's murderous gaze, the sailor dared not ask any further questions and could only go to report.
A short while later, a short, fat man came out.
Since they couldn't communicate, Lin Mo didn't want to waste any more words with him, so he simply took out a token that Ashikaga Nobunari had given him from his pocket.
The captain flipped it over, looked at it in surprise, then turned his gaze to Lin Mo, and immediately bowed in respect.
"Let's go, Xiang Yu, prepare to set sail!" Lin Mo announced, then strode forward and stepped onto the sailboat.
We boarded the ship.
The captain immediately arranged cabins for them and prepared a sumptuous meal to treat them with courtesy.
Soon after, the captain inquired about the destination of the voyage.
Lin Mo guessed what the other party meant, so he took out the nautical chart and showed it to him.
Upon seeing this, the latter turned pale with fright and waved their hands repeatedly, indicating that this place was a forbidden sea that they absolutely could not go to.
"Damn, even the Emperor's token can't convince you?" Lin Mo frowned. "Is this place really that scary?"
"Don't want to go? Then you can leave!" Lin Mo gestured a few times, indicating that they should disembark.
One of the sailors immediately turned and tried to escape.
At this moment, Lin Mo gave Xiang Yu a look, and the latter immediately raised his Chu halberd and neatly severed the sailor's right foot.
"You can leave, but you have to leave something behind!" Lin Mo threatened.
Even though they couldn't understand each other's language, the people on the ship understood what was going on.
They all knelt down on the ground, begging Lin Mo to spare their lives.
"Damn it, if we could use the system shop to exchange for them, would I need a bunch of trash like you?" Lin Mo cursed. "Xiang Yu, kill one of them and throw them into the sea, let's see if they behave!"
Without saying a word, Xiang Yu immediately picked up a sailor like a chick, snapped his neck, and threw him into the sea.
"So? Are you going or not?" Lin Mo shouted.
The captain and the crew looked at each other in bewilderment.
Faced with the threat of death, some people eventually gave in.
This compromise triggered a series of chain reactions.
One by one, eventually more than 70% of the sailors were willing to set sail.
Lin Mo didn't bother with further explanation and simply announced, "Xiang Yu, and the rest... you know what I mean!"
Xiang Yu raised his Chu halberd and brandished it expressionlessly.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Seven or eight sailors fell to the ground.
At this moment, Lin Mo announced again, "Throw all these people's bodies into the sea, and then set sail!"
~~~
Inside Oda Castle.
Zhao Zhilan hid in the cellar, holding a dagger, trying to regulate her breathing.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
