Chapter 49
A sticky, all-pervasive darkness.
The biting cold, carrying the fishy smell of the underground river, was like countless fine steel needles, piercing through the wet clothes and stabbing into Gu Linzhi's already numb skin.
Only the sound of rushing water and the subtle friction of the boat breaking through the dark water surface proved that they were still moving and had not yet sunk into the eternal silence.
Gu Linzhi huddled at the bow of the narrow shuttle boat, each weak breath carrying a tearing pain and a thick stench of blood. The wound beneath his left rib, constantly stimulated by the icy river water, was like a never-healing sac of poison, continuously releasing numbness and dull pain deep into his bones. The brief repression Su Wanwan had paid for with her life was rapidly fading. The deadly toxicity of "Poison Feather Red" mixed with "Blue Spider Saliva" was like an awakened giant python of ice and fire, nibbling away at his last breath along his blood vessels, inch by inch.
Six hours... perhaps already. Death, like the dark river water beneath the boat, enveloped him coldly, rising slowly but steadily.
He forced his fading consciousness to focus, his eyes searching in vain in the absolute darkness. He could only vaguely sense his direction by the current and the occasional jolt of the boat. In the other two boats behind him, Luo Manzi's heavy breathing, Shen Mo's suppressed cough, and the subtle sounds of the water ghosts paddling with bamboo poles breaking the surface were the only lingering signs in the dead silence that he wasn't alone in his journey into the underworld.
"Ahem... Gang Leader Luo..." Shen Mo's hoarse voice came from behind, breaking the suffocating silence, "Where does this waterway lead to?"
"Damn... I haven't walked here in ages, so I can't remember clearly..." Luo Manzi's voice was filled with the weakness and uncertainty of his injury. "I only remember... it was an emergency road dug by the older generation... It should... be heading towards the abandoned docks downstream of the Tonghui River... I hope we don't run into a landslide or a sluice gate..."
The lower reaches of the Tonghui River... lie on the edge of Shengjing, relatively sparsely populated. Reaching there might temporarily escape the pursuers. But Gu Linzhi knew full well that Cao Wushang, having mobilized the East Factory and his assassination squad, would surely block all major waterways. This long-abandoned secret passage had likely been part of their plan.
The boat glided silently through the darkness. The concept of time became blurred, and only the accumulating coldness and pain in the body clearly measured the passage of life.
Suddenly, the water ghost rowing in front gave a very low warning: "Hush! There is light ahead!"
Everyone tensed up instantly! Gu Linzhi raised his head with difficulty, squinting his eyes and looking forward.
Sure enough! At the end of the endless darkness, a faint, yellowish, flickering light appeared! Like the light of a lantern!
Is it an exit? Or... a trap?!
"Be on guard!" Luo Manzi shouted in a low voice, and the water ghosts on the other boat immediately picked up the water-splitting spears and short crossbows.
The three boats slowed down, like snakes in an undercurrent, silently approaching the halo. The sound of the water was reduced to a minimum, only the beating of the heartbeat in the cold chest.
Getting closer. The halo of light gradually expanded, faintly illuminating the outline of the waterway's exit—an arched opening partially blocked by half-collapsed stone slabs and rotten wooden piles. Beyond the opening, there seemed to be even more open water, but the dim light wasn't from moonlight or starlight, but from... a small boat parked not far from the cave entrance! A solitary, infuriating lantern hung on the bow!
On the boat, there seemed to be a shadowy figure sitting there, motionless!
An ambush?! Everyone's heart was in their throat!
Gu Linzhi stared intently at the boat and the figure, the poison in his ribs stirring with the intense tension. He slowly raised his hand, signaling the water ghost to bring the boat to a complete stop. Like ghosts, the three small boats hovered silently on the dark waters, more than ten feet from the cave entrance, facing the lone boat and the dim light in a silent confrontation.
The atmosphere was as stagnant as if frozen.
Just when Luo Manzi was about to order a strong attack or a retreat—
The figure on the boat seemed to move ever so slightly. Then, an old, hoarse, and weak voice, as if floating from a grave, came faintly over the water:
"The water's muddy... the fish are frightened... it's time to pull in the nets..."
This nonsensical remark made Luo Manzi, Shen Mo and the others look at each other in bewilderment and become even more alert.
But Gu Linzhi's pupils suddenly contracted the moment he heard these words!
This wasn't just any code! This was Shadow Scale's highest-level code, used to confirm identity in extremely dangerous situations! The other party was revealing their identity! Was they a friend, not an enemy?!
But the "Shadow Scale" had long since dissipated with his retreat... Who could possibly know and use this incision?!
He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and, with all his strength, responded hoarsely with the second half of the sentence. His voice was unusually clear in the empty waterway: "...The net is broken...The ones that slipped through...are the big fish..."
There was silence for a moment. Then, the old voice sounded again, with a barely perceptible sense of relief: "...the boat is leaking...we have to go ashore...I have a rotten plank here...you can make do with it..."
As the words fell, the figure on the boat seemed to wave. Then, with a very slight creaking sound, the boat actually slowly moved aside, clearing the waterway and revealing a relatively unobstructed exit at the back! The man also lifted the "Infuriating Wind Lamp" and shook it three times rhythmically in the direction Gu Linzhi and the others were coming from.
This is a safe sign!
Luo Manzi and Shen Mo looked at Gu Linzhi in surprise and suspicion.
Gu Linzhi took a deep breath of cold air, suppressed the fishy sweetness in his throat, and nodded slowly. Although he didn't know the other party's specific identity, he knew the incision was correct and he had cleared the way, so at least for the time being, he had no malicious intentions.
"Go ahead! Be careful!" Luo Manzi ordered in a low voice.
The water ghosts once again raised their bamboo poles, and the three small boats carefully passed through the half-blocked cave one after another. As they passed the small boat, Gu Linzhi tried hard to see the face of the person on the boat, but the old man had his head lowered, wearing a tattered bamboo hat, and was completely shrouded in shadows and a loose straw raincoat. He could not see his face at all. Only the hand holding the lantern, covered with age spots and wrinkles, looked extremely old.
Until the three small boats passed through the cave and sailed into the relatively open river outside, which was still shrouded in the night, the small boat and the dim light remained quietly in their original places, like a silent watchman, and were soon swallowed up by the darkness that closed again.
As soon as I emerged from the canal, the cold night wind instantly hit me, bringing with it the unique dampness of the canal and the faint hustle and bustle of the distant city. This was indeed an abandoned bend in the lower reaches of the Tonghui River, with reeds growing on both sides, a desolate and silent scene.
They were safe for the time being, but the heavy weight on everyone's heart had not yet fallen.
"Minister Gu, that person just now..." Shen Mo rowed closer and asked in a low voice, his eyes full of confusion.
"Old subordinates," Gu Linzhi simply spat out those two words, and said no more. His doubts grew even more intense. Why did the remnants of Shadow Scale appear at this moment? Was it a spontaneous act? Or... were they under someone's orders? Su Wanwan's cold face flashed through his mind again, bringing a deeper chill.
However, this was not the time to dwell on this. The numbness in his ribs had spread to his chest, and every breath felt like pulling on a rusty iron saw. His vision was beginning to blur and become smudged. He had to find a safe place to stay and treat his injuries quickly, or he would be exhausted before the pursuers arrived.
"Find a place...to dock..." Gu Linzhi's voice became weaker and weaker.
Luo Manzi identified the direction and directed the water ghost to slide the boat silently to a river bank with dense reeds. The bottom of the boat scraped against the muddy riverbed and slowly stopped.
Two water ghosts jumped out of the boat first, wading through the knee-deep icy water and aquatic plants, groping their way ashore and cautiously surveying the area. After a moment, one of them returned and whispered, "Boss, there's an abandoned brick kiln over here. It looks like it's been abandoned for a long time, so it's safe for now."
"Help Prime Minister Gu ashore!" Luo Manzi ordered.
Gu Linzhi, supported by Shen Mo and a water ghost, struggled to step out of the boat. The icy water instantly reached his thighs, the biting chill nearly unsteadying him. He gritted his teeth, enduring the dizziness and excruciating pain, and followed the water ghost, taking one foot deep and one foot shallow, pushing aside the dense reeds toward the dark, abandoned brick kiln on the shore, resembling the remains of a giant beast.
The brick kiln itself was in even greater disrepair. The massive kiln had already collapsed, leaving piles of broken bricks and tiles. The air was thick with age-old dust and the smell of mold. The group found a relatively intact, windproof wreckage and temporarily settled there.
The water ghosts quickly set up a simple perimeter. Luo Manzi checked everyone's injuries and arranged for treatment. Shen Mo immediately moved to Gu Linzhi's side, checking on him in the faint moonlight filtering through the broken window.
"No! The poison is spreading too fast!" Shen Mo's face was extremely solemn, and his voice trembled slightly, "We must find a way to detoxify it immediately! Otherwise..." He didn't say the rest, but everyone understood.
Gu Linzhi leaned against the cold, broken wall, panting heavily, sweat mixed with icy river water rolling down his forehead. He felt his heartbeat slowing down, growing heavier, as if it would stop at any second. Dark spots grew in his vision, and his hearing began to grow distant.
Was he really going to die here? In this dilapidated brick kiln in the middle of nowhere? Was his father's injustice... the blood feud of the 70,000 Jingbei soldiers... the dark side of the Jiangnan Canal Transport... and the "Ice Soul" conspiracy he'd just glimpsed... all going to be buried along with him?
Unwilling! Like a poisonous fire, it burned away his last vestiges of consciousness!
Just when his consciousness was about to be completely swallowed by darkness—
The water ghost who had been the first to go ashore for reconnaissance and was now on guard at the periphery suddenly let out a very low cry of surprise: "Boss! Lord Shen! Come and see! What...what is this?!"
His voice was full of surprise and disbelief, as if he had discovered something extremely unexpected.
Luo Manzi and Shen Mo exchanged a glance, then stood up and walked over quickly. Gu Linzhi also summoned his last bit of energy and looked in the direction of the voice.
The water ghost was standing next to a pile of half-collapsed brick kiln debris, holding a long, black, twisted metal object he had just pulled from the rubble. It was covered in mud and rust, but the original outline and structure could still be vaguely seen—a thick metal bow arm! A vital component of the crossbow!
On the inside of the broken bow arm, near the core shaft, although it was a little blurred due to high temperature burning and rust, it was still possible to make out that there were several clear, tiny words engraved there like a brand!
In the dim light of the tinderbox that Shen Mo quickly brought closer, the words burned into everyone's eyes like a red-hot iron:
Youzhou Craftsmanship Supervisor, Bingzi 73
Made by Youzhou craftsmen!!!
These four words, like a bolt from the blue, instantly exploded in the dead silent brick kiln!
The mighty crossbow at Linqing Gate, tearing through the black-sailed boats! The "Youzhou" inscription carved into the arrow shaft! The broken arrow, also inscribed with "Youzhou," found by Gu Linzhi in the shallow waters of the riverbank! The huge amount of charcoal and silver tributes to the "Youzhou Craftsmanship Workshop," recorded in the deep blue account book in Zhao Wenbi's secret room! All the clues, at this moment, were completely connected, confirmed, and closed by the broken crossbow fragment accidentally discovered in the abandoned brick kiln, also bearing the "Youzhou Craftsmanship Workshop" mark!
Cao Wushang! Han Meng! Northern Di! Smuggling of refined iron! Loss of military equipment! All these crimes ultimately lead to the same place—Youzhou! The most important military town in the northern borders of Dayong! The government-run craftsman workshop!
Not only did they smuggle refined iron, they also took advantage of the convenience of the official workshop to directly forge and provide military weapons for the Northern Di! That bed crossbow and that giant arrow were actually made by Dayong's own craftsmen!
"puff--!"
With his fury and the poison completely out of control, Gu Linzhi could no longer suppress his anger and suddenly spat out a large mouthful of black and purple poisonous blood! His body shook violently, his vision went completely black, and he fell forward heavily!
"Gu Xiang!"
"Master Gu!"
Luo Manzi and Shen Mo were horrified and rushed forward to support his limp body.
Gu Linzhi's consciousness was fragmented, and the last remaining perception was the cold and heavy fragment of the crossbow with the words "Made in Youzhou" engraved on it. It fell from the water ghost's hand and hit the broken bricks and tiles, making a dull sound like thunder.
"Bang!"
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