The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#120 - Boat in the middle of the river

It has to be said that the six words Zhang Sanfeng gave to Lu Jing before parting were indeed very useful.

They dispelled the last trace of hesitation in Lu Jing's heart.

— If you wish to retreat, first consider how to advance!

Then, he took stock of the things he had on hand, selling what should be sold and giving away what should be given away, leaving only the easily portable valuables and that room of medicinal herbs that was most important to him.

Lu Jing originally wanted to sell the house as well, because he didn't know if he could return after this trip.

But after all, this was his starting point in this world. Lu Jing had lived in Wujiang City for more than two years, and he had developed feelings for this important canal transportation hub, a place of prosperity.

In addition, a few hundred taels of silver was nothing to him now, so after hesitating, Lu Jing decided to keep the house.

Maybe one day he could come back to retire.

Then, he dealt with a round of martial artists who came after hearing the news.

There was no way around it. Lu Jing was now the number one celebrity in Wujiang City, and his every move could not escape the eyes of others, especially since he had just opened up the Ren and Du meridians and entered the first-class realm, making him the focus of attention.

Hearing that he was leaving, the entire martial arts world of Wujiang City was shaken. The people who came to him these days never stopped from sunrise to sunset.

At one point, Lu Jing had to close his doors to visitors, but there were also some people he had to see, such as Zhao Banshan, Master Zhao, who had always been good to him, and Huang, the master of the Three Tigers Hall, and so on.

Lu Jing also entrusted them to help take care of Zhang Sanfeng and his other four teachers after he left.

After all the arrangements were made, Lu Jing disguised Amu, dressed him in clothes, and put on a bamboo hat.

He also packed his luggage, picked up his Zen staff, and at this time, Niu Jiu and a group of porters also walked in from outside the door, carrying the pile of packed medicinal herbs, and escorted Lu Jing all the way to the merchant ship going to the capital.

Even when the merchant ship left the riverbank, you could still see many martial artists, as well as the city's people and porters, standing reluctantly on the spot, unwilling to leave for a long time.

After getting on the ship, Lu Jing took Amu straight into the room. After traveling for a while, he finally couldn't help but open the window.

Looking at Wujiang City getting farther and farther away, his mood was also very complicated.

Especially when he thought of his master's back when they parted, obviously not wanting him to see the expression on his face at the time, Lu Jing felt even more mixed feelings.

But no matter how reluctant he was, he finally took this step.

Just as his master said, Wujiang City was good, but it was only a corner of the martial world, and besides, he had a reason to go to the capital.

Lu Jing withdrew his gaze from the window, calmed his mood, and then took out a newly bought "Kyoto Miscellany" from his luggage, and began to read it accompanied by the sound of the滔滔river beside his ear.

More than ten days passed in a flash.

Life on the ship was boring. Besides eating, sleeping, and reading, there was nothing else to do for entertainment. He couldn't even practice his skills.

However, these days, Lu Jing would occasionally walk around, chat with other passengers on the ship, and pass the time.

In addition to him and Amu, there was also a traveling merchant, a family member of an official, mainly women, who should be the official's mother, wife, daughter, and two maids, plus two young men who looked like guards.

It could be seen that the two of them should have just come out into the martial world not long ago, and their immature faces still carried a nervous look, looking at everyone as if they were bad guys, but after seeing Lu Jing on the ship, the tension in their eyes disappeared.

They seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and from time to time they wandered around Lu Jing with an admiring look, as if they wanted to talk to him, but they didn't have the courage.

In addition to them, there were also three scholars on the ship who planned to go to the capital to take the exam, and two unemployed men who were preparing to find work in the capital. These people were all very polite to Lu Jing.

Because they were basically locals from Wujiang City, they had long been familiar with Lu Jing's name.

Even the traveling merchant from the capital had heard about Lu Jing's deeds these days in Wujiang City, and he was also very good at talking to people, probably because he had been traveling north and south all the time.

At the same time, he didn't have too much of the coppery smell of a businessman, but was quite generous and liked to make friends. He took the initiative to visit Lu Jing on the first day he boarded the ship.

During these days, Lu Jing mainly chatted with him, asking him a lot about the customs and practices of the capital. As they chatted, they talked about the current situation in the world.

The traveling merchant sighed and said, "Business has become more and more difficult to do in the past two years. Although the purchase prices of many goods in various places have been rising, fewer and fewer people are willing to sell goods."

"Is it because the world is not peaceful?"

"That's right. Several of my friends have been robbed more than once this year, losing everything. The unlucky ones even lost their lives, working hard for most of their lives, and finally leaving only a pile of debts for the orphans and widows. Who can they reason with?" The traveling merchant shook his head repeatedly.

"Has it become so serious?" Lu Jing raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, the East China Sea is the most chaotic. Secondly, I heard that those 土番 in the northwest are also clamoring to establish a country. The trade routes on both sides have been cut off. In addition, there is a severe drought, and many bandits have emerged in the Central Plains. Even on this river... I heard that some sections are not peaceful. In previous years, this kind of thing was unimaginable."

Just as the traveling merchant said this, everyone on the ship saw two small boats suddenly emerge from the reeds in the middle of the river and speed towards them.

The boatman who was steering the boat was obviously quite experienced. When he realized something was wrong, he immediately turned the boat around, trying to avoid it.

However, in terms of flexibility, the fully loaded merchant ship was obviously not a match for the two flying boats.

It wasn't long before they were caught up.

Then, everyone saw several grappling hooks shot out from the flying boats, firmly hooking the side of the ship.

Then, the seven or eight men on the small boats, carrying steel knives, climbed onto the ship along the ropes behind the grappling hooks.

The leader opened his chest, and his tight-fitting clothes fluttered in the river wind.

He grinned after boarding the ship, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Hehe, hehe, you are unlucky today. You ran into our 'Swarm of Bees', but we are only here for money, and we don't want to kill anyone. If you know what's good for you, quickly take out all your valuables! As long as you cooperate obediently, then we will..."

He suddenly stopped talking in the middle of his sentence, because he had robbed more than a dozen ships during this time, but this was the first time he had seen not a single passenger on the ship showing a frightened expression. Instead, they were all looking at him with a very strange look.