The next morning, the guard was tidying up the room when he looked at Pei Zi Yun in surprise. Pei Zi Yun raised his head and thought for a moment before smiling, "Last night, I was practicing my sword techniques and accidentally damaged some of them. Here's some silver taels as compensation. You just have to report it to the higher-ups. The rest is your reward."
The guard looked at the three silver taels and noticed that there were only a few broken tables and chairs in the room. It wasn't worth it at all. He then smiled, "Thank you master Top Scorer for your reward."
As he said this, he escorted Pei Zi Yun out. Last night, the sky was filled with dark clouds, and it started to drizzle. Soon, it started to snow. As they walked down the stairs, they saw Liao Ge standing at the entrance, looking at the snow.
Pei Zi Yun walked over and Liao Ge said, "Master Top Scorer, judging by the weather, it seems like it's going to snow soon. I've brought some raincoats with me. When the time comes, everyone will have to wear them."
"This is my first time traveling far from home. I shall listen to your excellency's arrangements." Regarding the original owner, there was no need to speak further. The entire group of people left the relay station. Not far away was a ferry, and they boarded a boat to cross the river.
Four people and a carriage had just boarded the boat when a strong wind started to blow. Heavy snow started to fall from the sky, hitting the surface of the river and causing waves to form on the surface.
Liao Ge was wearing his raincoat as he chatted with Pei Zi Yun at the bow of the boat. They could hear the sound of the snow hitting their raincoats. Liao Ge smiled and said, "This view of the river in the middle of the snow always makes one sigh with emotion. It makes one feel extremely happy."
Pei Zi Yun nodded his head, "This view is really poetic. If I had wine, I would write a poem."
Liao Ge laughed, "Haha, master Top Scorer, you should know that you have a nickname. People call you the Wine Immortal. This time, I didn't bring any good wine. If I did, I would have invited the Wine Immortal Top Scorer to drink and recite poems. That would have been a great story."
"That's right, it's a pity I didn't bring any wine." Pei Zi Yun looked at the river and sighed.
At this point, the entire ship was silent. The only sound that could be heard was the rustling of the northwest wind and the rustling of snow. In this silence, Liao Ge spoke, "Actually, I'm really envious of Master Top Scorer. I'm 43 years old now, and it wasn't easy for me to reach the ninth level. The road to becoming an official is really tough. Speaking of which, I have to thank Master Top Scorer. If it wasn't for this trip to the capital city, I don't know when or where I would be able to attain the ninth level."
Pei Zi Yun gazed into the distance, "This is your destiny, and has nothing to do with me. If you weren't proficient in politics, I believe the Governor wouldn't have let you do this."
Liao Ge then replied, "Master Top Scorer, initially I wanted to use this opportunity to talk to you about my daughter. I didn't expect Master Top Scorer to not give me the chance to do so."
Pei Zi Yun paused for a moment, "I have someone I like, thank you for your kindness."
When Liao Ge heard these words, he paused before laughing out, "Master Top Scorer, my child is only four years old. I was just joking. I hope master Top Scorer doesn't mind."
Pei Zi Yun paused for a moment before regaining his composure.
Liao Ge then laughed bitterly, "I didn't come from the imperial examinations. Even if I worked hard, I wouldn't be able to reach the ninth level. However, I'm already indebted to the dynasty. In the previous dynasty, people like me wouldn't even be able to reach this level."
"I only got a daughter when I was in my middle years, and had no other intentions. All I wanted was to enter the ninth level and become an official. That way, my daughter would be able to marry into a good family."
"This is all thanks to Master Top Scorer for giving me this opportunity. Hence, I'm very grateful to you."
Pei Zi Yun finally understood. This world was very particular about matching families. With an official's rank, the number of people he could marry into would be much greater. This was the heart of a loving father. Looking at his wrinkled face, Pei Zi Yun couldn't help but feel a little sad.
He could vaguely make out the silhouettes of a group of people speaking in hushed voices. They were all wielding knives in their hands, and were wearing straw raincoats. The straw raincoats were woven with reeds. These people were mixed together with the reeds, and it was hard to tell if they were humans or reeds. All these people had killing intent on their faces.
Snow fell from the sky, and landed on the bodies of these people. They were all wearing white silk. Amongst these people, there was a little girl who was holding onto her father's hand. This was the father and daughter pair that Pei Zi Yun had seen eating cold steamed buns at the relay station.
Amongst the reeds, there was a table. On the table, there was a bowl filled with strong alcohol. There was also a chicken. Someone picked up the chicken from the ground and killed it. He then poured the chicken blood into the wine.
The father who was holding onto his daughter walked to the front and raised his bowl of wine. He then shouted, "Today, we shall take revenge for the people of Fu County. We shall kill these two people. One of them is an official, the other is a High Scholar. If we kill these two, we will have no way out. Let's drink this cup of blood wine."
Hearing these words, everyone raised their bowls of wine. Someone cried out, "Big brother Qi, my entire family of seven were killed by the pirates. The pirates have escaped to the sea. Let's first kill these two corrupt officials who colluded with the pirates."
"That's right. There's also this Hou Mansion. Sooner or later, even if we have to risk our lives, we shall take them down with us."
Seeing everyone speaking, the little girl's eyes were filled with stubbornness. She then walked up and took a cup of wine as well. The father paused and said, "Guo 'er, what are you doing?"
The little girl stepped forward stubbornly and said, "Father, you can drink this blood wine, I can drink it too. My mother was killed by the pirates, and I have a deep grudge against them. Today, we shall drink this blood wine. Although I am a girl, I shall drink this blood wine and do my part."
Hearing the little girl's words, everyone fell silent. Who didn't have a deep grudge against them?
A burly man beside the father then said, "Guo 'er, since you have such a heart, how can we reject you. Big brother, you should be proud of Guo' er. It's just that Guo 'er is still young, and can't pick up a blade. Killing isn't suitable for you."
"Uncle Chen!" The little girl shouted out. Hearing the little girl's shouts, the burly man laughed out, "Today we shall kill this dog official and High Scholar. Little Qing, you shall help us bury the corpses of these two dog officials. That will count as a merit for killing the pirates."
"Thank you Uncle Chen." Hearing the burly man's words, the little girl smiled sweetly and said.
"Let's do it together, for the sake of the people of Fu County, kill these two thieves!" The big brother Qi shouted out loudly.
"Let's do it together, for the sake of our parents, brothers and sisters in Fu County." Everyone shouted out loudly as they raised their bowls and drank the blood wine in large gulps. When they finished drinking, they smashed the bowls onto the ground, making a loud 'peng' sound as porcelain shards flew everywhere.
"Cough cough" Little Qing drank the blood wine and choked a few times. She didn't want to be outdone and drank all the wine. She then copied the elders and smashed the bowls onto the ground. The first time, it didn't shatter. She then picked it up and smashed it onto the ground a second time.
At this point, the father patted the little girl on the head, "Guo 'er, hide in the reeds and don't come out. Father and uncle will go and kill these two pirates."
"Yes, father. I just want to come back safely. My mother was killed by the pirates, and I cannot be without a father. " Hearing Guo 'er's words, the burly man turned his head around and looked up at the sky. Snow and rain fell on his face, mixing with his tears. It was hard to tell what they were.
After some time, the father then lowered his head, "Guo 'er, go hide in the bushes. We shall go now. No matter what happens, don't come out."
At this point, the big brother Qi's face turned resolute as he wiped his face, "Brothers, follow me!"
The snow and rain continued to fall as the four of them sat by the fire. Although the scenery of the river was beautiful, it was extremely cold.
Just as they were speaking, they suddenly felt the boat crash into something. There was a splashing sound, and then there was no sound.
"Boatman? Boatman? " One of the soldiers shouted out as he walked out of the boat. He saw that there was no one on the boat, and only a ripple in the water. He then remembered the sound of someone jumping into the water. This soldier was a veteran soldier who had been in the army for a long time. He then shouted out, "Not good, we've fallen into an ambush."
Following the soldier's shout, they heard the sound of someone digging into the bottom of the boat. The soldier's face fell as he hurriedly said, "Your excellency, this is bad. The boatman is digging into the bottom of the boat. He wants to drown us in the river."
"Quick, row the boat to the shore." Liao Ge was extremely frightened as he shouted out.
"Yes, your excellency." The soldier was decisive as well. He accepted the order and rowed the boat to the shore.
"Master Top Scorer, what do you think we should do?" Liao Ge's face fell.
Pei Zi Yun's face was cold. Someone tried to assassinate him last night, and today someone tried to do something to the boat. Based on the sound, it didn't take long for the boat to start leaking water.
Pei Zi Yun's eyes flashed coldly as he pulled out his sword and felt it. He then replied coldly, "Of course I'm sending him to hell."
As he said this, he stabbed the sword into the bottom of the boat. A "pu" sound could be heard as the bottom of the boat pierced through the sword like it was tofu. He then pulled the sword out, causing blood to spurt out.
On the shore, a group of people were hiding amongst the reeds as they looked into the river. One of them said in a low voice, "Fifth brother is a good swimmer. As long as he sinks the boat, even if these people manage to swim to shore, they would be exhausted. Who knows, they might even be killed by fifth brother in the river. When that happens, I'll have my revenge."
"Big brother, look. Those few people are rowing the boat, but it looks like the bottom of the boat has been pierced through." A burly man pointed out. It was obvious that the boat was sinking.
Pei Zi Yun walked out of the cabin and looked at the boat. He frowned. The boat was about fifty to sixty meters away from the shore. The shore was filled with reeds, and he couldn't tell if there was an ambush. However, the boat was about to sink. He then shouted, "I've already killed the boatman. Just use some cloth and cotton to seal the hole. When we reach the shore, we'll be safe."
"Yes, master Top Scorer."
The few people hiding amongst the reeds looked at this scene and frowned. The boat was rowing towards the shore, why wasn't it sinking? Could it be that fifth brother had failed?
As the boat neared the shore, Pei Zi Yun looked at the reeds in the distance and laughed coldly. He then took off his robe, which was inconvenient for him, and revealed the soft armor underneath.
Liao Ge was slightly taken aback and said, "Could it be that master Top Scorer wants to go down and kill the bandits?"
Pei Zi Yun looked at the dense reeds and pulled out his sword, "The boat has been pierced through, and won't be able to hold out for long. Let's get closer to the shore. Even if it's stranded, it won't sink!"
"However, the reeds are densely packed, and I'm afraid there might be an ambush waiting for us. I shall go down and take a look. The rest of you stay on the boat and protect his excellency Liao." Pei Zi Yun instructed as he jumped off the boat and landed amongst the reeds.
The snow was falling and the rain was freezing cold. Some of the people hiding amongst the reeds didn't know how to fight. When they saw someone jumping off the reeds, they shouted, "Brothers, follow me. Kill!"
Following Boss Qi's shout, a group of men brandished their blades as they charged out from the reeds, charging towards Pei Zi Yun.
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