The chaos at the mouth of the river began to end. The captains of the damaged ships all stepped forward, including a few people of status on the various merchant ships and cargo ships. The river channel was quickly cleared, and the merchant ships and cargo ships that had not been hit continued on their way.
The damaged ships were all gathered on the right side of the river. The heavily damaged ships needed to be towed ashore to be repaired. As for the matters of responsibility and compensation, they would be settled through discussion between the important figures and the captains.
When the big-headed man of the Nine Folds Peak, Liu Dazhai, was told that the young master Ye he had obstructed, causing three ships to collide and plunge into the river was the commanding officer of the Crouching Ox Ridge, Ye Xiaotian, who had been in the limelight recently, he could not help but become extremely terrified. He hurriedly went to personally apologise to Ye Xiaotian, agreeing that he would take responsibility for all of the losses.
The big-headed Liu Dazhai of the Nine Tunes peak was one of the captains of Shi Qiantong's clan. He had heard about Ye Xiaotian's renown a long time ago. Since he had run into someone with even greater origins than him, how could he still act arrogantly? Ye Xiaotian was in no mood to pay attention to him right now. He dealt with him casually for a while before sending him away.
The guards saw how Ye Xiaotian's face was rosy as if he had just drunk a jar of aged alcohol. They felt that something was amiss. They touched his forehead and found it to be boiling hot. They immediately began to panic. "Oh no! Sir has fallen into the water and caught a cold. He's running a high fever right now! "
Hong Baichuan had been lingering around in the cabin the entire time, studying Ye Xiaotian's actions coldly. However, he could not find anything wrong with him. His appearance was exactly the same. Hong Baichuan had secretly checked his clothes, and they were exactly the same as before Ye Xiaotian had been shipwrecked. He really could not find anything wrong.
However, Ye Xiaotian and Ye Xiaotian were twins, so it was only normal for their appearances to be the same. As for the clothes, if this shipwreck really was Yang Yinglong's handiwork, it would not be strange for him to know what Ye Xiaotian was wearing and make a few sets of clothes that were exactly the same if he had handled such a major incident so perfectly. As a result, Hong Baichuan's doubts remained.
When he heard that Ye Xiaotian was running a high fever, Hong Baichuan immediately flashed in front of him. As soon as he extended his hand, before he could even touch his forehead, he knew that he really was running a high fever. He only needed to touch his face to feel the heat.
Hong Baichuan said in a hurry, "Nephew has caught a cold. It's very severe! I saw a mountain village on the mountainside. Why don't we rest in the village and find a doctor to treat you? "
At this moment, Ye Xiaotian was listless and drowsy. His eyes were half-closed as he grunted, "Let's … go ashore. I'm afraid the ship can't be repaired in a short time. We need to hire … hire two big ships."
Hong Baichuan said, "Nephew does not need to worry about these matters. This old man will arrange it!"
Hong Baichuan waved his hand and two guards came forward to help Ye Xiaotian up and put a cloak on him. Hong Baichuan looked at Ye Xiaotian again and said tentatively, "Nephew, the matter we discussed on the road cannot be delayed for too long. Do you think … should I send someone back to make arrangements?"
Hong Baichuan's doubts were still lingering. At this moment, he finally could not help but say something to test the waters. What did they discuss on the road? There was only one matter, and that was that Yang Yinglong had coerced Ye Xiaotian and tried to replace Ye Xiaotian. The two discussed on the road, but they could not come up with a reliable way to save Ye Xiaotian.
At this moment, Hong Baichuan deliberately brought up this matter vaguely to test this Ye Xiaotian. As long as this Ye Xiaotian was real, he would definitely understand what he meant by 'the matter we discussed on the road'. As long as this Ye Xiaotian said a few words, Hong Baichuan would be able to dispel his doubts.
Ye Xiaotian was being supported by his personal guards as he weakly walked out of the slanted cabin. When he heard this, he suddenly stopped and looked deeply at Hong Baichuan. "The matter we discussed on the road? Uncle Hong, even if you are in a hurry, you don't have to be in a hurry, right? "
Hong Baichuan stared at the changes in Ye Xiaotian's expression and said, "It's almost the New Year, how can I not be in a hurry? If we miss the time, this batch of New Year's goods will be wasted in our hands. It's better to make early arrangements so that we can sell them in time for the festival and make huge profits! "
Ye Xiaotian looked at Hong Baichuan with a strange expression. The changes in his eyes were hard to guess, as if he was thinking about something. After a while, Ye Xiaotian suddenly smiled and said, "The matter of the business indeed cannot be delayed. Uncle, why don't you send someone back to handle it first? If you are worried, it's the same if you go back first. We will go separately, and it will be easier to arrange the carriage and ship."
After Ye Xiaotian finished speaking, he politely nodded to Hong Baichuan and walked out with the help of the guards. Hong Baichuan stood there in a daze. His hands and feet were cold, and his heart was cold. "It's fake! This Ye Xiaotian is fake! He is Ye Xiaotian! How can this be? What kind of impressive arrangements would it take to successfully swap people under such uncontrollable circumstances? "
The person had already been swapped right under his nose!
What should he do? What could he do?
Expose Ye Xiaotian's true identity? Could he?
Even if Hong Baichuan told him about the secret discussion between him and Ye Xiaotian, what proof did he have? Would Ye Xiaotian's guards believe him? If they really believed him, would Crouching Ox Ridge still exist? At that time, probably the only person willing to stay behind and avenge Ye Xiaotian would be Hua Yunfei, right?
Kill him? If Ye Xiaotian had already ended up in Yang Yinglong's hands and he killed Ye Xiaotian, the only thing he could obtain was the disappearance of Crouching Ox Ridge, as well as the relentless pursuit of him by Ye Xiaotian's loyal subordinates, because he could not prove anything.
"What should I do?"
Hong Baichuan, who had always been as resolute as steel and would not change even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, finally changed.
… …
Supported by two guards, Ye Xiaotian made his way down the steps unsteadily. Immediately, a few guards who had been waiting on the shore brought over a set of poles and helped him up in a flurry. A thick mattress had already been placed on the bamboo chair, and another blanket was placed on him. Then, he made his way into the mountain village under the protection of everyone.
Ye Xiaotian sighed powerlessly. He leaned against the poles and closed his eyes. There was an indescribable feeling inside. That's right, he was not Ye Xiaotian, but Ye Xiaotian. In other words, he had once been Ye Xiaotian, but now, he was Ye Xiaotian.
He had rehearsed this countless times already. Through various methods, he had turned into his brother, Ye Xiaotian. Every time, someone would test and doubt him, and he would deal with it and resolve it. Every single time, it would be just as realistic as today.
However, he had a vague feeling that this was not a rehearsal. It was real. The reason was not because of Hong Baichuan's appearance. He was not familiar with Hong Baichuan. He had already seen people from the Crouching Bull Ridge, people he was even more familiar with, during the rehearsals before. Those people could become Yang Yinglong's people, so obviously, Hong Baichuan could do the same.
As a result, he did not believe it was real this time because he had seen Hong Baichuan, whom he had met a few times in the past. It was a complete intuition. If it was real this time, it would mean that his younger brother, Ye Xiaotian, had already fallen into Yang Yinglong's hands, or even died to Yang Yinglong's hands.
Was Xiao Er already dead?
Ye Xiaotian's nose twitched, and tears almost fell out. However, he shut his eyes firmly, so the tears only moistened his eyelids. They did not flow out. He had already gone through countless rehearsals like this. Faced with the possibility of such a day, he had constantly adjusted his mentality countless times.
Ever since he had fallen into Yang Yinglong's hands, he knew he had been schemed against from the very beginning. He had always felt that Yan Shiwei, who was closer to him than his own brother and could understand him, had really been scheming against him from the very beginning. From that moment onwards, he had always imagined that his younger brother, who was smarter than him, would be able to see through the scheme and save him.
Only when he encountered the masked man who claimed to be a member of the imperial court in the quiet room he was trapped in, did his hopes grow. However, the scene of him being saved by Xiao Er, which he had dreamt of countless times, had never appeared. Instead, the repeated rehearsals of "changing people" gradually made him develop a misconception. Could it be that … the masked man he had encountered back then had been sent by Yang Yinglong to test his reaction?
However, whether it was Yan Shiwei or the crippled Mr Tian, neither of them mentioned this matter. He was nowhere near as clever as his brother, but he was not stupid enough to ask about this. As a result, this little secret had always been buried in the bottom of his heart.
He had considered the possibility before. During the rehearsals, especially the last few times, the people responsible for doubting him, testing him, and questioning him happened to be the real people of Crouching Ox Ridge. He began to despair. He felt like his younger brother, who had always been clever, probably would not be able to escape from such a scheme.
He could still remember that during one of the rehearsals, the person who had appeared before him and was responsible for doubting his identity and testing him was actually Yu Po-man. Yu Po-man of Crouching Ox Ridge was master Yu San. Back then, he had basically believed it to be true. He had almost taken the initiative to confess his true identity to him.
Fortunately, he was careful. Sometimes, being a coward was not a bad thing. It would make him even more careful. When he struggled in his heart, he finally mustered up the courage to tell the truth after master Yu San protected him back to Crouching Ox Ridge. However, he suddenly realized that the rehearsals had ended.
Ye Xiaotian was secretly covered in cold sweat. Only now did he know that the threat of "if he refused to cooperate, he would kill his wife and son" was not just a threat. Even master Yu San had been bribed by Yang Yinglong. How difficult would it be to kill his family?
Other than master Yu San, who else had been bribed by Yang Yinglong? He did not know. He did not dare to trust anyone anymore. He was not familiar with Ye Xiaotian's subordinates. From his perspective, if Yu Po-man could betray him, then anyone else could betray him.
At this moment, he could not help but consider what he should do if Yang Yinglong's plan really succeeded. If Little Fool was really replaced and killed, what would he do? At this moment, the pros and cons that Tian Binfei had once analysed to him could not help but surface in his mind.
If their Little Fool really fell into a trap and was replaced, he would be dead for sure. What would he do then? Once he revealed his true identity, would he have the confidence to keep the organisations of Crouching Ox Ridge by his side?
The forces of the Gu God Sect would definitely leave. He had also heard about Little Fool being "kidnapped" by the elders of the Gu God Sect and brought back to the deep mountains. Once Little Fool was dead, those elders who were gradually losing their former glory and only retained their religious authority but lost the power to kill the mountain people would undoubtedly immediately retreat back to the deep mountains.
Once they left, most of the foundations of Ye Xiaotian's organisation would disperse, not to mention that master Yu San had already sided with Yang Yinglong. Yu Jiahai, who had never shown himself, would probably also … Then what would be left of the Crouching Ox Ridge? What would he be left with?
Suddenly, he discovered that he actually did not have a choice at all. This was a hopeless situation. Regardless of whether he was willing or not, as long as his brother was dead, his only choice was to impersonate someone else. No matter what his intentions were, that was the only way he could maintain the integrity of the Crouching Ox Ridge.
He had always dreamed of other people's respect, praise, and power. He wanted to prove that he was not any worse than his family's waiter, but now that he was given the chance, his heart was at a loss. He suddenly missed the days when he did not have to worry about anything and was carefree.
However, those days were gone forever. He could no longer rely on his Little Fool to help him deal with his problems. This time, he had to rely on himself for everything. For himself, for his family, for revenge, he had to hold on.
"But can I do it?" Ye Xiao 'an asked himself and could not help but feel flustered. He gripped the cold handle of the pole firmly. "Being a puppet for a while doesn't mean you'll be a puppet forever. If it weren't for Gou Jian's subsequent successes, he would be even worse than me!"
Ye Xiao 'an cheered himself on. He watched the tower grow closer and closer and thought of the terrifying masked man waiting for him there. He secretly gritted his teeth …
