The reason why he left the ship was because he noticed that there were cultivators flying back and forth on the island for inspection.
Looking at it now, there seemed to be many people on the island carrying logs to the ships.
He observed the surrounding situation and looked at the darkening sky. He decided to go closer to investigate, so he quietly submerged into the water once again.
The reason why he dared to go closer to investigate was that this was the sea with its billowing waves. If it was on the surface of a lake on land, he would not dare to go near it. The ripples on the surface of the water would be easily discovered, and this place would be quickly covered by the waves.
As he neared the island, he heard "gulu gulu" or "dong dong dong" sounds coming from the bottom of the water. He followed the sound and came to the bottom of a ship. Once again, he quietly popped his head out from the stern of the ship. He did not need to stick his ear to the body of the ship to hear the "ding dong dong" sounds coming from the cabin of the ship, as well as the sound of saws sawing wood.
It was not just one ship. There were many woodworking sounds coming from the ships on the left and right.
He wanted to board the ship and observe, but for safety's sake, he gave up on this idea in the end.
After feeling around in the water for a while, he went further away from the island. He occasionally popped his head out from afar and circled around the island, counting the number of ships.
After he had a rough idea, he submerged into the sea and quickly left the place.
He dived for a long time in one go before he took a breath. Only when he was completely far away from the island and was sure that the people on the island would not see him again did he pop his head out from the surface of the sea and repeatedly observed the surroundings. Only then did he jump out of the sea and walk on the waves, flying back on the surface of the sea …
Dakan City was the last city on Niu Youdao's journey that was closest to the capital of the Kingdom of Qi.
As usual, Niu Youdao wandered around the city again. Halfway through, a disciple of Mount Five Liang appeared and nodded at the Black Peony when no one was paying attention.
The Black Peony was not like Niu Youdao. Niu Youdao was really wandering around, but the Black Peony was playing with Niu Youdao. However, she was not really playing. She had the responsibility of observing the surroundings. This was something that Yuan Gang had reminded and taught earlier. He had even trained the people around Niu Youdao to a certain extent.
There was no need to talk about cultivators. In some matters, cultivators were not as good as professionals.
When Yuan Gang trained these people, he made it clear that Daoye was the helmsman and everyone's leader. Daoye's safety was the top priority. Nothing could happen to Daoye. Once something happened to Daoye, no one would have an easy time. As the people around Daoye, they had the responsibility to ensure Daoye's safety. They had to remind Daoye of things that he did not pay attention to.
After all, Daoye was only one person. He only had a pair of eyes and a pair of ears. It was impossible for him to take care of everything around him at all times, especially when he was out.
The black peony nodded slightly in understanding, and the Five Liang Mountain disciple quickly left.
Taking advantage of the time when Niu Youdao stopped by the roadside and squatted down to look at the woodblock engravings carved by a craftsman, the black peony leaned over and chatted with Niu Youdao. Suddenly, she whispered in Niu Youdao's ear, "Gongsun, please go back."
Niu Youdao nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. However, he squatted there and had no intention of getting up. He slowly admired the woodblock engravings that were placed on display before he slowly got up.
Linghu Qiu was also admiring the hanging woodblock engravings with his hands behind his back. He was not in the mood to admire them, but when he encountered the slow tortoise Niu Youdao, he lost his temper and gradually became patient. Admiring them was fine. There was nothing to do anyway, and he had nothing better to do.
"Elder Brother, I have something to do, so I'll return to the inn first. Do you want to continue admiring them?" Niu Youdao asked beside Linghu Qiu.
Linghu Qiu turned around in shock. He thought, 'If you go back, do I still need to admire these lousy things?'
"Then let's go back together." Linghu Qiu gestured with his hand.
Once they returned to the inn, they saw that Niu Youdao's room was guarded by people to prevent others from approaching. Linghu Qiu, Hong Xiu, and Hong Fu exchanged glances. They knew in their hearts that something must have happened.
Although they did not know what Niu Youdao wanted to do, they all knew that Niu Youdao's slow pace was definitely not that simple.
Niu Youdao entered the room, and the black peony quickly closed the door. Gongsun Bu, who was waiting in the room, stood up. With a slightly excited expression, he said, "Daoye, we've found the place to modify the ship."
Niu Youdao was surprised. "So fast?"
It had only been five days since they had made the decision. It should be known that it took time for the golden-winged wings to send a message back and forth. The deployment of manpower and the confirmation of the sea areas that met the requirements all took time. There was a result so quickly?
Gongsun Bu nodded and said, "Yes. The people from the other countries are still on their way. The people in the Qi Kingdom's sea areas who received the mission first carried it out. In the end, someone found it on the first day of the mission. This is thanks to our confirmation of the direction of the investigation. Otherwise, no one would be able to confirm that the ships coming and going on the sea are related to the target we are looking for."
"Alright!" Niu Youdao perked up. "Where is it?"
Gongsun Bu gestured to the black peony with his hand. The black peony quickly took out a map, opened it, and hung it on the wall.
Gongsun Bu stared at the map and examined it. His finger pointed at a sea area southwest of the Qi Kingdom. "The approximate location is here. It's an island. There are many submerged reefs in this sea area. Ships that don't know the route won't dare to pass through here. Even if they know the safe route in this area, most ships won't go around here. The environment here matches our previous predictions."
Niu Youdao asked, "Have you confirmed it?"
Gongsun Bu replied, "Yes. The exact number of ships anchored around this island is not easy to get close to. There are cultivators patrolling the island, but the investigators estimate that there are around two hundred ships. All of them are the type of large ships that we predicted. Although the investigators don't dare to go ashore, they have dived under the ships to investigate. We can confirm that the ships are being modified. "
Niu Youdao asked again, "How long will it take for the ships to reach the Qi Kingdom's coastline?"
Gongsun Bu replied, "It matches Sister Peony's prediction. Within a day."
"Around two hundred ships? It looks like there are more than ten thousand warhorses! " Niu Youdao chuckled coldly. He stared at Gongsun Bu and said solemnly, "Have your people keep a close eye on the ships. If they find any signs of the ships moving, report back immediately! Remember, you don't need to do anything superfluous, nor do you need to take any risks. Just keep an eye on them. In short, don't alert them! "
"Yes!" Gongsun Bu immediately obeyed the order.
After sending off Gongsun Bu, Black Peony returned. She saw Niu Youdao pacing back and forth in the room, deep in thought. She quietly stood to the side and didn't disturb him.
Niu Youdao suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned around and said to her, "There's no need to stay here any longer. We'll set off for the capital of the Qi Kingdom immediately. Go inform Linghu Qiu and see what he thinks."
What else could Linghu Qiu think? He was here to help him, so he naturally had to set off immediately …
Hu Yanwei was extremely efficient. He said that he'd bought the houses around the tofu restaurant, and he'd said that it would take three days. There was no way he'd let it drag on until the fourth day.
Next to the tofu restaurant, Qin Mian stood in front of a window in a private room across the alley. She was observing something outside.
In front of a table in the room, Su Zhao, dressed in plain clothes, slowly tasted a bowl of fresh tofu pudding.
"You're here." Qin Mian suddenly turned around and called out softly.
Su Zhao put down the soup and slowly got up. He walked to the window and cast his gaze outside the half-open window into the alley. He saw Yuan Gang walking out from the depths of the alley.
Qin Mian walked to the window that faced the lake outside and waved her handkerchief.
At the corner of the alley, a little girl dressed in dirty clothes appeared with a bowl of tofu in her hands. Perhaps it was because she'd suddenly bumped into Yuan Gang, but her hand loosened, and the bowl shattered on the ground with a clatter.
Looking at the spilled tofu pudding on the ground, the little girl pursed her lips and looked aggrieved. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she slowly squatted down to pick it up.
Yuan Gang stopped in front of her. The big man bowed down for the little girl and slowly squatted down in front of her, saying, "It's broken. I don't want it anymore."
The little girl sobbed and said, "I bought it for my grandmother."
Yuan Gang reached out and helped her up. He helped her wipe away her tears, and a rare warmth appeared on his unsmiling face. "It's alright. I'll buy another one."
The little girl shook her head and sobbed, "I don't have any money."
Yuan Gang took out a handful of money and handed it to her. The little girl shook her head and took a step back. It was obvious that she didn't dare to take money from a stranger.
"I know your grandmother …" Yuan Gang said. He reached out and took the little girl's hand, and the two of them left the alley.
After a while, Qin Mian, who was looking out of the window at the Tofu Restaurant, retracted her head and whispered with a smile, "This big guy really bought a bigger one for the little girl."
In silence, Su Zhao slowly walked to the window and saw that the little girl had a clay pot in her hand. It was tied with a hemp rope so that it was easy to carry. She didn't need to hold it anymore and left happily.
Su Zhao slowly returned to the table. Looking at the tofu pudding in the bowl, she couldn't calm down. The warm scene of the big and the little girl holding hands flashed in her mind, and she couldn't erase it for a long time.
That day, when An Taiping said that there was no distinction between nobility and inferiority, she was shocked when she heard it.
The reason why she was shocked was that no one knew the torment in her heart. She longed for a happy ending with that intelligent, handsome, and powerful man. But who was she? She was a woman from a brothel, and everyone knew that she was a Prince's exclusive woman. This reputation could never be erased.
In the face of this world, she had asked herself and Shao Pingbo more than once, would he really marry her?
Although Shao Pingbo's answer was very certain, she couldn't say it. She thought that once Shao Pingbo became successful and famous, would he really marry a woman with a reputation like hers?
For this world, An Taiping's words were a bit shocking. Not to mention those troublemaking young men, even she felt that it was unbelievable, even though it touched the softness in her heart.
But after that, An Taiping even stood in front of the brothel servant girl and blocked the whips for her.
She suspected that An Taiping was pretending and wanted to try again.
She wanted to see what An Taiping was like when he wasn't in the eyes of the public, and when no one saw him behind his back.
Some things didn't need to be shown too much. One action, one look, and one clue could be seen.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
