Chapter 17: Seizing a Man from the Dragon King's Mouth

“One, two, pull—! One, two, pull—!” The sailors and deckhands shouted in rhythm as they hauled a thick rope. Someone jumped into the water to support the person on the floating timber, and only through their combined effort were they able to rescue the individual.

“Cough, cough, cough!” Xu Qi lay on the deck, vomiting grit and bitter water. The weight of the wetness on her felt like a thousand pounds, pressing down on her until she was weak and limp, unable to move or even lift her head. She glanced at the man beside her, his eyes tightly shut, feeling a mixture of despair and helplessness.

She shouldn’t have boarded this ship.

Since Zhao Qing’s death, even Tan Jiuding had deliberately avoided taking this route. Forced to travel once, disaster quickly followed. It was clear the ship guild was entangled in these troubles, danger lurking everywhere.

Yet in the river, if she hadn’t accepted help from these sailors, she and Tan Jiuding would have long since become bait for fish and shrimp.

Several deckhands gathered around, pressing water from Tan Jiuding’s chest and abdomen and performing rescue breaths—experienced and practiced hands.

Xu Qi gasped heavily, trying to curl up to shield herself from the biting wind. Suddenly, a thick quilt with a faint musty smell descended from above, draping over her.

“This wind isn’t a joke. Wrap yourself well,” a burly, tall man said as he crouched beside her. His eyes were sharp like a wolf’s and sly like a cat’s, openly appraising her with a half-smile. “I really don’t know whether to say you’re lucky or just reckless—a frail woman daring to save a grown man in such a torrent?”

Xu Qi glanced at Tan Jiuding, who had coughed up a lot of dirty water, and said in a trembling voice, “He saved me. I don’t want to owe him.”

“Hmph.”

The river surface was in chaos. Xu Qi asked the man without much hope, “Have you seen a large red box?”

The man, tall with thick eyebrows, looked incredulous. “People haven’t even been saved yet, and you want to recover valuables?”

“No...” Xu Qi thought for a moment and said, “Two companions came up holding onto the box. I want to know if they were rescued.”

“Oh, I didn’t see that.” The man shouted towards those still searching the water, “Hey—anyone see a red checkered box?”

They waved their hands and shook their heads. The answer was clear. Xu Qi couldn’t help but feel discouraged. She had already grasped her close friend’s hand, yet fate had cruelly made them miss each other once more. The frustration made her nose sting.

“Maybe another ship saved them?” The man tried to comfort her.

Just then, an impatient clerk strode over, dragging a scowl and shouting, “Why waste time with this nonsense? Dare to delay your duties! Half a moment later, let’s see how you’ll make up for it!”

The man smiled calmly and pointed to the water ahead. “Sir, you see for yourself. That explosion made the whole river stretch immobile. Not just us; other boats can’t move either. Waiting is waiting. Better to save a few and earn some goodwill than nothing, right?”

The clerk sneered, unhappy but unable to retort, muttering complaints as he turned away, seeming like he had fire burning his backside. Judging by his anxious demeanor, he probably just wanted to finish his duties quickly to avoid trouble.

“Don’t mind him,” the man nodded at Xu Qi, “It’s his first time as escort officer. He’s scared and cautious. Ha, the new official gets stuck with such a mess—that’s just bad luck.”

“...Thank you for saving my life.”

“Eh, no need. We who live by the water wouldn’t dare snatch people from the Dragon King’s mouth. It was just by chance. If the Dragon King didn’t allow it, we wouldn’t risk ourselves to save you.”

Xu Qi caught the sarcasm in his tone and lowered her head in embarrassment.

“Hey!” someone at the bow called to him. He responded loudly, “Ignore idle talk. First, rescue them, then we’ll talk!” It seemed the crew listened to him more than to the petty clerk.

After a while, the sailors hauled another person up with ropes. Judging by the figure, it looked like a young man of sixteen or seventeen. Xu Qi couldn’t clearly see his face but recognized his clothes as those of a deckhand from Wang Cheng’s ship. Yet now, his limbs were limp and his belly swollen, a bad omen.

The man walked over, and the sailors gave way. The atmosphere turned heavy and silent—this boy was not as fortunate as Xu Qi and Tan Jiuding.

Someone muttered, “Such tragedy,” and wrapped him in a straw mat. The clerk stood far away, wary of bad luck, glancing sideways.

The man clapped his hands to disperse the crowd, then ordered Tan Jiuding and Xu Qi carried into the shelter of the cabin.

“I can walk on my own,” Xu Qi struggled to stand steadily and took the chance to ask a sailor, “Is he your captain? What’s his name?”

The sailor glanced back and joked loudly, “Hey, Lei Gengsheng—young lady’s asking about you!” Laughter erupted on the deck, dissipating the earlier gloom.

Xu Qi flushed deeply. Coming from a noble family, she had never been so boldly teased. Gritting her teeth, she wrapped herself tightly in the quilt and snapped, “Forget I asked.” Lei Gengsheng grinned broadly as he gathered the ropes in the distance, but she pretended not to notice.

Inside the cabin, the sailors provided another quilt and told them no open flames were allowed, so they had to keep warm themselves.

Xu Qi looked at Tan Jiuding, who still hadn’t opened his eyes, and asked, “He already spat out the water. Why hasn’t he woken up?”

“Sigh, probably hit his head hard. You know how big the explosion was—half the ship blew sky-high. It’s a blessing from heaven you two are still alive. I don’t think others pulled from the water were as lucky.” The sailor said and then left.

Xu Qi was helpless. She covered Tan Jiuding with the thick quilt and took his pulse. Truth be told, her medical skills were all theory; in practice, she was clueless. She could only roughly tell his pulse was stable, nothing more.

There was no wind inside the cabin, and it did feel warmer. Xu Qi was utterly exhausted, but her body, having just survived a calamity, was still in shock—too restless to sleep.

Her thoughts kept returning to the red box and the two people who had vanished so quickly after seizing it.

Clearly, judging by their swift actions, they had come prepared—deliberately bombing to avoid the cabin and deck, then arriving immediately after the ship sank to snatch the box. This way, they could eliminate unnecessary witnesses and abduct the targets they wanted again.

But... who were these people? To act so brazenly on the canal of Autumn Exchange? Cannons... explosives... none of it could be ordinary. Getting caught would mean the capital crime of treason, implicating one’s entire family.

To go to such lengths just to capture Zhiwei? Could the other missing women be like her? No, after tonight, Xu Qi had a faint premonition that Zhiwei’s disappearance, which Tan Jiuding was investigating, might not be connected to the string of other vanishings...

“Creak,” the cabin door opened, and Lei Gengsheng entered holding two bowls of hot soup.

“Drink it while it’s warm, or you’ll catch a lingering illness.”

Xu Qi remained guarded but politely took the bowl. “Thank you.”

Lei Gengsheng squatted down as if not planning to leave, watching her drink it all.