Chapter 669
The Whisperer
The oar chamber was quiet, with moonlight streaming in through the oar holes in the wall, casting slanted beams of light that illuminated the dust motes swirling in the air.
Chen Ji looked at the little old man squatting on the escalator: "Change the terms."
The old man stroked his white beard thoughtfully: "But this old man sees that you don't have anything valuable on you that you can pawn..."
Chen Ji interrupted, "Fiveteen hundred taels. I'll give it to you once I've gathered the money. If it's okay, great; if not, forget it."
The old man raised an eyebrow: "Just a cat."
Chen Ji calmly replied, "It's different."
As he finished speaking, his breathing gradually slowed, but his muscles tensed. In the oarsman's chamber, the dust swirling in the beams of light suddenly stopped, as if the air in the cabin had solidified.
Just as tensions were about to rise, footsteps suddenly broke the heavy atmosphere on the escalator.
The two looked up at the same time. Old Li hadn't even arrived yet, but his cursing voice came down: "I've been cleaning the oarsroom for so long. If I find out you're slacking off, you'd better get off the boat now."
Old Li came down and saw the little old man squatting at the end of the escalator. He was stunned for a moment: "Old Ear, what are you doing squatting here?"
Chen Ji's gaze lingered between Old Li and the little old man. These two were actually old acquaintances.
Old Ears chuckled and explained, "This old man felt that this lad looked familiar, like a younger version of an old friend, so I came down to ask him."
Old Li didn't take it seriously: "Hey, this kid is a poor scholar introduced by Li Zhu. He used to be a private tutor in a wealthy family, but the wealthy family spread the word on the road a while ago that they would pay five hundred taels of silver to kill him, so he used his connections to run to a boat to seek refuge."
Old Ears perked up: "Which wealthy man? What has this lad done wrong?"
Old Li waved his hand: "It's all nonsense, what's there to ask about?"
Old Ears chuckled: "Alright, you're deliberately trying to whet my appetite with this kind of thing. I know what you're up to. Same old rule, one secret in exchange for one piece of information."
Old Li chuckled and said, "Your habit of gossiping about others is the same as before. Let me tell you in advance, you know what I want, so don't try to fob me off with nonsense."
Old Ear urged, "You can rest assured."
Old Li leaned against the stairs: "This lad was scheming to seduce the only daughter of a wealthy man, hoping to ruin the family line. The wealthy man disagreed with the marriage, so he tricked the woman into having sex with him and forced the wealthy man to marry his daughter. But he didn't expect the wealthy man to be such a ruthless character. That very day, the wealthy man sent his daughter to the farm to give birth and then found a street vendor to kill the lad."
Chen Ji: "..."
I didn't even know I had this background? No wonder Old Li didn't like me.
Old Ears clicked his tongue in amazement: "What a scoundrel!"
Old Li urged, "It's your turn."
Old Ears thought for a moment and said, "Don't take your cargo to Tiger's Mouth or Niuzhuangkou, the winds are strong there."
Old Li looked worried: "Then where should we go?"
Old Ears chuckled: "That's a different price. If you want to know, you'll have to owe me a piece of information."
Old Li quickly said, "I'll find one for you tomorrow."
Old Ears pondered for a moment, then said confidently, “Go to Kuilong’er. They’re short of these things from your ship, and there are people willing to buy them in cash. If you’re willing to wait, you can get them in cash as well.”
Old Li hesitated: "We haven't explored the ways of Kuilong'er yet, nor have we established any connections. If we clash with Panlong, we might be doomed."
Old Ears patted Old Li on the shoulder: "What are you afraid of? With me, Liang Wan, we can handle anything. This is my job."
Old Li was relieved: "Okay, I'll go talk to the boss."
As the two men spoke, Chen Ji's gaze darted back and forth between them. They were speaking in slang, which left him completely bewildered.
Moreover, none of the place names mentioned by the other party were familiar to Chen Ji on any map. He only paid attention when he heard "Tiger's Mouth".
However, he had already guessed Old Ears' identity, but now, seeing this, he felt he was wrong. After all, the person he guessed wouldn't care about these things and would be busy gossiping about others every day.
When only the two of them remained in the oar room, Old Ears glanced at Chen Ji and said, "If you can sell me the information about the Mountain Lord's Path, I will help you keep the secret that you are still alive."
Chen Ji tossed the rag into the bucket to wash it, not even glancing at Old Ears: "I am not practicing the Mountain Lord's Path."
Old Ears seemed somewhat disappointed, but then he rolled his eyes and changed his tune, saying, "What path do you cultivate? Tell this old man about it."
Chen Ji continued wiping the floor: "I can't say."
Old Ears picked his nose and flicked a booger onto the ground with his finger: "You can't tell me this, you can't tell me that, don't you have any secrets you can offer in exchange?"
Chen Ji paused in his wiping of the floor: "How about I tell you someone else's secret?"
Old Ears' eyes lit up: "Whose?"
Chen Ji recalled: "The Xuan Snake's official path is the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man, which can seal the five senses of others. If you fight with it, touching its body will also randomly seal the five senses."
Old Ears sighed in dismay: "What use would I have for his secret? He's only worth fifty taels of silver. As for the Golden Pig, its secrets are worth a thousand taels of silver."
Chen Ji remained silent and continued wiping the floor. Old Ears' eyes gleamed: "It seems Lord Chen and the Golden Pig have a close relationship... As for the White Dragon, if you can exchange it for the White Dragon's secret, you can get ten thousand taels."
Chen Ji's expression shifted: "We don't have the White Dragon's. How much is the Inner Phase worth?"
Old Ears said with little interest: "What's the point of a scheming man who sits in a dark room all day plotting against people? He's not worth anything."
Chen Ji asked in confusion, "Only fun things?"
Old Ears nodded: "That's right, as long as it's fun."
Chen Ji pondered for a long time: "Let me think about it first, and I'll trade with you when I come up with something."
Old Ears shrugged: "I'll give you fifty taels for Xuan She, but I still owe you 1,450 taels of silver. Once you've paid off that, you can come back to me to exchange information for someone else."
Chen Ji countered, "Whose news do you know?"
Old Ears said meaningfully, "This old man has traveled all over the country and knows more than you can imagine. I'm leaving now."
As Chen Ji listened to the footsteps fading away on the stairs, he slowly breathed a sigh of relief. Wu Yun peeked out from his arms and asked, "What should we do?"
He picked up the rag again and wiped the floor: "I don't know anything about this person, so it's better to stay away from him as soon as possible. I originally planned to take a boat all the way to Jinling, but now it seems that I may have to get off the boat earlier. We'll leave next time we dock. Even if he, a lonely old man, goes around the streets shouting that I'm still alive, no one will believe him. At most, it will just be a rumor."
Wu Yun said tragically, "If all else fails, just pawn me first. The bigger picture is more important."
Chen Ji chuckled: "You do know to prioritize the big picture."
Wu Yun casually said, "Xiao Man taught her that. She sold her property to help you save Princess Bai Li. The little monk said that she was reluctant to part with her property, but she also said that the overall situation was more important."
Chen Ji hummed in agreement.
Wuyun snuggled back into Chenji's arms and fell asleep in the warmth.
……
……
By the time Chen Ji had cleaned the oar room, it was already 9 PM.
He carried the wooden bucket onto the deck, only to find it bustling with activity. The helmsman was steering, Old Li had climbed onto the mast's watchtower to give directions, and boatmen were pulling on the masts beneath them.
The hardship of sailing lies in the fact that it is a non-stop job day and night. Once the wind is favorable, you have to take advantage of the wind to travel. It is common to work three days and three nights in a row.
Once the wind stops, the boat will no longer be able to move.
The more than eighty people on board the Anlan were busy until the early hours of the morning before they could finally take a break.
Chen Ji saw the crew members sitting in twos and threes on the deck, circling around Old Ears. Some were sitting cross-legged, some were leaning against the mast, and some were slumped over the pile of mooring ropes.
Old Ears sat in the middle, legs crossed, looking every bit the storyteller.
A burly man sat cross-legged: "Old Ear, I'll tell you something interesting. What will you give me in exchange?"
Old Ears smiled and pulled a handful of roasted peanuts from his sleeve, slowly peeling them: "That depends on how novel your story is."
The man perked up and leaned forward: "A few days ago, I heard someone at the docks say that a strange person appeared in Tongzhou. That person was born with a pair of yin-yang eyes, and could see what was wrapped around people's bodies..."
Old Ears said impatiently, "Stop, stop. Don't talk about ghosts and spirits. I don't listen to that."
The man wondered, "That's what makes things interesting, isn't it?"
Old Ears shook his head: "There's nothing special about the gods in heaven. They're just people who have lived a long time. But if they lose their humanity, what's the point of living a long time?"
A thin boatman coughed and leaned forward: "Old man, let me tell you one, see if it's good enough for you."
Old Ears peeled a peanut and threw it into his mouth: "Speak."
The boatman began, "In Suzhou, there was a wealthy man named Shi who owned a silk shop. After divorcing his wife, he married a woman named Zhang Mei. This Mr. Shi had an eldest son, who later also divorced his wife. Guess who he married? It was Zhang Mei's cousin, Zhang Yan. Father and son became brothers-in-law, sisters became mother-in-law and daughter-in-law..."
The old man listened with great interest.
At this moment, Old Li came down the mast, and Chen Ji stepped forward to ask, "May I ask, Master, why does this old man with the ear have such a nickname? What is his real name?"
Old Li shook his head: "I've long forgotten his real name. As for Old Ears... In the past, everyone in the martial arts world called him 'God of Whispers.' Legend has it that you could ask him about the affairs of the Ning and Jing dynasties, as well as Goryeo and Japan. He was incredibly powerful and had a wide network of connections."
Chen Ji asked in a low voice, "Why did he get on this ship?"
Old Li glanced at him: "Old Ear used to be a boatman. No matter where he went, there was no place his boat couldn't go. He retired more than ten years ago, but a few days ago he suddenly came to my door, saying that all the money he had saved had been squandered by his son, so he had to come back to the boat to earn some money for his funeral... Why are you asking about this?"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just admire his skills and want to learn from him."
Old Li waved his hand impatiently: "Get out of here, not everyone can learn this skill." (End of Chapter)