Chapter 672
With Aunt's Protection
Where is Tiger's Mouth?
"Lushun".
What is Niuzhuangkou?
Yingkou.
Chen Ji and Lao Erduo exchanged questions and answers, using place names from Lao Erduo and Lao Li's slang. If Chen Ji had understood these slang terms used by sailors, he would have realized that the ship was heading to Jingchao.
Chen Ji then asked, "Then what is the 'Kuilong'er' that you mentioned later?"
Old Ears gloated, "Gyeongseong Port in Korea. How come you know nothing about it? Did the person who arranged for you to board the ship deliberately keep it from you?"
Ignoring his gloating, Chen Ji asked again, "So where is this ship going now?"
Old Ears shook his head: "I don't know, it depends on how that shipowner decides. I can only tell them that Lushun and Yingkou are in chaos right now. The forces of Yuan Xiang, Princess Liyang, Lu Jin, and others are fighting each other. These two ports belong to Lu Jin today, but they may belong to Yuan Xiang tomorrow. Some officials and nobles are taking advantage of the chaos to plunder goods, and the merchants who do business dare not speak out. Especially hard currencies like ox horns and ox sinews. Ox sinews are used to make bowstrings, and ox horns are used to make horn bow linings. All thirteen military governors of the Jing Dynasty want them."
Chen Ji asked thoughtfully, "What about Goryeo?"
Old Ear casually remarked, "The Crown Prince of Goryeo died in Ning Dynasty, and the current king is seriously ill. The Crown Prince's two uncles are eyeing the throne and want to start a rebellion. Jingcheng Port is the territory of Grand Prince Suyang. He is a man of great integrity and has a lot of money. Doing business with him is the safest option... I guess the ship owner will go to Jingcheng Port in Goryeo."
Chen Ji was somewhat bewildered for a moment.
He faked his death to escape only to find the swords that Xuanyuan had hidden in various places. These swords had been nurtured for thousands of years, and each one could transform him completely.
Therefore, his first stop in the south should be Huangshan, which was the only place he was certain he would hide his sword.
Chen Ji climbed up the mast to the observation deck and looked back. He couldn't see the distant mountains or the land; he was getting further and further away from home. Standing on the observation deck, the sea breeze made his clothes flutter like a letter home without an address.
and many more.
Chen Ji suddenly jumped off the mast and walked towards the sterncastle.
Old Li looked at him impatiently: "What are you doing at the stern?"
Chen Ji ignored him and continued walking forward. Old Li pulled out a short knife from his sleeve and blocked his way, saying in a low voice, "Boy, don't be courting death."
The moment the two met, Old Li swung his knife straight at Chen Ji, who calmly dodged it, grabbed Old Li's wrist and pulled him away, causing Old Li to lose his balance and stagger away.
When he regained his footing and turned around, Chen Ji was already standing in front of the shipowner's door, knocking loudly on the door.
Old Li squinted: "You son of a bitch..."
Chen Ji turned to look at him and said calmly, "Don't curse my mother."
Old Li was taken aback.
Seeing that no one responded from inside the room, Chen Ji continued to knock on the door persistently, slowly and deliberately.
Old Li gave a signal to the deck, and the boatmen and oarsmen pulled out weapons from the gaps in the cargo on the deck and surrounded the sterncastle.
Old Ears perked up. He pulled a handful of peanuts from his sleeve, leaned against the railing, and stared intently. "Tsk tsk, a ship full of desperados. Isn't this more interesting than listening to a story?"
Just as the boatmen were about to surround Chen Ji, the door finally opened, and Madam Lu, wearing a black veiled hat, stood inside the threshold and waved to Old Li and the others: "It's alright, go ahead and do your work."
Old Li didn't waste any words, turned around and shooed the boatmen away: "Go do what you're supposed to do, don't you have anything to do?"
The boatmen muttered to themselves, "Didn't you call us here?"
Chen Ji looked at Aunt Ping in front of him. Ever since he met her, her clothes seemed to have never changed, just like the unchanging Quwu Mountain outside Guyuan City.
He recalled that when he boarded the ship, the boatmen were still hurriedly carrying goods onto the ship, clearly it was a rushed departure.
Chen Ji asked cautiously, "Why is Aunt Ping also on the boat?"
After a moment of silence, Madam Lu said, "It was just a coincidence. It happened to be the first time the Lanterns had opened the sea route, and I didn't feel comfortable having someone else oversee things, so I came along myself."
Chen Ji was somewhat surprised: "Didn't Deng Huo ever go to sea before?"
Lu explained, “In the past, all the ports along the coast were controlled by the Chen and Xu families. Others had no chance to go out to sea to do business and could only watch as silver flowed into their pockets and then into the entire Ning Dynasty. Now that Grand Secretary Xu is seriously ill, Zhang Zhuo has severed ties with the Xu family, which has caused the Xu families of Jinling and Huqiu to fight each other. Someone made a deal with the Xu family of Huqiu, and the Xu family of Huqiu gave up the Tanggu port.”
Chen Ji lowered his head in thought. The Lighthouse was just a江湖 (jianghu) organization; it couldn't offer the courtly bargaining chips that the Xu family of Tiger Hill wanted, or the people who could make the Xu family of Tiger Hill relinquish the Tanggu Port...
He looked up at Aunt Ping: "Is Deng Huo cooperating with Bai Long?"
“To be precise, it’s cooperation with the inner court,” Madam Lu said to Chen Ji. “Come in and let’s talk.” She turned back into the room, picked up the teapot on the table, and poured Chen Ji a cup of tea. “How did you guess it was me?”
Chen Ji sat down at the octagonal table and took a sip of tea: "It's not hard to guess."
Madam Lu smiled and sat down opposite him: "Are you angry that I tricked you into going to sea?"
Chen Ji shook his head: "I'm not angry, it's just that it's not quite what I originally planned... Aunt Ping wants me to go to Jingchao?"
Madam Lu poured herself a cup of tea: "The matter that requires you to fake your death to escape must be a great terror. I used the lanterns to help you investigate, but I found nothing. So I thought it would be better to send you to Jingchao, to find a place where no one knows you and wait for the storm to pass. If you are willing, I can also smuggle Miss Zhang and Xiaoman out. The lanterns have settled many people who fled north from Ningchao, so there will be no problem."
Chen Ji remained silent.
Lu changed the subject: "But now we have to change our route to Korea."
Chen Ji asked doubtfully, "Are we really going to Korea?"
Madam Lu nodded: "The information Old Ears gave us is very important. This man is known as the God of Whispers in the martial arts world. His sources of information are wider than a lamp. Those who didn't believe him in previous years have all suffered great misfortunes."
She observed Chen Ji's expression and said, "Besides, you'll be safer in Korea. You can find a remote village to rest and recuperate."
Chen Ji pondered for a moment: "I don't want to waste time in Goryeo. I need to go to Longyou Road in Jingchao to find something."
Madam Lu smiled and said, "Although I have never been to Goryeo, Goryeo is very close to Jingchao. It only takes a few days to cross the border by traveling through the mountains. The large ship will dock at Jingcheng Port first. If you want to go to Jingchao then, you can go as you please... By the way, you really need ginseng, don't you?"
Chen Ji's expression shifted: "Hmm?"
Madam Lu held her teacup and said slowly, "Third Brother said that you bought a large batch of ginseng in Guyuan. I originally thought that this batch of ginseng would be transported to the capital with you, but you left Guyuan without taking anything with you... So, you have the ability to transform ginseng into a cultivation realm in an instant?"
Before Chen Ji could answer, she continued, "Do you know how much a mature Korean ginseng can fetch the astronomical price of thirty taels in Ning Dynasty, and how much it's worth in Korea?"
Chen Ji was taken aback: "How much?"
Lu put down his teacup: "Four taels. A single, aged Korean ginseng costs only four taels of silver to buy from Korea, but it is smuggled by sea to the coast of Ningchao, where the customs clearance fee is twelve taels of silver. Then, it is transported from the coast to the interior, where it is exploited and marked up at each level, eventually becoming thirty taels of silver."
Chen Ji asked in surprise, "So low?"
Lu said with a smile, "I've only heard about it. We'll have to see for ourselves when we get to Korea to confirm the price. It won't be long. If all goes well, we should be able to reach Jingcheng Port in seven days."
Chen Ji said regretfully, "It's a pity I don't have that much silver."
Madam Lu tapped her fingers on the table: "Don't worry, this shipment of goods will be worth 18,000 taels of silver when it reaches Goryeo. After deducting the goods to be taken back, there should still be 10,000 taels left. You can borrow it all."
Chen Ji countered, "Ten thousand taels of silver, and Aunt just lent it to me like that?"
Madam Lu smiled and said, "We've been through thick and thin together. Ten thousand taels is a lot, but I'm not afraid you'll run away."
Chen Ji thought for a moment and agreed: "Thank you, Aunt Ping. This ten thousand taels will indeed be of great use to me."
Just then, Chen Ji suddenly noticed that Aunt Ping breathed a slight sigh of relief behind the black veil of her veil, as if she was afraid that he would not be willing to use the ten thousand taels of silver.
He changed the subject: "How much does Aunt Ping know about Old Ears?"
Aunt Ping seemed puzzled: "What's wrong with Old Ears?"
Chen Ji got up and stood inside the house, quietly observing Old Ears, who was leisurely peeling peanuts on the deck: "I just felt that this person was a bit suspicious, so I asked him a few questions out of curiosity."
Aunt Ping recalled, "Old Ears is a well-known figure in the martial arts world. I heard of his name when I first entered the martial arts world. He is a very strange person. He loves to pry into other people's private affairs, and his rules are also very strange. As long as you bring him something interesting, you can get useful information in return. In the early years, Deng Huo also dealt with him once in order to exonerate General Wen Tao. I exchanged a secret of the Jing Dynasty with him to get some information from him, and that's how I slowly tracked down the document that framed General Wen Tao."
Chen Ji shifted his gaze from the old man's ears and turned to look at Madam Lu: "Aunt Ping, is this the same person you met back then?"
“Yes, absolutely,” Madam Lu frowned. “You doubt his identity?”
Chen Ji did not answer.
He had previously suspected the old man's identity; the timing and location of his appearance were too coincidental, so coincidental that he couldn't help but connect it to that identity. He had just discovered a fellow cultivator of the Sword Seed Path in the capital, and then this man appeared beside him...
Shan Chang, Lu Yang.
Lu pressed further, "Who do you suspect he is?"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "I must have guessed wrong. After all, the person I was thinking of wouldn't be so bored." (End of Chapter)