Chapter 49: Formidable Pursuers

Lu Xin had long since grown accustomed to the scholar’s excitable temperament. Sometimes, he even wished he could give the man a swift kick to the face. Yet at this moment, there truly was another ship trailing behind their merchant vessel. Judging by its shape—with a low prow and high stern, broad at the front and narrow at the back, and eight float boards on each side resembling bird’s wings—Lu Xin’s expression changed instantly. This was a government-issued Sea Falcon, a type of naval warship.

Back when Lu Xin had managed the tea trade at the Xu estate, he had witnessed the commandery’s office in Yuezhou conduct water combat drills with Sea Falcon ships in the river outside Hangzhou. With the opening of the southern canal and the bustling grain transport, robbers frequently targeted the waterways between Hangzhou and Yangzhou. The court had specially commissioned the Yuezhou Commandery to patrol with eight Sea Falcon ships to secure the southern transport routes.

But Xuanzhou Prefecture lay in the central reaches of the southern provinces, with no grand canal within its borders. For a Ministry of War Sea Falcon to appear on these waters now was something Lu Xin had not anticipated.

“This is bad! That ship is incredibly fast. If all sixteen float boards move in unison, it can slice through wind and waves. There’s no way our boat can outrun it.”

Lu Xin’s face was grim. One government warship following them was bad enough, but even worse was the sight of six disciples of the Supreme Heaven Sect, clad in yellow robes, standing on the prow. Leading them was none other than Huang Yu Yi, whom he had encountered several times before.

“Fox, stop fooling around and come here quickly!”

“What for? I’m trying to catch fish, but you’ve scared them all away,” Moonless Fox grumbled, threading his way through the cabin. He followed Lu Xin’s pointing finger and, catching sight of the ship, erupted into a string of curses, nearly leaping into the air.

“Damn it to the eighteenth generation! Are these bastards going to follow us forever?”

“That’s enough, Fox. Bragging won’t help. Let’s think of a way to shake them off. Xin said that ship is a government warship—it’s so fast it might as well fly!”

“Hah! The court means nothing to me. My Imperial Wind Spell works just as well on water!”

With a flick of his brow, Moonless Fox cast his spell on the vessel. Instantly, the entire ship seemed to be enveloped in a breeze, its speed tripling. The Yang sisters, who had been asleep below deck, were jolted awake as the boat began to rock violently.

Reaching the stern, Yang Xiu’s face grew just as bleak when she saw the disciples of Supreme Heaven Sect in pursuit with the authorities. This was not Miao territory—if they were caught and forced into a fight, they would surely be at a disadvantage.

“Sister, the Supreme Heaven Sect is truly intolerable. When we return, we must speak to the chieftain about this. Even the Emperor of Tang is courteous to the Miao people—what right does this little sect have to act so arrogantly?”

“If we were in Wuzhou, these men would have long since fed the corpse worms! Fox spirit, how long can your spell hold?”

“The boat is too large—I can only keep it up for about the time it takes two incense sticks to burn. Luckily, the wind favors us; two sticks should put us dozens of miles ahead.”

“Good. If we can last until nightfall, we can escape to shore under cover of darkness. Qin, Young Master Lu, let’s all take up oars. We mustn’t let them close in.”

Both Yang sisters were skilled boatwomen. Under Yang Xiu’s direction, everyone rowed in unison, and with Moonless Fox’s spell, the Sea Falcon ship soon vanished from sight. Though Lu Xin and the others couldn’t be sure the pursuit was directed at them, their foes carried supreme jade talismans, able to sense magical fluctuations nearby. No matter how adept Moonless Fox’s illusions, they could still be detected.

After rowing in tense silence for two hours, everyone was exhausted, their arms heavy as lead. Night had fallen completely, the sky shrouded in haze, not a star in sight. The river was thick with fog, and gusts of wind hinted at an oncoming storm. Perhaps Moonless Fox’s power had waned under the influence of corpse poison, for as soon as darkness fell, the illusion over all of them faded—stirring fresh anxiety in Lu Xin’s heart.

Gazing around, he saw no sign of light anywhere. Both banks were barren wilderness, with neither farmland nor houses. According to the boatman, after a full afternoon of swift travel, they were nearly within Raozhou’s borders. Another two hundred li by water, and they would reach Lake Poyang.

Lu Xin noted that the Sea Falcon ship had not caught up and thought to make a dash for Raozhou Prefecture. But just as they believed they’d escaped the Supreme Heaven Sect, a glow appeared directly ahead.

It was lamplight, shining from another ship. From the bow, Lu Xin saw a massive wheel-ship approaching, dozens of strong men driving the paddle wheels upstream at great speed.

“Damn! Now there’s a government warship blocking the way ahead? With enough manpower, those wheel-ships are even faster than Sea Falcons!”

“We’ve overlooked something—they’re onmyoji. The Supreme Heaven Sect disciples can communicate with sword talismans. Huang Yu Yi must have alerted his fellows in Raozhou as soon as he spotted us.”

Yang Xiu’s brow was deeply furrowed, her aura now deadly. She’d hoped to shake their pursuers, only to fall into a pincer trap. From the look of things, a fight was inevitable.

As the two ships drew within a dozen meters, both sides halted. The night was pitch black, fog curling over the river. Lu Xin could just make out several sword-bearing figures on the opposite deck, but their faces and attire were indistinguishable.

“Boatman, is there any way around them given the river’s width?”

“You’ve got me there, miss. The fog’s so thick, I can’t see how wide the river is. If their ship would move aside, we could pass, but they’re blocking the very center. How are we supposed to get by?”

The boatman was fraught with worry. He’d long realized these were onmyoji on his boat, and clearly fleeing for their lives. Now, with a huge ship blocking the way, only a fool could fail to sense the imminent danger.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, one of the men across the way hurled a talisman skyward. With a flash, the fog blanketing the river vanished instantly.

“That’s… a Fire-Wind Talisman—how extravagant!”

Moonless Fox’s face paled, and a stern voice called across the water.

“Raozhou Commandery on official business! Vessel ahead, make for shore and halt at once!”

“Commandery? Hah! There are no onmyoji in the government. Sister, don’t waste words—let’s cut our way through!”

Yang Qin was always the most hot-tempered. Without another word, she moved to attack. Seeing this, Lu Xin’s left eyelid twitched as he silently gripped the Wandering Immortal Sword. The whole river was blocked; passage was impossible. Much as he loathed to fight the Supreme Heaven Sect, with enemies before and behind, there was no escaping now.

“Young Master Tu, take the boatman and swim for shore. If we win, all the better. If not, you must go alone to the Gu King’s stronghold in Wuzhou and report what’s happened.”

“Miss Yang Xiu? You—”

“No time for talk. Qin, let’s go!”

Without another word, Yang Xiu leapt onto the wheel-ship. Yang Qin followed, the pair wreathed in swirling black mist, as if enveloped by thousands of tiny insects—a sinister sight.

At the prow stood three Supreme Heaven Sect disciples. Caught off guard by the sisters’ sudden assault, they hastily raised their swords to defend themselves.

One of them, a tall man with thick brows and large eyes—appearing just over forty—reacted the fastest. After wiping his sword with a yellow talisman, the blade turned a dark red, as if scorched by fire. Before Yang Xiu’s dagger could draw near, his sword energy sent it flying, thinning the black mist around her.

He counterattacked swiftly, his swordplay fierce and vicious, pressing Yang Xiu to the very edge of the deck within a few exchanges.

“Miao sorcery, little girl. My Supreme Heaven Sect bears you no grudge—why force this conflict?”

“Hahaha! What a joke! I was minding my own business on this river, and you, a Supreme Heaven Sect disciple, impersonate an official to threaten me. Am I not allowed to fight back?”

“Feigning madness will do you no good. Don’t blame me, Cao, for showing no mercy.”

Seeing persuasion was useless, the middle-aged man’s gaze turned cold. His sword spun around to Yang Xiu’s back, right hand wielding the blade while his left cast three talismans that burned to cinders, transforming into streaks of light that fused into his sword.

In the next instant, his long sword spun violently, then flew from his grasp, splitting into nine flying swords that hovered overhead.

“A magical weapon! The Supreme Heaven Sect truly is affluent.”

Yang Xiu dared not meet force with force and darted into the ship’s cabin. The man did not pursue but instead glanced back toward the merchant vessel.

“Wang Cong, Feng Li, go seize the boy with the sword. Leave this to me!”

“Yes, Hall Master!”

The two disciples dueling Yang Qin immediately dove into the water toward the merchant ship. Yang Qin tried to follow but was blocked by three descending flying swords.

“You old fiend, you dare block me?”

“Hmph, one of you is sixth rank, the other only fifth. If I wished to kill you both, it would be easy! I’ll say it again—this has nothing to do with you. Leave now, and you’ll be spared!”

“Enough nonsense. You think I scare easily?”

Yang Xiu’s eyes glinted coldly as she drew a second dagger from her sleeve and flashed toward the man. Meanwhile, Yang Qin swallowed a green worm, her skin turning visibly pale green. Within two seconds, she vanished on the spot.

On the other side, Lu Xin waited at the prow for the two Supreme Heaven Sect disciples to arrive, his expression indifferent, neither joyful nor sorrowful. In his mind, a towering mountain pierced the clouds, distant peaks undulating like ink, a mighty river flowing past. At the mountain’s summit, a solitary figure danced with a sword to the strains of a distant zither.