Chapter 880: Chapter 876: Peril on the River
Xiao Tian pretended to nod in realization at the brazenly shameless words.
In fact, with his experience and insight, plus a series of previous events, how could he not see the scheme behind it? Besides, he didn’t care about these things; real or fake, they mattered little to him.
What mattered was simply confirming that the water of the Confucian Spring indeed had its magical effect.
Xiao Tian intentionally delayed with words to stall the opponent, trying to linger there as long as possible to carefully observe the surroundings, since this was his main purpose for coming, demanding his full attention.
"I saw the media interviews earlier. If we take your view, then where did they find so many centenarians?"
This was somewhat far-fetched, as Xiao Tian had only heard about the television interviews online and was making conversation for the sake of it.
"You must have come here based on our website’s introduction or the travel agency’s recommendation, right?" The staff member sitting at the bow sounded like he was asking a question, but his tone carried great certainty.
Xiao Tian exaggeratedly opened his mouth wide, appearing shockingly surprised, and said, "How did you know?!"
Upon hearing the response, the person at the bow became even more smug and continued, "I not only know that, but also know you have no acquaintances or friends in Japan."
After speaking, without waiting for Xiao Tian to further act, he explained on his own, "If you had acquaintances in Japan, I believe they would tell you this is a place you feel you must visit, feel regret if you don’t, but once you do, you will certainly regret it!"
Xiao Tian nodded in deep agreement, only to hear the other party speak again, "Now answering your earlier question, you’ve watched movies and TV dramas, right? Those people with gray hair, bent over, and hunched, do they really look that old?"
"..." Xiao Tian remained noncommittal, waiting for the other party to continue.
"So, it’s simple, just pull some random people off the street, apply makeup, lay them in bed for filming, and pass it off as old age. Film a few shots of shaky gestures, and you’re done!"
The staff member commented enviously, "An old buddy of mine once did this; he said the filming crew paid him a huge amount at once, almost enough for half my year’s salary!"
...
Xiao Tian felt he had observed enough, and from his observations, discreetly approaching here would indeed be quite difficult.
From the geographical perspective, the area was open and unobstructed, with countless cameras both visible and hidden.
Additionally, there were special patrol teams that circled periodically, making it necessary to devise a meticulously detailed plan to avoid these hazards completely.
The staff member at the bow was perhaps still considering how to extract money from Xiao Tian after receiving his earlier perks; his attitude was not too hostile but still tried every means possible to get Xiao Tian to spend.
"Are you drinking alone?" The staff member asked Xiao Tian, implying that Xiang Yiting should also have a drink.
Xiao Tian chuckled lightly but hadn’t answered before Xiang Yiting hurriedly responded, "No, thank you!"
At this moment, anxiety was written all over Xiang Yiting’s face, frequently lowering her gaze to check the time, clearly anxious to return.
Just as she contemplated how to propose the return journey, she saw the staff at the bow also glance at his watch, muttering, "It’s already mealtime."
With this, he looked at Xiao Tian, placing both hands on the oars, "Okay, the time included in your package is up, we should head back."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Yiting finally felt relieved, eager to fly back to the shore, hoping the rowing staff would speed up.
Xiao Tian had no objections to this, only discreetly extracting some spring water from where the camera couldn’t catch, placing it into a pre-prepared water pouch.
Before coming here, he’d read online that once Confucian Spring water is extracted, its elemental content declines over time, eventually becoming ordinary drinking water.
However, the exact duration was unknown, and whether it would retain its effects by the time he found a safe place to start formulating the medicine remained a mystery.
Thus, Xiao Tian needed a rough assessment in mind; otherwise, without resolving the medicinal guide issue, no matter how skillful he was, it equaled a master chef unable to ignite the stove, still anxiously helpless.
In addition, Xiao Tian planned to extract water a second time after the boat departed from the spring eye, to see if there was any noticeable difference compared to the spring water at its source.
If he could achieve the purpose without coming close, naturally, Xiao Tian didn’t wish to expend effort to reach the center of the Confucian Spring to collect water.
However, just as he began to form a preliminary plan in his mind, he heard a faint yet clear "crack," and his feet felt a slight tremble.
Xiao Tian was briefly stunned and immediately looked down at his feet, noticing a crack on the boat’s hull with his exceptional vision, his heart skipped a beat, thinking something was amiss.
Nonetheless, Xiang Yiting at the stern remained caught in her anxiety and didn’t pay excessive attention, seemingly failing to hear the faint noise, or perhaps heard it but didn’t care.
Meanwhile, the rowing staff at the bow was quickly brainstorming how to get Xiao Tian to spend money, coupled with the boat’s inherent slight rocking motions, which made him even less attentive to this detail.
Just as Xiao Tian was about to alert them, a louder "crack!" resonated, and the boat suddenly jolted.
At this point, Xiang Yiting and the staff at the bow both noticed something unusual and started looking towards Xiao Tian in the middle, seeing that he too was looking down with an extraordinarily serious expression.
The next moment, clear water seeped through the wooden boat’s bottom crack, causing Xiang Yiting to scream as her eyes showed some helplessness.
"What are you screaming for? If you hadn’t dallied for so long, would this have happened?!"
Seeing there was still some distance to the dock, the staff bellowed in anger before frantically rowing like a headless chicken.
Xiao Tian watched the panicked staff in disbelief, shaking his head in a sigh, realizing he couldn’t rely on someone who clearly hadn’t learned any similar safety knowledge.
Due to the wooden boat’s overall construction not quite matching typical standards, compounded by using inferior materials, and exacerbated by the staff’s frantic rowing.
All these factors combined not only failed to speed up the wooden boat but further exacerbated the expansion of the crack in the boat’s bottom...
