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Luting Wharf, enshrouded in light drizzle.
"My lord..."
Fang Ke, holding an oiled paper umbrella, slowly walked to Yang Ge who had been waiting on the dock, and called out in a low voice.
Yang Ge came to his senses and glanced sideways at him, "You’ve arrived."
Fang Ke: "Yes, how long have you been here?"
Yang Ge: "I’ve just arrived as well."
Fang Ke took a look at Yang Ge’s shoes soaked by the rain and wanted to console him with a few words, but did not know where to start.
Instead, it was Yang Ge who asked with a smile, "They always say, ’a clay pot is destined to break near the well, a general is bound to die in battle’; Old Wei met with the fate he sought, didn’t he?"
Fang Ke laughed and said, "My lord, Wei hardly had such lofty aspirations."
Yang Ge thought for a moment, then nodded, "That’s true. If he were still here, he would certainly say, ’it’s better to live poorly than to die well’... cautious all his life."
Fang Ke silently stood behind him, feeling a similar sense of melancholy.
Before long, three large ships flying the dragon flags of the Emperor’s personal troops slowly made their way to the turbulent Luting Wharf, drawn by trackers. They would make a brief stop here to resupply before continuing along the Bian River back to Luoyang, the Divine Capital.
Yang Ge, holding his umbrella, stood at the edge of the dock, looking up quietly as the three large ships approached the shore.
The first to disembark from the ship, wearing a crimson python robe and a black cloak, was Shen Fa: "You’re here..."
Seeing Yang Ge on shore, there was not the slightest hint of surprise in his eyes, but instead a touch of gravity.
Yang Ge looked at him expressionlessly and, holding the oiled paper umbrella, stepped onto the gangplank and then onto the deck of the primary ship.
The embroidered-uniform guards, each with a horse-tail whip at their waist, saluted in unison upon seeing him: "Greetings, Lord Yang."
Yang Ge scanned the surroundings and spotted a makeshift shrine at the center of the cabin with a sturdy, dark coffin tied to several stools, but he did not see a single operative from the Western Factory.
"Where is Cao Ying?"
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Yang Ge slowly closed his oiled paper umbrella, stepping into the cabin, and from beside the coffin, he picked up three sticks of incense, lighting them on the ever-burning lamp: "Have him come to see me."
Shen Fa, who had followed him back onto the deck, responded in a low voice, "Old Wei’s departure was sudden, the matters in Xiangxi are unsettled, Cao Ying is staying in Xiangxi in Old Wei’s stead, in charge of the situation."
Yang Ge held the incense sticks and bowed three times to the coffin in front of him before inserting them into the censer.
Perhaps it was the swaying of the ship on the waves that caused the light smoke to spread into a cloud above the coffin, resembling a dispersed chrysanthemum.
Yang Ge lowered his eyelids, pursed his lips forcefully, then gently patted the edge of the coffin and said with a slightly strained smile, "Alright, you’re almost home, stop tossing and turning, rest well hereafter. I will find your head for you, you should always be assured when I handle matters... Next time I pass by Luting, don’t forget to come out for a drink with me!"
Listening to his soft murmurings, the embroidered guards standing on the deck in the rain subtly envied the man lying in the coffin.
After a while, Yang Ge slowly walked out of the cabin.
Shen Fa hurried over with Fang Ke, "Second brother, don’t get too upset, hear me out..."
Yang Ge glanced at him expressionlessly and turned his head to loudly call out, "Where is Cao Ying?"
Just as his words fell, there came a "plop" of a heavy object falling into the water.
Upon hearing the sound, Shen Fa turned his head in despair.
Yang Ge looked in the direction from which the sound had come and saw a Western Factory operative, too muscular to be mistaken for a eunuch, climbing up the side of the ship from the water. He knelt on one knee, made a clasped-hands salute, and with tears streaming down his face, he bellowed, "Here at your service!"
"As for you..."
Yang Ge raised his hand to poke Shen Fa’s chest, then turned to Cao Ying and forcefully pulled him up, placing a palm on his chest.
Suddenly, the wet clothes on Cao Ying’s body began to bulge and a thick mist began to rise from his body.
A few moments later, Yang Ge withdrew his hand, and Cao Ying’s clothes fell back into place, now completely devoid of moisture.
In a subdued tone, he asked, "Were you at the scene the day your master was assassinated?"
Cao Ying, with his head lowered, replied hoarsely, "Reporting to my lord, on that day, I was right behind the master and saw with my own eyes the master fighting that villain."
Yang Ge: "Tell me what happened in detail, and don’t omit any details."
Cao Ying saluted and replied in a hoarse voice, "Yes, it was eight days ago, I accompanied the master northwards, we bypassed Yueyang Lake, took the Yangtze River route and were heading downstream towards Fengyang to honor the invitation of Yang Tiansheng, King Yang of the Ming Sect..."
Yang Ge frowned, "Hold on, what does Yang Tiansheng have to do with this?"
Cao Ying replied, "My lord, the master and I were originally in Xiangxi overseeing the eradication of the Five Poisons Cult. About twenty days ago, Yang Tiansheng, King Yang of the Ming Sect, sent a letter stating his decision to initiate the surrender of his Qingmu Hall followers to the Imperial Court, setting a precedent for Ming Sect’s amnesty. The master was responding to King Yang’s invitation, temporarily setting aside the Xiangxi conflict to go to Fengyang and discuss the amnesty matters of Ming Sect’s Qingmu Hall with King Yang..."
Yang Ge: "Where is the letter?"
Cao Ying looked towards Shen Fa.
With a sigh, Shen Fa took out a rectangular wooden box the size of a palm from his bosom, opened it, and handed a piece of letter paper to Yang Ge.
Yang Ge took the letter paper and inspected it closely... The paper had been soaked, with some of the writing blurred into a smudge, but the noisy energy that surged through the tiny script still convinced him at a glance that it was indeed from Yang Tiansheng’s hand.
By timing, this letter must have been sent by Yang Tiansheng after returning from Luting to the Jianghuai region to Wei Heng.
He returned the letter to Shen Fa: "Continue."
Cao Ying: "We continued our journey south down the river. When we reached the Jiujiang river segment, we were intercepted by a dark-covered boat. The villain claimed to be ’Xu Hongru, the Western Heavenly King of the White Lotus Sect.’ Upon seeing the man, the master knew it was bad news and told me ’The person coming is either Yang Potian of the Ming Sect or Yan Shijun of the Five Poisons Cult, most likely Yang Potian,’ then ordered me to leave quickly and immediately charged to meet the aggressor..."
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