An Oriental Odyssey

In the cabin at the bottom of the Qianduan Pavilion, Yuan'an saw the floodgate open, and the river water pouring in. Despite Zhao Lanzhi's efforts to lift her up, they were both on the verge of drowning. Just then, the small door above the iron gate suddenly opened, and the young boy's face appeared outside. Yuan'an was overjoyed, as if she had seen a savior: "Hey, why are you here? Hurry, quickly save us!"

Without saying a word, the young boy began to ram the door from the outside, but he almost shattered half of his body. The massive iron gate remained unmoved.

Yuan'an took out a skeleton hand from her bosom and tossed it to the boy outside: "Wait, this door opens outward! Hurry! Take this. Pull the door from the outside and open it for us!"

As she spoke these words, the water in the warehouse was rising rapidly. By the time Yuan'an finished, the water had reached their ankles. The young boy outside did not dare to delay. He took the iron hand, latched it from the outside, and exerted all his strength. His face turned red, and the veins on his neck bulged, but even with the force of dozens of oxen, all he heard was a creaking sound, and the iron gate finally opened with a crash!

At this moment, the warehouse was almost filled with water. When the young boy knocked down the iron gate, the river water rushed into the cabin. Yuan'an and Zhao Lanzhi, who were nearly submerged, were luckily saved. Mu Le carried Yuan'an on his back, Zhao Lanzhi followed closely, and the three of them half ran and half swam, finally escaping from the bottom of the cabin.

The guests and courtesans inside the cabins were still seeking pleasure and having fun when the ship suddenly started shaking violently. At first, some thought it was their imagination, but soon, water began to flood in, and the sinking ship seemed as if it would take everyone down into the abyss of a whirlpool.

In an instant, chaos broke out on the ship. Some screamed, some fled, and some even jumped into the water, thinking their swimming skills would save them. Yuan'an, Zhao Lanzhi, and the young boy climbed up to the deck, but several thugs attacked them head-on. Yuan'an almost lost her life, but she barely escaped. Her blood surged, and she went into a frenzy, while Zhao Lanzhi, even though always composed and calm, had also experienced a narrow escape from death. He became wary of everyone's intentions, and when he saw Jiang Ren approaching, he prepared to fight him if necessary. Unexpectedly, Jiang Ren made a move and killed an assassin who was about to ambush Zhao Lanzhi. Only then did Zhao Lanzhi relax and say to him, "Help us!"

On the tilting ship, the situation was extremely chaotic on this side. The blood dyed the river water red. However, the sinking speed of the large ship exceeded everyone's imagination. In a moment, almost everyone on board fell into the water. Some of them still had breath left and were crying for help, but many had already lost consciousness.

The previously fighting Yuan'an, Zhao Lanzhi, the young boy, and Jiang Ren also fell into the water, soon being dispersed by the waves and whirlpools. Yuan'an couldn't swim, so she grabbed hold of a wooden board and floated on the water, rubbing her face in a sorry state. "Zhao Lanzhi! Little boy! Where are you?!" She called out.

A burly man tried to snatch the wooden board from Yuan'an's hands. When she was caught off guard, he pushed her head underwater from behind. Suddenly, like a shark, the young boy emerged from the water and attacked the man from behind, tearing him apart and pulling Yuan'an out of the water.

Zhao Lanzhi emerged from the water in the distance, shouting loudly, "Yuan'an! Yuan'an!"

Yuan'an was delighted, "I'm here! I'm here!"

Unexpectedly, that man thought Yuan'an was telling him to go ashore and turned around to dive back into the water.

Yuan'an was terrified and wished she could follow him: "Where are you going, Zhao Lanzhi?! Come back quickly!"

However, the young boy, with his brute strength, pulled Yuan'an towards the shore.

Yuan'an struggled and shouted, "I won't leave! Zhao Lanzhi! Zhao Lanzhi! I'll save you!"

But the young boy didn't listen to her. He just pushed her towards the shore.

In the chaotic river water resembling a pot of porridge, the madam of Qianduan Pavilion, Zhang Mama, sat on a swaying small boat, using the oar to fend off hands trying to climb onto the boat: "All of you, get lost! This is my boat!"

As a wave hit, her small bundle fell into the river, and Zhang Mama anxiously yelled, "Ah, my gold!"

Someone who had fallen into the water took advantage of the situation and pulled her down, snatching her boat.

Just as Zhang Mama was about to drown, Zhao Lanzhi pulled her out of the water and hung her on a wooden board.

Startled, Zhang Mama saw that it was the adversary who had almost caused her death. She was scared out of her wits and exclaimed, "Ah? It's you?!"

Zhao Lanzhi chuckled, his white teeth gleaming under the moonlight, like a proud wolf: "You tried to kill me, but I saved you! Repay me properly! Tell everything about how you helped young master Xianya smuggle private salt and how you killed Ru Yue in court! Tell me about the salt-making workshops you used, the people who helped you transport the salt, and the ones who bought salt from you!"

Zhang Mama deflated and begged for mercy, calling for forgiveness. Eventually, she surrendered, ready to accept her fate.

On the other side, Jiang Ren paddled a small boat and arrived, pulling Zhao Lanzhi and Zhang Mama out of the water. Zhao Lanzhi was exhausted and looked at Jiang Ren with gratitude, wiping his face and saying, "I came out today to handle a case, but I didn't expect to get into such a big mess! Thank you for lending a hand and helping. I will personally seek approval and reward you from the Magistrate!" Jiang Ren rowed the boat with a faint smile, seeming indifferent to the matter, saying, "Zhao Lanzhi, you and I are brothers, there's no need to mention this."

On the riverbank, Yuan'an was raging and trying to rush back into the water but was pushed back several times by the young boy.

Angrily, Yuan'an's eyes turned red as she pointed at him and shouted, "You, you, get away from me! I want to save Zhao Lanzhi! Get out! Get away from me!"

The young boy widened his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said nothing. Like a stubborn calf, he blocked her path and wouldn't let her go back into the water.

Furious and unable to match his strength, Yuan'an resorted to punching and kicking him, giving him a good beating. In the end, she swung a punch that hit the corner of his eye, causing him intense pain. Yuan'an herself was also stunned.

The young boy, who had never spoken before, suddenly shouted, "No! No! You can't drown!"

Surprised, Yuan'an looked at him for a while, "You're not mute? You can speak?"

Though he could speak, it seemed difficult for him. He struggled with his mouth for a long time and said, "Can't drown, you!"

Yuan'an and her young boy were at odds for a while until Zhao Lanzhi and the others finally came ashore.

Zhao Lanzhi saw Yuan'an from afar and called her name, "Yuan'an!"

Yuan'an turned her head, full of joy, and rushed over like a lively little shrimp. She almost bumped into Zhao Lanzhi: "You, you, you scared me!"

Zhao Lanzhi pointed at Zhang Mama and said, "If we don't catch her, today's trip was for nothing."

Yuan'an was overjoyed and at a loss for words for a while, and finally, she gave Zhao Lanzhi a fierce punch: "We've survived a great disaster, so we'll have good luck in the future."

Zhao Lanzhi looked at the young boy behind Yuan'an, "Today, we survived the great disaster thanks to him! This child, you made a good purchase that day!"

The young boy looked at him expressionlessly, as if he didn't understand the praise at all.

"What do we do now?" Yuan'an asked.

Zhao Lanzhi smiled, "Time for real business."