flstandardbreds Chapter 149 The Wind Rises and the Waves Surge
Chapter 149 The Wind Rises and the Waves Surge
Chapter 149 149 The Wind Rises and the Waves Surge
Jingzhou, Wentao River.
Thick, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and a strong wind blew from the river to the bank, causing the thick branches of the trees on the shore to sway violently. Waves rolled wildly in the river, tossing the ferries moored at the shore up and down repeatedly, crashing against the waves with a terrifying sound.
On the riverbank, the boatman at the helm and the people crossing the river were crammed into a drafty thatched pavilion, their faces full of worry as they gazed into the river.
"Alas, with such fierce winds and waves today, it's bound to rain heavily. I'm afraid we won't be able to cross the river anytime soon."
The boatman sighed helplessly. As soon as he finished speaking, a chill suddenly swept through the surroundings. Amidst the surging wind and clouds, countless fine raindrops fell from the sky, forcefully slapping against the ground and the river surface.
In an instant, all was silent, except for the thunder that tore through the sky and the rushing sound of rain.
The rain was indeed heavy, instantly merging the sky and earth into a white expanse. The strong wind did not stop at all, continuously sending the rain into the thatched pavilion. People were caught off guard and were immediately soaked from head to toe. The rain hitting their bodies felt as if they were being struck by several sharp rays, causing them excruciating pain.
As everyone was in a sorry state, someone suddenly let out a scream:
"Look! There's a boat coming this way on the river!"
The group wiped the rain from their faces and looked up curiously into the river. In the distance, through the rain, they could vaguely see a boat cutting through the water and heading towards the shore.
The wind billowed the sails, and the ship drew closer and closer. Only then could everyone see that it was a multi-story ship, its hull vermilion, with three stories high. The doors and windows were tightly closed on all sides, and there was no sign of human habitation.
As everyone was speculating about who owned the boat, they didn't see that just as the boat got closer and closer to the shore, a man in a straw hat and plain clothes suddenly opened his eyes and leaped into the rain.
"Hey—" Before anyone could stop him, they watched helplessly as the man shot towards the large ship like an arrow undeterred by wind and rain. Reaching the riverbank, the man didn't stop. He flicked his wrist and shot several throwing knives into the air, then leaped up, using the knives as stepping stones to land effortlessly on the deck of the large ship.
"Good!!" The crowd cheered, but in an instant, several dark figures suddenly rose from the bottom of the ship, wielding knives and attacking the man on the deck!
The man was surrounded and attacked by several men in black, but he showed no panic. He pulled out the long-handled cloth strip he was carrying on his back, tore off his disguise, drew a long sword that gleamed with a blue light, and instantly unleashed several sword moves, calmly dealing with the men in black on the deck.
The large ship came to an abrupt stop in the river due to this unexpected turn of events, ceasing all further movement. Despite this, its tightly closed doors and windows remained completely still, exuding an eerie atmosphere.
In the wind, in the rain, swords flash, blood splatters.
The sword slashed through the throat, spitting out scalding blood. In a flash of cold light, the man in the straw hat had already killed all the men in black. He lowered his head and used the tip of his sword to pry open the back of the clothes of one of the men in black. The man was shocked to see a pattern on the back of the clothes that was a spider and a nine-petaled lotus combined into one.
With a flourish of his sword, the man in the straw raincoat raised his head and walked toward the tightly closed pavilion ahead with a chilling gaze.
The heavy rain washed away the thick blood on the longsword, gradually revealing its original appearance, leaving a trail of winding blood before the rain washed away the traces.
Reaching the front of the building, the man in the straw raincoat kicked open the tightly closed door, and a gust of wind carrying a fishy smell rushed towards him. His hair stood on end, and he immediately ducked and retreated, drawing his longsword into the rain with an impenetrable net of blades, completely extinguishing the fishy wind.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Knowing that the poisonous wind could not harm the man in the straw raincoat, several young women wearing veils rushed out of the house and attacked the man with long whips in their hands.
These women weren't particularly skilled in martial arts, but their excellent teamwork made them stand out. Amidst the interplay of whips, the rain from above didn't even dampen their clothes. Together, they forced the man in the straw raincoat back step by step, their eyes filled with murderous intent.
The man in the straw hat saw a faint purple light flashing among the whips, and knew that the whips were coated with a deadly poison. He knew he should not get entangled with them any longer. His eyes narrowed, and he suddenly took off his straw hat, poured his inner strength into it, and threw it at the women's faces.
The straw raincoat spun through the air as it flew towards them. Seeing the serrated blades on the edge of the raincoat, the women's expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly withdrew their whips to defend themselves. Taking advantage of this opening, the man in the raincoat slid down on his knees, raised his hand, and activated a hidden dart in his wrist, instantly killing the masked women.
When the man picked up his straw raincoat and rushed back into the building, the boat was already empty.
The man in the straw hat sheathed his longsword, gave a cold snort, and nimbly and swiftly withdrew from the ship, just as he had come.
——※※※——
Fuzhou, Changying Mountain Villa.
With a loud crash, the teapot and porcelain cups on the table were all swept to the ground. Ji Hongbo, his face ashen, looked at the woman kneeling before him, soaking wet, and said in a cold voice:
"Say what you just said!"
"Half a month ago, all the branches of the organization in Yingzhou, Lanzhou, Xiangzhou, Cangzhou, and Bashu were wiped out by a group of mysterious people who appeared out of nowhere. I tried every means to evade the pursuit and planned to retreat to Fuzhou with the brothers of the organization by waterway. But I didn't expect that person to chase us all the way to Wentao River in Jingzhou and kill all the brothers and sisters. In the end, only I was left..."
"A mysterious person? It's been half a month, someone has caused trouble, and you still can't find out his identity?" Ji Hongbo asked angrily.
The woman said, "These mysterious people are skilled in many martial arts. They can use swords, guns, and throwing knives and hidden weapons. Their movements are extremely strange, and their whereabouts are unpredictable. They often catch everyone off guard."
"Caught off guard?" Ji Hongbo sneered, and unexpectedly slit the woman's throat with a short knife hidden in his sleeve. The woman's eyes widened in disbelief, and before she could utter a sound, she collapsed, her face turning black.
"A bunch of useless trash!" Ji Hongbo stared coldly at the woman's corpse, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
The assassin standing behind him stepped forward, took out corpse-dissolving powder, sprinkled it on the woman's body, then turned around and asked, "Vice Master, should we send a message to the Master via carrier pigeon to report this matter?"
"Tell her?" Ji Hongbo's face was extremely gloomy. "She's only thinking about how to deal with that woman from the Marquis's mansion. What's the use of telling her? What else can she do besides make poison? She's so afraid of Chunyu Yang. Do you think she'll leave the capital and return to Fuzhou?"
The assassin listened with his head down, not daring to utter a single opinion.
"Send a message to Ji Linchuan, instructing him to go to the branch hall to take charge and to capture those scoundrels who dared to run wild on Ronghua Tower! Send a message to all the branch halls that haven't been involved yet, telling them to close their doors to customers from now on and not accept any more business," Ji Hongbo ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey your command."
After the assassin left, Ji Hongbo thought for a moment, then turned around and quickly went to the pigeon house. He wrote a secret letter, sealed it with beeswax into the letter tube on the pigeon's leg, and sent the pigeon into the air.
In the capital city, at the Prince of Nanping's residence, Ye Yingrou was grinding ink for Chunyu Jing in the study when she suddenly heard a system notification from within her body:
"Ji Hongbo's favorability -10, loyalty -10, morality -5, target's current favorability 70, loyalty 90, host's current morality 258."
Ye Yingrou's hand trembled, and she lost control of the pressure when grinding the ink. The ink splashed out and dripped onto the Xuan paper in front of Chunyu Jing, ruining a painting that was about to be completed.
Raising his head, Chunyu Jing's gaze was cold as he raised an eyebrow and said, "So absent-minded, what are you thinking about, hmm?"