Double Box Record

Chapitre 78

The green forest is quietly changing its leaves, and the red stamens continue to bloom. It is the time of transition between spring and summer, and the climate in Yangzhou is warm and humid. If you stand at the bow of the boat for a long time, you will feel your back soaked with a thin layer of sweat.

The boatman rowed slowly ahead, the small boat bobbing on the blue waves, and the willows on the bank drooped, like a shy young girl, which is the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan.

As he rowed the boat, he laughed and said, "Look up, everyone. You can't see the Twenty-Four Bridges of Yangzhou anywhere else. Many great poets and lyricists have written poems about the Twenty-Four Bridges throughout history. 'Green hills faintly visible, waters stretching far and wide, autumn ends in Jiangnan, yet the grass remains green.' 'On the night of the bright moon over the Twenty-Four Bridges, where is the jade maiden teaching the flute?' You must have heard this poem before, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yichun pulled up her straw hat, revealing a honey-colored face. She stared at the long bridge, which resembled a rainbow lying on the water, for a long time before nodding and saying, "It is very beautiful."

The boatman laughed and said, "We're not lucky today. We didn't see any painters out. Sometimes when the weather is nice, skilled painters will gather here to paint. The cheap ones cost a few coins, and the expensive ones cost a few taels of silver. You can leave your mark on the painting along with the Twenty-Four Bridges."

Several other people on the same boat were crossing the waterway, and they all asked him about famous painters, chattering away and making quite a scene.

Yi Chun silently watched the Twenty-Four Bridges recede into the distance, the small boat beneath her feet swaying slightly, and for some reason, it reminded her of the days she spent with Shu Jun on Dongjiang Lake.

If he were here, what would he say? But he's always been very refined, so he probably wouldn't explain the scenery to her at all; he would just hold his sanxian and sing slowly.

He often appeared aloof and indifferent, and although he wore a nonchalant smile, he was actually refusing to let anyone get close to his own world.

But that day he clearly opened the door, yet she still made him angry.

He has this ability: even though it's his fault for being indecent towards her, she's the one who ends up feeling guilty.

What's the logic behind this? Yichun didn't understand either.

She never liked to cause trouble for herself; if she couldn't figure something out, she simply wouldn't think about it. She turned around and listened with a smile as the boatman sang a Yangzhou folk song, cheering and applauding along with everyone else on the boat.

After traveling by water for a while, they suddenly heard cries and the sound of someone falling into the water ahead. The boatman stopped singing abruptly, pushed the boat, and stopped it in the middle of the water.

The people on the boat peered out in surprise and disbelief, only to see that a similar fishing boat that was dropping off passengers was surrounded by several other awning fishing boats not far ahead. The passengers on board were crying and shouting as a group of burly men stopped them and demanded money. Those who refused were thrown into the water.

"What bad luck! We ran into these water ghosts!" The boatman shuddered and quickly rowed the boat back.

Yichun asked in a low voice, "Old man, who are they? They robbed people in broad daylight, and the government doesn't do anything about it?"

The boatman sighed, “Why would the government care about such trivial matters? These water ghost leaders feed the constables well every month, who cares about our lives! We’ve reported it so many times, and they always say there are no robbers. Instead, they beat up the people who reported it to the authorities, saying they were spreading rumors. These guys aren’t from Yangzhou. Judging by their build, they’re probably from the north. They’re absolutely vicious.”

As they were talking, the fishing boats, probably having spotted another fat fish, immediately chased after them.

The people on the boat panicked and frantically shouted to rock the boat, but the dozen or so burly men on the small fishing boats were chasing after them. They were as fast as shooting stars in the water and surrounded the small boat in the blink of an eye.

A burly man stood at the bow of the boat, arms crossed, watching them. His bare arms were tattooed with a fierce tiger, making him look extremely menacing.

"Those who value their lives, hand over the money; those who don't, jump!" he commanded from his high vantage point, his words concise and to the point.

The people on the boat all took out their purses, not daring to utter a word. Two more burly men boarded the boat, one taking money and the other searching them. They watched as a few silver coins hidden in a middle-aged woman's bodice were also taken. Her face turned pale and then red, she looked like she wanted to cry but dared not, and she looked very pitiful.

"Pouch!" A man walked up to Yichun, raised his hand and knocked her straw hat off. He suddenly saw that she was a young girl, and quite pretty. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "A young lady! Quite young!"

As he spoke, he began to search her body. Just as his fingers touched her waist, he felt a chill on her neck; an iron sword was pressed against her neck.

“It should be the other way around; you should all hand over your purses to me.” Yichun chuckled, revealing a row of white teeth.

The burly man raised his hand to push her, but she dodged him, snatched the purses from his hand, tripped him, and sent him tumbling straight into the water.

"Are you rebelling?!" The water ghosts on the awning fishing boat jumped onto the boat to grab her when they saw their companion fall into the water.

Yi Chun first snatched the purse, then pushed the person into the water. The series of actions were extremely skillful, suggesting that he had accumulated a lot of experience in robbing money in less than half a year. He even grabbed the jade chain on the person's hand.

Seeing her skill, the group of water ghosts simply dived to the bottom and shook the fishing boat vigorously, trying to capsize it. They figured that once she was in the water, she wouldn't be able to do anything to them.

Yichun leaped and landed steadily next to the Water Ghost Boss, staring at him wide-eyed.

The leader of the water ghosts, however, remained calm and asked her directly, "What do you want?"

Yichun prefers dealing with straightforward people, and said with a smile, "Give them back their money, and then give me the money you have on you. That way, we'll be even."

The leader of the water ghosts didn't say much. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the water ghosts to return all the stolen purses to the passengers on the boat. Then he threw his own purse into her arms—it was heavy and probably contained a lot of silver.

"I can only give you what I have," he said.

Yichun nodded, stuffed the silver into his pocket, and jumped back onto the fishing boat. The boatman quickly started rowing the boat, trying to escape the group of water ghosts and demons as soon as possible.

The leader suddenly said coldly, "We are from the Yangzhou Zhongxing Gang. State your names."

“My name is Ge Yichun,” she answered readily. “Anyone who disagrees can come and find me anytime.”

Chapter Twelve

In the martial arts world, it's common to use one's skills to subdue others and then make threats, which Yi Chun initially didn't take seriously.

But after being openly and secretly attacked for four consecutive days, and having no peace even during her private moments such as eating, sleeping and going to the toilet, she finally realized that she seemed to have gotten into big trouble.

The inn's windows were old and couldn't be bolted shut, so Yichun would prop them up with a chair when she slept. Sure enough, when it was late at night, she heard the faint sound of the chair being gently moved again.

The person tiptoed in through the window, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly walked towards the bed.

Yichun gripped the iron sword, too lazy to even open his eyes, and pressed the sword directly against the man's throat, whispering, "All things considered, I only took thirteen taels of silver from you. Have some backbone, will you? You're still relentlessly pursuing me for thirteen taels of silver?"

The man's voice was filled with anger and resentment at losing to a young woman: "This concerns the reputation of the Zhongxing Gang! It's not just thirteen taels of silver!"

Yichun opened her eyes and sighed, "So what exactly do you want? Why are you trying every means to hunt me down?"

The man roared, "Losing to you is only because we're not skilled enough! If you're so capable, come with me to the Zhongxing Gang headquarters tonight. The leader is waiting for you there. Do you have the guts to fight him one-on-one?!"

"After a one-on-one fight, will you stop bothering me?"

"That's right! Let's see if you have the guts!"

Yichun rolled over and stood up, sheathing her sword: "Let's go."