Болезненный юноша, путешествующий во времена династии Сун

Глава 4

Mo Xibei was used to being treated like a man by others, so he simply said nonchalantly, "I'm a businessman. What great name do I have that people admire? Is it just this money-grubbing that's making me famous?"

"Brother Mo, you really love to joke." Chu Junfeng could only smile along. Mo Xibei didn't offer him a seat, so he had to continue standing.

“I never joke, I only talk business. I don’t know if you want to buy or sell?” Mo Xibei said seriously. After thinking for a moment, he felt that his words were too controversial, so he added, “My shop provides all kinds of entertainment, but if you have better sources, I will also buy them.”

"Brother Mo is indeed very humorous. Your fourth floor is famous throughout the world, and I, Chu, will naturally want to see it in the future. However, right now, it seems that how to preserve our lives is something we should think about carefully together." Chu Junfeng still smiled, pulled up a chair for himself, sat opposite Mo Xibei, and stared intently into Mo Xibei's eyes, trying to see something in them.

"It's just a few sunk ships. You martial arts worlds have your own grudges and disputes. I have no reason to get involved. As a businessman, I don't do things that are thankless and exhausting. Hero Chu, you've come to the wrong place." Mo Xibei yawned and decided that sleeping was the best option for the current situation. Although she also wanted to see more handsome men, the handsome men in front of her were too troublesome. If she wasn't careful, she would get herself into trouble. Mo Xibei considered herself a fool and decided to keep her distance from smart people.

“Everyone in the world has their own affairs. Now, Brother Mo’s ship has also been marked with their palm prints. I’m afraid that even if Brother Mo doesn’t offend others, others will offend him. It would be a losing proposition to just sit and wait to die.” Chu Junfeng remained unmoved. “The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. Let’s do a deal with Brother Mo. Let’s join hands and ensure that these people arrive safely in Luoyang. Once they reach Henan Prefecture, I, Chu, will naturally offer them ten thousand taels of gold.”

"Haha..." Mo Xibei laughed loudly, slapping the table and saying, "Master Chu is really interesting. You saw what happened last night with your own eyes. I guess you didn't make a move then because you felt it was difficult to gauge the other party's strength. Today you insisted on dragging me into this. If it succeeds, the world will say you are a chivalrous hero who helped your fellow martial arts practitioners. It doesn't matter if I get a reputation for being a greedy villain. What I fear is that if it fails, you will still be a hero, while I will have lost everything and given away my vast fortune to others. Do you think I would do such a losing business?"

Chu Junfeng laughed loudly and said, "I knew I hadn't misjudged Brother Mo. Brother Mo is truly a righteous and generous man. This time, we will definitely be able to protect the other boats on the canal and see who is playing tricks."

“I won’t fall for your tricks. I don’t want the ten thousand taels of gold, but I won’t work for nothing. I want a promise from you.” Mo Xibei shook his head, his expression cunning like a fox. “You have to promise me that, whether things succeed or fail, as long as we both make it to Luoyang alive, you have to grant me one request. Of course, I guarantee that this request will not violate your chivalry. How about it?”

"It seems I have no choice but to agree. Although cooperating with me is also your own need to protect yourself, if we haggle any further, it will really be a business transaction." Chu Junfeng made the final decision, and then said that in order to narrow down the scope of protection, he would bring his page to stay on Mo Xibei's boat.

“I think you do have a talent for business,” Mo Xibei muttered, but did not object. Her large ship was quite empty; it could easily accommodate ten or eight more people, let alone two.

Volume One: Ten Years in the Jianghu, Chapter Eight

That night, after midnight, Mo Xibei sneaked onto the boat's awning as usual. Before he could even climb up, he saw a pair of bright eyes smiling and greeting him silently. Neither of them made a sound, but they both hid themselves and focused intently on their surroundings. Based on the previous incident, nothing should happen tonight. The people on each boat were on guard for the first half of the night, and seeing that nothing was amiss, they couldn't resist their sleepiness and all dozed off.

And just as everyone was drifting into their dreams, the enchanting singing voice drifted closer and closer, carried by the wind into everyone's ears. The singer must have been a young woman, her voice delicate and alluring.

Mo Xibei and Chu Junfeng were both stunned. They felt that the woman's singing voice was floating and undulating, as if it came from mid-air, but they couldn't make out what she was singing. However, they didn't have time to think. Suddenly, more than a dozen people rushed out of a boat that was moored in the northeast. They danced and jumped into the canal one after another right in front of them. The splashing water woke up the people on patrol on the other boats.

"What happened to them?" someone asked in alarm.

"They're possessed! They're possessed!" a disciple of the Haiyan Gang shouted, trembling like a leaf.

Chu Junfeng flew past and just managed to stop two people who were about to jump into the river. Strangely enough, when he landed on the boat to the northeast, the singing stopped. Then, the two people who hadn't had a chance to jump into the river fainted. When dawn broke, they said they didn't remember anything that happened the night before, but they felt that someone in the river was calling them and they had to go.

The sinking ship and the mysterious singing that lured people to jump into the river turned into a strange affair overnight. Everyone became suspicious and paranoid. At dawn, two sects abandoned their ships and went ashore, deciding not to go to Luoyang.

"Brother Mo, are you scared?" Chu Junfeng asked Mo Xibei during breakfast.

"Fear? How could I not be afraid?" Mo Xibei deliberately patted her chest exaggeratedly, her face still composed, but inwardly she felt incredibly lucky. In fact, she was terrified at the time, because she thought of the Sirens from European mythology, who used singers to lure sailors and then killed them while they were bewitched. The Sirens sat on islands surrounded by bones every night, and just thinking about it sent chills down her spine. But canals aren't the sea, so could there be river monsters there too? She was somewhat relieved that there was someone with her at the time. Although this person later jumped out to save people, at least he reminded her that pretending to be calm was still calm, otherwise, she probably would have screamed out in fright.

"Actually, I'm also very scared." Chu Junfeng didn't look at Mo Xibei, and after praising the bird's nest porridge in his bowl, he casually added a sentence.

"You're scared too?" Mo Xibei said, "If you're scared, why did you rush over to save people?"

“My fear doesn’t conflict with my desire to save people,” Chu Junfeng said.

"Strange person!" After drawing his conclusion, Mo Xibei went back to his cabin to catch up on sleep. He had been frightened and thought he would have insomnia, but he slept very well.

On the seventh night, the singing continued. This time, even Chu Junfeng couldn't save those who jumped into the river, because, apart from Mo Xibei's boat, almost every other boat had sailors jumping overboard with blank stares. By morning, less than half of the people still wanted to continue their journey to Luoyang by water.

“Things are getting interesting.” On the morning of the eighth day, Mo Xibei said this to Honglu. As she spoke, Chu Junfeng walked into the hall with a smile.

For the first time, Honglu felt nothing at Chu Junfeng's smile. In fact, she only felt a chill down her spine. She returned Mo Xibei's words with two eye rolls.

Because the number of sailors had drastically decreased, Chu Junfeng intervened and asked the remaining 50 or so people to transfer to two larger ships, while the rest of the rented ships were sent back to their respective destinations.

The bustling scene on the canal a few days ago was finally gone. The people on the three boats were uneasy and proceeded cautiously.

At noon that day, the boat at the front rescued a frail boy from the water. The boy claimed that he had been robbed and thrown into the river, but he managed to hold on to a piece of driftwood until he was rescued.

Of the three boats, Mo Xibei's boat had the most empty rooms. However, Mo Xibei insisted that one had to have money to board the boat. People in the martial arts world were used to being generous and righteous, and they couldn't stand such a greedy and greedy person. So they ignored her and Mo Xibei was happy to have some peace and quiet.

In the afternoon, during Mo Xibei's usual nap time, someone inconsiderately knocked on her door. One, two, three... countless times. She tossed and turned, determined to pretend she couldn't hear it. The knocking was rhythmic and not loud, and she quickly got used to it and began to doze off. However, just like that, the knocking stopped abruptly.

Strangely enough, her ears had gotten used to the sound, and now that it was gone, she was wide awake. So she got up menacingly, flung open the door, and shouted, "I hate people who give up halfway!"

Outside the door, Chu Junfeng leaned against the wall, not looking at her. The wind in the corridor gently brushed past him, and the afternoon sun cast dappled shadows around him. His slightly pursed lips showed that he was in a good mood. When Mo Xibei opened the door, he turned his head slightly and asked her, "Shall we chat for a bit?"

"Okay!" Mo Xibei answered stupidly, then realized his mistake and immediately beat his chest and stamped his feet in frustration. When people are tired, they really have no ability to resist beautiful things. But how come Chu Junfeng can always maintain the best condition no matter when? Even after wearing the same clothes all morning, there are no wrinkles. Doesn't he get tired?

Naturally, this question couldn't be asked, and besides, Chu Junfeng had already bypassed her and entered her room.

Mo Xibei's room, even though it was a room on a ship, was as comfortable as possible. There was a large round bed with thick, soft cushions. The bed was covered with layers of gauze curtains that hung down to the ground. Each side of the curtains was sewn with a rose made of gauze, which was beautiful but not overpowering, and bloomed quietly.

Chu Junfeng observed the room discreetly, and naturally, he also reassessed Mo Xibei in his mind. The room was large, and apart from the bed, there was only a table and two chairs near the window, both of which were very grand. There was a chessboard on the table with a few chess pieces on it. Chu Junfeng thought to himself, however, that this bed looked rather effeminate. But everyone has their own preferences, and there was no point in saying more.

"What does Master Chu want to say?" Mo Xibei interrupted his thoughts in a somber tone.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to discuss the current situation with Brother Mo." Chu Junfeng knew that, according to Mo Xibei's habits, it was unlikely that he would tell him that he could sit down, so it was best for him to sit down first. So, naturally, he sat down on the side of the chessboard where he was playing white pieces.

"What's there to discuss right now?" Mo Xibei shrugged, unconvinced.

"Brother Mo, what do you think of the singing that night? Do you also think it was the work of evil spirits?" Chu Junfeng asked directly.

"Even Confucius revered gods and feared ghosts, so what's wrong with me thinking this way?" Mo Xibei looked innocent. In fact, if it weren't for the song on the seventh night, she would have almost believed in the existence of river monsters. However, after the seventh night, her thoughts had changed.

Volume One: Ten Years in the Martial World, Chapter Nine

"I don't believe in such supernatural things," Chu Junfeng said. "However, I'm still very curious as to why, of all the ships, only Brother Mo's ship was unharmed?"

"There are many explanations for this. You could say I'm the mastermind, or at least an accomplice, and of course I wouldn't harm myself; or you could say that money can move mountains, and perhaps they'd rather have my money than risk their lives; or maybe it's just the beginning, and tonight it might be my boat's turn. Of course, with Master Chu's intelligence, considering that all the boats were hired along the way, if someone is willing to put in the effort and money, they can create any bizarre scene, then the problem isn't hard to explain." Mo Xibei smiled as before, his eyebrows curving into crescents, but his eyes sparkled like stars.

Chu Junfeng remained silent. He had considered all these possibilities. The song under the moonlight sounded eerie, and the scene it triggered was also eerie, but why weren't all of them affected? Actually, he didn't have this feeling the first time, but the second time was different. But why? If everything was as Mo Xibei said, and someone deliberately created a maze, then they should possess what that person wanted. But what exactly was that thing?

"We're almost at Henan Prefecture. Actually, thinking about it any further is pointless. We might as well just let things take their course." Before he could speak, Mo Xibei had already returned to her soft bedside. The faint, warm fragrance emanating from the bed curtains made her even more drowsy, her eyes barely able to stay open. "If Master Chu insists on figuring out the key to the problem, then continue. I'm too lazy to think about things that don't earn me money. I'll save my breath." As soon as she finished speaking, the bed curtains fell again. When Chu Junfeng looked, all he saw was a blurry, reclining figure.

As night fell, the pageboy Tian Xin quietly went out to run an errand, as instructed. Chu Junfeng was sitting cross-legged in his room when a series of light footsteps stopped at the door.