Chapter 373 - Chapter 373: Chapter 373. God-given Opportunity
Chapter 373: Chapter 373. God-given Opportunity
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Brother, please wait a moment.”
The panic in Qiu Yongkang’s eyes had disappeared. He calmly asked the man to wait for him, “I’ll take the cotton robe back.”
“It just so happens that I don’t have any clothes. Give it to me!”
The man didn’t stand on ceremony; he grabbed Qiu Yongkang’s new jacket and put it on shamelessly.
Qiu Yongkang frowned slightly, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.
“Let’s go. What are you looking at? Do 1 need eight carriages to invite you over?”
The man saw Qiu Yongkang standing there and looking at him. He raised his eyebrows and ordered him in an unfriendly tone.
“No need.”
Qiu Yongkang took a deep breath and followed him into the alley.
“Yongkang.”
Jiang Laoqi had just returned with a cart of coal. He spoke with Ji Shuisheng outside the city gate and was delayed for a while. When he entered the city, he came to Qiu Yongkang to hand over the accounts.
Seeing Qiu Yongkang following behind a stranger, Jiang Laoqi called out to him.
“Old Seventh, you’re back?”
Qiu Yongkang’s body trembled when he heard Jiang Laoqi’s voice. He turned around and forced a smile on his face.
“Yes, pay the bill.”
Seventh Master Jiang nodded and looked curiously at the man who had stopped to wait for Qiu Yongkang. He felt that this man was very unfamiliar, so he asked Qiu Yongkang,
“Who is he?”
Qiu Yongkang didn’t know how to introduce the man. The man walked over casually, “I’m Zhou Changhai, his cousin.”
“Cousin? Yongkang, do you still have a cousin? Why haven’t 1 heard you mention it before?”
Seventh Master Jiang asked Qiu Yongkang in surprise. They had grown up together, but he had never heard of Yongkang having a cousin.
Qiu Yongkang glanced at Zhou Zhanghai, who claimed to be his cousin and saw him carelessly smiling at him. It was obvious that he did not want to help him out, so he could only say stiffly,
“Back then, when we fled from famine, we got lost and only reunited.”
“All, that’s lucky. I’m Yongkang’s friend. You must be older than me, so 1’11 call you brother!”
Seventh Master Jiang was very happy for Qiu Yongkang and enthusiastically started chatting with Zhou Zhanghai.
“Alright!”
Zhou Changhai smiled happily and glanced at Qiu Yongkang, who was pale with a hint of provocation in his eyes.
“Old Seven, take the carriage to the government office first. I’ll be there in a while.”
Qiu Yongkang didn’t want them to talk, so he let Jiang Laoqi leave first.
“Oh, okay.”
Seventh Master Jiang still had a smile on his face. He nodded when he heard Qiu Yongkang’s words and said to Zhou Changhai enthusiastically, “Cousin, I’ll treat you to a drink after I’m done.”
“Sure, I haven’t eaten yet!”
Zhou Changhai laughed happily and agreed without hesitation. Qiu Yongkang’s face darkened even more. He glared at Zhou Changhai angrily, his gaze sharp as a sword. Zhou Changhai gave him a sinister smile. The threat in his eyes made Qiu Yongkang clench his fists, but he dared not say anything.
While Qiu Yongkang had acknowledged a cousin, Su Qing and Ji Shuisheng headed towards Dazhu (Pearl) Mountain in Jin City.
The weather was significantly different between the two cities. Since it was not snowing in Jin City, Ji Shuisheng and Su Qing decided to go to Jin City to purchase some supplies to send to Qu Da and the others.
When they arrived outside Jin City, they realized that the military flag on the city had changed. It used to be the An Family Army, but it was the Wan Family Army this time.
Moreover, the name of the country had also changed. It used to say that the Great Xia Kingdom had now become the Great Yue Kingdom. Was this a change of dynasty in such a short period?
“I’ll go into the city to scout around. You guys hide.”
Ji Shuisheng was worried and asked Su Qing to hide in the forest with Xiaoying while he went into the city to take a look.
“Be careful.”
Su Qing told Ji Shuisheng that if Xiaoying were not around, she would enter the city with Ji Shuisheng.
“I know. You guys be careful too.”
Ji Shuisheng nodded and handed the Luan saber to Su Qing. “I saw someone searching the city gate.”
Su Qing took the Luan saber and instructed Ji Shuisheng, “Don’t try to be brave. If there’s anything, come back and discuss it before making a decision.”
She still remembered that when she had just joined Peach Blossom Cove’s escape team, Ji Shuisheng had gone to kill Wan Shengchang’s son overnight. She was worried that he would be impulsive.
“I know. I’m no longer a coarse man.”
Ji Shuisheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How much did Su Qing worry about him?
With time and experience, he was no longer the reckless youth he was back then. He would not be so stupid as to hit a rock with an egg.
“Big brother, be careful.”
Xiaoying was nervous about their conversation. Why did she feel Jin City was a dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den?
“Okay, listen to Sister Su Qing obediently.”
Ji Shuisheng agreed and instructed his sister not to run around.
He tidied up his own back, a simple package, a customs clearance document; his current identity was the grain store owner of Mo City.
The search in the city was stricter than before. Two teams of the Wan Family Army soldiers stood at the side with weapons in their hands. The soldiers guarding the city thoroughly searched the men. The customs documents were stricter.
The checks on the people who wanted to leave the city were even stricter. More people were in the queue than those who tried to enter the city. The speed of the checks was not fast, so Ji Shuisheng could only wait patiently.
Just as it was his turn to check, he saw the troops leaving the city in chaos. Two soldiers who were searching smashed a man in mourning with a knife and shouted at the Wan family army, “Sir, it’s the An family.”
The soldiers of the Wan Family Army immediately put their knives on the man’s neck, scaring him so much that his face turned ashen, and he trembled. The An family members who pretended to be in the funeral procession wanted to escape when they saw him being captured, but they were all captured by the Wan Family Army.
Such a huge commotion had caused chaos at the city gate. The Wan family army did not allow the commoners to leave the city and directly lowered the suspension bridge.
Ji Shuisheng’s position was very awkward. He happened to be sealed inside the suspension bridge and was released into the city after a thorough search.
He witnessed the entire process of the An family being arrested. After entering the city, he saw the notice posted at the city gate. The An family disturbed the court and reported that aiding the An family to be caught would be rewarded with a thousand gold.
Ji Shuisheng walked into the city without batting an eyelid. Restaurants and teahouses were the best places to find out what had happened. He found a restaurant and went in.
He found a seat by the window, from which he could see the situation on the street. The An family members who had just been captured were tied up like dogs by the Wan Family Army and thrown into the carriage. They were then pulled towards the government office.
“Caught?”
“We caught them. The winner is king, and the loser is a thief. Who asked the An family’s army to go against the Wan family’s army? Now that Prime Minister Wan had taken over the world, who else would he take care of if he didn’t care for them?”
“We’ve changed dynasties and must go to the government office to exchange money. I heard that the An family wanted to usurp the throne and kill the emperor, so Prime Minister Wan and General Wan raised an army to avenge the emperor.”
From the whispers of the customers, Ji Shuisheng grasped an essential piece of information. The original emperor was already dead. Prime Minister Wan had ascended the throne and the An family was their stepping stone.
Ji Shuisheng’s eyes shot out a cold light. The Wan family proclaimed themselves emperor, and everyone could kill them. He no longer had any worries when he raised his army. It was really a heaven-sent opportunity.
However, he didn’t have the commander’s seal, and the elite troops of the Xiao Family Army refused to submit. The most important thing now was to find the key.
Ji Shuisheng left the restaurant after he finished paying the bill. He saw that the people on the streets were terrified and uneasy. Just as Ji Shuisheng was thinking of a way to leave Jin City, he saw the crowd running around and shouting in fear..