knife

Chapter 384 There's Still a Chance to Save Him

“He Yiming, the leader of the Cao Gang,” Jiang Shiyuan said to Li Dachui, “has been in this position for over thirty years and is now in his early sixties. When I was in Luoyang, I originally planned to visit him and give him a gift, but he wasn’t there, so I only left the gift!”

"This person wields considerable power?" Li Dachui feigned ignorance.

He certainly knew this person very well. Xiao Le had been operating in Luoyang for many years, so how could he not know about the largest gang in the area?

“In the past, the canal transport from the south to Luoyang, and then from Luoyang to Chang’an, was basically controlled by the canal gangs!” Jiang Shiyuan said. “Now that the canal transport from Luoyang to Chang’an has been cut off, and the transport from the south to Luoyang is also intermittent, the livelihood of the canal gangs has become a big problem!”

Li Dachui said knowingly, "So now they're also doing some business that doesn't require capital?"

"More than that?" Jiang Shiyuan sneered, "They've already started to establish themselves in the local area, but they're oversimplifying the process of governing a region. Besides, gang warfare and military combat are two different things. Some time ago, we fought a battle with the Qin family of Donghai. The Qin family's army easily routed them with just a little effort. If Yang Quanyi hadn't sent troops out to threaten the Qin family's main base, the main force of the Canal Gang would have been wiped out in that battle!"

"Why would someone like this, who's neither entirely good nor bad, want to meet with you, Master Jiang?" Li Dachui asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Or perhaps he's looking for a backup plan!" Jiang Shiyuan laughed. "In this world, who wouldn't want to have multiple backup plans? I've been running this route for many years, so he naturally knows who's behind me. Compared to the current Qin state, our Great Chu can be considered a peaceful and prosperous era. Since he's extended such a warm invitation, it wouldn't be good for me to refuse. After all, the power of the Canal Gang on this route is quite considerable. Offending them won't do us any good. They might not do anything to us, but just a little mischief from them can make things difficult for us."

"Having more friends means having more options, especially since this friend has some influence!" Li Dachui nodded and said, "However, his invitation doesn't seem to be at a suitable time or place. Shall we wait on shore?"

Jiang Shiyuan looked at both sides of the river, pondered for a moment, and shook his head: "No, you continue on your way. I'll go see him. I'll catch up with you in an hour or two at most."

"Don't worry, Lord Jiang. It's broad daylight. Even if there were thieves, they wouldn't choose this time to rob us, would they?" Han Zheng laughed. "You just need to come back tonight. I remember we're only a few dozen miles away from Luoyang. We'll be spending the night at Fenglin Ferry! Those places aren't exactly safe!"

Jiang Shiyuan nodded: "You should proceed at your own pace. It seems the Canal Gang is expanding its influence this way, so large groups of bandits won't be able to target us. Small groups of thieves probably won't be enough for Li Bao to handle. Brother Li Bao, you'll have to keep an eye on things after I leave. I'll be back in two hours at most!"

"Don't worry!" Li Dachui patted the knife at his waist and laughed, "One comes, I'll cut one down; two come, I'll cut two down!"

Jiang Shiyuan chuckled, nodded to the crowd, flicked his sleeve, and floated up, heading straight for the shore. Halfway there, he landed, lightly touched the water's surface, and leaped forward again. When he landed, he was already on the shore.

Several more riders arrived behind Liu Chuang, including an empty horse. Jiang Shiyuan mounted the horse, waved to the people on the boat, and followed Liu Chuang as he turned his horse and galloped towards the rear.

"Li Bao, let's continue the barbecue, I haven't finished eating yet!" Jiang Ping pulled over Jiang Shiyuan's chair, sat down, rested her chin on her hands, and looked at Li Dachui expectantly.

"Half of what I grilled just now ended up in your stomach, and you're still not full?" Li Dachui chuckled in surprise. "I didn't realize that someone as petite as you could be such a big eater?"

"That depends on what we're eating!" Jiang Ping laughed. "It also depends on who cooked it!"

Upon hearing this, Han Zheng immediately walked to the stove, looked at Li Dachui, and said, "Brother Li, why don't you teach me? I'd like to learn too!"

"Brother Han, a gentleman stays away from the kitchen. You'd better wait and eat. If Prefect Han finds out I taught you how to do these things, he might send someone to kill me!" Li Dachui laughed.

"It's alright, it's just that Jiang Jiang loves this flavor! After you leave, Brother Li, I'll still make it for Jiang Jiang. No one else will be able to eat what I make!" Han Zheng said to Jiang Ping with genuine affection.

Jiang Ping scoffed and turned to look at the shore, but unusually, she didn't utter any harsh words to Han Zheng.

Han Zheng immediately perked up, rolled up his sleeves, and looked at Li Dachui, saying, "Brother Li, you can't keep anything to yourself!"

"I will do my best!"

Li Dachui had a great deal of respect for this shameless guy who dared to bravely pursue his lover.

Time flows slowly through the process of teaching and learning.
However, for Han Zheng, a young master from a prominent family, learning to prepare food was quite difficult. Fortunately, with his martial arts cultivation of Qi, he might not be good at killing people, but he could manage to cut meat or fish. Although the thickness and size varied, it was not noticeable unless you looked closely.

Once the food was marinated, we started grilling it.

With the same heat and the same seasonings, the taste is completely different in Han Zheng's hands.

Han Zheng frowned as he ate a piece of the baked food.

It's not that I can't eat it, but after eating Li Dachui's grilled food, eating my own just doesn't feel quite right.

Don't let Han Zheng's lack of skill in cooking fool you; his taste in food is that of a true gourmet.

Seeing Han Zheng's expression, Jiang Ping refused to even try it. Seeing that Li Dachui wouldn't help himself, she jumped up from her chair and went straight back to her cabin to sleep. This left Han Zheng somewhat frustrated.

"Brother Han, how can you back down at the slightest setback!" Li Dachui laughed. "There's no other trick to this, it's just a matter of practice makes perfect. With so many ingredients here, it's the perfect time to hone your skills. Even if Jiang Jiang doesn't eat it, all the sailors and guards on this ship are drooling! Being able to eat food roasted by Young Master Han is enough for them to brag about for a lifetime!"

After being praised by Li Dachui, Han Zheng's interest was immediately rekindled, and he enthusiastically began to learn from Li Dachui.

Li Dachui took a piece of meat that Han Zheng had just grilled, walked to the side of the ship, and slowly chewed it, but his thoughts were wandering far away.

There's always a sense of unease creeping into my heart.

It's really inappropriate for He Yiming of the Canal Gang to invite Jiang Shiyuan in this way!
He Yiming is still able to survive now either by relying on Zhang Quanyi or by getting close to He Zudao. Otherwise, how could he, with the power of the Canal Gang, possibly occupy the local area?

Gangs are nothing compared to the military.

If He Yiming really has any other motives, then it certainly isn't about money.

It must be the people on the ship that are targeted.

Han Zheng?

Or is it Jiang Ping?

The intelligence that Xiao Le could obtain, Zhang Quanyi and He Zudao should also be able to obtain.

After finishing the meat in his hand and watching the boat drift downstream, Li Dachui suddenly understood.

It should be Zhang Quanyi!
If it were He Zudao, he should have made his move on Zhang Quanyi's territory instead of waiting until he was on his own. Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?
Whether it's Han Zheng or Jiang Ping, if anything goes wrong, it will inevitably anger the Southern Chu side.

Especially Jiang Ping, who is the cousin of Empress Dowager Jiang Qian of Southern Chu, making her extremely precious.

It seems Zhang Quanyi is trying to sow discord between He Zudao and Zhang Quanyi!
Li Dachui couldn't help but laugh.

It's not surprising that Zhang Quanyi is quite loyal to the Qin Dynasty. His only purpose in doing this is probably to prevent He Zudao from having any dealings with the Southern Chu.

If things are really as I think, then Jiang Shiyuan probably won't be able to come back anytime soon.

Perhaps they will never be able to come back.

As the sun began to set in the west, Li Dachui touched the knife at his waist, thinking that perhaps he could save these two people.

In this way, they will have the opportunity to come into contact with the people who truly hold power in Southern Chu.

I just wonder who the people sent by the Canal Gang will be? Their strength shouldn't be too weak, otherwise it'll be pointless and won't show their importance. If they can rescue them from all the dangers, that favor will be very valuable.

Ideally, we'd like to have a skilled practitioner at the ninth rank of the Profound Origin realm.

In this way, he could also use the excuse that he had made a breakthrough in a life-or-death duel with a ninth-rank expert, and rise from the peak of the eighth rank to the ninth rank in one fell swoop.

In this way, things would be more convenient once we arrived in Southern Chu.

He Yiming is a ninth-rank Xuan Yuan master. Does the Cao Gang still have him? If not, how can he make his advancement seem more reasonable?

Li Dachui scratched his head, feeling a bit of a headache.

On the boat, Li Dachui sensed danger, while on the other side, Jiang Shiyuan, who was drinking and chatting with He Yiming, the leader of the Cao Gang, also slowly noticed the strange atmosphere.

He looked up at He Yiming.

(End of this chapter)