Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 188 Boats Flying on Changdang Lake

The basin of scalding hot water that Zhong Ling brought for washing his feet was the last warmth Jiang Mingzhe felt in the days that followed.

Of course, Jiang Mingzhe wouldn't let Zhong Ling wash his feet. He coaxed Zhong Ling and Wang Yuyan away, washed his own feet, and slept soundly. When he woke up the next day, he heard Deng Baichuan and Gongye Qian jumping up and down cursing.

When they rushed over, they found that the ship had been sunk and the seven or eight sailors from the Murong family who had stayed on board overnight had been knocked unconscious and tied to trees.

According to the sailors, those people were all wearing bread over their heads and didn't seem to have any intention to kill. However, when someone went too far, a companion warned, "Amitabha, junior brother, hold back and don't break the precept against killing!"

After learning the details, Jiang Mingzhe's face darkened: "Those bald monks from Pumen Temple are incredibly audacious."

Murong Fu's face was also gloomy. He gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, we meant well and didn't go too far, but people think we're easy to bully. Let's go back now and massacre their temple!"

Just as Jiang Mingzhe was about to speak, he saw Wang Yuyan hesitate and asked, "Yuyan, what do you have to say?"

Wang Yuyan hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Big brother, cousin, I think those monks sabotaged our boat because they were afraid we'd go to Shaolin Temple to help Xiao Feng. If we go back to take revenge, firstly, it will waste time, which is exactly what they want; secondly, they witnessed your martial arts yesterday, and they still dared to act this way, so they must have been prepared and have probably already escaped and gone into hiding. Going back would be a wasted trip..."

A hint of impatience flashed in Murong Fu's eyes. He knew that his cousin was quite opinionated and had often argued with him since childhood. She only learned to restrain herself after he had lashed out at her a few times. Unexpectedly, she had relapsed into her old ways.

Just as he was about to reprimand him, Jiang Mingzhe nodded and said, "That's right. So, in your opinion, what should be done?"

Wang Yuyan, who had been watching Murong Fu's expression and speaking in increasingly lower voices, was filled with unease. However, when Jiang Mingzhe nodded in affirmation, she was overjoyed and immediately raised her voice.

"In my humble opinion, we should go straight to Shaolin Temple. As for Pumen Temple, we can write a letter and have someone deliver it to Brother Bao. Once Brother Bao has recovered from his injuries, we can pay him a visit."

Jiang Mingzhe laughed loudly: "Wonderful, my brother, look at your cousin, isn't she just a female Zhuge Liang?"

Upon seeing Jiang Mingzhe's praise, Murong Fu thought about it carefully and realized that it did indeed make some sense. He then smiled and said, "Brother, you spoil her too much. What can a little girl understand?"

So he had Deng Baichuan write a letter, instructing the sailors to return to Suzhou and deliver the letter to Bao Butong.

After Deng Baichuan finished the matter, he took out some silver from his bag and returned to Rulin Town with Gongye Qian. They found a fisherman, offered him a large sum of money, and had him drive a fishing boat to take everyone across the lake.

To the west of Changdang Lake lies the Danjinli Canal, which was excavated during the Sui Dynasty but was not fully completed until the Southern Song Dynasty, flowing into the Grand Canal from Danyang.

It was still during the Northern Song Dynasty. The waterways were not yet fully navigable, so large ships could not pass through, but ordinary passenger ships could.

According to Deng Baichuan and others, Xiao Feng, after leaving Xingzilin, was heading to Shaolin Temple, and would most likely have to cross the Yangtze River at Xijindu in Runzhou. Duan Yu's advance departure was precisely to intercept him at Xijindu.

Murong Fu and his group traveled by boat, their route from Taihu Lake to Changdang Lake, then north across the Caohe River, and finally to Runzhou Ferry.

Now that they had switched to a fishing boat, which was small and crowded, the boat was extremely slow. Deng Baichuan and Gongye Qian became impatient and took over the oars to take turns navigating the boat, which indeed greatly increased the speed.

After traveling a few miles, Deng Baichuan wanted to speed up, but he used too much force and the long oar snapped with a crack. Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and Murong Fu cried out, "Oh dear, what should we do?"

Deng Baichuan looked around and pointed to the north, saying, "The north bank of this lake is Jintan County. The best course of action now is to go there and buy some horses to ride on our journey."

Zhong Ling looked around, squatted down by the side of the boat, cupped her small hands and started paddling. She turned to her and called out, "Everyone, do as I do! Four people on each side, I'll call out the commands, and we'll paddle together!"

Wang Yuyan said, "Okay!" and squatted down on the other side, rolled up her sleeves to reveal her white forearms, and started rowing like Zhong Ling. Jiang Mingzhe laughed and said, "I think there are still twenty or thirty li of water ahead. How long will it take to row like this? You all sit down."

He walked to the stern, his inner strength surging, and unleashed the Toad Devouring the Sky Palm technique with both palms. With a whoosh, two powerful palm strikes erupted, creating a huge wave. The fishing boat lurched violently, its bow rising high, and it shot off like an arrow.

Deng Baichuan and Gongye Qian both changed color and exclaimed, "What excellent palm strike!"

Zhong Ling and Wang Yuyan screamed in unison, clinging tightly to the gunwale. The fisherman was terrified and burst into tears, crying out, "My boat, my boat, it's going to break apart, it's going to break apart!"

Jiang Mingzhe laughed loudly, "Don't worry, if it falls apart, I'll buy you a new boat!"

The fisherman immediately stopped crying, his eyes fixed on the boat planks, silently praying, "Let it scatter, let it scatter!"

Jiang Mingzhe didn't bother to care what he thought. Anyway, he didn't have any money on him, and if anyone had to pay, it would be Murong Fu. He just kept striking out with his palms, stirring up huge waves and filling the air with mist.

Murong Fu was filled with heroic spirit and laughed loudly: "I have long heard that Xiao Feng's Twenty-Eight Subduing Dragon Palms are extremely powerful and fierce. I see that your palm technique is not inferior at all, my good brother. Hahaha, good brother, I will help you!"

After saying that, he stood to the left rear and used his splitting palm technique. With one palm strike, the speed of the boat immediately increased.

However, this caused the force to become uneven, and the bow of the boat was about to turn. When Deng Baichuan saw this, he quickly stood to the right rear and struck out with his palm to regain control of the direction.

All three of them were highly skilled, and they quickly found their rhythm. Their palm strikes were released and withdrawn simultaneously, propelling the boat at breakneck speed. Although the water beneath the boat was soft, it seemed to harden at this moment, causing the boat to bounce forward with each leap, making loud banging noises. This shook Zhong Ling and Wang Yuyan so much that their feet left the deck, as if they were riding a roller coaster.

Zhong Ling had never tried anything like this before, and found it incredibly exciting. As she was being jolted around, she screamed, "Ahhhhh, Brother Jiang is so amazing! I'm going to fly!"

Wang Yuyan's face also turned red with excitement, but she was too embarrassed to shout out like Zhong Ling. She gripped the gunwale tightly with one hand and covered her mouth with the other. Even so, she couldn't help but let out a charming moan as the boat rose and fell.

Gongye Qian, with his solid stance, stood proudly in the boat, supporting the terrified fisherman with one hand while watching the three who had struck him. He secretly commented: "This Young Master Jiang's skills are truly astounding. He's several years younger than our young master, yet his internal strength surpasses even Brother Deng's! As for our young master, he practices swordsmanship one day and staff techniques the next, seemingly learning many martial arts, but his foundation is somewhat lacking..."

As Jiang Mingzhe got into the swing of things, the force of his palm strikes grew stronger and stronger. He felt his inner energy flowing endlessly and circulating freely. With clear water beneath his feet and the vast sky above, he felt free to roam the boundless waters and sky. He couldn't help but let out a long roar and loudly recite: "Confident in living two hundred years, I will surely ride the waves for three thousand miles!"

Murong Fu laughed heartily and exclaimed, "What a fine poem! What a fine poem!"

Deng Baichuan felt a chill run down his spine and turned to look at Gongye Qian. He saw that his old friend was also frowning slightly, clearly sharing the same thought: This man has a broad mind, can our young master really control him?

Kumārajīva nodded to himself, thinking that his judgment was indeed correct, but judging from this one line of poetry, he was not someone who would stay in a subordinate position for long.

Just then, a loud crash was heard, and the fishing boat shattered into pieces. The fisherman let out a strange cry, and then felt dizzy. When he came to his senses, he was already on the shore. Turning his head, he saw a handsome young man in white robes, holding a beautiful woman in one arm, descending from the sky like a god. The other people were also rushing towards him on the broken planks of the boat.

Just as the boat was about to wreck, they reached the shore. Gongye Qian casually tossed the fisherman ashore, and everyone used their lightness skills to leap onto the lake shore one after another.

The fisherman came to his senses and cried out pitifully, "My boat, my boat is broken!"

Jiang Mingzhe put down Zhong Ling and Wang Yuyan, and said with a smile, "Why are you looking at me like that? I don't have any money to compensate you!"

Murong Fu laughed loudly upon hearing this and was about to ask Deng Baichuan to bring the money when he saw Wang Yuyan blushing, take out a small gold ingot from her sleeve and hand it to the fisherman, saying in a low voice, "Uncle, don't argue with my older brother. Is this enough to buy a new boat?"

(End of this chapter)