Chapter 679: Departure

“Sister, can you come out? I need to ask you something,” Yang Xiaohai shouted to the boat as he stood on the platform opposite it.

Yang Xiaohai saw his sister walking out from the boat and led her away from it before he feigned hesitation. “Sister, do they still need workers in the palace?”

“Why? Are you saying you don’t want to see our father anymore and want to come with me? You’re not a kid anymore, so don’t be childish.”

As Yang Xiaohai remained quiet, the monkey children quickly ran into the boat with several stones. They planned to use the stones as a decoy for the silver they were stealing. Their agile and silent nature made it clear that they were used to the work.

The sister looked at Yang Xiaohai before she sighed and said, “You can come if you want, but you have to kowtow and apologize to our father. I know you’re still angry, but no matter how harsh his words are, he’s still your father. I will only take you with me if he forgives you. You’re my brother and you probably can’t be an official for now, but I think I can find some work for you to do. Don’t complain about it, alright? The Dharma Sect is still at war with Hou Shu. Everyone knows that Hou Shu is losing, so once we are victorious, you will also get a piece of the cake.”

Yang Xiaohai saw that the monkey children had stolen all of the silver, nodded, and walked toward his boat.

Back in his boat, he saw the silver in the monkey children’s clutches and sighed, “Alright, let’s pack up and leave now!”

There wasn’t much to pack up since most of it had been sold by Chi Baishui.

Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, they quickly moved toward the shore. It wasn’t a smooth journey.

Whenever someone woke up, Yang Xiaohai would swing the scepter so they wouldn’t make a sound. By the time they snapped out of it, Yang Xiaohai would be long gone and they would think that they were dreaming.

They finally escaped the wooden huts built on the sea and quickly up the path towards Hou Shu.

Even though he was tired and it was a cold night, Yang Xiaohai felt as if he had revived. He wanted to go back to his true home!

Zhao Xiumei said, “Xiaohai, let’s rest a bit. Even the children can’t keep up.”

Yang Xiaohai turned around and saw the monkey children panting as they carried the silver. The silver was too heavy to be transported by hand without a carriage. Yang Xiaohai looked at the dirt path, took the silver from the children, and placed it in his own stash.

“Alright, let’s rest for now, but we cannot sleep. The Dharma Sect is still fighting against Hou Shu, so we need to return to Qing Qiu as soon as possible.”

They were resting for a bit when he suddenly saw the path leading to the sea was lit up with torches, as if a fire dragon was slithering up the path.

A fish harpoon with barbed hooks stabbed Yang Xiaohai’s hands. Due to the intense pain, Yang Xiaohai let go of the scepter. He endured the pain so he could pick it up, but another harpoon nailed his left leg.

Chi Baishui picked up the scepter with glee before slapping Yang Xiaohai. “How dare you keep a treasure like this to yourself?!”

“Xiaohai!” Zhao Xiumei shielded Yang Xiaohai and looked at Chi Baishui with despair. “We are all family! There’s no reason to do this!”

“Family? You are not one of us!” Chi Baishui slapped her too.

Chi Baishui chuckled when he saw Yang Xiaohai enduring the pain to shield Zhao Xiumei instead. “Fifth Child, your wife is excellent. We should be able to sell her for more money than the monkey children.”

“What are you trying to do?!” Yang Xiaohai glared back.

“Aiyo! You are acting as if we are causing an inconvenience to you! Look at what you did! You lied to your mother and father, and you also stole the silver in our family! You even hid this treasure from us! Are you still human?”

“Xiaohai?” A foreign voice interrupted them.

Everyone looked at the direction of the voice to find a Daoist in red robes with three swords on his back.

Li Huowang approached Yang Xiaohai. He saw Yang Xiaohai’s wounded hands and feet as well as the scepter in Chi Baishui's hands. He also saw Yang Xiaohai’s sister had a black cloth wrapped around her shoulder. He understood what was happening.

“Are you his friend?” Chi Baishui scoffed and pushed Li Huowang away.

“You are already old. Aren’t you embarrassed that you are mingling with a child? Scram! This is our business and you have no say in this.”

Li Huowang looked at Chi Baishui before he grabbed his purple-tasseled sword. “And who the fuck are you?”

A glimmer of steel flashed in the night before Chi Baishui’s head flew up high in the air.

1. Officials were separated by rank. There are Nine Ranks and Eighteen Tiers to be exact. ☜