Chapter 97: Boarding and Jumping Ship Are Both Detestable

Wei Wei ordered the battleship general to ram the ship, utterly committed to a do-or-die strategy. Among the sons of officials, few were as decisive and ruthless as him. Born into prominent families, those who saw much and gained much were often not generous; instead, they tended to be more calculating.

Wei Wei merely sought fame, hoping to earn himself a good reputation. If it could also help his father's career, it would be an added bonus, so he wouldn't genuinely pick a quarrel with Xu Fengnian. His father, "Dragon King Wei," was merely a minor deity of the great rivers and lakes, incomparable to a world-shaking figure like Xu Xiao, a veritable dragon among men. Wei Wei knew the gravity of the situation: if Xu Fengnian, whose father, the Grand Pillar, was rumored to be in the capital, met with an unfortunate end, the resulting shockwave would be second only to the Emperor's wrath—something even an unlearned person like him understood. The Prince of Jing'an, however, sought a five-clawed python robe, a difference as vast as heaven and earth. Therefore, after some deliberation, he was willing to take the risk. If the attack failed, so be it; in the chaos of the Spring God Lake battle, who would notice a hidden assassination? But what if it succeeded?

Standing by the window, Wei Wei was expecting the Yellow Dragon battleship to capsize the enemy vessel. Suddenly, he saw an inconspicuous old man in a sheepskin coat dart out onto the deck. The old man merely touched the Yellow Dragon's hull with his toe, and the massive Yellow Dragon, formidable enough to dominate Spring God Lake, simply flipped over?

It really flipped!

Wei Wei was dumbfounded, gripping the window frame tightly with both hands.

The Dragon Claw master, kept by the Prince of Jing'an's estate, had just emerged from the cabin but immediately turned back, shaking his head at His Highness, the Prince, with a grim expression.

The lake water instantly surged, causing even this Yellow Dragon battleship to rock violently and continuously.

"Why?" asked the Prince of Jing'an, who remained relatively calm.

"A one-armed old man kicked over the Yellow Dragon battleship," the septuagenarian attendant said with a wry smile.

"One kick?" The Prince's two fingers tightened around his wine cup.

"One kick!" The master, who lived a life of luxury in the Prince of Jing'an's residence, nodded, his expression extremely unnatural. As a henchman of a princely estate himself, he wondered how, even with ten or a hundred kicks, he couldn't flip a 500-ton battleship, let alone just one.

"A first-rank master?" The Prince suddenly smiled.

The attendant sighed helplessly, "Close enough."

The Prince seemed much more relaxed, not disheartened by the one-armed master's feat. He asked curiously, "One-armed? Do you know of any one-armed masters in Beiliang?"

The attendant shook his head. "I haven't heard of one. Perhaps he's someone secretly invited out of seclusion by the Beiliang King's estate."

The Prince of Jing'an rose, preparing to go to another cabin.

Out of sight, out of mind.

The battleship general had already rushed his Yellow-Head guards to rescue people. Even he felt his guts twist from the old immortal's kick. He only prayed the old immortal wouldn't bother with mere ants like them. If he kicked it over, so be it; they all knew his immense power. Just rest well and please, no second kick! Wei Wei knew the tide had turned; it was over.

Pale as ashes, this "evil蛟" who had never failed on Spring God Lake turned and slumped back into his chair. Beside him, his crony, whose face was bleeding from a short halberd's scrape, was sobbing loudly, making the quiet cabin unusually noisy. Wei Wei couldn't understand how a hundred Beiliang armored guards could make four hundred Yellow-Head guards too scared to breathe. He was even more baffled as to how someone could overcome the Yellow Dragon with a mere kick. Was the main warship of the Qingzhou navy nothing more than a small boat?

Xu Fengnian hadn't expected the old sword god to make such an entrance. But since such a devastating display had been made, he seized the opportunity to leap onto the chaotic Yellow Dragon battleship. The Yellow-Head guards, busy rescuing those who fell into the water, scattered in terror. The old Taoist Wei Shuyang, the halberd-wielding Ning Emei, and the three princely attendants, Lü, Yang, and Shu, all followed His Highness, the Prince, onto the Yellow Dragon, ascending to the third-floor cabin, which served as a lookout and command center. There, they coincidentally encountered the Prince of Jing'an, who was about to hurriedly leave. Xu Fengnian pressed the sheath of his Xiudong blade against the chest of this noble son. The latter's personal guards tried to intervene but were immediately threatened by Ning Emei's halberd and surrounded by Lü, Yang, and Shu. The pampered Dragon Claw master from the Prince of Jing'an's residence immediately froze.

Xu Fengnian applied a little more force with his Xiudong blade, pushing the noble son, whose identity he vaguely guessed, back into the cabin. Inside, a group of about a dozen of Qingzhou's most prominent young masters and ladies all looked towards the Butcher's Son, who had emerged from Beiliang in a white robe on a white horse.

The Qingzhou ladies stared with wide eyes, a mix of surprise, admiration, fear, and even adoration. Their expressions and gazes alone formed a captivating scene.

The Qing Faction held great power in the imperial court. Who from outside the province would dare challenge the tightly knit Qingzhou gentry within their own territory?

Not to mention that His Highness, the Prince of Jing'an, was also standing in the circle.

Xu Fengnian asked with a smile, "Kid, trying to sneak away? This Yellow Dragon battleship is only so big. Where can you hide from me, the Prince?"

The Prince of Jing'an maintained an excellent composure, clearly having inherited the true essence of Prince Jing'an Zhao Heng. Even with Xu Fengnian's blade sheath pressed against his chest, he appeared unfazed, calmly stating, "I was just stepping out for some fresh air and to admire His Highness's demeanor."

Xu Fengnian slightly withdrew his Xiudong, but instead of returning it to his waist, he raised it and lightly patted the man's face, making smacking sounds. This gesture was extremely humiliating. Xu Fengnian then mockingly said, "Don't think I don't know who you are. Zhao Xun, eldest son of Prince Jing'an, Zhao Heng. We are both princes, so why is the difference between us so vast?"

Zhao Xun, whose cheeks were reddened from the slaps, looked directly at Xu Fengnian and calmly replied, "The King of Beiliang's martial arts reign supreme for a thousand years, while my father is devoted to Buddhism and Taoism. Naturally, there's no comparison."

Zhao Xun's words contained a subtle hidden meaning, which was clear to everyone: the Prince of Jing'an was merely implying that Xu Fengnian's current prominence was solely due to his father, the infamous Butcher, who bore the condemnation of the entire realm, and had nothing to do with Xu Fengnian himself.

Xu Fengnian's next slap with the Xiudong blade was particularly forceful, causing a trickle of blood to appear at the corner of Prince Jing'an Zhao Xun's mouth. Xu Fengnian smiled faintly and said, "Well said, you deserve a reward! I, the Prince, will generously reward you with a Xiudong!"

Zhao Xun still forced a smile.

The Prince of Jing'an's attendants were already preparing to fight to the death to protect their master. But Xu Fengnian had already brushed past Zhao Xun, softly saying, "I, the Prince, am taking possession of the Yellow Dragon battleship. Please jump overboard and swim back to Xiangfan first. Tell Zhao Heng that when the time comes, both of you should come out of the city together to welcome my grand arrival."

Zhao Xun didn't even bother to wipe the crimson blood from the corner of his mouth. He walked straight out of the cabin, slowly stating, "Xiangfan City will surely await your grand arrival."

Xu Fengnian ignored the Prince of Jing'an, who was about to become a "drowned dog." He first gave a warm smile to the stunned young ladies and girls. Then he turned to look at the Commissioner's son, Zhao Wanku, who was cowering in the corner, and the timid "evil蛟," Wei Wei. He pointed his Xiudong at them and smiled slightly, saying, "One is the son of a fourth-rank official, forming cliques and practically delivering Zhao Xun to us—well done. The other is the son of Qingzhou's 'Dragon King,' daring to draw his bow and shoot arrows, daring to ram ships with the Yellow Dragon—truly a brave hero."

Jiang Ni, who had followed the old sword god to the outside of the third-floor cabin, saw this scene with a strange expression.

So, Xu Fengnian was this overbearing and tyrannical towards people outside his manor? Previously, at the Beiliang King's estate, she only heard about him being touchy-feely with the maidservants. After leaving Beiliang, he tormented Jin Lanting in that county town, and now in Qingzhou, he was wantonly toying with the Qingzhou navy. She had originally thought he only picked on weak women.

Xu Fengnian wasn't in a hurry to deal with Wei Wei and the one named Zhao. He turned to the Qingzhou young ladies, his face radiant with a smile, and said, "Which lovely sister knows how to brew tea? Let's have tea together and enjoy the scenery. I dislike fighting and killing intensely. If I've startled any of you, please allow me to offer tea as a substitute for wine and penalize myself three, or even ten, cups later, alright?"

The oval-faced young woman, whose second sister was married far away in Beiliang, showed no fear of the Beiliang Prince. She volunteered with a smile, "I brought some Spring God pre-rain tea and a complete tea set, but I haven't had a chance to brew it yet."

Xu Fengnian was a completely different person when dealing with the women on board, becoming incredibly amiable. He chuckled, "What a serendipitous encounter."

Jiang Ni's small face stiffened. *Look*, she thought, *this guy's true colors are showing all at once.*

How infuriating!

That gloomy fellow with the swollen face looked despicable.

But the most infuriating one was this guy who started flirting with a group of girls as soon as he got on the ship!