Chapter 164: Disputes at the Ferry

The Yellow River flows into the sea from Shandong, and this region is naturally dotted with numerous waterways, making it common to cross mountains and rivers. Often, one could ride a horse for most of the day within sight. Even with strong horses and a skilled guide who knew the best routes, the journey through mountains and rivers was exhausting. It took four full days before they reached a ferry on the north side of the Wen River.

While waiting for a boat at the ferry, the hardworking guide glanced at the sky, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a smile, “Once we cross the Wen River, we’ll be in Anqiu County. Judging by the weather, we should be able to enter the city before sunset.”

After traveling for several days straight, though they hadn’t had to endure exposure to the elements, their conditions weren’t much better. Zhang Yue looked down at his stone-blue robe, whose original color was no longer discernible, and then at Peng Shisan and the others, all covered in dust and grime. A faint smile appeared on his face. At that moment, he heard faint singing in the air.

“To be separated, only if heaven becomes earth! To be separated, only if east becomes west! To be separated, only if officials become commoners! If you want to part, you can’t part from me; if I want to leave, I can’t leave you. Even in the netherworld, we shall not be separated!”

The shrill voice and the blunt lyrics were quite novel to Zhang Yue. Looking up, he saw a small boat approaching the ferry on the Wen River. The rower wore a conical hat, a brown short jacket, and a rough grass rope tied around his waist. His bronze-colored face was covered in wrinkles, making it hard to tell his age at first glance. When he rowed the boat over and saw so many people and horses, he showed a troubled expression.

“Sir, my little boat can only carry one person and one horse. If there are more, it might capsize.”

The guide was a local from Shandong who often did guiding work and was well-versed in such matters. Having received a generous reward from Zhang Yue, he naturally spoke up on his employer’s behalf. He snapped, “This ferry is a key route from Anqiu to the northwest. Dozens of people come and go here every day. What’s the problem with so many people on your little boat? If it weren’t for the hassle of taking a long detour around the bridge, who would use your crappy ferry? First, take this young master and this fellow across, then transport the horses and people. A few round trips will do it—aren’t you worried about losing money?”

The boatman had initially been a bit afraid of Peng Shisan and the other strong men, but hearing that familiar local accent finally put him at ease, though he still muttered to himself. Wealthy people always travel in comfortable carriages; seeing these people looking disheveled and their horses listless, how could they be considered wealthy?

Leading Peng Shisan onto the boat first, Zhang Yue saw the boatman skillfully turn the boat around and head toward the other shore. Smiling, he asked, “Your singing just now was quite interesting. Did you write the lyrics yourself?”

“Do you, sir, also like such ballads?” The boatman spent his days ferrying people on the Wen River for a living and loved singing ballads for his own amusement. Passersby usually found his singing unpleasant, so he mostly sang only when the boat was empty. Hearing Zhang Yue’s question, he became eager and quickly replied, “These are common songs out there. If you like them, I have more!”

Zhang Yue had only asked casually, but seeing the boatman’s enthusiasm, he smiled and said, “Good, then sing. I’ll listen.”

The boatman was overjoyed and started singing loudly, “Don’t panic if you develop a secret affair; if caught in adultery, I’ll take the blame. If forced to kneel before the officials, I’ll confess truthfully; even if I have to bite nails and chew iron, I’ll admit I stole the man!”

Hearing that voice, Peng Shisan trembled as if shaken by a sieve. Seeing Zhang Yue listening with interest, he wondered if this man’s brain was different from ordinary people’s. Singing required a beautiful girl—what kind of nice song could such an old, dull boatman produce? Not only were the lyrics vulgar, but with men talking about “slaves” and “men” like that, it was simply disgusting.

Seeing Zhang Yue listening attentively, the boatman became even more enthusiastic. After finishing one verse, he energetically started a new one: “Wealth and glory—my humble body is not fit for them. There’s value in gold and silver, but it brings curses from others. Tea, roses, peonies—green leaves and branches are crushed by harsh frost; I’d rather become a nun than marry them!”

“Taking mud from swallows’ mouths, sharpening iron needles, searching meticulously for gold on Buddha’s face—looking for something where none exists. Searching for peas in quail meat, cutting fine flesh from heron legs, extracting fat from mosquito bellies—what a shame such an old man does this!”

In his excitement, as he helped Zhang Yue and the other man ashore, he switched to another verse: “One case leads to ten more; one case spreads over ten miles. The poor endure whips, while the rich drain people’s life force. A drop of ink on the case, a thousand drops of blood among the people.”

“Old fool, what are you singing nonsense? Are you trying to die?”

As Zhang Yue stepped ashore, he happened to hear these new words. While pondering over them, he heard a harsh and angry shout. Looking up, he saw several officials in somewhat worn clothes approaching the ferry. The leader of them came forward aggressively, not even glancing at him, and swung his whip at the boatman’s head and face, cursing the whole time, “A little ink on official documents, but a thousand drops of blood among the people—full of nonsense! Watch me beat you to death! If you’re sensible, hand over some money; otherwise, I’ll arrest you and throw you in jail!” In just that instant, the whip struck the stunned boatman several times. Seeing the old boatman clutching his head and groaning in pain, Zhang Yue immediately shouted, “Old Peng, stop him!” In a flash, a giant iron hand the size of a palm fan appeared from beside him, grabbed the end of the whip, bent and twisted it, and snatched it away from the official’s hand. The leading official never expected someone to suddenly appear and oppose him out of nowhere. Filled with rage, he turned to curse, only to see a tall man holding the sturdy whip, crushing it into tatters in just a few strokes before tossing it into the Wen River. When out in the world, one can go without anything except eyes. Even though those officials were usually domineering, they were still terrified at this display of strength. Seeing four or five of their companions step forward, they gained some courage and stepped back, glaring at Peng Thirteen and shouting loudly, “How dare you have the audacity to attack government officials openly!” Ever since that incident, Peng Thirteen had resentment whenever he saw whips. Now, seeing the attitude of those men, his anger flared even more. He spat on the ground in annoyance, clenched his fists a few times, ignoring the harsh cracking sound, and then sneered, “Government officials? If you hadn’t said it, I would have thought you were just a scoundrel! According to the law, there must be an investigation before punishment can be imposed. You’re too aggressive, using a whip at the slightest dispute! Besides, with which eye did you see me attacking you?” Seeing that there were only Zhang Yue and Peng Thirteen, the officials grew even more domineering: “The law? We’re government officials—what we say is the law!”

Seeing those officials who looked like ruffians, Zhang Yue also became extremely angry. Since the guide had just said that the Wen River led to Anqiu County, it was obvious where these people came from. Anyone who found out that their future subordinates were such scoundrels would surely not be in a good mood. As a result, he didn’t notice the oarman, who had been whipped a few times, hurriedly steering the ferry away at top speed. Of course, Peng Shisan, who was clenching his fists and ready to strike, also didn’t notice.

However, those officials saw it, as did the two bodyguards and four attendants waiting at the opposite ferry terminal. Both sides were furious and stamping their feet in anger. The people who followed Zhang Yue were all carefully selected individuals. Realizing that the oarman had fled with the boat and had no intention of coming to pick them up, and seeing the tense situation on the other side, the six of them exchanged glances for a while before following the guide’s advice and deciding to take a shortcut via a bridge upstream. Whether they could catch up was something only heaven knew.

Seeing their target escape, the officials, filled with anger and humiliation, vented all their fury on the two people in front of them. Relying on their numbers and seeing Zhang Yue as just a frail young man, they viciously ordered, “Guys, these two seem suspicious. Capture them and take them back to the yamen for thorough interrogation!”

Accustomed to such tactics, the officials were initially afraid of Peng Shisan’s strength, but in a situation where the many attacked the few, it would be foolish not to do so. So they all rushed at once. They had a well-coordinated plan: four of them would try to subdue Peng Shisan, while the other two would confront Zhang Yue, aiming to capture one to threaten the other.

Yet the two officials, who thought they could easily capture their targets, soon realized their mistake. The young man had initially stood still, seemingly frozen in fear. But the moment they rushed at him, they saw a blur before them. Before they could react, one of the officials collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain, while the other took a heavy kick to his chin.

As their screams rang out, they soon heard several cries that sounded like the wails of ghosts and wolves. When they barely managed to lift their heads, they saw that all their companions had fallen into the water, struggling desperately.

“I was planning to throw them in the water first and then deal with these two. I didn’t expect Young Master Yue to be so quick—truly worthy of all those years of training with me.”

Peng Shisan clapped his hands cheerfully, but when he turned around, he realized that the rower was nowhere to be seen, and his own men on the other shore had also disappeared. His smile instantly froze on his face. Zhang Yue had noticed these signs long before taking action. Seeing Peng Shisan muttering under his breath, he said with a smile, “They must have seen what’s going on here and taken a detour via the bridge upstream. Don’t worry; with a guide, it will take at most an hour or two. It’s these guys who are hard to deal with.”
“What’s hard about dealing with them? Just throw these ugly bastards into the water to feed the fish, and the world will be peaceful!”
One of the officers who had fallen into the water was already struggling to climb onto the wooden platform at the ferry crossing. Hearing Peng Shisan’s sinister tone, his hands trembled so badly that he almost fell back into the water. As for the two officers who were still on shore by luck, they were terrified, thinking that perhaps they had encountered a stronger opponent and run into an insurmountable obstacle. Without caring about their usual pretenses of dignity, they kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy, with tears and snot streaming down their faces.