Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Old Yuan laughed, "Young Master, you're here to investigate the Huanglong incident too, aren't you?"

"Who else has asked?" Xue Wei keenly caught the information in the other person's words.

"A few days ago, there was a young man surnamed Wu, who was quite arrogant. He brought a very pretty young lady with him. He sent his men to ask me questions, but he ignored what I said."

A young master surnamed Wu? Could it be Wu Chongxun with Li Guo'er?

"How did Brother Yuan tell him?"

"I told him that the Wei River is even muddier than the Yellow River, and everything that comes out of the water turns yellow. If you don't believe me, look at my boat; it's yellow too."

"But the color doesn't matter, the key is the dragon."

"Yes! But if you travel back and forth between the Yellow River and the Wei River all year round, you won't pay much attention to dragons. There is a kind of fish called swordfish, which is thin and long, and its mouth is like a sword, hence the name. The longest swordfish I have ever seen is three zhang (about 10 meters) long. When it rises and falls in the water, it really looks like a dragon."

Xue Wei knew that the swordfish the boatman was talking about was actually a sturgeon. "Are these swordfish common in the Wei River?"

"They're fairly common! But they're all quite small, about ten feet long, and they're very fast. You can catch them occasionally. They're sold in fish shops in Chang'an's West Market. The fish meat is very fishy and very cheap. People usually buy them to feed their cats and dogs."

"If it's so common, why would tens of thousands of people gather to watch?"

"Young master is right. It can't be a swordfish. By the time tens of thousands of people gather around, the swordfish will have long since disappeared. It won't be waiting there to perform."

"Old Xue!"

Yuan Min called to him from inside the cabin, "The tea is ready!"

The boatman laughed, "Your wife is nice; she calls you Old Xue, which is very endearing!"

"Thank you!" Xue Wei got up and went back to his cabin.

Yuan Min poured him a cup of tea and asked with a smile, "Did you find anything worthwhile?"

"It was fruitful!"

"What did you gain? Tell me about it."

Xue Wei smiled slightly and said, "If the dragon still doesn't leave after tens of thousands of people have gathered, then it's not a real dragon. A real dragon doesn't perform."

"That makes sense. It's probably a fake dragon, maybe just sitting in some warehouse enjoying the cool air!"

Yuan Min blinked again, cupped her hand around her mouth, and whispered, "I've also thought of a good idea. Money can make the devil turn the millstone, and it can also make the devil go to the dragon!"

Xue Wei chuckled. He suddenly realized that Yuan Min also had a very mischievous side. Thinking about it carefully, she had just turned seventeen! That was her age in the traditional Chinese way of counting age, and she was only sixteen years old in the Western way of counting age. She was only twenty-eight years old, but he always treated her as a mature twenty-eight-year-old woman.

A sixteen-year-old girl, which is about the first year of high school, is bound to have a mischievous streak.

"Amin, what's with the illusion?"

Yuan Min smiled mischievously, "Your Indian neighbors are quite skilled at illusions."

"You mean a lie?"

Yuan Min nodded. "It's nothing more than various props. For example, the Indian sword-swallowing technique uses a sword that can actually extend and retract. The Indian fire-breathing technique uses rosin or kerosene fuel that ignites upon contact with fire. Then, the Indian controlling his breath is also an example. The Indian decapitation and disembowelment technique uses fake heads and fake intestines. The truly sophisticated illusions use mechanisms and drugs. Qing Ling is a master of mechanism illusions. Have her demonstrate for you sometime."

Yuan Min keeps calling everyone "Ah San," she's caught it from Xue Wei.

The biggest difference between a 3,000-koku passenger ship and a 5,000-koku passenger ship is that the comfort level of the cabins is completely different.

The passenger ship of 5,000 shi is a two-story building with eight cabins, one for each person and one for luggage.

Of course, a 3,000-stone passenger ship can also have multiple cabins, but this 3,000-stone passenger ship is not. In order to carry more passengers, the ship owner removed all the cabin partitions and turned it into a large open cabin, which can carry up to forty or fifty people.

Uncle Tian couldn't find any luxury passenger ships; all the other vessels were these large, open-plan ships. He had no choice but to make do for the night.

Yu Xiangzi was on duty tonight. She closed the cabin door and went out. The cabin was pitch black. There were three female warriors, the maid Xiao Luo'er, Yuan Min, and Xue Wei lying there. Each of them had a blanket under them and a thin quilt covering them.

Yuan Min and Xue Wei lay in the corner, holding hands.

"Old Xue, are you asleep? I have something to tell you!" Yuan Min whispered.

"What is it?" Xue Wei, who was about to fall asleep, suddenly woke up again.

"Yu Xiangzi discovered that the boatman's cabin contained crossbows and spears."

This news startled Xue Wei. His drowsiness vanished instantly, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "Could it be that there are river pirates along the way, and they need this for self-defense?"

"I don't know, but Yu Xiangzi said the boatman's palms had calluses on the base of his thumbs, which looked like someone who had handled knives for years. Do you think they might be river pirates, and we've been on a pirate ship?"

Yuan Min's voice trembled slightly; she was afraid.

Xue Wei gently squeezed her hand, reassuring her, "Holding a pole for a long time will also cause calluses. It doesn't necessarily mean you're holding a knife, but we should still be careful. You can sleep peacefully! Yu Xiangzi and I will keep an eye on them tonight."

Xue Wei walked out of the cabin with his long sword in his hand. The boat had entered the Wei River, and they were the only boat sailing on it. Yuan Min paid three times the fare and requested that the boat sail at night as well. A dozen or so boatmen were pulling the boat on the shore, and several boatmen were also awake, controlling the direction of the boat.

Xue Wei and Yu Xiangzi kept watch all night, but nothing happened. The next day at noon, the large ship docked at the Wei River Wharf in Chang'an.

Two large horse-drawn carriages were already waiting to pick them up at the dock.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it!"

Yuan Min boarded the carriage and smiled at Xue Wei, saying, "They possess crossbows simply for self-defense."

Xue Wei remained silent. He glanced back at the large ship and saw Yuan Laoyu standing at the bow, staring at them with a sinister gaze.

That cold gaze made Xue Wei's heart tighten; an intuition told him that there was still something wrong with this ship.

...........

The carriage slowly entered Chang'an City. Xue Wei's eyes lit up. He finally saw Chang'an. Its grandeur and magnificence surpassed Luoyang. The length of the city walls alone showed that Chang'an was much larger than Luoyang.

"The gate we just entered is called Chunming Gate, which is the main city gate on the east side."

Yuan Min gently introduced it to him, "This main street is Chunmingmen Street, second only to Zhuque Street. You can see the East Market on your left, which is equivalent to the North Market of Luoyang. The West Market of Chang'an is equivalent to the South Market of Luoyang plus the West Market."

"Amin, how many shops do you have in Chang'an?"

Xue Wei's playful smile vanished, and he suddenly became serious.

Yuan Min thought for a moment and said, "One hundred and nine shops. This time I plan to buy ten more shops, mainly restaurants, especially in Pingkangfang. I want to take over at least two of them."

"Does your shop have a brothel?"

When Yuan Min heard Xue Wei ask about brothels, she was displeased and was about to glare at him when she realized that Xue Wei was very serious and there was no ambiguity in his eyes.

Her displeasure quickly dissipated, and she shook her head. "My father is very upright. He never touches women or gambles, so there are no brothels or gambling dens. However, there are two music halls, one in Chang'an and one in Luoyang, which are places to listen to music and watch dances. I'll take you to the music hall to enjoy music and dances sometime."

Xue Wei nodded happily, "Okay!"

The carriage entered Xuanyang Ward and stopped in front of a large house. Xue Wei helped Yuan Min out of the carriage. Yuan Min looked at the house and smiled as she introduced it to Xue Wei: "This is the house my father bought in Chang'an. He stays here every time he comes to Chang'an. I came to Chang'an last July and stayed here for ten days. It was quite nice, and it was very quiet at night."

Xuanyangfang was very lively near the gate, with more than twenty restaurants and brothels, but it was very quiet inside. Xue Wei discovered that there was a back garden in the house, with pavilions and towers connected by long corridors. There was a large fish pond, surrounded by several small hills of Taihu stones.

There are four small courtyards in the back of the house. Yuan Min let Xue Wei live in a small courtyard by himself, which is next to hers and connected by a small door. The four female warriors and Xiao Luo'er all live in Yuan Min's small courtyard.

Yuan Min's main consideration was that it would be convenient for Xue Wei to investigate the case, as he would often come and go at night.

"Old Xue, I've thought it over. During your stay in Chang'an, let Qingling accompany you on your investigations. She's familiar with Chang'an, her lightness skill is better than yours, and she knows about mechanisms and hidden weapons. She'll be a great help to you."

Xue Wei did not object and accepted Yuan Min's arrangement. He actually did not know any light-body skills, only a little bit of parkour, and could jump over walls and roofs. Compared to real light-body skills, he was far inferior.

He had witnessed Zuo Qingling's lightness skill, which allowed her to jump ten feet high from a standing position, something that seemed unbelievable to later generations.

More importantly, he was unfamiliar with Chang'an, and he couldn't very well hire another guide! Having an assistant who was familiar with Chang'an would definitely be a great help to him.

After lunch, since it was still early, Xue Wei took Zuo Qingling to the scene of the incident on the Wei River, the place where the yellow dragon appeared.

Zuo Qingling was far more experienced than Xue Wei. She rented two horses from a mule and horse shop in Xuanyangfang, and the two rode straight to the Wei River.