Nine Chapters of Mystery Chapter Eighty-Six: Simple Folkways
Su Wangting said helplessly: "Uncle, can you stop being so pretentious? Aren't the people of Silla very simple?"
Hearing this, the old fisherman grinned again, said "Follow me", and walked to the seaside.
Su Wangting followed diligently.
But when he saw the old man boarding a small sampan, he was confused.
"Uncle, are you planning to use this small sampan to go out to the sea? When did the people of Silla become so tough?"
The old fisherman waved angrily: "If you don't come, then I will wait at the dock for a month."
"Don't ask, I'll get on." Su Wangting had no choice but to bite the bullet and jump onto the sampan.
After the sampan traveled for a while, Su Wangting finally understood why the old man dared to use the sampan to go to sea.
It turned out that it was just sailing along the coastline.
Along the land and in the shallow sea, a sampan is indeed enough.
After walking east along the coastline for about ten miles, the coastal beaches gradually disappeared and were replaced by endless steep cliffs.
After walking along the cliff for another three miles, we saw a large piece of the coastline suddenly recessed, forming a large bay surrounded by walls on three sides.
And in this bay, there is actually a large two-masted sailboat hidden in it.
At this time, the old fisherman stopped the sampan, pointed at the sailboat and said with a smile: "Look, this big boat is not afraid of no matter how big the waves are on the sea."
Su Wangting asked: "This ship... goes to Jiuzhou?"
The old fisherman laughed and said: "This ship is not only going to Kyushu, but should have set sail for Kyushu a month ago."
"Then why do you stay here for a month?"
The old fisherman pointed to the sea directly opposite the bay's outlet: "Look."
Su Wangting squinted and saw several sloops parked on the sea surface in the sea fog. Looking closely, it seemed that the unraised canvas under the masts was black.
"Who are those ships??"
"Those ships have been parked there for a month."
"Ah?" Su Wangting raised his eyebrows, "The two sides are looking at each other from a distance. How about playing?"
"No." The old fisherman shook his head and stuffed tobacco into the pot of the dry tobacco pole. "Those black sailboats deliberately blocked this big ship and prevented it from going to sea. This confrontation has been going on for more than a month."
"Why is this?"
The old fisherman grinned: "So, it depends on whether you, a young man, have the ability to let this big ship set sail and sail to Kyushu."
Su Wangting squinted at the old guy in front of him and asked, "Why...are you so enthusiastic about finding someone to help this big ship get out of trouble?"
The old fisherman took a puff of dry cigarette and said quietly: "Because there is a woman who helps cook on that big ship, and she is my favorite, hehe."
When Su Wangting heard this, his feet slipped and he almost fell into the sea.
"You are buried in dirt and you still have a sweetheart!? You are a crooked old man!!"
The old fisherman's eyes widened: "What are you talking about! I am only in my early fifties, and the sea breeze blows on my face all the year round, so I look older!!"
“Then you’re only in your early fifties, so why do you call yourself an old man!!”
"Looks stable!"
"..."
It turned out that this large ship was full of singers from Silla, who were going to Kyushu to perform.
Silla singers are very popular in major restaurants in Kyushu because of their unique singing voice and gentle temperament. The price of their appearance is also very expensive, and they are mostly enjoyed by the upper class.
A businessman named An in Silla sensed the business opportunities, so he spent a huge sum of money to build this comfortable and luxurious sailboat, which was specially used to travel between Kyushu and Silla, and was engaged in the business of transporting singers back and forth.
These singers can easily earn a hundred taels of gold a year in Kyushu, so no matter how high Boss An raises the boat fare, they will not be stingy at all and will never bargain.
Therefore, Boss An's business is quite profitable, and the money comes easily. Within two years, the cost of building the ship was paid back.
But this time, Boss An was unlucky.
It was unexpectedly targeted by the Black Dragon Gang, the largest gang on the water on the south coast of Silla. No, they didn't board the boat to rob it or kill anyone. They just blocked it for more than a month without letting anyone get off the boat.
This makes Boss An very worried.
The reason turned out to be that the boss of the Black Dragon Gang fell in love with a singer on this ship.
But the singer disliked the Black Dragon Gang as a group of vulgar pirates, and no matter how much money the boss spent, she never looked at them seriously. Later, the singer couldn't bear the harassment, so she decided to go to sea and go to Kyushu.
Avoid.
Unable to get what he asked for, the leader of the Black Dragon Gang suddenly stopped the big ship and forced it to stop in this bay.
Don't you think we are vulgar?
That's OK.
Then we, the Black Dragon Gang, will work in such a polite manner, without using any violence or threats. We will only let the singer know that when the singer agrees to the boss, he will release the ship to sea.
Moreover, no one was allowed to get on or off the boat, and their people were watching from the cliffs on three sides of the bay.
Boss An had to kneel down and kowtow to the singer because of this matter.
But the more she begged, the more angry the singer became.
He simply gritted his teeth and told the boss of the Black Dragon Gang to give up. If he wanted to stop him, he would have to fight to the end. Even if he died on the boat, his wish would not be fulfilled.
No, more than a month has passed since this silver tooth was bitten.
Hearing this, Su Wangting nodded slightly: "It turns out it's because of a woman. Haha, just like that Bai Jingxing, they are all angry for beauty."
"How about it? Do you have the ability to put this boat out to sea?" the old fisherman said with a smile.
Su Wangting spread his hands: "You mean, let me go talk to those pirates?"
The old fisherman shook his head: "Pirates always act arbitrarily and do not listen to advice. I am afraid that talking is useless."
"Oh? Do you want me to fight?"
"Hehehe, that's why I asked you, this young man, if you have the ability to set sail on this ship."
Su Wangting curled his lips and shook his head.
The old fisherman hurriedly asked: "Is it because you don't want to, or because you don't have the ability? If you know this, a discerning person will know at a glance that the pirates are bullying these weak women. Helping these women can be considered a chivalrous act."
Su Wangting sneered and said, "You just said that the boss of the Black Dragon Gang has spent a lot of money on that singer?"
The old fisherman nodded: "Yes. I heard that I have been pestering that woman for more than a year and spent at least three to five thousand taels of money."
"Since this singer has no interest in this person, why does she repeatedly accept other people's money?? She only accepts money without giving face. I'm afraid it's against the rules of Fengyue. Since she hates this person, then this singer
Ji should have stopped asking for money and seeing no one in the first place, so she should have cut off his thoughts as soon as possible. What do you mean by accepting money but not giving face?? Taking advantage of someone? I would be very angry if it were me!!
I think this singer is not a good thing. Hum, as the old saying goes, actors are ruthless and meaningless, so don’t take things seriously..."
"This..." The old fisherman was speechless.
"But I really don't have the temperament to wait at the dock for a month." Su Wangting scratched his head and turned to look back and forth at the ships on both sides, "Tsk...trouble."
"If you don't want to, we'll just go back to the dock." As he said this, the old fisherman pretended to shake the oar, his face full of displeasure.
Su Wangting stopped him and asked with a smile: "That old friend of yours is very important to you? In my opinion, if it's a romantic relationship, forget it and just don't interfere in this matter."
"Bah! What a romantic relationship!" The old fisherman immediately got angry and threw away Su Wangting's hand and continued to shake the oar. "She has been a widow for many years and worked hard to raise her baby. She is a good woman. My wife also left early. She pitied me for being like this.
This rough-and-tumble man lived alone in embarrassment, so he often helped me starch clothes and wash quilts, and brought me some delicious meals. Last year, the children of our two families also agreed that we could live together.
I'll take care of things as soon as I get back from the ship. Hey, after more than ten years of love, how could I watch her trapped on that ship."
"Don't get excited, don't get excited." Su Wangting stopped his hand that was shaking the oar again, "I said, this ship has been trapped for a month, and you have been looking for suitable people at the dock to help them escape?"
The old fisherman nodded: "There were three people who were going back to Kyushu half a month ago. I saw that they were wearing the same weapons as you, so I begged them to take action."
"and after?"
The old fisherman picked up the dry tobacco pole and said quietly: "It's useless! Before it even got close to the big ship, it was shot to death by random arrows from the black dragon gang guarding the top of the cliff. It went to feed the fish."
When Su Wangting heard this, his foot slipped again.
"Good guy! Are you gambling with the lives of our Kyushu people?"
The old fisherman squinted and said, "Everyone can take what they need. How about you go back to the dock and wait for the boat?"
"Hey! No way, no way!" Su Wangting looked up to the sky and sighed, shaking his head repeatedly, "Okay, then I will go to the meeting for a while to see if I can help the ship get out of trouble."
The old fisherman was overjoyed when he heard this and hurriedly asked: "Where to go? Directly to the Black Jiao Gang's boat, or?"
"First go to the singer's ship and inquire about the specific situation."
"okay!!"
After finishing speaking, the old fisherman pulled out a shield from under his buttocks and covered himself.
Su Wangting was confused: "What are you doing?"
"After getting close for a while, the people on the top of the cliff will definitely shoot random arrows. This is what I call being prepared!"
"what about me!!!"
The voice behind the shield said faintly: "Then it depends on whether you have the ability or not."
"Old man, aren't the folk customs of Silla no longer simple!?"
"As long as my sweetheart is safe, I will never be so simple again!!"
"..."
The old fisherman held a shield in his left hand and shook the oar violently with his right hand, as if he was afraid that Su Wangting would change his mind.
Su Wangting looked at the old guy's high-frequency rocking movements with one hand and secretly thought that this person was indeed not lying.
Sure enough, my wife died early!!
The small sampan was splashed by the waves he shook, and the sampan quickly rushed towards the big ship.
"Old man, don't worry, I can't run away even if I'm in the sea!! Don't lose your arm!!!"
"Young man, be careful, the arrow is coming!!"
Su Wangting turned around and saw, sure enough, more than a dozen black arrows shot from the top of the cliff!!
"Grab, snatch, snatch..."
Three arrows were nailed to the old fisherman's shield.
"It's so dangerous, it's so dangerous..." The old fisherman poked his head out from behind the shield and breathed a sigh of relief.
But when he saw Su Wangting with his back turned to him, he was stunned.
Su Wangting was seen standing motionless on the bow of the ship, and two arrow feathers were faintly visible from behind him from his chest.
"Did you get an arrow in your chest? Hey." The old fisherman put the shield on his head again, shook the oar silently, and prepared to turn the sampan around. "It seems that this person is useless. Let's go back to the dock and have a look."
"Your uncle's!!!"
Suddenly there was a roar, and the old fisherman was so frightened that he trembled all over and almost fell into the sea.
Looking out, I saw Su Wangting holding two broken arrows, pointing at the top of the cliff and yelling.
"What kind of hero is he who shoots cold arrows?! The folk customs of Silla are really no longer simple! Come down and speak if you have the ability!!!"
The old fisherman was sweating coldly, secretly thinking that he might have found the right person.
There is another sentence, he also said secretly in his heart.
"Are your folk customs in Kyushu simple and honest if you follow your uncle's customs?"