At this time, Qin Yuege walked to the edge of a cliff not far from Qining, squatted down, touched the ground with his hand, then stood up and looked at Qining, Qining also walked over, Qin Yue Ge whispered: "Master Hou, the horse's hoof prints finally disappeared here."
Qi Ning nodded slightly and looked towards the sea.
The sea under the night was swelled by the wind and the waves were restless. There seemed to be countless dangers and secrets hidden under the deep sea. At this moment, Qin Yuege took two steps forward with a serious look on his face. , whispered: "Master Hou, look, there... seems to be a small boat."
Qining looked in the direction Qin Yue's singer pointed, and sure enough he saw a small boat emerging from nowhere, just under the cliff. As the waves hit the cliff, the small boat drifted on the sea like a leaf.
Qi Ning did not waste any time. He quickly jumped down from the cliff and landed on a protruding rock on the cliff. With agility, he went straight to the bottom of the cliff. Qin Yuege also moved extremely quickly and followed closely. Behind Qi Ning, he also showed strong Qing Gong.
It was already midnight at this time, and Guimen Cliff was an inaccessible place. The sudden appearance of a small boat at this time was naturally very strange.
The two of them were like spiritual apes. In just a moment, they had reached the bottom of the cliff. At this time, they saw the small boat not far ahead. There was only a figure on the small boat. Apparently they had seen Qi Ning, but there was no one. He showed signs of panic and didn't say anything. Under the moonlight, he looked quite strange.
Qining and Qin Yuege stood side by side. The boatman was also looking here. After a period of silence over the sound of the waves, Qin Yuege finally took the lead and said: "The boatman is docking!"
Qin Yuege's voice was loud and full of energy, which showed that his internal strength was not weak, as his voice carried far away.
The boatman didn't hesitate, and came over to the shore. There was still a short distance away. Qining used the moonlight to see that the boatman was strong and his eyebrows were bright. He heard the boatman loudly said: "May I ask if there is anyone?" A guest named Qi?"
Qi Ning thought that there was indeed something fishy about this boatman. He took a step forward and said in a deep voice, "My surname is Qi!"
The boatman said "Oh" and then he docked the boat. As soon as the boat docked, Qin Yuege looked like a ghost and jumped onto the boat. The sword on his waist was unsheathed. The sword flashed and the sword was already there. He put it on the boatman's neck.
The boatman's face suddenly changed, and he shouted urgently: "Spare your life, don't... don't kill me...!" He looked extremely frightened. Qining thought that the boatman appeared alone at Guimen Cliff in the middle of the night, and he must be a daring person, but unexpectedly he turned out to be so. It was unbearable, and judging from the boatman's reaction, it was clear that his panic was not a lie.
Qi Ning also showed off his figure and jumped onto the boat.
This boat is not big, but it can easily accommodate five or six people. In addition to the oars, the boat is also equipped with small sails. It is obvious that you need to rely on sails to travel to the deep sea. There are two wooden boxes stacked on the side. There are even a few wine jars. At first glance, they look like supplies for people going out to sea.
The boatman was about forty-five or six years old, with a straight back and dark skin. At first glance, he looked like someone who had been making a living at sea all year round.
A wave came over and the boat swayed. Qi Ning stared at the boatman. Seeing the fear in his eyes, he asked, "How do you know my surname is Qi?"
"Young man... I don't know!" the boatman said hurriedly: "I received fifty taels of silver and was ordered to wait here for a guest named Qi. Are you... are you that guest?"
Qin Yuege's expression was grim: "Who asked you to wait here?"
"I don't know that person." The boatman said: "The villain is a fisherman. Last night, a man found the villain and gave him fifty taels of silver, so that... the villain will be at Guimen Cliff starting from dusk today. Waiting here, he said that as long as I wait three days, if the guest named Qi does not come within three days, I can go home. If the guest named Qi comes within three days, then... I will take the guest named Qi with me. Guests go to a place.”
"Are you a fisherman?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The boatman raised his hand tremblingly and pointed to the south: "Twenty miles further south, there is the Liang Jiabo. The little... I am a member of the Liang Jiabo. The two uncles went over there. If you ask Shen Liu, he is a villain."
Qining asked: "What does the man who sent you here look like?"
The boatman shook his head and said: "Little man... I didn't see clearly either. At midnight last night, the man knocked on the door of Xiao's house. At that time... He was wearing a cloak and a hat. The little man couldn't see clearly. He threw it to The younger one gave the younger one a bag of money, told the younger one what he had to do, and asked the younger one if he could take over the job. If... if he refused, he would go find someone else. He also said that if the task was successfully completed, no matter whether it was within three days. If you can meet the guest named Qi, I will give you fifty taels of silver later. I... I think the opportunity is rare, so... So I took this job...!"
Qin Yuege said coldly: "If you tell a lie, do you know what will happen?"
"The little one dare not lie." The boatman immediately said: "If the little one lies even one word, just... let the shark eat it."
Qining also knew in his heart that an ordinary fisherman, in addition to maintaining his life, could save a few taels of silver in a year, which is not bad. One hundred taels of silver is almost an astronomical figure for an ordinary fisherman, regardless of Anyone else would have given it a try.
"Where did that person ask you to take us?" Qin Yuege asked.
The fisherman saw that the blade was still on his neck, his body was shaking, and he reluctantly said: "That man... That man told the villain, no matter how you ask, I don't want to tell you two, he said... He said that if I tell, The lives of my family members are in danger, and... and there is also a lady named Tian who is also in danger...!"
Qi Ning's eyes flashed coldly and asked: "He mentioned the lady named Tian?"
"Yes." The fisherman said, "He asked me to tell the guest named Qi that when we get to the place, we can see Mrs. Tian, and... and he made sure that Mrs. Tian is intact."
Qin Yuege sneered: "If you don't tell me, I will take your life now."
Although the fishermen were scared, they still stiffened their necks and said: "Two gentlemen, this villain... I just help others with errands and get some money to support the family. I also ask the two adults to give you a lot and don't embarrass the villain."
Qi Ning stretched out his hand, gently pushed away the blade Qin Yuege clamped on the fisherman's neck, and said softly: "Qin Facao, since the other party has arrangements, even if we know where to go, it will be useless. You go back to the city first, and I will Follow him and see what medicine he is selling in his gourd."
"This... this is absolutely not allowed!" Qin Yuege looked solemn: "The other party has clearly set a trap. A gentleman will not put himself in danger unless he stands under a dangerous wall."
Qining sighed: "Mrs. Tian is in their hands. If I don't go, Mrs. Tian's life will be in danger. If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger's cubs. So I have to go this time. You don't have to take the risk with me."
Qin Yuege put away her saber, shook her head and said, "I forgive you for not obeying your orders. If the Marquis makes up his mind and insists on going, I can only follow you."
The fisherman was also surprised when he heard Qin Yuege address Qin Ning as Lord Marquis. However, Qi Ning gently patted Qin Yuege's shoulder and said to the fisherman without saying a word: "You don't have to be afraid, he asked you to Wherever you want to take us, you can set off now." He walked over and sat down in the boat, looking very calm. Qin Yuege hesitated for a moment and finally sat down opposite Qi Ning.
The fisherman breathed a sigh of relief, and then he went over and moved a box, opened it, and found some cooked food inside. He also moved a jar of wine and said respectfully: "The man asked not to neglect the guest named Qi along the way. So... I have prepared some wine and food for you two to use slowly."
"Lu Liu, how far is the place he mentioned from here?" Qining asked.
The fisherman said: "It's only a day's journey. If the wind direction is favorable, we should be able to arrive tomorrow night."
Qi Ning nodded and waved, and then the fisherman passed by. This was a shallow water area near the shore, so he could only shake his hand. Lu Liu ate food from the sea, so he moved quickly and walked towards the sea with his hand. Halfway through After more than an hour, he set up the sail and headed to the center of the sea. The sail on his small boat was very easy to operate. He could flexibly control the sail according to the wind direction and control the direction of the boat.
"Master Marquis, why did the other party spend so much effort?" The boat was sailing on the vast sea in the night, alone, and seemed extremely lonely between heaven and earth. Qin Yuege's face always looked extremely solemn, and he kept paying attention to the fishermen. Lu Liu's actions.
Qi Ning smiled faintly and said: "Now that we are here, we will make peace with it. When we get to the place, everything will be revealed."
Qin Yuege frowned and said: "If it is really a trap set by pirates, this trip... this trip must be extremely dangerous. Mr. Hou, I think that when you reach your destination, you don't have to get off the boat in a hurry, and you can go down first to find out what's going on. , if it is really a trap, the Marquis will retreat immediately."
Qining just smiled and didn't say much.
According to Qining's judgment, the boat was not traveling due east, but towards the southeast.
Apart from islands, there are still islands on the sea. The only destination that can be reached in one day is the islands on the sea. However, there are countless islands and reefs in the sea. No one knows which island you want to go to.
When the first ray of dawn appeared, the boat was already far away from the coast, and the horizon of the coast could no longer be seen.
There was a lot of wind and waves on the sea last night, and the boat was bumping violently. Fortunately, after dawn, the calm was restored. Under the sun, the waves were sparkling. When Lu Liu saw Qi Ning and the two following him with peace of mind, he no longer felt panic. Instead, he explained: "Don't worry, you two. I have seen the wind direction in the past few days beforehand. There will be no big winds and waves. Even if there are some small winds and waves, our boat can handle it."
"Are you very familiar with the maritime terrain in this area?" Qining asked with a smile: "Don't take the wrong path."
"Don't worry." Lu Liu was full of confidence, "I often go out to sea to fish. The farthest place is three or four days' journey from the coast. I know where I can go and where I can't go in this sea area. It’s so good that nothing can go wrong.”