NCCnovel Chapter 209 Fishing
Chapter 209 Fishing
The view outside the window was empty, except for the boundless sea.
Without Xie Yan needing to say more, everyone already understood.
"It seems like this is the only way."
Chu Ling looked at the group of people who were all nodding and tapped the table. "If there are too few people at once, it will be easy to be noticed. Just send one person."
"But who should we send?"
Upon hearing this, He Shan rested his chin on his hand and began to ponder deeply.
I bear a great responsibility and certainly cannot leave the prince's side. Tao Xian also needs to stay, otherwise it would be bad if something went wrong after the prince took the medicine. As for the others...
As he pondered, he looked up and discovered that everyone present was looking at him.
Heshan: "..."
"Wait, I think—"
Chu Ling made the final decision: "Then let's go to Heshan."
A heavy thud came from outside; the footboard on the side of the ship had been lowered.
With no time to waste, Xuanfeng and the others exchanged glances and got up to head outside.
Amidst a cacophony of footsteps, the boatmen began unloading cargo for the wealthy merchant who was about to disembark.
The old boatman carried the last box of cargo out of the hold below. "Alright, everything's unloaded. You can go now."
The wealthy merchant nodded in satisfaction, and then, escorted by the boatmen, led his entourage to step onto the boarding ramp.
But unexpectedly, at that moment, the old boatman suddenly shouted something out of nowhere—
"Wait! Where are you going?!"
The wealthy businessman paused, turned around impatiently, and was about to burst into a tirade when he realized that the man wasn't speaking to him.
Seeing Xuanfeng and his companions following the wealthy merchant and about to leave the merchant ship, the old boatman, ignoring his aching back, rushed over and shouted, "You guys, wait a minute!"
His voice, sharp and loud with anxiety, immediately drew the attention of everyone on deck.
The group of people who were called to a halt paused, turned around in unison, and looked at the old boatman.
Seeing Xuanfeng, the leader, frown deeply, the old boatman seemed to realize that his tone had been a bit too hasty, so he tried to make amends: "Well, you haven't reached your destination yet, why are you in such a hurry to get off the boat?"
Although his expression and tone had softened considerably, he kept his eyes wide open, staring intently at the group as if afraid they would run away.
Xuanfeng glanced at the old boatman, pretending not to notice anything, and said nonchalantly, "Oh, we're going ashore to replenish some supplies."
Upon hearing this, the old boatman smirked and said solicitously, "We have all the supplies you need on board. Just give the order, why do you need to disembark?"
"no need."
Xuanfeng smiled slightly and said, "Weren't you going to stop here to rest? We think this place is quite lively, so we'll go down and take a look before coming back."
"You've misunderstood."
The old boatman firmly blocked their way, pointing to the wealthy merchant and his entourage who had already disembarked, "We're stopping here only to help this boss ashore; we don't need to rest."
"So, we're about to set off again, so let's not waste any more time."
At the same time, a group of boatmen, at the boat owner's signal, surrounded the group, subtly encircling them while discreetly reaching for the weapons at their waists.
This sudden commotion successfully drew the attention of everyone on the ship.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Heshan quietly climbed up to a secluded spot on the ship's side where no one was watching.
Tao Xian frowned slightly, watching his slow movements, and said coldly, "Can you hurry up?"
He Shan's back was turned to her, so her expression was obscured, but her slightly desolate voice could be heard, "Alas, I'm just a little disappointed."
"What's a pity?"
Amidst Tao Xian's confusion, He Shan lifted his leg and straddled the gunwale.
He first glanced down at the sea, which was quite a distance below the boat, before turning back to Tao Xian with a regretful expression and replying, "You don't know, just a hair's breadth away, I almost managed to put the medicine in the prince's cup!"
Taoxian: "..."
After sighing deeply, He Shan's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at Tao Xian. "Hey, that's right, Tao Xian, why don't you help me—"
Before he could finish speaking, Tao Xian expressionlessly slapped her hand.
Before Heshan could react, he was slapped so hard that he fell off the boat and crashed into the water.
The calm water surface was splashed into a large arc by He Shan's unorthodox landing posture.
Fortunately, the sound of the water hitting the shore was drowned out by the noise from the shore and the deck, and it went unnoticed by anyone.
Two hours later——
A white shadow pierced through the layers of clouds and flew toward a merchant ship sailing on the vast sea.
"Heshan has already gathered his men with my token."
Chu Ling put down the note in his hand, looked at Xie Yan who was petting the eagle, and a smile flashed in his eyes. "Next, we just need to wait."
Xie Yan leaned against the window, idly stroking Danqing's feathers. Upon hearing this, she lowered her eyelashes, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly said, "Don't you find it a bit boring to just wait?"
"Why don't we go find some fun?"
"Hmm?" Chu Ling raised an eyebrow.
Xie Yan gave him a mysterious smile, stood up, and said, "Come on, I'll take you fishing."
The fishing line slammed into the water, creating ripples that, as the boat moved, left a thin trail on the surface.
Xie Yan pulled Chu Ling along, holding the fishing rod borrowed from the boatman, and sat leisurely on the gunwale.
"Alright, now let's patiently wait for the fish to take the bait."
The sea breeze made their hair fly and intertwine.
On this journey of setting sail again, it is unknown what the boat owner said to the group of boatmen.
Xie Yan could sense that, apart from the boatmen still moving in groups, their vigilance towards her group had clearly loosened considerably.
They no longer kept a close eye on their movements and rooms as they had before.
Therefore, while everyone was busy with their own things, no one noticed that two figures were quietly approaching a room with a clear objective.
"Grandpa, isn't this a bit inappropriate? What if the boss finds out what we're doing..."
"Stop nagging! You promised to keep watch for me, and I'd give you half the stuff. Do you still want the money?"
As he spoke, the old boatman leaned out and glanced at Xie Yan and the other man's backs. Only after confirming that they were not moving did he silently breathe a sigh of relief.
After the incident on the boat, the boss had lost his patience and was about to take action against them. If he didn't act soon, he might not get anything.
The old boatman looked away and opened the door.
On the ship's side in the distance, Xie Yan's fishing rod suddenly jerked.
He curled his lips into a smile and gestured for Chu Ling to take his fishing rod.
"Look, a fish has taken the bait."