Guo and Li passed him by, stepped on the gangplank to the boat, said hello to Boss Jin, and stood at the bow of the boat. The man in Tsing Yi frowned all the time. He had important things to do. He originally planned to let Boss Jin go as a favor, but at this moment he suddenly changed his mind and called a few capable men to board the boat together. He took out a piece of paper from his arms. A triangular black flag was placed diagonally outside the cabin, ordering the boatman to set sail.
Boss Jin was obedient and didn't even dare to ask more questions. The boat boss untied the mooring rope in full view of everyone, released the boat into the middle of the river, and sailed downstream along the surging river. Seven or eight unfamiliar boats followed closely behind, as if they were being escorted across the border. The man in Tsing Yi got on the boat safely, with roots under his feet. He smiled, narrowed his eyes and said: "Your Excellency, I am tight-lipped and not used to riding on boats. You must be from the north. What is your name? Where are you from and where are you going?" Where to go?"
The two of them were a few steps apart. Guo Chuanlin noticed that his exposed skin was rough, tough, and bronze in color. It was obviously due to being exposed to the wind and sun from walking on the river for a long time. He smiled and said: "Your Excellency doesn't look like a government agent. We meet by chance and go our separate ways in the blink of an eye. Why do you need to ask so clearly!"
"Although I am not a police officer, the city of Buyang is a hundred miles away, and the slightest disturbance cannot be hidden from my eyes. In my opinion, you are neither a foreign merchant nor a scholar seeking fame. The captain said that you came from Jiaguan. Could it be that you are a traitor? The details of the army?"
Guo Chuanlin said tit for tat: "If it was a trick of the rebels, they would have gone away long ago. How could I get on the boat and be interrogated by you? Your Excellency, you are overly worried. You can rely on your own skills to make a living, so why bother to wade into that muddy water!"
Boss Jin was a little shy and uneasy. He winked at Guo Chuanlin, indicating that he should be more careful with his words. The other person was a big shot with a good background. Young people have a stiff neck and a tough tongue. If they act quickly, they will cause unnecessary trouble. The men who boarded the boat together had already lost their composure and rolled up their sleeves, intending to teach Guo Chuanlin a lesson. The man in Tsing Yi stretched out his hand to stop them. It was not that he did not know how high the sky was and how high the land was, but that he was confident and arrogant. He had not yet left the boundaries of Buyang City. , wait until you reach the wilderness before making plans.
Thoughts were swirling in his mind, he raised his hands and said with a smile: "I was rude for a moment, I'm rude. I am Ouyang Di, the helmsman of the Liusha Gang's Buyang branch. I call you "Fuli" in Chinese cursive. May I ask your surname?"
"Guo Si, escort from the Red Dragon Escort Agency, nice to meet you!" Guo Chuanlin casually gave a pseudonym to deal with it, and secretly thought, the Liusha Gang is a big gang in Longxi, how come there is still a branch in Buyang?
"It's a pleasure to meet you. It's indeed a pleasure to meet you." Ouyang Di thought that "Guo Si" was a fake name and didn't try to reveal it. His eyes fell on the sword on his waist. The scabbard was a second-hand product. The shark skin was badly worn and there were some spots in it. The yellow-green patina is exposed. From the appearance, it is several inches shorter than the ordinary green steel sword, and it is a bit wider and thicker, which is quite rare.
He continued to test: "Brother Guo is also a martial arts practitioner. What are your plans to go to the south?"
"Alas, Jiaguan fell and the escort agency closed down. We had no choice but to find another way out and join acquaintances to find a place to make a living."
Ouyang Di asked further: "I don't know which acquaintance Brother Guo plans to join. Maybe I know him and can talk to him..."
Guo Chuanlin's destination was Yangzhou, an important town in the south, but he only mentioned one sentence to Li Qixian. Ouyang Di broke the casserole and asked the truth, so he couldn't give a random answer. Fortunately, Han Bing was an old man, and he had thought carefully and had already prepared a speech for him. He raised his eyes and glanced at the other party, and said: "Rely on your parents at home, and rely on your friends when you go out. Since Captain Ouyang asked, you should tell him." , Mr. Cai from the Yichuan Escort Agency is related to me, so even though he has been out of service for five years, he can still talk to me."
Ouyang Di raised his eyebrows and said happily: "It turns out to be Mr. Cai Debiao, Mr. Cai. I have been an old friend for many years, a life-and-death friend..." He made a probing statement and stared at Guo Chuanlin intently, paying attention to his eyes.
Guo Chuanlin smiled and said: "Master Ouyang admitted his mistake, my relative is not named Cai Debiao."
"Are you really not the old escort chief Cai Debiao known as 'Jiangdong Yihu'?"
"No, he is not old, and his last name only has the character '彰'. Captain Ouyang doesn't believe it, so he sent someone to the Yichuan Escort Bureau to find out."
"Oh? Maybe I remembered it wrong!"
Guo Chuanlin said: "Yichuan Escort Agency is a small place, and it cannot be discerned by the leader... By the way, I heard that there is also a Quicksand Gang in Longxi. It is a big gang with a prosperous population. The leader is a self-reliant person. I don't know Ouyang Duo. Does the Lord have anything to do with them?”
Ouyang Di's face darkened. This was not the first time someone asked about it. Every time he mentioned it, he slowly shed tears. He was originally the leader of the Buyang Gang. He had brains and means. He also gathered a group of loyal brothers under his command, colluded with the government to control the dock, and lived a very comfortable life. Buyang is located on the north-south transportation route, with water transportation extending in all directions. In the past ten years, as the Liang Kingdom has expanded its territory to the Cangling line, prosperity is just around the corner. The leader of the Liusha Gang, Sha Zili, is ambitious, and Huashan is sent as an aid to push his power southward. Moving forward, Buyang City was chosen as the first stop. Ouyang Di assessed the situation and found that his arm could not twist his thigh, so he had to surrender and became a sub-rudder of the Quicksand Gang. Sha Zili also needed such a local snake to work for him, so he treated Ouyang Di very leniently. There was no general purge, and he only sent a few close associates to perform supervisory duties. All matters big and small were left to Ouyang Di, the helmsman, to make the final decision. .
It's called "Split Helm", but it's actually an alliance. Sha Zili didn't point fingers, which made Ouyang Di feel better. With the reputation of the Liusha Gang, sometimes it is beneficial to act like a fox or a tiger. His mind gradually changed and he began to be careful about the things ordered by the Liusha Gang. This time, news came from the chief helm. Li Yizhu of the Huashan faction was actually a lurking spy of the Qingcheng faction. He assassinated the leader and was shot dead on the spot. The remaining members fled into Longxi. Hong Kun was whipped to death by deputy gang leader Zheng Kuisan. Li Qixian He was on the run and his whereabouts were temporarily unknown. The Quicksand Gang sent out many good men to pursue him separately, but his whereabouts have not been found so far.
The gloomy color flashed away, and Ouyang Di returned to his stern normality. He did not answer the other party's words and said to himself: "Boss Jin said that Brother Guo was kind-hearted and took in a beggar in the wilderness by the river?"
"She is a woman fleeing from famine. She is not bad looking. If she is given food, she will follow me." Guo Chuanlin generously pulled Li Qixian to his side. She lowered her eyebrows and her heart beat like a drum.
"Heitou, come here and take a look, is it her?" Ouyang Di has never met Li Qixian, but in his opinion, this woman is full of worldliness and does not look like the only daughter of the leader of the Huashan Sect.
The man who had searched the cash box earlier came forward, looked at it carefully for a long time, shook his head and said, "No, it doesn't look like it at all."
On that day, Sha Zili held a grand Hongmen banquet to entertain Hong Kun and Li Qixian. Jiao Heitou happened to escort the silver coins to pay tribute to the chief helmsman and had a meal. He was not qualified to enter the lobby, so he only ate a few bites outside the yard and looked around. A few glances. From the beginning to the end, Li Qixian lowered her head and was secretly sad, refusing to eat or drink. In Hei Tou's impression, she was a proud and tired woman who did not take the gang leader and other hall leaders seriously, and her face and body were full of It was covered with dust and was in a state of disarray, but the freshly dried tear stains revealed snow-white skin, which was even more delicate than the pink hair in the hall, which was heart-warming.
As for the girl in front of him, her skin was yellow, there was a mole on the corner of her mouth, and she smelled like a prostitute. She didn't look like a good girl at first glance. She was so overwhelmed by thousands of people that she looked down on her. Even he looked down upon her.
Ouyang Di was a little disappointed. He had previously suspected that the beggar was the traitor Li Qixian of the Huashan faction who was on the run. The bodyguard who called himself "Guo Si" was an evil gang member from the Qingcheng faction who came to rescue him. He was afraid that they were skilled in martial arts and deliberately lured him to the ship. It's easy to start. According to what the black head said, it doesn't seem to be the case.
But he still couldn't solve his doubts. The appearance of this man and woman must have been too coincidental!
Ouyang Di paced back and forth on the bow of the ship, as if he were walking on flat ground. He was determined to find out the details of Guo Si, but he was afraid that other things would spoil the matter, so he hesitated. At this moment, a narrow boat came across the waves. When it approached the merchant ship, it quickly swung sideways and stopped steadily in the middle of the river. A person on the boat shouted loudly: "Helmsman, the idea is ahead!"
This news temporarily gave up Ouyang Di's thoughts. He ordered his men to take over the rudder from the boss of the ship, gathered the rest of the people together, rushed them all out of the cabin, called his brothers, and steered the merchant ship to follow the boat forward. go.
In the darkness, Boss Jin trembled and asked: "They... what on earth do they want to do?"
The boat boss was silent for a moment and said with a wry smile: "The Liusha Gang borrowed our boat to do business."
"What deal?"
"Nine times out of ten, it's a murderous transaction, a business without capital."
