Chapter 8: Boarding the Ship

The old lady Su looked at the large knife swinging down towards her, instinctively bending her body to shield Su Huan in her arms, trembling all over. Is she going to die? No, if she dies, what will happen to her little granddaughter? What will happen to the whole family?

Suddenly, the old lady Su raised her head and shouted angrily, “Fourth! Fifth! Disable them!”

The skinny man grinned savagely, raising the knife to strike, “Seeking death!”

In these chaotic times, they killed people like they were slaughtering dogs!

However, something unexpected happened. The knife that should have struck the old lady Su suddenly stopped mid-air, as if it hit… an invisible shield!

The skinny man was momentarily stunned, unwilling to believe it, and tried to swing a second blow, only to be kicked aside by Su Lao Si, who had rushed over.

Su Lao Wu knelt on him directly, using both hands to twist. Crack! Crack! The first crack dislocated his arm, and the second crack took out both his legs.

“Ah!!!”

The skinny man screamed in agony, hastily turning to order his accomplices, “Kill them… kill them all!”

But he saw that his accomplices had already been kicked down by Su Lao Si and had their arms and legs dislocated by Su Lao Wu.

In a short time, they couldn’t even get up, let alone move.

“How… how dare you treat me like this! I’ll definitely kill you all!”

The usual robbers, who were used to beating others, suddenly found themselves beaten. How could the skinny man swallow this anger?

The others were also howling in pain and cursing at the Su family.

“Mother, are you and Fifth Miss all right?”
Several wives hurried forward to help the old lady Su, concerned.

The old lady Su ignored the wives and, after handing Su Huan to them, rushed forward to slap the skinny man in the face several times in frustration. Slap! Slap!

The skinny man, who had been cursing just moments ago, suddenly cried out in despair, begging for mercy. He looked utterly pitiful.

The old lady Su sneered, pointing at the dark river under the night sky. “You think you can beg for mercy with just your mouth? If you don’t apologize to me today, then you can go feed the fish in the river! After all, someone like you who only knows how to rob and kill is just a scourge to the world. I might as well collect you for the heavens!”

She then glanced at the other accomplices, “And you lot as well.”

The old lady Su was usually very kind, but when she got angry, even her own family feared her.

Su Huan didn’t expect the old lady’s temper to be so strong. She liked her even more and clapped in approval, though her little hands didn’t have enough strength to make any sound.

However, little Su Huan didn’t notice that her second brother, Su Yan, was staring at her with an ambiguous expression, as though he had realized something.

The skinny man knew that his gang had hit a dead end. He no longer pretended to be pitiful, gritting his teeth, and said, “Today, I’m unlucky, it’s just my bad luck! I have a hundred taels of silver in banknotes. Will it be enough to buy our lives?”

Su Lao Er bent down and searched his chest pocket, pulling out a small pouch. Inside, sure enough, was a hundred taels of silver bills! Moreover, these were official government-issued silver notes, which could be exchanged at any bank.

Suddenly, a loud horn sounded, and everyone surged forward as if they had received some kind of signal.

Su Huan, puzzled, looked ahead, but since she was being carried, her view was blocked, and she couldn’t see what was happening.

The old lady Su’s expression changed. “Not good, the ship is about to depart! Second, take the money and pay for the boat ticket quickly!”

Li Sumei tightly held Su Huan, while Wu Chunhe, Zhang Xiaolan, and Liu Yingying held tightly to Yanhe, Yanqi, and Yanxing. Su Yan’s family supported the old lady Su, while Su Lao Er and Su Lao San pushed forward with the sheep. Su Lao Si and Su Lao Wu took up the rear, keeping any dangerous factors at bay.

The Wang family had two boats—one for ferrying people and the other for the master and madam. The madam’s boat was at the front, guarded by many servants, while the ferrying boat was at the back. A manager wearing plain clothes and a square hat was in charge of collecting fees, and a few guards stood nearby. Anyone who tried to cross the line without paying was cut down without warning. In no time, the startled disaster victims quieted down, and the once chaotic scene regained order.

Su Huan looked curiously at the desperate people trying to board the ship.

Though the natural disasters were severe, they weren’t yet at the point of starving to death. So why was everyone desperately fleeing toward the capital?

A tender yet polite voice suddenly rang in her ear, “I heard things are getting chaotic in some places, and it’ll soon spread here. If you don’t want to die, you have to flee north. That’s the only safe place.”

So that’s it.

Su Huan nodded quietly, but just as she turned to look at her second brother, Su Yan, he met her gaze.

“Sister, do you think we’re very pitiful?”

Amid the chaos, everyone else was preoccupied with boarding the ship. How did he still have the energy to notice her?

Had he seen her setting the protective barrier with the soul-guarding artifact earlier?

Impossible. Ordinary humans couldn’t possibly see the barrier.

Su Huan gave Su Yan a simple smile but said nothing.

Su Yan raised an eyebrow and withdrew his gaze, deep in thought.

Her sister could indeed understand their words.

However, just now, the robber’s knife should have struck the old lady Su, but it suddenly paused in mid-air.

Was that also her sister’s doing?

Why would she have such power?

Is she some kind of monster? Or a deity?

No one noticed Su Yan’s strange behavior.

The ferryboat was strictly guarded by soldiers, preventing any disaster victims from sneaking onto it. Those who could afford the fare crowded to the front. After about ten groups had boarded, the manager knocked on the table and looked up, shouting, “Last fifteen people, is anyone still boarding?”

When the old lady Su heard this, she immediately rushed forward with her family. “We are! We’re boarding! Here is our boat fare!”

The manager glanced at the silver notes she handed him, accepted them, and said, “Board first, and someone will return the extra money to you later.”

The manager’s assistant handed fourteen wooden tokens to the old lady Su. These tokens represented their payment for the fare.

Su Lao Er frowned, not trusting the manager’s words, but the old lady Su quickly smiled and accepted, thanking the manager several times before quickly distributing the tokens and leading her family onto the boat.

Immediately, an angry voice from behind shouted, “Why did you accept their silver notes, but not ours?”

The manager calmly replied, “Are your silver notes issued by the government bank? If not, shut up.”

As long as the government still existed, government-issued silver was the most valuable. In comparison, private banknotes could become worthless, especially in times of disaster.

Upon hearing this, the Su family couldn’t help but feel relieved. They were fortunate that the silver notes they had taken from the robbers were government-issued.

The ferry cabin was cramped, with two stacked bunk beds in each room. Four people had to share one room. The Su family, being the last group to board, was assigned a room on the bottom floor with no windows. The only way to get fresh air was to go up to the deck.

Fortunately, the manager didn’t mind what belongings they brought, so the little lamb didn’t need to be hidden and was brought on board smoothly.

However, the air inside the cabin was very bad. As soon as Su Huan entered, she started coughing a few times.

The old lady Su and Li Sumei also had similar reactions.

Even Wu Chunhe and Zhang Xiaolan, who were physically strong, now looked a bit pale, while Liu Yingying and Su Lao Er began to feel seasick.

Su Lao Si furrowed his brows. “This won’t do. We need to figure out how to get some medicine.”

Boarding the ship was only the first step. The real challenge was how to survive the difficult journey from this ferry to the capital.