Chapter 96: Check the Ship (Part 2)
Rect was taken aback by the words.
He stopped in his tracks and instinctively replied, “Those gifted in the Water Order can easily manipulate the flow of water, creating a closed whirlpool around themselves that blocks the air. It’s like wrapping yourself in a water membrane. If you’re submerged underwater for a short time, you definitely won’t drown.”
“As for how long you can stay at the riverbed, it depends on the water depth. The greater the water pressure, the more effort it takes. Speaking of the Sabel River…”
He suddenly realized, “That Chris, from the Water Order?”
“Ah.”
I nodded, popped a candy into my mouth, and blinked.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier!?”
“I just remembered!”
“……”
Rect stared at me, dumbfounded.
I maintained a poker face, looked up at him, thought for a moment, pulled out my last few candies, tossed the brown paper bag aside, and handed them to him: “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not doing it on purpose.”~
Saying that, I winked at him.
Honestly, I couldn’t be blamed for this.
Because the Royal Academy’s order courses never told me what the amazing Water Order could do—those were advanced courses, and us lowly freshmen didn’t know, so I didn’t think about it. Besides, it was unlikely anyone would be my opponent, so I didn’t give it a second thought.
Otherwise, I might have remembered earlier.~
Uh…
This candy is a bit too sweet after eating too much.
“Captain Rect—”
The sound of iron hooves clopping approached quickly. Rect and I turned our heads and saw several guards riding beasts coming in nearby. The guard captain jumped off his beast and walked over briskly.
“We found them,” he said, “Five people in total, three men and two women; there’s a child, and they boarded a cargo ship leaving the city three hours ago. It’s a merchant association’s ship, heading east.”
“Three hours ago…” Rect’s eyes lit up. “They shouldn’t have left the city yet.”
He then glanced at the candy in his hand, popped one into his mouth, and said to me, “Let’s go check the ship. You’re coming too.”
………….
We hurried out of the dock and back to the riverbank, where a small boat that Rect arranged immediately pulled up to meet us. The three people on the boat were executioners from the arbitration office. Rect quickly told one of them to go to the lookout tower to fetch a Water Order sword from Kanli, while he climbed aboard with us.
“Were there any merchant ships heading east that got away? Which one is leading?”
He asked, and immediately someone pointed to the side: “That way—”
Looking out, we saw several cargo ships blocked at the lock with the royal city merchant association’s elegant flags flapping in the breeze.
“Go closer! Get all your ships over here and surround them!”
“No problem.”
“And where are the academy people—”
“Probably still near the water gate…”
The small boat rocked violently under the waves, splashing water on my pant legs and shoes. I sat at the bow with a not-so-pleasant expression, gripping the side of the boat tightly. The “buzzing” sounds filled my ears, and a slight nausea was creeping up on me.
Ugh…
I forgot I get seasick.
Fortunately, we weren’t too far from the target merchant ship, and the arbitration people rowed quickly, weaving skillfully through the larger vessels. In less than ten minutes, we had stopped right in front of the merchant ship.
“Lower the rope ladder!”
The arbitration team started shouting at the ship’s side: “The Sword of Kanli orders a ship inspection. Don’t cause trouble—just cooperate!”
“Cooperate? I’d rather roll with your mom in bed!”
From the high deck above, a coarse shout echoed back: “We were about to leave the city, and you guys just closed the lock on us! You checked us an hour ago, and now you want to check us again without giving any reason. Did your wives run off on the ship?!”
“The Sword of Kanli? What about it? Delaying our trade has cost the royal city; is the Sword of Kanli going to pay for that?!”
“Hey, what the hell…”
The arbitration officer’s face changed as he was about to start cursing back. I felt a little irritated, suddenly stood up, pointed my toes, activated my Moon Step, and with a “whoosh,” jumped high. Amid gasps of surprise from the onlookers, I landed perfectly on the ship’s bow.
Then I turned to look at the yelling strongman with a poker face: “Lower the rope ladder.”
“You…”
The man looked surprised and angered, as if he wanted to ask who I was, but his lips quivered, intimidated by the skills I just displayed and didn’t dare to say anything.
“Don’t make me say it again.”
I said coldly, feeling a sudden chill rear behind me. I turned to see Rect had also jumped up.
“I am Rect of the Sword of Kanli; who is your captain? Get him over here. I have questions to ask. Hurry up.”
“Rect, Master Rect…”
“The captain of the Sword of Kanli…”
The crew surrounding us whispered, their faces filled with astonishment, unsure of what to do, glancing toward the strongman as if seeking his opinion.
“…I am the captain.”
The strongman took a few deep breaths, slowly calming himself, glanced at Rect and then at me with a dark expression, saying, “Captain Rect, your actions are somewhat inappropriate, don’t you think?”
“I’m sorry, Captain Sir.”
Rect spoke to him in a gentle manner, his tone amicable: “I have an urgent situation here, wanting to investigate some important criminals because we tracked them aboard your merchant ship, which is why we came to ask…”
“What criminals?”
The captain grew tense immediately: “You mean we’re hiding criminals trying to leave the city? Don’t joke around, this is a merchant association’s ship. We’re just here to do business; how could such a thing happen?”
“No, no, you misunderstand.”
Rect quickly waved his hands: “First, don’t panic, Captain Sir. This matter has nothing to do with you or the merchant association; at most, they’re stowaways on your ship, if they really are here.”
“The reputation of the royal city merchant association has never been doubted; you’re honest businessmen, but sometimes, some cunning fish slip through the net, right?”
“I’ll personally explain this to your president later. For now, please let us and the arbitration team board your ship. Don’t let this small matter escalate and reach the royal palace; it wouldn’t do either of us any good…”
After several rounds of persuasion, seeing more arbitration ships surrounding us, the captain finally relented and allowed them to lower the rope ladder.
As the inspection began, I leaned against the railing, standing at the back of the ship where fewer people were, pretending to gaze at the shimmering river surface but desperately trying to calm my churning stomach.
I should have stayed behind…
Fortunately, the ship wasn’t sailing; it just swayed slightly with the waves, so it wasn’t too bad.
What a pity, I can’t believe I rushed to send that goat cheese to the Holy City yesterday…
I don’t know how long it passed, but the arbitration team searched through the ship’s cabin. The merchant captain cooperated very well, calling all sailors to gather on deck, and one by one, they were checked, with no suspicious individuals found among them. Members of the Sword of Kanli and guards had already entered the water.
Suddenly, there was a loud “bang,” and the ship trembled violently!
“Whoa…”
“What happened?!”
“What’s that sound? Why is the ship swaying?!”
The sudden jolt almost threw me overboard as I was leaning halfway out over the railing, and it took all my strength to stabilize myself. Dazed, I turned around to see everyone else on the deck looking just as confused as I was. The sailors were glancing around, equally baffled.
A few seconds later, someone rushed hurriedly from the cabin onto the deck, panicked, shouting, “Not good, not good! The bottom of the ship has blown apart—”
