Wayfarer

Chapter 5: The Sea Voyage

After packing up his things, Xiao Nanfeng didn't head straight to the quay. Rather, he stood by the teahouse window and looked toward it.

A fair number of Taiqing Immortal Sect disciples disembarked from the ship and began testing the prospectives.

The tests were conducted rapidly; a number of prospective disciples, with an advantage either in age or cultivation, received a wooden token that would allow them to board the ship.

Xiao Nanfeng contemplated his situation by the window. In terms of physical cultivation alone, he was quite lacking—after all, he had been forced to cultivate a subpar technique, and he would need some other means of boarding.

Xiao Nanfeng's calm demeanor annoyed Ye Dafu and the others, who believed that his confidence stemmed from overwhelming strength.

"How might I address you, traveler?" Ye Dafu walked over and cupped his hands at Xiao Nanfeng. If Xiao Nanfeng really were at Immanence at such a young age, he had to be even more talented than Ye Dafu himself, and would surely become a formal disciple of the sect. It wouldn't be a bad idea to befriend him now.

"You may call me 'poor bastard'," Xiao Nanfeng replied. You psychos, if you keep running your mouth, you'll offend someone you shouldn't and be beaten to death one day. Stay away from me. I don't want to associate with you!

Ye Dafu and his clique: ...This lad's the type to harbor grudges, huh? We just made fun of him in private—isn't this sort of response a little too much?

Xiao Nanfeng's attitude annoyed the three young men, but considering that he was at Immanence, he had the right to be upset. Rebuffed, the three young men sidled off.

The testing at the quay proceeded rapidly, and it took little time for all three hundred qualifying prospective disciples to be chosen.

Those that had qualified were naturally overjoyed; those that hadn't were despondent.

"All qualifying prospectives, we depart in two hours! This ship will wait for no one!" a Taiqing Immortal Sect disciple shouted.

"Yessir!"

By then, Ye Dafu's trio had ambled to the quay, and his other lackeys quickly grouped around him.

"Boss, look, I got a token!"

"Me too, haha! We'll be able to become disciples of the Taiqing Immortal Sect together!"

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The lackeys all returned to Ye Dafu and reported their success—all but one.

"Boss, I, I wasn't selected..." The young man seemed to be at a loss for words.

"What?!"

"I—the person in front of me was of the same cultivation, the same age, but his second uncle's a nominal disciple at the Taiqing Immortal Sect! He got in through his connections with the last wooden token."

The others were enraged on his behalf.

"Boss, don't you have connections in the Taiqing Immortal Sect too? Can't you do something?" one lackey urged.

Ye Dafu shook his head. "It's too late. The tokens have all been given out, and they wouldn't make an exception for us."

"What now, then?" the poor lackey cried out.

"There were too many prospectives, and the competition was stiff. You were unlucky, but fortunately you're still young and can afford to wait a year," Ye Dafu replied, also vexed.

The others frowned. If even their leader couldn't do anything, what could the rest of them accomplish?

The unfortunate lackey was just about to give up when they all saw a youth head into the teahouse with a token in hand.

"Sir, I've retrieved the token you wanted," the youth told Xiao Nanfeng with a smile.

Ye Dafu and the others gaped at the youth, who had just passed the testing and received one of the wooden tokens.

Xiao Nanfeng passed him twenty taels of gold. "As promised. You have my gratitude."

"I heard that the boarding fee is extremely expensive, and I wouldn't have been able to afford the trip even if I was accepted. With these twenty taels, I'll be able to attend next year. I'm the one who should be thanking you," the youth replied.

"A win for us both, then." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

Ye Dafu and his clique watched on, gobsmacked.

They realized what Xiao Nanfeng had done, now—he had found a scalper to acquire a boarding token for him!

With the token in hand, Xiao Nanfeng left the teahouse and walked toward the ship. He would be able to get to the Taiqing Immortal Sect now—but as for finding a master with his lacking cultivation, well, that was a problem for later.

"You can do something like that?" one lackey cried out, disbelieving.

"He's not even at Immanence! He tricked us!" Ye Dafu shouted. "And he even dared to put on airs in front of us!"

"Boss, if he was able to buy a token, could I do the same?" the unfortunate lackey asked.

"Quick, see if there's anyone willing to sell their token," Ye Dafu urged.

"Yes, Boss!"

The clique dispersed all around the quay.

Of course, this was a fruitless endeavor. Ye Dafu's lackeys found themselves spat and cursed at by the qualifying prospectives, who guarded their tokens fiercely.

In the end, in order for the unfortunate lackey to qualify, Ye Dafu and his clique had no choice but to surround Xiao Nanfeng before he could board.

"Is something the matter?" Xiao Nanfeng glanced at Ye Dafu and his lackeys in irritation. What's the matter today? Why do these psychos keep following me around?

"Traveller, my name is Ye Dafu. I have a request to make of you, and I hope you'll show me the courtesy of accepting." Ye Dafu's demeanor had relapsed to its usual arrogance.

"What's the matter?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, barely hiding his irritation.

"One of my brothers failed to obtain a qualification token, and I'd like to purchase yours at a high price. You bought yours for twenty taels of gold, and I can offer you forty. You'll be able to earn twenty taels just by waiting another year. What say you?" Ye Dafu offered confidently.

"It's none of my business. I won't hand my token over to anyone," Xiao Nanfeng refused firmly.

"Our leader's the young master of the Tianshu Empire's Ye clan! You should be honored that he's even asked a favor of you!"

"Don't you know about the Ye clan?"

"Crossing us won't end well for you!"

Ye Dafu's lackeys continued harassing and pressuring Xiao Nanfeng. Ye Dafu wasn't in a rush; he stared Xiao Nanfeng down like prey, as though he was certain the latter would give in. What could an Acquisition-stage youth do against him?

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the cocky young men with an odd expression on his face. He didn't know who the Ye clan was, and he didn't care. Furthermore, it was hardly as though the Ye clan's influence would extend into the Taiqing Immortal Sect; if these rich lordlings thought that their background would mean anything, they were even more foolish than he expected.

"Are you finished? If so, please make way. I'm about to board," Xiao Nanfeng told them expressionlessly.

"Hey, lad, didn't you hear what we said? You think we can't get rid of you?!" one lackey shouted.

Ye Dafu's face was one of cold arrogance. He had been lauded and praised throughout his childhood, and Xiao Nanfeng's indifference had thoroughly incensed him. Ye Dafu and his clique surrounded Xiao Nanfeng, clearly intending to seize his token by force.

"Try it, then. Will I lose my token today, or will one of you spill blood on the spot, I wonder?" Xiao Nanfeng glared at them.

Ye Dafu and the others reared back for an instant. How could he be so confident? Was he hiding his strength? Had they provoked someone they couldn't afford to offend?

But if that really were the case, why would he still need to purchase a token from someone else? That shouldn't have been the case!

Unable to get a good sense for Xiao Nanfeng, Ye Dafu's group hesitated.

Although Xiao Nanfeng seemed angry, he was actually remarkably calm. Considering his maturity, it was trivial for him to deal with this bunch of psychos—a threat alone would be sufficient. Furthermore, they could hardly do a thing. He was right by the Taiqing Immortal Sect's ship. If they were to steal the token right before the eyes of the sect disciples, the sect would become a laughingstock.

Indeed, the very next moment, a stern voice shouted, "What are all of you doing, starting a fight? If you don't intend to board, scram!"

The shout visibly quelled Ye Dafu's group. They stared grudgingly at Xiao Nanfeng.

"Sorry, you'll have to wait a year," Ye Dafu comforted his unfortunate lackey with a sigh. "We'll wait for you on Taiqing Island."

The lackey could only nod.

Xiao Nanfeng wasn't in a rush. He waited for every member of Ye Dafu's group to board before he walked up to the registration stand, where all prospective disciples would confirm their identity.

"Nanfeng? Sixteen years of age, but only in the fifth stage of Acquisition?" the Taiqing Sect disciple responsible for the registration cried out in shock. How had he managed to obtain a token in the first place?

"I secured this token through my connections," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

The disciple blinked. This weakling has a strong backer in the Taiqing Sect? This wasn't someone he could afford to mess with, then!

"The trip will cost twenty taels of gold," the disciple finally continued, ignoring his earlier outburst.

Xiao Nanfeng still had twenty-five taels of gold in his pouch. He was quickly about to become destitute, but it was hardly as though he could avoid spending this money.

Ye Dafu and the others were glaring daggers at Xiao Nanfeng from across the deck as they watched him board, clearly still harboring a grudge.

"We won't be able to strike while on the ship. There'll be plenty of chances to take care of him later, so keep an eye out," Ye Dafu commanded.

"Yes, Boss!" the lackeys replied.

This ship was rather similar to the cruise ships that Xiao Nanfeng had been on in his past life. The main deck was at the front, and a fishing area at the back. There were three floors of decks, the first and second floors of which were guest rooms, and the third of which was a parlor and dining room. Xiao Nanfeng's room was on the first floor, a suite with four beds. Xiao Nanfeng's bed was close to the window.

He set down his luggage, made himself comfortable in bed by the window, and began leisurely reading a Taoist scripture.

As the ship set sail, the window revealed an endless sea, an expanse whose horizon couldn't be seen. Xiao Nanfeng looked out for a while, but seeing nothing interesting, returned to his scrolls. Cryptic though the scrolls were, Xiao Nanfeng was reading them with great interest.

Three other prospectives were in the suite—coincidentally, they were Ye Dafu's lackeys. As Xiao Nanfeng read, the three of them glared daggers at him; it seemed he truly couldn't avoid crossing paths with them.