Chapter 1478: Hundred Steps

Woooo!

The deafening steam whistle jolted Xiao Yeci awake.

Xiao Yeci rubbed her eyes and glanced toward the porthole; outside was pitch black.

She yawned, ready to roll over and go back to sleep, when Liang Wucui came into the cabin, jumped onto the bed, pinned Xiao Yeci down, and scratched her all over.

Xiao Yeci struggled for a while, then snapped, “Quit messing around, will you? Middle of the night—what are you making a fuss for?”

Liang Wu laughed. “Middle of the night? Take a look at what time it is.”

Xiao Yeci opened her pocket watch; the dial read nine o’clock.

“Is that in the morning or at night?”

“Morning, of course. Come on, let’s go get breakfast!”

Xiao Yeci pulled the pillow over her head. “I’m not eating, I’m gonna sleep a bit more.”

Liang Cai hauled Xiao Yeci up. “Our ship has docked at an island, and maybe our hearts will find a harbor here too.”

“What harbor? I’ve got plenty of harbors in my dreams!” Still groggy, Xiao Yeci trailed after the two sisters downstairs to the Second Layer dining room.

This passenger ship’s cabins were divided into three layers; the First Layer was a grand hall, big enough to hold dances.

The Second Layer had the dining room, cinema, study, tearoom, and viewing deck.

The Third Layer was the sleeping quarters, twelve rooms in all—six suites and six singles—far better conditions than on those old mud-boats.

Xiao Yeci and Liang Wucui sat down in the dining room, and a servant immediately came over with the menu.

The dining room was nice enough, but the dishes were few; they were at sea, ingredients were limited, and the things you could eat kept coming round and round in the same few varieties.

Once they ordered, the servant served the dishes and turned to leave, never saying a single word the whole time.

Too cold? Not exactly. But warm and welcoming? Not really either.

This wasn’t their own business to begin with; from the Boat Master down to the crew, they were all hired hands. Whether there were passengers or not, they made the same pay. The ship owner might only come by once or twice a year. Whether they worked well or poorly, he wouldn’t see it anyway.

The people who came aboard this ship were all rich and powerful types, but the crew knew the boundaries: as long as everyone did their job and didn’t offend the guests, the voyage could be muddled through.

Tan Jinxiao came to eat breakfast as well. Liang Wucui asked quietly, “Where did Seventh Master go?”

“Seventh Master? Isn’t he in your cabin?”

Liang Wu snorted. “If he were in our cabin, would I need to ask you?”

Liang Cai snorted too. “If he were in our cabin, would we even be out here eating breakfast?”

After that, the two sisters turned together to look at Xiao Yeci. “Don’t tell us it’s you?”

Xiao Yeci choked on her black tea. “How could he be with me? You both went to my cabin and checked—there’s only me in there.”

The sisters’ eyes went wide. “Then is it Juanzi?”

Tan Jinxiao frowned. “Don’t talk nonsense! Juanzi studied Technique the whole night and only went to sleep at dawn.”

Liang Cai looked at Tan Jinxiao. “And how do you know that?”

“I sleep next door to her. She was fussing all night—how could I not hear?”

After he said that, they really had no idea where Seventh Master had gone. Liang Wu was a bit worried, and said to Liang Cai, “Let’s go check Seventh Master’s cabin.”

Tan Jinxiao shook his head. “I’m telling you two, don’t go borrowing trouble. Seventh Master does whatever he feels like. On this ship, nobody can lay a hand on him.”

Xiao Yeci looked out the window; the dining room portholes were larger, so you could vaguely make out the lights outside.

“Big Brother Tan, what’s this island called?”

Tan Jinxiao said, “This island’s called Black Noodle Shop. Specializes in selling black noodles.”

“Black noodles? I’ve never eaten those!” Xiao Yeci really did want to try the local delicacy.

Tan Jinxiao chuckled. “Those black noodles aren’t for people to eat, they’re for machines. It’s coal. This place sells coal. The ship we’re on is a boiler ship, has to stop regularly to take on coal. There’s nothing worth seeing on this island, it’s all coal mines—let’s just stay aboard.”

After breakfast, the group strolled out onto the deck. The coal was nearly loaded, and the Boat Master had come back from the island.

He walked over to Tan Jinxiao and took the initiative to speak. “Sir, where’s the gentleman who came along with you?”

Tan Jinxiao frowned. “That’s a bit vague. There were several guests who came with me—how am I supposed to know which one you mean?”

The Boat Master didn’t know Li Banfeng, and he didn’t know Tan Jinxiao either. If the guests didn’t voluntarily state their background, he wouldn’t even ask their names.

At sea, that’s how the business had to be run. Eight out of ten people coming aboard were bringing lovers along to amuse themselves; they wanted discretion, so the ones running the ship shouldn’t expect to climb up their social ladder—just do the job.

But today the Boat Master was acting out of character. “I’m talking about the gentleman who boarded with you, the one who calls the shots among the guests.”

Tan Jinxiao understood: he meant Li Qi. “What do you want with him?”

“This gentleman ordered a bottle of wine yesterday. I wanted to ask if he drank it, and whether to put it on the account.”

“You don’t need to ask—just assume we drank it and put it on the bill.”

The Boat Master pressed his lips together, really not in a position to say more, and went down the ladder to the boiler room beneath the deck.

The stoker came over and whispered, “Boss, was it him?”

The Boat Master shook his head. “I just now didn’t see him.”

As the two were talking, the Chief Engineer came over as well. “Boss, I’m hearing them up there all talking—did something happen on our ship?”

The stoker didn’t dare speak; the Boat Master answered, “It’s not that something happened on the ship, it’s that something happened in the city. Our master’s gone.”

“You mean Lord?” The Chief Engineer jumped. “Who said that? Is the news reliable?”

The stoker spoke in a low voice. “Reliable! There’s been movement over in the Human Market for a while now. First Lord went crazy, wanted to raise the rent, then he waived it altogether. In less than a couple days, the man just vanished, and there’s no one left in all of Qing Garden! You tell me, could that be fake?”