Seeing him kill the merman directly, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie hesitated to speak and felt quite worried. If they just ran to the Nether Temple and claimed the ferryman robbed them and was killed in self defence, without any proof, could they really pass the check?
Yu Qing urged, “Stop dawdling.”
Seeing he had made up his mind, Nan Zhu had to stop Xiao Hei from bailing water and gave him a few instructions.
Xiao Hei nodded, handed the rice bowl back to Nan Zhu, turned around, grabbed the big stick, and threw it into the air.
The big stick flying into the air instantly opened its eyes, spread its jointed legs, and popped out a pair of curtain like black wings to dance in the sky. Seeing Xiao Hei jump into the air, the stick immediately flew over, grabbed him, and hovered in the sky.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie then dived into the water and escaped by swimming away.
Xiao Hei directed the stick to fly towards the brightly lit shore.
Without Xiao Hei bailing water, the water gushing from the bottom of the boat raised the water level in the cabin again. Yu Qing did not mind. He jumped to the stern, stood beside a lone lamp, let down his ponytail, pulled out a cloth to cover his face, and used his energy to drive the boat forward.
The distance was not far, and he could still bear this amount of energy consumption.
The boat, however, was slowly sinking. In the end, only a small frame was left floating on the water surface, moving forward.
On the brightly lit shore, thousands of boats went back and forth endlessly. Unlike the coldness of Xingluo Island, the countless houses on the shore seemed densely packed and chaotic. The architectural style felt arbitrary, with buildings of varying heights scattered at random. Various houses were equipped with doors and windows of all sizes. Lanterns of different colours hung under the eaves. Men and women of all kinds stood at the railings at the doorways. Some leaned on the railings alone, some chatted and laughed with others, some cried, some looked deep in thought, some felt melancholy, some were glamorous, some were elegant, some were mutually in love, some spoke harsh words to each other, and some sat by empty windows in silence.
On the streets of the shore, drunkards casually threw their wine bottles into the water. Walking pedestrians casually threw away the trash in their hands. Broken porcelain covered the ground, and vomit was scattered everywhere. Meanwhile, the nimble rat catchers shuttling on the ground did their duty faithfully. They promptly picked up the garbage on the ground. They kept cleaning without stopping, always keeping the streets clean.
The covers of various coloured lanterns gave the Sea Market a magical brilliance, showing red, orange, white, green, cyan, blue, and purple.
The unrestrained and dashing crowds, the interweaving of men and women, and the mixing of males and females filled this coast with various smells. There were fragrances, foul odours, sweat, powder, and even the smell of blood. Butchers by the road were slaughtering animals dripping with blood.
Birds in the air hunted bats. They often nearly crashed into the taller houses but dodged in time. Demonic cultivators perched on the roofs revealed their true forms while drinking. Beasts on the ground shuttled everywhere. Some people also rode wolves or tigers, strolling slowly on the streets.
There were layers of steps on the shore. Porters carrying bags unloaded or loaded goods onto the boats. Some people got off the boats and arrived, while others got on the boats and left. There were half monsters. Some swung their furry tails but had bare thighs. Some had two furry ears standing up and partially exposed plump chests. Various charming fox women were full of charm, looking ready to press against the guests at any time, soliciting customers with coquettish voices. There were also beautiful and gentle ladies waiting on the steps, looking forward to the arriving boats, not knowing if they were waiting for their lovers. There were also strange people holding umbrellas and wearing white clothes standing on the steps motionlessly in the middle of the night.
Some disabled people crawled on the ground to beg from passing guests. There were also old women sitting on the ground, reaching out to beg for pity.
The sounds of silk and bamboo instruments, bells and drums, and the leisurely and cheerful singing and dancing floated under the night curtain, faintly reaching the sea.
Yu Qing looked into the distance at the prosperity ahead. The boats passing by him saw a disabled merman ferryman of unknown life or death in his partially sunken boat. They were all shocked and surprised, and kept their distance from him.
It was like a shark suddenly breaking into a school of fish. The fish quickly made way on their own initiative. The scene was so abrupt.
The partially sunken boat docked in the water, and the bow hit the steps extending underwater. Yu Qing walked lightly on the side of the boat floating on the water, as if walking on a tightrope. He grabbed the merman’s neck and pulled hard. The merman was pulled out, and the bottom of the boat collapsed.
Yu Qing stepped on the stone steps and dragged the merman ashore.
Someone actually dared to use deadly force against the sea clan ferryman here.
What kind of place is this? The prosperity of the Sea Market is almost entirely supported by the sea clan ferrymen. If you offend the sea clan, to say nothing of other things, do you want to be trapped in the Sea Market forever?
Here, no matter who you have a problem with, try not to have a problem with the sea clan. Otherwise, if something happens, you will not even be able to escape from here, let alone the fact that the sea clan is relatively law abiding.
In short, this scene was really sudden.
The people getting on and off the boats on the steps were stunned. The people loading and unloading the boats were surprised. The charming women soliciting customers stopped smiling. The chaotic crowd quickly fell silent and quietly made way on both sides.
This reaction quickly spread to the surroundings. Everyone looked at the masked man dragging the merman’s corpse ashore. The entire coastline here quickly fell silent. Although the people in the distance did not know what had happened, they all looked over here and did not dare to move.
Only the sounds of music and singing and dancing from the pavilions near and far were still floating leisurely.
Taking advantage of everyone’s attention being attracted, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie, who were floating in the water, took the opportunity to go ashore. They mixed into the crowd and looked towards Yu Qing.
Xiao Hei saw them in the air. He landed on the roof of a house, carried the big stick, and jumped down. He ran barefoot into the crowd and went to Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie. Just as he was about to speak and greet them, Nan Zhu covered his mouth.
Yu Qing dragged the merman’s corpse to the top of the steps. The crowd in front did not want to cause trouble, so they made way for him on the left and right.
However, Yu Qing’s eyes looked at a banner standing nearby. It had the word “Transport” written on it. He walked over immediately. The onlooking crowd over there immediately made way, revealing a man standing with his arms crossed under the flagpole. He was also a man with a small moustache.
Behind the man stood more than a dozen wild men. They had thick hair, wore animal skins around their waists, and had bodies as tall as two adults. They looked similar to humans.
Seeing Yu Qing walking towards him, the man with crossed arms suddenly felt uncomfortable all over. He did not quite know what to do with his hands, and his crossed arms slowly dropped down.
Bang! Yu Qing threw the merman’s corpse at his feet. “How much to send this to the Nether Temple?”
Everyone’s eyes immediately stared at the man in unison.
The man looked left and right, tried hard to squeeze out a smile on his face, and waved his hand. “Sending this to the Nether Temple, I have no way to explain it to the temple. Sorry, we do not take this job. You should find someone else.”
Yu Qing said, “You do not need to explain it. I will go with you, and I will explain it myself.”
It was not that he could not carry this little thing. It was that he did not know where the Nether Temple was and needed someone to guide him. He did not want people to know he was a newcomer under the public eye, so he preferred to spend some money.
Seeing it was like this, and it was purely just carrying it, with so many people watching as witnesses in public, the man with the moustache thought about it and held up five fingers. But then he thought that this man dared to kill the sea clan ferryman and dared to drag the corpse openly. How bold must he be? So his five fingers relaxed a bit and turned into three. “Three hundred taels. It is already the cheapest price!”
Yu Qing took out a silver note, tore off three hundred taels, and handed it over, paying the money in public first.
After receiving the money, the man immediately turned around and called a wild man to give instructions.
Bang! The wild man punched his chest to show he understood. He walked out, grabbed the merman’s corpse, threw it over his shoulder, and quickly strode away.
Yu Qing turned around and followed.
The man under the banner cupped his hands to see them off. He did not put his hands down and relax until the figures disappeared.
“What is this situation? He actually dared to kill the ferryman.”
“He killed him and dared to take the corpse directly to the Nether Temple. What on earth is going on?”
The dock became lively again, with one more piece of gossip. They began to discuss what just happened in a hubbub.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie in the crowd also took Xiao Hei and left quickly, following Yu Qing from a distance.
In fact, the people following to see what was going on were far more than just the two of them. It was just unknown whether they were watching the fun or had some other ulterior motives.
Along the way, whether it was Yu Qing following the wild man, or Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie following behind in the crowd, they walked through the Sea Market built along the undulating terrain. They finally realised what the most prosperous place in the world was like. It was a dazzling sight.
The Sea Market has always been known as the most prosperous place in the world. The prosperity of the capitals of the Jin State and the Yin State could not compare with it at all. This is because there is a kind of beauty of indulgence here. It is a true city of desire. There are no strict rules of Youya, nor the secular ethics of the capital. Here, as long as you have money, you can make any transaction.
Of course, the rule is still that both parties must be voluntary, and no one should be forced.
However, this place is too mixed. Countless demons and monsters live here together. It is inevitable that some cases of the weak being eaten by the strong will happen in secret.
For merchants and guests, in terms of safety, this place cannot be compared with Youjiao Pier. As long as they are merchants of Youjiao Pier, Youya even provides a certain degree of extraterritorial protection. But Youjiao Pier is definitely not as prosperous and fun as the Sea Market. This place is a holy land for the rich.
In terms of temperament, one side is like doing serious big business, while the other side is like a chaotic hodgepodge.
Whether safety is important or fun is important, everyone has their own needs and choices.
However, the number of people gathered in the Sea Market is far beyond the comparison of Youjiao Pier. It can be seen that the majority of people do not like loneliness.
Here, almost anyone can do any business.
For example, if a person is selling something to a passer by and learns that the passer by is looking for a place to stay, they can immediately turn their own room into an inn.
In the Sea Market, almost everyone in every house is doing business. Even if they pick up a relatively unique stone, they might immediately put up a sign at their door to sell it, or go to the street to peddle it.
The prices here are very high because many things have to be transported from far away. This leads to great pressure for those who want to gain a foothold here. Many people will sell anything for money, including their own bodies.
There are hardly any straight streets here. Many roads actually pass under the houses. There are also roads opened between several houses to save space. Some road sections are even built directly on the roofs of people’s houses.