Chapter 4.12 Huang Kui Pirates (Extra)

Over the past few months, more things happened on the river than people on shore could ever hope to imagine.

Most of the Yangtze River pirates came from various lakes in the tributaries along the Yangtze River. During the war, the armed pirates fled to the Yangtze River with many men and few boats. As soon as the boats moored on the beaches, several big gangs rushed at each other, and hundreds of corpses ended up floating on the river.

Chen Pi had heard that the Huang Kui water locusts originated from Dongting Lake, and their first boss was a Taoist priest, who was cultivating in Huang Kui Temple. The first ones to start acting like pirates were a group of Taoist priests that called themselves Huang Kui.

Water locusts were generally divided into two types: ship bandits and drought bandits. Ship bandits not only frequently robbed merchant ships, but their main source of income came from smuggling and selling salt. On occasion, they would target certain merchant ships if they got good intel. The drought bandits boarded ships from shore, robbed the crew and passengers, and then met up with their buddies on the river. The ship bandits had a huge organization with strict rules, while the drought bandits were both cunning and cruel.

Now that dozens of water locusts had been pushed to the Yangtze River, it was just like making gu (1). Robberies and boat seizures were rampant on the river, and hundreds of people had died. The surviving pirates were said to belong to Huang Kui, which had slowly become the largest water gang in Hankou. Their organization was complex, and their founder seemed to have some skills. Among all the Huang Kui members, it was said that there were seventy-eight flags, so it was really hard to tell whose flag it belonged to.

Chen Pi swaggered through the market with his wooden signboard, a string of copper coins strung around his neck, and the no-contribution flag.

His appearance became even funnier, and people passing by pointed and laughed. Chen Pi was completely oblivious to it all and continued strutting about.

Baiping Building was located near the riverbank, and had an open area right outside where stalls could set up. All kinds of snacks would be set up on the stalls amidst the strong river breeze. After four in the afternoon, they would set up one after another and stay open until dawn the next day. Although they sold snacks, they were too expensive for the unskilled laborers. Instead, these stalls were patronized by the merchant ships’ sailors. Baiping Building was involved in the water transportation industry, so all kinds of good and bad people were mixed together here. There were even a lot of water locusts who blended in to listen for any news.

Chen Pi went in to find a noodle stall and sat down. He put his signboard beside the table and patted his copper coins. The owner of this particular noodle stall, Cai Mingwei, had been doing business on Changdi Street all year round. Now that Changdi Street was undergoing construction, he had to move the stall here. The noodles were very good, and there was a crowd of people waiting in line. Chen Pi waited for half an hour to eat noodles, and ended up ordering six bowls. He mixed the spicy sesame oil with two plates of red oily dishes, and then opened a bottle of old wine. Chen Pi was really hungry and ended up eating until his belly was bulging like a drum. When he was done, he turned to face the river.

With the combination of wine and spicy food, Chen Pi was feeling hot all over as he held the bamboo pole with the flag. But his mind was extremely clear as he watched the lights stir all around him and the sailors come and go. When several people passed by him, he watched as their eyes shifted to his flag. After some time, there was finally a flicker of recognition.

When the man bowed his head and walked up the dark riverbank, Chen Pi got up and stumbled after him.

As he kept his distance, he noticed the man go into a lonely stall that had been set up on the riverbank far away from Baiping Building and sit down.

Chen Pi followed and found that it was a stall that sold deep-fried breadsticks soaked in soup. There wasn’t a stream of people here, but it was full of people whispering, which was obviously abnormal. Chen Pi didn’t get near, but took off his clothes and jumped into the river.

He clenched his teeth as the cold water made the veins on his head bulge. He then swam and dove along the riverbank, slowly making his way towards the stall. He was just about to take a peek, when he suddenly saw a single-sail passenger boat moored on the river opposite the stall with its lights out. Even though it had some years on it, it was much larger than a fishing boat, and couldn’t moor too close to the embankment. Unfortunately, the stark contrast between the bright embankment and the dark river made it impossible to see anything.

Just as he was feeling a little puzzled, his eyes suddenly locked onto a person standing on the dark bow of the boat, who was looking at him in wonder.

Chen Pi cursed at his carelessness as he pushed away from the embankment, sank into the water, and quickly dove under the boat. He surfaced and tossed his nine-clawed hook out, immediately hooking it onto the ship’s railing and pulling himself up. When he saw the person trying to light a lantern, he flipped the pineapple knife out and pointed it at the other’s throat. The person instantly flipped over the side of the boat and fell into the water. Just as Chen Pi rushed to the side to look, he heard the sound of water coming from the stern. He felt the boat shake once and knew the person had obviously climbed back up at the stern. They were clearly an excellent swimmer.

Chen Pi used a rope that was strung across the middle of the boat to climb to the top of the cabin, where he saw that a lamp had been lit and hung at the stern. He leaned over to get a better look, and found that the person was also looking up at him. It turned out that the person was a young petite girl. She was older than Chun Si, and had a plump, fair-skinned body. She was wearing her hair in two braids, and her red shirt was completely soaked. The way it stuck to her body accentuated her curves.

The river water dripped onto the ship’s deck and made a sound like beating drums. Just like Chen Pi’s heartbeat.

<Extra 4.11> <Table of Contents><Extra 4.13>

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TN Notes:

(1) Gu was a venom-based poison made by sealing several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, snake, scorpion) inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor, whose body would be fed upon by larvae until consumed. The last surviving larva held the complex poison. More info here