The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 88 White Horse
"Is the matter resolved?"

Fu Juemin nodded, and Fu Guosheng didn't ask any more questions. He glanced behind him again, his brows furrowing slightly: "Where is your second uncle?"

"Second uncle."

Fu Juemin briefly told Fu Guosheng about his second uncle Fu Guoping's plan. Fu Guosheng remained silent for a long time, but surprisingly didn't say anything. In the end, he just waved his hand and said, "We'll talk about it on the ship."

Fu Juemin dismounted and walked through the withered reeds in front of him, soon spotting a small cargo ship moored on the riverbank.

A waterproof canopy and temporary compartments were clearly installed on top, and two small sampans were towed beside it, probably because there wasn't enough space.

Fu Juemin stepped onto the ship via the gangway. There were already quite a few people standing on the ship—five or six servants including Huaihua, the butler Chen Bo, and seven or eight guards led by Wang Shuisheng.
With the addition of a boatman and two helpers, there wasn't much room left.

Perhaps to avoid suspicion, Fu Guosheng specifically chose a small cargo boat. Comfort was certainly not a primary concern, but its advantage lay in its concealment and portability.

Fu Juemin boarded the ship, and everyone called him "Young Master." At this moment, everyone's face showed a hint of relief, as if they had survived a disaster.

After all, they could see the flames of war burning in the county town clearly from here, and they could imagine how chaotic the town must be right now.

"Wanrong, Shuxin, and Shuyao are in the cabin."

Fu Guosheng spoke, and Fu Juemin nodded. Then, he had someone lift the plank under his feet to take a look, and frowned: "Father, where's the coal?"

"There is no coal."

Fu Guosheng shook his head and replied in a low voice, "This ship is fuel-consuming."

"A diesel cargo ship?!"

Fu Juemin was genuinely surprised.

These days, diesel engines are a real rarity. My dad actually managed to get his hands on one. He's been the richest man in Luanhe for years for no reason.

"With the power of diesel engines, even if we are spotted, ordinary ships cannot catch up with us."

Fu Guosheng said, "Once we leave Yangping and enter the Minjiang River area, we'll change boats. The Su family has already made arrangements for the rest of the journey."

Fu Guosheng paused for a moment, then said, "Your second uncle left a lot of explosives and kerosene at home before, and I also had someone bring them along. They might come in handy later."

When Fu Juemin saw the cold glint in his father's eyes as he said those words, he suddenly realized that none of his family members seemed to be simple people.

Fu Juemin nodded and inspected the boat inside and out.

Fu Guosheng was indeed very well prepared for this escape, with food, fresh water, clothing, medicine, and everything else readily available.

More than a dozen rifles, both long and short, were prepared, and Wang Shuisheng and his guards had already brought them. They were now standing on the deck, looking solemn and on patrol.

Fu Juemin thought for a moment, and was just about to take out half of the more than 20 million silver dollars he had obtained from Song Lin and give it to his father, when suddenly a guard ran over to report.

"Master, young master... there's a situation ahead."

Fu Juemin's expression hardened slightly. He exchanged a glance with Fu Guosheng and quickly walked out of the cabin.

Upon reaching a spot on the deck with a wide view, they saw a large ship anchored in the waters just a few miles away.

The ship seemed to be packed with people, and there were also people on the shore carrying luggage, hurrying to get on the ship.

Fu Juemin had exceptional eyesight. He squinted and saw that many of them were wearing student clothes.

"It's a boat belonging to the Wang family, who run the dyeing business in Hexi."

The guard who made the report added in a low voice.

Fu Juemin was not surprised.

With such a large commotion caused by the Fire Cloud Army's attack on the city, there must be some quick-witted and resourceful people in a county town. What puzzled him was why the boats were filled with students.

"...That Mr. Wang is a religious person. I guess he wanted to be a good person this time and take some students with him while he was escaping."

It's a pity they've been targeted by the Red Turban rebels; I wonder if they'll be able to escape this time.

The guard pointed, and Fu Juemin saw that behind the group of students running on the shore, there were indeed seven or eight burly men wearing red headscarves, who were about to be caught.

"Master."

The guard, who had noticed the situation, looked at him cautiously and said, "Should we leave now?"

Fu Juemin's eyes flickered slightly, and he made a decision in a breath.

"Two men, bring your guns and follow us."

He casually gave an order, grabbed a Chinese-made rifle, and strode off the boat.

The guards exchanged bewildered glances until Fu Guosheng gave them a look, at which point two of them stepped forward and quickly followed.

Fu Juemin dismounted and rode his horse, calmly galloping towards the opposite boat.

Once within rifle range, pull on the reins, raise the gun, and aim.

"boom--"

A sharp gunshot rang out, startling a flock of water birds into flight from the reeds along the riverbank.

One of the men in red headscarves who was chasing the students in the distance suddenly tripped and fell. "Crack—"

Fu Juemin cocked the gun and then fired.

"Bang! Bang!—"

With a few shots fired in quick succession, half of the Red Turban men chasing them were killed by Fu Juemin, one shot at a time, like hawks crouching in the reeds. The remaining half realized what was happening and began to flee in a panic.

At this moment, whether they were chasing or running away, on the shore or on the boat, everyone was stunned by the gunshot and their eyes were drawn to the gunshot, discovering Fu Juemin's presence.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal of saving lives, Fu Juemin slowly lowered his gun and was about to turn and leave.

Just then, a short-haired girl wearing an indigo-coated cheongsam on the boat jumped and cheered, waving excitedly at him.

"Fu Lingjun!!"

Fu Juemin was taken aback before he realized that it was Jiang Yao, a student from Shenggong Girls' School, with whom he had interacted a few times before.

Unexpectedly, she was also on the ship.

Fu Juemin yanked the reins hard, and his horse neighed loudly, then suddenly raised its head and leaped up, lifting its front hooves high as if to greet the other horse.

After finishing his business, he turned his horse around and returned to his own cargo ship.

Just then, Cao Tian returned with Xu Xinyi. Without hesitation, the group called out, and the small cargo ship carrying the Fu family immediately raised its sails and slowly sailed upstream.

"He saved us twice."

On the Wang family's ship, Jiang Yao leaned on the railing by the deck, standing on tiptoe to gaze at the Fu family's cargo ship slowly sailing away.

The eyes behind the round glasses were brimming with brilliance at this moment.

"Fu Lingjun, Fu Lingjun."

She repeated the name over and over, whispering, "This time he was riding a horse and carrying a gun... just like the knight in that Western oil painting we saw last time."

Jiang Yao looked around.

At this moment, many girls on the deck were discussing the scene of Fu Juemin saving the day by himself and his horse. Among them was even the old, conservative foreign nun from their Holy Temple, who was known for her misogyny.

As it turns out, whether in the East or the West, such acts of helping others and lending a helping hand are commendable.

If the other party is a handsome gentleman riding a white horse, then the romance is even more enchanting and something that girls yearn for.

"I've really fallen for him."

Jiang Yao suddenly let out a long sigh and turned to look at Zhou Yunzhi beside her, "It's a pity he doesn't like me."

He likes you, but you don't reciprocate.

This is just like a melodramatic scene from the play "King El" that we're staging.

“Who said I don’t?”

Hearing Jiang Yao's soft sigh, Zhou Yunzhi, who had been staring blankly at the departing cargo ship for a long time, suddenly came to her senses and was about to blurt out something.

But as soon as he met Jiang Yao's puzzled and surprised gaze, he immediately swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue, as if feeling guilty.

As she watched the ship sail away into the distance, Zhou Yunzhi's eyes suddenly fell into melancholy.

Whether I like it or not doesn't matter right now.

This time, they were going to Yingjing on the Wang family's boat. The Fu family's boat was going upstream, while their boat was going downstream. Once they left the Luan River, she might never see that man in a suit riding a horse again in this lifetime.

For some reason, the thought of this made Zhou Yunzhi feel as if a piece of her heart was inexplicably empty.

The fiery red flames, as intense and raging as wildfire, burned into the Luan River, "burning" for nearly two hours.

Then the chaos and unrest in the vast county gradually subsided, the old order collapsed, and a new order began to be established.

At this moment, a large group of strong men wearing red headscarves and carrying knives, guns, and even clubs were gathered on the riverbank of the Luanhe River.

They were dressed in rags, some even barefoot, yet their faces and eyes were filled with awe and fanaticism.

Where their gazes converged, there lay a creature that resembled a tiger but was not quite a tiger, with a vertical gold mark branded between its brows, and was as large as a water buffalo.

The monster lay prostrate on the riverbank, its four claws flaming with bewitching orange-red flames that swirled across the river in waves.

Where the flames passed, the river water became scalding hot, as if what flowed in the river was not water, but streams of flaming oil.

Everyone had to stay far away from that monster.

Only one man, thin and with sallow skin, stood not far from the tiger-shaped monster, undeterred by the scorching heat.

The man was squatting down, gently picking up a pebble with scorched black watermarks between his two fingers, as if talking to himself, or perhaps to the monster beside him.

"so.
Did it run away as soon as it smelled your scent?

(End of this chapter)