Mortal Mage

-

Yujin Port Terminal.

The dawn is just around the corner.

A row of thick wooden piles was driven deep into the water, forming a broad stone platform.

The surface of the stone slab was mottled due to erosion by the sea breeze, and the edges were covered with moss, and it looked quite old.

Several wooden boats were moored nearby, their sails hoisted high and their masts swaying gently in the morning breeze.

On both sides of the dock, warehouses and taverns are lined up, and boatmen, vendors and all kinds of travelers are shoulder to shoulder.

The fish stalls and other goods emit a salty and fishy smell.

A series of chaotic horse hoof sounds came from both sides of the dock. A team of horses transporting jade was approaching.

Coast East.

A huge treasure ship over seventy or eighty feet long, made of pure wood, slowly approached with eight white sails raised.

A bright yellow flag was flying on the bow of the ship, with a big word "Yin" written on it.

Everyone knew that the official ships of the Song Dynasty's Yinwei Prefecture were located along the coastline of Liang State.

Wait until it gets light.

Crowds of people began to run around the dock with the sound of kicking and clacking. Gradually, some coolies in tattered linen clothes appeared around the dock. They pushed large and small goods to the dock with difficulty.

The treasure ship dragged a long trail of white waves and slowly approached the dock of Yujing Port.

On the bow of the treasure ship stood a black iron cannon as thick as the mouth of a water jar, and on each side of the hull were four rows of giant crossbows.

It demonstrates unshakable majesty and power, and is awe-inspiring and intimidating.

"Splash, splash" the waves hit the hull, and the water gradually reaches the dock.

The huge hull cast a heavy shadow in the morning light, as if it was going to swallow up everything on the dock.

A strong smell of the sea hit me in the face.

Zhang Mingxuan stood in front of the dock, with Hao Fen standing in a row, and Ye Die and Ye Wu following on both sides behind him.

After Ye Die Yewu had used some tricks on the dwarf old man, he was released from the sack. Now he had a look of fear on his face and followed Zhang Mingxuan obediently.

Of course, Zhang Mingxuan also knew the name of this dwarf old man.

The man's name was Zhu Ding. He was born in Liang State. His parents adopted him and sent him to Lingyin Temple. Later, Lingyin Temple found that he had the talent of a jade carving craftsman, so they carefully cultivated his jade carving skills. However, he was greedy and lustful. He knew that Liang State was extremely short of jade carving craftsmen and the treatment was generous, so he resigned from the Taoist temple and wanted to enter the government. Unexpectedly, the news was discovered by the spies of the Song Dynasty, which attracted Ye Die Ye Wu to sneak in and capture him, which triggered a fight.

The spiritual roots are damaged and cannot be cultivated, but that does not mean they are useless.

For example, Zhu Ding, who has a useless spiritual root of the six elements of cold, has no hope of becoming an immortal, but among the people, he is known as a person of superior root bone. Although he cannot become an immortal and live forever, he can enjoy a life of wealth and glory by relying on his special root bone.

However, the Song Dynasty could not tolerate the Liang State having jade carving craftsmen.

-

"Are your injuries incurable?"

Zhang Mingxuan's eyes fell on the sword wounds on Xiang Yetie's arms.

He also had two mid-grade blood-clotting pills for treating external injuries, which he had originally intended to give to Ye Die and Ye Wu. However, he was rejected time and again, so he asked this question.

Seeing Zhang Mingxuan's concern, Ye Die felt a little warm in her heart, but she shook her head gently; "If he is cured, my sister and I will not be able to explain to the head of the family why we failed to capture the jade carving craftsman."

After hearing this, Zhang Mingxuan understood the intentions of the two and nodded in agreement. Then he looked at the treasure ship and asked, "How should we respond when the official ship inspects us later?"

"Master, you may not know that the official ships of the Hidden Guard House divide passengers into three types: wolf passengers, dog passengers, and rat passengers."

"Only those who hold official positions in the Song Dynasty can ride the Wolf Rider, and there is no charge. However, all personal belongings must be inspected, recorded, and reported to the court."

"Dog passengers are legitimate merchants. They need to pay normal shipping fees, but they will be checked for things that should not be brought, such as jade or raw materials or swords and armor."

"The last type is rat passengers. These people need to pay ten times the ship fare. Except for the rule that they are not allowed to carry large luggage, they will not be subject to any inspection." Ye Die paused and continued to explain; "However, rat passengers can only live in the lower cabin. I am afraid that Master and the Fairy will have to take this jade carving craftsman on board as rat passengers. After we are on board and settled, I will go to the lower cabin to find you and take you back to the room where I live."

Having said that, Ye Die's face turned slightly red again.

At this time, the treasure ship lowered the drawbridge, and six infantrymen wearing armor and black robes, holding swords at their waists, walked down from the ship. They waved to the people around them, indicating that they could board the ship.

Seeing this, people on the dock began to rush to board the ship.

Hao Fen had her face wrapped in a light veil, and Zhu Ding had a dazed look on his face, and the two of them followed Zhang Mingxuan.

After the three men paid 120 taels of silver, they were allowed to board the ship without any inspection.

After boarding the treasure ship, the officers and soldiers drove the noisy "rat guests" to a narrow well-ladder intersection and into the bottom warehouse of the treasure ship.

Go down the narrow escalator and reach the bottom of the treasure ship.

The air was filled with the smell of mold and seawater, the wooden boards made faint creaking sounds, and a thin layer of water stains accumulated on the dark and damp ground, mixed with someone who knew whether it was seawater or rotten waste. In the corners of the walls were piled old sacks, emitting a disgusting fishy smell, and the air was turbid.

After everyone entered the cabin, an oil lamp was tied down from the only skylight above their heads.

"I'll only say this once, you deserve to die."

A rude voice came from the window above; "The oil lamp is out, shake the rope, I'll open the window for you to get some fresh air. There are only six fucking buckets of clean water, drink it sparingly. If it doesn't rain at sea, you'll die of thirst, and all you'll have to eat are dead fish. One tael of silver per fish, remember this." After the rude voice finished speaking, there was a "pop" and the skylight was closed.

Zhang Mingxuan looked around and saw that among these rat-infested people there were common people wrapped in rags, skinny beggars, and graceful women with their hands and feet tied and crying.

However, there were also a few scholars who were well-dressed.

Each of these people had a bundle on his chest, probably carrying dry food.

At this moment, Zhang Mingxuan suddenly felt a familiar breath. He quickly scanned the crowd and his eyes finally fell on a dark corner.

In the corner stood a young man in a gorgeous white robe. Surrounding him were a group of tall, stern-looking strong men, whose muscles were taut and they were obviously well-trained fighters.

On the day he left Qingyan City, he encountered rows of soldiers escorting jade on a mountain path.

The aura in the tent was exactly the same as that of the man in white robe in front of him.

Three of the strong men surrounding the man in white robe were the three soldiers on duty who had stopped him at that time.

So it must be the same person.

The three soldiers on duty recognized Zhang Mingxuan at a glance. They looked at him sinisterly and whispered something to each other.