Protect Our Clan Leader

Wang Shouzhe’s face was almost turned black, seeing such a guilty tale from this young lady, clearly she must have been neglecting her studies. Yet, she has the audacity to claim that she studies and cultivates every day in front of him?

” Shouzhe, stop scaring the girl, look, she is about to cry.” Seeing her reaction, Xu Zhirou, a gentle-hearted woman, pulled her into her arms and laughed, “Don’t worry, child, your Fourth Uncle is just teasing you. Think about it, if he was really going to quiz you, would he only call you?”

So that’s how it was.

Wang Licui breathed a sigh of relief, immediately relaxing. She was so scared, she quickly ate a piece of candied fruit to calm her nerves. Right away, she picked up a piece of candy fruit and started eating it contentedly.

Seeing this, Wang Shouzhe’s face grew even darker. This damsel’s transition from surviving a calamity to becoming a foodie was too swift, wasn’t it? Didn’t she have a care in the world?

With her being so relaxed, could any quiz really help?

He had originally planned to pick two female relatives from the family to accompany his journey, serving Master Longyan’s daily needs, one of them should be older and steadier, while the other should be younger with more energy and vitality.

Wang Shouzhe was, of course, satisfied with his Fourth Aunt Xu, but there was just the matter of this damsel, Wang Licui…

What a headache!

Among the younger female relatives in the family, only his blood sister Wang Luoyi, his fourth younger sister Wang Luotong, and his grandniece Wang Licui were available. Since this journey was going to pass through Donggang, and his sister Wang Luoyi was already engaged to the young master of the Donggang Chen clan, bringing her along would certainly be inappropriate.

As for Luotong, she is busy attending to the last leg of the food transportation process. Once she finished this task, Wang Shouzhe planned for her to follow their Aunt Gongsun Hui and handle the consequent affairs for the sake of training.

Thus, he did not want to disrupt Wang Luotong’s original schedule.

After thinking it over, the only candidate who was idle and suitable was Wang Licui. Looking at her in her inept state, he felt an urge to replace her with a smart and nimble maid.

However, this idea faded almost as soon as it came. Since the girl still refuses to study diligently, it would be better to take her along and discipline her properly. Let her experience a bit of the Tight Hoop Spell.

Moreover, the habit of the girls in the family not taking their studies seriously has become a common trend. Young ladies like Luotong and Luo Jing are no exceptions. Presumably, the other little ladies are no better. The boys might fare a little better, given the extra pressure from the elders.

This unhealthy family trend needs to be rectified when he returns.

With that thought in mind, Wang Shouzhe temporarily returned to the main topic, “Fourth Aunt. This time I called you here because I need you to embark on a journey that might last about ten days. You should go home and prepare, we will depart the day after next at dawn. Do you have any concerns?”

Although Xu Zhirou was a little puzzled, she still rose to her feet and nodded, “No problem, everything is up to Shouzhe.”

Wang Licui’s head was full of questions and excitement. Are they leaving on a long journey? Is Fourth Uncle taking her to Changning? In her mind, Changning was already far enough. After all, she hadn’t been there more than twice during her entire life.

As such, two days passed in a blink.

In the early morning, just as the sky was getting light.

A four or five zhang long black-clothed boat sailed from the backyard dock of the Wang’s main house into Zhuwei Lake, then proceeded towards Fenggu Farm.

Wang Shouzhe had plotted this route for Master Longyan who wanted to travel discreetly. If they took the carriage towards Dingpu Ferry to board a ship, it would be too conspicuous.

It was better to follow the food transportation line, go through the Fenggu Sluice, and take the large ship. After all, that area was their own territory.

There were not many people accompanying Master Longyan on this trip. Wang Shouzhe took along the two heads of the household, Wang Zhong and Wang Yong, plus his Fourth Aunt Xu Zhirou and the young Wang Licui. Counting the Old Ancestor, it was only six people.

Wang Zhong and Wang Yong were in charge of the boat. Although they were not professionals, it was quite simple for Profound Martial experts like them to control this type of medium-sized black-clothed boat. When both of them were at the oars, the boat moved quite swiftly.

Inside the black-clothed boat.

Wang Licui’s eyes were wide open, gripping her bundle tightly, and not daring to draw too much breath. Fourth Uncle hadn’t told her in advance that they would be travelling with Master Longyan.

That’s the Old Ancestor of the family, an existence even more frightening than Fourth Uncle.

The surprise Fourth Uncle gave was too big to digest.

“Old Ancestor, the itinerary and arrangements are as such. Fourth Aunt and Licui are responsible for taking care of your daily needs.” Wang Shouzhe respectfully introduced the various arrangements for this trip to Master Longyan.

“I have faith in Shouzhe’s work.” Longyan’s Old Ancestor was quite pleased with Wang Shouzhe’s arrangements, then she turned to Xu Zhirou and said, “Zhirou, I appreciate your efforts on this journey.”

Xu Zhirou humbly responded, “Serving the Old Ancestor is both my duty and my honor.”

Afterward, Old Ancestor Longyan turned her gaze towards Wang Licui, a rare softness appearing in her eyes, “It’s been two years since I last summoned you. You’ve grown into a young lady now. How are your studies progressing?”

Old Ancestor Longyan was usually quite kind to the younger members of the family. Especially considering she was the third generation granddaughter of Old Ancestor Zhou Xuan, while Wang Licui was already the eighth generation of their line.

“Huh?” Wang Licui was taken aback for a moment, another question about her studies?

Luckily, thanks to the previous example set by her Fourth Uncle, she was prepared.

Wang Licui rolled her eyes and hurriedly said, “I have been studying very hard lately, I can recite some articles for Old Ancestor to listen to…” As she spoke, she eagerly began reciting an article- ‘Observing the Heavens on a Night atop Tianlan’. This piece, composed by a powerful cultivator and literary master from a thousand years ago, was grand and magnificent in expression, and deeply loved by later generations.

Literature, in any civilization, holds important value as it shapes character and adds cultural depth. If humans only knew of fighting and killing, and didn’t cultivate body and soul, spending their lives merely pursuing power and slaughter, then what distinguished them from barbaric beasts?

Wang Shouzhe listened as she recited smoothly, even with a hint of dramatic flair. He couldn’t help but feel amused. Her so-called ‘recent hard work’ probably just referred to her cramming over the past few days, right? Most likely, she could only recite this one piece fluently, right?

However, he didn’t expose her. After all, it seemed Old Ancestor was quite pleased, praising and encouraging her with a few words.

The canopy boat meandered towards Fenggu Farm but did not stop there. It passed directly through the lock gate at Fenggu Sluice. Everyone debarked the boat, walked over the lock gate where a medium-sized riverboat was already waiting.

This mid-sized sailboat could steady even if loaded with horse carriages. It was unknown where Wang Dinghai had borrowed it from.

“Shouzhe, as per your instructions,” Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai greeted them, “The cabin has been slightly remodelled to include a temporary lounge. All this secrecy… what are you planning… Huh?”

Wang Dinghai suddenly noticed Old Ancestor Longyan standing behind Wang Shouzhe. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Was this a joke? The Old Ancestor had actually come out…

Sweating profusely with fear, he was about to bow when Wang Shouzhe stopped him, “Sixth Uncle, stop,” he ordered. “Just navigate the boat to Donggang well.”

“Yes, yes, I will navigate well,” Wang Dinghai paled, hurriedly invited Wang Shouzhe and the others into the temporary lounge in the cabin, then wordlessly headed off to pilot the ship.

When the Old Ancestor travelled, it was always a major event.

However, no matter how big the event, it would always be of less importance than the security of Old Ancestor Longyan. Therefore, under his command, the ship slowly left the deep waters outside Fenggu Sluice and steadied in the middle of Peace River.

Reaching the centre of the river, the wind and waves became stronger. The sails unfolded neatly, the dense sailcloth billowing in the wind caused the speed of the ship to gradually increase.

On Earth, a ship’s speed was measured in knots.

However, in Da Qian of this world, they still calculated based on how many miles were travelled per two hours. With today’s southeast wind and a rapid eastward waterflow, their speed unknowingly increased to around fifty-sixty miles in two hours.

Although it sounded fast, it only equated to a speed of around ten kilometers per hour, only two or three times the speed of a normal adult walking.

Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai, a master who earned a living on Peace River year- round, was as skillful as flowing water in piloting the ship. Inside the rest cabin, Wang Shouzhe and the others did not feel much discomfort from the movement.

However, Wang Shouzhe, being young and vigorous, found it boring to stay in the cabin. So after asking for Old Ancestor’s permission, he went out to the deck to enjoy the scenery. Seeing Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai steering the ship, he went to have a look.

“Sixth Uncle, this seems like a good ship. It appears to be a merchant ship, where did you borrow it from?” Wang Shouzhe surveyed the ship. The sailors on board were clearly not from the Wang family’s fishing fleet.

Wang Dinghai responded while steering the ship, “You sent someone to tell me to find a good ship, so I borrowed one from a friend in Jiaolong Business Bank’s Changning branch. That guy owed me a favor after an accident happened in our territory to the ship team he was in charge of. It was I who risked my life to save him.”

Jiaolong Business Bank?

Wang Shouzhe had heard of the Bank. They operated along the entire Peace River, from Dahuang County in the far west to Longzuo County, crossing several administrative districts. They had branches in every riverfront city.

This was a business bank with overall strength not inferior to that of the Qian Family. However, since they only operated water routes along the river, and didn’t compete for local resources with local families, they were well- separated, like wells and rivers.

“Shouzhe,” Wang Dinghai warned solemnly, “Don’t think about getting into a river shipping business. The Jiaolong Business Bank is not to be provoked. Remember, they were once known as the Jiaolong Gang and are a society secretly supported by several powerful families. Only in the last few decades have their business operations increased significantly, leading them to change from a gang to a business bank. They have signed non-aggression pacts regarding their interests with every local family.”

God! It turned out that it was a business bank that whitewashed its previous reputation as a crime syndicate. No wonder they could occupy Peace River, a strategic waterway.

However, Wang Shouzhe didn’t know whether to laugh or lament. When he read fantasy novels on Earth, Jiaolong Gang was merely a minor force, a stepping stone for the protagonist to gain experience in the early stages.

When it came to him, they were all of a sudden an intimidating behemoth not to be provoked!