Chapter 86: The Human Puppet

Everyone who boarded the vessel in true-person guise was issued a wristband marked with a strange pattern. The staff explained that it signified a distinguished guest of the vessel, so everyone put it on as soon as they received it.

Because Shen Youlin had spent quite some time dressing herself up, Chen Yuyi and the mother-and-daughter pair were considered among the last to board, while the wealthy guests invited from Jiangcheng had already come aboard much earlier.

This vessel was not the sort where one could simply step on once the doors were opened. In fact, admission required proof of status and the spending of several thousand yuan for a ticket. But for the rich who had taken an interest in it, such a sum was nothing worth mentioning; some even brought their families along as though on a sightseeing excursion.

On the vessel, they could admire the river scenery like a living painting, as well as encounter things and extraordinary people they would never normally see. There was also the chance to obtain a protective talisman, so even ladies of wealth and young misses were unwilling to miss such an opportunity and came along with their fathers or husbands.

In no time, all manner of circles, large and small, formed aboard the vessel.

Chen Yuyi and the Shen mother and daughter had had their tickets delivered by Zhao Lan the moment she returned the previous day. Added to the delay on their side, they did not board together with Zhao Lan and the others.

After this final group had come aboard, the vessel pulled away from the pier and began to travel upon the great river, its destination unknown.

This so-called grand gathering was, in truth, also an exchange of sorts, or one might even call it a revelry arranged for the wealthy.

The rich invited aboard were nothing more than spectators and consumers in name, and the hospitality the vessel extended to them in food and drink was lavish to the point of extravagance, leaving them highly satisfied.

Of course, beyond food and drink, there were many other diversions for them to enjoy, an endless array of entertainments of every kind. Yet these pleasures all had to be paid for with their own money, because the vessel itself was driven by profit. Otherwise, why would it go to such lengths to invite so many wealthy people?

And the wealthy were delighted by it all, reveling in the various amusements.

Aside from the rich, the vessel was also full of all kinds of masters and experts: feng shui experts, Daoist masters, monk masters, appraisal experts, and even martial arts masters were by no means few. Some had been invited by the wealthy to assess objects or ensure safety; some came on their own in search of treasures; others came to handle private goods. However it was counted, they made up no small group aboard the vessel.

After boarding, Chen Yuyi took the wristband, smiled faintly, pinched it lightly a couple of times, and put it on as well.

Along the way, he also noticed the pillars on the vessel, each carved with strange patterns similar to those on the wristband. He silently probed them with his spiritual sense and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

This was a formation. It seemed that this Master Zhong truly was not simple, even knowing how to lay formations. Yet thinking of how he could imbue ornaments with power and turn them into magical implements, it was not surprising that he could also arrange formations.

Still, Chen Yuyi could not yet tell what this formation was for. He was not worried, however. Such a formation might be effective against ordinary people, but it posed no threat to him. Besides, he now had the Great Luo Star Disk in hand, which was why he smiled.

But that so-called wristband bearing the mark of distinction was clearly problematic. It had been enchanted, and an eye-sigil was hidden within it. With a trace of spiritual force, he quietly erased that eye-sigil, turning it into nothing more than an ordinary object.

Originally, he had intended to do the same for Shen Youlin and Xu Ruizhi, but they had already gone on ahead and left him behind. Moreover, even if he had wanted to, that mother and daughter might not have trusted him enough to hand the wristbands over. So he could only shake his head and follow after them, waiting for another chance.

In truth, the wealthy people from Jiangcheng made up only a small portion of those on the vessel. There were many out-of-town rich people who had perhaps already been aboard for several days. Chen Yuyi ran into a few of them; each looked drained, with reddened eyes. Others might have assumed they had simply indulged too much aboard the vessel, but Chen Yuyi could feel their vitality slowly draining away.

Moreover, he noticed that the color of the wristbands on their wrists was a shade darker than those worn by the people who had just arrived. At that, he seemed to understand something.

The formation on the vessel and the eye-sigil on the wristbands were of one piece. I am afraid this Master Zhong is secretly using sorcery to strip away these people’s vitality. It is just unknown why he would do such a thing, unless he has some secret that cannot be told.

But this was only his conjecture. He had not yet discovered anything concrete. Still, it was rather interesting. The spiritual energy here was abundant, and he had been worrying about finding nourishment for the Great Luo Star Disk. Perhaps this journey aboard the vessel would provide some of it.

At present, the wealthy of Jiangcheng seemed to be led by Qi Yun. It was probably because, last time at the Splendid Estate, she had managed to invite that Mr. Chen.

Yet Qi Yun had not contacted Chen Yuyi these past few days to mention the vessel journey, though she believed that this Mr. Chen would surely hear some news. Although Chen Yuyi had already become an extraordinarily transcendent existence in her heart, the fact that Master Zhong had plainly declared he would wait for him to board this vessel still made her worry somewhat. But once she boarded and did not see Chen Yuyi appear, she felt disappointed, and yet at the same time looked forward to his arrival. Her feelings were extremely conflicted.

Only when the last group boarded did she finally see Chen Yuyi.

But Chen Yuyi was following behind a mother and daughter dressed fashionably and exuding wealth and elegance all over. What was this about?

Some of the wealthy from Jiangcheng also noticed Mr. Chen. At first they wanted to step forward warmly and greet him, but seeing Qi Yun hesitating there, they seemed suddenly to recall something and did not dare approach rashly.

"Qi Yun, should we go over and greet Mr. Chen?" Huo Songxian asked on behalf of the others, stepping forward cautiously.

"Mr. Huo, I think we had better not disturb Mr. Chen," Qi Yun said. "It would be best if we acted as though we did not know him on this vessel. I think there is no need for me to explain the reason."

Huo Songxian nodded as well. "Indeed, it would not be appropriate to disturb him rashly right now."

Then he turned to the wealthy figures of Jiangcheng and said, "Everyone, in order not to affect Mr. Chen, let us pretend we do not know him on this vessel. I think Mr. Chen will not blame us for being rude."

The others thought about it and found this reasonable. They already knew, without needing to think further, that the one who had injured Master Zhong's disciple was Mr. Chen. If they went to disturb him rashly, there would be two unfavorable consequences.

First, Master Zhong might learn ahead of time who Mr. Chen was, which could lead to trouble for them. Second, since Mr. Chen dared to appear, he must have been prepared for something. If they interfered with him and ruined his plan, they could not bear the consequences. Thus, they all pretended not to know Chen Yuyi.

Looking at the opulent interior, the spaciousness, and the multitude of entertainments, Shen Youlin could not hide the delight in her eyes.

"Wow, this really is grand and lively!" she exclaimed. After all, at her age, she had rarely encountered such a scene.

Shen Youlin was quickly drawn in by the various sights inside, turning her head this way and that.

"Youlin, don't run around on the vessel. If some bad person shows up again, I really cannot take that kind of shock anymore!" Xu Ruizhi panted as she followed behind her, nagging all the while.

Her face was rather pale, and breathing was difficult for her. It turned out she was a bit seasick. She had not wanted to come, but could not放心 leave her daughter, so she came along. Before setting out, she had already taken quite a bit of medicine for motion sickness, but it did not seem to work very well. As soon as she boarded, she had already begun to feel dizzy, so following behind was somewhat laborious.

After gasping for a few breaths, she could not help glancing at Chen Yuyi, who was following at an unhurried pace.

Immediately, her expression turned somewhat sour. She had never been willing to bring along this bargain son-in-law in the first place, but her daughter had said something that made sense: having a man around to run errands did provide a little sense of security.

But at this moment, the man was trailing behind like a snail, and she could not help but scold, "Can you act a little more like a man? With this sort of behavior, are you really capable of taking care of our mother and daughter?"

Seeing that her face was not looking well, Chen Yuyi stepped up to support her. As he did, his fingers lightly brushed her wrist and passed over that wristband.

"Oh my, is this bargain son-in-law taking the opportunity to get handsy with his mother-in-law?" Xu Ruizhi immediately cried out with the expression of someone who had swallowed a fly.

That single shout drew many sideways glances. Shen Youlin hurried back to Xu Ruizhi's side and stared at Chen Yuyi with wide eyes, as though looking at some kind of monster.

Chen Yuyi felt both amused and helpless. He had kindly erased the eye-sigil from the wristband, and this was the scene it led to. He should have minded his own business from the start.

"I only saw that you looked as though you were about to faint, so I helped you. Your imagination is truly something else."

"All right, all right, forget it, forget it." After thinking for a moment, Xu Ruizhi also felt she had overreacted. "I do not need you to support me. Just take care of Youlin. Remember, she is Zhu Jun's younger sister, which makes her your younger sister too. Behave yourself around me!"

Xu Ruizhi was becoming impatient. She was feeling worse and did not want to wander about anymore.

At the same time, she had no choice but to hand over the heavy responsibility of looking after her daughter to this bargain son-in-law.

"Mom, aren't you coming with us?" Shen Youlin was genuinely worried that someone might make the same kind of lewd move toward her.

"I'm too dizzy. I need to go rest for a while!" Xu Ruizhi said, then added to Chen Yuyi, "Wherever Youlin goes later, you must stay right beside her, not a single step away."

Chen Yuyi touched his nose and smiled faintly. "Even if she goes to the restroom?"