The Lord of Void and Real

49  Chapter 48 Yu Dadan

"This…" The clerk's eyes turned, a look of difficulty appearing on his face.

Seeing this, Shen Luo understood. He reached into his sleeve, pulling out a piece of silver and placing it on the table. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The clerk glanced at it, his eyes brightening immediately, and he reached out to take it.

"First, tell me." Shen Luo raised his hand to lightly cover the silver, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Ahem…if I'm not mistaken, there is only one family with the surname Yu who works as boatmen on the Huangwei Dang section of the river. The water area spans more than ten miles with many hidden reefs and chaotic rocks, and the water flow is rapid. Only that man from the Yu family can navigate the boat there." The clerk cleared his throat and withdrew his hand, looking somewhat disgruntled.

Upon hearing this, Shen Luo was pleased inside. He picked up the silver and placed it into the clerk's palm, but he didn't let go immediately, continuing to ask:

"Where is Huangwei Dang, and is it easy to find?"

"Easy to find, easy to find. Just go out of the western city gate and head southwest for about fifty or sixty miles. If you can't find it along the way, just ask anyone. Say you're looking for Yu Dadan," the clerk said quickly, his face beaming as he felt the chill of the silver in his palm.

"Thank you," Shen Luo said, letting go and smiling.

"Oh, it's nothing. If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask. Recently, the city gate closes early, generally by night watch. You have to be mindful of your return time when you're out sightseeing." The clerk's face was full of smiles as he thanked Shen Luo again and tucked the silver away.

Shen Luo waved him off, and the clerk bowed and backed away.

After eating, Shen Luo led his horse out of the city and headed southwest. Approximately half an hour later, he arrived at the river bank.

There are many tributaries in the upper reaches of the Luan Shui River, so the river is rather wide. On the banks built by people and the tidal flats next to the river, tall and robust elm willow trees grew everywhere, their dense branches hanging down, swaying non-stop with the summer breeze.

Shen Luo continued along the river bank, and after walking a dozen miles, he noticed that the riverbed of the Luan Shui River began to shrink bit by bit. The originally wide river surface gradually narrowed to several tens of feet, making the once gentle waterflow become increasingly rapid.

The further he went, the more sandbanks appearing above the surface of the river, all covered with dense reeds. Their leaves were green and rustled when blown by the wind. Water birds would occasionally rise and fall among them.

After riding for another ten miles, Shen Luo finally saw a tall old elm tree not far from the river bank ahead. Under the shade of the tree, there was a simple thatched shed.

Not far from the shed and by the river bank, a black canopy small boat was moored, with a bamboo pole of about ten feet long inserted beside it.

He dismounted not far from the elm tree and, holding the reins, walked over slowly.

"Is the boatman there?" Shen Luo as he stood outside the house, shouting loudly.

"Oh, someone's here…" A response sounded soon after, the voice deep and rugged.

Following that, a strapping middle-aged man walked out of the thatched house.

Shen Luo looked him up and down. Other than his skin being sunburnt, this man's facial features actually bore a three to four points resemblance to Yu Meng. Shen Luo couldn't help but marvel inwardly, wondering if this man could be one of Yu's ancestors.

"May I ask if you are Yu Zhousi?" Shen Luo asked.

"Haha, what is this young master talking about? Within a few hundred li upstream and downstream of the Songsong County section of the Luan Shui River, is there a second Yu Dadan?" The middle-aged man laughed heartily, seeming quite pleased with himself.

"I came here because of Brother Yu's reputation." Shen Luo replied with a smile upon hearing this.

"Is the young master looking to cross the river? But crossing with a horse isn't easy. I'm afraid our boat won't be able to accommodate it." The middle-aged man, self-proclaimed as Yu Dadan, looked Shen Luo up and down, looking a bit troubled.

"If not crossing the river, I'd like to borrow a boat from you. As for the price... everything is negotiable." Shen Luo blinked and said.

Upon hearing Shen Luo's words, Yu Dadan scrutinized him once again, feeling befuddled about what this young man, who looked like a rich young master, actually wanted to do.

Shen Luo just looked at Yu Dadan with a smile, waiting for him to speak.

"This customer, you appear to be a stranger here. This Huangwei Dang is not a good place for swimming and frolicking. You may see the reed beach scenery as good, but the river bottom is full of undercurrents and reefs, there's also a large area of rubble beach in the middle. Even an experienced boatman can crash into it if not careful. Renting a boat yourself isn't a good idea," Yu Dadan furrowed his brows and advised.

"No worries, I have some swimming skills. I just want to go into the reed beach to take a look, enjoy the scenery and come back." said Shen Luo.

"Customer, if you want to enjoy the scenery, it's also fine. I can take you there by the boat, just charging for a round trip, which would cost less than renting a boat, and there won't be any danger. Isn't it so?" Yu Dadan still felt it wasn't right.

"Sir, don't listen to this fool's words..." but before he could finish, and before Shen Luo could respond, an urgent female voice came from the thatched hut.

Following that, a middle-aged woman, wearing a brown cloth wrapped headscarf and pregnant, came out from the hut.

The woman's face was dark with a hint of red, it was obvious she was used to working in the wind and sun.

"Oh, there's such a handsome young man…" The woman let out a sigh of admiration when she saw Shen Luo.

Shen Luo slightly smiled but did not take it seriously.

"Why did you come out, you should not catch a cold." Seeing this, Yu Dadan hurried back with a concerned look on his face.

Seeing this, the woman glared at him, swept away his hand that was reaching towards her, and said:

"You simpleton, do you know what elegance is? This young master wants to enjoy the scenery alone in the reed beach. Perhaps a poetic moment might occur, and he could write a world-famous poem. What are you doing joining in, don't you find it annoying?"

Shen Luo of course knew that the woman was trying to earn the boat rental silver, but he didn't expose it and laughed, "Big sister-in-law is joking, I just wanted to be alone and clear my heart, where do I have any poetic talent..."

Hearing Shen Luo say this and with his wife giving him meaningful glances, Yu Dadan could only keep quiet.

"Hehe, how long does the young master want to rent, although our boat isn't big, business isn't bad. Young master, you can't treat us unfairly." The woman said, smiling.

"I'll rent it for three days. Starting from now until this time in three days, I'll give you ten taels of silver, how about that?" Shen Luo rubbed his chin and asked.

"How much..."

The woman was taken aback, she had not expected Shen Luo to be such a big spender.

"Ten taels of silver." Shen Luo repeated.

"No, no... That's too much." Yu Dadan kept shaking his head.

"Um... this is indeed a bit too much. It's more than enough to buy our boat. Let alone ten taels, one tael is not a small amount." Even the money-loving woman felt it was inappropriate to take so much.

"Big sister-in-law need not worry, I get along well with Brother Yu, consider these ten taels of silver as paying for a friendship. I will rent this boat." Shen Luo said, leaving no room for rebuttal.

"The young master has an impressive demeanor and is generous, he is bound to have a long and prosperous life..." The woman couldn't help but smile, the more she looked at the young man in front of her, the more she liked him.