After Niu Gang was dragged away, Old Xue, the boat elder sitting not far away, had not uttered a single word from beginning to end.
Yang Hanxue clasped his hands behind his back and addressed everyone, "Every family has its own rules, and every gang has its own regulations. Brother Xiang and his companions are guests I've invited, and I hope everyone understands... This matter ends here. If anything similar happens in the future, don't blame me for being heartless!"
With that, Yang Hanxue looked at me and nodded slightly, as if asking if my satisfaction with the handling of the situation was met.
I hadn't expected things to escalate to this point. I let out a sigh, clasped my left hand over my right hand's four fingers, and pressed my thumbs together, offering a fist-and-palm salute as a gesture of gratitude.
This was a traditional gang's fist-and-palm salute.
A flicker of surprise crossed Yang Hanxue's eyes; perhaps he hadn't expected me to know the fist-and-palm salute.
Back in the guest cabin, Bai Hanyan said indignantly, "That really let that guy off easy!"
I replied that the guy had lost his fingers, so it was pretty much even.
Bai Hanyan retorted, "If this were Guangling, and he dared to offend me like that, I'd make sure he never had any descendants!"
"It's just that this isn't Guangling, and we're at sea now. You should restrain your temper a bit." As I said this, I shrugged. "You looked pretty scared just now; why are you still holding a grudge?"
"Who says I was scared?" Bai Hanyan said indignantly. "I've seen plenty of scenes like this. I think you were the one who was scared?"
I was at a loss for words and told her to go back to her own room and do whatever she pleased.
She was still reluctant to leave, and in the end, I had to push and pull her out.
When it was just Song Bing and I left in the room, I asked, "Did you notice anything out of the ordinary just now?"
Song Bing pondered for a moment and said, "It seems Mr. Yang's situation is not optimistic. Most people on the boat are on Elder Xue's side. From the formation we entered in earlier, it was quite clear."
I nodded; I had noticed that as well.
There were about seventeen or eighteen people in the hall then, with more than half standing behind Old Xue, and the remaining few behind Yang Hanxue.
Not only that, but the control of the ship was also entirely in Old Xue's hands.
If any conflict were to arise, even with me and Song Bing, Yang Hanxue's side wouldn't have a high chance of winning.
That wasn't my biggest concern, though, as neither side would make a move until the last resort.
My current worry was that Bai Hanyan, Song Bing, and I were outsiders. If someone wanted to deal with us, as long as they didn't do it as openly as Niu Gang, we wouldn't be able to guard against it.
After all, our food and lodging were arranged by others. If they decided to make a move, we'd be lambs to the slaughter.
I never expected this outing to be so fraught with trouble; people's hearts are truly as unpredictable as the sea is immeasurable.
I only hope that we can find Shen Wansan's tomb soon and return to shore.
The ship's mess hall wasn't open for dinner that night. Old Yuan brought us some bread and canned food.
Old Yuan was quite a good fellow. Not only did he take good care of us, but he was also very talkative, clearly treating us as his own.
He sat in our room with Song Bing and me, chatting with us and telling us about his past with Yang Hanxue.
He said that when he was on the Jinsha River back in the day, he worked under Yang Hanxue's father. If it weren't for Yang Hanxue's father, he wouldn't be alive today.
I asked curiously, "What were you doing on the Jinsha River back then?"
Old Yuan laughed, "What else could one do in that place? Gold panning, of course."
"Gold panning?" I couldn't help but ask. "Can you really find gold there?"
"You could in the past, but it's not easy to find now." Old Yuan's eyes showed a trace of reminiscence. "By the time I went, most of the gold had already been panned out. What was left was just scraps, barely enough to get by."
"Then what was Leader Yang's father doing there?" I asked.
A hint of worship flashed in Old Yuan's eyes. "The old leader was the most formidable gold panner on the Jinsha River back then."
"Gold panner?" I was a little confused.
Song Bing interjected, "A gold panner is also known as a fighter on a river section."
Old Yuan chuckled, "I didn't expect Little Brother Song to know about gold panners too?"
"I've heard of it before," Song Bing replied.
Old Yuan said that there were many gold panning gangs on the Jinsha River at that time, and they would recruit skilled "gold panners" to fight for river sections.
Those who could become "gold panners" were all one in ten thousand.
Not only did they need to be skilled in combat, but they also had to be ruthless and fearless of death.
The primary duties of a gold panner were twofold. First, they were responsible for handling desertion and theft of gold among the gold panners on a river section.
Many gold panners would secretly hoard gold from the river sections, and it was the gold panners who dealt with such situations.
According to Old Yuan, the gold panning areas at that time were lawless, and being in the deep mountains and old forests, death was a common occurrence.
The second duty of a gold panner was to compete for river section resources. Many gangs were panning for gold there at the time, and how to divide the river section resources became a problem.
It was unclear who established the rule, but every year on the third day of the third month, river section resources would be reallocated, and each gang would send their most formidable gold panners to compete.
The rules for the competition were simple: each gang would send ten people. All the gangs would send their people to a designated area to fight, and the gang whose gold panners survived would have the priority choice of river sections.
This kind of battle played out every year. When Old Yuan first went there, he witnessed countless bloody incidents; people died almost every day, and new people arrived every day.
After all, the allure of gold was too great, and many people sought to change their lives by taking risks.
"The old leader was the most formidable gold panner in the Ge Laohui. Everyone feared him; even the leader of the Ge Laohui was wary of him."
Old Yuan took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Once, I was framed for stealing gold. I was almost drowned, held underwater. It was the old leader who saved me and told me to follow him. From then on, I stayed by the old leader's side."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yuan, how old were you then?"
"Eighteen," Old Yuan replied. "But I was thin and small back then, not looking eighteen."
"And then?" I asked.
"Later, there were internal problems within the Ge Laohui. The suspicions among the hall masters tore it apart, coupled with the covetous eyes of other gangs. Eventually, the old leader led a group of brothers and us away from the Jinsha River."
"To make a living, we went to sea to fish..."
As he said this, Old Yuan sighed deeply. "Who knew that life at sea fishing wouldn't be so easy either? We often encountered pirates who robbed fishing boats. The old leader didn't want trouble and chose to endure each time, until a woman appeared later..."
"Leader Yang's mother?" I couldn't help but ask.
Old Yuan smiled and shook his head. "No, it was the eldest young lady..."