I write this as we sail down the Yangtze river. So far our mission has gone according to plan. We left at dawn a few days ago and swiftly travelled to the village of Tutse. Along the way however, our path was blocked by bandits, thirty of so of them in all, including their leader – a giant of a man. Of course they posed nothing more than a minor irritation for our little group. Quickly we restored order to His Divine Majesties highways and went on our way.
We arrived in Tutse in the late evening. Shen stabled the horses while Yi Ling and I entered the tavern. We had been told to look out for a symbol that would announce the presence of our contact. Shen was looking outside, but I spotted the symbol on the back of a chair. Leaning over I spoke to it's occupant, and old man. 'I'm enquiring about a dog,' I told him. 'Then you must speak to my daughter' he responded, and lead us out of the drinking house and to the general store across the street. Shen was no where in sight, so we entered and spoke to the young lady therein. She introduced herself as Chun Li and we explained our mission to her. She agreed to help us obtain a boat to sail down the Yangtze. With that settled we left. On the way out I spotted Shen talking to some pretty girl. I caught hold of his arm and pulled him away, updating him with our mission statement. Chun Li told us rooms had been arranged in the drinking house, so after a frugal meal of rise and fish, we retired.
The next morning, Chung Li was waiting for us on the bank side and we sent off in her little boat. The day passed uneventfully, and as evening approached we drew alongside another village. Chun Li explained that this area was her ward and she could not travel any further with us. We thanked her for her assistance and she gave us instructions on how to get to Qinghai.
We have been sailing now for two days after she left. Shen is punting us along, though the current is swift, and Yi Lang snores in the bow. I am in charge of the tiller, and here I will stop writing, for the water is getting choppier still, and it looks like we may be approaching some rapids…
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