The Academic Palace curriculum made it clear that when encountering bizarre situations, acting recklessly or doing nothing both led to equally high mortality rates. One must be cautious, observe, gather information, and plan before acting.
Li Wei pulled a dagger from the side of his boots and threw it to Yang Yu, who was unarmed.
The three of them stuck close to the wall and headed in the direction of the sound.
No sooner had they stepped out of the alley than they saw a man squatting on the earthen slope of the canal by the street. His figure was slender; he wore a bamboo hat and a brown straw coat, with a bamboo pole for punting resting beside him. Given the umbrella boat parked by the canal, he appeared to be a boatman.
"New logs on the river, floating down the stream..."
The boatman squatted on the ground, singing a chantey, his voice deep and hoarse, its tune erratic, like an opera singer's. In front of him, his hands were digging at something.
It was... a human.
