Wang Fubao looked at his master, hesitating several times as if about to speak, but ultimately did not dare disturb him.
Without even opening his eyes, He Lingchuan said lazily, "Speak."
"Ah?"
"What do you want to ask?"
"My Lord, since you don't want to fall out with Beijia, why did you have to... have to humil..." Wang Fubao had wanted to say "humiliate," but instead said, "Why did you force Yu Zecheng to eat that entire wolf leg?"
Wasn't that forging a blood feud? Wouldn't Beijia fly into a rage from sheer humiliation?
"Why was Yu Zecheng so fearless before?"
That was an easy question, and Wang Fubao answered without hesitation, "Because of his status as a Beijia military officer?"
From the side, Lü Qiuwei chimed in, "He assumed no one dared offend Beijia, and everyone would have to give Beijia face."
"Face?" He Lingchuan sneered faintly. "Let me ask you: if the moment Yu Zecheng stepped onto the island, all of you had knelt by the roadside facing him, kowtowing and shouting that you were giving him face, how would he have reacted?"
At the mere thought of that scene, disgust washed over Wang Fubao's face. God, that was repulsive. "He'd just walk past as if we were invisible?"
"If you offered face like that, would he take it?"
"Probably not?"
"Why?"
Wang Fubao pondered for a long time, failing to find the right words. Lü Qiuwei picked up the thread instead: "Because that kind of face is worthless. He wouldn't care for it."
"Exactly." He Lingchuan pointed at him. "You want to give him face, but your face wasn't worth anything to begin with, so he won't take it seriously. The humbler you are before him, the more he looks down on you. Under what circumstances, then, does your face become valuable?"
This time, Wang Fubao answered swiftly, "When I am very strong!"
"Only when he *knows* you are strong, and when he *knows* you cannot be easily pushed around, does your face become valuable." He Lingchuan gave him an approving smile. "Thus, the prerequisite for both sides' face to hold value is to flex your muscles at each other. Only then can mutual respect be achieved."
Wang Fubao let out a long "oh," finding a great deal of sense in those words.
Yet he still half-understood, feeling as though something hadn't quite clicked.
"You must have heard the saying, 'Before beating a dog, mind its master'?" He Lingchuan poured himself another cup of wine. "Yu Zecheng is merely the dog under National Preceptor Shuangye. We must keep our eyes on the master, but we must also beat the dog thoroughly—only then can the proper message be delivered!"
He was the lead actor in tonight's play; Yu Zecheng was merely a supporting extra.
To whom was all this energetic performing, this singing and staging, directed?
Naturally, to the one person who held the final say in this entire affair—
National Preceptor Shuangye!
National Preceptor Shuangye had to be shown that He Lingchuan truly respected him, yet feared no trouble!
His master then added another remark that left even Lü Qiuwei bewildered:
"This is actually a form of respect. Mutual respect."
Wang Fubao felt utterly perplexed. Dealing roughly with National Preceptor Shuangye's subordinate was actually showing respect to the National Preceptor?
His mind couldn't wrap around the logic.
He Lingchuan merely smiled and offered no further explanation.
Only in this way would the face he offered National Preceptor Shuangye carry weight;
Only in this way would he be qualified to tell National Preceptor Shuangye, "I preserved face for Beijia."
***
This time, He Lingchuan's journey along Qingyun Road went entirely smoothly, and he arrived at Suoding Island's docks without further incident.
Instead of heading straight for Shimen Warehouse, he hopped down from the carriage and walked into the main street, proceeding toward the pier on foot.
In the wake of the earthshaking explosion, the entire Suoding Island wharf and commercial and residential districts were in utter turmoil.
In particular, travelers trickling in from Qingyun Road claimed an uprising had erupted on the island and Island Master He was already dead.
As the rumor spread, the guests on the island grew increasingly panicked.
Lei Ni and the others had prepared in advance and done their best to soothe the crowd, barely keeping the situation under control, yet numerous guests still demanded to set sail immediately.
In hurricane weather, this was by no means a rational decision. But when gripped by fear, people were both impulsive and unreasonable.
Many guests crowded around the docks and slips, trading heated arguments with the guard detail, turning the scene into a deafening uproar.
When He Lingchuan arrived, what met his eyes was a sea of agitated emotion.
Had he arrived any later, open conflict might well have erupted.
This had all been within expectations. He had blown up the jetty and warehouse by the docks himself; naturally, he had to shoulder the consequences.
When Lei Ni saw her master appear, tears nearly sprang to her eyes.
Heaven knew that she and Ding Zuodong had talked until their lips were parched, but the guests kept hammering on a single point that left them speechless:
*If Island Master He isn't dead, why hasn't he shown himself to prove it?*
Now he had arrived, walking forward bearing everyone's expectations.
He Lingchuan leaped directly onto the wooden platform at the pier and channeled his true energy, roaring, "He Lingchuan is here!"
With one mouth facing dozens below, his voice had to shake the entire grounds.
The Island Master had arrived; the man in charge was here. The surrounding clamor swiftly died down.
A guard behind him hurried forward to open an oiled-paper umbrella over his head, but he waved a hand in refusal and addressed the crowd below, "The explosion just now was no uprising! A foreman merely violated regulations by storing mountain-clearing explosives in a warehouse, which were accidentally detonated! Malicious individuals have been spreading rumors everywhere, but I am alive and well, and nothing has happened on Suoding Island! Rest easy tonight, everyone—do not believe rumors, and do not spread them!"
Yet the explosion had disturbed the travelers after all, so he shifted his tone, promising every guest a complimentary lavish breakfast and a selection of local specialties from the Yangshan Archipelago to help calm their nerves. He tossed in a few witty remarks as well, drawing hearty laughter from the gathered crowd.
The rain over Suoding Island was growing heavier, drenching the guests to the bone. The downpour chilled them into clearer senses, and with Island Master He having shown himself to reassure them, most lost the appetite to pursue the matter and returned to their lodgings to rest.
Only a handful of guests had seen with their own eyes that a standoff had occurred at the pier just moments ago, with bare blades and drawn spears.
*No uprising? Ha!*
Yet what did it matter even if they had seen it? Wasn't everything back to normal now?
To the vast majority of visitors here, the truth did not matter in the slightest.
As the crowd dispersed, He Lingchuan stepped down from the platform and let out a long breath.
This night had truly dragged on.
Ding Zuodong, Guan Ke, and the others gathered around to report on the situation at the docks.
He Lingchuan was not stingy with praise, immediately following it with words of encouragement.
"Next, there is another fierce and difficult battle to fight, and the main battlefield is right here!" he said solemnly. "I leave it in your capable hands!"
Tonight had two main acts. The first half had centered on He Lingchuan and the spider demon sisters—a man-made disaster;
The second half lay at the docks, across Suoding Island, and throughout the entire Yangshan Archipelago—a natural disaster!
Both acts tested He Lingchuan across entirely different dimensions.
Yet he had to weather them both.
Having arranged the upcoming tasks, He Lingchuan stretched his back and turned to Moqi Feng, who had been waiting nearby.
"Let's go. To Shimen Warehouse!"
The Yangshan Guard had already assembled, with Min Tianxi leading the men right behind him.
Shimen Warehouse was less than a hundred paces from the pier, yet it was far quieter here. Before the warehouse doors flickered a single, lonely lantern, and beneath its light stood Moqi Feng's three hundred-odd subordinates.
Only upon seeing them did He Lingchuan breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
To be frank, if Moqi Feng and these three hundred-odd men had refused to surrender and waged guerrilla warfare across the island, He Lingchuan was confident he would ultimately prevail, but Suoding Island would certainly have suffered devastation—especially under the imminent arrival of the Emperor's Flowing Dew tonight.
Subduing them without shedding a drop of blood was truly the best possible outcome.
Beneath the solitary light, the gazes the Bailong people directed at him were thick with despair and fury.
Yet He Lingchuan saw loyalty among them, as well as Moqi Feng's influence over their ranks.
Otherwise, why would the Bailong people ever have walked into this trap of their own accord?
He Lingchuan stepped beneath the eaves to get out of the rain before saying to Moqi Feng, "Over to you."
Moqi Feng fell silent for a moment.
Then he walked to the front of the Bailong people, knelt facing He Lingchuan, and extended both hands forward.
"We are willing to surrender. Please show mercy, Island Master He!"
Seeing him take the lead in kneeling, the Bailong people showed little surprise. They merely dropped their weapons and reluctantly sank onto their knees into the muddy water.
Without waiting for a signal from He Lingchuan, the Yangshan Guard produced ropes, binding them one by one, before swiftly gathering the Bailong weapons.
Moqi Feng said urgently, "We have surrendered. Please spare my uncle's life!"
He Lingchuan stepped up to him, his tone pregnant with meaning. "His death would only benefit you."
Moqi Feng lowered his head. "If you spare his life, I am willing to forfeit mine in exchange!"
The Bailong people behind him cried out in shock, shouting one after another:
"Young Master, you cannot!"
"Young Master, do not be foolish!"
"Oh?" He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, addressing the soldiers behind Moqi Feng. "Between the lives of Moqi Song and Moqi Feng, which one would you spare?"
The Bailong people responded with fervor:
"Moqi Feng, Moqi Feng!"
"Do not kill our Young Master!"
"Please spare the Young Master's life!"
He Lingchuan clapped his hands and laughed. "Good, good! Moqi Song, did you hear that?"
Startled, everyone turned their heads to look, only to see two figures walking out of the woods. One of them was Moqi Song, bound tight as a stuffed dumpling!
The other end of the rope was held in Dong Rui's hand.
Moqi Song looked thoroughly bedraggled, but the light in his eyes held an indescribable complexity.
He had heard the choice of the Bailong people loud and clear.
Nearly every single one had chosen Moqi Feng, leaving him, their leader, to die!
The Bailong soldiers felt awkward and instinctively looked away, unable to meet his eyes.
Seeing that he was indeed alive, Moqi Feng breathed a genuine sigh of relief. "Uncle!"
Moqi Song glanced at him, then lowered his head.
He Lingchuan asked the uncle and nephew, "Repaying kindness with enmity, committing treason and rebellion—do you know what crime that is?"
Moqi Song kept his head lowered.
The victor takes the crown while the loser is branded a bandit; what meaning was there in discussing crimes now?
"Then I shall give you another choice. This time it's for real, so you'd better think it through carefully." He Lingchuan pointed at Moqi Song, then at the prostrate Bailong men. "Come, choose one of the two."
Moqi Feng snapped his head up, his eyes nearly tearing at the corners. "Island Master He!"
Naturally, he wanted to preserve his uncle's life, but weren't the lives of these several hundred subordinates also lives?
They were stout fellows who had braved life and death with him, who had bled and sacrificed for him.
He gritted his teeth. "Didn't you say... say..."
"I said I would give you a chance to choose." He Lingchuan spread his hands. "And now I have."
"Spare them, and I will pay with my life!"
From the side, Dong Rui scoffed with laughter. "Oho, you still think you can haggle?"
The rules in the game of usurpation were simple: winner takes all, and the loser loses everything.
Moqi Feng's life wasn't even his own anymore; how could he use it to pay for anything?
Chapter 1003