News of an Old Friend

Yu Zecheng’s men, Ye Qing and the others, had gone to Bailie carrying a recommendation letter from Superintendent Wu himself. Superintendent Wu’s heart gave a jolt, but his face registered utter bewilderment. "What? The Black Tiger Army? Th-this... Good grief, I had no idea! Of course I didn't! Otherwise, how would I have dared recommend them to the Lu family? Heavens above, they were actually soldiers from Lingxu City?" He put on an expression full of self-reproach. "This is... this is truly..." Registrar Yang concealed his disdain. Since there was nowhere to verify the claim anyway, Superintendent Wu naturally denied it flat out. "In any case, National Preceptor Wang made his displeasure known." Bailie had always taken shelter under Mou Kingdom's wing, yet they had secretly conspired with the Beijia people. That easily touched a raw nerve with Mou Kingdom. When Mou Kingdom was unhappy, Bailie had to watch its step. Fortunately, National Preceptor Wang had only "reprimanded" them. The Lu father and son had spent two days poring over the letter from every angle before concluding that the National Preceptor had no intention of pursuing the matter further, which brought them considerable relief. "National Preceptor Wang also noted that Bailie should pursue mutually beneficial cooperation with Yangshan, and that the Lu family should maintain friendly neighborly ties with Island Master He—exchanging more sincere visits and keeping disagreements to a minimum." Registrar Yang gave a bitter chuckle. "That is why Eldest Master Lu came in person today to show support when Yangshan opened its shops here." Superintendent Wu stroked his chin. "In other words, with this letter from National Preceptor Wang, the Yangshan Archipelago can open shops and do business in Bailie, and He Lingchuan himself can come and go as he pleases?" "More or less," Registrar Yang said, salvaging a bit of dignity for his lord. "The same goes for the Lu family visiting the Yangshan Archipelago—perfectly safe and treated as honored guests." Superintendent Wu chuckled. "Far be it from me to speak out of turn, but National Preceptor Wang certainly meddles quite broadly." Registrar Yang shrugged. Neither of them knew the historical ties between Bailie and Lingshan. As one of Lingshan's decision-makers, Wang Xingyi had the authority to issue orders to Bailie even without invoking his status as Mou Kingdom's National Preceptor. Just then, an acquaintance came over to greet him, and Registrar Yang waved goodbye to Superintendent Wu before stepping away. Having eaten and drunk his fill and completed his task of showing public support, Superintendent Wu also took his leave of He Lingchuan. The latter promptly slipped a gift list into his hands. "A modest token of local specialties, hardly worthy of your notice. I have already sent men to deliver them to your residence." "Oh, my! Island Master He, you are far too polite!" Superintendent Wu beamed like a blooming flower. Though modest pleasantries came from his mouth, his hands accepted the gift list with practiced ease. "If the Yangshan Archipelago runs into any trouble in Blade Harbor down the road, just say the word. We will put our heads together and sort it out." The doors of opportunity for the Yangshan Archipelago were now blown wide open. "With that assurance from you, Superintendent Wu, my mind is completely at ease!" He Lingchuan saw him off. The two exchanged smiles, both thoroughly pleased. Whatever friction had existed between them in the past had long since been blown away by the ocean wind. It was not until the hour of Hai that the restaurant finally closed for the night. Heming Building had already sealed several major contracts today. A few large clients alone had placed orders totaling over a hundred and thirteen thousand barrels of palm oil. Factoring in the miscellaneous sales of other specialties, He Lingchuan had already scored a flying start. A few of those deals had been negotiated in advance; Ding Zuodong, Guan Ke, and the others had pulled out all the stops over the past several days. Yet most of the large orders had fallen into their laps out of the blue. The merchants were quite satisfied with the archipelago's goods. With Longji Restaurant opening today, everyone ate, drank, and took their rebates, leaving all parties delighted. By afternoon, batches of cargo were already being loaded onto ships and setting sail one after another. The combination of the hurricane and the Emperor's Flowing Dew had caused no small amount of trouble for the Yangshan Archipelago, but now He Lingchuan was reaping the benefits. Blade Harbor had mounted a poor response to the disaster, suffering heavy losses in warehouses, vessels, and personnel. Vast quantities of pending cargo were either waterlogged or gutted by fire, leaving palm oil buyers suddenly holding empty contracts. The Yangshan Archipelago's shops had just opened and their goods were largely unscathed, allowing Ding Zuodong and Guan Ke to take in a flood of orders. This was precisely why He Lingchuan had spared no expense to set up windbreak barriers throughout the archipelago: To show all merchants that the Yangshan Archipelago had stock—and that goods could definitely be retrieved. Other people's losses became his opportunity. Crisis held both danger and opportunity, but only those who endured could claim the handsome dividends. Moonlight flowed like water. The cool October breeze tugged gently at sleeves and hems, mild and soft. It was as if the violent storm from a few days ago had never happened. Standing on the second floor of Longji Restaurant, He Lingchuan looked up at the bright moon. When he first arrived in Blade Harbor, he had only a dozen-odd men by his side. In less than two cycles of the moon, he had secured a firm foothold in the Yangshan Archipelago, right across the water from Bailie. Having weathered numerous trials, he and the Yangshan Archipelago could finally stride forward. Lingxu City, Autumn Palace. Snow had fallen across the imperial capital just the day before, leaving the eaves of the black porticos capped with thick, plain white. Yet in the Autumn Palace's Maple Garden, brilliant golds and reds still filled the eye, outshining the evening glow on the horizon. The maple grove here was eternally frozen in the most gorgeous days of late autumn. The windows of a pavilion nestled in the grove stood open, where National Preceptor Shuangye was holding a brush, painting. The autumn scenery outside the window was renowned throughout Lingxu City, yet his painting depicted white mountains and black waters—a somber jungle, bubbling swamps, and a small deer grazing by the water's edge. Not far away, a tiny figure seemed to hide in the tall grass, staring intently at the fawn. Xi Yunhe was brewing tea by his side, not uttering a word. National Preceptor Shuangye liked to paint when he was deep in thought and disliked being disturbed. His paintings were nearly impossible to acquire in Lingxu City even for ten thousand gold, and high officials and nobles considered it an immense honor to possess so much as half a scroll. With a soft flutter, a black-capped, white-throated tern landed on a Japanese maple tree outside the window, shaking its wings several times. The courier had arrived. These diminutive birds could fly over tens of thousands of li on long journeys, making them superb messengers. Xi Yunhe hurried over and held out his hand. The tern brought up two letters from its crop into his grasp. The envelopes were almost as large as the bird itself. The storage spaces refined by avian creatures were usually their crops, or else storage rings fitted around their talons. Xi Yunhe routinely fed the tern a small elixir pill for replenishing vital energy, letting it rest for a while, and walked back into the pavilion, gently placing the letters onto National Preceptor Shuangye's desk. National Preceptor Shuangye didn't even raise his head, continuing to paint. The iron kettle on the small stove had boiled, bubbling softly. Xi Yunhe carefully brewed a cup of hot tea and placed it on the desk as well. Only when the painting was three-quarters finished did National Preceptor Shuangye set down his brush. He picked up the two letters on the desk, opened the first, and drew out several intact sheets of letter paper. He glanced over them, his brows twitching slightly. Though the reaction was subtle, Xi Yunhe knew the letter must contain significant news. Sure enough, National Preceptor Shuangye read for longer, seemingly weighing the words before handing the letter to Xi Yunhe. "There is news of an old friend of yours." An old friend? He had concealed his identity and even changed his face—what old friend could he possibly have? Xi Yunhe took the letter with both hands, skimmed it, and couldn't help crying out in surprise: "He Xiao?!" "The letter was sent by Yu Zecheng. He tracked the Burrow Spider Queen to the Yangshan Archipelago and discovered that the island master is none other than He Xiao." National Preceptor Shuangye gave a faint smile. "He Xiao—who vanished without a trace ever since parting ways in Lingxu City."