Mutual Consent

Yet they were houses after all, capable of sheltering them from wind and rain. That very day, He Lingchuan inspected several temporary settlements alongside Elder Moqi and Moqi Feng, checking living conditions and listening to the clansmen's opinions. Gracious and bearing himself without the slightest air of complacency, he quickly earned the fondness and heartfelt gratitude of the Bailong tribe toward their savior. Some people fell to their knees and kowtowed the moment they saw him arrive. "For you, a flower!" Nearby, a little girl offered He Lingchuan a small blossom, beaming with a brilliant smile that revealed a missing front tooth—knocked out when she took a fall while climbing the mountains at Storm Bay. He Lingchuan chatted amiably with everyone and inquired about their daily necessities. Whenever the Bailong people brought up an issue, he resolved it on the spot without dilly-dallying, showing wholehearted sincerity. Only when the moon hung high in the sky did he rise to take his leave. As the master of Yangshan, He Lingchuan had accumulated a mountain of affairs awaiting his attention over the past few days, leaving him unable to linger here for long. ... Time flew by, and seven days passed in the blink of an eye. Over these days, He Lingchuan always found time to drop by the Bailong settlements for a look around, even if just to chat and shoot the breeze with the people when there was nothing pressing. He mingled easily with everyone, putting on no airs and never acting like an entitled savior, and the island master was well loved by all. Elder Moqi had expected him to make demands. Nothing in this world was given without cause; how could anyone treat the Bailong tribe with such utmost benevolence while asking for nothing in return? Elder Moqi had a clear head. Yet He Lingchuan never breathed a single word of it. Over these days, murmurs within the Bailong tribe began to grow. Once fed and warm, people naturally began harboring different thoughts. Some clansmen had found work on Centipede Island and Suoding Island, just like the Moqi uncle and nephew had back then, while others began inquiring about the rental prices of fields and storefronts. Life here was good—prosperous and peaceful. As long as you worked hard, you had food to eat and a place to stay. For displaced refugees, what greater temptation could there be? The Bailong children constantly drooled over the candied haws, crispy flatbreads, and meat skewers sold at street stalls. Delicious food had to be bought with money. At the thought of whether the entire tribe would stay or go, Elder Moqi felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles. These good days—free from worries over food, warmth, and safety—were like flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water; the moment they left the Yangshan Archipelago, the illusion would likely shatter. Besides, with so many people in the Bailong tribe, they could freeload in the Yangshan Archipelago for seven days, but could they freeload for a whole year? He had heard that the Yangshan Archipelago originally had fewer than eighty thousand residents. Taking in the Bailong tribe on top of that—what a crushing burden would that be? Moqi Tong had previously racked his brains worrying over food for the entire tribe; Elder Moqi knew better than anyone how much grain forty thousand mouths consumed in a single day. For seven days of food, drink, and lodging, how much would the Yangshan Archipelago have to charge them? If they had any shame at all, once they had rested enough, they ought to pack up and leave rather than cause trouble for their hosts. In the afternoon, Moqi Feng invited Elder Moqi to his home again for drinks and a quiet chat. Elder Moqi had already visited twice. Moqi Feng's residence was a detached little courtyard, modest in size but neat and tidy. Outside, the canopy of an old camphor tree reached in, shading half the courtyard. Over the past few days, Moqi Feng had hosted many of the newly arrived clansmen at his home, every one of them green with envy. Only permanent residents of the island were entitled to enjoy a detached home with its own yard. The two sat drinking under the camphor tree. On the stone table were four or five dishes freshly prepared by an eatery just a few dozen feet away, brought over piping hot. Elder Moqi picked up a golden-fried stuffed eggplant box with his chopsticks and sighed with emotion. "Seven days ago, how could I have imagined sitting here, eating such delicacies?" Seven days ago, they were hunted down like stray dogs. Seven days later, the world was peaceful, with wine and good dishes. Ah, it truly felt like a lifetime ago. Moqi Feng raised a cup in toast to him. "It will come. Everything will come in time." After draining the cup, Elder Moqi said again, "Ah Feng, I see you've changed a lot. You've grown wiser, and you have your own mind now." Moqi Feng's speech and demeanor were no longer what they used to be. Elder Moqi could see confidence in his eyes. "After brushes with death and rounds of hardship, anyone would change," Moqi Feng said softly. "Thanks to Island Master He waking me up, I'm working hard to shed my old habit of hesitating, overthinking, and failing to decide." Elder Moqi could not help raising his white brows. That evaluation—hesitating, overthinking, and failing to decide—really had fit the old Moqi Feng to a tee. Taking the opening, he asked about Moqi Song's whereabouts. Over the past seven days, he had not brought this matter up. Back then, Moqi Song had left the tribe in indignation, taking his nephew Moqi Feng with him. Now, after staying in the Yangshan Archipelago for so many days, he had not seen Moqi Song show his face once; only Moqi Feng was bustling about on the clansmen's behalf. Clearly, there was more to the story. Elder Moqi had felt embarrassed to ask Moqi Feng directly, so he had pried for information from Moqi Feng's subordinates. And what he heard was shocking! "My uncle is working in the mines," Moqi Feng said, picking up a slice of braised pig ear and chewing it slowly. "You've heard about what happened with us last autumn, haven't you?" Elder Moqi looked awkward and said nothing. "After that incident, Uncle was punished with mining duty. I've visited him a few times and brought him some food." Elder Moqi could not help asking, "You're allowed to visit him?" "Yes. Island Master He never stopped me; he gave me free visiting privileges right from the start." Moqi Feng gave a bitter smile. "The first couple of times, Uncle's resentment hadn't faded, so he wouldn't say a word when he saw me." On that night, at the crucial juncture of the rebellion to seize the island, Moqi Feng had pulled back first and withdrawn most of their men; it would have been strange if Moqi Song hadn't been furious. What was more, He Lingchuan had subsequently set up schemes to drive a wedge between uncle and nephew, as well as between Moqi Song and the Bailong people. "Later, I brought a few children from the tribe along to visit him. You know Uncle has a soft spot for kids. That time, he kept the wine and meat I brought." Elder Moqi let out a soft exclamation. "That stubborn old mule actually had a day where he softened up and came around?" "Uncle isn't hopelessly rigid; he was just carrying too heavy a burden back then, so it was inevitable he grew extreme. Island Master He punishing him with mining wasn't necessarily a bad thing for him. It let him lay down the heavy burden and live peacefully." Life in the mines was grueling and monotonous, perfectly suited for Moqi Song to undergo reform through labor and reflect on himself. Moqi Feng understood his uncle all too well. "As long as he doesn't have to carry the fate of the entire tribe on his shoulders, the knot in his heart will slowly unravel. When I visited him last month, Uncle seemed to have put on a little weight." Elder Moqi smiled, then lowered his voice. "The reason I came to see you today also concerns the future of our entire tribe." Moqi Feng's expression turned serious at once. "We were driven out of Ya Kingdom, and Ah Tong tragically fell in battle. The young and old of our tribe... where do they go from here?" Both fell silent. The Bailong tribe's future had always been a major problem. "I am old and won't last much longer. Nor can I shoulder such a heavy burden," Elder Moqi said, sorrow showing in his eyes. "Ah Feng, the clansmen trust you. That is why I've come to ask: are you willing to take up Ah Tong's mantle and protect the safety of the entire tribe?" Back then, the one who fell out with the tribe was Moqi Song, not Moqi Feng. The brotherly bond between Moqi Feng and the former young clan chief, Moqi Tong, had remained profound. During the great battle at Luting Beach this time, Moqi Feng had also led from the front, fighting bravely in the vanguard, which all the tribal warriors had witnessed. More importantly, Moqi Feng was thriving and well-connected in the Yangshan Archipelago and held in high esteem by the island master; he would never stand by and watch his fellow clansmen be bullied. Looking at it from every angle, they had no better choice. Moqi Feng rose to his feet immediately and declared solemnly, "I would not shrink from ten thousand deaths!" At this exceptional moment, what he took upon himself was not just honor, but a heavier burden. Thus, there was no need for polite demurrals; stating his resolve was enough. Elder Moqi's brow smoothed, and he repeated, "Good, good," several times before continuing, "There is one more matter." "Please, speak freely." Elder Moqi's voice grew slightly muted. "We are all glad that you are willing to take up the mantle of clan chief. But... but regarding whether our clansmen should go or stay..." The Bailong people's recuperation in the Yangshan Archipelago was only temporary. Where would they go from here? This was a question that had to be faced sooner or later. He had said "go or stay." If he had no intention of staying, why would he include the word "stay"? Moqi Feng understood in a heartbeat. "Pardon my bluntness, but Mou Kingdom sent Bailie to receive our tribe only out of a shred of guilt and obligation. Do they truly care about us? Even if our tribe enters Mou Kingdom's borders, where will these tens of thousands be resettled, and how will they earn a living? That remains a massive problem." In the past, the Bailong tribe had been close to Mou Kingdom and received its backing to oppose the current royal house. After Ya Kingdom established itself as a nation, it naturally settled this old score. Therefore, Mou Kingdom still bore some responsibility for the Bailong tribe's plight. Yet their reluctance was something Moqi Tong, the elders, and the other leaders could clearly sense. Moqi Feng continued, "We are outsiders after all. Even if Mou Kingdom means well, can the local officials designated to take us in treat our tribe well? It's completely unknown. Ya Kingdom has been a nation for such a short time, yet bureaucratic vices are already fully on display, and you've witnessed plenty of their filthy conduct. Mou Kingdom has a history of a hundred and fifty or sixty years; how much better could their officialdom possibly be than Ya Kingdom's?" Elder Moqi nodded. "Bailie isn't any better. Commander Lu Qingbang fought alongside our tribe and is truly a fine fellow. But during these days, I've asked around in the Yangshan Archipelago and Blade Harbor, and the head of the Lu clan in Bailie has a bad reputation. Besides, Bailie hasn't even been able to tend to its own people's livelihood in recent years. How could they have the spare capacity to settle us?" The choice Mou Kingdom had given the Bailong tribe back then was to settle either in Mou Kingdom or in Bailie. Yet seen now, neither option seemed dependable. In the past, when Mou Kingdom sent money and weapons to the Bailong tribe, they were overflowing with warmth. Now that the Bailong tribe had fallen from power, Mou Kingdom treated them with cold indifference. When the tea cools after the guests depart—that is just how the world works. Things had reached the point where only the final paper windowpane remained to be pierced. Moqi Feng had matured after all; at this moment, he held his nerve, refusing to be the first to break the silence. Both lowered their heads to drink and eat, saying not a word. No matter how hearty the spread, it could not withstand two big eaters trading bites back and forth. Only when nearly all the peanuts beside the braised pig head meat had been picked clean did Elder Moqi finally succumb to the awkward silence. Taking a sip of wine to moisten his throat, he said: "Ah Feng, the burden you've taken up is heavy. The livelihood of our forty thousand people will be placed in your hands from now on." Now that Moqi Feng was succeeding as clan chief, planning the entire tribe's future was his duty. Moqi Feng was not the least bit surprised that Elder Moqi had dumped all the responsibility onto his shoulders in one stroke. He asked openly, "What does the elder think of the Yangshan Archipelago, where we're lodging right now?"