Shortly afterward, the head of the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce's local branch in the Ya Kingdom was exposed for bribing local officials and detained by the authorities.
In the Ya Kingdom, bribery was a crime as well, and severe cases carried heavy criminal penalties.
The commercial envoy stationed in the Ya Kingdom by the Yangshan Archipelago was also summoned and given a blistering tongue-lashing.
When Ding Zuodong reported this news to He Lingchuan, the young master merely gave an affirmative hum and replied, "Handle it properly, and get our man bailed out as soon as possible."
The Ya Kingdom's retaliation had arrived.
It had once proclaimed that whoever took in the Bailong people would pay dearly. Yet the Yangshan Archipelago had treated its warnings as mere wind in their ears. Not only had they rescued and harbored the Bailong clan, but they had also defeated Wu Lu, a grand general of the Ya Kingdom. Even though he had been captured only to be released, the archipelago had thoroughly ground the Ya Kingdom's face into the dirt.
Even if the Ya Kingdom was in no position to dispatch an army against an overseas archipelago, it could not simply let the matter drop; it was bound to retaliate in other ways.
A few days later, the Ya Kingdom announced a suspension of all exports of ironware, hides, ores, and horses to the Yangshan Archipelago.
The mountainous eastern regions of the Ya Kingdom were rich in various ores, several of which were essential for artifact forging, particularly for crafting high-grade magic artifacts.
Previously, the Yangshan Archipelago had imported the vast majority of its ores from the Ya Kingdom. But after taking in Moqi Feng and his branch of the Bailong clan the previous year, He Lingchuan had planned ahead, instructing Ding Zuodong and Guan Ke to seek alternative import sources.
Sure enough, Guan Ke had found a new supplier: the Shanjin Plains east of the Ya Kingdom. Although the situation there was somewhat turbulent and the transit distance was longer—requiring several more days by sea—it served as a viable alternative.
As for ironware and ore from the Mou Kingdom, because it was perpetually embroiled in war, exports of such strategic materials had always been strictly controlled.
However, sourcing horses was a serious problem.
The Ya Kingdom possessed several fine horse pastures, whereas the Yangshan Archipelago had none, the Qing Kingdom had none, and Bailie had only one.
Without good horses, there could be no cavalry.
Fortunately, this problem was not immediately fatal to the Yangshan Archipelago.
He Lingchuan was prepared for all of this. The world turned on cause and effect; by forcibly absorbing the Bailong clan, falling out with the Ya Kingdom had been inevitable.
***
One afternoon, He Lingchuan had just returned to Suoding Island from Blade Harbor when Lei Ni came up to report:
"A guest has arrived. He calls himself Fu Shan and said you would know who he was as soon as you heard the surname."
With that, she saw her lord's footsteps abruptly halt.
*Fu Shan?*
After a moment of thought, a knowing smile appeared on He Lingchuan's face. "Yes, I certainly do. Where is he?"
"He has already been wandering around Suoding Island for two hours."
So He Lingchuan made his way to the main street on his own.
Locating his target on Suoding Island was actually quite simple: one merely had to head for the busiest market and look for whichever open-air food stall everyone was giving a wide berth.
Because crouching right beside it was an enormous, magnificent tiger!
He Lingchuan first spotted a familiar back, holding a piping-hot clay pot in one hand and feasting heartily.
Next to him sat a little girl, eating in a very demure, well-mannered way.
A massive tiger crouched beside him, opening its bloody maw wide in a great yawn.
He Lingchuan walked over without bothering to conceal his footsteps.
The tiger's ears twitched, and its head abruptly swiveled. Its slanted, fierce eyes caught sight of He Lingchuan at once.
To the bystanders, there was only a loud roar and a blur of motion accompanied by a gust of wind, and then the great tiger pounced right onto He Lingchuan.
Standing on its hind legs, it was over ten feet tall—taller than any human could ever hope to be.
A tiger pouncing on a person was a terrifying sight; several people nearby screamed and scrambled away in sheer panic.
With that kind of weight and raw power, it could bowl over two or three sturdy men in an instant. Yet He Lingchuan held a firm horse stance without giving half a step, wrapping his arms around its massive head.
"I missed you to death, Xiao Yu'er!"
The tiger hooked its paws over his shoulders and rubbed its head vigorously against him, letting out low, cow-like moos.
This was its friendly greeting, though the force was heavy enough to knock the life out of an ordinary person on the spot.
He Lingchuan rubbed its warm belly. "Long time no see. Did you put on weight again?"
Seen from the side, Jiao Yu was as wide as a door, and its primordial pouch was practically sagging down.
"Squatting on a ship for two months doing nothing but eating and drinking—if it didn't get fat, who would?" The man eating from the clay pot turned his head and waved his chopsticks at He Lingchuan. "You're finally here! Have a seat!"
This fellow was, of course, his long-separated old friend, Fu Shanyue!
A year and a half apart, he had hardly changed, except for a bit of beard along his jaw that made him look slightly rugged.
Whenever He Lingchuan saw him, he couldn't help being reminded of Fu Shanlie.
Father and son were truly cut from the same cloth.
He Lingchuan casually pulled up a wooden bench and sat down across from Fu Shanyue.
The little girl smiled at him too, showing a row of tiny white teeth. "Brother He!"
"Well, well, Taozi came along too?"
This little girl was the witch child Fu Shanyue had rescued from the Twilight Plains, whom he had named Taozi.
Time worked like magic on children. Two years without seeing her, her little face had grown out a bit, plump and rosy-cheeked, genuinely resembling a little peach—a world away from the emaciated, sallow child of back then.
Before He Lingchuan could even wave, the stallkeeper scurried over, bowing and scraping. "Lord Island Master, what would you like?"
Tiger fur clung all over his clothes, so He Lingchuan brushed it off while ordering, "Simmer me a pot of fresh crab congee and bring a plate of raw oysters. For him—" He pointed at Fu Shanyue. "—add a grilled eel. And give the little girl a serving of sweet-and-sour pork."
"Right away!"
Children loved sweets, and Taozi's eyes crinkled into crescent slits. "Thank you, Brother He!"
"Little Taozi is getting more and more polite." He Lingchuan patted her head, then looked at Fu Shanyue. "Don't tell me you were the one who taught her?"
Could an uncouth fellow like him teach such good manners to a little girl?
Fu Shanyue rolled his eyes. "Looking down on me, are you?"
He Lingchuan smiled, waiting for the rest.
Sure enough, Fu Shanyue continued, "I only taught her how to eat people! Her manners were taught by the palace matrons sent by my royal father."
Taozi nodded. "His Majesty is so good to me, and the matrons are too!"
"The matrons are harsh toward the young ladies of other families, but they treat Taozi differently." Learning court etiquette was hardly a pleasant curriculum, Fu Shanyue noted. "After all, she is a ba!"
Evidently, the Ruler of Chiyan took good care of this rare young member of their kind.
Simmering the congee took a little time, but the raw oysters and marinated raw shrimp arrived in the blink of an eye.
The oysters had been dredged from the sea earlier that afternoon, out of the water for less than two hours. The stallkeeper had shucked their shells and brought over a brimming bowl.
Each raw oyster was as long as a middle finger, plump and tender this time of year. Dipped in the house-special sour sauce, He Lingchuan could easily polish off two bowls by himself.
Local fishermen ate them like that—swallowing them fresh out of the sea without needing any sauce at all.
He offered some to Fu Shanyue. "Want to try one?"
Fu Shanyue swallowed one, then grimaced for a long while before recovering. "Can't stomach it. Help yourself."
It was far too fishy; an inland native like him really couldn't get used to it!
"You can eat humans, yet you can't handle this?"
Jiao Yu stretched its tiger head over and sniffed curiously, so He Lingchuan shucked one and offered it.
The tiger chewed twice and gulped it right down.
"See? Our Xiao Yu is the one with refined taste!" As expected, big cats loved seafood. He Lingchuan called for a jar of yellow wine and filled both their cups. "A rare guest indeed. What brought you all the way out here to my territory?"
"You have the nerve to ask? You ran off here to play island master without even writing me a single letter!" Fu Shanyue raised his cup and downed it in one gulp. "No wonder no matter how I tried to persuade you to take an official post in Chiyan back then, it was useless. You wanted to strike out on your own all along."
He Lingchuan chuckled. "Serving as an official involves far too much red tape. How could it compare to being free and unfettered like this?"
Of course, he was lying through his teeth. Being an island master was neither free nor unfettered; he was worked like a dog every single day!
Officials received stipends from their superiors. As for him? He had to pay stipends to all his subordinates.
"I took a few strolls around. Your place is genuinely nice—very lively." Fu Shanyue nibbled a marinated raw shrimp and wrinkled his nose again. "If it's raw, so be it, but why is it sour too?"
"How is Chiyan? Have you been doing well this past year and a half?"
"My old man isn't dead yet." This time, Fu Shanyue poured wine for He Lingchuan. "He can't stand seeing me idle. Scolds me every two or three days."
"You're the crown prince now; you should share the ruler's burdens."
Fu Shanlie did not have much time left, so naturally he demanded that the crown prince learn statecraft to succeed him in the future.
"Why do you sound just like the Grand Preceptor?" Fu Shanyue scoffed. "Still, thanks to the elixir of immortality case, Lingxu City is much more courteous toward Chiyan now. For troop rotations at the front lines, we were given a bye this year."
When the Beijia Kingdom went to war, its vassal demon kingdoms were obligated to provide military support. In the past, Beijia had constantly ordered Chiyan to assist in combat, much to Chiyan's resentment.
Following the elixir of immortality case, the Chiyan Kingdom had been the most aggrieved party. Although the mastermind, National Preceptor Qingyang, was merely stripped of her title rather than executed, the Demon Emperor still had to find ways to appease Chiyan. At the very least, Chiyan was exempted from deploying troops this year.
"I've heard rumors several times claiming Beijia and the Mou Kingdom were going to agree to a truce, yet they've kept fighting right up to now."
Initially, merchants passing through Blade Harbor and the Yangshan Archipelago had buzzed with discussion. But after crying wolf so many times, everyone had lost interest.
"Who can say for sure with that sort of thing?" Fu Shanyue continued digging into his seafood clay pot. "Maybe floating those rumors is a strategy in itself. Or maybe both sides have just been fighting while negotiating, negotiating while fighting."
He Lingchuan nodded. To possess such insight showed that Fu Shanyue had matured compared to before.
There were matters He Lingchuan needed to address directly: "How did you find out I was here?"
Just then, the bubbling fresh crab congee was served, steam rising from the clay pot.
Treating the island master was naturally different from serving ordinary customers; the stallkeeper had packed his clay pot with blue crabs, fresh scallops, and plump razor clams—there were practically more toppings than congee. A single spoonful tasted peerlessly sweet and fresh.
With this hot congee lining his stomach, eating the marinated raw seafood was much more comfortable, making him far less likely to spend the evening running for the privy.
Well, slightly less likely.
"Isn't it because of your handy work? If you don't want people to find out, you shouldn't have done it in the first place." Fu Shanyue pointed his chopsticks at him. "Supplies of fluorescent spores were cut off in Chiyan for a time, forcing the royal palace to hang windproof lanterns again. But not long ago, fluorescent spores reappeared—this time produced by the Yangshan Archipelago. I inquired, and what do you know? The island master's surname was He!"
He Lingchuan gnawed on a crab leg. "You came all the way here just for fluorescent spores?"
"Of course not," Fu Shanyue chuckled. "I came for the yin fiend energy."
"Yin fiend energy?" He Lingchuan paused, suddenly realizing that there were at least two types of monsters in this world that did not fear yin fiend energy.
One was living: the yin hui. The other was the living dead: a ba!
Legend had it that the ba were born from the earth fiend itself.
Chapter 1081