Looking for Trouble

Realizing she had slipped up, Madame Zhu hurried to add, "Take me with you! I can shrink myself down even smaller now." He Lingchuan sank into thought. The defensive strength of the Yangshan Archipelago had grown steadily formidable. With several thousand men in the garrison and great demons like King Siwen stationed about, it was no longer in the tight, strained spot it had been six months ago. If Madame Zhu stayed behind, she most likely wouldn't have any occasion to take action. However! "Madame, I need you here to hold down the fort," He Lingchuan said, raising a hand and laying on the flattery thick. "You are the very peak of our combat strength, the anchor of the Yangshan Archipelago! With you here, outsiders won't dare step out of line!" Dong Rui shot him a look of utter disdain, leaving him to reflect on his shamelessness. Second Madame Zhu just listened quietly without saying a word. "Well, since you put it that way..." Madame Zhu accepted his praise with delight, but then immediately pivoted. "No, I still want to go!" "Madame—" "That guard of several thousand men isn't just drawing rations for doing nothing! At worst, there's still the king of the yin hui on Longji Island!" "Just because Beijia canceled the bounty on Erniang, does that guarantee they won't come looking for trouble again? I did scheme against National Preceptor Shuangye once—do you think he's truly let bygones be bygones?" He Lingchuan sighed. "If Beijia sends people again while neither I nor you are here, Madame, are you really not worried about your sister's safety?" The moment He Lingchuan brought up Second Madame Zhu, Madame Zhu was silenced. Beijia had dared to send operatives only a few months ago after discovering Second Madame Zhu was in the Yangshan Archipelago, showing they were no longer afraid of her. Second Madame Zhu listened in silence, uttering no word. "As for Longhao, he is the Yangshan Archipelago's hidden trump card. But once a trump card is shown, it becomes an open card," He Lingchuan said gravely. "A blade should not be drawn lightly; when drawn, blood must follow!" The anchors of the Yangshan Archipelago in the open were still him and Madame Zhu. Therefore, one of the two had to remain behind; both could not leave at once. Madame Zhu was a reasonable demon. After fretting over it for quite a while, she conceded reluctantly, "Fine, all right then." He Lingchuan consoled her. "If we run into trouble we can't handle, we'll summon you to rescue us at once. How's that?" "Take good care of that xun." It was the instrument fashioned from Madame Zhu's eye socket, given to He Lingchuan by Second Madame Zhu two years ago in the Demon Nest, its final stop still sealed shut. Madame Zhu instructed He Lingchuan, "Once you blow that final hole, I will set out to find you." *** With extensive holdings and numerous subordinates now under his command, He Lingchuan had to arrange all affairs thoroughly before embarking on a long journey. His prolonged absence from the territory would be a test of his subordinates' competence. In particular, with a powerful neighbor like the Mou Kingdom nearby, all their movements required precise monitoring. For instance, if the war between Mou and Beijia escalated further, the demand for weapons and armor would rise, along with prices, meaning the Songyang Mansion branch on the archipelago could fire up their forges early. After three consecutive days of meetings, he finally broke down the archipelago's future administrative duties and arranged various contingency plans. The process was exceedingly dull, consisting of little more than him holding forth on the stage with various requirements while the senior officers below kept their heads down, scribbling notes and pledging to complete the tasks. For this journey east, he would take only Dong Rui, leaving the rest behind to guard the home front in the Yangshan Archipelago. Even so, he gave private instructions to Qiu Hu and Moqi Feng. The scale tucked in He Lingchuan's lapel suddenly trembled a few times, and the voice of Longhao, king of the yin hui, sounded in his ear: "I have uninvited guests here." "Oh?" He Lingchuan feigned surprise, though he knew perfectly well who those "uninvited guests" were. The southwestern part of Longji Island was thick with fiend energy, impassable to living creatures. Who else could wander into the sinkhole as a guest besides those two ba? However, Longhao's voice did not sound particularly angry. "Sorry for the trouble. I'll head over right now. Please don't harm them." "Them?" Longhao said. "There is only one person—no, one ba." He Lingchuan ordered his men to ready a boat and ferry him toward Longji Island. He patted the divine bone necklace within his robes and murmured, "Don't absorb the fiend energy from southwestern Longji Island." Otherwise, he would become the most unwelcome guest at the sinkhole. Amid wind and waves, the small vessel slowly approached the uninhabited area at the southwestern tip of Longji Island. Today was clear, without a trace of grey yin fiend mist over the sea, allowing the boat to pull up smoothly to Longji Island's shore. Just as He Lingchuan stepped ashore, an elite yin hui emerged from the underbrush. The guide had arrived. Instead of leading him straight toward the White Abyss sinkhole, the yin hui headed toward the island's southern end. Rugged crags jutted out everywhere here; far from hiding just one or two people, two whole armies could easily find cover among them. Over a hundred yin hui slithered all over the area now. They had even set up boundary formations on the ground to prevent their quarry from escaping using escape techniques. Longhao informed him that the uninvited guest had slipped onto the island heading toward the White Abyss. Upon discovering him, Longhao had ordered his brood to drive him here. Judging by the yin hui's high alert, they had clearly suffered setbacks at Fu Shanyue's hands. Sure enough, He Lingchuan soon noticed several injured elite yin hui. Had he not spoken with Longhao a few days ago, the behemoth's wrath would have given Fu Shanyue far more than he could chew. He Lingchuan made his way through the yin hui and the boundary, circulating his true qi to call out for Fu Shanyue. He called out four or five times, his voice echoing across the entire reef shore, before a tiny silhouette finally popped up atop a distant rock: "Hey!" It was Fu Shanyue, just as expected. He Lingchuan walked over to meet him, followed only by an elite yin hui. The two met atop a boulder shaped like a sea turtle. Fu Shanyue scratched the back of his head, looking a little sheepish. "What brings you here?" He Lingchuan snapped, "If I didn't come, how were you planning to get back?" Fu Shanyue was thick-skinned enough to divert the topic immediately. "You arrived awfully fast. Looks like the yin hui went running to tattle on me." In other words, He Xiao had a way of communicating with the yin hui on Longji Island in real time. He Lingchuan saw right through his thoughts and said openly, "That's right. They're furious, so I had to hurry over and collect you. Didn't I send you and Taozi to Gusheng Island?" He had also instructed Fu Shanyue never to approach the southwestern end of Longji Island. "I sensed the fiend energy here was far richer, so I wanted to come take a look." If he were obedient, he wouldn't be Fu Shanyue. "Then I got hounded and cornered by these fellows." "Good thing you didn't kill any of them, or this grudge wouldn't be so easy to settle." He Lingchuan knew Fu Shanyue well; none of the yin hui's wounds were severe, meaning he had held back. He was by no means as reckless as he appeared on the surface. "Mm-hmm. I saw they were just lackeys, so there was no need to go for the kill." He Lingchuan gave him a sidelong glance. "Is that so? Was that truly the reason?" Fu Shanyue laughed. "Not long after I landed, I sensed a formidable presence ahead." He had come to explore, not to make enemies. "How did you sense it?" "The yin fiend energy is heaviest there, yet it subtly forms a vortex." A ba's perception of fiend energy was beyond an ordinary person's comprehension. "Doesn't a vortex form because there's a void in the middle? In other words, something was drawing in vast amounts of fiend energy." He certainly couldn't gulp down fiend energy like a whale in that manner. Fu Shanyue then pointed at the elite yin hui behind him. "Creatures that live in packs like this usually have an alpha." As crown prince of a demon kingdom, he was well acquainted with the habits of many demon beasts. "No prize for guessing right." He Lingchuan pointed to the elite yin hui. "Meet the king of the yin hui, Longhao." Fu Shanyue blinked. "How could this be the chief?" Right then, he heard the yin hui speak in human words: "You have great nerve, trespassing into my territory!" Surprised, Fu Shanyue let out a small gasp, then quickly came to understand. "Comprehension Art! You're the powerful entity on this island!" The yin hui chief had not shown itself, merely speaking through one of its brood. The only reason Fu Shanyue could understand was because He Lingchuan stood beside him, carrying the Heavenly Order Precious Scroll. "Were it not for Island Master He pleading on your behalf, I would have swallowed you alive!" Longhao had no polite words for the trespasser. "Now, get off my territory!" Fu Shanyue shrugged and replied casually, "Fine, fine, I'm leaving right now." With the master of the house showing him the door, he had no choice but to slink away. He Lingchuan mused, "Is the fiend energy here that much richer than on Gusheng Island?" "It's several times stronger!" Of course—the White Abyss was the outlet of the yin fiend leyline. Only after rising above ground did the fiend energy drift with the wind toward Gusheng Island. "So this place is a paradise for you and Taozi?" Fu Shanyue nodded vigorously. "Of course! I told you the fiend energy here is special, perfect for living ba like Taozi and me!" Neither he nor Taozi had gone through the process of dying before returning to life; they were living ba. They needed both life essence and yin fiend energy. He Lingchuan asking him this... could it be...? Sure enough, amid his hopeful gaze, He Lingchuan turned to the elite yin hui. "My two friends don't draw much yin fiend energy, so they won't pose a threat to you. Could you spare them a spot?" "No!" Longhao refused bluntly. "We had a deal: no one is permitted on this island to disturb my brood." "What if they pay to stay?" He Lingchuan sighed. "Think of it as me covering their rent." With that, he drew two brocade cases from his robe and opened them one by one. Inside the cases, fine sand lay spread across the bottom, cradling neat rows of small black stones. They looked utterly unremarkable, no different from pebbles strewn across any beach, yet Fu Shanyue's eyes were instantly glued to them. Huh? What in the world was he looking at? Longhao was not so easily bought off. "No." He Lingchuan produced another case. "One more." Longhao fell silent for a moment before answering, "Add one more case each month, and they may remain on the island. But they must not approach the White Abyss, nor raise a hand against my brood again. Otherwise—" Fu Shanyue was overjoyed. "Rest assured, I won't cross the line again." The look he gave He Lingchuan was brimming with gratitude and hope. He Lingchuan gave a rueful chuckle and told Longhao, "Very well. But I'll be away on a long trip; I will make up the difference after I return." The Dragon-Torture Pillars he had set up across the Yangshan Archipelago were ample in number and had all just been cleared; they should easily last until he returned from his journey. Even Longhao had learned how to haggle—the world truly wasn't as simple as it used to be.