This really stirred up a hornet's nest. Neither side would back down, trading curses before swinging their fists in an all-out brawl.
By the time word was sent out, neither side had emerged victorious.
Tao Lin could only stamp his feet and sigh deeply. "Idiots!" After an uproar like this, morale in the Globe Amaranth Gang would only grow more volatile.
No matter how the matter was ultimately resolved, Tao Lin and Xu Zeshou's reputations were bound to take a massive hit.
Anyone with eyes could see what was going on from the publicly posted rosters: the two chiefs' greed was simply too ugly.
Yet if they tore up the agreement now and went back to their old trade, their brothers might not even be willing.
It all came down to that old truth: sitting back and raking in silver was just too comfortable. Once they had tasted sweetness, who would willingly give up such a massive slice of pie just to go back to risking life and limb?
Things were truly troublesome now. Tao Lin rubbed his throbbing brow. Swallowing a quiet loss and bleeding some coin of his own was a small matter, but he feared that from now on, someone would have him firmly under their thumb.
He had already been wary enough of Yuheng City's "conspiracy."
Yet no matter how thoroughly he guarded against danger, he had failed to anticipate that the fellow surnamed He held a hidden move in reserve just to screw him over here.
***
"Blade Harbor! Time to disembark, everybody!"
The crew didn't need to shout twice. The passengers, who had been cooped up inside the sea vessel until they felt moldy, scrambled ashore.
Dong Rui leaped onto the jetty. Paying no heed to the salty, fishy sea breeze, he took a deep breath. "Heavens, ashore at last! My legs were practically bending into bowlegs!"
The two monkeys that followed looked at him together: *What's wrong with bowlegs?*
Dong Rui thumped his lower back. "I wasn't talking about you two."
Living on the ship for two months, he hadn't been able to straighten his waist or stretch his legs, and getting out of bed without paying attention meant banging his skull. It was thoroughly stifling.
Worse yet, there was nowhere to go when he felt suffocated, because space aboard the vessel was so cramped, and all around was endless open sea.
He was a shade darker and a size leaner. As a regular on Lingxu City's wanted lists, he had soared through the skies and tunneled beneath the earth, but he had never ventured across the high seas before. From the moment the ship set sail from Baisha Bay, it had pitched and rolled until he nearly heaved his guts out.
He slept and vomited, vomited and slept. After three or four days of this cycle, Dong Rui thought he had finally grown used to life aboard ship, only for a hurricane to strike out of nowhere.
If the ship's captain hadn't been quick-witted enough to seize the chance and take shelter by an island, the entire boatload of people and demons would have been wiped out.
With winds and waves so colossal at sea, even a prehistoric great demon like Zhu Daniang had been powerless against them.
Fortunately, the ship had finally reached its destination, Blade Harbor, allowing Dong Rui's heart to settle back into his chest.
In this lifetime, he would never make another voyage!
Two figures appeared on the deck, smiling as they waved to He Lingchuan and the others. "Brother He, until we meet again!"
These were passengers who had boarded mid-journey, bound for the Boluo Continent. One of them was obsessed with sea fishing, but the fish he hauled up had turned out to be virulently poisonous, nearly turning the fish soup he made into Meng Po's broth.
In that critical moment, the medicine ape Lingguang had stepped in and saved both their lives.
After that incident, the two had become good friends with He Lingchuan—or rather, drinking buddies.
After all, ocean voyages were dull, so one might as well drink and live in a daze. Drinking wine and shooting the breeze made the time fly by.
Zhu Daniang occasionally joined the drinking sessions as well, though she usually remained silent, quietly sipping her wine.
He Lingchuan was generous and magnanimous, carrying himself with engaging conversation, which won both men over completely.
Yet meetings and partings in the sea of humanity were like duckweed drifting together and apart; accompany someone for a thousand li, and farewell must come eventually. He Lingchuan and his companions were disembarking at Blade Harbor, while the two had to continue their journey across the sea.
He Lingchuan smiled. "I leave my business in your capable hands!"
"Brother He's words will certainly be delivered!"
The two sides bowed in farewell.
Blade Harbor was peculiar. The bay was shaped like a long saber thrust fiercely into the ocean. Looking out, one saw smaller vessels berthed inside the bay and larger ships anchored outside, berths nearly full to bursting, a forest of masts stretching as far as the eye could see.
People bustled to and fro along the docks in a lively, clamorous throng.
As the group passed through the fishing harbor district, several fishing boats were unloading their catch.
Dark-skinned coolies were bent double under the weight of heavy cargo, and skuas poked their heads out from every corner, eager to snatch small fish from the baskets, undeterred even when fishermen hurled broken shells at them.
The sea surface shimmered with sunlight, vessels bobbed on the harbor waves, and gulls and egrets glided above the jetty. From a distance, the scene looked picturesque, but one could not get too close.
Once you drew near, a horrific fishy stench hit you square in the face, leaving nowhere to hide.
Seafood, the sea's bounty—over years and decades of catches brought ashore here, a fish stench had accumulated that not even the sea breeze could disperse.
Dong Rui merely furrowed his brow slightly as he walked through. He had smelled all manner of strange odors in his workshop; this was far from the worst.
Needless to say, Zhu Daniang didn't mind it at all; she even found the smell rather pleasant.
He Lingchuan frequently hurled scent buns, so he was no stranger to this kind of rank stench either.
Only Ding Zuodong and his wife, Qiu Hu, and the men of Mount Rong nearly gagged, clamping their hands over their mouths and noses with pained expressions.
Circulating their true power, the group fled the seafood wharf like the wind.
Blade Harbor was a bustling major port, home to an eclectic mix of people. No sooner had they set foot on solid ground than a brat collided straight into Ding Zuodong's chest. By the time Qiu Hu yanked him off, the boy's hand had nearly brushed Ding Zuodong's pouch of broken silver.
Several men nearby edged closer, glaring predatorily.
Qiu Hu did not want to cause trouble, so he tossed the boy aside. Seeing that they were sensible, the men slipped back into the crowd and made no further trouble.
"Let's find an inn. I want to sleep on a bed that doesn't rock." Dong Rui sniffed his clothes. They stank horribly, a jumble of every foul odor imaginable.
Right away, behind the harbor, the group found an inn whose storefront and sign were polished the brightest, renting out an entire courtyard compound.
Merchant caravans passing in and out of Blade Harbor were exceptionally numerous, frequently renting inn compounds. These detached courtyards offered ample space, sleeping twenty to thirty people, and had dedicated warehouses, housing both guests and goods together.
After two months cooped up in cramped cabins, He Lingchuan considerately gave the order to disperse: those who wanted to eat could eat, those who wanted to sleep could sleep, and those who wanted to amuse themselves could go have fun, taking a good break to rest and recover.
He took a bath himself, changed into clean clothes, and dragged Qiu Hu along for a stroll around the port.
This bay was larger than Baisha Bay where they had departed from, and the climate was warmer, but its sanitation fell far short, with damp, salty humidity drifting everywhere. He Lingchuan and Qiu Hu avoided the restaurants with gleaming signs on the main street, heading deeper into the back streets.
The farther back they went, the smaller and older the houses became, to the point where many households had no choice but to set their tables and stools outside their doorways.
Seeing them reminded He Lingchuan of his residence in Panlong City, crowded and jammed together in just the same way.
Following the fragrant aroma of oil coaxed out by a seasoned flame, they found a small eatery tucked away in the old streets. The wooden placard here was half-rotted, the characters blurred, and He Lingchuan could barely make out the words "Old Yao's Salt... Stall."
There were only four small tables inside, all packed. The remaining patrons sat on the threshold or simply ate standing with bowls in hand.
There were no empty seats, but Qiu Hu had a way.
Pinching a lump of broken silver between his fingers, he waved it around. "Any of you gentlemen finished eating and willing to spare a seat?"
Two diners immediately sprang up to take the silver, still chewing their food and clutching their coarse bowls. "Take our seats!"
Glancing around, He Lingchuan saw that most of the customers were intently tackling fried rice, so he called out to the cook working the wok, "Two bowls of that, please."
The proprietor's wife, dark-skinned and plump, asked with a beaming smile, "Our cold dishes are tasty too. Care for some?"
"Bring them on."
The proprietress turned and brought several small side dishes over. Aside from a saucer of pickled cucumbers, there were jellyfish heads tossed in dark vinegar and raw marinated snapping shrimp.
The jellyfish heads had been cleaned thoroughly without any grit, crunching pleasantly with every bite. The wine used to marinate the snapping shrimp wasn't premium stuff, but fortunately, the shrimp were fresh and sweet enough that He Lingchuan could easily polish off two plates.
Before long, two massive bowls of fried rice were served.
They were truly served in ocean-sized bowls, big enough for He Lingchuan to bury his face in.
Seeing Qiu Hu sitting still, he pointed at Qiu Hu's bowl. "Eat up."
Only then did Qiu Hu grab his chopsticks, devouring the food like a whirlwind scattering clouds.
Taking a bite, it was no wonder everyone ordered the fried rice. Tossed over high heat with seasoned intensity, it was fragrant, dry, savory, and fresh, with mustard greens providing a touch of bitterness at the finish—remarkably satisfying on a hot day.
He Lingchuan picked up a small cube of meat with his chopsticks. "What is this?" It was presumably seafood, and the source of the whole bowl's savory umami.
"Salted fish, of course."
He Lingchuan realized. So the faded sign out front had read "Salted Fish Stall." The cook diced cured salted fish, fried it until fragrant, and stir-fried it with rice.
This salted fish smelled foul when cured, but tasted deliciously aromatic.
Yet people made salted fish fried rice everywhere in Blade Harbor; for Old Yao's place to become the neighborhood canteen, he clearly had his own special craft.
He Lingchuan ordered another dish of pan-fried filefish, along with crab stir-fried with scallions and ginger.
The cook was busy in full swing over the fiery stove, but the proprietress loved chatting with patrons. He Lingchuan asked her, "Elder Sister, we've only just arrived. Does Blade Harbor fall under the jurisdiction of the Qing Kingdom?"
"Of course it does! The Qing Kingdom set up a Maritime Trade Office here specifically to oversee ships, people, and all business. Every vessel coming and going has to pay them fees, and if you cause trouble, they toss you in jail."
A nearby diner added, "They collect fees on incoming goods too, and it depends on what kind of cargo it is!"
"I thought I heard this harbor originally belonged to the Bailie people?"
"Well, what you heard is pretty ancient history." The proprietress cleared the bowls and dishes from the neighboring table. "It was like that several decades ago. Later, the Bailie people handed the harbor over to the Qing Kingdom."
"A golden goose that lays eggs—how could they bear to part with it?"
Blade Harbor was the premier deepwater port within two thousand li east of the Mou Kingdom. Countless cargo vessels sailed in and out every day, raking in so much in customs duties that counting it would make one's hands ache; more importantly, the income was remarkably steady.
And according to the expired agreement in He Lingchuan's hands, the Qing Kingdom had leased Blade Harbor from the Bailie people for an annual rent of merely three thousand taels of silver.
Three thousand taels was a mere pittance compared to Blade Harbor's earnings, wasn't it?
How could the Bailie people bear to give up such prime property?
"Who would be willing?" the proprietress replied bluntly. "From what I hear, the Bailie people beat up a prince of the Qing Kingdom and gave away this harbor to make amends."
A diner nearby chimed in, "What I heard was that back then, the Qing Kingdom sent troops directly and took it over—" He traced a circle with his hand, gesturing forcible occupation.
In any case, Blade Harbor was now the Qing Kingdom's territory.
The proprietress looked at He Lingchuan and Qiu Hu with curious eyes. "Where do you two hail from?"
"The west."
"The Mou Kingdom? No, wait, your clothes aren't from Mou." The proprietress rubbed her chin. "Beijia?"
"Even further west," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "Word has it trade is free and open here, so we wanted to look around for business opportunities nearby. I wonder what the Bailie people's territory is like?"
A nearby diner remarked casually, "You'd be better off going to the Qing Kingdom."
Chapter 867