The moment he saw these many-armed serpent monsters, he froze, then spun around and bolted for his life.
"The yin hui are coming! The yin hui are here!"
The sleeping pirate settlement was jolted awake by these heart-wrenching screams. Men tumbled out in disarray, clothes half-fastened and weapons in hand.
And then, the yin hui arrived.
The pirates stared in baffling terror, utterly unable to fathom how the yin hui could have abandoned the depths of the archipelago and crawled onto Kongmeng Island, a place beyond the gray mist.
This made no sense! It defied all reason!
Yet the yin hui charged straight at them, frantic and monstrously hideous.
The pirate leader gathered his wits and raised an arm to rally his men. "Back into the houses! Loose the corded arrows!"
These so-called "corded arrows" had ropes fastened behind their arrowheads, which flared outward once they struck a target. They had no desire to clash head-on with these gigantic monstrosities; shooting arrows to pin them with ropes would make them far easier to fight.
Beneath the cold gaze of the moon, a bloody slaughter erupted in the interior of Kongmeng Island.
Under such an overwhelming disparity in strength, the battle swiftly devolved into a massacre.
The sea remained tranquil, and Blade Harbor slept on.
No one knew what had transpired.
***
Three days later, in Qucheng, the capital of Bailie.
As the horizon showed the pale gray of dawn, Lu Zhensheng arose, faced east, and began his breathing exercises.
Around sunrise, the so-called purple qi from the east could be gathered and refined by cultivators, making it exceptionally precious. Once the golden solar astral qi emerged, this practice could no longer be pursued.
Lu Zhensheng stood up at the proper moment and went through a set of sword forms.
He was over fifty years old, yet he appeared no older than thirty-some, his temples glossy black without a single strand of white—the fruit of many years of cultivation and self-care.
When his eldest son, Lu Qing'an, arrived, he found his father sipping Job's tears porridge alongside three or four small side dishes and some dried, grilled mackerel.
Qucheng was only sixty li from Blade Harbor. As the clan leader, was there any fresh fish he could not have? Yet over the decades, Lu Zhensheng had long grown tired of fresh, lively seafood and had turned to different ways of preparing it.
Generally speaking, premium ingredients required only simple cooking methods. Steaming, roasting, stir-frying, baking, or braising were the usual ways to prepare fresh fish. Lu Zhensheng, however, favored grilled dried fish.
Nor was this the rock-hard dried fish cured along the coast, which could be brandished as a lethal weapon. Instead, rich, oily fish were filleted, salted, and hung in a well-ventilated spot to air-dry for basically a single night.
Whether grilled or pan-fried, such tender dried fish possessed an extraordinary flavor. The fat was savory without being greasy, the skin thin and crisp, and the flesh firm and flaking like cloves of garlic.
Most wonderful of all, the fishy odor had nearly vanished.
Lu Zhensheng had finished half a fish with relish by the time his eldest son arrived.
"Sit. Have some porridge?"
Lu Qing'an shook his head, sat down, and asked only for a bowl of mung bean soup. "Three pieces of news have come in. One good, one bad."
One good and one bad? "And the third?"
"Hard to say whether it's good or bad. I leave it to Father to decide."
Lu Zhensheng took a sip of his Job's tears porridge. "Mm, give me the good news first."
"In the Western Line's battle at Huanlang Que, Second Brother fought alongside General Fan Canghong and won another great victory for the Mou Kingdom! In that campaign, they wiped out a thousand enemies and captured six hundred."
"Splendid!" Lu Zhensheng beamed with joy, lightly slapping the table. "Splendid, splendid!"
"On another battlefield, Mou suffered a bit of a setback," Lu Qing'an continued. "The demon generals of Beijia are formidable. That General Ling, a wind-boring beast, is clearly just a ram—neither a rhinoceros demon nor a giant elephant—yet he rammed to death one deputy general and two captains."
"A wind-boring beast stands ten feet tall, stronger even than a horse, and possesses innate divine abilities. Ramming men to death is hardly surprising." Though delighted, Lu Zhensheng could not help feeling a slight pang of regret after a moment's thought. "If only Qinglin could command on his own and secure a great victory."
His second son, Lu Qinglin, had joined the military. Although he had earned the title of 'General Xu,' he remained under Fan Canghong's command. Outstanding as he was, his lack of seniority kept him there, though his current speed of advancement was already the envy of many.
The Mou Kingdom was brimming with talent; everyone fought fiercely for military merit, casting eager eyes upon those few coveted posts.
If one truly wished to establish a lasting legacy, one first had to hold independent command.
Lu Qing'an nodded in agreement. "Indeed. But his current achievement is already quite prominent." Especially against the backdrop of the other army's defeat.
With his younger brother winning military honors time and again, he, as the eldest son remaining at home, felt rather awkward.
"I hear both Beijia and Mou intend to negotiate for peace. Who knows when the war on the Western Line will draw to a close." Without war or rebellion, promotions for military officers came slowly.
Lu Qing'an smiled. "They said the same thing last year. Yet the Heavenly Palace was destroyed, Lingxu City was thrown into chaos, and Beijia's fury flared up in an instant, making the fighting on the battlefield even fiercer." Who could tell if another accident might occur this year?
And yet, did his father truly wish for the war to drag on? Every time Mou went to war, the people of Bailie suffered immensely!
Did throwing all their resources behind Second Brother mean disregarding the hardships at home?
Naturally, he let none of this show. Instead, he said, "The second piece of news: the Mou Kingdom wants to purchase another consignment of grain and fodder from us, amounting to forty thousand taels of silver."
The smile on Lu Zhensheng's face froze.
"Buying grain again?"
"Yes," Lu Qing'an gave a quiet cough. "Still at thirty percent of the market price."
A vein twitched at Lu Zhensheng's temple.
Ever since the war broke out, the Mou Kingdom had compelled its surrounding vassal states to supply funds, provisions, or troops. They enjoyed Mou's protection in peacetime; when Mou was embroiled in perilous warfare, they were expected to contribute.
Rights and obligations were balanced, after all.
Some smaller states grew disgruntled, but Mou retorted that whenever Lingxu City went to war across the border, all its vassal demon kingdoms were obligated to coordinate and dispatch troops as well.
Monsters like General Ling, who rushed to Beijia's eastern front, brought their own soldiers, grain, and armaments.
Still, Mou cared enough about appearances not to demand grain outright. Instead, they offered money to "purchase" it, though the price was driven down to the ground. Initially, they had paid fifty percent of market value; now, only thirty percent remained.
For every forty thousand taels of silver Mou put down, Bailie had to surrender grain and fodder worth one hundred and thirty thousand taels.
It might not sound like an enormous amount, but this was already the second time this year!
Three months earlier, they had handed over military supplies worth two hundred and sixty thousand taels. If they surrendered this batch as well, the military aid provided in the first half of the year alone would total nearly four hundred thousand taels!
Yet Mou provided only one hundred and twenty thousand taels in hard cash; the difference in value was paid in Bailie's own blood.
The first half of the year had only just passed, with the latter half still to come!
Lu Zhensheng coughed softly. "It will only be for these couple of years. Once the war ends, things will improve."
Reaching out like this for money and grain severely eroded goodwill and damaged ties with neighbors—did Mou not realize that? But Mou had waged long campaigns in the past; having finally enjoyed a few years of recuperation, its national strength had not fully recovered before it clashed with Beijia again.
Under such circumstances, was it any wonder that it farmed out burdens and shifted pressure onto others?
"How much was levied upon the Qing Kingdom?"
"Eighty thousand, from what I hear."
That meant delivering supplies valued at two hundred and fifty thousand taels. Lu Zhensheng nodded. "Our share was halved, likely owing to Qinglin's repeated military merits."
Crediting this to the second brother as well? Lu Qing'an felt a touch of resentment. "Then why didn't Mou exempt us entirely?"
The smaller states and factions around them had to offer either money or men. Bailie offered both, and the clan leader's son had taken the field in armor himself, repeatedly earning Mou's commendations and being held up as an exemplar across various nations.
As Lu Qinglin's merits grew and his standing climbed, the clan from which he hailed would be spared many obligations.
"Once his achievements grow greater and his military rank rises higher, perhaps we will be exempt entirely." Lu Zhensheng glanced at him and spoke gently. "Qing'an, both of you brothers bring glory to our family and to Bailie. There is no higher or lower, no 'yours' or 'mine'—both of you have earned your merit."
Lu Qing'an nodded. "Your son understands. But having to suddenly come up with so much silver to procure grain and supplies... the treasury..."
The treasury's reserves were finite. Bailie's current territory was much smaller than in the past, and its revenues were naturally far less abundant.
"We must raise it—raise it through careful planning." How could Lu Zhensheng not know the difficulties? "It happens to be the autumn harvest, and this year's yields are bountiful. We can set our purchase price a bit lower."
Mou bought at a seventy percent discount, while Bailie bought at fifty percent, swallowing a twenty percent loss on their own. Gritting their teeth, they could still hold out.
"If we drive the grain prices down further..." The landlords and tenant farmers would surely grumble again, given that prices had already been suppressed since last year. Lu Qing'an changed the subject: "I have another piece of news. It arrived too late last night, so I held it until this morning to report to Father."
"Speak." Having talked for so long, the fish and porridge had grown cold. Lu Zhensheng stopped eating and shook a small handbell, signaling the servants to clear away the leftovers.
"Someone wants to purchase the Yangshan Archipelago."
Lu Zhensheng thought he had misheard and asked again, "What? Lease or purchase?"
"Sixth Uncle said a butler surnamed Ding came knocking. He said his master intends to buy the six outer islands of the Yangshan Archipelago, including Suoding, Heiye, and Baideng. When he heard Sixth Uncle say even the main island remained undeveloped, he casually asked how much it would cost to purchase the entire archipelago."
Sixth Master Lu was a clan elder; any noteworthy matters were reported up to Lu Qing'an.
"Sixth Uncle said this was no ordinary transaction. He could not make the decision himself and had to consult the clan leader's opinion."
"Where are they from?"
"They crossed the sea from the Fu Kingdom to the west and only disembarked recently. Butler Ding said their young master has struck out to establish his own household and found the Yangshan Archipelago quite appealing—offshore and secluded, yet right along the shipping routes, allowing for both advance and retreat."
Lu Zhensheng pondered. "Sailing here from the Fu Kingdom, even with favorable winds and currents, would take at least a month and a half, wouldn't it?"
Among the nobility and wealthy clans, the eldest son of the principal wife inherited the family estate, while restless sons of concubines were given a modest sum and shown the door.
These unfortunate scions would journey elsewhere to establish their own houses and strive to build an enterprise, but most of them ended up squandering their silver and sinking into commoners.
"Do they not know that the Yangshan Archipelago sits atop a yin fiend leyline?"
"They have only been ashore for three days and likely have no idea. Sixth Uncle thought it improper to volunteer the information."
Lu Zhensheng clasped his hands behind his back and paced slowly.
"What do you think?"
"The Yangshan Archipelago isn't far offshore, but it's hard to develop. Only a few outer islands are free from the yin fiend's influence, and while they lie along the shipping lanes, they are plagued by pirates. Every time pirate troubles grew rampant in the past, we had to send troops to suppress them." Lu Qing'an pondered as he spoke. "It is truly a chicken rib—worthless to keep, yet a pity to discard."
In short: all input and no output.
No profit, only maintenance costs.
Lu Zhensheng mused, "Yet the Yangshan Archipelago is ancestral property, after all, and its territory is vast."
Lu Qing'an sneered inwardly. Have we sold so little ancestral property over the years? The Yangshan Archipelago was utterly useless, and no power had ever looked twice at it—which was the only reason it remained in the Lu clan's hands.
Lu Zhensheng still hesitated. "I'll send a flying message to Qinglin and ask for his thoughts."
Chapter 893