Only then did He Lingchuan walk over to the third pirate. Before he could even ask a question, the man's lips trembled several times, and he blurted out in a panic, "It isn't true! It isn't! We didn't go out that night—we were all holed up in our strongholds! The men in both strongholds stayed put!"
"The yin hui didn't come?"
"They didn't! Not a single one!" the third pirate confessed. "It was the next day—no, the day after—that we heard the First Channel had been hit hard by the yin hui! Panic spread through the camps, so Channel Chief Min gathered us all together and told us the yin hui would never attack our doorstep, saying we could put our minds at ease."
"Oh? And what was his reason?"
"Channel Chief Min didn't say, so everyone was rather skeptical," the pirate continued. "But over the next few days, the yin hui attacked other places, even ransacking the supply posts, yet they truly never came for us. After that, everyone... everyone felt a bit more relieved."
He Lingchuan clasped his hands behind his back and turned his gaze to Min Tianxi, raising an eyebrow.
*Your last chance.*
Without waiting for him to ask, Min Tianxi licked his lips and rasped, "I'll talk. Young Master He, I have in my possession a Heavenly Order Precious Scroll—a contract forged between an ancient immortal and the leader of the yin hui. With it protecting us, the yin hui won't come looking for trouble."
"You have only one precious scroll, yet you have two strongholds, and quite a distance apart at that," He Lingchuan remarked with amused curiosity. "How did you ensure neither lair would be attacked?"
*This fellow is far too meticulous; not a single loophole escapes him.* Min Tianxi lowered his voice. "The yin hui will not attack any island with a stone tower erected on its beach."
He Lingchuan extended his hand toward him, the message unmistakable: *Hand it over.*
Robbing robbers—what people called thieves robbing thieves—left him without the slightest pang of conscience.
Min Tianxi fumbled inside his storage ring for quite some time before finally producing a gleaming golden scroll and handing it over.
At this moment, his heart was bleeding.
This precious scroll was the trump card that had allowed him to dominate the Yangshan Archipelago. Once surrendered, the safety of the Second Channel's pirates could no longer be guaranteed.
It also meant his rule was coming to an end.
Because of that, even after witnessing He Lingchuan's brutal methods, he had still clung to a sliver of wishful thinking.
He Lingchuan could not have cared less about what was going through the man's mind as he looked down to examine his newly acquired toy.
The Heavenly Order Golden Scroll looked like a roll of genuine golden foil, rich and pure in color. Normally, it would roll itself into a tight little bundle; when He Lingchuan smoothed it flat, he indeed saw tiny characters engraved upon its surface.
Here lay the terms of the contract. At the very end, where signatures and marks were placed, was a bloody fingerprint and a single black scale embedded into the gold.
These were the seals of both contracting parties.
After skimming through it, He Lingchuan flicked the scroll with a finger. It produced an exceptionally crisp chime.
"That's not right. The terms of this contract weren't forged between an ancient immortal and the king of the yin hui; they're an agreement negotiated between you and the king of the yin hui! Furthermore, the name signed here is yours."
Seeing Min Tianxi's astonishment, He Lingchuan let out a faint chuckle. "Yes, I can read the ancient immortal language."
Even after he had become the Grand Commander of Yuheng City, Master Sun had never relaxed his examinations of his coursework. His grasp of the ancient immortal language was now so fluent that he could string together curses at will for five straight minutes without repeating himself once.
Min Tianxi's spirits sank completely.
Where on earth had such a monster sprung from, seeing through him at every turn?
Surrendering the golden scroll and having his secret exposed meant the very foundation of his survival in the Yangshan Archipelago was destroyed!
"It seems your verbal surrender was nothing more than lip service, and you still harbor delusional thoughts deep down," He Lingchuan said with a light sigh. "What a pity. But I won't keep a liability like you around!"
An ungrateful wolf that could never be tamed was useless, no matter how capable.
He gave Qiu Hu a slight nod, signaling him to make his move.
Min Tianxi had seen clearly how Qiu Hu dealt with the other two pirates. Seeing the burly man advancing toward him with a murderous glint in his eye, he cried out in terror, "I was wrong, Young Master He! Please give me one more chance! From this day forward, I swear I will never utter a single word of falsehood!"
"Oh? How can I be sure?" He Lingchuan drawled leisurely. "Didn't you also claim to be entirely sincere when you surrendered just moments ago?"
With his life on the line, Min Tianxi dared not hesitate. He turned to Qiu Hu and said, "Lend me a blade!"
Unconcerned that the man might try any tricks, Qiu Hu tossed him a short blade.
Min Tianxi splayed the five fingers of his left hand flat on the table and declared solemnly, "From this day forward, I, Min Tianxi, swear unswerving loyalty and devoted service to Young Master He Lingchuan, with no further deception. If I break this oath, let my fate be as this finger!"
Gritting his teeth, he brought the blade down and chopped off the little finger of his left hand.
Fresh blood spurted, sealing the blood oath.
"Good, good, well done." Pleased, He Lingchuan lightly clapped his hands twice and ordered the medicine ape to bandage him up.
Lingguang's styptic medicine worked wonders; the moment it was applied, a soothing coolness enveloped the wound, greatly dulling the pain.
He Lingchuan personally poured him another cup of wine. Pale-faced, Min Tianxi raised it and drained it in a single gulp.
"Thank you for granting me wine, Young Master!"
He had drunk wine twice since boarding the ship, but the two drinks carried entirely different states of mind and meanings.
He Lingchuan then ordered his men to untie the remaining pirates.
These men were sharp. Seeing their usually shrewd Channel Chief submit to the person before them, how could they dare stay stubborn? One after another, they dropped to their knees and kowtowed, addressing him as Young Master.
"All right, get up, all of you." He Lingchuan waved a hand, then turned back to Min Tianxi. "I've gathered intelligence on the pirates over the past few days. The other pirate crews suffered heavy losses, facing multiple attacks one after another, yet your Second Channel remained completely unscathed, without a single casualty. When other pirates talk about you in the taverns, they grind their teeth in envy. Did you really think you could keep that hidden from anyone?"
Min Tianxi lowered his head. "The Young Master is truly perceptive."
They had come specifically for them from the very beginning; how laughable that he had thought he could hide and evade them.
"Now then, tell me the whole truth."
"Yes!" The throbbing pain in his little finger served as a constant reminder to watch his attitude. "This golden scroll was indeed passed down from an ancient immortal, but when it fell into my hands, it was a blank contract. Over ten years ago, I specifically picked a clear day with cloudless skies, took it to Longji Island to find the king of the yin hui, and signed a pact with it. However... strictly speaking, the king of the yin hui did not appear in person. It merely dispatched another yin hui carrying its scale to sign and affix the seal."
"Why?"
"Perhaps it didn't think much of a mere human like me?" Min Tianxi gave a self-deprecating smile. "I heard its roar echoing from the White Abyss, saying that the other yin hui could sign the pact on its behalf."
He Lingchuan seized upon the key detail. "You could understand its words?"
"Whenever I held the golden scroll, I could understand it, and the yin hui could understand what I said as well." Min Tianxi stole a cautious glance at him. "Later, I specifically had a confidant test it. While holding the golden scroll, he could also understand the roar of the king of the yin hui—or at least discern its mood."
"I see." He Lingchuan nodded. "The immortal who made a pact with the yin hui clan back then would naturally have needed a way to communicate with them."
He stowed away the precious scroll.
This was a purely unexpected boon; with this scroll in hand, his subsequent plans would likely become much easier.
"Can't this treasure ward off the fiendish energy? Why didn't you settle on Longji Island?"
Chapter 906