At sunset, on Centipede Island, the lair of the Third Channel pirates.
A volcanic eruption countless years ago had left this island with magnificent natural terraced bluffs. As the tide receded, the setting sun gilded the little crabs and mudskippers crawling across the pools in a rim of gold.
A small boat approached from across the water.
The pirates patrolling the shore grew alert and were about to step forward with drawn weapons when they recognized the newcomer as one of their own.
Before long, the dripping-wet scout stood before Yue Pinghe, reporting what he had seen and heard in Blade Harbor.
"You're saying Min Tianxi brokered an introduction between that new island master and Huang Zhao?"
"Yes. They sat together and talked for a long time. Both the Chief of the Second Channel and the Chief of the First Channel were very deferential to that He fellow, bowing and scraping."
"So Min Tianxi really has surrendered. He always puts on airs with me, yet he acts so meek in front of He?" Yue Pinghe muttered to himself before asking, "What exactly did they discuss?"
The scout hurried to reply, "That He was recruiting Huang Zhao, saying he's short on hands right now. Huang Zhao asked him what business the Yangshan Archipelago would be running from now on."
"That He gave a long speech, saying he plans to develop all the islands to harvest palm fruit for oil pressing, and mentioned doing other trade as well. The two channel chiefs nodded repeatedly. He also asked them which of them was closer to you."
Yue Pinghe grunted. "That Huang has never cared for me."
"Right. Huang Zhao passed it off to Min Tianxi, and Min Tianxi took on the job, preparing to come see you on He's behalf."
"In the end, Huang Zhao toasted Island Master He, and then they all stood up and left."
Seeing that the scout had nothing more to report, Yue Pinghe waved him away. He sat in his chair and pondered for a long while before asking his confidant beside him:
"Min Tianxi is so willing to serve as another man's subordinate, even recruiting Huang Zhao on He's behalf?"
"I heard that although that He doesn't have many men, each of them has formidable cultivation. He arranged to meet Min Tianxi at Fishbone Reef. Even with a massive disparity in numbers, his people completely beat the Second Channel into submission. Min Tianxi was even dragged onto his ship and taken on a trip to Longji Island with him."
"I know all that," Yue Pinghe snapped impatiently. "Word is Min Tianxi saw with his own eyes that he could absorb the yin fiend energy on Longji Island, and only then decided to follow him. Hmm, could that fellow be faking his surrender, waiting to snatch that treasure that absorbs yin fiend energy when He isn't paying attention?"
"Has anyone seen that treasure?"
"Apparently not," the confidant replied. "We tracked down one of the men who accompanied He onto the island. He said the yin fiend energy vanished as soon as it got close to Island Master He. Wherever he walks, the yin fiend energy in the surrounding waters is sucked clean!"
"No wonder he bought the Yangshan Archipelago!" Yue Pinghe clapped his hands. "Once word of this gets out, Bailie is going to be the laughingstock of the sea."
The confidant asked carefully, "Chief, if Min Tianxi comes as an envoy, what do you plan to do?"
Yue Pinghe stroked his chin. "That depends on what terms this Island Master He offers me. My two hundred-odd brothers need to eat and drink. If his offer is too meager, we certainly won't work for him."
The nearby pirates chimed in one after another:
"Boss, you have to demand Banana Grove!"
"And White Gourd Island!"
"We don't want to be sent to some island picking fruit and pressing oil for that guy He!" another added. "Our blades are for settling scores and living freely, not for hacking down palm trees!"
As the pirates babbled over one another, the confidant felt a twinge of worry. "Could he deal with us the same way he dealt with Min Tianxi?"
"Min Tianxi is an idiot!" Yue Pinghe sneered. "The other side proposed Fishbone Reef, and he actually agreed? What a cramped place! The Second Channel has over four hundred men, yet Fishbone Reef can barely fit a few dozen. See? He threw away his numerical advantage—who can he blame?"
"When the time comes, the negotiation will take place right here on our Centipede Island. We'll demand that He must attend in person, and then we'll have a proper talk!" Yue Pinghe chuckled. "And if talks go poorly, they won't be leaving this island!"
That night, the island's tawny owls screeched in bizarre, eerie cadences, chilling the blood.
Yue Pinghe tossed and turned, unable to sleep, so he simply got up and drafted his negotiation terms clause by clause.
What kind of temperament did the new master of the Yangshan Archipelago have? The intelligence gathered so far wasn't enough to say. To be safe, Yue Pinghe drew up his bottom line. Some terms were smoke screens, while others were core interests that had to be secured.
By the time he finished deliberating, dawn was approaching.
The next day, Min Tianxi did not come.
On the third day, Min Tianxi still did not show up. Instead, a clamorous band of over forty pirates from the First and Second Channels arrived, claiming their old lairs had no future and that they wanted to join Chief Yue's banner.
"What the devil are they playing at?"
Only after inquiring did Yue Pinghe learn that most men from the First and Second Channels had been deployed across the islands. Some were helping to pave roads and build houses, while others had traded their blades and spears for sickles, harvesting palm fruit to press oil—and under Lei Ni's command, no less!
These few dozen pirates had dreamed of raiding ships and plundering wealth—freebooting with zero overhead—not breaking their backs doing manual labor on islands. So they had jumped ship to Yue Pinghe.
Yue Pinghe found it utterly bizarre: Were Min Tianxi and Huang Zhao genuinely planning to dutifully serve as subordinates to a wet-behind-the-ears kid under twenty?
The defecting pirates added that the man named He had set out to sea again today, taking the leaders of the First and Second Channels with him.
"Where to?"
"Seems like they headed straight for Longji Island."
"When did they leave?" Yue Pinghe wished he could have tagged along to witness with his own eyes how Island Master He absorbed the fiend energy.
"They set out at the crack of dawn. They should be on their way back by now."
***
Winding back the clock a few hours earlier.
The sea was overcast with intermittent drizzle, brushing cool against the skin.
Min Tianxi and Huang Zhao each led a contingent of their men, accompanying He Lingchuan out to sea.
As they sailed toward the depths of the archipelago, occasional patches of gray mist drifted over the water, all rushing toward He Lingchuan, only to be calmly absorbed by him.
This had originally been a forbidden zone for most living things, a deathly expanse that made humans pale at the mere mention. Yet with He Lingchuan standing at the prow, the sea lane soon cleared, serene and breezy.
Min Tianxi was already accustomed to the sight, but Huang Zhao and most of the pirates were thoroughly awed by He Lingchuan's nonchalant demeanor as he laughed off the wind and fiends without a care in the world.
Min Tianxi patted Huang Zhao's shoulder. "Well? I didn't lie to you, did I? Look at you, gawking like a country bumpkin."
Huang Zhao gave a thumbs-up. "Young Master He is truly divine." *Just what kind of treasure does he have that can absorb boundless fiend energy?*
He Lingchuan smiled slightly, knowing that while they were astonished, they were far from feeling genuine reverence.
Over the past few days, rumors had been circulating in Blade Harbor and pirate dens alike that Island Master He was using the power of a treasure to dispel the fiend energy and banish evil.
This narrative was rather peculiar.
Rumors tended to distort and exaggerate as they spread. As the protagonist, it was already fortunate that He Lingchuan hadn't been described as having blue skin, fangs, and horns. Yet strangely, these rumors claimed that the yin fiend energy wasn't broken by him personally, but rather drawn away by a magical artifact.
Dispelling fiend energy with one's own power versus relying on a treasure: the latter was noticeably less mysterious and far less grand than the former.
Chapter 918