Guan Ke chuckled. "Superintendent Wu dares to ask that price because there's no shortage of people willing to rent. What can anyone do about it?"
Ding Zuodong shook his head. "I knew there was something fishy going on back then, but I never imagined those ships belonged to Superintendent Wu."
Lei Ni smiled. "You didn't pay tribute to Superintendent Wu, so no wonder he's making things hard for you."
"There's an eighty percent chance those are Superintendent Wu's ships. Anyone who wants to bribe him just has to charter his vessels. A public lease, willing buyer and willing seller—nobody can say a thing against it. Besides, the ships really are good vessels; they're seaworthy and handle well." Guan Ke added, "Of course, none of those ships are registered under Superintendent Wu's name, either."
He Lingchuan stroked his chin thoughtfully. If Dong Rui had been there, he would have known at once that He Lingchuan was cooking up some wicked scheme.
"Those ships must be very expensive, right?"
"Of course. Especially the large vessels—they're ocean-going craft built to withstand deep-sea wind and waves, crafted by a family of master shipwrights to the east. The materials are top-notch, and every single one cost a fortune to build." Guan Ke held up two fingers. "Not long ago, Superintendent Wu put the smallest cargo ship up for auction, and it sold for two thousand taels of silver in the end."
Ding Zuodong nodded. "Only his ships could fetch a price like that, right?"
"Indeed," Guan Ke said with a grin. "In my view, even eight hundred taels would have been too much."
Run it through official procedures just for show, deduct the auction fees, and a clean thousand taels landed in his pocket.
"Ten large ships—that's at least twenty to thirty thousand taels or more," He Lingchuan noted with admiration. "Not counting what the smaller boats cost to build. Superintendent Wu's fortune is truly flourishing."
Those thirty-odd ships alone were worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, to say nothing of Superintendent Wu's other properties.
His official rank was not particularly high, but he held real power, and his position was dripping with grease.
Seeing how wealthy Master Wu was, He Lingchuan felt reassured. He asked Guan Ke, "Are there auction houses here too?"
"None," Guan Ke shook his head. "There used to be two. One did quite well, but the proprietor ran into yin hui at sea and died. Once he was gone, his entire business collapsed. The other was mismanaged and went under six months ago. Nowadays, if folks want to auction something off, they have to go into Bailie or head straight to Platinum Island. It's a huge hassle."
"The authorities haven't tried to do anything about it?"
"Blade Harbor is supposedly setting one up." Guan Ke scoffed. "They've been preparing for half a year with nothing to show for it."
He Lingchuan gave a nod and said to Guan Ke, "Come back to the main island with me shortly. I have a few tasks to entrust to you."
Guan Ke was overjoyed and immediately complied.
Lei Ni, however, cautioned, "My Lord, the ocean typhoons are fierce. The fact that none hit during these past three months was just good luck; it doesn't mean there won't be any later."
He Lingchuan recalled encountering a typhoon when sailing across the sea, which had nearly sunk his ship. "Are typhoons frequent here?"
"From summer into autumn, there are at least two or three. In past years, typhoons always struck the Yangshan Archipelago first before making landfall farther north. We need to speed up the palm harvest even more."
What He Lingchuan thought of, however, was the farm underway.
The soil had been tilled, the wheat sown, and the farm set up. If a few typhoons hit now, it would be truly devastating.
Farming was always at the mercy of Heaven.
He pondered for a moment before saying to Ding Zuodong, "Find me a dozen stonemasons."
His lord had his own reasons for everything, so Ding Zuodong did not ask why, simply agreeing with an "Understood."
He Lingchuan gave Qiu Hu a few instructions and said, "You'll be in charge of this."
Qiu Hu nodded. "A simple matter."
With his inspection concluded, He Lingchuan patted Qiu Hu's shoulder, smiled at Lei Ni, and departed with the other two.
Qiu Hu watched his retreating figure and sighed.
Lei Ni was a bit surprised. "You can sigh too?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Qiu Hu's voice was so low only Lei Ni could hear. "I hate parasites the most. If bashing them over the head with a club would solve these problems, I'd never hesitate."
Lei Ni smiled. "Would bashing them over the head not work?"
Qiu Hu rolled his neck with a crack. "My Lord says we must establish ourselves uprightly if we want long-term growth. After all, there's only so much a club can solve."
***
After boarding the ship, He Lingchuan stood alone at the bow, letting the sea wind brush against his face.
This was his exclusive spot. Seeing him close his eyes in contemplation, the others tactfully kept their distance so as not to disturb him.
The sky and sea stretched vast and boundless. What occupied He Lingchuan's thoughts was the future.
The mirror in his pocket asked, "Is taking Bailie really so hard for you? Why put up with the Lu father and son making things difficult for you?"
Its master had set fire to Zhaixing Tower without a second thought—what exhilarating boldness that had been! Why was he dragging his feet now instead of dealing with the Lus?
"The game hasn't even begun." He Lingchuan did not open his eyes. "When this match officially kicks off, do you think Bailie is the one sitting across the table?"
"They aren't?"
"Even if I bring down the Lu father and son, even if I reclaim Bailie, what then? You think good times will just roll in?" He gave a soft chuckle. "I'll tell you: the real challenges all come afterward."
The mirror pondered.
"Once I take Bailie, to the Mou Kingdom, to the Qing Kingdom, even to Beijia, I will no longer be a nobody," He Lingchuan said slowly. "Do you think the Mou Kingdom will sit by and watch me swallow Bailie without lifting a finger?"
"Uh... they wouldn't?"
"Bailie was originally a vassal of the Mou Kingdom, paying tribute in grain and coin to secure its own survival. In return, the Mou Kingdom has a duty to protect Bailie." He Lingchuan tilted his head back, feeling the moist sea breeze. After being here for over a month, he had grown accustomed to the local climate. "A great power like the Mou Kingdom hates upheaval on its borders most of all, especially when the Ya Kingdom and Qing Kingdom are both stirring with ambition. That naturally elevates Bailie's importance to them.
"Then there's Beijia," he continued at an unhurried pace. "Once something shifts around the Mou Kingdom, Beijia will certainly pay attention, and then they'll spot us. What's more, Zhu Erniang still has a squad of Beijia pursuers dogging her trail, and I suspect they won't be long in coming.
"Once we seize Bailie, we will have stepped onto the stage and under the spotlight. When all eyes are fixed on you, there will be no chance left to slip back behind the curtain."
To be swept along by the currents of the times is what it truly means to lose control of one's destiny.
"While they still can't see me, I must seize the chance to bide my time and build strength in secret. When I finally sit down at the card table, I'll need to be broad-shouldered and thick-waisted."
For now, the name of the game was stealthy growth—and it had to be fast, rapid yet discreet.
"Besides, this new band I've assembled needs to expand, to be forged, and to grow," He Lingchuan sighed. "Neither commanding troops nor managing commerce and statecraft happens overnight. Amateurs like Bailie are the perfect practice target. Otherwise, when our territory expands further and the situation turns more complex, what will I rely on to govern without a seasoned team of talents?"
"Heh, you really aren't in any rush, are you?"
"What's the rush? Lions and tigers seem lazy all day, but they're conserving their energy to strike with everything they have when hunting," He Lingchuan laughed. "Deer and swine squeal and clamor day in and day out, scurrying about in panic over a couple mouthfuls of green grass, never realizing that the only fate awaiting them in this life is to become a meal on someone else's plate.
"They think the green grass they swallow becomes their own flesh and blood? Wrong. All that fat and marrow ends up on the wolves and tigers."
He asked the mirror, "Do you want to be a lion or tiger, or a deer or pig?"
"I just don't want to get eaten."
"That's not up to you!" He Lingchuan laughed heartily. "Such is the world: eat or be eaten.
"To me, Bailie is a protective fence that shields me from the eyes of others, and I don't want to tear it down too soon. I just hope the Lu father and son have the sense not to bring this fence crashing down themselves." He tilted his head slightly, seeing only the crisp autumn sky and hearing only the sea wind and rushing waves. "Cherish the calm while it lasts. Good days like this won't be around for long."
***
The next day, sixty li west of Blade Harbor, West Gorge Bay.
It was an overcast day. The sun hadn't shown itself since dawn, but the sea was calm, and sailing was remarkably smooth.
A sailor aboard the *Baoji* stretched against the wind and yawned.
So sleepy. Finally almost there. Once back in Blade Harbor, he wanted to spend a few hours soaking at the Yellowfish Tavern, then head deep into Mud Snail Alley to find that little streetwalker. The money he spent on her last time had been well worth it.
*Clang!* The hull jolted violently, throwing the sailor forward into the gunwale and nearly knocking his front teeth out.
The ship ground to a halt, and everyone came running out. "What happened?"
Had they struck something? Clutching his mouth, the sailor exclaimed, "There are no submerged reefs here!"
"The hold is taking on water!"
Sure enough, there was damage. The captain immediately ordered men below to patch it.
Yet before the words had finished settling, a violent churning splash echoed from beneath the bow.
The crew crowded to the prow and looked down, nearly scared out of their wits.
"Y-Yin hui!"
Seven or eight yin hui broke through the water. The largest was nearly two zhang long, its jet-black body thicker than a giant python.
It was likely this beast that had brought the *Baoji* to a dead stop.
As the crew peered down, their eyes locked with the creatures' sinister, chilling gaze. All the old tales of yin hui wrecking ships and devouring men rushed into their minds at once.
"Mercy on us! How can there be yin hui here?!" Yin hui had never appeared in West Gorge Bay!
The captain was still shouting, "Defend the ship! Defend the ship quickly!" but more than half the crew beside him had already vanished.
He turned to look and saw that everyone had rushed toward the stern—not to grab weapons, but to lower the ropes and flee in the jolly boat.
The sailor clutching his mouth called out, "There are no yin hui in the water behind us! Hurry, let's go!"
The captain was furious. "Grab weapons! Get the weapons! This ship is carrying official grain!"
"There are too many yin hui, and that one is a monster! We can't beat them!" the sailor said, his speech whistling slightly through his hurt teeth. "If you want to protect the ship, you stay behind! We're getting out of here!"
This voyage had been especially short, only four or five days from start to finish, and carried nothing of immense value. For the meager wages they earned, which wouldn't even buy a couple jin of decent liquor once ashore, there was no reason to risk their lives.
"They're coming up! They're coming up!" Looking back, everyone saw the yin hui slithering onto the deck, tossing one of the captain's confidants straight into the sea.
The moment they boarded, the deck felt instantly cramped.
With just these few yin hui, the deck was practically bursting at the seams.
Seeing them dart forward with flickering tongues, the men moved with terrified efficiency, hurriedly untying the ropes.
A figure darted past, leaping into the boat ahead of everyone else.
They looked closely—it was actually the captain!
"Row, row!"
One or two yin hui, they might have stood a chance against.
Three or four, they might have gritted their teeth and fought.
With this many, saving their skins was all that mattered.
***
Two days later, early in the morning.
Superintendent Wu arrived on time at the Maritime Trade Office.
Over all these years, he had rarely been late for duty.
After making a round of the Maritime Trade Office and seeing every subordinate at their post, he nodded in satisfaction.
Those below followed the example of those above. Since he, the leader, was diligent, his subordinates naturally worked hard.
Chapter 945