Nothing of the Sort

Could it have been after the recent upheaval? Could it be...? Assistant Commissioner Zhao said urgently, "My Lord, could it be that man He...?" "Shut your mouth!" Superintendent Wu's mind was in utter turmoil as well. He turned to his student. "How much cargo was on the Baoji?" "A little over a thousand taels' worth." Superintendent Wu breathed a sigh of relief. "That's not so much, then." "However, nineteen hundred sacks of grain among it were bound for the official granaries." Superintendent Wu flared up. "Couldn't you spit it all out at once?" "...Your student, your student was wrong." Superintendent Wu paced back and forth several times. Grain was ruined the instant it took on water. Even if part of the other cargo could be salvaged, those nineteen hundred sacks of grain were truly lost down the drain. Worse yet, this grain had been procured by the Maritime Trade Office, meant to be remitted to the state treasury to satisfy the Mou Kingdom's pressing demands. The Mou Kingdom was also "purchasing" grain and fodder from the Qing Kingdom—forking over two hundred thousand taels of silver, while Qing had to deliver grain worth well over five hundred thousand taels in actual value. Mou had been demanding it for several months, and Qing had been dragging its feet, unable to scrape it together. As the wealthiest port, the Maritime Trade Office bore a substantial portion of the official procurement quota. Earlier, Bailie had also been buying up grain in Blade Harbor, artificially driving up grain prices. The Maritime Trade Office was tasked with price stabilization and monopoly regulations, but it could not force purchases from foreign merchants. Nineteen hundred sacks of grain might not sound like a huge fortune, but repurchasing and transporting them all over again was a tremendous headache. The three looked at one another, doubts churning in their hearts, all thinking the exact same thing: Were the yin hui sent by Island Master He? Superintendent Wu asked Assistant Commissioner Zhao, "What do you think?" "This subordinate... this subordinate doesn't know." What a joke—how could he dare make such an assessment? "Attacks on merchant vessels by yin hui have... have happened before. Wasn't the most recent one the year before last?" "A dense fog rolled in over the sea, and that ship drifted into the depths of the archipelago by mistake!" Superintendent Wu said with a dark expression. "The Baoji was attacked in West Gorge Bay, nowhere near the Yangshan Archipelago!" Zhao started to speak, then held back. His superior had just claimed that Island Master He controlling the yin hui was utter nonsense, completely impossible. Now, that conviction was wavering, wasn't it? "Then, should I summon that manager named Ding and question him?" Superintendent Wu hesitated for a long time before shaking his head. "No. Perhaps it really was just an accident." Whoever called upon the other first bowed their head first. In seafaring, who could ever guarantee total safety? In his ten-plus years as Superintendent, he had heard of at least dozens of major shipwrecks. Even so, he instructed Zhao, "If that Ding comes back to submit samples for inspection, bring him to see me." ... Yet over the next two days, Ding Zuodong did not go to the Maritime Trade Office at all. Instead, two more of Superintendent Wu's merchant vessels were attacked at sea. Again it was the work of yin hui, and again not within the Yangshan Archipelago, but right near Fishbone Reef and Baosha Reef. Several passing merchant ships nearby witnessed it all. Yet the yin hui did not attack those other vessels. Even when swimming right alongside them, the creatures ignored them, zeroing in exclusively on the Qingyu and the Bailang—Superintendent Wu's two ships—until they punched holes through their hulls and dragged them into deep water, departing only then with triumphant roars and hisses. People on the scene watched the live demolition with rapt attention, a process that lasted for over an hour. Shipwrecks were nothing new, but after operating for so many years, Blade Harbor had long mapped out routes that steered clear of the fiendish energy and avoided the yin hui's hunting grounds. Vessels large and small had always sailed without incident. They went out of their way to dodge those ominous fiends, but who could have guessed the fiends would come knocking on their doorstep? The incident was utterly baffling, and through the eyewitnesses' accounts, it spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys of Blade Harbor. The tellings were vivid and elaborate, describing down to the last detail how the yin hui had toyed with the people thrown into the water. Bystanders and shrewd observers quickly picked up on a common thread among the three sunken ships: Every single one belonged to Superintendent Wu's family. From top to bottom, everyone in Blade Harbor knew Superintendent Wu possessed vast wealth—and ships in abundance above all. It was an open secret. Consequently, whenever merchants went to charter ships, they first inquired whether the vessel belonged to Superintendent Wu. If there was even the slightest connection, they shook their heads and refused immediately. Reports trickled in to Superintendent Wu one after another, leaving him with no heart for his duties. He could no longer deceive himself into believing he wasn't being targeted. The peculiar looks from those around him made him exceedingly uncomfortable as well. He immediately launched an investigation and discovered he still had fourteen ships plying the seas, five or six of which would be entering or leaving Blade Harbor in the near future. His ships had always been the easiest to rent out, rarely sitting idle. Now, this advantage had turned into a glaring vulnerability. Superintendent Wu rushed to notify the ship captains that sailing was temporarily forbidden. Yet the moment he reached them, they reported that clients were demanding to cancel all charters. What a joke—rumors were everywhere that the yin hui were gunning specifically for Superintendent Wu's ships, so who would dare charter them? Behind sea cargo lay the livelihoods and lives of countless people; who would take responsibility if it was all thrown down the drain? They would rather forfeit their charter deposits than touch those ships! Superintendent Wu felt a suffocating anger trapped in his chest. When had he ever suffered such a loss? Yet there were still two ships currently at sea that were about to return to port, entirely beyond his reach to warn. He genuinely could not comprehend it. "The sea is swarming with ships. How on earth do the yin hui recognize mine?" His superior's temper had been foul these past few days, his breath even turning sour. Assistant Commissioner Zhao said gingerly, "Your ships all have distinctive markings on their bows, My Lord. In the past, that was so pirates would recognize them and let them pass." In the past, no matter how reckless the pirates of the Yangshan Archipelago were, they would never raid government vessels or ships belonging to the Maritime Trade Office, lest they bring down thunderous wrath. These ships had simply put clear markings on their bows to warn off pirates. "Pirates?" Superintendent Wu abandoned all decorum and slammed his desk. "Outrageous!" That the pirates of the Yangshan Archipelago had been subjugated by He Lingchuan was already an indisputable fact. Whatever secrets they knew, He Lingchuan likely knew as well. Pirates and yin hui—strung together, did it not spell out "He Lingchuan's doing" in plain sight? This was retaliation, extortion, a threat saying, "If you don't grant me passage, I will smash every last one of your ships." Worst of all, he had no choice but to yield, because He Lingchuan truly possessed the power to carry it out. Superintendent Wu shut his doors and threw a furious tantrum, smashing his favorite teacup to pieces before finally summoning Assistant Commissioner Zhao back inside. "Go find Ding—no, find He Lingchuan! Arrange a meeting for me!" Trembling with dread, Zhao acknowledged the order and hurried out. Yet only a dozen breaths later, he rushed back in. "My Lord, Ding Zuodong is here again to submit oil products for inspection!" Superintendent Wu sprang to his feet, his knuckles turning white from clenching. Zhao thought his boss was about to strike someone, but in the end, Superintendent Wu merely ground his teeth and said, "Bring him in!" "Right away!" Zhao dashed out, and Superintendent Wu slowly sank back into his chair. He knew in his heart that sinking three ships was merely a greeting gift. If he refused a "gift" of this magnitude, his Wu family might never put out to sea again. Looking at the bigger picture, if the yin hui began attacking other merchant vessels along the Golden Sea Route, would traveling merchants ever dare pass through Blade Harbor again? That would pose an existential threat to the harbor's survival. That young fellow He certainly knew how to twist someone's arm. ... With Superintendent Wu actively granting an audience, Ding Zuodong arrived promptly. The moment he stepped through the door, he clasped his hands in greeting. "Warmest greetings, My Lord! Ah, Lord Wu, you are so busy with official duties—it is truly no easy feat to see you." This was no mere polite pleasantry. The last time he had requested an audience with Superintendent Wu, the man had stalled and made excuses for days before finally granting him a brief moment, brushing him off in under two sentences. No matter how immaculate Ding's manners were, Superintendent Wu only offered a cold, superficial smirk. "You and your master always find a way to see me, don't you?" Ding Zuodong showed astonishment. "Eh? What does Lord Wu mean by that?" "The yin hui attacked three merchant ships—the Baoji, the Qingyu, and the Bailang—in West Gorge Bay and the White Jade Sea. Are you aware of this?" "I've heard a little, just a little." Ding Zuodong sighed in sympathy. "What an unwarranted catastrophe. One wonders why the yin hui would leave the archipelago to cause trouble out of nowhere." Superintendent Wu glared at him. "Do you truly not know?" Ding Zuodong looked startled. "What an odd thing to say, My Lord! How could a humble person like me know what yin hui do or think? They aren't humans, nor do they speak human tongue." For so many years, almost no one had been able to communicate with yin hui... except He Lingchuan. Recalling the miraculous tales being whispered by the pirates across Blade Harbor, Superintendent Wu felt bile rising within him. Standing to the side, Assistant Commissioner Zhao knew it was his cue to chime in. "Isn't your master acclaimed as the Master of Yangshan, capable of commanding even the yin hui?" "Lord Wu is wise—there is no such thing!" Ding Zuodong looked thoroughly dismayed. "The yin hui have roamed the archipelago unchecked for countless years. Even exalted immortals couldn't rein them in. My master is merely flesh and blood; how could he possibly possess such ability?" Reasonable and logical—there was no flaw in his words. Zhao pressed on, "Has your master not struck a pact with the yin hui? The archipelago pirates drink and feast in Blade Harbor's taverns, boasting about it day in and day out." It was practically impossible for anyone nearby not to hear. "No, none at all!" Ding Zuodong waved his hands repeatedly. "They hear the wind and mistake it for rain—what would they know? Of all the pirates I've met, not a single one doesn't love spinning tall tales." "Then how do you explain the fiendish energy receding completely from several islands in the archipelago?" Ding Zuodong smiled. "That is because my master is well-versed in geography. He discovered that the timing and range of the earth fiend yin vein's eruptions had shifted. My master says these things are like tides: they wax and wane, expand and contract. He studied it thoroughly and knows which islands can be set foot on and which cannot. To outsiders, it merely looks as though he can dispel the fiendish energy." Seeing the topic drift astray, Superintendent Wu internally cursed Zhao as a useless wretch and had to ask himself: "The yin hui have attacked ships belonging to this port, and Blade Harbor cannot sit idly by! Since your master has studied the archipelago so thoroughly, tell me: why have the yin hui left the archipelago waters, and why are they attacking sea vessels?" Blade Harbor cannot sit idly by? It was plain that Superintendent Wu was simply aching over his sunken ships and lost fortune. Ding Zuodong sneered inwardly, yet kept an earnest face: "My master believes the yin hui are creatures born of fiendish energy, making them far more sensitive to shifts in the earth fiend yin veins and the retreat of fiendish energy. This could very well have altered their temperament, making them far more aggressive." Ding Zuodong said slowly, "Circumstances never remain static; they change with time and conditions, My Lord." Under no circumstances would he ever admit that the yin hui's attacks on the ships were ordered by He Lingchuan. That wouldn't be leverage; that would be handing over damning evidence, creating an irreconcilable feud.