Deflection

Two men walked in from outside, dressed in ordinary attire. Yet Superintendent Wu noted that their backs were straight as ramrods and their gazes steady—hardly the sort who made their living on the open sea. "You two hail from Lingxu City?" Superintendent Wu rose to greet them with an amiable smile. Toward guests from Beijia, he had always been relatively courteous. "How may the Maritime Trade Office be of service?" At the same time, he said to Assistant Commissioner Zhao, "Fetch some tea, quickly!" "Yes, sir." Assistant Commissioner Zhao went out to fetch tea. "No need." The two men smiled. One pulled a scroll of yellow paper from his robes and unfurled it, while the other produced an official medallion that gleamed with a faint light to prove their identity. "We belong to Lingxu City's Black Tiger Army, having pursued a fugitive from Beijia all the way to Blade Harbor. Does Superintendent Wu recognize this demon criminal?" Superintendent Wu took a look. The yellow scroll was actually a wanted poster. The fugitive's portrait depicted a hideous spider, with a whole row of eyes that almost triggered his trypophobia. "'Wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, seized secret treasures, on the run to this day...'" Several eye-catching vermilion official seals stamped the poster. "'Fugitive Zhu... Erniang?'" Superintendent Wu pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Never seen it." "Have you heard anything?" the two asked. "It seems Blade Harbor has seen quite a few new figures arrive lately, along with a fair share of new trouble?" Just as Superintendent Wu was about to deny it, something suddenly crossed his mind: The fugitive on the warrant was a spider demon? Weren't the pirates of the Yangshan Archipelago constantly bragging that Island Master He had a great demon by his side who was exceptionally skilled in a fight, scooping up yin hui like catching fish? Wasn't that monster supposed to be a giant spider? *Hiss*, it couldn't be...? Yet could such a coincidence truly exist in this world—that the demon beside Island Master He was the very fugitive Beijia was hunting? There were plenty of spider demons in the world, after all. Seeing him hesitate, the two men immediately asked, "Did Superintendent Wu recall something?" "Hm, nothing, nothing at all." Superintendent Wu composed himself. "How should I address the two of you?" "His surname is Wang." One pointed at his companion, then at himself. "My surname is Ye, Ye Qing." "This fugitive, Zhu Erniang, ranks second on the Heaven Ranking of wanted criminals—guilty of heinous crimes and a major felon we must bring to justice!" Ye Qing said solemnly. "We hope the Blade Harbor Maritime Trade Office will assist in the arrest!" "Do you two know this fugitive's exact whereabouts?" Ye Qing watched his expression closely. "Does Superintendent Wu know?" Superintendent Wu asked, "How big is this spider?" "As large as a small cottage." "That large?" Superintendent Wu frowned. "If it strutted openly through Blade Harbor, I surely would have heard of it." "Should" never equated to "reality." Superintendent Wu threw in a "but": "Blade Harbor has heavy passenger traffic, with countless humans and demons coming and going every day. The locals have long grown accustomed to it. If this big fellow boarded a ship at the docks and left, there'd be nowhere to pursue it." Ye Qing and his partner were somewhat helpless. This superintendent of the Maritime Trade Office was truly a slick old fox. Not a single fault could be picked in his words, yet every sentence was sheer empty talk. Cautious, prudent, and airtight. They could only lay their cards on the table: "We have already verified that this spider demon is currently hiding in the Yangshan Archipelago, sheltered under an island master named He!" "The Yangshan Archipelago?" Superintendent Wu let out a long 'oh.' "No wonder. That stretch of sea is exceedingly vast. Even if a spider demon several times larger hid out there, no one would be able to find it." Seeing him deflect again, Ye Qing got straight to the point: "Island Master He refuses to hand over the spider demon. We hope Superintendent Wu can exert pressure on the Yangshan Archipelago." At that moment, Assistant Commissioner Zhao returned, serving tea to the two men in person. Superintendent Wu let out an *aiyah*. "You two hail from Beijia, so you might not understand our situation here. Although the Yangshan Archipelago sits across the water from Blade Harbor, it doesn't fall within Qing Kingdom's borders and isn't under Blade Harbor's jurisdiction. If this Island Master He refuses to surrender the fugitive, we have no means of coercing him..." Seeing him make excuses, Ye Qing frowned. "He holds property in Blade Harbor, and you are the superintendent. With a casual pretext, you could summon him ashore. As for the rest, you wouldn't need to trouble yourself." They wanted to play hardball in broad daylight? Taken aback, Superintendent Wu frantically waved his hands. "Out of the question, absolutely out of the question!" He was a superintendent, not a bandit or a kidnapper! Blade Harbor's prosperity and boom were built entirely on its status as a free port and its relatively fair business environment, weren't they? If he, an official, personally rolled up his sleeves to act as a kidnapper, how would this place differ from anywhere else? Would merchants still dare to buy, sell, and acquire property freely in Blade Harbor? Superintendent Wu knew deep down that the foundation of his family's wealth and prestige was Blade Harbor. Even if he wanted to help the people of Beijia, he could not undermine his own roots. Without rules and order, who would ever do business here again? Seeing Ye Qing part his lips to retort, Superintendent Wu hurried to add, "However, I can point out a way for the two of you." "What way?" "The Yangshan Archipelago does not fall under Qing Kingdom's jurisdiction, but when all is said and done, it remains Bailie's territory. A private individual purchasing the entire archipelago from the Lu family does not mean the archipelago is independent; it is still subject to Bailie's governance." Superintendent Wu smiled. "It's just like a merchant going to Bailie's capital of Qucheng to buy land and build a manor. The money is paid, the land bought, the manor built, but living in that manor, he still has to obey Bailie's laws and regulations. How could anyone be above the law?" Ye Qing and his partner exchanged a look. "You mean Bailie has authority over him?" "Strictly speaking, yes." Ye Qing hesitated a moment before speaking. "We've heard that after buying the islands, Island Master He engaged in frequent trade with Bailie. Shouldn't relations between the two sides be quite good?" Over recent years, the Qing Kingdom had been exchanging flirtatious glances with Beijia, and Blade Harbor was a free port open to everyone, allowing them to reveal their identities at will. But in Bailie... they feared it might have the opposite effect. That was why Yu Zecheng had ordered them to sound out the Maritime Trade Office first. Superintendent Wu laughed heartily. "That's merely on the surface. Inside, the Lu family is frustrated to death! You two might not know this, but the Yangshan Archipelago was shrouded in yin fiend energy year-round, always a forbidden zone that not even ancient immortals were willing to approach. Bailie considered it useless chicken ribs, selling it off to this current Island Master He for a mere eighty thousand taels. Who would have guessed that once in Island Master He's hands, the archipelago would shed its fiendish aura, becoming fit for inhabitants and farming alike? A barren wasteland turned into prime treasure in the blink of an eye. Having suffered such a staggering loss, the Lu family's guts are green with regret." He maintained contact with Lu Zhensheng, so he was naturally well aware of the Lu family father and son's mindset. "What's more, the Yangshan Archipelago has been aggressively recruiting people with generous wages, siphoning off a massive amount of labor from Bailie. From what I know, entire villages in several regions have migrated south, moving directly to live on the islands. Bailie had no choice but to issue migration bans, but unfortunately with little effect. The population drain continues to this day without any improvement." He let out an *ai*. "With Yangshan undermining Bailie's foundation like this, would you say Bailie could possibly harbor any goodwill toward them?" Ye Qing asked, "Bailie wants to take the archipelago back?" "Of course they do! Why wouldn't they?" Superintendent Wu walked back behind his desk, spread out a sheet of paper, took up his brush, and began writing furiously.