Chapter 1023: Suppression / Pressing Down

Wang Fubao watched his lord hesitate several times, wanting to speak but stopping himself, and in the end he didn't dare disturb him. He Lingchuan didn't open his eyes either, and said leisurely, "Speak."

"Ah?"

"What do you want to ask?"

"My lord, since you don't want to fall out with Beka, why did you, why did you humiliate..." Wang Fubao wanted to say "humiliate," "and force Yu Zecheng to eat the entire wolf leg?"

Isn't this making a blood feud to the death? Won't Beka fly into a rage out of humiliation?

"Why was Yu Zecheng so fearless before?"

This question was easy to answer, and Wang Fubao blurted out, "Because he has the status of Beka's military officer?"

Lu Qiuwei added from the side, "He thought no one could afford to offend Beka, that everyone had to give Beka face."

"Face?" He Lingchuan gave a slight cold smile. "Let me ask you: if the moment Yu Zecheng set foot on the island, you all knelt by the road facing him, kowtowing while shouting that you wanted to give him face, what would Yu Zecheng's reaction be?"

The moment he imagined this scene, Wang Fubao's face showed disgust. Damn, so disgusting. "Ignore it and walk past?"

"If you gave face like that, would he want it?"

"He wouldn't, right?"

"Why?"

Wang Fubao thought for a long time but couldn't find a suitable adjective. It was still Lu Qiuwei who picked up the thread: "Because this kind of face isn't worth anything, he doesn't care for it."

"Right." He Lingchuan pointed at him. "You want to give him face, but your face was never worth anything to begin with, and he wouldn't take it seriously either. The more humble you are to him, the more he looks down on you. So, under what circumstances would your face be worth something?"

This time Wang Fubao answered very quickly: "When I'm very strong!"

"When he 'knows' you're very strong, when he 'knows' he can't easily manipulate you, that's when your face is worth something." He Lingchuan gave him an approving smile. "So the premise for both sides' face to be worth something is to show off muscle to each other, and then achieve mutual respect."

Wang Fubao let out a long "oh," feeling this reasoning made a lot of sense.

But he still only half-understood, always feeling something wasn't quite clear.

"You've all heard a saying, right? 'To beat a dog, you have to look at its master'?" He Lingchuan poured himself another cup of wine. "Yu Zecheng is that dog under Frostleaf State Preceptor. We have to watch this master carefully, and beat that dog properly, to correctly convey the message!"

Tonight's play, he was the protagonist; Yu Zecheng was merely a supporting actor.

Performing so hard, both singing and acting — for whose benefit?

Naturally, for the person with the most say in this whole matter —

Frostleaf State Preceptor!

He had to make Frostleaf State Preceptor know that He Lingchuan truly respected him, but also wasn't afraid of trouble!

The lord said another sentence that even Lu Qiuwei couldn't understand:

"This is actually a kind of respect, mutual respect."

Wang Fubao was embarrassed. Beating Frostleaf State Preceptor's subordinate was actually respect for Frostleaf State Preceptor?

His mind couldn't straighten out.

He Lingchuan smiled and didn't explain further.

Only this way would the face he sold to Frostleaf State Preceptor be worth something;

Only this way would he have the qualifications to say to Frostleaf State Preceptor, "I preserved Beka's dignity for him."

This time He Lingchuan traveled the Azure Cloud Road, and it was finally smooth and peaceful, reaching Suoding Island's dock without a hitch.

He didn't head straight for the Shimen Warehouse, but jumped off the carriage, entered the main street on foot, and walked from there all the way to the dock.

After the earth-shattering explosion, the entire Suoding Island dock and commercial-residential district were in chaotic uproar.

Especially as travelers kept arriving from the Azure Cloud Road one after another, saying a riot had broken out on the island and Island Lord He was already dead.

As this spread, the arriving guests became even more panicked.

Lei Ni and the others had prepared in advance, worked hard to appease them, and barely managed to control the situation, but still quite a few guests demanded to set sail immediately.

In hurricane weather, this absolutely wasn't a rational decision. But people in fear are impulsive and unreasonable.

Quite a few guests surrounded the dock and shipyard, arguing with the guard squad, the scene a hubbub of noise.

When He Lingchuan arrived, what he saw was a scene of seething public emotion.

If he'd come a bit later, a clash might have broken out.

This was all within expectations. The trestle bridges and warehouses by the dock were blown up by him personally, so he naturally had to bear the consequences.

Seeing the lord appear, Lei Ni's eyes nearly welled with hot tears.

Heaven knows, she and Ding Zuodong explained until their lips were nearly worn raw, but all the guests insisted on just one point that could shut them up completely:

If Island Lord He wasn't dead, why didn't he show himself to prove it? Now he's come, walking toward them carrying everyone's hopes.

He Lingchuan jumped directly onto the wooden platform at the dock, circulated his true power, and shouted, "He Lingchuan is here!"

One mouth of his answering dozens of mouths below, his voice had to shake the whole venue.

The island lord arrived, the person in charge arrived, and the surrounding clamor quickly died down.

The attendants behind hurried to hold up an oil-paper umbrella for him; he waved his hand to refuse, and addressed the crowd below: "The explosion just now wasn't a riot, it was just a foreman illegally storing blasting explosives in the warehouse, which accidentally detonated! People with ulterior motives spread rumors everywhere, but I'm still alive and well, there's nothing wrong on Suoding Island, everyone just stay put tonight, don't believe rumors, don't spread rumors!"

But the explosion had startled the guests after all, so he changed tack, promising to treat all guests to a free hearty breakfast and a share of Yangshan Archipelago's local specialties to calm their nerves, and cracked a few witty jokes, winning roars of laughter from the crowd.

The rain on Suoding Island was already falling harder and harder, the guests soaked to the bone and chilled through, the more they were drenched the more clear-headed they became, and with Island Lord He appearing in person to appease them, most couldn't be bothered to pursue it further and returned to their rooms to rest.

Only a few guests had personally witnessed that a standoff had just occurred at the dock — that was real swords and real guns.

No riot happened? Heh! But so what if they saw it? Isn't everything normal now? For most guests here, the truth doesn't matter one bit.

The crowd dispersed, He Lingchuan stepped down from the platform, and let out a long breath.

This night was truly too long.

Ding Zuodong, Guan Ke, and the others also gathered around one after another, reporting the dock battle situation.

He Lingchuan didn't stint on praise, followed immediately by a round of encouragement.

"There's still a major tough battle to fight next, and the main battlefield is right here!" he said solemnly. "I'm counting on all of you!"

Tonight's main event has two parts: the first half is at He Lingchuan's, at the spider demon sisters', and it's a man-made disaster;

the second half is at the dock, at Suoding Island, and across the entire Yangshan Archipelago, and it's a natural disaster!

The two parts, upper and lower, are trials of different dimensions for He Lingchuan.

But he must steel himself and get through them.

After arranging the upcoming tasks here properly, He Lingchuan stretched his back and said to Wanqifeng Dao, who was waiting to the side:

"Let's go, to the Shimen warehouse!"

The Yangshan Guard had already assembled, and Min Tianxi led the crowd following behind him.

The Shimen warehouse is less than a hundred zhang from the dock, but this place is much quieter; only a lone lamp sways before the warehouse door, and under its light stand Wanqifeng's three hundred or so subordinates.

Seeing them, He Lingchuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Frankly, if Wanqifeng and these three hundred-plus men refused to surrender and instead waged Mobile Corps Commander warfare on the island, even though He Lingchuan was certain he would be the final victor, Suoding Island would inevitably suffer destruction—especially with the imminent arrival of the Imperial Flowing Jiang's blessing tonight.

To subdue them without bloodshed is truly the best outcome.

Under the lone lamp, the Bailong people's gazes toward him were filled with despair and anger.

But He Lingchuan saw loyalty in them, and also saw Wanqifeng's influence over them.

Otherwise, how could the Bailong people willingly walk into the net? He Lingchuan first stepped under the eaves to avoid the rain, then said to Wanqifeng: "It's up to you now."

Wanqifeng fell into a moment of silence.

Then he stepped forward before the Bailong people, faced He Lingchuan, and knelt down, extending both hands forward.

"We wish to surrender; please, Island Master He, show mercy!"

He led the kneeling, and the Bailong people seemed not particularly surprised, merely dropping their weapons and unwillingly kneeling into the muddy water on the ground.

Without He Lingchuan needing to signal, the Yangshan Guard produced ropes, bound them one by one, and swiftly confiscated the Bailong people's weapons.

Wanqifeng urgently said: "We have surrendered; please spare Old Uncle's life!"

He Lingchuan approached him and said meaningfully: "His death would benefit you only."

Wanqifeng lowered his head: "If you spare his life, I am willing to repay with my own!"

The Bailong people behind were shocked, shouting in unison: "The young master must not!"

"Young master, do not act foolishly!"

"Oh?" He Lingchuan raised his eyebrows, questioning the soldiers behind Wanqifeng: "Wanqifeng and Wanqisong—choose one life to spare; whom do you wish to keep?"

The Bailong people's reaction was enthusiastic:

"Wanqifeng, Wanqifeng!"

"Do not kill our young master!"

"Please spare the young master's life!"

He Lingchuan clapped his hands and laughed: "Good, good—Wanqisong, you heard that too, didn't you?"

The crowd started, turned to look, and saw two people walking out from the woods, one of whom was precisely Wanqisong, bound like a zongzi! The other end of the rope was held in Dong Rui's hand.

Wanqisong looked disheveled, but the light in his eyes was hard to describe.

The Bailong people's choice, he heard clearly.

Almost everyone had chosen Wanqifeng, yet they wanted this leader to die!

The Bailong soldiers felt awkward, instinctively turning away, unwilling to meet his gaze.

Seeing that he was indeed alive, Wanqifeng truly breathed a sigh of relief: "Uncle!"

Wanqisong glanced at him, then lowered his head.

He Lingchuan asked this uncle-nephew pair: "Do you know what crime it is to repay kindness with betrayal, to rebel against superiors?"

Wanqisong bowed his head.

"Victory makes a king, defeat makes a bandit—what's the point of discussing crime names then? So, I'll give you a multiple-choice question. This is for real, so you must think it through well." He Lingchuan pointed at Wanqisong, then at the kneeling Bailong people: "Come, choose one of two."

Wanqifeng suddenly raised his head, eyes bursting with fury: "Island Master He!"

He naturally wanted to save his uncle's life, but were the lives of these several hundred subordinates not lives too?

They were the brave men who had followed him through life and death, who had bled and sacrificed for him.

He gritted his teeth: "You didn't say, say..."

"I said, I would give you the chance to choose." He Lingchuan spread his hands: "Now I have given it."

"You spare them, and I will give my life to you!"

Dong Rui snorted from the side: "Oh ho, you still want to haggle?"

"The rules of the usurpation game are just like that: the winner takes all, the loser loses everything."

"Now Wanqifeng's life is no longer his own—how could he use it to compensate?"

(End of chapter)