Chapter 1040

The two places are less than forty miles apart, and news travels fast. Lu Qingan already knew that nearly three thousand trees had fallen in Dao Feng Port, and twelve ships had been lost—although they had all been docked in the shipyard, a few small boats were still rolled onto the shore and smashed into pieces.

There were also 610 deaths, more than 2,100 injuries, and countless destroyed warehouses, goods, and houses—the Emperor's Flow and the hurricane arriving together can make every manager overwhelmed, not just Bailie.

For the past two days, Dao Feng Port has been busy with post-disaster cleanup, and white cloth hanging from house doors is a common sight in the streets and alleys.

It seems that Dao Feng Port's losses are much greater than Bailie's. Lu Zhensheng nodded; once he compared it to something worse, he felt a bit more comfortable.

Dao Feng Port's Shipping Department only predicted the hurricane and didn't expect the Emperor's Flow to come as well, so they were caught off guard by the double-barreled attack.

At this time, the Emperor's Flow is not like a blessing, but more like a disaster! Lu Qingan understood this old man: "Father wants to ask about the Yang Shan Archipelago?"

This hurricane was also very powerful, first making landfall on the Yang Shan Archipelago before climbing onto land unhurriedly. Fortunately, the landing point was not Dao Feng Port, but a few dozen miles to the west.

And the heavy rain and wind lasted for two days; the sky seemed to have leaked, pouring water down crazily.

Judging from this path, the Yang Shan Archipelago, which welcomed the hurricane's direct landfall, should have suffered the heaviest losses. With heaven helping him, Lu Zhensheng hoped that the kid surnamed He would be unlucky as soon as possible after this disaster. Besides, shouldn't the Bailong people also take advantage of the chaos to rise up?

Oh right, there are also those few Beijia bounty hunters.

"He didn't touch any of the dozens of ships of the Yashan Chamber of Commerce at all." It was a pity they even found people to rush messages to Ding Zuodong. "Luck won't always be this good, right?"

"The current losses are unknown; after all, news at sea is blocked, and it will take a few days to reach land," Lu Qingan's throat was on fire again, so he poured himself a cup of warm tea to quench his thirst. "However, some merchants stayed on Suo Ding Island during the hurricane and said that it was built quite well; ships were sheltered, people were on shore, and there was food, drink, and lodging."

"The kid surnamed He is fine?"

"He should be, otherwise they would have heard."

Lu Zhensheng was also a bit strange; he didn't know where Old Yu had gone, and he hadn't returned to report after the hurricane.

He had been busy running around these past few days, and only now that he was resting did he remember there was such a person.

Hmm, could it be...? It shouldn't be, he comforted himself; there were many things to do on a hurricane day.

But he was still deeply disappointed; those Bailong people were truly trash! No wonder they were chased for thousands of miles by the Ya Nation.

Before the hurricane, Old Yu returned to pass the message that the Wanqi uncle and nephew were willing to cooperate and would take action soon. At that time, Lu Zhensheng was overjoyed; after all, the combat power of the Wanqi uncle and nephew was famous, and they had six hundred elite soldiers, which was the perfect "knife" for his plan of borrowing a knife to kill someone.

Who knew that after the hurricane and the Emperor's Flow were over, He Lingchuan seemed to be safe and sound.

A waste of such a good opportunity.

Lu Qingan added: "On the day the merchant ships and merchants left, Suo Ding Island was even selling pills refined from the Emperor's Flow."

"Selling what?" Lu Zhensheng couldn't believe his ears. "Say that again?"

"Two types of pills refined from the Emperor's Flow, one thousand of each," Lu Qingan also felt it was incredible. "A few merchants said they took them on the spot and they were indeed effective, so they bought some more to keep or resell."

"How much Emperor's Flow did the Yang Shan Archipelago collect to be able to use it to refine pills for sale?" Anyone with this ability is not a small force.

Lu Zhensheng couldn't sit still and stood up to walk around. "Did those merchants say what exactly happened on the island?"

"They did. There was always a gentle breeze on Suo Ding Island, and the hurricane was always blocked outside, so it was much easier for them to catch the Emperor's Flow." Otherwise, whether it was the Emperor's Flow or the heavy rain, being blown away by the hurricane together would make it very difficult to catch.

"The hurricane was blocked?" Lu Zhensheng nodded. "A barrier. The kid surnamed He also used a wind-prevention barrier."

Barriers are nothing strange; they also use them in their mansion, and not even a tile was blown off.

The problem is, how large is the area of the Yang Shan Archipelago, and how scattered are the residential areas? Did the kid surnamed He install wind-prevention barriers everywhere?

That must be a huge expense!

"When the Emperor's Flow arrived, Suo Ding Island distributed containers to them, letting them stand on the open space in front of the guest rooms, with white lines as the boundary. A group of guards stood on the side with big sticks, and whoever crossed the line was beaten with a stick, knocked unconscious, and locked in the room, never to be given a chance to catch the Emperor's Flow again."

"After knocking down a dozen or so people like this, everyone else became honest and stood at the door catching the Emperor's Flow all night."

"Distributing containers, white lines as boundaries? And sending people to wait? This was prepared in advance." Lu Zhensheng felt suspicious. "Do you remember two days before the hurricane, someone came back from the Yang Shan Archipelago and told us..."

"Yes. At that time, He Lingchuan notified everyone that the Emperor's Flow would arrive within a few days and claimed that the archipelago had prepared the medicine for refining pills and powders, and those who were interested in refining medicine could go buy it the day after the Emperor's Flow arrived. It is said that the people on the island were skeptical and discussed it a lot."

The spies sent by the Lu family were mixed in the archipelago and heard it, so they came back to report.

The Lu family father and son were shocked when they heard it.

They had a first-hand source of information because Lu Qinglin obtained it from the Mou Nation; Dao Feng Port didn't, so they suffered heavy losses.

Where did He Lingchuan get such important information?

Does this kid have some extra connections? Does he have a high-level expert supporting him behind his back?

"No wonder the Yang Shan Archipelago bought a large amount of medicinal materials some time ago," Lu Qingan's face was as heavy as water. "Damn it, they dodged it again this time!"

"This kid has some tricks; his subordinates are all a bunch of ragtag people, yet they didn't cause trouble on the night of the Emperor's Flow? It's getting more and more wrong," Lu Zhensheng's brow furrowed. "Qingan, we can't let this kid stand firm, otherwise there will be trouble in the future."

Lu Qingan nodded and suddenly remembered another thing: "By the way, Third Uncle and Sixth Uncle have been in close business contact with He Lingchuan recently, and their relationship is getting warmer."

Warmer? Lu Zhensheng knew the temperaments of these two relatives best. Why warmer? Isn't it because they made money! "These two guys, mixed with our opponents?" He was a bit annoyed. "Is their brain not clear?"

Lu Qingan coughed lightly: "I asked Third Uncle, and he said it was just business dealings, not involving anything else."

"Got it, I will find them and have a good chat!"

The next morning, Lu Zhensheng's original wife, Lady An, got up to wash and summoned the kitchen to serve green lotus seed and red date millet porridge.

At this time of year, green lotus seeds are already rare, but the Lu mansion can of course still get them. These freshly peeled tender lotus seeds open the appetite, moisten dryness, and benefit the intestines and stomach, and can also improve skin elasticity and add luster to a woman's face.

However, the lotus seed porridge hadn't arrived yet when a servant hurried over to report:

"There are suddenly seven brocade boxes on the table in Run Hall!"

"What? Brocade boxes?" Lady An was baffled. "Who put them there?"

Run Hall is the living room of Lu Zhensheng and his wife, and also the place where they usually have breakfast. It is behind the second gate and is never open to outsiders.

To say that someone sent a gift to Run Hall, Lady An's first reaction was not happiness, but suspicion.

The servant only said he didn't know; the servants on night duty clearly patrolled inside and out and locked the room door, but when they opened the door to clean at cockcrow, they found a pile of brocade boxes appearing out of thin air on the table.

That was the octagonal table where Lu Zhensheng and his wife ate.

Encountering such a strange thing, the servant naturally didn't dare to act rashly and hurried to ask the mistress for instructions.

Lady An hurried to Run Hall and took a look; there were indeed seven square brocade boxes placed on the table, each wrapped in gold silk, not only luxurious and magnificent but also with a rich fragrance.

Huh? They were even scented before being sent to show their value.

Lady An was full of doubts, looked around a few times, and then called the servant to open the boxes.

The origin of the boxes was unknown, and she didn't dare to touch them herself.

The servant opened a cloth wrap and then lifted the lid of the box, and let out a loud "Ah," scared so much that he retreated three steps in a row!

"Head, head!"

Without him saying more, Lady An had already seen the things in the box: a head.

The deceased was in his forties, his face distorted, his eyes slightly open, and on this sunny morning, he interpreted very well what is called "deadly silence."

Lady An's scream immediately resounded throughout the Lu mansion!

Half a stick of incense later, the Lu father and son were both standing in Run Hall.

"Father, who is this?" Lu Qingan didn't recognize this head, but he knew it must have something to do with his old man; otherwise, these boxes wouldn't have been sent to the mansion.

Lu Zhensheng's face turned pale, and he muttered: "Old Yu! This is Old Yu."

"Who?" Lu Qingan had a bad premonition.

"Old Yu works for me." To this point, Lu Zhensheng had to tell the truth. "I sent him to contact the Bailong people."

This was the spy he sent to contact the Wanqi uncle and nephew, and also the spy who had mixed into the Yang Shan Archipelago since Ding Zuodong first started recruiting! Lu Qingan pressed his temples.

Lu Zhensheng added: "The Beijia people wanted to deal with He Lingchuan, and I also sent Old Yu to lead them to the island to meet up..."

Among Lu Zhensheng's subordinates, Old Yu was meticulous, best at disguising, and knew how to act according to circumstances.

Besides, the task he was performing was only to meet up and persuade, not to assassinate He Lingchuan himself.

Therefore, although Old Yu hadn't shown up for the past few days, Lu Zhensheng didn't think he could have any major trouble.

Now he finally appeared, but he was lying in the box sent by He Lingchuan!

"Beijia people?" Lu Qingan interrupted his father, his voice raised by three degrees. "When did this happen, why didn't I know!"

"Just a few days ago, on the night of the hurricane."

Cold sweat broke out on Lu Qingan's forehead, and he said hoarsely: "Open the other boxes!"

Several attendants stepped forward with courage and opened the remaining six brocade boxes.

Without exception, they were all heads.

Six pale heads with different expressions and messy hair.

The Lu father and son were speechless for a long time.

Lu Qingan looked at his father: "Are these all your subordinates?"

"Yes, they are the people I sent to the Yang Shan Archipelago," Lu Zhensheng's throat was blocked, and he couldn't help but swallow. "He Lingchuan found them."

He Lingchuan knew everything!

(End of chapter)