Chapter 1102

In Ya State, bribery is also a crime, and if the circumstances are serious, it can even lead to criminal punishment.

The commercial envoys of the Yangshan Archipelago stationed in Ya State were also summoned and given a severe scolding.

Ding Zuodong reported this news to He Lingchuan, and the latter merely grunted and said: "Handle it properly, and get the people out as soon as possible."

Ya State's retaliation came.

It had once declared that whoever sheltered the Bai Long people would be made to look bad. As a result, the Yangshan Archipelago treated its words as wind in the ears, not only rescuing and sheltering the Bai Long tribe but also defeating Ya State's great general Wulu—although it had captured and then released him, it had already rubbed Ya State's face into the ground and ground it hard.

Even if Ya State could not conveniently launch a military attack on the sea island, it could not just let it go; at the very least, it had to strike back in other aspects.

After a few more days, Ya State announced a temporary suspension of ironware, leather, ore, and horse exports to the Yangshan Archipelago.

The eastern mountainous region of Ya State produces a variety of ores, some of which are essential for refining weapons, especially for crafting fine magical implements.

The Yangshan Archipelago's ore supply had originally come mostly from Ya State, but after sheltering Wanqifeng and other Bai Long factions last year, He Lingchuan had prepared in advance and ordered Ding Zuodong and Guan Ke to seek new import alternatives.

Guan Ke indeed found a new source: the Shanjin Plains to the east of Ya State. Although the situation there is not very stable and the transport route is longer, requiring several extra days by sea.

As for Mu State's ironware and ore, since it has been constantly at war, such materials have always been subject to export controls.

However, the source of horses is a major problem.

Ya State has several excellent horse farms, but the Yangshan Archipelago has none, Qing State has none, and Bailie has only one.

Without good horses, there can be no cavalry.

Fortunately, for the Yangshan Archipelago, this problem is not yet fatal.

He Lingchuan had prepared for all of this. In the world, cause and effect are paramount; forcibly absorbing the Bai Long tribe inevitably leads to hostility with Ya State.

……

That afternoon, He Lingchuan had just returned from Dao Feng Port to Suoding Island when Lei Ni came up to report:

"A guest has arrived, calling himself Fushan, and saying that if you hear his surname, you will know who he is."

Then she saw the lord's footsteps suddenly stop.

Fushan?

He Lingchuan thought for a moment, a smile of realization appearing on his face: "Yes, I do know him. Where is he?"

"He has been wandering around Suoding Island for an hour."

So He Lingchuan walked to the main street himself.

Finding the target on Suoding Island is actually quite easy: just go to the busiest market and see which open stall everyone is avoiding.

Because here sits a patterned tiger! He Lingchuan first saw a familiar back, one hand grabbing a steaming sandpot and a large piece of pork cheek.

Beside him sat a little girl, eating very politely.

A large tiger crouched beside him, its bloody maw wide open as it yawned.

He Lingchuan approached without trying to muffle his footsteps.

The tiger's ears twitched, then it suddenly turned its head, and its hanging-eyes tiger gaze immediately spotted He Lingchuan.

Bystanders only heard an 'ao wu' sound, only felt a flash before their eyes, a gust of wind, and the great tiger pounced onto He Lingchuan.

It stood upright, over a zhang tall—no human could match its height.

A tiger pouncing on a person is terrifying enough; several people nearby screamed and stumbled away in retreat.

With that weight and that force, even two or three strong men could be knocked down at once, but He Lingchuan's horse stance was firmly rooted—he did not retreat half a step, simply reaching out to embrace its huge head: "I've missed you to death, Xiao Yuer!"

The tiger also embraced his shoulders, its head constantly rubbing against him, while emitting lowing cow-like sounds.

This is its way of friendly greeting, but the force is heavy enough to knock an ordinary person dead on the spot.

He Lingchuan rubbed its steaming belly: "Long time no see, you seem to have gained weight again?"

From the side, Jiaoyu's frame is as wide as a door, its original pouches all hanging down.

"It's been crouched on the ship for two months, only eating and drinking, not moving—of course it's fat, who wouldn't be?" the sandpot eater turned his head, nodded at He Lingchuan with his chopsticks, "You finally came, hurry up and sit!"

This guy, of course, is the long-lost old friend Seeing Fushan Yue!

After not seeing each other for a year and a half, he seems unchanged, except for a bit of stubble, making him look somewhat rugged.

Seeing him, He Lingchuan cannot help but think of Fushanlie.

These two really look alike.

He casually pulled over a stool and sat opposite Seeing Fushan Yue.

The little girl also smiled at him, showing a mouthful of tiny white teeth: "He Gege!"

"Yo, Taotao also came?"

This little girl is the witch child Seeing Fushan Yue rescued from the Mu Guang Plains, whom Seeing Fushan Yue named Taotao.

Time on a child is like magic. After not seeing her for two years, her little face has grown a bit, but still round and chubby, pink and tender, truly like a peach, in stark contrast to her former bony, sallow self—like two different people.

Before He Lingchuan could wave, the stall owner came over, bowing low: "Island Lord, what would you like to order?"

His clothes were covered in tiger fur; He Lingchuan brushed off the fur as he said: "Give me a crab porridge, and some raw oysters. Give him——"

He pointed at Seeing Fushan Yue: "——add a grilled eel, and give the little girl a portion of sweet and sour meat."

"Got it!"

Children love sweet food, Taotao's eyes narrowed into slits: "Thank you, He Gege!"

"Little Taotao is becoming more and more polite." He Lingchuan rubbed her head, looking at Seeing Fushan Yue: "Wasn't it you who taught her?"

An ill-mannered guy, could he teach such a polite little girl? Seeing Fushan Yue rolled his eyes: "Looking down on me?"

He Lingchuan laughed, waiting for the next part.

Sure enough, Seeing Fushan Yue continued: "I only taught her how to eat people! Her manners were taught by the grandmother in the palace assigned by my father king."

Taotao nodded: "The king treats me well, and the grandmother is also good!"

"The grandmother is not kind to other ladies, but she is different with Taotao." Studying etiquette is not a pleasant course, "She is a Ba!"

Obviously, the ruler of Chiyan State also takes special care of this rare fellow of her kind.

Cooking the congee takes a while, but the raw oysters and marinated shrimp come up right away.

The oysters were just pulled from the sea this afternoon, less than an hour out of the water; the stall owner pried open the shells and brought up a full basin.

These oysters are about the length of a middle finger, plump and tender this season; with a dip of the special sour sauce, He Lingchuan could polish off two basins by himself.

That's how the local fishermen eat them—straight from the sea, swallowed raw, no need for any dip.

He recommended to Seeing Fushan Yue: "Try some?"

Seeing Fushan Yue swallowed one, then grimaced and struggled for a while: "I can't take it—you have it yourself."

Too fishy, this inlander truly can't stomach it! "You can eat people, but you can't eat this?"

Jade Flame stretched her tiger head curiously to sniff, and He Lingchuan pried open one for her to try.

She chewed twice, then swallowed it down.

"Hey, it's still our little Jade who knows good stuff!" Sure enough, cats love seafood. He Lingchuan asked for a jar of yellow wine and filled two cups: "What a rare guest—how did you end up here?"

"You still have the nerve to say that? You came here to play island lord, yet you didn't even write me a letter?" Seeing Fushan Yue downed his cup in one gulp: "No wonder back then, no matter how I persuaded you to take a post in Chiyan, it was useless—you just wanted to go solo."

He Lingchuan laughed: "Being an official means too many rules and rituals—where's the freedom like I have now?"

He's also talking nonsense with his eyes open—being island lord isn't free or easy at all, and he's exhausted every day like a dog!

Officials get their salaries paid by others, but he? He has to pay his subordinates' salaries himself.

"I've walked around a few loops—this place is really not bad, lively." Seeing Fushan Yue sipped his marinated shrimp, then frowned again: "If it's raw, it's raw—why is it still sour?"

"How's Chiyan been? You've been doing alright these past year or more?"

"My old man's still not dead." This time it was Seeing Fushan Yue's turn to pour wine for him: "He can't stand me being idle, so he nags me every few days."

"You're the Crown Prince now—you should share the sovereign's burdens."

Fushanlie won't be around much longer, so naturally he demands the Crown Prince learn statecraft, so he can someday take over his position.

"How come your tone sounds just like the Grand Tutor's?" Seeing Fushan Yue snorted at him: "But thanks to the Immortal Medicine Case, Lingxu City now treats Chiyan with more courtesy. Frontier troop rotations—this year we've had none."

In the Bekka campaign, the Demon Yao State has the obligation to send troops jointly. Previously, Bekka always ordered Chiyan to join the fight, and Chiyan resented it inwardly.

After the Immortal Medicine Case broke, Chiyan State suffered the most grievance. Although the mastermind behind it, the State Preceptor of Qingyang, was only stripped of his title and not executed to the extreme, the Demon Emperor still had to find an opportunity to compensate Chiyan State—at least this year, Chiyan doesn't need to send troops.

"I've heard rumors a few times that Bekka and Mou State want to cease hostilities, but the fighting just keeps going on to this day."

At first, merchants passing through Bladefang Port and the Yangshan Islands were all talking about it. But after crying wolf too many times, everyone lost interest.

"Who can say for sure about such things?" Seeing Fushan Yue continued eating his seafood hotpot: "Maybe releasing these rumors is itself a strategy; maybe the two sides were always just fighting and talking, talking and fighting."

He Lingchuan nodded. To have such insight—Seeing Fushan Yue has grown compared to before.

Some things still need him to speak up first: "How do you know I'm here?"

Just then, the bubbling crab congee was brought up, the sandpot gurgling and bubbling over.

How could entertaining the island lord be the same as receiving ordinary guests? The stall owner filled his sandpot with flower crabs, fresh shellfish, and fat clams—truly more ingredients than congee. Scoop a mouthful and taste: fresh and sweet beyond compare.

With this hot congee lining the stomach, eating the raw marinated fish and shrimp feels easier, not so likely to turn one into a rushing warrior.

Yeah, not so likely.

"Isn't it your doing? If you want no one to know, then don't do it yourself." Seeing Fushan Yue pointed his chopsticks at him: "The luminous spores once ran out in Chiyan, and the palace hung up new death-wind lamps again—then not long ago, the luminous spores returned, this time from the Yangshan Islands. I asked around, and what a coincidence—the island lord's surname is He!"

He Lingchuan gnawed on a crab leg: "You came all this way just for the luminous spores?"

"Of course not." Seeing Fushan Yue laughed: "I came for the Yin Sha."

"Yin Sha?" He Lingchuan blinked, then suddenly realized there are at least two kinds of monsters in the world that don't fear Yin Sha.

One is living—the Yin Viper; the other is a walking corpse, the Zhang! Legend says the Zhang is born amid the Earth Sha.

(End of Chapter)