Chapter 938: Yue Pinghe

At sunset, the Third Island pirate lair, Centipede Island. A volcanic eruption from who knows how many years ago left this island with a naturally magnificent terraced mountain. As the tide receded, the setting sun plated the little crabs and mudskippers crawling across the puddles with a layer of gold.

A small boat sailed in from the sea.

The pirates patrolling on the shore became vigilant and were about to step forward with weapons, only to find that the visitor was one of their own.

Not long after, the soaked scout stood before Yue Pinghe, reporting what he had seen and heard in Blade Harbor.

"You mean, Min Tianxi helped that new island master bridge the gap with Huang Zhao?"

"Yes, they sat together and chatted for a long time. The Second Island Master and the First Island Master were both very respectful to the one surnamed He, nodding and bowing."

"It seems Min Tianxi has truly surrendered. He usually puts on airs with me, but he was so obedient in front of that one surnamed He?" Yue Pinghe muttered to himself before asking, "What exactly did they talk about?"

The scout hurriedly said: "The one surnamed He is recruiting Huang Zhao, saying he is currently most lacking in manpower. Huang Zhao asked him, what business will the Yangshan Archipelago do in the future?"

"The one surnamed He spoke at length, saying he wants to develop the palm fruit on all the islands for oil extraction, and also said he wants to do some other business. The two island masters nodded several times, and he even asked the two island masters which one was more familiar with you."

Yue Pinghe snorted: "The one surnamed Huang has never looked favorably upon me."

"Yes, Huang Zhao pushed it to Min Tianxi, and Min Tianxi took the job, preparing to represent the one surnamed He to find you."

"Finally, Huang Zhao toasted Island Master He, and the few stood up and left."

Seeing that he had nothing more to say, Yue Pinghe waved for him to step down, sat in his chair, and pondered for a long time before asking his confidant by his side:

"Min Tianxi is so willing to be someone's subordinate, and even helps that one surnamed He recruit Huang Zhao?"

"I heard that although the one surnamed He doesn't have many subordinates, each one has extraordinary cultivation. He arranged to meet Min Tianxi at Fish Bone Reef; the numbers on both sides were vastly different, but he still beat the Second Island's people into submission, and even Min Tianxi was captured and taken onto the ship, following the one surnamed He on a trip to Mount Qilin."

"I know all this." Yue Pinghe said irritably. "I heard Min Tianxi saw with his own eyes that he could collect the Earthly Yin Qi on Mount Qilin, which is why he decided to follow him. Hmm, could this guy be faking surrender, planning to wait until the one surnamed He isn't paying attention to snatch that treasure that can absorb Earthly Yin Qi?"

"Has anyone seen that treasure?"

"It seems not." The confidant replied. "We found someone who followed He to the island and asked; the Earthly Yin Qi disappeared as soon as it approached Island Master He. Wherever he goes, the Earthly Yin Qi in the surrounding waters is sucked dry!"

"No wonder he wanted to buy the Yangshan Archipelago!" Yue Pinghe clapped his hands. "Once this spreads, Bailie will be laughed to death."

The confidant asked cautiously: "Island Master, Min Tianxi is coming as a lobbyist; what do you plan to do?"

Yue Pinghe stroked his chin: "Then we'll have to see what conditions this Island Master He offers me. We have over two hundred brothers to feed; if his offer is too thin, we certainly can't work for him."

Pirates by his side said one after another: "Boss, you must demand the Banana Forest!"

"And White Gourd Island!"

"We don't want to be sent to the island to harvest fruit and extract oil for that one surnamed He!" Another said. "The swords in our hands are for venting hatred, not for chopping down palm trees."

The pirates chattered, but the confidant was a bit worried: "Won't he deal with us like he dealt with Min Tianxi?"

"Min Tianxi is too stupid!" Yue Pinghe sneered. "The other party arranged to meet at Fish Bone Reef, and he actually agreed? That's such a narrow place; the Second Island has over four hundred people, and Fish Bone Reef can hold at most a few dozen. Look, he didn't use his numerical advantage; who can he blame?"

"When the time comes, the negotiation location will be on our Centipede Island; tell that one surnamed He he must show up, and then we'll talk properly!" Yue Pinghe laughed several times. "If the negotiation doesn't go well, they won't need to leave the island!"

That night, the gray owls on the island called out in strange tones, very chilling.

Yue Pinghe tossed and turned, unable to sleep, so he simply got up and drafted the negotiation conditions line by line.

What kind of temper did the new owner of the Yangshan Archipelago have? The intelligence collected so far was not enough to explain. To be safe, Yue Pinghe also drew his bottom line; some conditions were decoys, while some were core interests that must be fought for.

By the time he finished deliberating, it was almost dawn.

The next day, Min Tianxi did not come.

The third day, Min Tianxi still did not come. Instead, over forty pirates from the First and Second Islands came over, saying their old lair had no future and they wanted to defect to the Third Island Master.

"What the hell are they doing?"

Yue Pinghe asked and found out that most of the manpower from the First and Second Islands had been transferred to the islands, some helping to pave roads and build houses, others putting down swords and spears to pick up sickles to harvest palm fruit and extract oil—all under Lei Ni's command! The life ideal of these dozens of pirates was to rob ships and make money without capital, not to go to the island to do hard labor for others, so they defected to Yue Pinghe.

Yue Pinghe only felt it was strange: Min Tianxi and Huang Zhao, did they really intend to honestly be subordinates to a yellow-haired kid under twenty?

The pirates who came to defect also said that the one surnamed He went to sea again today, and even brought the leaders of the First and Second Islands.

"Where to?"

"Seems to be heading straight for Mount Qilin."

"When did they go?" Yue Pinghe also wanted to follow and see with his own eyes how Island Master He collected the baleful energy.

"They left early in the morning; they should be on their way back by now."

Time rewinds a few hours.

It was cloudy at sea, with occasional light rain, which felt cool when it hit the face.

Min Tianxi and Huang Zhao each brought some men to follow He Lingchuan out to sea.

In the process of sailing deep into the archipelago, gray mist occasionally drifted on the sea, all rushing toward He Lingchuan, and were calmly collected by him.

This was originally a forbidden zone for most life, a desperate place that humans talked about with fear, but with He Lingchuan standing at the bow, this sea route quickly became clear and upright.

Min Tianxi was used to it, but Huang Zhao and most of the pirates were severely shocked by He Lingchuan's posture of laughing at the wind and baleful energy as if nothing had happened.

Min Tianxi patted Huang Zhao on the shoulder: "How about it, I didn't lie to you, did I?" Look at your ignorant appearance.

Huang Zhao gave a thumbs up: "Young Master He is a god-like man." What kind of treasure could absorb endless baleful energy? He Lingchuan smiled slightly, knowing that while they were shocked, it didn't count as awe.

Over the past few days, whether in Blade Harbor or the pirate lair, rumors had been circulating about Island Master He using the power of a treasure to break baleful energy and drive away evil.

This statement was very strange.

Rumors were the characteristic of information dissemination; as the protagonist, He Lingchuan was lucky not to be described as having a green face and fangs or horns on his head. Instead, these messages pointed out that the Earthly Yin Qi was not broken by himself, but sucked away by a treasure.

Being able to break baleful energy oneself versus breaking it with the power of a treasure—the latter was clearly less mysterious and less high-end than the former.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 939 =====