Chapter 968: How Could That Be?

It must have been after the recent incidents? Could it be?

Commandant Zhao said urgently, "My lord, could it be that the one surnamed He..."

"Shut up!" Superintendent Wu was also in a state of utter confusion.

He asked his student, "How much cargo is on the Baoji?"

"Over one thousand taels in value."

Superintendent Wu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's not much, then."

"But among it are 1,900 bags of grain, which were to be delivered to the official granary."

Superintendent Wu said angrily, "Can't you finish saying it all at once?"

"...Student, student was wrong."

Superintendent Wu paced back and forth a few times. If the grain got wet, it was finished; even if some of the other cargo could be salvaged, those 1,900 bags of grain were truly money down the drain.

And this happened to be grain purchased by the Shipping Office, intended to be handed over to the national treasury to satisfy the demands of the Mou Kingdom.

The Mou Kingdom also "purchased" grain and fodder from the Qing Kingdom; it paid 200,000 silver taels, and the Qing Kingdom had to send out grain with an actual value of over 500,000 taels. The Mou Kingdom had been pressing for months, and the Qing Kingdom had been dragging its feet without gathering it all. As the most prosperous port, the Shipping Office bore a large portion of the official purchasing tasks.

Previously, the Bailie had also been purchasing grain at Blade Harbor, forcibly driving up the price of grain. The Shipping Office had the duty of price stabilization and regulation, but it could not force foreign merchants to sell. These 1,900 bags of grain might not seem like much money, but buying and transporting them again was a huge hassle.

The three of them looked at each other, clouds of suspicion swirling in their hearts, all thinking of the same question: Was the Yin Serpent sent by Island Master He? Superintendent Wu asked Commandant Zhao: "What do you think?"

"This subordinate, this subordinate does not know." Just kidding, how could he dare to make a judgment on such a matter? "There have been, there have been accidents of Yin Serpents attacking merchant ships in the past, the most recent one seems to have been the year before last?"

"There was a thick fog at sea, that's why the ship strayed into the depths of the archipelago." Superintendent Wu said with a dark face, "The Baoji was attacked in the West Fjord, not in the Yangshan Archipelago!"

Commandant Zhao wanted to speak but hesitated. This immediate superior had just said that the idea of Island Master He being able to command Yin Serpents was nonsense and completely impossible.

Now, that thought was shaken, wasn't it?

"Then, shall I go find that supervisor surnamed Ding and ask him?"

Superintendent Wu hesitated for a long time before shaking his head: "No, perhaps it really was an accident."

Whoever approaches first is the one who bows their head.

When sailing at sea, where is there ever a sure thing? He had been a superintendent for over a dozen years and had heard of at least dozens of major shipwrecks.

But he still instructed Commandant Zhao: "If that one surnamed Ding comes to submit for inspection again, bring him to see me."

But for the next two days, Ding Zuodong didn't go to the Shipping Office at all; instead, Superintendent Wu had two more merchant ships attacked at sea.

It was the same work of the Yin Serpent, and it was still not in the Yangshan Archipelago, but right near Fish Bone Reef and Baosha Reef; several merchant ships passing by nearby had all seen it.

But the Yin Serpent simply didn't attack them; even when it swam right past these merchant ships, it ignored them, focusing only on the "Green Fish" and the "White Wave"—those two ships of Superintendent Wu—until it bored holes through them and dragged them into deep water, only then leaving with cheers and hisses.

Everyone at the scene watched the live broadcast of the ship-breaking with rapt attention; this process lasted for over an hour.

Shipwrecks were nothing new, but Blade Harbor had been operating for so many years that it had long ago planned routes to avoid baleful energy and steer clear of the Yin Serpent's activity areas, and ships of all sizes had always sailed just fine.

They avoided the baleful stars, yet who knew the baleful stars would come knocking directly at their door. This matter was simply inconceivable, so it quickly spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys of Blade Harbor via the mouths of witnesses, and it was even described with vivid detail, with even the way the Yin Serpent toyed with those who fell into the water being described with great precision.

Busy-bodies and clever people soon grasped a common point among the three scuttled ships:

They all belonged to Superintendent Wu.

Everyone from the upper to the lower classes of Blade Harbor knew that Superintendent Wu had a vast fortune, especially in ships.

This was an open secret.

Consequently, when merchants went to rent ships again, they would first ask if they belonged to Superintendent Wu, and if there was even the slightest connection, they would immediately shake their heads and refuse.

These reports were delivered to Superintendent Wu one by one, and he had no heart to attend to his duties.

Furthermore, he no longer believed that he wasn't being targeted. The strange looks from those around him also made him feel particularly uncomfortable.

He immediately set about checking, and then discovered that he still had fourteen ships running at sea, five or six of which would be entering or leaving Blade Harbor in the near future.

His ships were always the easiest to rent, rarely having any downtime.

This advantage, at the moment, had instead become a sore spot.

Superintendent Wu hurriedly notified the ship owners that they were temporarily forbidden from going to sea in the near future.

Who knew that as soon as he made contact, the others said the clients all wanted to cancel their rentals.

Are you kidding? It was widely rumored outside that the Yin Serpent was specifically targeting Superintendent Wu's ships; how could they still dare to rent them? Behind the maritime cargo were the livelihoods and lives of so many people; if it all went down the drain, who would take responsibility?

They would rather forfeit the ship rental deposit than rent these ships!

Superintendent Wu held his breath in his stomach, feeling stifled.

When had he ever suffered such a loss?

But there were still two ships out at sea, about to return to port, that Superintendent Wu could not control.

He truly did not understand: "There are so many ships at sea, how can the Yin Serpent specifically recognize my ships?"

His superior's temper had been extremely bad these past few days, and even his breath was a bit foul. Commandant Zhao said cautiously: "Your ships all have markings on the bow, which pirates used to see before they would let them pass."

In the past, no matter how reckless the pirates of the Yangshan Archipelago were, they would never rob official ships or the Shipping Office's ships, otherwise, it would invite thunderous wrath.

These ships simply made markings on the bow to remind the pirates.

"Pirates?" Superintendent Wu could no longer care about his composure, slamming the table hard, "Preposterous!"

The pirates of the Yangshan Archipelago had all been subdued by He Lingchuan; this was already a set-in-stone fact. The secrets they knew, it was very likely that He Lingchuan knew as well.

Pirates, Yin Serpents, linked together, weren't these the glaring words "He Lingchuan's doing"? This was retaliation, this was extortion, this was a threat of "If you don't accommodate me, I will bore holes in all your ships."

Yet he had no choice but to swallow his pride, because He Lingchuan could truly do it.

Superintendent Wu closed the door and threw a fit, smashing even his beloved teacup to pieces, before calling Commandant Zhao back in:

"Go find Ding, no, find He Lingchuan, and arrange a meeting for me!"

Commandant Zhao was trembling with fear, gave a response, and hurriedly went out.

But only a dozen breaths later, he rushed back in: "My lord, Ding Zuodong has come to submit oil products for inspection again."

Superintendent Wu stood up at once, his knuckles turning white.

Commandant Zhao thought he wanted to hit someone, but in the end, his superior just gritted his teeth and said: "Bring him here!"

"Yes!" Commandant Zhao hurriedly ran out, and Superintendent Wu slowly sat back in his chair.

He knew clearly in his heart that the sinking of the three ships could only be considered a greeting gift; if he didn't accept this level of "gift," then his Wu family would never be able to go to sea again for the rest of their lives; looking at it on a larger scale, if the Yin Serpent started attacking other ships on the Golden Route, would merchants still dare to pass through Blade Harbor in the future?

That would pose a substantial threat to the survival of Blade Harbor.

That kid surnamed He really knows how to handle people.

Superintendent Wu took the initiative to meet, and Ding Zuodong arrived very quickly.

As soon as he entered the door, he cupped his hands and bowed: "Greetings, my lord! Oh my, Superintendent Wu is so busy with official business, it is truly not easy to see you."

This was not just polite talk. Last time he requested to see Superintendent Wu, the other party pushed him away three or four times, dragging it out for several days before seeing him once, and dismissing him after saying less than two sentences.

No matter how perfect his etiquette was, Superintendent Wu was still wearing a fake smile: "You and your master have ways to see me, don't you?"

Ding Zuodong was stunned: "Eh? How should I interpret Superintendent Wu's words?"

"The Yin Serpent attacked the Baoji, Green Fish, and White Wave merchant ships in the West Fjord and the White Jade Sea; are you aware of this?"

"I have heard a little, heard a little." Ding Zuodong sighed, "That was truly a disaster. I don't know why the Yin Serpent would leave the archipelago to cause trouble for no reason."

Superintendent Wu stared at him: "You really don't know?"

Ding Zuodong was startled: "How can you say that! How could this lowly one know the thoughts and actions of the Yin Serpent? They are not human, nor do they understand human speech."

For so many years, almost no one had been able to communicate with the Yin Serpent... except for He Lingchuan.

Thinking of the various legends about the pirates in Blade Harbor that were so miraculous, Superintendent Wu felt resentful in his heart.

Commandant Zhao stood to one side, knowing it was time for him to speak up: "Isn't your master known as the Lord of Yangshan, who can even command the Yin Serpents?"

"Superintendent Wu, please see clearly, how could that be the case!" Ding Zuodong looked terrified, "The Yin Serpent has been doing as it pleases in the archipelago for so many years; even the Immortals cannot handle them. My master is also a mortal of flesh and blood, how could he possibly have that ability?"

In terms of reason and logic, there was nothing wrong with these words.

Commandant Zhao pressed: "Has your master not signed a pact with the Yin Serpent? The pirates of the archipelago are in the taverns of Blade Harbor, drinking and eating meat, bragging about this all day long." It was hard for others not to hear it.

"No, no!" Ding Zuodong waved his hands repeatedly, "They hear wind and think it's rain; what could they possibly know? Of the pirates I have met, there are none who don't love to spout nonsense."

"Then how do you explain that the baleful energy on many islands in the archipelago has faded away?"

Ding Zuodong smiled: "That is because my master is familiar with the geography and discovered that the eruption times and ranges of the Earthly Baleful Yin Veins have changed. My master says that this thing is like the tides, with ebbs and flows, with expansion and contraction. He has studied it thoroughly and knows which islands can be visited and which cannot; to outsiders, it looks as if he can drive away the baleful energy."

Seeing the topic go off track, Superintendent Wu cursed Commandant Zhao as a "useless thing" and had to ask himself:

"The Yin Serpent is attacking ships of this port; Blade Harbor cannot sit idly by! Since your master has studied the archipelago thoroughly, then tell me, why did the Yin Serpent leave the archipelago waters and why is it attacking merchant ships?"

Blade Harbor cannot sit idly by? It was clearly Superintendent Wu who was heartbroken over his own ships sinking and money running away. Ding Zuodong sneered in his heart, but on the surface, he had to be serious: "My master believes that the Yin Serpent lives relying on baleful energy, and is more sensitive to the changes in the Earthly Baleful Yin Veins and the reduction of baleful energy, which indeed may cause their temperament to change drastically and become more aggressive." Ding Zuodong said slowly, "Things have no constant state; they change according to the times and circumstances, my lord."

No matter what, he could not admit that the Yin Serpent's attack on merchant ships was under the orders of He Lingchuan. That was not extortion; that was giving people a handle, that was making an enemy.

(End of chapter)