Chapter 989

"Based on my understanding of the Lu father and son, they must be plotting to take back the Yangshan Archipelago, but the situation on the eastern front is tight right now, so they have no time to look south for the moment." He wrote a few lines in a hurry, took out his personal seal to stamp the end of the letter, tucked it into an envelope, and handed it to the two of them:

"I imagine you two probably don't wish to reveal your true identities. After arriving in Qucheng, just hand this letter of introduction to Lu Zhensheng and his son, and they will naturally believe you are here to track down fugitives. I won't mention your status as Beijia soldiers in the letter, but if I say you are outstanding in cultivation and skilled at hunting demons, the Lu father and son will provide assistance."

Bailie was, after all, a dependency of Mou, and now that Mou and Beijia were at war, these two Beijia soldiers had appeared in Mou's rear. If they walked into Bailie and revealed their identities, it was hard to say how the Lu father and son would react—at the very least, they wouldn't necessarily help.

But with the letter of introduction from Prefect Wu, the Lu father and son would believe these two were He Lingchuan's rivals, going to the Yangshan Archipelago to stir up trouble, and would likely be happy to cooperate.

Ye Qing and his companion exchanged a glance and took the letter: "That would be best."

Prefect Wu's gesture seemed enthusiastic, but the subtext was: I can only help you this much; for the follow-up, you'll have to go find the Lu family, as I am unable to assist.

Heh, old fox, he kicked the ball to the Lu family as soon as he lifted his leg.

Therefore, they didn't even offer thanks, turned around, and left the Shipping Commissioner's office.

Assistant Prefect Zhao personally saw them to the door, then returned to see Prefect Wu picking up his brush to handle official documents again. He shook his sleeves: "Even if they don't show their official badges, we know they are Beijia people."

He had sent those two out of the office, bowing halfway to say goodbye, but the other party had just walked away without even looking at him properly.

That kind of overbearing attitude, ha.

He even heard the two mutter: "Cowardly rats."

Was this remark aimed at him, or at Prefect Wu?

"They just don't hold us in their eyes." Prefect Wu didn't even lift his head. "Their superiors didn't even come; they just sent two lackeys to instruct us."

Assistant Prefect Zhao was startled: "Superiors?"

"Look at these two; do they have the bearing of those in high positions?" Prefect Wu glanced at him. "To hunt down a great demon, how could two people be enough?"

The Beijia leader was too lazy to even visit the Shipping Commissioner's office personally, just dispatching his subordinates to tell them to cooperate with the work, and that was all.

This arrogance that seeped from their very bones was truly unique to Beijia.

Assistant Prefect Zhao was just complaining casually and didn't take it to heart; after all, he wasn't the only one the Beijia people looked down on: "My lord, are you not going to cooperate with these Beijia soldiers?"

His superior had just suffered a major loss at He Lingchuan's hands; three fine cargo ships had been scuttled, and although they were quickly towed back to the harbor, they couldn't be repaired for a while. It was the peak season for freight, yet three ships could only lie in the dock for repairs, unable to earn money for the Wu family. Could Prefect Wu be happy about that?

Now that the Beijia people had come to the door, why wouldn't Prefect Wu help them "assist in investigating fugitives"?

It was clearly a perfect opportunity to settle a private score under the guise of public duty.

Prefect Wu looked at him and sighed: "Old Zhao, you've been with me for so many years, why are you still not clear-headed? What benefit is there for me in helping the Beijia people deal with He Lingchuan?"

"Uh..." Revenge? Venting anger?

Isn't venting anger enough? They say people fight for a breath of air.

"Besides venting anger, is there any substantive benefit?" Prefect Wu slapped the document onto the table. "The Lu family helps the Beijia people, and they might get the Yangshan Archipelago back; if I help the Beijia people, do I get money or land, eh?"

"Uh..." It seemed like neither. "But Beijia's attitude toward our Qing Nation..."

"That's for the Emperor to consider, for Imperial Consort Yu to consider." Prefect Wu pointed to the chair he was sitting on. "It's not my turn yet."

If you are not in that position, you do not discuss its politics. How the diplomatic relations between the two countries stood was a matter for the high-level officials of both nations; what did it have to do with a small Prefect like him?

He only cared about his own little patch of land.

Thinking of those three ships, Prefect Wu exhaled, his heart still feeling a bit stifled. He Lingchuan had caused him trouble, and he was certainly unhappy, but: "What if the Beijia people can't handle He Lingchuan either? Have you thought about that? That guy is no pushover!"

Assistant Prefect Zhao muttered: "The other side is Beijia, after all."

Prefect Wu let out a laugh from the bottom of his throat: "If these Beijia soldiers were confident they could take down Island Master He directly, why would they need my assistance? Wouldn't they just go themselves? If the archipelago were on the Beijia coast, then it goes without saying, the guy surnamed He would be captured in a blink; but this is the deep rear of Mou, and Beijia's influence doesn't extend here, which is why they need to borrow outside force!"

"If the Beijia people can't deal with the guy surnamed He even with our help, sigh, He Lingchuan might not necessarily dare to do anything to the Beijia people, but as for us... by then, we'll both be ruined. You tell me, why bother?"

That kid was ruthless; he might just scuttle all twenty-plus of his ships, not leaving a single one! Even if the Shipping Commissioner's office could sanction the Yangshan Archipelago's business, the losses his Wu family suffered would be real and could not be recovered.

Both sides would suffer; the one getting hurt would be his Wu family!

Helping the Beijia people had no substantive benefits but could have substantive drawbacks; how could he, Prefect Wu, do such a stupid thing?

"Let the Lu family do it." Prefect Wu smiled. "The Lu father and son will agree in a heartbeat. If they join forces and succeed, it will be equivalent to venting my anger for me."

Assistant Prefect Zhao immediately said: "My lord is wise!"

He knew that the part left unsaid was the key:

What if they didn't succeed?

The lord would have kept himself out of it while pushing all the trouble onto the Lu family. When those two sides fought to the death, it wouldn't be his business.

This old fox!...

Blade Edge Harbor was very close to Bailie, and the main road was built flat and straight.

Ye Qing and his companion left Blade Edge Harbor on horseback in the morning and arrived at Qucheng, the capital of Bailie, in the afternoon.

Prefect Wu hadn't exaggerated; his handwritten letter of introduction was very effective, and Lu Zhensheng, who happened to be working in the office, met with them immediately.

Just as Prefect Wu had expected, on Bailie territory, Ye Qing and his companion didn't mention a word about being Beijia soldiers, instead positioning themselves as bounty hunters who had tracked a Beijia Heaven-Rank fugitive all the way to the Yangshan Archipelago, only to find the target being sheltered by Island Master He.

Lu Zhensheng was shocked, not expecting He Lingchuan to be so audacious as to refuse to hand over even a major Beijia criminal.

This was, this was truly...

He read every word of that wanted poster, then pondered for a long time until even Ye Qing was getting impatient, before Lu Zhensheng said: "The Yangshan Archipelago was indeed sold to He Lingchuan by Bailie. Because of its unique geography, the agreement at the time explicitly stated that the Yangshan Archipelago had no responsibility for taxes or corvée labor to Bailie, and was not subject to its political laws or decrees."

Simply put, the Yangshan Archipelago was independent both politically and economically; it didn't listen to Bailie, nor did it pay Bailie any money.

"As long as the various actions of the Yangshan Archipelago do not endanger Bailie, we have no authority to dispose of it."

This was also a clause that had been repeatedly haggled over and negotiated before the two sides signed the agreement. In this regard, He Lingchuan and Ding Zuodong hadn't let the other side find any loopholes. If they hadn't been desperate for money, would Bailie have ever signed such an agreement?

Ye Qing said with a cold face: "In other words, you Bailie are just like Blade Edge Harbor, unable to deal with the Yangshan Archipelago, right?"

These people spoke very unpleasantly, and Lu Zhensheng felt a fire rise in his heart: "Where are you people from?"

"Beijia, Leopard River."

Leopard River was a small military town in the eastern border region of Beijia and the birthplace of the Black Tiger Army, not famous to the outside world.

Lu Zhensheng was startled upon hearing this, having no impression of the place name, but as long as it was prefixed with Beijia, it was different.

Moreover, this was help delivered to his door; it would be a waste not to take it.

He asked Ye Qing and his companion: "How many men has your side brought?"

"Six, and a few more can come later."

So few? Lu Zhensheng was disappointed: "With just this many men, you want to capture a Heaven-Rank great demon?"

Good heavens, were these Bailie people looking down on them? Ye Qing's brows twitched: "If you don't have the diamond drill, don't take on the porcelain work. Dealing with a great demon doesn't rely on numbers. Here, everyone is an expert."

"Beijia's Heaven-Rank seventh, Earth-Rank fourth and eleventh were all captured and brought to justice by our... our leader." His companion also said, "Although this spider demon Zhu Xiuer is Heaven-Rank second, she has long since lost the strength of an ancient demon immortal. As long as we lure her out of her nest, we naturally have ways to deal with her!"

The two were adamant, and Lu Zhensheng could only be half-believing, looking again at Prefect Wu's letter of introduction, which spoke of these people in glowing terms.

Strange, how did Prefect Wu know them?

Never mind, they were the ones taking action anyway, and if any problems arose, they would be the ones bearing the consequences.

Lu Zhensheng thought of this and asked casually: "Where is your leader?"

To actually send two small lackeys to find him, they really looked down on people!

"In the Yangshan Archipelago, monitoring the guy surnamed He."

Lu Zhensheng nodded: "I happen to know that a Bailong tribe is also on the island. They are very interested in He Lingchuan's position as Island Master."

"Bailong people?" Ye Qing asked. "Is that a tribe from Ya?"

Many tribes of Ya were brave and skilled in battle, and Beijia had heard a little about them.

"They originally were, but they were driven out of Ya not long ago and wandered here, setting their sights on the Yangshan Archipelago, wanting to set up their own house." Lu Zhensheng smiled. "As far as I know, they have five or six hundred people and are preparing to make a move in a few days. Why don't you two sides join forces? I'll introduce you."

Ye Qing's brows tightened slightly: "Making a move in a few days? What support is Bailie going to provide?"

"We do have an agreement with Yangshan, after all; how could we openly fall out? We can only provide you all with some ships and weapons."

Ye Qing and his companion exchanged a glance, both seeing disdain in the other's eyes.

Whether it was Prefect Wu of Blade Edge Harbor or the Lu family of Bailie, both had grudges against Island Master He and both wished for his downfall, yet neither dared to take action personally, and even connecting the dots to help had to be done in secret.

Truly cowardly as rats!

Lu Zhensheng also noticed their curling lips and felt indignant.

If it weren't for the fact that Bailie's attention was focused on the east, on the border friction with Ya, and if it weren't for his eldest son Lu Qingan repeatedly asking him to temporarily ignore the Yangshan Archipelago, would he have tolerated that kid surnamed He bouncing back and forth between Blade Edge Harbor and the Yangshan Archipelago all day long?

(End of chapter)