Chapter 990: Joining Forces

"Based on my understanding of the Lu father and son, they must be plotting to take back the Yangshan Archipelago, but with the war on the eastern front so intense right now, they have no time to look south." He scribbled a few lines in haste, then took out his personal seal to stamp the end of the letter, tucked it into an envelope, and handed it to the two men:

"I imagine you two would prefer not to reveal your true identities. Once you reach 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 I will say you have exceptional cultivation and are experts at hunting demons; the Lu father and son will provide assistance."

Bailie is, after all, a vassal of the Mou Kingdom. Now that the Mou Kingdom and Beijia are at war, these two Beijia soldiers have appeared in the rear of the Mou Kingdom. If they were to walk into Bailie and reveal their identities, it is hard to say how the Lu father and son would react—at the very least, they might not necessarily help.

But with the letter of introduction from Superintendent Wu, the Lu father and son would believe these two are rivals of He Lingchuan, there to stir up trouble in the Yangshan Archipelago, and would likely be happy to cooperate.

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

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

Hah, the old fox; with one kick, he passed the buck to the Lu family.

Therefore, they did not offer thanks and turned to leave the Maritime Trade Office.

Assistant Superintendent Zhao personally saw them to the door and then returned, seeing Superintendent Wu already picking up his brush to handle official documents again. He shook his sleeves: "Even if they didn't show their official badges, we knew they were Beijia people."

He had sent the two out of the office, bowing slightly in farewell, but the other party had simply walked away, not even sparing him a proper glance.

That kind of arrogance, hah.

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

Was that remark aimed at him, or at Superintendent Wu?

"They simply don't hold us in their eyes," Superintendent Wu said without looking up. "Their superior didn't even come; they only sent two lackeys to instruct us."

Assistant Superintendent Zhao was startled: "Superior?"

"Look at these two, do they have the bearing of someone in a high position?" Superintendent Wu glanced at him. "To hunt a great demon, how could two people possibly be enough?"

The leader of the Beijia people was too lazy to even find the Maritime Trade Office personally, simply dispatching subordinates to tell them to cooperate with the work, and that was all.

This kind of arrogance that seeps from the bones is truly unique to Beijia.

Assistant Superintendent 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 upon: "My lord, are you not going to cooperate with these Beijia soldiers?"

His superior had just suffered a major loss at the hands of He Lingchuan; 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 shipping, yet three ships were stuck in the dock for repairs, unable to earn money for the Wu family—could Superintendent Wu possibly be happy about that?

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

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

Superintendent Wu looked at him and sighed: "Old Zhao, you've been with me for so many years, why are you still so dense? What benefit is there for me in helping the Beijia people deal with He Lingchuan?"

"Uh..." Revenge? Venting?

Isn't venting one's anger enough? They say a person fights for a breath of air.

"Besides being able to vent, is there any substantial benefit?" Superintendent 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 stance toward our Qing Kingdom..."

"That is for the monarch to consider, and for Imperial Consort Yu to consider." Superintendent Wu pointed to the chair he was sitting in. "It's not my turn yet."

One who is not in that position does not plan for that policy. How the diplomatic relations between the two countries stand is a matter for the high-level officials, what does it have to do with a small superintendent like him?

He only cares about his own little patch of land.

Thinking of those three ships, Superintendent Wu let out a breath, 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 Superintendent Zhao muttered softly: "The other side is Beijia, after all."

Superintendent Wu let out a laugh from the back of his throat: "If these few Beijia soldiers were confident they could take down Island Master He directly, why would they need my assistance? Why wouldn't they just go themselves? If the archipelago were on the coast of Beijia, it would go without saying that the man surnamed He would be captured in an instant; but this is the deep rear of the Mou Kingdom, and Beijia's influence doesn't reach here, which is why they need to borrow outside force!"

"If the Beijia people fail to deal with the man 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 is ruthless and vicious; he might just scuttle all twenty-something of his ships, not leaving a single one! Even if the Maritime Trade Office could sanction the business of the Yangshan Archipelago, the losses suffered by his Wu family would be real and could not be recovered.

Both sides suffer, and the one who gets hurt is his Wu family!

Helping the Beijia people brings no substantial benefit, but could have substantial drawbacks; how could he, Superintendent Wu, do such a foolish thing?

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

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

He knew that what wasn't said was the point:

What if they don't succeed?

The lord has kept himself out of it, while pushing all the trouble onto the Lu family. When those two sides fight to the death, it will have nothing to do with him.

This old fox! ...

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

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

Superintendent Wu had not exaggerated; his handwritten letter of introduction was very effective, and Lu Zhensheng, who happened to be working at the office, met with them immediately.

Just as Superintendent Wu had expected, on Bailie territory, Ye Qing and his companion did not mention a word about being Beijia soldiers, instead positioning themselves as bounty hunters who had tracked a Beijia top-tier 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 bold as to refuse to hand over even a major Beijia criminal.

This is, this is truly...

He read every word of that arrest warrant, pondering for a long time until even Ye Qing grew impatient, before Lu Zhensheng finally said: "The Yangshan Archipelago was indeed sold to He Lingchuan by Bailie. Because of its unique geography, the agreement explicitly stated that the Yangshan Archipelago bears no responsibility for taxes or corvée labor to Bailie, and is not subject to its political or legal jurisdiction."

Simply put, the Yangshan Archipelago is independent both politically and economically; it doesn't listen to Bailie, nor does it pay money to Bailie.

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

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

Ye Qing said with a cold face: "In other words, you in Bailie are just like Blade Harbor—you can't deal with the Yangshan Archipelago, right?"

These people spoke very unpleasantly, and anger flared in Lu Zhensheng's heart: "Where are you people from?"

"Beijia, Leopard River."

Leopard River is a small military town in the eastern border region of Beijia and is also the birthplace of the Black Tiger Army, though it is not well-known externally.

Lu Zhensheng was startled to hear 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 did your side bring?"

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

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

Good heavens, these Bailie people were looking down on them? Ye Qing's brow 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, every one of us is an expert."

"The seventh, fourth, and eleventh on the Beijia Heaven and Earth Rankings were all brought to justice by our... our leader," his companion also said. "Although this spider demon, Zhu Erniang, is second on the Heaven Ranking, she has long since lost the strength of an ancient demon immortal. As long as we lure her out of her lair, we naturally have ways to deal with her!"

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

Strange, how did Superintendent Wu know them?

Never mind, they were the ones taking action anyway, and if anything went wrong, they would be the ones to bear it.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhensheng 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 man 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 of the Ya Kingdom?"

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

"They originally were, but they were driven out of the Ya Kingdom not long ago and wandered here, setting their sights on the Yangshan Archipelago, wanting to establish their own domain." 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 both sides join forces? I will introduce you."

Ye Qing's brow furrowed slightly: "Moving in a few days? What support is Bailie going to provide?"

"We have an agreement with Yangshan after all, so how can 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 Superintendent Wu of Blade Harbor or the Lu family of Bailie, both had grievances with Island Master He and both wished for his downfall, yet neither dared to take action themselves, and even helping to bridge the connection had to be done sneakily.

Truly cowardly as rats!

Lu Zhensheng also noticed them curling their lips and felt indignant.

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

(End of chapter)