Chapter 993: Before the Hurricane

He Lingchuan led a large group of people to send Yu Zecheng and others back to their residence, fulfilling the etiquette and giving enough face, and then went back to work.

Yu Zecheng returned to the room, drank the whole bowl of tea in one gulp, and wanted to smash the tea bowl with one hand.

But he endured it and didn't smash it out.

Finally, he threw the tea bowl back to the table and let out a long breath.

The guard behind him said: "My lord, is the one surnamed He singing a double act with the spider demon?"

Yu Zecheng said coldly: "What do you think?"

The guard didn't dare to speak.

He Xiao was quite polite to them, but that politeness lacked awe. Yu Zecheng said to himself:

"This kid, why is he fearless?"

Saying that the spider demon has kindness to him, even if it is true, in the face of his own life and death, why can't kindness be betrayed? The guard said: "Perhaps, he relies on his good friendship with the Chiyan Crown Prince Yue?"

"He should be very clear that Crown Prince Yue cannot control us." Yu Zecheng's tone was flat but did not hide his pride, "The Black Tiger Army doesn't need to sell Chiyan's face."

But the mission to track Zhu Erniang cannot just be like this, otherwise the Frost Leaf National Teacher will definitely blame him.

"He Xiao refuses to hand over the spider demon, so the contradiction is concentrated on him, which is the so-called not seeing the coffin and not shedding tears." Yu Zecheng casually set up a barrier, "Only by taking him down and helping him recognize reality can we deal with Zhu Erniang."

Up to now, he only said "take down," not kill.

In fact, Yu Zecheng also has concerns.

The Elixir of Immortality case involves many upper-level figures in Lingxu City, and He Xiao was once a Chiyan special envoy. Being able to survive in Lingxu City and still be able to retreat, does he also have relationships and foundations in Beijia?

With the situation in Lingxu City at that time, if He Xiao didn't have a powerful backer—at least stronger than the Chiyan Crown Prince—the Qingyang National Teacher could crush him with a little finger.

Now if he kills He Xiao, will he offend some big man in Lingxu City?

He pressed his forehead, sighed, and pulled his attention back to the archipelago in front of him.

The environment of the Yangshan Archipelago is very favorable to the burrow spider, and based on his understanding of Zhu Erniang, this great demon began to camp as soon as it lived on the island, building its cave like an iron bucket.

They also sent eyes to see, the island as a whole is full of holes, simply like a tailor-made for the burrow spider. The most complex terrain is probably underground and underwater, and it is impossible to explore the truth by just looking at the outside.

That place is both a maze and a fortress.

They don't even know which cave Zhu Erniang lives in, how to surprise attack?

It is not impossible to act forcibly. They are quite prepared to deal with the burrow spider and

Hearing this, had Prefect Wu been manipulated?

Prefect Wu smiled: "You should go back; this hurricane's power is astonishing."

Clerk Yang knew something was amiss, said "oh," and hurriedly left the Shipping Commissioner's office.

Prefect Wu stretched, his mood much lighter.

His family's hundred-odd acres of mountain forests and water fields had long been harvested, and the produce had been sold off, but the Yangshan Archipelago was different. According to his understanding, the farming on the archipelago was far from finished, and there was even a pile of buildings still under construction.

Once the hurricane came, it would be destructive.

He Lingchuan and these newcomers didn't live by the sea originally and knew nothing of the hurricane's power. Moreover, they had only just started to take defensive measures, which was simply too late.

How vast the Yangshan Archipelago was; just the area of one Dragon Spine Island was enough to rival several Blade Edge Harbors. With such a large setup, the guy surnamed He wanted to protect his property? Heh, go ahead and think about it; what a beautiful dream.

Last time the Beijia people asked him to deal with He Lingchuan, he weighed the pros and cons and refused, but that didn't mean he didn't want revenge.

This time, heaven was helping! Let the fierce hurricane teach these blind, arrogant fools a lesson!

Thinking this, Prefect Wu felt he had vented some of his anger.

However, at this moment, Assistant Prefect Zhao handed him a silver-gray letter, sealed with silver mud at the opening.

Prefect Wu knew at a glance that this was a letter from Imperial Consort Yu. Feeling a slight tremor in his heart, he dismissed everyone before opening the letter to read it.

Sure enough, although the letter he had previously sent to the capital didn't mention a word about the relationship between He Lingchuan and the Yin Serpent, Imperial Consort Yu knew anyway; clearly, she had other eyes in the harbor. She was furious about the "Green Fish" ship being dragged down by the Yin Serpent and ordered Prefect Wu to severely punish the Yangshan Archipelago.

Prefect Wu was ten thousand times unwilling.

He really wanted to give He Lingchuan a taste of his own medicine, but He Lingchuan had already proven he wasn't a soft persimmon that could be squeezed at will.

Prefect Wu wasn't the kind of fool who knew the other side was tough but still kept trying to reach out and slap them, getting covered in blood every time, and still not learning his lesson.

He had suffered one small loss and knew the other side's weight.

Moreover, Beijia and Bailie seemed even more anxious. Why not leave this opportunity to them?

However, Prefect Wu also knew Imperial Consort Yu's temper. If he told her directly that He Lingchuan was not to be trifled with and that the Yin Serpent in the sea was not to be trifled with, she would only scold him again and then order him to immediately, right now, hurry up and find a way.

"How hard can it be to kill someone?" He could imagine the tone Imperial Consort Yu would use when saying this.

He had been promoted by Imperial Consort Yu, so he couldn't defy her wishes too much. At this moment, he had to pick up his brush and write that a hurricane was coming, the Yangshan Archipelago would suffer huge losses, and Bailie, who had sold the archipelago, already regretted it and, under his instigation, was currently plotting to deal with He Lingchuan.

Our side should just wait and see; we might be able to get back the principal with interest. After all, the Yin Serpent did indeed pose a threat to Blade Edge Harbor, and so on.

He sealed the letter with red mud and handed it to Assistant Prefect Zhao to send back.

The latter responded, then asked carefully: "My lord, what about our follow-up on the Yangshan Archipelago...?"

"Stay put and let Bailie make the first move." Prefect Wu said in a deep voice, "Do not obstruct the normal commercial trade between Blade Edge Harbor and the Yangshan Archipelago."

"Ah?" Assistant Prefect Zhao was a bit surprised; was that what Imperial Consort Yu's letter meant? "Alright."

He had been by Prefect Wu's side for many years and could somewhat understand his thoughts.

The Yin Serpent under He Lingchuan was no vegetarian, and Blade Edge Harbor relied on the sea for its living. If they used the Yin Serpent to retaliate and attack the shipping lanes, the passenger flow of Blade Edge Harbor would likely plummet.

It wasn't necessary; they didn't need to fight to the death with the guy surnamed He.

Prefect Wu had one more thought he wouldn't tell anyone: Losing one tribute ship was, after all, a small matter to Imperial Consort Yu. She was a very busy person with a thousand things to do, and she only scolded him on a whim. As long as Prefect Wu dragged it out, she would likely forget, and the matter would pass.

All the mystery lay in the single word "drag."

Whether public or private, this was the ultimate secret method for turning big problems into small ones and small ones into nothing.

The Shipping Commissioner's office had the duty of protecting the harbor and resisting disasters. When he wrote to Imperial Consort Yu, the forecast of the coming hurricane was also quickly distributed.

Encountering a hurricane by the sea was nothing new, and there was already a complete set of mechanisms for defense. The Shipping Commissioner's office posted notices in public places like docks, markets, and outside government offices, and sent special personnel to beat gongs and shout along the streets and alleys to warn merchants and citizens.

The entire harbor became busy at once; ships rushed to unload cargo and then entered the docks to avoid the wind; residential houses, shops, government offices, and various public facilities all started to reinforce, the most common method being nailing wooden boards to doors and windows; fortunately, it was late autumn, and the trees by the houses had shed their leaves, otherwise they would have been sawed off.

Buildings in lower-lying areas had to have their doors blocked with sandbags to prevent being flooded by heavy rain.

The safety of the granaries was the most critical priority in wind and disaster prevention, requiring special arrangements of wind-defying and water-repelling arrays to cope.

If it were in Beijia, especially in Lingxu City, resisting wind disasters or heavy rain, they would mostly deploy such arrays everywhere, as if running them didn't cost money.

But in Blade Edge Harbor, only the most important materials and buildings could enjoy such treatment.

Limited by financial resources, after all.

In fact, experienced merchants and cargo owners would purchase talismans and array tools every year to cope with unexpected storms.

The shops in Blade Edge Harbor selling these items saw their business explode after the Shipping Commissioner's office announced the coming hurricane.

The common people were also very busy. Since the hurricane was coming, everyone had to go home to make preparations; firewood, clean water, food, and other supplies had to be gathered, and some had to reinforce doors and windows.

The news of the coming hurricane soon reached the Yangshan Archipelago.

He Lingchuan immediately gathered his men for a short meeting to arrange various tasks for hurricane defense.

Although Blade Edge Harbor predicted the hurricane would land within thirty hours, the hurricane's path was actually very capricious, sometimes taking big turns, sometimes going in a straight line, and it might land as early as thirteen or fifteen hours later.

He Lingchuan's territory was not small, and the wind-prevention measures on the island all had to be checked and reinforced; time was very tight.

Ding Zuodong, Guan Ke, Lei Ni, and others all received their orders and left, while He Lingchuan said to Qiu Hu and the Rongshan people: "The good show is about to begin."

Wang Fubao still asked foolishly: "What good show?"

*Slap*, Lu Qiuwei gave him a knock on the back of the head: "It's time to fight!"

"Oh?" Wang Fubao rubbed his head. "Alright, alright."

Such good timing was simply urging his rivals to take action. He Lingchuan sighed inwardly; the hurricane actually had to join in the fun at this time. Heaven really liked to tease people; was it complaining that he had too few troubles on his hands?

Dong Rui walked over slowly and said in a low voice: "Bad news, Yu Zecheng has made contact with the Bailong people."

He Lingchuan felt a tremor in his heart: "You found out?"

"Yup." Dong Rui smiled. "Don't you want to keep an eye on Yu Zecheng? His subordinate, the one with the little mustache, took a boat back to Blade Edge Harbor this morning, and I was on the same boat."

Yu Zecheng certainly didn't bring only two people; there were helpers hidden in the dark, but this team must maintain communication. Moreover, the distance between the Yangshan Archipelago and the land was simply too far, exceeding the range of ordinary real-time communication divine abilities.

(End of chapter)