Chapter 260: Rumors Rise to a Fever Pitch

Master Xuanmiao's test was this: after the meal, she had a long, earnest talk with Chen Wen.

The very night Chen Wen returned to the garrison, Song Bei dragged his grievously wounded body and fled.

Not long after, Song Bei's corpse was found in the sea. No one knew what he had been thinking, trying to escape only to drown, and the tide washed his body ashore, where patrolling soldiers hauled it back.

Wu Xiaoli's face was dark. He questioned the soldiers guarding Song Bei, "His Upper Dantian was destroyed, he was carrying this many wounds, and you still couldn't keep hold of him — what use are you?"

The soldiers hung their heads in shame.

Wu Xiaoli raged, "Investigate! Get to the bottom of it! How exactly did Song Bei escape, who did he see before he ran, did he leave anything behind!"

Chu Liang accepted the order.

Chen Wen watched from afar. The prisoners weren't his men guarding them, so this matter had nothing to do with him.

Wu Xiaoli also knew it had nothing to do with Chen Wen, but he simply took a dislike to the sight of him — seeing him made him want to flare up — and he couldn't help suspecting all the same: was this really nothing to do with Chen Wen?

But Chen Wen had just rendered a great service, and moreover, all the spoils had already been taken over by Wu Xiaoli himself. If Wu Xiaoli lost his temper with Chen Wen now, it would surely rouse the soldiers' spirit of defiance.

Wu Xiaoli had some nerve, but not much.

He was still afraid of a mutiny. Since the start of this year, the number of deserters from Fujian and Zhejiang had already passed two hundred.

And now the army had taken in another, even more unstable batch of pirates and enrolled them as military households…

Thinking of this, Wu Xiaoli beckoned Chen Wen over and said, "Chen Wen, you're a capable man. Among the officers under me, only you have some talent for commanding the navy. So I want to send you to the Tongshan Garrison of the Thousand-Household Guard on Dongshan Island. It faces the Japanese pirates and all the pirate bands head-on. With you stationed there, my entire defensive line will be worry-free in future."

Chen Wen paused a beat, then immediately clasped his fist and accepted, his eyes bright, his face alight with emotion. "My lord values this humble officer — I would die ten thousand deaths without complaint. Rest assured, my lord, so long as this humble officer lives, not a single pirate shall breach the Dongshan Islands and raid the interior."

"Good. Then I leave Dongshan to you." Wu Xiaoli said generously, "I know your manpower has always been short. This time, take all the newly enrolled pirates with you and fold them into your ranks."

Chen Wen looked troubled. "My lord, these newly enrolled soldiers are unruly and were pirates to begin with. Bringing them to the island, I'm afraid they'll be hard to control. Wouldn't it be better to transfer four hundred men from the other Thousand-Household Guards for me…"

He said quietly, "On my side, manpower has always been short — there are plenty of empty slots…"

Wu Xiaoli's face darkened. "The other Thousand-Household Guards have heavy duties of their own. If I let you pick out all the veterans and elite soldiers, how are they to hold their own lines?"

Chen Wen's brows knit tight. "But those enrolled men are too stubborn by half, and they're on an island. If they kick up trouble every other day…"

Wu Xiaoli thought for a moment, frowning. "How about this: pick a few of their family members to take with you, and leave the rest settled on the mainland. Each side as hostages. When they often see their kin on the island, they'll think of their kin left on the mainland, and they won't cause trouble."

Chen Wen thought it over, then accepted — taking the suggestion.

Ah Xin and the others brought most of their families to the island. Because life on the island was harsh, they brought only the young ones.

Song Dali hauled things onto the ship while cursing under his breath. "Eaten our Thousand-Household Guard's empty rations for all these years and it's still not enough — seized the military merit, seized the spoils, and now they hand us a bunch of enrolled pirates…"

"Shut your mouth," Chen Wen snapped at him. "Don't you dare call Ah Xin and the others pirates again. Once they're enrolled, from now on they're our brothers."

"Brothers whose hearts aren't one — before the pirates even come to attack, we'll be dead first."

Song Dali could only swallow it back, and asked, "Commander, Dongshan is far from here. Supplies depend entirely on the mainland. If they don't get delivered in time, then we…"

Chen Wen's gaze was deep. "There are military farms on Dongshan too. We can till the land ourselves."

Song Dali said irritably, "Most of the island is rock. There's not much land you can farm. Even if you plant, it's beans and the like — is that enough to eat?"

Chen Wen clenched his fist tight. "Don't worry. I'll find a way."

But in his mind rang Master Xuanmiao's words: "Wu Xiaoli is petty and greedy by nature. Under him, you'll never have any chance of promotion. If you want to realize your ambitions, you have to break free of his command."

Master Xuanmiao said, "He suppresses you!"

Chen Wen gripped his thumb hard. A welter of thoughts flashed through his mind, and in the end he had to admit Master Xuanmiao was right: "If you want to leave him openly and honorably, you first have to stand firm in the army without relying on him."

"And he's your superior — he represents the imperial court. The day you can support a Thousand-Household Guard's ships and men without the court's funding, only then can you take the next step."

When Chen Wen heard those words that night, he nearly thought Master Xuanmiao was telling him to rebel.

He hadn't expected her to tell him to go back and find Song Bei.

When he went to look, he happened to hear Chu Liang interrogating Song Bei, asking where the treasure was hidden and about the sea chart.

That was when he realized her target was the same as Wu Xiaoli's — the treasure.

Song Bei said nothing.

He was right to. The moment he opened his mouth, he wouldn't live to see the next day.

Only by staying silent might he keep his life.

Then Chen Wen had his men take Song Bei out of the camp, and once no useful information could be wrung out of him, he had the man killed cleanly.

Since Master Xuanmiao had come to find him, the sea chart was most likely in her hands.

And the one who had originally captured Song Bei was Master Xuanmiao's junior sister — that little Daoist priest called Pan Sanzhu.

Chen Wen was waiting, waiting for Master Xuanmiao to come find him again. Master Xuanmiao was also waiting, waiting for things to ferment.

Sure enough, no sooner had Chen Wen left with his ships than word of Song Bei's death spread, and talk of the treasure rose to a fever pitch.

Even Lin Mengzhu, who had already left the city for home, turned around and came back, and went straight to find Cao Daoji to come together and ask Pan Yun, "Little Daoist Sanzhu, when you captured Song Bei back then, did you search anything off him?"

"No."

Lin Mengzhu frowned.

Seeing he seemed not to believe her, Pan Yun said at once, "If you don't believe it, go ask Zhang Ning and Li Ji. They were hiding in the woods at the time and saw the whole thing clearly. After I seized Song Bei, one sword stroke stripped every stitch of clothing off him — all that was left on him was a single strip of cloth wrapped around his backside."

Everyone: …?

Pan Yun: "Are you suspecting he hid the treasure map in that cloth?"

Everyone choked again, falling silent in unison.

Pan Yun said with a look of heartfelt regret, "Every time I think of it I regret it too. I should have flicked that cloth off with one sword stroke as well. Sigh…"

Everyone couldn't help stepping back in unison; even Lin Mengzhu felt a chilly draft between his legs.

He forced a laugh and said to Tao Ji, "Brother Tao, little Daoist Sanzhu isn't young anymore. The differences between men and women still need to be taught."

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Tao Ji: "Our Mount Sanqing focuses on the Dao of the Elixir. Would we not teach it? This isn't our problem — it's you lot who are too hung up on the differences between men and women."

Lin Mengzhu: So in the end it's still their fault?

Zhang Ning and Li Ji popped out from goodness knows where and testified in low voices, "Mengzhu, at the time little Daoist Sanzhu really did… stripped them all bare. All that was left on them was a single strip of cloth — nothing was found on them."

Lin Mengzhu frowned. "Could the item have been hidden in the torn clothes and missed, or is it not on Song Bei at all, but on someone else?"

Lin Mengzhu suddenly realized and turned to Pan Yun. "Where is Zhu Zixun?"

Pan Yun pointed at Li Ji. "Ask him."

Li Ji looked ashamed. "My lord, when Lin Young Master and Yu Young Master had just woken from their coma, I was worried about them and rushed over to check—just for a moment—and he escaped."

Lin Mengzhu: …

Others who were also interested in the treasure turned to look at Lin Mengzhu. It seemed, then, that Lin Mengzhu and the Wu Lin Alliance were the more suspicious ones.

Pan Yun was open and straightforward, stating that all her actions had been within everyone's view, and she had hidden nothing.

Pan Yun: "Besides two crossblades, we didn't even keep a single trophy. Sigh—we were the ones who suffered the most."

"The treasure map must be on Zhu Zixun. He's served Song Bei for years—he couldn't possibly know nothing."

"Exactly. Capture Zhu Zixun, and we'll learn where the pirates' treasure is hidden."

"But there are others behind them. Could the pirates have already gone to retrieve the treasure?"

"Damn it! Those things were stolen from our Great Ming—how can we let them take them away? If I had a ship, I'd patrol the islands daily. Those Japanese pirates won't dare get near them."

"That's a good idea. If all else fails, we can wipe them out—kill them all—and see how they'll ever return to the island for the treasure."

Then we capture Zhu Zixun—won't we know exactly where the treasure is hidden?

Everyone exchanged glances and agreed this plan was sound.

Thus, to force the Great Ming navy to send ships and disturb the islands, Cao Daoji not only submitted a formal report to the Emperor about the Quanzhou garrison, but even members of the Jianghu Alliance spread the news through every possible channel to the imperial court.

So, barely into winter, Jingcheng was shaken by two events.

First, the Japanese pirates had been smuggling official Great Ming crossblades, firelocks, and gunpowder.

Second, the pirates' treasure, it was said, was hidden on an island, piled high with gold, silver, and jewels.

The young Emperor was curious about the second matter, but the first was more urgent.

He wanted to know: "Who sold the firelocks and gunpowder to the Japanese pirates?"

The ministers fell silent.

The Emperor's gaze swept slowly over those below him, then he sneered. "The Censorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard will investigate this matter thoroughly. Wang Wen—"

Chief Censor Wang Wen stepped forward and bowed his head. "Your servant is here."

"You will investigate this personally. Uncover this corrupt worm," the Emperor paused, then added: "Also look into the treasure affair. Rumors are flying everywhere—I've heard fishermen are secretly sailing out, trying to swim to the island. Absurd!"

Wang Wen immediately agreed, vowing to investigate to the very end.

After Wang Wen withdrew, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Ma Shun, assigned him the team of Embroidered Uniform Guards. "My lord Wang, this is Captain Wang Shan of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He will lead this mission."

Wang Wen was displeased inside—Wang Shan was Wang Zhen's own nephew, utterly incompetent. He'd happily drunk with him and visited brothels, but this was an official mission. Sending someone so incapable would only drag him down.

But Wang Wen showed no sign of it, smiling as he accepted.

Ma Shun leaned close to Wang Wen's ear and whispered: "My lord Wang, your father-in-law is also very curious about this treasure…"

Good night

(End of Chapter)