Chapter 201
Chapter 201
“Who do you intend to speak with?”
“His Highness, the Crown Prince. If I offer him a portion of the gold produced from Wang'ai Island each year, he will be satisfied.”
“How much do you plan to share?”
“A quarter. I will exchange that for a guarantee that the King will not dispatch troops to seize Wang'ai Island.”
Qiu Tianwei’s eyes glinted as he asked.
“How many defenders are on Wang'ai Island now?”
“Three thousand. And they are constantly increasing their numbers. It seems Jin Zhuo has gone mad. He’s spending gold like water, desperately expanding his military. For a mere Count of Xuanwu to expand his private army to five thousand, and on top of that, to have conscripted another three thousand militiamen and armed them with armor and weapons…”
Qiu Tianwei spoke in a tone of disbelief.
“Has Count Jin Zhuo lost his mind? Isn’t he afraid of incurring the King’s wrath? For a mere count’s estate to increase its armed private soldiers to eight thousand…”
“Does this not prove that there is a gold mine on Wang'ai Island, and one with an astronomical amount of deposits at that? It must be why a conservative man like Jin Zhuo would risk the King’s displeasure and frantically expand his military. Lord of Raging Tide, we must act quickly. Now that they have discovered gold, the Jin Clan’s power will grow by the day. The more time passes, the more difficult it will be for us to attack Wang'ai Island. Count Jin Zhuo is even using laborers to build a fortress on the island. Once that fortress is complete, conquering Wang'ai Island will become even more difficult.”
“Count of Jinhai, how many troops do you think we’ll need to conquer Wang'ai Island?”
“Given that Count Jin Zhuo is increasing his forces daily, the number of troops stationed on Wang'ai Island will exceed four thousand within a month. With the addition of two or three thousand conscripted militiamen and laborers, we will need to dispatch at least two or three times their number to succeed.”
“I finally understand why the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate suddenly purchased several hundred cartloads of provisions.”
“Indeed. A million catties of grain have all been transported to Wang'ai Island. The Count of Xuanwu is making it clear that he is willing to lose his fief but will absolutely not lose Wang'ai Island. He is pouring all his remaining money into it, staking everything on Wang'ai Island as if it were his final gamble.”
“Does that mean we need to dispatch at least twenty thousand soldiers to smoothly seize Wang'ai Island?”
“That is correct. My clan will provide three thousand soldiers. When we seize Wang'ai Island in the future, I ask for nothing more than fifteen percent.”
Qiu Tianwei sneered.
“Even fifteen percent will be an astronomical sum.”
“Lord of Raging Tide, you must make a decision. Any further delay could lead to complications. Not only will the defenses on Wang'ai Island grow stronger by the day, but more importantly, more and more people will begin to covet that island. If we move now, you, I, and the Crown Prince can share the profits among the three of us, but that may not be possible in the future. Perhaps more greedy sharks will swarm in, and by then, the profits left to share might not be worth much.”
Qiu Tianwei’s eyes narrowed.
‘Dispatch twenty thousand soldiers?’
That was too many. An army of twenty thousand was tantamount to mobilizing all the pirates under his command. It would mean that most of the forces stationed in Raging Tide City would be gone, which felt like too great a risk for Qiu Tianwei. What if there was no gold mine on Wang'ai Island? What if this was all a scheme by Shen Lang?
Qiu Tianwei said.
“No. I must confirm for myself that there is a gold mine on Wang'ai Island. If there isn’t, the price I would have to pay is too great.”
“But they are now defending the entire island with their lives. They are killing anyone who approaches. My clan sent dozens of spies, but all of them were killed.”
Qiu Xiao said.
“I will go myself. I will go and find out the truth of Wang'ai Island. With my father, Raging Tide City, and tens of thousands of pirates behind me, the Count of Xuanwu would not dare to kill me. Even if he had the gall, he would never be able to touch a single hair on my head.”
Qiu Tianwei said nothing, so Qiu Xiao spoke again.
“From what I have seen, Shen Lang is the type to retaliate for even the smallest grudge. Everyone who has crossed him has died, but I was the exception! Even when I insulted his wife, Jin Mulan, he didn’t dare react to me. When I ordered my men to throw poisoned corpses into the wells to spread a plague and kill ten thousand people in their fief, Shen Lang still did nothing. I also tried to destroy the Jinshu Dam to ruin the Count of Xuanwu’s fief and the Jin Clan’s livelihood, and to drown over ten thousand people. Zhu Nan died, but I am still alive and well. Shen Lang didn’t dare retaliate against me in the slightest. What does this prove?”
The Count of Jinhai, Tang Lun, said.
“That Shen Lang, that wretched cur, bullies the weak and fears the strong. He endures insults from a true powerhouse, so he wouldn’t dare touch a hair on Young Master Qiu Xiao’s head.”
Qiu Tianwei closed his eyes and thought for a long moment. There was some truth to what his son, Qiu Xiao, had said. What Qiu Xiao had done to the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate was an act devoid of humanity, yet Shen Lang still had not thought of retaliating.
The Pirate King opened his eyes and said.
“Very well. You will go tomorrow.”
“Yes, Father! I will be sure to display the might of the Qiu Clan. If the Jin Clan dares to stop me from landing on Wang'ai Island, I will cut down whoever it is without mercy. Twenty years ago, when we were still a weak force, Count Jin Yu led an army of over ten thousand to attack us, yet they were annihilated by us. How much more so today? How much stronger have we become since then?”
The Pirate King, Qiu Tianwei, merely smiled without a word. Their victory in the war twenty years ago had laid the foundation for the great enterprise of establishing Raging Tide City. And Qiu Tianwei felt a sense of gratitude toward the two people who had helped him achieve that great victory: Shu Baidao of the Hidden Yuan Society and the current Marquis of Wu'an. One was the Hidden Yuan Society, the other the Xue Clan; they were Count Jin Yu’s two most important allies at the time. If both forces hadn’t betrayed him, how could Jin Yu have suffered such a devastating defeat?
Qiu Xiao said.
“Father, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave. I must prepare so that I can depart for Wang'ai Island early tomorrow morning.”
At Qiu Xiao’s words, Qiu Tianwei frowned. As they say, like father, like son; no one knew his son better than the Pirate King, Qiu Tianwei. He instantly discerned that Qiu Xiao was eager to leave because he wanted to bed a woman. Qiu Tianwei waved him away, and Qiu Xiao, mad with joy, quickly left the room, practically flying towards Qiu Yao'er's tower.
‘Sister Yao’er, I’m coming! You three beauties, here I come! You will soon experience a torment where you can neither live nor die!’
* * *
The aphrodisiac Qiu Xiao had prepared was truly potent. It was unnoticeable when the smoke first spread, but once it entered the body and reacted with the blood, it ignited an increasingly intense desire. Once the fire within her began to burn, it was impossible to suppress. At first, Qiu Yao'er didn't understand what was happening, but as time passed, she felt her body grow hot and her mind become hazy, her heart pounding faster and faster. Listening to the sound of the waves, the waves crashing within her own body grew stronger. Moreover, strange scenes, beautiful scenes she had never witnessed before, continuously flashed through her mind.
At that point, no matter how ignorant she was of the ways between men and women, she realized what was happening. Someone had drugged her. Her mind raced.
‘Was it that female physician? No, it couldn’t have been her. That’s right! The incense!’
Thanks to her formidable martial arts skills, Qiu Yao'er’s senses were sharper than anyone’s. The scent of the incense was the same as before, but with a slight difference. Qiu Yao'er had noticed the difference but had thought little of it. She had assumed the weakness that overcame her after leaving the room was simply due to the bloodletting. Now she knew it was because of the incense, and that someone had laced it with an aphrodisiac.
Qiu Yao'er was instantly filled with rage. When someone tried to murder or assassinate her, she didn't get particularly angry. But for someone to attempt such a shameless act to defile her purity… She wanted to go back immediately, find the culprit, and kill them. But doing so would mean breaking her promise.
The time for her duel with Zhu Hongxue was fast approaching. This was not just a promise between her and Zhu Hongxue; the honor of both their masters was at stake. If anyone found out she had broken her promise, they would say Qiu Yao'er had avoided the fight out of fear of death. She could never abandon this duel. She intended to keep her promise, even if it meant death.
“Guards!”
At Qiu Yao'er’s command, four female warriors appeared by her side.
“Take a dozen warriors and go to my chambers. Protect Xu Qianqian and the physician. But guard the door from the outside; do not enter the room. If any man tries to force his way in, kill him without question.”
“Yes, my lady!”
The four female warriors rushed towards Qiu Yao'er’s tower. Qiu Yao'er continued to walk along the beach, heading towards the promised dueling grounds. Before long, the fire within her body burned even hotter, to the point where it became difficult to even walk. The fire burned from within, impossible to suppress. Moreover, her mind was beginning to grow hazy.
‘No. How can I fight a duel like this?’
Qiu Yao'er circulated her vital energy to suppress the desire, but feeling it was still not enough, she drew her sword and slashed her own wrist forcefully. In an instant, crimson blood spurted from the vein. Damn it, she had now learned how to let her own blood. The method worked, instantly suppressing the strange fire that coursed through her. She hurried towards the beach. She had to end this duel quickly.
* * *
A quarter of an hour later.
Qiu Yao'er arrived at the white sand beach on the eastern side of Leizhou Island. The sand there was exceptionally fine and white, looking like platinum under the moonlight. It was the epitome of beauty. Zhu Hongxue had already arrived and was sitting cross-legged on the white sand. Under the moonlight, the peerless prodigy, Zhu Hongxue, was like a sculpture carved from jade.
To be honest, Zhu Hongxue was slightly more handsome than Shen Lang. Shen Lang was handsome in the way of a pretty boy who had just stepped out of a romance story, but Zhu Hongxue was handsome with an air of dominance, a strange mix of masculine charm that gave him a very intense presence. He was like a sword that could instantly pierce a woman’s heart. Nearly every woman’s heart would beat faster just by looking at him.
As Qiu Yao'er stepped onto the white sand, Zhu Hongxue opened his eyes and stood up. He was truly tall, on par with Qiu Yao'er and a bit taller than Shen Lang. If measured by modern standards, Shen Lang was about one hundred and eighty centimeters tall, which would make Zhu Hongxue a handspan taller.
According to the aesthetic standards of this world, a woman who was one hundred and ninety centimeters tall was unlovable. But a man of that height would be showered with excessive praise, described as long and slender, or as towering as a lofty mountain. In any case, a man with Zhu Hongxue’s looks was bound to attract attention wherever he went, standing head and shoulders above other men.
“You’ve come?”
“I have!”
“Your master made a request of me. He asked me to ask you when you might leave Raging Tide City and venture with him beyond the seas.”