Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 17 Evil Spirits: A Clueless Cover-Up
"Ahem, don't worry about the details. A scholar can know everything without leaving home."

My family came from a military household, and I encountered many noodle and wonton vendors during my service. It's reasonable that I have some knowledge of sleeping potions, right?

To be honest, the rooster's crow and the fifth watch of the night, and the incense used to revive the dead, are secondary. The main problem is that these fishing tyrants are used to running rampant and daring to steal anything they can get their hands on.

Squeak-!
Wang Cheng, with a ring-pommel sword at his waist, followed by the Zhang brothers, Zhang Wu and Zhang Wen, who were carrying swords and bows, entered the house chatting as if they were returning home.

He immediately closed the door again, locking the deepening night outside.

The three men glanced down at the tax collectors scattered on the ground, each took out a small porcelain bottle, and smelled it beforehand to refresh themselves and feel invigorated.

The phrase "the rooster crows at the fifth watch to revive the soul" refers to the act of releasing a sleeping potion on the victim at night. The victim can only be revived at the fifth watch of the night, and being accidentally affected is no joke.

It is divided into two main prescriptions: one for external use and one for internal use.

When administering poison with external remedies, the victim must first inhale the antidote, and then use methods such as patting, raising, scattering, or blowing smoke to induce dizziness and fainting.

Internal prescriptions are added directly to dishes and drinks, but they are not colorless or tasteless; it is best to use strongly flavored dishes and drinks to mask their taste.

The formula used by Wang Cheng was indeed not the method of a regular military household, but rather a family tradition from the Wang family who collected water!
One hundred years ago, the ancestors of the Wang family who collected water accompanied the eunuch Zheng He on his voyages to the Western Ocean in search of elixirs of immortality, serving as "ship captains and fire chiefs," a position equivalent to a modern ship's navigator.

Holding the golden compass and star-gazing board, he was responsible for the navigation and positioning of the entire treasure fleet, navigating across the ocean by stargazing.

He had encountered countless powerful water gatherers, and passed down a secret scroll of water gathering methods that had been accumulated by generations and perfected through cooperation with the imperial navy: "The Righteous Method of Sending with the Wind"!
The methods involved are all-encompassing, and various incense-making techniques, whether legal or illegal, are essential skills for the ship's "incense artisans."

When everyone joked about doing business without any investment, the Zhang brothers were just joking.

However, the Wang family, who possess the complete inheritance of water collection methods, are truly experts at drugging guests and serving them sliced ​​noodles; they just hadn't specifically sought out this dish before.

What's that famous saying again? That's not a dark history, it's the road my Wang family came from!

Wang Cheng was also very satisfied with his first practice:
"Perhaps it is because of the favor of the lineage of the prince's descendants that I was born to do this job."

Unfortunately, my father's greatest warning to me was that the greatest danger in spiritual practice lies in one's own thoughts, and that the most intelligent of all beings is itself a breeding ground for all kinds of evil spirits.

Knowing too much is not beneficial before reaching a certain official rank.

"While 'The Guide to Sending You Off with the Wind' is excellent, it's a real pity that I can't access many of the unique skills and extraordinary techniques it teaches."

He turned and waved to the Zhang brothers behind him:

“These fishing tyrants are all bad people. Since we’ve already messed with them, we shouldn’t leave any of them alive.”

"Scholar, please rest. Leave all the dirty and tiring work to us. We brothers have been dreaming of this day."

Zhang Wu and Zhang Wen had long been unable to suppress their hatred. Xue Da was the mastermind behind their father's murder, and the others, who were also fishing tyrants, were accomplices.

Without any questioning, they stepped forward and each grabbed the head of one of the fishing tyrants, snapping their necks with a slight "crack".

Murder is easy, but disposing of the body is difficult.

Taking down these twenty-odd fishing tyrants wasn't the problem; the real issue was how to dispose of the bodies. Subconsciously, they tried to avoid leaving too many traces.

This method of killing leaves no bloodstains; it's clean and efficient.

The two attacked one by one, and the unconscious fishmonger was completely powerless to resist.

When Zhang Wu's "forgetful life" takes hold, he looks completely absorbed in his work, making him appear like some kind of psychopathic killer to anyone who doesn't know him.

Soon, all the ordinary fishing tyrants were dead, leaving only Xue Da lying in the middle.

The two brothers planned to have one grab his body and the other twist his neck, then work together to avenge their father, so that they would both feel a sense of participation and filial piety.

However, they had only just bent down.

Xue Da, who had been unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed the mulberry wood carrying pole that the restaurant waiter used to deliver food.

"Die to me!!!"

With a flick of his wrist, the carrying pole seemed to come alive, suddenly transforming into a ferocious black dragon that could stir up clouds and rain, and struck Zhang Wu's forehead.

Woo!
As the fierce wind rushed towards him, Zhang Wu's eyes widened, but his body had no time to react.

After Xue Da secretly lit his inner lamp, his mind became exceptionally clear, and his resistance to the sleeping potion far exceeded that of other fishing tyrants. He pretended to be affected and seized the opportunity to launch a sudden attack.

However, while his attack was certainly unexpected, someone else reacted even faster.

Just as Xue Dacai rolled over and jumped up, Wang Cheng, who was already on guard, flicked the hilt of his sword with his left thumb, and the blade at his waist flashed.

Advance, parry, single sword breaks the staff!

clang--!
The tip of the stick grazed Zhang Wu's forehead, and the howling wind blew his hair into disarray.

The sleeping potion had finally taken a serious toll on Xue Da's body. He tried to swing his stick again after missing his first strike, but the carrying pole wobbled precariously. Before the stick could even fall, a gleaming blade flashed in Xue Da's eyes once more.

At this moment, he had already recognized Wang Cheng and his group's identities. In shock, he was about to beg for mercy:
"Wait, don't kill him!"

The sharp blade had already sliced ​​across his neck without stopping.

At this moment, Zhang Wencai, who was on the other side behind him, reacted and rushed forward without hesitation, pinning him to the ground.

Even with mastery of external training and a strong physique, one would freeze completely after struggling for only a few moments.

His bloodshot eyes were wide open, as if he simply couldn't believe that after nearly twenty years of painstaking efforts and committing all sorts of evil deeds, he had finally reached the day to reap the rewards.

But he lost everything because of a single, perfectly normal act of extortion, and all his previous ambitions vanished like a dream.

The wisp of official aura above his head still tried to stir in response, but it had already been obscured by the backlash from the people. It throbbed a few times in vain, but failed to leave any mark on Wang Cheng, the "murderer".

"The first taboo of murder and robbery: villains die from talking too much."

"There shouldn't be any more accidents now, right?"

Wang Cheng wiped the blood off the blade with a cloth, then sheathed the sword to prevent it from sticking to the scabbard next time.

Turning around, he saw the Zhang brothers, their eyes red-rimmed, kneeling at his feet with a mixture of regret for not being able to take revenge themselves and a sense of relief.

Ignoring the rule of "one for humans, three for gods, four for ghosts," he kowtowed three times with a loud "thump, thump, thump."

"Big boat captain, we brothers never imagined that we would have a day in this life to avenge the murder of our father."

The debt of gratitude owed to the person at the bow of the ship can never be repaid in a lifetime!

From this day forward, we brothers' lives are yours to keep!

Their way of addressing Wang Cheng quietly changed. He was no longer the relatively equal "Scholar," but the "Big Ship Head," who held the highest position in the naval fleet's combat system.

At sea, whether they are pirates who plunder or armed merchants who engage in trade, their leaders are all respectfully called "ship leader." A single ship is called an ordinary ship leader, while a fleet is called a "large ship leader."

From the initial encounter with Hai Zhu Gui's composed command; to the discovery of three thousand abyssal treasures and one hundred thousand sea delicacies through the "Art of Prophecy"; and now, finding the enemy's hideout and calmly administering medicine to kill the formidable foe with flawless strategy.
Besides feeling grateful, even the most oblivious among them realized that this "scholar" was no ordinary person.

When the winds of change blow, even if we don't say that a dragon will transform into a serpent, one can certainly become a hero, just like those famous ships at sea.

Out of the survival wisdom of the lower classes, they did not hesitate to give up ownership of the only seagoing vessel of the Qingyi fishing gang, the "Zhang Fushun".

Wang Cheng, with a calm and composed expression, helped the two brothers who had "brought in investment" to their feet and comforted them:

“These two brothers are my right-hand men. Your affairs are my affairs. Why be so polite?”
Let's first look for that treasure that Xue Da took from my uncle back then. I wonder if he's sold it off after all these years.

He turned his head and peered through the coin eye of the Sihaitongbao coin into the courtyard to observe the qi.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Wang Cheng originally thought that with the help of "Rare Goods for Hoarding", it would be easy to find treasures and valuables, but he did not expect that he could not see any unusual luster in the treasures.

He then realized that it was impossible for a group of cunning and ruthless fishing tyrants to be without any surplus wealth.

Xue Da probably used some kind of method to specifically guard against officials such as the "Treasure Hunter," the "Mountain Guardian," and the "Pearl Diver."

Thinking that the closer the distance and the closer the relationship, the better the effect of "hoarding rare goods", he walked towards the main house facing south.

They searched room by room until they finally saw a faint reddish-blue light emanating from under the bed in the main room at close enough distance.

“County, prefecture, state, and country: red represents the treasure of a prefecture, white with red is already the treasure of a county, and this treasure with red and blue is definitely not an ordinary item.”

"Right here, dig!"

The Zhang brothers immediately moved the bed aside, grabbed a shovel from the yard, and started digging with great effort.

As they dug, they suddenly smelled a pungent stench of money.

Immediately, all three of them strangely used their "nose" to "hear" faint, murmured sounds coming from the stench:

"This is a classic case of 'protesting too much'! This is a classic case of 'protesting too much'!"

Zhang Wu and Zhang Wen were immediately dizzy and disoriented, and almost fell headfirst into the pit they had just dug, but Wang Cheng grabbed their belts and dragged them out.

After three shouts, the "There's no silver buried here" had transformed into a deafening roar.

A foul-smelling, ethereal figure suddenly leaped out from underground.

"It's an evil spirit, get out of the way!"

(End of this chapter)