Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 20: A Surprising Joy for the Chief Official (Please Read and Vote)
It was past midnight.

At the deepest hour of night, when evil spirits are most rampant, two uninvited guests, an old man and a young boy, appeared in the deserted courtyard.

"How strange! During the day, I used the Six Lines Coin Divination method to calculate that the fishing tyrants who came from the Tanka people had settled here."

Why is there no one here now?
Now that those powerful families have already made their move against Yuegang, it won't be enough for us to come out and only kill one "Water Transport Officer" and a few tax collectors sent by the Water Transport Bureau.

The young man, with his bright eyes but murderous intent in his words, turned the courtyard upside down.

Even the fresh soil that Wang Cheng had filled in was dug up again, but no clues could be found.

The white-haired old man, who had been standing by without making a move, had a glint of golden light in his eyes. He coughed twice and called out to his apprentice:
"Ahem, no need to look anymore."

We've run into a fellow 'problem'; those fishing tyrants were all dead before midnight last night."

The old man speaking was dressed in a simple blue cloth robe and wore black cloth shoes.

His skin had an unhealthy sallow hue, and his arms were withered like old trees, yet his eyes were frighteningly bright, with a faint glimmer of glass.

Moreover, he was extremely tall, exuding a majestic and imposing aura from the inside out, and his presence alone commanded respect.

This inner and outer aura, in turn, overshadows his physical appearance, so no one who sees him would think he is an old man on the verge of death.

After saying just one sentence, he couldn't help but cough several times, proving that he did indeed have some kind of chronic illness and was in poor health.

"Master, are you okay?"

The young man returned to the old man's side and patted him on the back, but his doubts remained unresolved.
"You are the [Director of the Water Collection Hall] of our Water Collection lineage, and you have the authority to impeach the officials of the thirty-six halls of the Water Collection Hall."

Regardless of whether they serve in the public service or are officials appointed by the imperial court, as long as a member of the Water Stream breaks the rules, you can punish them openly and justly without causing a backlash from their "official aura".

In Yuegang, who doesn't know the name of Mr. Shen?
Yesterday, the Water Conservancy Bureau came to their door in a grand manner, and even Huang Yuanzhou, the Mirage General of Wufeng Banner, was wary and dared not directly attack them.

I can only indirectly ask for your help to punish these traitors who have broken the law and the rules of the trade.

"This is your headquarters this month, so surely the other [Directors of the Court] from the Cai Shui lineage wouldn't break the rules and come here to show off their power, would they?"

Old Shen waved his hand:

"Not any other senior officials."

The person who took action was probably just an ordinary official, or more likely, not even an official.

Zheng Qian, you still need to work on your appraisal skills.

The young man, named Zheng Qian, had complete faith in his master and had no doubt about his judgment. He gave him a thumbs-up and complimented him:

"Master, you are truly amazing!"

That man had cleaned up all the spiritual energy in this courtyard so thoroughly that I couldn't see anything amiss. How did you know he wasn't an official?

Upon hearing the compliment, Old Shen's face showed a hint of pleasure, and he said with a touch of smugness:
"I can tell which formula is used for this 'Rooster Crows at Dawn to Resurrect the Soul' incense just by smelling it."

Even though the wind blew for half the night and the smell had almost dissipated, the fragrance still couldn't escape my nose.

The recipe is good, but the person who blended the incense is too inexperienced; it's obvious they haven't been ordained or formally registered yet.

Zheng Qian, somewhat suspicious, quietly distanced himself from his master.

"You can tell just by smelling it?"

Master, how many sleeping potions have you personally concocted to accumulate so much experience? Did you have any side jobs when you were young?

Upon hearing this, Old Shen flew into a rage and struck the traitorous disciple hard on the head:
Prejudice in people's hearts is truly a mountain!
Incense itself is neither good nor evil; it is good when used correctly and evil when used incorrectly.

When facing an enemy, quicklime, sleeping pills, spiked clubs, matchlock guns, and even sex—of course, you should use whatever works best. How can you be a good "Director of the Imperial Household" if you can't adapt to changing circumstances?
"So young and yet so old-fashioned!"

Zheng Qian covered his head, only daring to mutter to himself:
'You can talk about using quicklime, sleeping pills, and sex with such confidence; no wonder you've cultivated such an upright and righteous air.'

When it comes to cultivating a thick skin, I'm still a long way off.

At this moment, the old man took out three sticks of blue incense from his satchel, looked around for a while, and then placed them in the spot where Wang Cheng had last sold Xue Da. With a flick of his finger, the incense sticks were lit.

The night breeze caused the incense to flicker, burning rapidly.

In no time, the three incense sticks burned down to the point where the right stick bent to the left and the others stood upright.

The old man made calculations with his hands and chanted an incense incantation:
"The fragrance of fortune and prosperity brings peace of mind; a thousand kinds of blessings naturally follow. Good thoughts align with Heaven's will; freedom from disaster and harm is a predestined fate. People gaze upon the phoenix pavilion and dragon tower; spring may pass, but the autumn moon will still be full."

Yes, this "colleague" is blessed with good fortune, and we should meet again in the future.

Interesting, interesting, cough cough cough.”

Zheng Qian patted his master on the back again, but seemed unimpressed by the incense name:
"The spiritual power of heaven and earth has long since dissipated, so there is very little that can be gleaned from the 'Three Emperors Temple Priest's Incense Offering Golden Mouth,' which can only be used as hindsight."

If we don't run into that person, we won't be able to decipher this incense number no matter how hard we try, just like the talisman and talisman passed down from the past: sixty copies of the "Tui Bei Tu".

So far, we've only deciphered up to the thirtieth image, the Tumu Crisis: "Even lacking one, one still gains the upper hand; six dragons personally lead the troops to the border of the barbarians. Heaven's will is revealed, and the people's hearts are at peace; mutual restraint and mutual generation prevent the horse from advancing."

I can recite the last thirty images perfectly, but I still don't understand their meaning, nor do I know what the future of the Great Zhao Dynasty will be like.

Then, his expression turned serious, and he reminded his master:

"Forget about Fu Lu for now. Let's kill [Du Shui Lang], and that Fu Lu 'accomplice' will kill the traitorous Tanka fishing tyrant. That's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause."

You should think about how we should deal with those gentry and powerful figures along the coast.

Now they are determined to take away the lucrative Yuegang Port, completely monopolize maritime trade and smuggling, exploit the lower classes, deceive the central government, and fear nothing more than a peaceful world.

This time, the Water Conservancy Bureau is just testing the waters; it's likely that in a couple of days they'll use other, more drastic measures to reveal their true intentions to the Trade Trade Faction.

The equipment of the Zhao state's naval forces is far inferior to that of the armed merchants, so they are not a cause for concern.

However, those merchants and pirates who have sided with the gentry and powerful families will inevitably clash with the trade faction and the Five Peaks Banner sooner or later, and a major upheaval is unavoidable.

Although many members of our "Mountain and Sea Society" are descendants of the treasure fleet from a century ago, and have intricate connections with the imperial court, maritime merchants, and pirates, maintaining outward neutrality is only a facade; we must make plans ahead.

Old Shen's expression also became serious:

"Let's talk about it when we get back."

The master and apprentice moved with lightning speed, transforming into two afterimages as they rushed towards the beacon tower on the edge of the harbor.

The next morning, Yuegang awoke from its slumber.

Wang Cheng and his men once again stepped onto the pier.

Although he knew where "Wang Fugui's" original home was, he had been away studying for many years and had long since rented out the courtyard, so it was impossible for him to just kick out the tenant.

He simply visited his former neighbors and a few distant relatives with gifts to prove that "Wang Fugui" had returned.

After finishing their work last night, they returned to the Zhang Fushun ship to rest.

The clam shells in the anchorage harbor were still spewing out mirages, looking beautiful under the sunlight, and seemed no different from yesterday.

But as soon as they landed, they discovered that the tax collectors of the water conservancy bureau, who had been so arrogant yesterday, were now running around like headless flies, ignoring even the sailboats laden with fish and goods entering and leaving the port.

All the officials with any real influence have disappeared.

Some of the tax collectors from outside the area even jumped back onto the official ship they had come on and fled Yuegang as if they were escaping.

"Strange, where did those bastards go?"

Yesterday, Zhang Wen, whose strength had greatly improved and whose energy was bursting, grabbed the owner of the breakfast stall next to the dock and stuffed a few copper coins into his hand.

The latter deftly pocketed the copper coin, and without him asking, explained mysteriously:
"Have you not heard, esteemed guests?"
The head of the Water Conservancy Bureau, the "Water Conservancy Officer," and several tax collectors all disappeared last night!

(End of this chapter)