Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 7 I, the Water Collector's New Sun

"Hiding from the authorities? Why?"

Zhang Wu was taken aback, but subconsciously followed Wang Cheng's advice, turning the boat away from the mouth of the Jiulong River and heading towards the sea settlement of the Tanka people.

Anyway, they were a group of boat people who lived on boats and had no weaknesses on land. Even if they unintentionally left any traces, they didn't have to worry about being taken advantage of.

Wang Cheng didn't rush to answer his question; instead, his gaze returned to the information he had just gleaned.

In the illusory pavilions and towers in Qian Yan's eyes, something new appeared: a cloud-script talisman with an abstract sea monster as its main element, which was none other than the Ghost Tong [Turtle Head Body]!
The Five Supernatural Powers—Cultivation, Retribution, Reliance, Demon, and Ghost—have different origins. After Wang Cheng killed the leader of the Sea Island Ghosts with an arrow, he actually managed to reclaim this ability from the other party.

At the same time, an additional line was added after the preceding "[.Taboo: Pure Yang Items]":
"Even without capital, it's still business. Kill the owner, recycle the waste, and randomly 'buy' one of their personal belongings!"

What else could Wang Cheng say after seeing this last message?
The Mountain Spirit's "Rare Goods for Sale" appears to be a treasure trove for assisting in buying and selling, but as it states itself, even buying and selling without capital is still buying and selling.

If you can kill the original owner, you can potentially take back all the valuables, rare items, and magical techniques they possess and make them yours.

Aren't those water collectors who go out to sea to trade also like this?
In the blink of an eye, one could transform from a well-funded merchant of the "trading faction" into a capitalless pirate of the "plundering faction."

"The key to application lies in one's own mind. I like it!"

Even if you can only buy one relic at random, which is most likely to be junk, it is still quite remarkable.

Like other goods, once they are recovered into Wang Cheng's hands, he can use them for his own purposes or sell them.

No special military tactics or magical arts training is required; whoever sells this ghostly art to will immediately become a new Seafowl Ghost.

If you don't want to use it anymore, just recycle it and sell it to someone else.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Wang Cheng asking Zhang Wu to temporarily go and avoid trouble; the key issue is the identity of the leader of the Haizhu Ghost.

【Haizhu Gui: Pu Shoucheng, 24 years old】

On the surface, it was a ship under the command of Xu Hai, the leader of the pirate faction and the Grand General of Pinghai, but in reality, it was one of the links between Xu Hai and the coastal gentry and powerful families, only disguised as a Japanese.

Obsession: On the orders of the clan chief, we will blockade the sea area within two hundred miles of the mouth of the Jiulong River with others, and intercept and kill all ships returning today.

A cold glint flashed in Wang Cheng's eyes:

"A complete blockade of the estuary? They're coming for me!"
Since this person's surname is Pu, he is most likely a fake Japanese soldier from a gentry family in Southeast China.

The apparent invasion of Haizhu by the demons was merely a smokescreen to deceive others.

There is something that is quite counterintuitive for ordinary coastal residents.

While the invading Japanese were indeed fierce and bloodthirsty, regardless of which of the sixty-six kingdoms of Yingzhou they came from, a considerable number of them were dogs kept by various forces of the Great Zhao Dynasty.

General Xu Hai, the Great General of the Heavenly Sea, was not their only master.

Those who are fearless and charge ahead, even grabbing iron pots, are definitely the real Japanese pirates. Those of higher status who hide in the back and fish are fake Japanese pirates or traitors. These people are specifically responsible for leading the way when they invade.

Behind every fake Japanese pirate is the shadow of "pirate raiders" who collect water and the powerful families of the Great Zhao Dynasty.

If you think about it, you'll realize that apart from water collectors, who are religious officials who use the sea as their field, how could ordinary people have the capital to buy ships, recruit people, or participate in maritime trade or plunder?
Those powerful officials, aristocratic families, and wealthy merchants are the main force!
Especially after seeing the leader of the Haizhu ghosts surnamed Pu, Wang Cheng had some guesses in his mind.

The most likely reason why the government broke its promise and first offered amnesty and then changed its mind was that my father, Prince Jinghai, had offended the interests of those powerful families and local gentry who were also secretly smuggling!

That's at least one of the reasons.

Wang Cheng is no longer the naive young man he once was; he knows that the interests of the organization as a whole are often not aligned with the interests of the managers and implementers.

It's not surprising that orders from the central command can take a complete 180-degree turn once they reach the local level.

He pondered in his heart:

"The reason why these sea monsters react so quickly is..."

This indicates that the people behind them were deeply involved in the massacre of the Wang family, and that the ritual of sending the Wang ship to fill the sea hole was something they had prepared long ago.

They even knew I was still alive immediately, which is why they waited for me to come to them along the coast.

Given their willingness to undertake acts like sending a royal ship to the capital and filling in the sea, I have no doubt about their determination to eradicate any threat.

Fortunately, even the ruler who controls the manpower and resources of a country cannot completely ban the seas, so they probably won't be able to do so for long.

He only needs to hide out there for a few days at most; he should be able to get back on his feet.

Turning back to look at the information retrieved by [Rare Goods for Hoarding]:
"Pu Shoucheng? And he was ordered by the Pu clan chief?"
This Pu family might be a breakthrough point, allowing me to gradually unravel the mystery and find the mastermind behind it all.

With this in mind, Wang Cheng gradually came up with a preliminary plan.

He looked back at the puzzled Zhang Wu and Zhang Wen brothers, along with a group of boatmen.

From Wang Fugui's perspective, a message was revealed that was enough to cause the heavens to fall and the earth to collapse for all those who fished in the East China Sea and lived on boats:

"I was still a little uncertain before I saw the group of Seafowl demons who were trying to ambush us."

Now I think I understand why Haizhu Ghost isn't afraid of the Five Peaks Flag.

Do you remember me saying you'd be out of port for at least four days?

A sense of foreboding crept into everyone's hearts, and they quickly pressed for an answer:
"Why?"

Wang Cheng sighed:

"Because four days ago, when the imperial court was trying to recruit the Prince of Anjing, it suddenly turned its back and ambushed and killed the entire Prince of Caishui's family."

Last night, before I fell into the water, I vaguely saw two royal ships passing through the estuary and entering the East China Sea, a full half month earlier than the confirmed date this year.

"I initially thought I was mistaken, but now I'm absolutely certain that the Sea God [Prince] whom the government pushed forward yesterday to deliver the royal ship was none other than the recently deceased Prince Jinghai!" "What?! Impossible!"

"Prince Jinghai was the most powerful water collector in the world. How could he die? How could he possibly die?"

Facing the incredulous gazes of the boatmen, Wang Cheng cruelly shattered their last illusions:

"These sea monsters that dare to come out and wreak havoc again are enough to prove that King Jinghai can no longer protect this East China Sea and all the boatmen and water collectors in the world."

What we are experiencing today is just the beginning.

All coastal residents must prepare for the drastic changes.

Without the suppression of that maritime merchant leader from the trade alliance, perhaps the next decade will see a turbulent era of pirates from the coast of the Great Zhao to the East China Sea islands and the Southeast Asian countries!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wu, Zhang Wen, and the other boatmen completely believed Wang Cheng's deduction, and their eyes reddened and their faces were filled with grief.

They turned around in unison and kowtowed three times in the direction of the East Sea Eye and the Mountain and Sea Curse.

According to folk beliefs, "One kowtow is for elders and superiors, three kowtows are for gods, and four kowtows are for ghosts."

The fact that they kowtowed three times shows that these Tanka people subconsciously regarded the deceased Wang Zeng as the sea god, and they didn't care at all whether he had successfully delivered the king's ship or not.

Zhang Wu wiped his eyes and instructed his younger brother to prepare a statue of Prince Jing as soon as they reached the shore, so that it could also be enshrined on their fishing boat as a ship god.

Seeing the surprise on Wang Cheng's face, he forced an awkward smile:

"Scholar, please excuse my poor appearance."

You've always studied in the capital and haven't heard much about what's happening at sea. You don't know that Prince Jing is the god of us boatmen and fishermen.

To put it bluntly, the imperial court treats us people in the southeast far too harshly!
In addition to the regular taxes, there were also various other exorbitant taxes levied under different pretexts, such as boat taxes, fishing taxes, salt taxes, and taxes levied on unregistered merchants.

In some places, tributes of pearls, hawksbill turtle shells, turtle skins, and various other precious items such as purple shells were required to be presented to the imperial court. The worst part was the endless corvée labor.

It was only during the three years that Prince Jing was stationed in the East China Sea, allowing us to conduct trade with foreign countries without worry, that we finally had a glimmer of hope for the future.

Zhang Wen, who was standing next to him and had at least read a few books, chimed in:
"No one in the world is more burdened by forced labor, and no one is more exhausted by forced labor in the southeast."

The powerful families have the ability to impose taxes and corvée labor on the common people. Our Minzhou is a region with eight parts mountains, one part water, and one part farmland. If we didn't rely on the sea for our livelihood, where would we get so much wealth for the gentry to exploit?

We boatmen have indeed made a fortune thanks to the prince.

The Zhang family's "Zhang Fushun" was the capital my father saved up during those three good years.

As the saying goes, adding a boat is like adding a son; these boats often bear the name of their owner. Just look at this boat, and you'll know that Prince Jing was truly a great benefactor to the Zhang family and countless boat owners.

The other boatmen also said:
"We Tanka people and boat dwellers may not be literate, but there's one thing we're true to: unity! Gratitude!"

Prince Jing was also of Tanka origin, and he was determined to help us escape our lowly status so that our descendants could have a future.

He is the sun for us Tanka people and boat dwellers!

For the sake of all the water collectors and the lifting of the sea ban, Prince Jing and his family even gave their lives. We are born lowly and can do nothing else, but we must never let the Wang family's incense offerings be cut off.

The other boatmen on shore, who must have already received the news, have likely begun burning incense and kowtowing to the prince.

For the first time, Wang Cheng personally experienced the weight the name "Prince Jinghai" carried in the hearts of the boatmen, and felt a lump in his throat.

He suddenly realized that this was probably the most precious legacy his father had left him.

Besides feeling honored, they also have more confidence in breaking the maritime ban in the future.

Because people's hearts are worthwhile!

Wang Cheng glanced at the group of people who, realizing their mistake, hesitated and waved their hands dismissively.

"The dynasty has its own laws and regulations. The worship of the prince is one of the official sacrifices of the court, and there is no need to avoid it."

Once the divine ritual of sending off the royal ship is completed, one is automatically included in the dynasty's orthodox divine worship. One is neither a criminal to the court nor a licentious worshipper, and can be publicly worshipped. Even the god of the state dares not violate the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms".

I am a scholar, more knowledgeable about the law than you are, so you can rest assured.

The group of boatmen were overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly.

Little did they know that the Prince of Jinghai had other ideas.

Previously, Wang Cheng was in dire straits himself, and even seeing two talented individuals from the county, he had little interest in "hoarding" them.

However, after the battle with Umizuki, he changed his mind.

We must stockpile talent! The sooner the better!
It should be noted that most of the core team members of Emperor Gaozu of Han when he founded the country were his fellow villagers from Pei County.

It wasn't because all the talented prime ministers were born in the small county of Pei, but rather because this group of talented individuals from a single county met by chance, honed their skills in the chaos of the times, and gradually grew into talents capable of governing the country.

Starting from scratch, aside from a few key figures, cultivating talent from the ground up is more than enough to build an entire county.

Perhaps the most talented swordsman in the world is just an old beggar who just froze to death on the street corner next door, but without the right opportunity, a true dragon might not even be as good as an insect.

The Zhang brothers, one with a "forgetful destiny" and the other with a "good destiny," could definitely become capable of standing on their own if given some training.

However, it's not possible to make it clear right now, because even though Wang Cheng wants to be the second-generation water collector, he's still missing the most crucial thing—money!

He touched his empty clothes and felt once again the fear of being dominated by poverty in his previous life.

"Don't say that the identity of the Prince of Jinghai's heir cannot be exposed for the time being. Even if it is revealed to the public one day in the future, what will it take to keep my subordinates loyal to me?"
That must be pure, unadulterated silver!
Otherwise, are we supposed to feed them celery and oranges?

(End of this chapter)