The Prodigal Son

Night falls.

Wang Yunchuan finally managed to relocate all four hundred or so people from Dongpu Saltworks to Haiyan Cave, which is about five or six miles away from the saltworks.

Under normal circumstances, it would only take a few hundred people to be evacuated, and it wouldn't take this long at all.

However, this sea cave, hidden in the dense mangrove forest, can only be reached by boat when the tide is high.

When there is no tide, it is almost impossible for people to move on the mudflats.

After he brought several boatloads of people to this side, the tide receded.

He had to wait for the next high tide before he could move the rest of the people here.

This sea cave was not only their emergency shelter, but also their secret salt warehouse.

Salt produced by Dongpu Saltworks is transported here every day during high tide.

During the few days of the dead or minor flood each month, they would transport half a month's worth of salt to the warehouse where they secretly traded with the Liao brothers via a secret waterway.

Wang Yunchuan glanced at the salt workers who were still unaware of what had happened and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Although it was a very eventful day, at least all the people from the saltworks were successfully transferred over.

Afterwards, Wang Yunchuan called the salt warehouse manager aside and whispered, "Keep a close eye on all these people. No one is allowed to leave! Anyone who disobeys..."

As he spoke, Wang Yunchuan made a throat-slitting gesture.

The steward was startled and asked in a low voice, "Young master, what exactly happened?"

This was the first time he had ever seen Wang Yunchuan so flustered.

His intuition told him that something big was likely going to happen this time!

"It's nothing serious!"

Wang Yunchuan tried his best to appear nonchalant. "The imperial court sent someone down to inspect the salt. Although we've already made arrangements, we still can't be too ostentatious. They also have to report back, right?"

"Yes, yes!"

The manager nodded repeatedly and then asked, "How long are they going to hide here?"

"It's just a formality, it'll only last a few days at most!"

Wang Yunchuan first reassured the manager, then said in a deep voice, "I have to go back to entertain guests, so I'll leave this to you! After you've seen those people off, I'll reward you handsomely!"

"Thank you, young master!"

The manager had a big smile on his face.

After giving the steward a few brief instructions, Wang Yunchuan quickly led several guards and boarded the ship before the tide receded.

However, just as they passed through the secret waterway of the mangrove forest, they saw a fire in the distance.

The firelight was exceptionally clear in the darkness.

"Young master, someone is coming this way!"

The guard whispered, gripping the hilt of his sword nervously.

The distant flames were getting closer and closer, clearly heading in their direction.

"Calm down, don't scare yourself!"

Wang Yunchuan stopped the overreacting guards, "Let's signal and confirm first!"

"yes!"

The guards received the order and immediately picked up the torches at the bow of the ship and drew three circles in the air.

Upon receiving the signal, the distant ships immediately responded with a signal in return.

Two torches are raised, one torch remains still, and the other torch sways left and right three times.

In their signals, this means nothing happened.

Having confirmed the signal, Wang Yunchuan immediately felt relieved. "It must have been brought over by my uncle!"

He managed to get things done.

I just don't know if my uncle has taken care of things properly.

I should confirm this with him!

If their uncle can get rid of the Liao brothers, they should be able to overcome this crisis.

Once it was confirmed to be safe, Wang Yunchuan immediately ordered his men to row over, and several other boats from the other side also rowed towards them.

When the two ships were less than five zhang apart, Wang Yunchuan noticed something was wrong.

By the dim light of the fire, he could tell that the person standing at the bow of the boat was his uncle, Wang Fan.

However, the person next to his uncle seemed somewhat unfamiliar.

They do things that risk their lives, so they are usually quite cautious and rarely encounter unfamiliar faces.

Even if a new face appears, we'll bring them to him first, instead of bringing them here directly!

Doubts arose immediately.

Wang Yunchuan immediately looked towards the other two ships.

Although she couldn't see the faces of the people on the boat, the golden glimmers that appeared in the firelight caused his expression to change drastically.

He's not my uncle's person!

They're from the imperial court!

My uncle has been captured by Qin Yu!

escape!

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Wang Yunchuan disregarded everything else and plunged into the water. Using the murky tide to conceal himself, he quickly slithered into the mangroves on either side.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Qi Dachui roared, and the rope in his hand suddenly flew out rapidly.

The next moment, the rope, like a serpent, darted into the water and directly lassoed Wang Yunchuan's body.

Wang Yunchuan struggled desperately underwater, but was tightly bound by the rope.

"Get out here!"

With a forceful pull, Qi Dachui dragged Wang Yunchuan's body out of the water.

Unable to break free, Wang Yunchuan still refused to surrender. Taking advantage of being dragged back, he slapped Qi Dachui in the face with his palm.

But he clearly overestimated his abilities.

Qi Dachui simply raised his hand slightly to block his attack, and at the same time, he wrapped the rope around his body, binding him tightly.

At the same time, Qin Xiong and the others had already jumped onto the boats of Wang Yunchuan's guards.

All of them possessed the strength of the fourth realm, and some even had the strength of the fifth realm.

In a small place like Linhai, they were considered to have some skills.

But they were clearly no match for Qin Xiong and his group.

In just a few moments, they were subdued by Qin Xiong and his men.

Unable to break free, Wang Yunchuan glared venomously at Wang Fan, who was being held captive, and roared through gritted teeth, "You bastard, I'll fuck your mother!"

And he's my uncle!

He should have given himself a heads-up when he was signaling to himself!

He only needs to give a slight hint to notice something is wrong!

At such a great distance, and in complete darkness, given his swimming skills and familiarity with the environment, there was absolutely no way these people could catch him!

He was harmed by his own uncle!

Other people's uncles would risk their lives to protect their nephews.

This scoundrel helped the imperial court arrest him!

Faced with his nephew's resentful gaze, Wang Fan remained silent, standing there with a face full of despair.

"His mother is your maternal grandmother!"

Qin Yu raised his hand and slapped Wang Yunchuan on the head. "With your skills, you could be doing anything else, why do you have to do something that could cost you your life!"

Filled with grief and indignation, Wang Yunchuan withdrew his gaze from Wang Fan and looked at Qin Yu with despair: "You... are you Qin Yu?"

"right!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly.

"Do we...do we even have a chance to survive?"

Wang Yunchuan's voice trembled, still clinging to a sliver of hope.

As long as Qin Yu gives him a chance to live, anything is negotiable!

He'd be willing to do anything, even be a slave!

"Others have it, but you and your son definitely don't!"

Qin Yu shook his head slightly, "Since you did this, you should have been prepared to lose your heads!"

Wang Yunchuan's last glimmer of hope was shattered. His legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the boat, his face filled with regret.

If he hadn't been blinded by money, with his family background and abilities, how could he have fallen to this state!