Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 190: Chapter 27: Planning

Lantau Island, night.

The candlelight flickered as ink marks and animal carcasses lay scattered across the floor. Amid the intricate drawings, Madam Shi hugged a straw effigy to her chest, radiating with vitality.

The leader of the Gaoli ghosts, Chaoyi, held a ring-headed saber as nine people knelt before him with their hands and feet bound, their cries for help faint.

These people, men and women, old and young, each had their mouths stuffed with towels, their expressions filled with terror.

With a pinch behind the neck of the first man, Chaoyi raised his blade and swung it downward fiercely.

As a head fell to the ground, blood followed the ink and flowed in all directions. In an instant, the ink marks on the ground were replaced by a blood-red color so vibrant and otherworldly.

Splatters of blood dotted Madam Shi’s face, but she seemed oblivious as the corpses lay before her with eyes wide open, their warm blood trickling out.

The crude straw effigy lifted its head, its limbs flailing for a moment before collapsing limply.

“Madam, how do you feel?”

Madam Shi shook her head, “The effect is getting worse and worse. It’s only slightly better than nothing.” She forced a corner of her mouth into a smile, “If I could muster the energy I had when I gave birth to Xiu’er, I might live to see tomorrow’s sun.”

“Madam!”

“Chaoyi, I won’t repeat what I said that day in the vine building; you should understand,” Madam Shi stated.

Chaoyi was silent for a while, “One hundred and twelve Gaoli ghosts, all looking to Tianbao as their leader.”

“Ah,” Madam Shi waved dismissively, “Chaoyi, you’re actually a few years older than me. You’ve followed me all the way to the Red Flag Gang; I’m grateful for all your care over the years.”

“Madam, you shouldn’t say that,” replied Chaoyi.

“You joined the Red Flag Gang before him and you’ve fought hard all these years. Your merits aren’t less than Tianbao’s. You need to keep an eye on gang affairs too; you can’t let it be Tianbao’s one-man show. Xiu calls you godfather; you’ve got to have her back and not let her get pushed around by Tianbao.”

“Madam, I will never allow it,” Chaoyi stated resolutely.

Madam Shi’s eyebrows slightly lowered as she gave him a subtle, emotionless glance.

She pulled out a wax-sealed envelope from her bosom and handed it to Chaoyi.

“This object is the Red Flag Gang’s secret passed down over the years. I’m afraid I won’t last until his return, and I don’t trust anyone else to deliver it. Give this to Tianbao,” she instructed.

Chaoyi respectfully accepted and secured the envelope.

“You may go. I want to rest.”

“Madam, you…”

“Just go,” she insisted.

Chaoyi bowed his head and left silently after a long moment.

Madam Shi’s countenance softened as she watched Chaoyi’s receding figure; her expression was like that of a clay statue, yet her lips curled downwards.

With this downturn of her lips, a chilling murderous intent was unleashed.

Out on the South Seas, the fog was swept away by the wind, revealing flames, wrecked ships, and floating corpses on the glittering sea.

As “Mr. Yan” and the Lu surnamed skeleton sank into the sea bed, the tumultuous waves calmed as well.

When Cha Xiaodao returned with four lock boats, all she saw were seas creature carcasses spread before Li Yan, who was sharpening the spearhead with a sharp stone. The surviving pirates sat exhausted on their ship—some stood up, taking hooks and ropes to salvage jewelry and jade still within reach.

Li Yan’s leather armor was tattered, and his eyes red with fatigue—it was evident he had not had an easy time.

“You’re here, help with salvaging the goods.”

…

The upheaval at Quanlang Dou had passed two hours prior.@@novelbin@@

The salty scent of the sea breeze swept across the deck as a line of black seagulls soared across the sky.

Li Yan pretended to rest on the rope net to regain his strength, but his mind was filled with the various experiences from the recent incident in Yan Fu like a carousel of memories.

He remembered the last time in Yan Capital, when the Earth Endurance that accompanied him answered his questions. After much thought, he decided to communicate with the Earth Endurance responsible for providing him information updates during this incident.

“Do you have any questions, Esteemed Walker?”

“I want to ask you, how can I achieve…”

…

“Esteemed Walker, do you have any other questions?”

A juvenile voice reached his ears, but it did not belong to anyone aboard the ship.

“…No, that’s all. Thank you. Oh, but a question out of curiosity, it must not feel good to be a ghost without a physical body, trailing behind others.”

“Dialogue between a Ten Cities level Esteemed Walker and Earth Endurance for this incident is limited by word count. This question does not concern you, Esteemed Walker. Are you sure you want me to answer it?”

“Of course.”

“The eighty million Earth Endurance belong to a part of the Yan Fu fruit tree itself, possessing only a mimicry consciousness, and do not experience unpleasant feelings.”

“But from what I understand, not all Earth Endurance are like you, lacking physical bodies. Regardless of the type of consciousness, all have their instincts, such as eating and mating. What about you? Does having a physical body fall within the range of your instincts?”

“…Actually, I would be very willing to try.”

“From the comparison of our social structures, those Earth Endurance who have physical bodies and are responsible for clean-up after the event should rank above you, no? If you wanted to be like them, you would need to make contributions in order to be promoted. Am I correct in my understanding?”

“There is no hierarchy among Earth Endurance.”

“Well then, let’s approach this from another angle. Whether you can have a physical body or not, is that related to me?”

“Question exceeds the authority of Ten Cities, unable to provide an answer.”

“The higher my evaluation for the Yan Fu incident, the more likely you are to become one of those Earth Endurance with a physical body. So, we’re in the same boat. If things go well for me, they’ll go well for you too.”

“…The word count has been exceeded. Only the most basic hints will be provided for this incident.”

“…”

Li Yan opened his eyes, only to notice that the clouds in the sky seemed to be manipulated by something, eventually forming a sentence, but it dissipated in the blink of an eye. This method was exactly the same as the way information was projected when entering and exiting the Yan Fu incident.

The sentence was: Quanzhou fights for the Buddha’s son

Li Yan smiled knowingly and stretched lazily, turning his gaze towards the ship.

Cha Xiaodao set up a pot to boil fish soup, waiting until the fish flesh fell apart before she used a small knife to pick out the bones. Only then did she add sesame oil and salt, stirred with a ladle, creating a steaming big pot of soup.

Several pirates held their noses as they dumped a bucket of cold water onto the deck, scrubbing away the bloodstains and slime with a bristle brush.

The ship’s medic Mr. Hu had nails in his mouth, perched atop a broken mast, hammering away.

The Red Flag Gang’s ships were arranged in a circular pattern, with everyone shouting in rhythm as they salvaged usable ship parts and some valuable goods from the water.

A barefoot pirate pulled out a clay pot with silver filigree from a pile of leaky wreckage, and couldn’t help but beam with joy, extending a finger and shouting loudly:

“Look at this rarity! Note it down, Haisheng. It’s my find, I get a ten percent share.”

The person he was calling out to was a young man with a bronze complexion, who was biting on a brush. He glanced at the man and said vaguely, “You won’t be forgotten.”

Everyone’s spirits were high. First, it was the Quanlang Dou, and then the encounter with such a huge wave, not to mention the various divine and ghostly entities. Nevertheless, the losses of the Red Flag Gang weren’t severe. After all, many had calculated during the time of the Quanlang Dou how much their lives could earn for their families.

Lady Dan sat face to face with Xue Ba, her fingers glowing green as they left the boy’s neck wound.

“Try to speak, see if you can.”

Xue Ba opened his mouth: “Woah, I, I can~”

Lady Dan tied her hair behind her ears and smiled gently.