Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 233: Chapter 70: Wealth Dominates Cai Qian, Martial Prowess Surpasses Zhang He!

After Lin Ajin announced his withdrawal, he quietly sat down in his original spot. The members of the Precious Ship Lin Clan all appeared calm, seemingly unsurprised by the news.

Suddenly, many began to make a fuss.

Some accused Lin Ajin of playing games with the South Seas pirates by dropping out at the last minute, while others cursed Cai Qian, saying he set a trap to deceive everyone.

However, the vast majority remained silent.

The rule of the Tianbo Division meeting was recognized by all pirate forces. Within the scope of these rules, any strategy was essentially fair game.

None of those present were saints or believers – regardless of the methods Cai Qian used, he had persuaded Lin Ajin to give up the position of Alliance Hierarch, and he had tied for second place in victories among the five pirate families, spending the most on military preparation. This showed that his strength was formidable, and therefore, he should be the nominee for Alliance Hierarch at this meeting.

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Cai Qian also ignored the loudest complainer, Zhufen, knowing this man was a fence-sitter, merely trying to fish in troubled waters. The real thorn was Zhang He.

“Brother Zhang, are you dissatisfied with me becoming the Alliance Hierarch?”

Usually a man of goodwill and temperance, Cai Qian, when he spoke these words, uncharacteristically revealed his sharp edge, making it difficult for others to breathe.

Zhang He had long resolved to cut ties: “Cai, I can see that you didn’t make your plans for today in a day or two. You have the connections and the means. I respect that, but let me put it to you…”

He pointed at Lin Ajin: “If Lin doesn’t want to be the Alliance Hierarch, fine, whether we set a new rule or fight according to the previous one, I accept. But there is one thing—I refuse to accept the selection based on the previous ranking! You wish to become the Alliance Hierarch in order; An Nan the Demon Thief, will not agree.”

Cai Qian also stood up, not backing down in the slightest: “I, Cai, am a businessman. Those I form ties with keep their promises worth a thousand pieces of gold. Brother Zhang He holds the position of the Annan Sanxuan Governor, ranking below one but above tens of thousands. Aren’t the things you repeatedly agreed to supposed to hold true?”

“I have only one thing to say, let’s compete again.”

“Impossible.”

In his fury, cold light shone in Zhang He’s eyes. He reached out to grab Cai Qian’s neck, but his wrist was caught by Yan Ajiu. Just as the second in command of the Demon Thieves was about to act, Elder Yan’s hand had already landed on his shoulder, tense and explosive, no less so than before.

Zhufen rolled his eyes, wanting to flip the table, but a seemingly ordinary rosewood round table was cast into the ship like iron, and with all his might, he couldn’t budge it. Looking up, he saw ‘Quanlang Sea Ghost’ Ao Xing with his palm pressed on the table, mute.

Lin Ajin remained unmoved, as if he were a monk deep in meditation.

The smell of gunpowder grew thick.

The flock of golden macaw parrots, startled, flew about, overshadowing the confrontational glares of both men.

“Damn!”

Their debate, like a fuse to gunpowder, prompted a Demon Thief pirate to stand up, swearing and stirring up a crowd.

“What? You Demon Thief lot want to start a fight?”

“And what if we do?”

Those allied with either the Cai Clan or the Demon Thieves started a heated shoving match, and the situation descended into chaos.

At least seven or eight groups either sympathetic to the Demon Thieves or indebted to Cai Qian began fighting!

Tables, chairs, and benches were overturned, fruit and wine were flung about, and some brandished knives and short-barrelled muskets. The bang of gunfire danced with the blossoms of blood.

The people of the Red Flag immediately rushed to surround the round table, protecting the position of Zheng Xiu’er.

“Xiu’er, what should we do?”

With Li Yan absent, a Red Flag leader instinctively asked Zheng Xiu’er, only to regret it immediately, wondering why he was consulting an eight-year-old girl.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Xiu’er bit her lip and quickly said, “First, protect me. The Red Flag brothers form a circle, use tables and benches as shields against stray bullets, and fight back anyone who dares approach with your weapons! Wait for Tianbao to come back.”

“Smack!” Someone was slapped across the face and knocked to the ground, spitting out bloody saliva before rushing back into the fray.

A pirate, cursing as he pushed aside one of Cai’s courtesans, suddenly felt a searing heat on his face. Instinctively turning his head, he saw a stream of golden-red flames rolling over the sea’s surface, the heat and light fiercely enveloping him!

“Boom!”

The scorching blast wave floored many, the waves heaved, and even the stable Tianbo Division swayed.

“An explosive bomb!”

“The foreigners’ cannon?”

“Red-haired Men are here!”

The ships of all the families were suddenly in motion, with people manning the guns and drawing bows in abounding numbers. The sound of each family’s whistle entwined, but since the cannonball had hit the water, no one knew if they should fight or whom to fight first. For a moment, all the pirates were like ants on a hot pan.

With a hot head, Zhufen pointed at Cai Qian and yelled, “You’ve doomed us!”

“Shut up!”

Zhang He and Cai Qian both looked grim, shouting at Zhufen in unison.

The cannon fire came from the Red Flag, from the Spirit of the Duck.

As the aftermath rippled, the smoke on the Spirit of the Duck cleared quickly, and Gu reached into the gun barrel finding little residue and not too hot to handle, meaning it was ready for an immediate reload—a thumbs up, “This Suo’s craft is mighty impressive; such foreign marvels are divine.”

The Suo he referred to was Suo Heier, once an East India Company steward named Washington, a name given by Li Yan.

The cannonballs on the Spirit of the Duck were processed by the “Heavy Cannon Manufacturing Machine,” which Li Yan had tested, finding its power remarkable.

Zhang He’s eyes widened as he saw the cannonball shot from the Red Flag Gang’s ship, striking close to his own fleet. In that moment, he was overwhelmed with shock and anger, yet he forcefully restrained his rage, “Tianbao, what do you mean by this?”

Li Yan had just returned from the restroom, wiping the water droplets from his hands as he made his way inside. The brawling pirates automatically cleared a path for him.

With Li Yan’s return, the Red Flag Gang regained their backbone, their spirits visibly lifted.

Li Yan spoke with a carefree attitude, “I see everyone’s quite excited. So I thought, why not fire a round to liven things up a bit?”

Cai Qian’s tone was calm, “I’ve long heard that someone in Europa invented a kind of yellow gunpowder, its power several times greater than that of black gunpowder bombs, and almost smokeless, reducing the strain on cannons. A cannon can fire once every six breaths. Hesting, a leading director of the East India Company, once offered a sky-high price for its formula, but to no avail. I didn’t expect the Red Flag’s cannons to already be using it.”

Cai Qian’s explanation made everyone look at Li Yan with an added sense of awe.

Li Yan glanced around with a smirk, “Folks, may I have a few words?”

No one spoke.

“Heh~” Li Yan placed his hand on the table, covering Zheng Xiu’er’s small hand, and the girl glanced at him nervously.

“Rules are rules, after all,” he said. “You, Zhang He, pushed the Pai Gow tiles and now want to quit just like that? It’s not going to be that easy.”

Zhang He laughed willfully, “If you Red Flag can’t accept it, feel free to gang up.”

Bang!

The sound of iron shattering echoed through the room. Cai Qian turned his head to find that one of the Red Flag Gang’s Gaoli ghost children, Xue Ba, had broken the chains that linked the large ship used for competition to the other large ships of the Tianbo Division.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One taut chain after another snapped, and the whole large ship was washed away by the surging sea, gradually drifting away from Tianbo Division.

Seeing the Red Flag Gang smash his own ship, Cai Qian couldn’t help but ask, “Tianbao, what is the meaning of this?”

“Don’t be so petty, Old Cai. It’s just borrowing a ship for a bit. I didn’t want you to get involved,” he replied.

Li Yan pointed at the drifting ship, “Zhang He! You talk so much, but it all boils down to you believing that you, the Demon Thief, should’ve been the Alliance Hierarch after winning four rounds alone, if not for Cai Qian’s schemes. If that’s the case, let’s go aboard and have it out. If you win, you can restart everything, and the Red Flag won’t utter a word against it. If you lose, you better shut up fast.”

“Brother Tianbao is truly righteous!”

Cai Qian’s eyes sparkled, and he gave a thumbs-up.

“What are you talking about?” Li Yan laughed heartily. “It looks like my Xiu’er is about to become the Hierarch. That Zhang He thinks he can start over just like that? It’s not that easy.”

At those words, Cai Qian scratched his forehead and kept silent.

Zhang He eyed Li Yan carefully, his cold laughter persistent, “Mrs. Yan has saved you from my hands more than once; it seems you’ve completely forgotten.”

Li Yan turned a deaf ear and just stared into the sea and sky, heh-ing in response, “Hearing you say that, I really do feel like reminiscing a bit.”

He raised his hand to draw the Tiger Head Great Spear, lightly tapped the water’s surface with the tip of his foot, and as the ice spread, Li Yan stepped across the ice and advanced.

Li Yan’s feat set the pirates buzzing again.

Zhang He flicked his sleeve, and a gust of black nefarious wind carried him up, unsteadily flying toward the drifting large ship.

The two figures shrank to dots in the eyes of those on the ships, who were all abuzz with discussions. Some talked about how powerful the Red Flag’s cannons were, some debated the two men’s chances of victory, and some quietly speculated whether Cai Qian, the rightful Hierarch, was being challenged because Zhang He didn’t concede, and perhaps Tianbao had other motives.

Cai Qian’s expression was serene, when suddenly, it was as if he remembered something and he turned to whisper to Yan Ajiu, “What do you think, if Tianbao were to bring Lin Yuanfu here and he knew that I, the owner of the Thirteen Brokerages, a third-rank candidate official of Guangxi, became the pirate Hierarch, could I explain it to the officials?”

At this, Yan Ajiu also furrowed his handsome brows, “Boss, what would you like me to do?”

“Just chatting, don’t get tense…”

Cai Qian remained composed, “After all, it took me an incredible effort to convince Hesting to raid Guangdong and Guangxi. I’ve already scared Fulin out of his wits, and now I can manipulate the conditions as I please. For the next ten years in Guangdong, the Thirteen Brokerages won’t suffer interferences from the officials. And the position of Hierarch is almost within my grasp. I certainly can’t let a governor who hasn’t officially taken office ruin my plans!”

As he spoke, he covered his nose with the back of his hand, “If Tianbao really has such a move up his sleeve, I’ll have the boys attack and kill Lin Yuanfu.”

The pirates were craning their necks to see the drifting ship when suddenly someone sniffed, “What smells so good?”

Cha Xiaodao was chewing on something, making a loud crunching sound as he settled down in the direction of the Red Flag Gang.

“Brother Daozai, what are you eating?”

Zhi Nong’s voice was sweet and coy.

Cha Xiaodao held up a plate, “Crispy Blast, want a taste?”

He then beckoned to everyone, “Come on, help yourselves. Don’t be shy, try my cooking~”

Boom!

A black mushroom cloud exploded aboard the distant ship!

Everyone looked sidelong.