Chapter 1018: Lightly Breaking Through

Chapter 1008: Easily Solved

All the way to the Hot Spring Villa, his heart was heavy with anxiety, fearing to hear bad news.

Now, He Lingchuan personally gave him two pieces of news:

The good news was that Wanqie Song was still alive.

The bad news was that his elder uncle was in He Lingchuan's hands.

As for how it happened, it seemed less important now.

A carriage was already waiting outside.

"Get in."

Lu Qiowei and Wang Fubao also got into the carriage. They sat facing each other, and the carriage started moving.

The escort team followed behind, flanking the carriage on both sides.

The road was empty, surrounded by the patter of rain, with no idlers around.

Lu Qiowei and Wang Fubao stared at Wanqie Feng, warning him with their eyes not to make any rash moves. He Lingchuan, meanwhile, brushed water droplets from his shoulder and asked, "What do you want to tell me?"

His relaxed demeanor only put more pressure on Wanqie Feng.

Wanqie Feng cleared his throat before speaking: "Please release Wanqie Song and give us a few boats to let us leave Suoding Island. We guarantee we will never approach the Yangshan Archipelago again."

He Lingchuan was not surprised by his demands. He also had no intention of accepting his guarantees. "Half an hour ago, weren't you still planning to take my life?" he asked. "What, now that you see you can't win, you want to just pack up and run?"

In short, his answer was two words:

"Dream on."

"I left midway with over three hundred of my clansmen, otherwise you wouldn't have taken my elder uncle so easily," Wanqie Feng said in a deep voice. "Also, I can help you find all the gunpowder barrels in the docks and warehouses, eliminating future trouble!"

Merchants all require a stable and secure environment. Once the Yangshan Archipelago is no longer associated with "safety," who would be willing to dock their ships and conduct business here?

"Oh? What do you mean by that?"

"The explosion at the docks earlier was not caused by gunpowder barrels hidden in our warehouses, you should know that very well." Wanqie Feng had already confirmed that the instigator of the recent explosion was none other than the island master currently looking surprised.

What was most infuriating was that afterward, he even made the Bailong people take the blame.

He Lingchuan put a finger to his lips and quietly shushed him. "You shouldn't spread rumors carelessly. Do you have any evidence?"

"Anything suspicious or not belonging in my warehouses has long been cleared out." Warehouse security checks were very strict; Suoding Island had specifically hired several nests of rat demons to search for contraband, and the smell of gunpowder couldn't escape their noses.

It was only because of tonight's special operation that Lannie and the others hadn't alerted the enemy prematurely.

"However, to avoid any fish slipping through the net—" He Lingchuan said leisurely, "while you and Yu Zecheng were playing chess, I sent people to the docks to lock Wanqie Song and his subordinates in the warehouses."

Wanqie Feng froze, realizing what was happening. His eyes slowly widened. "You, you..."

On the table was a complete set of wine utensils; the celadon wine pot was also full. He Lingchuan casually poured wine.

"Wanqie Song is indeed in my hands, and he's perfectly fine," he said, pouring a cup for Wanqie Feng as well. "His more than a hundred subordinates, along with the hundred men you stationed at the docks, are all under my control. I have four warehouses, with a total of eleven large, medium, and small storage rooms. I've put several Bailong people into each warehouse and storage room."

Suoding Island had been prepared. When a large fleet docked, Lannie and Guan Ke ordered the Bailong people at the docks to help unload cargo.

This fleet consisted of twenty ships of various sizes. After docking, half the laborers went to move cargo, busying themselves like worker ants.

Tonight was too busy; even pirates and the escort team were assigned to carry large items.

Although the Bailong people were infiltrating, they still had to work at the docks before receiving orders to act.

Guan Ke and Lannie opened a new large warehouse, intentionally assigning them to move goods collectively. Once most of the Bailong people had moved the first batch of large items inside, they immediately slammed the warehouse doors shut!

The remaining forty-odd people were greatly alarmed and attempted to resist, but surrounded by the escort team with blades and spears pointed at them, they had no choice but to drop their weapons and surrender.

After capturing them, Lannie then detonated another pier and an empty warehouse under construction, as a false signal to mislead Wanqie's uncle and nephew and the Beijia people.

Wanqie Feng swallowed.

Every word He Lingchuan said was bad news for him.

"If you don't believe me, you can send someone to check."

The moment he saw Wanqie Feng at the Warm Fragrance Pavilion, he knew what this fellow was planning.

Negotiate? Heh.

Yu Zecheng wanted to negotiate with him, and Wanqie Feng also wanted to negotiate with him. Tonight truly was a night of negotiations.

However, Wanqie Feng's so-called "bargaining chips" were simply too easy to dismantle in his eyes.

Wanqie Feng's eyes widened in disbelief. He was speechless for a long time.

How could he have been so foolish? He Lingchuan, the island master, asked him to play chess, and he just played, inadvertently giving the other party ample time to make arrangements!

However, even before he could state his purpose or conditions after entering the Warm Fragrance Pavilion, Island Master He already knew everything and had even figured out a countermeasure within moments.

This level of insight and execution had effortlessly played him like a fiddle!

Wanqie Feng felt that what he breathed into his lungs was nothing but chilling dread.

"Your bargaining chips aren't enough." He Lingchuan raised a finger and shook it at him. "You really shouldn't have stood before me!"

This last sentence finally revealed its sharp edge.

He Lingchuan sighed. "Surrender, otherwise, I'll have Wanqie Song and those two hundred Bailong people beheaded!"

Wanqie Feng swallowed hard, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"For the next two days, your three hundred-plus men will have to remain on the island, unable to escape," He Lingchuan said, crossing his legs. "With a little effort, I can eliminate all of them too. The Beijia people deployed a demon immortal and still lost to me; do you think you still have hope?"

Wanqie Feng's gaze sharpened.

A demon immortal? The Beijia people actually deployed a demon immortal to capture the Queen of the Cavern Spiders?

He hadn't witnessed it personally, but the Beijia people had previously sworn they would capture Zhu Erniang, so they must have brought some powerful weapon.

"If you lead your people to surrender now, you can avoid further bloodshed, and I will still give you a choice," He Lingchuan said leisurely. "Six hundred lives rest in your hands; you'd better think this through carefully."

Wanqie Feng opened his mouth several times, wanting to speak, but he knew deep down that he had no right to negotiate.

His bargaining chips were long gone, leaving only weaknesses.

"Send a message to your people and summon them to the newly built Stone Gate Warehouse."

The Stone Gate Warehouse was behind the supply pier, less than a hundred zhang away. It was mostly built, only needing a coat of paint to be ready for use.

Wanqie Feng hesitated for a while, then requested the carriage to stop. He then leaned out and blew a whistle, one long blast followed by three short ones.

Soon after, a Bailong person emerged from the bushes.

He cautiously approached the carriage, listened to Wanqie Feng's orders, nodded, and then turned and left.

The carriage wheels rumbled, the rain pattered, and these were seemingly the only sounds left in the world.

Wanqie Feng and Lu Qiowei both remained silent. He Lingchuan rested his elbows on the low table, with two fingers supporting his temples, resting his eyes.

It had been a busy night, alternating between combat and psychological warfare. He finally had a moment of respite.

(End of this chapter)