Chapter 1099: Bigger Than His Face

The vinegared pork was served, a vibrant red and glistening with oil. It was an inviting sight that would make anyone’s mouth water. Fu Shanyue was the first to grab a piece and eat.

“Cultivators seek out blessed lands, but Taozi and I prefer places with intense negative energy, where our cultivation progresses twice as fast. I’d long heard that the Yangshan Archipelago had a strong concentration of negative energy, ebbing and flowing like the tide—receding in the morning and rising at night.”

“Yes, the negative energy here dissipates with sunlight and only regenerates every few days.”

“‘That’s quite peculiar,’ Fu Shanyue explained. ‘All the negative energy locations I’ve visited are perpetually cloaked in darkness. Actually, even drought demons require some spiritual energy. Places like the Yangshan Archipelago, where the negative energy fluctuates regularly, are perfectly suited for our cultivation.’”

At this point, he finally revealed his true intentions: “I wonder if Island Lord He would be willing to take me in and allow me to stay here, free of charge?”

“‘Prince Chiyan, your visit honors my humble abode, and you are, of course, most welcome.’ He Lingchuan wouldn’t be easily tricked. ‘I merely wonder how many people you’ve brought with you?’”

He could certainly afford to host just Fu Shanyue, but the question was—

“‘Only about a…’ Fu Shanyue scratched his head. *Damn it, I can’t trick this kid*, he thought. ‘One hundred fifty to sixty guards. I couldn’t bring any more than that.’”

This was the heartland of Mou State. As a prince of Beijia’s vassal demon kingdom, he couldn’t bring an entire army.

At most, he could bring a retinue of guards, and this number was already the maximum allowed.

He Lingchuan’s heart leaped with delight.

Could the guards Fu Shanyue was able to bring, those provided by the Chiyan monarch for his son’s journey abroad, possibly be inexperienced?

By taking in Fu Shanyue, he was also gaining one hundred fifty to sixty skilled individuals.

Fu Shanyue said grudgingly, “I’ll be responsible for my guards’ expenses.”

He Lingchuan smiled broadly. That was even better; these one hundred fifty to sixty elites would cover all their own expenses, meaning he wouldn’t have to pay a single coin!

“I’m not trying to rush you, but how long do you intend to stay here?”

Fu Shanyue thought for a moment. “I don’t have anything pressing lately,” he replied.

This meant there was no fixed term; he would stay as long as he wished and leave whenever he pleased.

“‘Yu Zecheng, a captain in the Black Tiger Army, had a separate courtyard, called Zhaowan Hall, rented from me long-term. It offers beautiful scenery and exceptional tranquility,’ He Lingchuan explained, adept at leveraging situations. ‘He has already returned to the battlefield, so Zhaowan Hall is currently unoccupied.’”

Nominally, it was a “long-term lease,” but He Lingchuan knew perfectly well that Yu Zecheng would never return.

That money had been extorted from him.

Therefore, Yu Zecheng neither knew nor cared how He Lingchuan managed Zhaowan Hall, nor would he ever inquire.

Fu Shanyue took a sip of porridge. “Rented by Yu Zecheng? Is it that courtyard worth a million taels?”

“‘Exactly.’ He Lingchuan’s heart stirred. ‘You’ve heard about it too?’”

“‘Yu Zecheng suffered a significant loss here with you, and not many in Lingxu City are aware of it,’ Fu Shanyue said with a knowing smile. ‘But I know all about it.’”

Yu Zecheng himself wouldn’t speak of it, and his subordinates likely wouldn’t publicize it, given it was a humiliating affair.

How did Fu Shanyue know this? He was in the Chiyan Nation; his intelligence shouldn’t be that precise.

He Lingchuan thought of a possibility.

Instead of asking directly, he said:

“You’ve traveled across the ocean to the Yangshan Archipelago and haven’t returned for a long time. Doesn’t your father have any objections?”

The man before him was a prince, the future successor to a demon kingdom, yet he had been wandering abroad for an extended period. Was this appropriate?

Fu Shanyue couldn’t help but sigh. “‘You don’t know,’ he began, ‘my old man has been acting mad again lately. He’s repeatedly threatened to strip me of my princely title, constantly beating and scolding me, even using cruel methods. If I hadn’t slipped away quickly, he truly would have beaten me to death. It just so happened that Lingxu City requested me for an official assignment then, so I came.’”

That was a lot of information. He Lingchuan noted several key phrases.

“Why?”

“‘How should I know why?’ he shrugged. ‘He and I have never gotten along.’ His father never showed him kindness, and Fu Shanyue had grown accustomed to it, too weary to delve deeper.”

Anyway, in his father’s eyes, everything he did was wrong.

He Lingchuan, however, didn’t think so.

He Lingchuan knew what kind of person Fu Shanlie was; he had dealt with him in the Panlong World. Would someone who, in actual history, could exhaust Yuheng City and force Panlong City back to the Panlong Wasteland simply go mad for no reason?

Had he become senile in his old age?

Driving his only son out of the family home, to a place far from Beijia, surely had a deeper meaning.

However, the true focus of his question wasn’t that, but rather: “Why did Lingxu City send you here?”

“‘They said your location is excellent, and Beijia wants to open a new trade route here, asking me to coordinate.’ Fu Shanyue was being semi-candid. Lingxu City’s original intention was for him to act as a liaison between the Yangshan Archipelago and Beijia, naturally with duties to monitor and gather intelligence as well.”

“‘Beijia wants to open a new trade route to my islands?’ He Lingchuan’s eyes lit up at the news. Who didn’t know that Beijia’s favor was practically synonymous with immense wealth?”

While merchant ships from Beijia had visited here before, the long journey meant visitors from Beijia were few.

A new trade route and new customer traffic were precisely what the Yangshan Archipelago most desired.

In that moment, Fu Shanyue appeared as a golden opportunity to him.

Fu Shanyue smiled. “Yes, large fleets will arrive by autumn at the latest.”

He Lingchuan immediately snapped his fingers, calling the stall owner over. “Add another dish here: pan-fried crab!”

This old friend was still so pragmatic. Fu Shanyue smiled at the stall owner. “I see two large crabs in that basket,” he said, “they’re bigger than his face! Fry both of them for me!”

Fu Shanyue then took out an exquisite painting box and handed it to He Lingchuan. “Here, this is for you.”

“‘You drew this?’ He was truly taken aback. Fu Shanyue could paint?”

“‘How could that be?’ Fu Shanyue took a sip of wine. ‘Songyang Prefecture asked me to bring it to you before I left.’”

Songyang Prefecture? He Lingchuan thanked him and accepted it.

The two chatted amiably, ordering several rounds of food and drink, before finally departing arm in arm.

That night, Fu Shanyue, Taozi, and the fierce tiger Jiao Yu moved into Zhaowan Hall.

He Lingchuan also saw Fu Shanyue’s guard detachment. As expected, every man was robust and spirited, and some were even old acquaintances of He Lingchuan’s.

Fu Shanyue thumped his chest. “I don’t need so many people,” he declared. “If you have any tasks, just tell them to take care of them!”

He was quite safe staying on Suoding Island, and later he planned to cultivate within the negative energy. These men would otherwise be idle.

They were all elites; it would be a waste to leave them idle.

On his way back to Wugong Island by boat, He Lingchuan began to ponder how best to utilize these people.

He also understood that one of Fu Shanyue’s primary objectives, or perhaps his mission, in coming here was to gather intelligence on the Yangshan Archipelago. For the information gathered by his hundred-plus men participating in He Lingchuan’s army and operations to be truly comprehensive and accurate.

This was an open secret, and He Lingchuan wasn’t bothered by it.

Everything required a careful weighing of pros and cons. As long as the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, what reason did he have to refuse?

But as he calculated, he suddenly burst into loud laughter.

The laughter spread from the bow of the boat, carrying across the surface of the sea.

Even the yin-vipers in the sea poked their heads out, curious to see who was laughing so boisterously.