Chapter 882: Bladeport

This really stirred up a hornet's nest. Neither side would back down, trading insults before fists started flying in a chaotic brawl.

By the time the news broke, the outcome was still undecided.

Tao Lin could only stamp his foot and sigh deeply, “Fools!” With such a spectacle, the Ballflower Gang’s internal stability would only worsen.

No matter how the situation was eventually resolved, Tao Lin’s and Xu Zeshou’s reputations were bound to suffer greatly.

Anyone with discernment could tell what was going on just by looking at the publicly released list; the two gang leaders’ greed was too blatant.

But now, tearing up the agreement and returning to their old ways of business, the brothers might not even be willing.

It’s still the same old saying: it’s simply too comfortable to sit around and collect money. Once they had a taste of the good life, who would be willing to give up such a large piece of the pie and go back to fighting tooth and nail?

Now they were in trouble, Tao Lin pressed his throbbing forehead. Suffering a minor hidden loss and a bit of a financial hit was a small matter, but from now on, he feared he would be completely controlled by others.

He had been vigilant enough against Yuheng City’s “conspiracy.”

But despite all precautions, he hadn’t foreseen that someone named He would play a trick to sabotage him here.

“Blade Port! Time for those getting off to disembark!”

The crew didn’t need to shout a second time; the passengers, who had been cooped up in the ship until they felt moldy, rushed ashore eagerly.

Dong Rui jumped onto the pier. He didn’t care that the sea breeze was salty and fishy as he took a deep breath. “Oh my god, we’re finally ashore!” he exclaimed. “My legs are practically bowed from being cooped up!”

The two monkeys who followed him out looked at him. “What’s wrong with bow-legs?”

Dong Rui rubbed his lower back. “I wasn’t talking about you two.”

Living on the ship for two months, he couldn’t straighten his back or legs. If he wasn’t careful when getting up, he’d bump his head.

It was stifling.

And when he felt stifled, there was nowhere to go, because the ship’s space was so limited, surrounded by endless ocean.

He had gotten darker and thinner. As a regular on Lingxu City’s most wanted list, he had flown through the sky and hidden underground, but he had never ventured far out to sea before. The ship started to rock as soon as it left White Sand Bay, rocking so much he felt like throwing up his insides.

He slept, then vomited; he vomited, then slept. After three or four days of this cycle, Dong Rui felt he had finally adapted to life on board. Little did he know, a hurricane was just around the corner.

If the captain hadn’t been clever and seized the opportunity to take shelter on an island, everyone on the ship, humans and demons alike, would have perished.

The winds and waves at sea were so strong that even Aunt Zhu, an ancient great demon, was powerless against them.

Thankfully, the ship finally reached its destination, Blade Port, and Dong Rui’s heart settled back into his chest.

Never again will I embark on a long voyage in this lifetime!

Two people emerged on the ship’s deck, smiling and waving to He Lingchuan and the others. “Brother He, until we meet again!”

These were guests who had boarded mid-journey and were heading to Boruo Continent. One of them was obsessed with sea fishing, and the fish he caught turned out to be highly venomous. The fish soup made from it nearly killed them.

In that critical moment, it was the Medicine Ape, Lingguang, who intervened, saving both their lives.

After this incident, the two became good friends with He Lingchuan, or rather, drinking buddies.

After all, sea voyages were boring, so it was better to while away the time in a drunken haze. Drinking and bragging made the time pass quickly.

Aunt Zhu occasionally joined the drinking sessions, but usually remained silent, just quietly sipping her drink.

He Lingchuan was generous and outspoken, with refined conversation, which greatly impressed the two men.

However, partings and reunions in life are like duckweeds gathering and dispersing; even if you accompany someone for a thousand miles, there will still be a parting. He Lingchuan and his companions disembarked at Blade Port, while these two would continue their sea journey.

He Lingchuan smiled, “I’ll leave my matters in your hands!”

“We’ll be sure to deliver your message, Brother He!”

The two parties bid farewell.

Blade Port was unique. The bay’s shape resembled a long knife plunged deep into the sea. At a glance, small boats docked inside the bay while large ships anchored outside. The berths were mostly full, with a forest of masts.

The docks were bustling with people coming and going.

As they passed through the fishing port area, several fishing boats were unloading their catch.

Dark-skinned laborers were bent over by the heavy cargo. In every corner, gulls peered around curiously, hoping to snatch small fish from the baskets. Even the broken seashells thrown by the fishermen couldn’t scare them away.

The sea surface shimmered, boats in the harbor swayed with the waves, and gulls glided over the pier. This scene looked beautiful from a distance, but one couldn’t get too close.

Once they got closer, an unbearable, fishy stench assaulted them, leaving nowhere to escape.

The seafood brought ashore here, accumulated over the years, resulted in a fishy smell that even the sea breeze couldn’t dissipate.

When Dong Rui reached this spot, he only frowned slightly. He had smelled all sorts of strange odors in laboratories, and this was far from the worst.

Aunt Zhu, needless to say, even found the smell pleasant.

He Lingchuan frequently threw scented pellets, so he was no stranger to such fishy odors.

Only Ding Zuodong and his wife, Qiu Hu, and the people from Rongshan nearly fainted, immediately covering their mouths and noses, their faces contorted in pain.

The group activated their true power and fled from the fishing pier as if flying.

Blade Port was a busy, large port, with all kinds of people mixed together. As soon as they stepped ashore, a small boy bumped into Ding Zuodong. When Qiu Hu pulled him away, his hand was already close to Ding Zuodong’s pouch of silver bits.

Several people nearby approached, watching them with covetous eyes.

Qiu Hu didn’t want any trouble, so he tossed the boy aside. Seeing that they were sensible, those few individuals went back into the crowd and didn’t show themselves again.

“Let’s find an inn. I want to sleep in a bed that doesn’t rock.” Dong Rui sniffed his clothes; they reeked of all sorts of smells.

The group then found an inn behind the port, the one with the cleanest facade and brightest sign, and rented a courtyard suite.

There were many merchant groups entering and leaving Blade Port, who often rented the inn’s courtyard suites. These private, spacious compounds could sleep twenty to thirty people and had dedicated storage for goods, allowing for a mix of people and cargo.

After two months in the cramped ship’s cabin, He Lingchuan thoughtfully ordered them to disperse, telling those who wanted to eat to eat, those who wanted to sleep to sleep, and those who wanted to have fun to do so, to properly relax and recuperate.

He himself took a bath and changed into clean clothes, then dragged Qiu Hu along to stroll around the port.

This bay was larger than White Sand Bay, where they had departed from, and the climate was warmer, but the sanitation was far inferior, with salty, damp moisture lingering everywhere. He Lingchuan and Qiu Hu avoided the brightly signed restaurants on the main street and walked all the way to the back.

The further back they went, the smaller and older the houses became, so much so that many households had to place their tables and chairs outside their doors.

Seeing them, He Lingchuan was reminded of his own cramped residence in Panlong City, which was similarly packed.

Following the greasy aroma emanating from old cooking fires, they found a small eatery in the old street. Its wooden sign was half-rotted, and the characters on it were blurred; He Lingchuan could only barely make out the words “Old Yao’s Salty... Stall.”

The small eatery had only four tables, all full. The remaining customers sat on the doorstep or simply ate standing with their bowls.

There were no seats left, but Qiu Hu had a solution.

He held a piece of silver in his hand and gestured around, “Which table has finished eating, old-timers? Would you mind freeing up a seat?”

Two diners immediately stood up to take the silver, chewing their food and still holding their coarse bowls. “You two sit!”

He Lingchuan looked at the surrounding customers, most of whom were intently tackling fried rice. So he said to the cook behind the counter, “Two bowls of this, please.”

The dark-skinned, plump proprietress smiled, “Our cold dishes are also delicious, would you like some?”

“Just bring them.”

The proprietress turned and brought over several small dishes. Besides a plate of pickled cucumbers, there were jellyfish in black vinegar and raw marinated shrimp.

The jellyfish was very clean, sand-free, and delightfully crunchy when chewed. The marinated shrimp wasn’t made with high-quality wine, but thankfully, the shrimp itself was fresh and sweet enough that He Lingchuan could easily finish two plates.

Soon, two large bowls of fried rice were served.

They were indeed served in large bowls, large enough for He Lingchuan to bury his face in them.

Seeing Qiu Hu sitting motionless, he pointed at Qiu Hu’s bowl. “Eat up.”

Only then did Qiu Hu pick up his chopsticks and devour his food like a whirlwind.

After tasting it, he understood why everyone ordered fried rice. Cooked with high heat, it was dry, fragrant, savory, and fresh, with a slight bitterness from mustard greens to finish, making it especially comfortable to eat on a hot day.

He Lingchuan picked up a small piece of diced meat. “What is this?” he wondered. It must be seafood, the source of the entire bowl’s umami flavor.

“Salted fish.”

He Lingchuan suddenly understood. So the faded sign outside this small eatery read “Salted Fish Stall.” The owner would dice the cured salted fish and fry it until fragrant, then stir-fry it with rice.

This salted fish smelled foul when cured, but was incredibly fragrant when eaten.

Although many places in Blade Port made salted fish rice, Old Yao’s place managed to become a neighborhood canteen, which showed his unique skill.

He Lingchuan also ordered a portion of pan-fried leatherjacket fish and a portion of ginger and scallion fried crab.

The owner was bustling with activity, but the proprietress enjoyed chatting with customers. He Lingchuan then asked her, “Madam, we’re new here. Is Blade Port under the jurisdiction of Qing State?”

“Of course,” she replied. “Qing State established a special Maritime Trade Office here, which manages ships, people, and affairs. All incoming and outgoing vessels must pay fees to it, and if you cause trouble, it’ll throw you in jail.”

A nearby customer added, “They also collect money for incoming cargo, and it depends on the type of goods too!”

“I seem to have heard that this port originally belonged to the Baelites?”

“You heard that a long time ago then,” the proprietress said as she collected the dishes from the next table. “It was like that decades ago, but later the Baelites handed the port over to Qing State.”

“A golden goose that lays eggs — how could they bear to give it away?”

Blade Port was the largest deep-water port within two thousand miles east of Mou State, with countless cargo ships entering and leaving daily. They could collect so much in customs duties that their hands would ache, and crucially, this income was extremely stable.

According to the expired agreement He Lingchuan had, Qing State leased Blade Port from the Baelites, paying only three thousand taels of silver in annual rent.

Three thousand taels? That must be just a fraction of Blade Port’s income, right?

How could the Baelites bear to give up such a valuable asset?

“Who would bear to?” the proprietress said quickly. “It seems the Baelites injured a Qing State prince and offered this port as an apology.”

A nearby diner said, “I heard that Qing State directly sent troops back then and just—” He made a circular gesture with his hand, indicating a forceful takeover.

Anyway, Blade Port is now Qing State’s territory.

The proprietress looked at He Lingchuan and Qiu Hu, curiosity in her eyes. “Where are you two from?”

“The west.”

“Mou State? No, your clothes aren’t from Mou State.” The proprietress rubbed her chin. “Baga?”

“Further west,” He Lingchuan smiled. “We heard there’s free trade here, and we’re looking for business opportunities nearby. What’s the Baelites’ territory like?”

A nearby diner casually remarked, “You’d be better off going to Qing State then.”