Chapter 912: Acceptance

Chapter 903: Acceptance

Instead, another stipulation in the agreement had become due: Bailie was required to vacate the tenants from the outlying islands of the Yangshan Archipelago and hand over the islands to the new owner within six days of the agreement's signing. Officials were already handling this matter.

This meant Lu Qingan and He Lingchuan would need to meet again tomorrow to collect the remaining forty thousand taels of silver. Would the young man accuse Bailie of fraud and refuse to pay the balance? If so, they wouldn't be to blame.

However, Lu Qingan's surveillance of He Lingchuan indicated that the wealthy young man, despite spending his days wandering the market, eating, and drinking, didn't seem to have inquired about the Yangshan Archipelago. If he didn't ask, others certainly wouldn't tell him proactively. Lu Qingan wondered if his subordinates would gather information and report it. In contrast, Ding Zuodong, one of He Lingchuan's subordinates, was quite active. He had been purchasing furniture, tiles, farm tools, seeds, and recruiting skilled craftsmen, seemingly eager to undertake a large project on the Yangshan Archipelago.

The next morning. Just as the sun rose, Steward Yang, sent by Lu Qingan, arrived at Yunding Villa to invite He Lingchuan to Blade Harbor.

"Why, why so early..." He Lingchuan rubbed his eyes, yawning several times, and managed to finish his sentence, "...to the island?" He had been enjoying a romantic dream with Scholar Sun, and before he could get much out of it, he was interrupted by this visit.

"Doesn't Young Master He want to inspect it sooner?"

During their last drinking session, Lu Qingan had promised to accompany him to the island for inspection, but now he was backing out at the last minute. "Where is Master Lu?"

"He went out of town for an urgent matter. Today, I, your humble servant, will accompany Young Master He to the island," Steward Yang said with a smile. "Master Lu will be waiting for you at Blade Harbor in the afternoon."

This wasn't due to Lu Qingan's sudden pang of conscience; rather, the best material suppliers in the area were either owned by the Lu family or had the Lu family as shareholders. When they made money, the Lu family also received dividends.

It was a beautiful, clear day. Golden waves rippled on the sea, and gulls circled tirelessly, their cries echoing. Bailie had previously chartered a pleasure boat here, which was now carrying Steward Yang, He Lingchuan, and dozens of others to Blackleaf Island.

The boat had a favorable wind in the morning and reached Blackleaf Island in a short time. Here was a crescent-shaped bay, with a wooden pier extending from the shore into the sea, used for boats to dock, passengers to disembark, and for loading and unloading goods and provisions. Steward Yang walked along the wooden pier onto land and pointed upwards, "That's the supply station."

Steward Yang was right; the supply station here was quite rudimentary, built haphazardly without any proper planning. Above the black cluster of reefs stood a group of low-lying houses, varying in size and shape. Some were made of bamboo, others of wood, and some were built with stones. Only the roofs were somewhat uniform, mostly constructed from palm leaves, large seaweed, and wheat straw.

From afar, the island appeared lush and green, but a closer look revealed that the shores and cliffs were made of black shale. Thin, page-like rock fragments were piled haphazardly, displaying both the wildness of sea rock and the rough texture and ring patterns of tree bark.

Was this a supply station? It looked more like a scavenger's home. In the corner of the house, there seemed to be a mouse hole. Seeing strangers enter, several mice scurried out from under the bamboo slats, squeaking as they fled.

"These places aren't well-maintained," Steward Yang shook his head. "They look like slums; it's quite degrading." He coughed lightly, "This family left in a rather unsavory manner, throwing all their junk in here. Young Master He, please don't mind it. I'll have someone come and clean it up."

He Lingchuan walked over and saw that the house doors were open. Inside, things were strewn about: broken bottles, shattered pots, piles of rotting straw, forgotten clothes, and stained farm tools. Steward Yang cursed his subordinates internally for their perfunctory work; they had driven the tenants out but hadn't bothered to clean up. Anyone could see that the business here was in terrible shape, and the contractor for the supply station probably hadn't made any money.

"We compensated them extra, so why would they disagree?" Steward Yang smiled. "Originally, they weren't really... making much money." These words almost slipped out, but luckily he stopped himself in time. Damn it!

He Lingchuan fed a nut to the monkey on his shoulder and asked Steward Yang, "Did the original tenants on the six outlying islands agree to move out?"

"What does your father think?"

Although he had thoroughly fleeced the rich young master in the island transaction, he had connected him with reputable and high-quality suppliers for his needs. Lu Qingan had introduced all these channels to He Lingchuan. Pirates usually wouldn't attack the supply station, but the latter still had to maintain defenses.

As they spoke, a dark, strangely shaped object floated into view on the sea surface. Upon closer inspection, everyone realized it was a mutilated corpse. He Lingchuan pointed at it, looking surprised: "Wow, what in the world is that? It's not human, is it?"

"It has a curled tail, so it's not human," Qiu Hu also squeezed to the side of the boat to look, commenting earnestly, "But it seems to have hands. What kind of monster is this?"

So he shook his head: "Just a floating corpse. If Young Master He lives by the sea for a long time, he'll know the ocean is never short of strange things."

He Lingchuan scratched his head, seeming unconcerned, and didn't press further. Upon seeing this, everyone fell silent. Steward Yang had originally intended to use the opportunity to extract information as Lu Qingan had requested, but then he reconsidered. Mentioning either pirates or Dark Serpents would likely ruin the deal. This family was truly cautious. He Lingchuan noted this characteristic.

In the afternoon, as he was reviewing the provisions ledger for the Mou Kingdom, someone suddenly came to report: "The pirates of the Yangshan Archipelago suffered heavy losses a few days ago."

Lu Qingan grunted, not thinking much of it at first. "The Dark Serpents."

"No, no. According to the people at the supply station, for two consecutive nights, the pirates had two of their strongholds wiped out by the Dark Serpents, resulting in nearly two hundred deaths."

The total number of pirates wasn't even a thousand, was it? Lu Qingan asked in surprise, "Are you saying the Dark Serpents have come out to the outer fringes of the archipelago?"

When this answer was revealed, Lu Anqing was stunned for two breaths: "What? They dared to go deep into the archipelago?"

Those pirates were seasoned veterans; how could they not know the dangers deep within the archipelago? Pirates couldn't possibly nest deep within the archipelago. The only explanation was that the Dark Serpents had swum out of their territory and invaded the outer waters!

"Yes!" his subordinate continued. "The people at the supply station only mentioned today that there was also activity on Blackleaf Island that night; something was desperately banging on doors. These few workers quickly hid in the shelters behind the main building. These fortifications were built to protect against pirate uprisings, but ultimately they saved their lives."

"Were they certain it was the Dark Serpents?"

"Yes, they saw it clearly through the door crack. Each one was very large, at least three zhang (about 10 meters) long."

Dark Serpents dying, reasons unknown? Lu Zhensheng pondered for a long time: "The deaths of Dark Serpents, and the living ones coming ashore to attack human settlements, perhaps indicates a major upheaval on Dragon Ridge Island." This was truly an unprecedented strange occurrence in thousands of years.

He paused, then continued, "For the past two days, corpses have been continually drifting to Blade Harbor, piling up on the beach southwest of the port, emitting a terrible stench. The port has been cleared several times, but they keep drifting in. These corpses are mostly charred and incomplete, but easily identifiable—all of them are Dark Serpents. Fishermen in Blade Harbor complain that no one dares eat fish from near the port. Even the Qing Kingdom's officials have been alarmed and sent people to inquire with us."

Lu Anqing gasped, "The Yangshan Archipelago is no longer safe."

Within ten days, all these events had occurred around the Yangshan Archipelago: Dark Serpents expanding, pirates injured, islands sold. Phew, it's a good thing they had already sold those islands.

Lu Zhensheng listened, resting his chin in his hand, and said, "How could all these things happen so coincidentally at the same time?"

But recalling the new "island master," Lu Qingan immediately noticed the specific timing: "Ten days ago?" Ten days ago, the Yangshan Archipelago was still in their hands.

"Does the man surnamed He know why?"

"It's hard to say if the man surnamed He is involved in these matters," Lu Zhensheng mused. "Since the Dark Serpents have expanded their activity area, it might be dangerous for you to accompany him to the island for inspection tomorrow."

Lu Qingan nodded, "I won't go; I'll send someone else to accompany him. Also—"

"You can sound him out tomorrow, but your priority is to complete the agreement and get the remaining money," Lu Zhensheng rubbed his hands. "The Yangshan Archipelago has been sold, no refunds. Whatever changes happen there now have nothing to do with us."

The troubles in that sea area were now unrelated to Bailie. Moreover, the Yangshan Archipelago had now changed hands; the pirates were the new owner's problem, no longer Bailie's concern. Bailie didn't care about the pirates' lives or deaths; suffering heavy losses was even better. What's wrong with getting two benefits from one action?

It was almost autumn, too late to plant most other crops, but wheat was suitable. They also needed to quickly reclaim land and cultivate fields; even if nothing was planted immediately, applying wood ash would nourish the soil through winter, increasing its fertility, allowing for direct sowing during spring plowing the following year without wasting time. If the Dark Serpents were all stirring up trouble, the shipping lanes around the Yangshan Archipelago would soon become deserted.

"Doesn't Young Master He want to inspect it sooner?"

He Lingchuan's face twitched: "Can you have them tear down these houses directly?"

"Of course." Steward Yang's face looked a little embarrassed. "Of course, we can." He quickly changed the subject, introducing to He Lingchuan: "The eastern cliffs of Blackleaf Island actually offer exceptionally beautiful scenery, with views of the boundless sea and waterfalls on the opposite island."

(End of Chapter)