Beginning with the Ubume Bird Chapter 166

Chapter 166: Chapter 3 The Power of Mazu

“Forget it, come back.”

After Li Yan spoke, he pursed his lips and suddenly let out a strange laugh, then turned to call out to the sailors aboard the Spirit of the Duck:

“With a full ship of corpses, how can we do business on board? Don't trouble others. Give the lady boss a hand and toss these sons of bitches' bodies into the sea. As for those killed by mistake, I'll trouble the lady boss to deal with them on her own.”

The sailors roared in agreement. Their level was a bit worse than the Ming Army and the Japanese pirates during Renchen, with close combat skills ranging from 70% to 75%. However, Xue Ba, who stared intently, made Li Yan feel somewhat like he was being pricked with needles–an 80% specialization in naval combat wasn't an exaggeration. The odd part should be the condition of the “Gaoli ghost.”

Blood dripping from the severed heads wrapped in burlap, the corpses plopped into the sea one after another, splashing water in all directions.

“Hey, Zhang Wei, Heizai, come here.”

Li Yan called two sailors over, both of whom had an ability called “Deep Diving” and, as one could guess, were experts in swimming.

“The two of you, slip into the water quietly and keep a close watch for me. See if anyone tries to retrieve these bodies. If so, follow them, find out their origins, and come back to report to me. Do you hear me?”

“Got it, Tianbao.”

Li Yan nodded, Xue Ba somersaulted onto the ship, shouting at Li Yan, “Tianbao, where have you and Xiaodao been fooling around? Every time I ask them, they just laugh.”

Cha Xiaodao cast a sideways glance: “Went to fool around with some wenches.”

“Shut up, Cha Daozi. I'm asking Tianbao!” Xue Ba grumbled discontentedly.

“Went to fool around with some wenches,” Li Yan's and Cha Xiaodao's replies were identical,

“What are wenches? How do you fool around with them, and is it more fun than Leaf Play? How many people does it take?”

The sailors beside them cackled wickedly and interjected, “You'll have to go back and ask your mother about that. Just ask her how many people it takes to play with a wench?”

The whole room erupted into laughter immediately, and Xue Ba sprang onto a barrel like a monkey, pinching a sweet osmanthus cake between two fingers, with a smile that was not quite a smile: “I don't understand, are you insulting me or not?”

The sailor's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously turned his face away.

Xue Ba's face twisted: “Are you guys insulting me or not?”

Nobody on the deck spoke; the atmosphere turned a bit awkward.

Cha Xiaodao gave Li Yan a nudge with his mouth as if asking whether to intervene or not. Li Yan returned a look that meant 'don't mind it.'

“No, nobody's insulting you,”

someone reassured dryly.

After hearing that, Xue Ba's smile faded, and he immediately turned his face: “Tianbao, how many people does it really take to play with a wench?”

Li Yan, sitting at a wooden red round table, said, “Most likely just one person… You'll understand in a couple of years. Xiao Ba, come here, let's have an arm wrestling match.”

Li Yan's arm was bare, not wearing the “Mountain Beyond Mountains” bracelet, but even so, with the blessing of the Gu Huo Bird, Li Yan's explosive strength still reached several hundred pounds.

Xue Ba had the power to split a man in two using a blunt guillotine blade, and it was more a matter of pounding open than cutting open, which was also terrifying. This was exactly why Li Yan suggested arm wrestling with Xue Ba–he wanted to test the quality of this fruit, after all, the “Gaoli ghost” hadn't given any hints.

Xue Ba responded and sat across from Li Yan, his lean four fingers gripping Li Yan's thick fingers.

“Eh?”

Li Yan's eyes narrowed, and veins bulged on his wrist.

“Crack!”

The red circular table shattered inch by inch, and within a few breaths, it collapsed completely, both of their barrels beneath also succumbed and split apart. Xue Ba, with his shorter legs not reaching the ground, yelped as he fell on his buttocks, while Li Yan took advantage of the momentum to press down his wrist.

Xue Ba stood up with a dusty face, “This doesn't count, Tianbao, let's do it again.”

“No need, you've won.”

Li Yan's face was expressionless, his palm reddened from Xue Ba's grip. Xue Ba seemed unaffected.

“Go play, I'll call you when we get there.”

Xue Ba shook his head, giggling as he ran off, barefoot.

“Iron skin and bones, infinite strength, what a Gaoli ghost.”

Li Yan's strength lay in his explosive power, if the arm-wrestling dragged on, he might not necessarily win against Xue Ba.

“Still not as tough as your spear, no big issue.”

The speaker was Cha Xiaodao.

Li Yan remained silent, sharing the information he had just obtained with Cha Xiaodao.

Upon seeing it, Cha Xiaodao's brows furrowed tightly.

“You faced the power of Mazu directly!”

The Gaoli ghost, according to legend, caused trouble along the southeast coast in the early years, later subdued by the Heavenly Consort Mazu, and became her follower.

Mazu, the Assistant Lord of the Big Dipper, the Holy Mother in heaven. Along the southeast coast, her status surpasses that of the Three Pure Ones and the Four Emperors. She is one of the most influential goddesses in Daoism.

Bluntly put, if the power of Mazu could be inherited, it would be the topmost inheritance Li Yan had seen since his entry into Yan Fu, ranking first among all he had witnessed.

The fruit mentioned the Five Flags Pirates, namely, the Red Flag Gang, Black Flag Gang, White Flag Gang, Blue Flag Gang, and Yellow Flag Gang.

They originated from the fleeing remnants of the Zheng Family's forces after Shi Lang's conquest of Taiwan. Initially, these people escaped to the area around the Pearl River estuary, where they were called “Dan Family Thieves” by the officials. Eventually, they evolved into the current Five Flags Pirates. Every significant pirate within the Five Flags is a descendant of the former naval commanders of the Zheng Family from Treasure Island, except for Tianbao.

Lantau Island, the stronghold of the Red Flag Gang, was a sight of competitive sails, the water bubbling with vessels, and though most were small fishing boats, the unified red sails were majestic enough.

Dozens of Spirit of the Duck sailboats were lined up, cluttering the sea with larger and smaller ships all boasting bright red sails, a powerful and magnificent sight.

The boats were filled with fresh fish and scallops, while the fishermen with mud-spattered trouser legs moved about.

Girls with slightly darkened skin, bright and pretty eyes wearing conical hats, and carrying fish baskets, bustled to and fro. It seemed less a gathering place for pirates and more a bustling major fish port.

The people on the reef greeted cheerfully, and except for having more scars and the young and strong moving around more frequently, there seemed nothing out of the ordinary.

Unknown to many, beneath the cargo hold, behind piles of hay, there lay a dense array of blades and guns, boxes of firearms and cannonballs.

Big buckets of water were splashed on the deck to clean the dried bloodstains. The surrounding fleet looked grim, with two badly damaged ships, their keels exposed, being pulled ashore for dismantling.

On the deck, an old sailor with blood-stained bandages smoked his pipe and cursed, “Damned Qing government! They don't show such spirit when fighting the foreigners, but they're so brave against us.”

Li Yan turned away, waving back at a few fishermen who greeted him. Just as he was about to disembark, he heard the voice of Earth Endurance in his ear.

“You have completed a short voyage, the value of the loot you have plundered is zero, Esteemed Walker, please do not forget the mission to tribute to the Lord of the Xiang River.”

Li Yan was unconcerned, but at that moment, a group of brawny men with red bandanas wrapped around their heads squeezed through the crowd and whispered into Li Yan's ear.

“Tianbao, Madam Shi is not going to make it!”

Chapter end