Beginning with the Ubume Bird Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Chapter 11 The Elderly Man Selling Inkstones

The garrison at Humen consisted of no more than a few hundred men. Adding both sides together, they numbered no more than a thousand. In naval battle, they were completely overwhelmed. The only thing they were stronger at than the Red Flag sailors, the ground warfare, just happened to encounter freaks like Li Yan, Black Rider Ghost, and Cha Xiaodao, so their normal collapse upon contact was to be expected.

No matter what, Li Yan had fought his way through battlefields with tens of thousands of people and commandeered with ease. In less than half an hour, the official army had suffered heavy casualties and dispersed in a rout while the Red Flag Gang lost only a dozen men, securing a complete victory. This way, the Red Flag Gang also avenged the surprise attack by the official navy at Lantau Island.

Li Yan had no intention of pursuing them to the death, as he had already happily taken Zhuo Huxing's head.

Originally, Zhuo Huxing's knife skills had greatly piqued Li Yan's interest, and he expected that after this incident, these skills would appear in his purchasing authority. However, after a few exchanges, Li Yan discovered that the knife aura extended at most three inches, far from the effects of the Mysterious Songbird man who had once sent out knife energy in all directions, which somewhat dampened his spirits.

Witchcraft, knife energy, at least as far as their current strength showed, this fruit was not too difficult. However, Li Yan felt this mainly because of the frequent accidents and increased difficulty in the previous Yan Fu incidents. In reality, this was the normal state of affairs for Yan Fu.

But, one shouldn't assume that Yan Fu incidents were always easy.

This forceful push into Humen gave Li Yan a more direct understanding of the Red Flag Gang's combat power. To put it simply, the Gaoli ghost was a sharp knife; although most of the sailors were average in strength, they were all quite skilled at sea.

The Red Flag Gang's ship and cannon level overall surpassed the Official Navy. However, it was rumored that the official shipyard could produce a type of lucky ship that was over 200 meters in length, which Li Yan had yet to see.

There was just one thing; they could not stay here long.

Humen was just one of the eight sea entrances of Xijiang. The last time the official navy launched a surprise attack on Lantau Island, it was a joint operation of several naval fleets, though Zhuo Huxing had the highest rank and thus was appointed the commander. Li Yan's audacity in catching the official authorities off guard this time didn't mean he had taken control of the Humen sea entrance; at least on land, the Red Flag's sailors, with their fisherman backgrounds, were indeed not a match for the Green Camp and Brave Camp soldiers.

If they were surrounded, the situation would be perilous.

Therefore, Li Yan split his forces into several groups to plunder the town. The common people had nothing valuable, but that didn't mean there was nothing worth stealing elsewhere.

Government offices, temples, academies, military camps; Li Yan was in no mood to reason with them.

They would take as much as they could, then return to Lantau Island after an hour. Cha Xiaodao volunteered to go, and Li Yan was happy to have a break.

Leading his close brothers into Xinghua Building, Li Yan shook off the sticky blood on his body and signaled the waiter for “hot water,” tossing a few Copper Coins onto the table.

Xue Ba was of a bad disposition, hence the earlier scene.

“Master Lin~, what should we do?”

Zhang Dong's tone was anxious.

“Keep your head down, don't talk. If you ignore him, he will ignore you.”

The old man tapped Zhang Dong's foot, speaking indifferently.

He slowly sipped his bowl of soup, his expression tranquil.

Zhang Dong licked his lips nervously.

If it were any other day, with two teams of family guards and the protection, slicing their way out even with Master Lin in tow might not be impossible. But now, in Humen Town, there really were only the two of them. Normally, with hundreds of troops under Zhuo Huxing's protection, such an event would never occur. The sudden turn of events was bad enough, but if something happened to Master Lin, Zhang Dong would bear an unbearable guilt.

Thinking back, it was his own suggestion to go on a covert inspection in disguise. Zhang Dong wished he could slap himself.

The common folk were rife with various brutal legends about pirates, such as gnawing on human bones, flaying people alive, hanging corpses from masts. These thoughts now haunted Zhang Dong's mind.

The nonchalance of that little pirate downstairs, who didn't seem to value human life, was quite an eye-opener for Zhang Dong, the scholar. If the Red Flag Gang's pirates discovered them, he feared both of them would be more likely doomed than spared.

“Tianbao, are you hungry?”

That was the little pirate speaking.

“Xiao Ba, you still have an appetite after that fight?”

The speaker had a gentle and calm voice.

“Yes, hungry.”

Xue Ba responded.

“Hahaha~”

As the two chatted and laughed, an idea crossed Zhang Dong's mind: “Tianbao? Tianbaozi?!”

He tried to peek, but after only a quick glance, he couldn't even make out Tianbao's appearance clearly before the old man beside him yanked him back.

“Hmm?”

Li Yan, unexpectedly lifting his head, had blood dripping from the edge of his robe. His chest was bare, and beneath his short hair, his eyes were cold. His hands gripped the Ring Dragon Sword. At that moment, he resembled a lazy leopard, staring intently upstairs.

So angry he lapsed into his hometown dialect, the old man blurted out: “You idiot, I hope they cut you into a thousand pieces!” (You little bastard, this time you've gotten us killed.)

“The water is ready! The water is ready!”

The waiter brought over a basin of warm water,

Li Yan stared at the upstairs for a moment and then let out a breath.

He shed his overcoat and soaked it in the water, his upper body now clad only in a short garment. With a flick of his wrist, the 1.3-meter long sword vanished from sight. Since this world possessed witchcraft, Li Yan did not care to reveal some odd techniques.

“Shopkeeper, we're hungry, serve us some dishes. We'll leave after eating, and won't cause you any trouble. If the officials ask you, just tell the truth.”

Having said that, Li Yan signaled for Xue Ba and the others to go upstairs.

“Alright, alright, what would the heroes like to eat?”

The waiter nodded like a pecking chicken.

“We'll have whatever they're having,” Li Yan said as he stopped beside Zhang Dong and pulled up a stool to sit down.

Zhang Dong's nose began to perspire, and the old man with the black hat beside him was silently burying his head in half a steamed bun.

The atmosphere was awkward…

In Li Yan's eyes, dark ripples spread, taking a long time to calm down.

A large group of people gathered around, the atmosphere growing tense.

Li Yan was the first to speak:

“Old man, how may I address you?”

The old head trembled, huddling up like a quail, hands tucked into his sleeves, his face asking for pity.

“Little, little old me is surnamed Zhang, came from out of town for business.”

“I detect from your accent, you are from Jiangsu?”

“Indeed, indeed.”

He hunched over, offering an apologetic smile.

Li Yan nodded: “Old man, what business do you do?”

“Stationery, the Four Treasures of the Study, small business. This year the inkstones from Xianzhou are very popular, and lots of people in Guangdong want them.”

“Inkstone business, interesting. Could you tell me about the market?”

Li Yan's smile did not reach his eyes.

“Duan inkstones are in demand: the stones are exceptional, varieties like 'Banana Leaf White', 'Jade Sky Blue', and 'Gold Fire Impression' can go for several hundred taels of silver. She inkstones are hard and lustrous, but the people in Guangdong don't recognize their value, so the market isn't good, still costing upward of eighty taels.”

The old man spoke offhandedly.

Li Yan stroked his short hair, his demeanor quite that of a bandit lord.

“Old man, my head is only worth five hundred copper coins, barely the price of an inkstone. You folks have it easy in business. I'd like to invite you to visit us on Lantau Island, to teach us, how selling inkstones can make one rich. How about it?”

Chapter end