Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 203 - 40: Courting a Wife

Chapter 203 -40: Courting a Wife

Lantau Island had been relatively stable these days, and Li Yan was also adapting to how to operate the Red Flag Gang. On the other hand, with the “Heavy Cannon Regeneration Machine,” they worked day and night, tirelessly producing cannons and cannonballs.

The Red Flag Gang had their own shipwrights and gunsmiths, so when Suo Heier arrived at the shipyard to operate the “Heavy Cannon Manufacturing Machine” with an air of arrogance, it simply left them with their jaws dropped.

The so-called Wrath’s magic motion technology, the “Furious Heart,” completely revolutionized their understanding of artillery. Li Yan also specially assigned clever young people to learn Suo Heier’s techniques.

The issues that Li Yan had to consider nowadays were still the operation and management of the Red Flag Gang, as well as the situation among the pirates of the South Seas.

Because Li Yan had now become the Dragon Head of the Red Flag, he could, in name, draw upon a total capital of the Red Flag Gang of up to two hundred thousand taels of silver.

In theory, he could convert all two hundred thousand taels of silver into Yan Fu points!

...

Here, ten taels of silver could be exchanged for one point, which meant twenty thousand Yan Fu points.

However, Earth Endurance provided an appropriate hint.

Within this fruit, the maximum limit for a team to exchange silver for Yan Fu points was one hundred thousand taels. Once the exchange was maxed out, one had to wait for three Yan Fu events to cool down before being able to exchange again.

Added to that, the ten thousand taels of silver required for the sacrifice to please the Lord of the Xiang River were either livestock or jade silk, the amount of silver Li Yan could actually use amounted to exactly two hundred thousand taels.

But Li Yan couldn’t possibly drain all of the Red Flag Gang’s liquid funds, not even half of it.

If Li Yan was in it for a quick deal, then it wouldn’t matter, but since Li Yan planned to turn Lantau Island into his personal backyard, he couldn’t be so crude.

This time going out to sea, including the profits from “Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea,” was about thirty thousand taels, most of which had to go through the Red Flag Gang’s public accounts for food, clothing, care, and military expenses. After deducting the share of the people involved, Li Yan could only use about five thousand taels.

According to the conversion method of this world, that would roughly translate to five hundred Yan Fu points.

In other words, he was still short of money.

Secondly, Madam Shi had left behind a formula for a medicinal bath necessary to refine a Gaoli ghost, something that should have been highly coveted. Even Li Yan himself could consider using it—what’s thirty years off one’s life expectancy when the Gu Huo Bird could extend it? The potential futures of walking the lands of Yan Fu were limitless; a bold move wouldn’t hurt.

However, refining this medicinal bath required an extremely profound level of Defying Skill. Madam Guo, who also hailed from the lineage of Treasure Island’s leaders, had the same formula at hand, yet she hadn’t managed to refine a new Gaoli ghost over the years, simply because her Defying Skill was not up to par.

Unearthing bones and feasting on corpses was far beyond Li Yan’s tolerance. Without the ability of Madam Shi’s Defying Skill, the formula was practically useless.

Thirdly, Li Yan still held the leader of the Four Flags captive and had to keep a close watch on the chaos within the Four Flags. Furthermore, regarding the Wupozi group and Zhao Xiaoyi under Madam Guo’s command, Li Yan had no intention of letting them off without cause. He even contemplated the idea of using them for his own purposes.

Li Yan had already interrogated and determined that the Wupozi village on Guangyi Island had a poor harvest this year, leaving the villagers without enough food, which was why they agreed to serve Madam Guo. Now that the Black Flag was in disarray, no one paid any attention to Guangyi Island.

After hearing this, Li Yan had long sent people to collect grain. Since he was collecting the Twelve Strange Beasts Map and would pass by Guangyi Island on his way to Quanzhou, he couldn’t pass up such an opportunity to win people’s hearts.

Besides, there was Zhao Xiaoyi.

This man’s expertise in marksmanship was at 93%, with many skills that even Li Yan found astonishing. If it weren’t for his mediocre physical condition, Li Yan might not have been able to subdue him. Allowing him to possess the physique and abilities of a Gaoli ghost would make him an adversary for Li Yan on par with Wushan.

On the flip side, if he could be brought under command, he would be a fierce general akin to Changshan Zilong.

However, since childhood, this man had followed Madam Guo, loyal to the core. To enlist him would require some effort.

Lastly, there was Lin Yuanfu…

“I say, Cha Xiaodao, the beef you’ve pounded is too fine. It’s lost its chewiness.”

The old man picked his teeth with a toothpick. Having stayed at Zhang Dong for a while, he no longer had the deeply troubled look he had at first and was now busily eating seafood noodles.

The nonchalant demeanor of the two men infuriated Cha Xiaodao to the point of gnashing his teeth.

“Listen here, old man, you’re jumping over the line, totally overdoing it. I cook for you every day because I see you’re frail and worried you can’t endure living on the island. How dare you start acting like a boss? If you don’t like it, then don’t eat it. There are plenty of people who would.”

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“Alright, alright, I’ll stop talking, these young ones these days, tsk tsk tsk…”

The old man calmed down for a moment, then began patting his thigh, humming to himself, “I won’t make you worry one bit, ah, nor will I make you fret. Three’s not about misleading you, my pouch is simply not met~”

Cha Xiaodao ignored him, folding his arms as he watched Li Yan and Xue Ba facing off in the courtyard.

Li Yan held the Ring Dragon Sword, casually gesturing with his hand to beckon Xue Ba from across the way as he cleaned his ears.

“That, that~ come at me then.”

Xue Ba, looking mostly recovered, still sported his little radish head appearance, holding a steel blade in his hand.

No sooner had Li Yan spoken than Xue Ba strode forward with head held high, charging toward Li Yan with his steel blade aimed for his face.

Li Yan stepped back, lifting his arm to parry, his Ring Dragon Sword striking the base of Xue Ba’s blade, sending it flying out of his hand. Then, planting his heel firmly, he continued with the momentum of his sword, bringing it to a halt at Xue Ba’s throat. His movements had a peculiar rhythmical grace between the action and the pause.

The recently recovered Xue Ba scratched the back of his head: “How come the more we fight, the less I seem able to hold my own? I used to manage for a bit at the start.”

“It’s because you use the same tactics every time, not really thinking, just relying on instinct and brute force. The saying ‘a force of ten can be overcome with one stroke’ is often meaningless. When fighting someone, it’s all about reaction and strategy. In this regard, a blade doesn’t really suit you. In a few days, the hammer I had made for you will arrive.”

After the Quanlang Dou, Li Yan took an interest in cultivating Xue Ba’s skills.

On this sea voyage, Li Yan discovered that the Red Flag Gang’s firepower and manpower were top-notch, but what they lacked was a good fighter to charge into battle, which suited Xue Ba’s temperament and abilities.

Coming from a background in martial arts, Li Yan taught his disciples hands-on, one-on-one. How much Xue Ba would ultimately learn depended on his own perception.

After thinking for a bit, Xue Ba suddenly looked up: “Tianbao, there’s something I want to ask you. I don’t want the reward from the last Quanlang Dou. I want a wife.”

Li Yan placed the Ring Dragon Sword down, grunting in acknowledgment.

Xue Ba was fourteen or fifteen, not an unusual age for marriage in these times.

“Alright, tell me, what kind of wife do you want?”

Xue Ba uncharacteristically bowed his head, a blush of shyness on his face: “I want someone older than me, someone who’s kind-hearted, who can take care of me.”

Li Yan agreed; with Xue Ba’s quirky nature, having someone capable of managing the household and keeping him in line was appropriate.

“That being said, have you taken a fancy to someone? I’ll act as the matchmaker for you.”

“I think…” Xue Ba hesitated, “I think Lady Dan is pretty good.”

Cha Xiaodao, who was eavesdropping, practically twisted his mouth with laughter upon hearing this.

“Old Man Lin, Scholar Zhang, stop eating, come on, let’s go. I’ll make you something in the kitchen right now, haha…”

With a crooked smile, Cha Xiaodao pulled the two men inside.

“…”

Li Yan laughed heartily, his laughter full and resonant.

“Come on, Xiao Ba! Let’s practice some more!”

“But Tianbao, you haven’t given me an answer yet.”

“After we finish practicing, I’ll respond to you,” Li Yan emphasized firmly as he spoke.