Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 212 - 49 Entering Quanzhou

Chapter 212: Chapter 49 Entering Quanzhou

Lantau Island.

The water wheels turned, the flattened peaks lush and verdant. Bamboo houses were scattered about the mountain peaks, charming and graceful.

“Good and evil have their names, but the wise are not constrained by them. The laws of heaven are constant, but the enlightened do not abandon them.”

Zheng Xiu’er’s cheeks rested on the table, her expression focused. Silver rings adorned her wrists and ankles, lively and adorable. Lin Yuanfu held a scroll, explaining its contents to the girl.

“Chaoyi, is this appropriate?”

“It is Xiu’er’s request, there is nothing inappropriate about it. Besides, this Mr. Lin is also happy to teach.”

...

Chaoyi glanced inside the room, then turned with his people and left.

“A gentleman is not partisan, thus, he has no support in misfortune. The villain profits from his associations, receiving help from others in his gains.”

“Stop, stop, stop~”

Zheng Xiu’er hurriedly called out, clutching a brush, doodling for a bit before nodding her head.

Lin Yuanfu stroked his beard, slowly shaking his head, “My girl, the book you gave me is not suitable for you.”

Lin Yuanfu tapped the thread-bound book in his hand, which bore the title “The Mirror of Honour and Disgrace.” This book was written by Feng Dao of the Five Dynasties.

Feng Dao, who lived through five dynasties and served various sovereigns, managed to hold high office despite the changes of imperial banners. He was despised by scholars of consecutive generations.

Zheng Xiu’er, a bit confused, rubbed her eyes and muttered, “You just teach me, sir, that’s enough.”

“For a young girl’s enlightenment, if you are not willing to learn the words of the sages, learning arithmetic is also very good. Seeing these things too early can corrupt the mind,”

Zheng Xiu’er wrinkled her nose, “You old teacher are really tedious; it’s not like I begged you to teach me. If you are unwilling, just forget it, and don’t go wandering around everywhere, so I don’t have to suffer for it, and Uncle Chaoyi won’t scold me either.”

Lin Yuanfu sighed and lamented, “Forget it, forget it, not to mention you… The government has been established for over a hundred years, endured through seven dynasties… I fear that no one could surpass a certain villain, Feng Dao.”

No sooner had Lin Yuanfu spoken these words than he realized they were inappropriate, but then he thought of his location within a den of thieves, and without any concerns, he simply asked with a chuckle, “Where did I leave off?”

“Rituals Volume II, line six, the next sentence is ‘feigns fear but actually endures, outwardly respectful but inwardly jealous, even the devious are perplexed.'”

Zheng Xiu’er replied readily.

Lin Yuanfu looked deeply at the young girl, then faced the scroll, remaining silent for a long while.

An afternoon of lessons ended.

Zheng Xiu’er peeled litchis one by one.

“Old teacher, sometimes when I see you bowing your head toward the northwest without speaking, are you thinking of home?”

“Heh, you could say that.”

“Who do you miss?”

“When I was young and poor, it was all thanks to my wife doing laundry for neighbors to help support the family. She developed rheumatism. If I reckon correctly, this is the time of year it flares up.”

“You’ve been an official, your home must certainly not lack servants to take care of her.”

“They are still outsiders after all.”

“At your age, don’t you have any sons or daughters-in-law?”

Zheng Xiu’er’s words seemed to touch a sore spot for Lin Yuanfu.

“I have had no sons. In my early years, I raised a daughter, but back then I was but a poor scholar without money for medicine, and she died of illness.”

Lin Yuanfu gestured with his hand, his beard blown tousled by the wind, his tone revealing no emotion, “Back then, she was probably about your age.”

Zheng Xiu’er puffed out her cheeks, spitting several times, “Ptui, ptui, ptui, I can tell, you old man are cursing me to die.”

Lin Yuanfu smiled.

The two of them sat side by side; in the distance, long boats were moored as the scarlet sunset dyed the clear waters red.

…

“You used the Lotus Child Fishing Net and scooped up fifteen pounds of sea crabs.”

“We must be getting close.”

Cha Xiaodao, carrying a full net bag of crabs, said to Li Yan.

This Lotus Child Fishing Net was one of the spoils after the Red Flag Gang broke through Humen. It was said to be capable of high-quality sea fishing, but at that time, they happened to encounter the Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea, and the net couldn’t be used. Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao made a bet, and unluckily scooped up a dead man’s head.

But once the Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea ended, the magical properties of this device became apparent.

Simply put, even a complete landlubber who had never been at sea could use it to fish in the ocean and be assured of a fruitful harvest!

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Sea crabs, phoenix-tailed fish, grouper, eel, threadfin, mahi-mahi, all sorts of delicious fish, were caught in handfuls. After several days out at sea, whenever Cha Xiaodao had free time, he would use the net to fish, and besides fish, he also scooped up various items—pearls, leather, jewelry boxes, Western Ocean glass bottles and the like. Among them, the most precious was a large piece of ambergris, which could be directly exchanged with Yan Fu for more than a hundred Yan Fu points.

However, the cherished ingredient Cha Xiaodao could not forget was still nowhere to be seen.

“There’s still enough for you to fish several more times.”

Li Yan threw some shrimps into the pot, sprinkled them with salt after they turned red, then popped one in his mouth and said to Cha Xiaodao.

Cha Xiaodao handed the fishing net to Li Yan: “Don’t you want to give it a try?”

“I’m eating right now, too busy.”

Li Yan rolled his eyes; the last time he ended up disgusted by that human head.

“Tianbao, we’re almost there.”

Gu called out. Li Yan replied and prepared to dock with a group of people.

Quanzhou, also known as Carp City, is one of the eight Min prefectures.

Li Yan’s boat didn’t enter the official harbor, but found a desolate harbor overgrown with aquatic plants to berth, with people already waiting on the shore.

This old man, wearing a straw raincoat and standing on a fishing boat, looked to be about sixty, with a straight back: “Are the folks coming from the Red Flag clan?”

“Black Old Axe! Old badass! Hahaha~”

The old man came closer and saw that the man who spoke, with a scorpion tattoo around his neck and fierce features, was his old acquaintance, Gu.

Next to him was a young man wearing dark red armor, tall with short-cropped hair, lean cheeks, and eyes like shining stars.

There were a few others who looked unfamiliar.

One wore black armor, his eyes and eyebrows obscured, with a dwarf elder who was tugging at his own beard perched on his shoulder—a striking figure. Another one smoked a hand-rolled paper cigarette with a dandy air. What puzzled him even more was that there were two women among them, one draped in black gauze with a seductive appearance. The other, with gentle brows and extremely beautiful, looked as if she had stepped out of a painting.

“Gu Jiu, these people seem unfamiliar!”

The old man called out again, and more heads popped out from the ship, revealing dozens of people, with another ship following behind.

This old man, known as Black Old Axe, was an early member of the Red Flag, but he had retired in recent years, sometimes helping to look after ships for the Lantau Island brothers.

“Red Flag Gang’s Tianbao paying respects to the senior.”

Li Yan didn’t put on airs and introduced himself before Gu could, as this old man was highly respected and even Zheng Yiguai would have addressed him as ‘uncle’ when he was alive,

Black Old Axe was taken aback for a moment, then grabbed Li Yan’s wrist firmly: “Are you Tianbao? The current Dragon Head of the Red Flag Gang?”

“Indeed.”

Li Yan nodded.

Black Old Axe’s expression darkened as he took two steps back and knelt to the ground with a thump.

“Former Red Flag’s Criminal Hall, Black Old Axe from Quanzhou, pays respect to the Dragon Head.”

“What are you doing, senior? Please get up quickly.”

Li Yan reached out to help him up, but Black Old Axe spoke with a stern tone.

“The old man has a question to ask the Dragon Head. Madam Shi has recently passed, how is Xiu’er being taken care of? Now that you are the Dragon Head of the Red Flag, do you also intend to vie for the position of the Alliance Hierarch of the Five Flags?”

Upon hearing this, everyone from the Red Flag Gang looked embarrassed.