Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 236 - 73 Breaking the Deadlock (Part 1)

Chapter 236: Chapter 73 Breaking the Deadlock (Part 1)

Xu Longsi finished speaking and stood up directly.

Ever since that day when Xu Longsi returned from Lantau Island with his head hung low, covered in dust, he had become much thinner.

He and Queen Yan, Madam Shi, were cousins; blood was thicker than water. Yet as Madam Shi lay dying, she neither cursed nor reproached him for kicking her when she was down, nor did she entrust the care of her daughter, Zheng Xiu’er, to him. Instead, she let him go without even granting him a second glance.

Since childhood, Xu Longsi had been somewhat afraid of this cousin, due to some experiences unfit for others’ ears. For a time in his youth, the mere sight of this cousin, who spent her days in the company of straw effigies and insects, would send shivers down his spine.

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Deep down, Xu Longsi looked down on Zheng Yiguai and Tianbao, but toward Madam Shi, he felt a mixture of fear, anger, closeness, and guilt. These emotions reached their peak on the day Madam Shi drove him away from Lantau Island.

However, with her passing to the west, nothing he said mattered anymore…

...

Xu Longsi glanced at Zheng Xiu’er sitting at the round table and said to Tianbao, “I’ll come~”

Before Li Yan could speak, a subordinate of Cai Qian named Yan Lao’er couldn’t help but blurt out, “Previously, Qianjun Biao of the Blue Flag Gang won a round for Zheng Xiu’er in the name of the Five Flags Alliance, and as the Yellow Flag Gang is also among the Five Flags, how can you count the rounds when you are all on the same side?”

Upon hearing this, Xu Longsi sneered coldly, “By your logic, should I count the two rounds I’ve won before as belonging to the Five Flags, just like Qianjun Biao did?”

Yan Lao’er was momentarily at a loss for words.

Xu Longsi then looked toward Cai Qian, “What do you think, Mr. Cai?”

Cai Qian responded unhurriedly, “A few days ago, there was infighting among the flags, and the Five Flags Alliance can no longer be considered as one. Qianjun Biao of the Blue Flag desires to serve Miss Xiu’er of his own free will, and the Yellow Flag Gang, having its own faction, certainly qualifies to compete against the Red Flag Gang.”

“Good!” Xu Longsi nodded, “Then let’s begin!”

“Wait a moment, Brother Xu~” Cai Qian raised his hand.

“What is it?” Xu Longsi asked stiffly.

“Brother Xu, you should at least make it clear first, which military supplies you intend to put on the line, right?”

Cai Qian said leisurely.

“I previously staked twenty cannons, ten sluice ships, in addition to the nearly ten thousand men and firearms of my Yellow Flag. Now, I’ll add two thousand more firearms, fifteen more sluice ships, and five hundred black powder bombs. Is that enough?”

Xu Longsi was ready with his response.

After listening, Cai Qian nodded thoughtfully, “There are four hundred boxes of nearly new firearms in the Meizha Cave on your island, obtained from the raid on the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau’s cargo ship. Bringing out half would make two thousand. The Yellow Flag Gang’s accounts show five sluice ships awaiting repairs; the remaining ten unaccounted for were in business heading to Jiaozhou Bay and should be returning tomorrow, making for a total of fifteen. You could round up to twenty thousand taels. Brother Xu, to curry favor with your niece, you’ve put in quite some effort. Eh? That long-distance shipping business of those ten sluice ships is managed by your sister-in-law, isn’t it? Have you discussed putting them up for stakes with her?”

Xu Longsi’s face expressed sheer disbelief, blood rushing to his head. Some details in Cai Qian’s words touched on several secrets of the Yellow Flag Gang, knowledge even his closest leaders didn’t possess. How could Cai Qian know about them so thoroughly?

With a light sentence, Cai Qian set the room abuzz with discussion.

There were two noteworthy points in his words: one concerned the attack on the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau, an unresolved case from years past that surprisingly was attributed to the Yellow Flag Gang; the other was the long-distance shipping business of the ten ships. As seasoned pirates accustomed to dealing in dark talk, the implication was obvious. Long-distance business meant trafficking children. Although those present were pirates used to murder and plunder, such as Zhufen who spared no taboo and Zhang He who slaughtered countless of the Tu Tribe, the Five Flags always considered themselves as descendants of the Treasure Island Hou Clan. Engaging in such business, whether big or small, was a stain on their honor.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and signaled to his subordinates.

Xu Longsi attempted to remain calm, “Mr. Cai, your couple of words won’t scare me. Once I figure out who in my ranks has betrayed me, I’ll be sure to repay your generosity.”

“Brother Xu, you speak ill of me. I was merely reminding you kindly,” replied Cai Qian shaking his head, “You might not know but, the opium your eldest son smoked over the years, and his gambling debts… were paid for with the firearms secretly sold from Meizha Cave. Now, the boxes buried in the cave hold stones. Your son still owes my gambling house over ten thousand taels, but of course, I’m not pressing you for payment. With our relationship, what’s ten thousand taels to me?”

He paused before Cai Qian added, “There are also those ten barge boats managed by your esteemed wife. Tch, it’s hard to even speak of it… Three or four years ago, your wife heard that South Sea pearls were all the rage in Japan, so she used my connections to send two boats over. Unexpectedly, they didn’t sell, resulting in a loss of around a hundred thousand taels. I intended to discuss this matter with Brother Xu, but your wife firmly refused. She used those few boats to cover the deficit. Over these years, I’ve been renting the boats to her, and of course, I’ve been lenient, not asking for any rent…”

Xu Longsi’s face turned a shade of purple, his eyes red with rage, “I’ll kill you, you adulterous cur!”

In the midst of speaking, he drew his waist knife and stabbed towards Cai Qian’s chest, but the blade hadn’t even reached its target when a strong force twisted it away. The knife flew out of his hand, and the back of the blade was instead heading towards Xu Longsi’s forehead.

Smack!

Li Yan moved like a specter, his shadow flickering to stand before Xu Longsi. His fingers pinched the back of the knife, and he shot a cold glance at Yan Lao’er.

The pirates present at the meeting today were all clicking their tongues in wonder. This meeting of the Tianbo Division truly had twists and turns. With the development of events up to now, Xu Longsi likely had no face left to bring up the matter of competing for position earlier.

Cai Qian shook his head with a conflicted expression, “Brother Xu, how can you accuse me groundlessly? My relations with your sister-in-law are purely that of business partners. How did it turn into…” He sighed, “I can’t even say it.”

In those days, women managed domestic affairs, and Xu Longsi’s wife, having lost ten boats behind his back, with Cai Qian coming in to clean up afterwards, would inevitably lead anyone who heard about it to think there’s a bright green hat sitting on Xu Longsi’s head.

“Exactly, with your ineptitude in running the household, you still fly into a rage out of shame and embarrassment. Mr. Cai conducts business across Guangdong and Guangxi and is the distinguished Guangxi Candidate. He’s a respectable individual. Would he covet your middle-aged and somewhat past-her-prime wife?”

This voice was hoarse, with a thick Wu dialect, clearly mocking Xu Longsi, but at these words, Cai Qian’s eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Yan Laoda, Yan Lao’er, and Yan Ajiu, three of the Cai Firm’s colleagues who still maintained a certain degree of power, all looked up simultaneously, and the atmosphere suddenly shifted.

At the Red Flag’s spot, there sat a skinny old man in black clothing and a black hat, knocking on a tobacco pipe, resembling an ordinary fisherman from Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. However, the skin on the back of his hands was very delicate, not like one who did heavy labor, but at his knuckles and the base of the thumb were thick calluses, indicating a man old in the ways of the pen and blade.

“Boss!”

Yan Ajiu whispered quietly.

Cai Qian first stared at Li Yan.

Li Yan shrugged his shoulders, making a ‘please’ gesture.

“The elder speaks fairly,” Cai Qian’s eyes narrowed into slits, “How should I address you?”

“You don’t recognize me?” Old Man Lin joked.

Cai Qian laughed heartily, but his teeth were clenched tight, “Today, I cannot recognize you.”

“Oh, that’s right… So when do you think you’ll recognize me?”

Old Man Lin and Cai Qian were standing about four or five meters apart. Lin Ajin, Zhufen, and Zhang He seated around a table all wore puzzled expressions, unsure where this person had come from; Cai Qian seemed to know him.

Everyone present was sharp, and it was clear to see that as soon as the black-clothed old man spoke, neither the Demon Thief nor Tianbao could unnerve Cai Qian, but the composure he held thus far seemed to crumble.

This seemingly impeccable South Seas boss, for the first time in his tone, revealed a hint of a ferocious and tyrannical undercurrent, “When reporting to the Imperial Court, you old man, will be dead at the hands of some chaotic bandits!”

Flames, the flash of blades, the sound of gunfire, the shadow of swords.

Lin Yuanfu had not expected this merchant, who had always been meek before the officials, to be so decisively resolute at this moment; his tobacco pipe crashed to the ground!

Chaos erupted like boiling water!