When the merchants saw the Princess and Qingque return in the evening, they didn’t need to ask about the battle situation—the fact that the massive ships’ railings were hung full of Arabs was enough to explain everything. Apart from being somewhat blackened by smoke and fire, the two massive ships appeared completely undamaged. The tall sails didn’t have a single tear. These were ships that had experienced a great battle?
The officers and sailors on the ships showed no intention of celebrating either. Each one held rice balls and ate with great relish. This had been the expected outcome all along. Ever since they learned what weapons their ships were equipped with, they no longer felt proud of such results.
“How can victorious warriors return without wine?” Old Feng shouted loudly and took the lead in carrying wine jars from his own ship, preparing to board the warship. Behind him followed a long line of managers. The sailors had already set up bamboo ladders for boarding.
“Your kind intentions are appreciated, managers, but this is wartime. By regulations, drinking is not permitted, nor is accepting outside food. When we reach Guangzhou, we’ll accept everyone’s goodwill then.” Liu Renyuan refused to accept any favors and moored the Princess at the outer perimeter of the merchant ships. The Qingque did the same as usual.
Manager Feng and the others weren’t ashamed or annoyed at being rebuffed. Instead, they gave thumbs up and praised the strict prohibitions aboard the massive ships. Only warriors with such strict discipline could be invincible in battle.
The current was rapid in the strait—it wasn’t a good anchoring area. The large ships swayed unsteadily under the action of the current. Manager Feng connected all the merchant ships with cables, so that if one or two ships encountered the danger of dragging anchor, they could be held in place by the other vessels without incident. Tonight it was truly impossible to sail through the strait overnight.
Dark clouds gathered on Qiu Ranke’s face. Yun Ye had clearly already reached the other end of the strait yesterday—why wasn’t he showing himself? The scouts he’d sent out climbed the high mountains on both sides of the strait and searched for a long time before finally discovering where the merchant ships had gathered. They were in the strait, but only one massive ship was visible. Where had the other two gone?
The wooden planks and charred corpses floating down from the waterway with the current confirmed Qiu Ranke’s worst suspicion—Yun Ye had engaged the Arabs on the other side of the strait. Qiu Ranke knew Zamuli’s strength very well. He himself had fought him no fewer than six times, and neither had gained any advantage. They could only use the strait as a boundary, ruling as kings in the east and west respectively.
Now it appeared Zamuli hadn’t gained any advantage, because the shattered wooden planks were almost all from those strange high-stern ships of the Arabs. The vivid colors on the planks proved this point.
Kill ten thousand enemies, lose three thousand of your own—this was common sense on the battlefield. Even if Yun Ye could defeat Zamuli, he should be utterly exhausted by now, right? Would his massive ships have lost one? Or had both been heavily damaged? What floated over from that end of the strait wasn’t just wood chips but also large masses of oil slicks. Zamuli had even used fierce fire oil. Qiu Ranke didn’t believe Yun Ye would be unscathed. The fact that he was cowering in the strait without coming out was clear proof.
The Japanese had also arrived. Their dilapidated warships were identical to the Korean warships. They had arranged their formation and were quietly waiting on the left flank. A tall, burly, bald man stood astride at the bow like Qiu Ranke, gazing toward the strait.
Qiu Ranke was furious with Kui Liu, but this wasn’t the time to lose his temper. News from Java indicated that all forty-five merchant ships carried precious cargo, with five of them fully loaded with spices. This was astounding. If he could just obtain these five merchant ships, Qiu Ranke could expand his fleet tenfold. This held a fatal attraction for him.
“Big Brother, the Koreans hope to speak with Big Brother.” A man walked to Qiu Ranke’s side and said quietly.
“Tell them to go to hell. After I finish off Yun Ye, I’ll settle accounts with them. I, Qiu Ranke, have always eaten alone.” Qiu Ranke refused without hesitation. To have him sit down and talk with Korean pirates was simply an insult.
“Commander, you should still meet with them. With big business ahead, let’s hear what they have to say. If it’s not suitable, we can fall out with them then—it won’t be too late.” The strategist in scholarly robes came before Qiu Ranke to offer counsel.
“Old Bai, some people can’t be met. They’re like plague, bringing us bad news. They profit from the middle. I’ve seen how that bastard Yun Ye manipulates people’s hearts. We’re all rough and straightforward men—going through water and fire is no problem, but asking us to play underhanded games won’t work.” Thinking of the tactics Yun Ye had used against him, Qiu Ranke felt cold all over. In his dreams, he could never forget that child whose arm had been cut off.
“Old Bai, to deal with Yun Ye, don’t listen to his nonsense. Just charge in with swords raised. Only when you’ve chopped off his head will you be safe. Yun Ye only has three ships. Our fleet has already assembled completely. The Mai family brothers have also joined in, the Hu family from Dongshan Island has arrived as promised, and many maritime brothers have come too. I don’t believe Yun Ye’s three ships can match our seventy-plus ships. Even if I have to fill the gap with human lives, I’ll take down this merchant convoy. With it, we’ll be the true overlords of the sea. Better not to meet with the Koreans.”
“The chief still underestimates Yun Ye. According to what this humble woman knows, Yun Ye never takes risks and never puts himself in danger, let alone with Prince Wei Tai also aboard. He’s never been a rash person.” A charming voice came from behind. Qiu Ranke was suddenly startled. When he turned to look, he discovered a woman in palace dress was already not far from him.
The woman’s dark hair was piled high, with a dazzling gold walking-phoenix hairpin adorning her head. The gold phoenix hairpin in the very center swayed with every step, as if about to spread its wings and fly away.
Qiu Ranke’s pupils contracted. Without looking at the woman’s face, he stared at the delicate collarbones below her neck and said, “How did you get aboard my ship?”
“All of you are heroic men. I’m just a small woman boarding the ship—everyone considered me no threat. Could it be that the chief also fears a mere woman?”
Qiu Ranke coldly swept his gaze over his subordinates once. Seeing them all lower their heads with guilty expressions, he knew that these fellows who’d been at sea too long had probably forgotten even their ancestors upon seeing a woman.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Korean Empress. My name is Gaoshan Yangzi. Has the chief ever heard of me?” Gaoshan Yangzi slowly sat down on the brocade cushion laid out by her attendants, placing her hands folded on her lap with graceful bearing.
Qiu Ranke stared at Gaoshan Yangzi sitting opposite him, hugging his great sword, and asked, “You’re the high and mighty Korean Empress, and I’m a crude pirate. We’ve never had dealings. What business do you have with me?”
Gaoshan Yangzi took a tea set from the side table and said lovingly, “This is a method of brewing tea I learned from the Central Plains. It’s truly a wonderful thing. I’ve had the good fortune to obtain some fine tea leaves. Why don’t I brew a cup of tea for the chief?”
“I’m a crude man who can’t enjoy such refined things, and besides, Yun Ye is about to charge out from the strait. What I should be doing is preparing for battle.” Qiu Ranke seemed to sense danger in the air and refused once again.
Gaoshan Yangzi said unhurriedly, “Don’t be anxious, Chief. Yun Ye seems to be establishing a camp in the strait, and he’s cleared out a space on the shore, preparing to wait for you to charge in. He doesn’t plan to come out and throw his life away.”
While speaking, her hands didn’t slow. She rinsed the cups and bowls with boiling water, used bamboo tongs to hold the cups and bowls while pouring out the water, and had already begun filtering and brewing the tea.
“How do you know Prince Wei Tai is also aboard? Can Koreans always know secrets we don’t know?” Qiu Ranke’s hand gripping the sword sheath began to tighten. The ominous feeling grew ever stronger, because he saw that Kui Liu had also boarded his ship.
“Have a cup, Chief. You’re a brave man, but you’re constantly betrayed by your own subordinates. That taste must be unpleasant. Tea cleanses troubles. You should still taste a sip and see if this humble woman’s skill is adequate.”
Qiu Ranke roared loudly and kicked the side table flying toward Gaoshan Yangzi, but Old Bai kicked it off course with one foot. It fell into the sea with a splash. Qiu Ranke didn’t retreat but advanced, striking Old Bai’s chest heavily with one punch. There was a cracking sound, and countless ribs in Old Bai’s chest must have broken. Spurting blood, he retreated repeatedly before falling onto the deck with a thud. He clearly wouldn’t survive. He opened his blood-filled mouth as if trying to speak to Gaoshan Yangzi.
“You needn’t worry about Meiji and the child. They were never your wife and child to begin with. I deliberately fabricated them. Meiji is a singing girl under my command, and that child was kidnapped. You and Meiji had just a single night together, and you thought she’d bear you a child? What were you thinking? Have you gone mad from wanting children?”
Old Bai stared and crawled toward Gaoshan Yangzi. A large foot stepped on his back. After a series of crisp sounds, Old Bai’s mouth spewed out large amounts of black internal organs, and he stopped moving. Only in death did he realize how miserably he’d been played. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, staring ahead. A large foot kicked his waist, his body flew up, and like that side table, he fell into the vast sea.
Qiu Ranke was now bathed in blood from head to toe. Each time his long sword hacked down, a great spray of fresh blood would gush out. No matter how many people he cut down, the same number would always surround him. The deck beneath his feet was already thick with congealed blood. He roared again, grabbed a cable and leaped up, his large feet kicking into the faces of people he’d called brothers not long ago. The entire neck was nearly kicked off, the head drooping onto the back. He fell into the pool of blood like that, dying without a sound.
Qiu Ranke charged toward Gaoshan Yangzi three times, and his shoulders and back had already acquired three more wounds. He was still slowly approaching Gaoshan Yangzi. Only by capturing this woman or killing this woman would he have a way to survive. He hadn’t expected that his iron brothers would now be his greatest obstacles.
Last time he’d been betrayed by the brothers left behind to guard things. He’d only disappeared for a few years—how could they have seized his woman, his country? So after Qiu Ranke killed all those ungrateful brothers, he also cut his defiled woman in two with a single stroke, believing this would sever his past from his present. He never imagined betrayal would come even more fiercely.