Chapter 740: Chapter 29 The Dharma on This Land is Inadequate to Speak Of (Part 2) Chapter 740: Chapter 29 The Dharma on This Land is Inadequate to Speak Of (Part 2) “Is everything Uncle Hu said true?”

Unable to contain herself, Zheng Xiu stood up and took a few steps forward, disregarding the mud staining her snow-white cape.

The marks of fingers still visible on Hu Bailing’s face, he spoke in a muffled and stuffy tone, “A typhoon struck that day at sea, and even after fleeing far away we nearly got swept up in it. Later, we captured a man who said a giant whirlpool had swallowed many of the government’s iron ships, and they suffered heavy casualties, but Tianbao disappeared as well.”

After finishing, Hu Bailing glanced up and saw, standing behind this elfin girl, four gaunt men with red headscarves, each with a tense expression and bulging temple muscles exuding an indescribable aura of menace – they were Red Flag’s Gaoli ghosts.

His heart chilled, and the visages of Madam Shi and Tianbao flashed involuntarily through his mind.

While Madam Shi was in charge, she greatly valued the secret methods of the Gaoli ghosts. She only took in orphans, trained them from a young age, and when they reached adulthood, she required them to swear a witchcraft poison oath of loyalty to the Zheng Family for generations before she was willing to use the secret method to refine them. Thus, including Xu Chaoyi, the older generation Gaoli ghosts were beyond reproach in both loyalty and capability.

Among the more than 40,000 members of the Red Flag Gang, not a single one could master the secrets of the Gaoli ghost. Moreover, Madam Shi’s authority was immensely stern, readily executing her subordinates, and combined with the infamy of witchcraft, most of the Red Flag Gang held her in awe.

But when Tianbao became the Dragon Head and ensured clear rewards and punishments, the atmosphere was entirely rejuvenated. Those within the gang who fought bravely were rewarded based on their merits. Not to mention wealth, Tianbao even considered their aptitude to help them become Gaoli ghosts, regardless of their origins or their relationships with him.

Of the fourteen commanders of the Red Flag, only Zhao Bailing knew that Zhao Tuo, Xue Ba, and Zhao Xiaoyi had been granted the status of Gaoli ghosts.

Today, Cha Daozi had effortlessly captured him in the midst of an army and brought him ashore; had he been rewarded with the status of a Gaoli ghost by Tianbao Dragon Head and Zheng Xiu already?

At this thought, Hu Bailing felt a surge of despondency. His ancestors had served Lord Zheng and were veterans of the Red Flag Gang. He had been a commander ever since Madam Shi first took control of the Red Flag pirates and had led fleets of nearly ten thousand, particularly sensitive to changes in the maritime weather, an invaluable talent.

His agitation on Xue Ba’s deck was not inspired by any rebellious intent.

Initially, Cha Daozi was but a northerner under Tianbao’s command with murky origins. Over the years, leveraging his relationship with Tianbao Dragon Head, he had risen to the rank of commander, placing him on equal footing with Hu. After the turmoil on Lantau Island, this Cha began protecting the Great Alliance Leader, gaining an even more prominent position than Hu. Even Zhao Xiaoyi, an outsider from the Black Flag, had become a Gaoli ghost. Reflecting on his years without advancement, Hu naturally felt aggrieved and sought to suppress Cha Daozi’s arrogance.

But unexpectedly, he was captured in public by the latter and brought before the Great Alliance Leader in disgrace, likely to become a laughingstock from then on.

Upon hearing the news of Tianbao’s disappearance, Zheng Xiu collapsed into her chair. But in a moment’s time, she recovered and asked, “Did Uncle’s brothers make it ashore?”

Cha Xiaodao spoke up, “The ships haven’t docked; I asked Xue Ba to trust the child’s word.”

Zheng Xiu’s expression eased. She straightened up and sized up the room before suddenly exclaiming, “Huh!” She walked over to Hu Bailing in a few steps and, standing on her toes, reached to touch the wound on his forehead, “What happened to the injury on Uncle’s head?”

“It’s nothing, nothing.”

Touched on the face by a girl of about ten, Hu Bailing grew flustered. He had held Zheng Xiu when she was in swaddling clothes. Although she was now the Great Alliance Leader of the Five Flags, she was also his niece, and at her inquiry, he hardly knew how to respond.

Cha Xiaodao thus spoke up, “Seeing a ship flying our flag, I boarded alone in haste to inquire about the Dragon Head’s whereabouts. Commander Hu mistook me for a thief, and we got into a little scuffle. My apologies, Old Brother Hu.”

Zheng Xiu turned, waiting for Cha Xiaodao with furrowed brows, “Brother Cha’s recklessness makes one wonder if our Zheng heritage is too easy to bully, does it not?”

Cha Xiaodao, with no alternative, bowed repeatedly and apologized, but before he could speak further, Hu Bailing hastily intervened, “We are all brothers here. In times of urgency, measures must be adapted. I understand Commander Cha’s dilemma.”

Zheng Xiu puffed out her cheeks and only after a long while managed to say reluctantly, “Let it be then.”

She grasped Cha’s hand in one of hers and Hu’s in the other, her eyes rimming with redness, “Right now, the Red Flag is at a perilous turning point between survival and destruction, Tianbao is missing, and uncles are scattered in all directions. Pulo Island is Treasure Ship King Lin Ajin’s territory. This journey is fraught with unpredictable dangers. Just recently a hairpin, and now a piece of strategy–these might seem laughable in the eyes of our elders, but preserving the situation relies solely on the protection and tolerance of my brothers and uncles. If you and I cannot work together at this moment, the foundation established by five generations of the Red Flag might well be destroyed in an instant.”

This speech made Hu Bailing’s chest feel as though it would burst, his face flushed with redness. His response, however, is not mentioned.

Cha Xiaodao looked at Zheng Xiu with considerable admiration. He had always known that despite her young age, she was capable of standing on her own. The fact that she had quietly started her own operation without the knowledge of the Red Flag’s elders and managed to recruit the Ruan Brothers, oddities of An Nan, was evident enough. That she calmed Hu Bailing with just a few words was even more remarkable.

“Uncle Hu, you and young master Xue have come back at just the right time. I have an important matter in hand and no suitable people to attend to it. With your return, you have truly relieved my urgent need. I plan to send you to Pulo Island first, to pay my regards to the Treasure Ship King and to gauge his intentions… as well as the true state of Pulo Island.”

Zheng Xiu didn’t vocalize her thoughts, but she harbored an additional intention–to delay the spread of news about Tianbao’s disappearance as much as possible. Though it’s said that no secret can remain hidden, for pirates like the Red Flag Gang who were seasoned seafarers, to go missing in a storm virtually equated to announcing Tianbao’s demise. The Red Flag, as it stood, was better off without such dire news.

“No problem, leave it to me,” Hu Bailing nodded vigorously, frowning, “However, in the past, the Precious Ship Lin Clan defected from Lord Zheng’s camp, and we, the remnants of Zheng’s forces, have never been on good terms with them. Xiao Ba’s temper is particularly rough, so I’m concerned…”

Zheng Xiu was not interested in these old and trivial matters, and promptly nodded along, “In that case, I would like Cha to accompany you.”

Cha Xiaodao had been contemplating Li Yan’s disappearance in the great whirlpool. Hearing Zheng Xiu proposing his lead to Pulo Island, he found himself in a difficult position; after all, Li Yan had entrusted him to look after Zheng Xiu.

Before Cha Xiaodao could speak, however, Zheng Xiu preempted him, “I have Gaoli ghosts to protect me, and a group of brothers whose loyalty is unshakable. It is Pulo Island that worries me. I heard that apart from the influence of the Treasure Ship King, there are various indigenous tribes on the island worshipping malevolent gods. Moreover, even the East India Company has troops stationed there. The situation is complex and interwoven. If you cannot carve out new grounds for our Red Flag on Pulo Island, we may truly become homeless dogs.”

Cha Xiaodao squinted his eyes, and after seeing Zheng Xiu’s insistence, he finally nodded.

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With a book, one can travel far; without one, the journey feels shorter.

Cha Xiaodao took along the pirates who had accompanied him in scouting Xue Ba’s fleet, and together, they boarded Xue Ba’s ship for Pulo Island. As for Zheng Xiu’s main force, burdened with many supplies and cumbersome large ships, it would likely arrive seven or eight days later than Cha and Xue’s teams. Additionally, with Zheng Xiu intentionally downplaying Tianbao’s disappearance, it was expected that she would tentatively feel out the opinions of others and thus would be even more delayed.

Zheng Xiu originally intended to send fifty Gaoli ghosts with Cha, but he firmly rejected the offer.

Although he had been thoroughly beaten by Muni, forcing him to restart from scratch, and Yi Yi’s test in Yan Fu had also failed, the strength Cha Xiaodao currently possessed was still less than a third of his prime. Nevertheless, among the South Seas pirates of the present day, there was still no one who could match Cha Xiaodao.

This was also why Li Yan confidently entrusted the bulk of Zheng Xiu’s and the Red Flag’s assets to Cha Xiaodao.

…

Cha Xiaodao stood with his arms crossed, gazing at the darkening clouds with a grave expression. He recalled the last time he encountered the Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea, when he was nothing more than a low-level member of Jiugong or Ten Cities. The dazzling and bewitching spectacle left an indelible impression, especially the figure of Yan Gong, who could cleave a hundred-meter vessel with a flick of his wrist. Although Li Yan was not the same man he used to be, if he were to face such a supernatural being, the outcome would likely be unfavorable.

Of course, to say Li Yan had met his end like this would be unthinkable; Cha Xiaodao did not believe it. For one, if his companions had perished, Earth Endurance would have issued a warning.

Secondly, Li Yan was brave and meticulous, with indeed a streak of twisted luck.

Once during a casual conversation, Li Yan told Cha Xiaodao that he had sought a divination at the Yanjing Temple. The result was “passing through mountains and seas,” and in retrospect, despite repeatedly facing the Eight Sufferings, Li Yan was still bouncing around alive and well. Sometimes fortune and misfortune go hand in hand; today’s divination seemed to have proven true.

Who could say for certain? Perhaps tomorrow Li Yan would turn up before him, alive and well, even managing to lure Yan Gong to the Water Palace.