Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 163 North-South Alliance, Qingliu Takes Action!
The two people counted ants outside the door and waited silently for another half an hour.

During this time, Wang Cheng heard the sounds of whips and bamboo sticks being wielded, as well as women's laughter, and he sighed inwardly several times: "My senior brother is truly a tough guy; he really doesn't want to take any detours."

If he can endure this kind of hardship, what can't he endure? He's destined for greatness!

Only when the sound gradually faded away did Wang Cheng finally lead Shen Yueye, who had removed her golden veil and disguised herself, to hand the token to the doorman and enter the hideout of the Tanka thieves in Pinghu Port.

"Junior sister, what a coincidence! So you've also arrived at Pinghu Port? If I had known, I would have set off earlier, and we could have spent a couple more days together."

"Is this my junior brother? I heard from Master when we sent a message earlier that he had taken on an excellent disciple, but we have never met."

"We brothers have finally managed to get together today, so we must drink to our hearts' content."

"Come, come, let me introduce you. This is my captain, Zheng Shiniang, also my...hehe, it's not convenient to reveal her to the gang, but you know what I mean."

I was just discussing important matters of the gang with the captain of the ship, and your arrival is perfectly timed.

"Shi Niang, these are my second junior sister and fourth junior brother. I've mentioned them to you before."

Here, they not only met their senior brother Zhang Quan, who warmly greeted them, but also the famous female pirate Zheng Shiniang.

To the surprise of many, this notorious female pirate, although actually over thirty years old and already a mother of a daughter, was considered middle-aged by outside standards.

On the surface, she still appears to be a stunningly beautiful woman.

She wore a brightly colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) made of silk, with a very low bodice that revealed a large expanse of fair skin. She was adorned with many gorgeous silver ornaments that shone brightly and were extremely dazzling.

She possesses a natural charm and radiant beauty, exuding a languid allure that comes from within, like a young woman who has just been well-fed.

Like a ripe persimmon, a gentle bite fills the mouth with sweet juice, completely devoid of the wildness she displayed while eavesdropping.

Wang Cheng didn't dare to look at this "sister-in-law" for long.

As they drew closer, his spiritual sense, specifically the ability to hear thunder, clearly detected the chirping of insects emanating from her, causing him to feel a chill.

Although this female pirate was a Tanka person, she did not take up a position in the Thirty-Six Halls of Water Servants. Instead, she took up a very niche position in the Southern Seas called "Gu Master"!
It's still unknown how many powerful Gu worms she's raising under her clothes.

This youthful appearance is probably a special effect of some kind of Gu worm.

His gaze inadvertently swept over her slightly exposed, fair ankle beneath her skirt, where a vivid, colorful spider tattoo appeared to be crawling out.

This is not the work of a tattoo artist, but a secret Taoist scripture hidden within the tattoo lines: the "Naked Panwang Sutra"!
Side effects: Gu is a vicious creature, fond of killing and bloodthirsty, greedy for lust and food. Those who practice Gu scriptures must bear the vicious nature and evil roots of Gu with their own spirit. If they do not restrain themselves, their temperament will change drastically over time.

If the malevolent energy of the Gu worms cannot be eliminated, one day they will surely die from being devoured by countless Gu worms.

Relief method: Find one

Before he could finish looking at it, Zhang Quan happened to walk up to Wang Cheng and unintentionally blocked the tattoo.

Wang Cheng then turned his gaze away.

"No need to look anymore, it's obvious that Senior Brother is the one who uses 'method'."

I heard that her late husband, Zheng Yi, died very young; I wonder if that's why.

This senior disciple was probably only twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He was handsome, tall and strong, with a thick beard that exuded masculine charm.

Anyone who saw him would think he was a peerless hero who could stand on his fists, ride a horse on his arms, and break a boulder with his chest.

Even his royal blue outfit couldn't hide the red whip mark on the back of his neck, much less the striking gold chain as thick as a thumb around his neck!

He also wore a gold belt around his waist, adorned with a jade pendant, and a jewel-encrusted Yunmeng scimitar hanging from it. He also wore a white jade thumb ring on his hand.

This was Zhang Quan's simple attire before he knew they were coming. Wang Cheng didn't even dare to imagine how dazzling and extravagant it would be when he went back home to show off during the New Year.
The flower language of steel wool is forbearance and wealth. It's obvious how these riches and valuables came about.

No matter how much he earns, it's really not something to be envious of. He should really earn this humiliation fee!

"Big brother."

"This junior brother greets the senior brother!"

The two sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries before getting down to business.

Since we're all on the same side, it's much easier to talk to each other.

Fortunately, Zheng Shiniang, who was in charge of the Red Flag Gang, was also present. Therefore, Shen Yueye, as the special envoy of the Prince of Jinghai, extended an invitation to the Red Flag Gang, which was also a Tanka people force, to form an alliance.

"This is a good thing; sticking together for mutual support has always been a tradition among the Tanka people."

Whether it's forming an alliance or borrowing troops, our Red Flag Gang has no problem.

After hearing about the general plan and prospects of the Donghai Kingdom's conquest of Yingzhou, Zheng Shiniang naturally did not object to this mutually beneficial alliance.

Leaving aside the high prestige of the King of Jinghai among the Tanka people, just the sight of the rolling dragon aura and the divinely bestowed royal power that Donghai Kingdom had just witnessed, officially making it the sixty-fourth vassal state of Dazhao, meant that the Red Flag Gang had come out on top.

Back when the Prince of Jinghai suppressed the entire East China Sea, even if they wanted to curry favor with him, they couldn't.

However, this remarkable woman also revealed her own situation to the two of them:

"I won't hide it from you, the Red Flag Gang is currently vying with another major pirate group, Lin Daoqian, the ruler of Chaozhou in Lingnan, for control of Tongyi Island."

Zhang Quan and I are both at the peak of the fifth rank, and we also have a group of old brothers left behind by my late husband who are brave and daring to fight, so we are not afraid of him.

I heard that he also came to Yingzhou this time. I don't know why, but he seems determined to get the position of Zhenhai General conferred by the imperial court." When she said this, Wang Cheng didn't take it seriously.

The Minzhou and Chaozhou groups are the two main groups that are currently leading the Da Zhao people to go overseas.

The guys from both states are relatively well-behaved when they're in China, but once they go overseas, they're constantly getting into brawls.

In Buyeo and Ryukyu, large-scale armed conflicts involving thousands of people have reached the ears of the "Lord of the State" more than once or twice, and the rulers of those small countries complain to the court every year.

However, since both sides share the same ancestry and were forced by the imperial court to make a living at sea, even when officials engaged in power struggles, it was usually only a brief encounter and rarely resulted in any deaths.

As long as there is no deep-seated hatred, there is a possibility of reconciliation.

After all, the martial world isn't just about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships and social interactions. Fortune comes before power, and if everything is resolved with force, even the largest fortune can't withstand such a drain.

In addition, there were Western colonial empires eyeing them covetously from the outside, and unknown terrors beyond the walls that all the high-ranking officials kept silent about.

Wang Cheng naturally hoped to unite all forces that could be united.

However, what Zheng Shiniang said next made his expression turn serious.

"I don't know if it's because Lin Daoqian broke the rules."

An elder in our Red Flag Gang, who was also my late husband's cousin, a third-rank fake hand known as "Thousand-Machine Master" Zheng Bailian, and his apprentice Zhou Sanpao, went ashore on business one day and never returned.

With both Xinxiang and Jiaohun unable to be contacted, the gang's plan to replicate the sailing warship, which had been underway for several years, had to be halted midway.

The fact that the spirit lamps they kept in the clan were not extinguished indicates that they were only missing, not dead.

I suspect the person might have been kidnapped by Lin Daoqian, a rival of the Red Flag Gang.

Senior Brother Zhang Quan added from the side:

There's more to this story.

Actually, it was Lin Daoqian who initially falsely accused us of kidnapping Master Yao, a third-rank master craftsman they had hired at great expense.

We have investigated and found that this is not true at all.

That's why after our people went missing, suspicion fell on Lin Daoqian; everyone felt that he was deliberately seeking revenge.

The conflict between the two companies has escalated recently and is almost out of control.

It would be terrible if it started bleeding.

"If this matter isn't resolved, it will be difficult for us to send anyone to Yingzhou to help."

Wang Cheng had heard of the name Zhou Sanpao, the fake craftsman. The lion-headed talisman on the Qingyi ship was actually obtained from him by chance (Chapter 39).

I didn't realize at the time that he was actually a member of the Red Flag Gang, and I couldn't help but marvel at how small the world is.

But that wasn't what truly alarmed him.

Turning his head to look at Shen Yueye sitting next to him, he found that she was also looking at him with the same serious expression. It was clear that the two of them had thought of the same thing.

That was the intelligence they obtained after killing Liu Jianzhen, a descendant of Liu Daxia:
"The Zheng He Treasure Map materials privately held by the Liu family involve many overseas secrets and evil spirits. They are mostly recorded in coded texts and only a group of high-ranking members of the treasure ship fleet understand them."

But all those high-ranking officials had disappeared into the depths of the vast ocean after the seventh failed voyage to the Western Ocean.

This has resulted in slow progress on the blueprints for the treasure ships, especially the seven [Heavenly Craft Treasure Ships] powered by thunder and fire.

The Liu family patriarch and the other lords of the Qingliu lineage had already planned last year to take advantage of the chaos in the East China Sea to capture renowned master craftsmen and artisans from various lineages.
There were also powerful officials like the Imperial Attendant, who possessed the extraordinary skill of "listening to thunder" and could even understand animal language without a teacher, who were tasked with forcibly deciphering the treasure map.

"The counterfeiters, who are most adept at forging official positions, are naturally among their targets."

Whether it was the missing persons from Lin Daoqian's or Zheng Shiniang's family, most of them ended up in the hands of this group of Qingliu who were studying the blueprints.

Otherwise, the timing couldn't have been so coincidental.

Wang Cheng hadn't yet decided whether to tell Zheng Shiniang about Zheng He's treasure map right now.

This batch of treasure maps contains astonishing benefits that could determine the fate of a nation.

Whoever obtains the blueprints and can turn them into reality will surely seize maritime hegemony in the East China Sea and the South China Sea in one fell swoop.

Even if the replicas cannot match the original power of the Seven Great Heavenly Crafts Treasure Ships, they can at least help one faction leap to become one of the Little Overlords of the East Sea.

If we can follow the map and find the final treasure ship crew and seven divinely crafted treasure ships laden with overseas treasures, it would be equivalent to inheriting the world's number one navy during the peak of the Great Zhao Dynasty, as well as wealth that rivals that of a nation!
That would be enough to launch a counterattack against Da Zhao.

Conversely, if the upright gentry were to "pool their wisdom" to decipher the treasure map, it would be even better.

They no longer need to rely on the imperial court's overt maritime ban policy, but can directly conquer all maritime forces in one fell swoop with their fists.

The end is nigh for the Tanka people and water miners of the East China Sea!

"It's not just the content of the blueprints, but the fact that they've been found is already incredibly valuable. I need to think things through carefully before deciding on my next strategy."

Neither the Nine Dragons Spitting Pearls Game nor the current war for the founding of the East China Sea Kingdom have seriously damaged the Qingliu faction.

"It's only polite to retaliate, so this time I'm determined to gather a group of reliable helpers and take the initiative. I absolutely cannot let them get what they want!"

(End of this chapter)