Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 178 Young Master, it's time to take your medicine! (Please subscribe and vote!)
Fengzhou Shanren, accompanied by two young men who appeared to be his disciples, took their seats in the main hall. He placed the three volumes of novels he was holding on the desk beside him and nodded to everyone.

"You're too kind, everyone. Although I come from the main branch of the Guishan Academy in Southern Zhili, I am now without official rank or title and am just an idle person. Please have a seat."

After everyone was seated again, he glanced around at the dozens of blurry figures, his gaze not lingering on Gao Ren, this minor character by the door, before speaking unhurriedly:
"The reason I have gathered you all here today is to inform you that the first phase of preparations for deciphering the treasure map has been completed."

More than 20 officials of the middle third rank and over 100 officials of the lower third rank with special skills were secretly arrested along the coast.

The decoding is about to begin, and everyone should send over the agreed-upon personnel as soon as possible.

I, an old man, know neither nautical charts nor shipbuilding techniques, but my three incompetent subordinates are better than Zhuge Liang. Even if we cannot completely decipher Zheng He's nautical charts, we will surely gain something by pooling our wisdom."

Everyone present excitedly agreed:

"Yes. Thank you for your trouble, sir!"

Due to the taboo of "cherishing written words," the Liu family carefully kept this nautical chart hidden for decades, only slowly revealing it to other accomplices when they could no longer bear it.

Who wouldn't covet this treasure? They've already prepared their manpower and can't wait to get started.

At this moment, Wang Bengu reminded him:
"My friend, last year, several of our Guishan Academy's Minzhou branch members, all of whom were of the highest rank (living spirits), joined forces with two newly appointed provincial inspectors of the highest rank (divine constables) to besiege Prince Jinghai."

Despite thorough preparations and the coordinated efforts of a large number of temple soldiers and ghost warriors who used secret military strategies to kill Wang Zeng, two living ghosts and gods still died in battle, and the remaining officials have yet to fully recover from their injuries.

This is precisely the time when Minzhou is at its weakest; you must prepare more temple troops and ghost soldiers to strengthen defenses.”

With a smug look on his face, Fengzhou Shanren reached out and patted the three volumes of the novel "The Loyal and Righteous Water Margin" on the table:
"Don't underestimate me just because I'm only a fifth-rank Confucian scholar and a fourth-rank novelist. I possess one of these four extraordinary books, and I'll put all the treasure maps and manpower into this book to decipher the world."

If outsiders don't have the means to restrain themselves, even if they are among the top three ranks and enter the "Loyal and Righteous Water Margin", they will not gain any advantage!
Rest assured, Imperial Censor Wang, this book was written two hundred years ago, and the world within it is already complete and almost indistinguishable from the human world.

To put it bluntly, even I, an old man who has been immersed in this world for many years, can only intervene to a certain extent and guide to a certain degree; I can never defy the turbulent human nature and destiny depicted in the book.

The three volumes of the novel in his hands were the original manuscript of the ten-volume, one-hundred-chapter version written by Shi Nai'an and edited by Luo Guanzhong.

The author, Shi Nai'an, had already passed away when the book was completed, and thus did not enjoy much of the benefits.

His disciple Luo Guanzhong helped him revise and publish the manuscript, but soon the ten volumes of the original manuscript were lost and ended up in the hands of different novelists, literati and scholars.

Later, as the story of the Liangshan heroes became popular, people's wishes and desires gradually formed a vast world within the novel, "The Loyal and Righteous Water Margin," and these original manuscripts became priceless treasures.

The first three volumes, which are the most essential, are held by Fengzhou Shanren.

What he didn't tell Wang Bengu was that he had reconstructed and expanded a part of the plot under the pseudonym "Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng," and also wrote a novel, which was hidden in the world of the loyal and righteous Water Margin.

Not only must he decipher the nautical charts, but he must also use these four extraordinary books and the wisdom of many to help him attain enlightenment!

This is probably one of the earliest fan fiction works, and it's naturally easier to benefit from being backed by the original work.

Wang Bengu did not believe that such a confidential matter would be leaked. The many families involved had long kept the secret by using the talisman "Golden Man Keeps His Mouth Silent" to ensure that nothing would go wrong.

But then another matter came up:
“Master, the list of candidates is still missing one key person.”

Fengzhou Shanren glanced at the two disciples beside him who were bowing their heads as if they had done something wrong, and waved his hand dismissively:
"I know about this matter. It was my apprentice who was careless and mistakenly took Zheng Qian, the third young master of the Five Tigers Shipyard and a sixth-rank official, as the eldest young master, Zheng Jin, a fifth-rank official."

It's not a big deal.

Although the disappearance of many people in Minzhou has caused some commotion, we acted meticulously and left no loopholes. No matter how much outsiders speculate, they will never guess the inside story.

"Tomorrow or the day after, I will have my disciple take my treasure and make another trip to the Five Tigers Gate Shipyard."

After finalizing the plan and addressing any omissions, everyone followed Wang Bengu in bowing deeply to the hermit of Fengzhou Mountain once more.
"I entrust all the important matters here to you, sir."

The latter returned the greeting, a look of hatred appearing on his face:

“My father was framed and unjustly killed by the old traitor Yan last year. I, Wang Fengzhou, am irreconcilably opposed to Yan’s faction.”

"It's good that everything went smoothly. But if anyone dares to sabotage the important affairs of my Guishan Academy, this world in the book will be their burial ground!"

With a wave of his sleeve, all the blurry figures in the main hall, except for Fengzhou Shanren and his two disciples, vanished instantly.

Gao Ren's eager gaze could only be temporarily silenced.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In Minzhou, the capital city, Wang Cheng walked alone out of the Wuhumen Shipyard and along the long street, his face somber as if he were preoccupied with something.

The scholar "Wang Fugui" studied at Lianjiang Academy here for many years, and Wang Cheng has his memories of him, so he is naturally no stranger to Fuzhou.

I've visited the Five Tiger Gate with my classmates a few times.

Wuhumen is a natural waterway located at the mouth of the Minjiang River.

It gets its name from the five bedrock reefs at the mouth of the river that resemble tigers, forming a "five tigers guarding the gate" formation. The Wuhumen Shipyard, built here, also has a long history.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Wuhumen Shipyard was dedicated to building treasure ships, including the Tiangong Treasure Ships, for Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean. In the first year of Taizong's reign, he was ordered to build 37 ocean-going ships; in the second year, an additional 5 ships were built; and in the fifth year, 249 ocean-going ships were refitted.
In the sixth year of Emperor Taizong's reign: 48 treasure ships were built; in the seventeenth year of Emperor Taizong's reign: another 41 ships were built.

Even now, the Wuhumen Shipyard still produces dozens of warships with a capacity of over 500 tons per year, supplying various coastal garrisons and making it a core support for the entire southeastern coastal defense.

During the seven voyages, the eunuch Zheng Heping led the fleet from Southern Zhili and assembled at Liujiagang in Taicang.

Upon arriving at Taiping Port at Wuhu Gate in Changle, the capital of Minzhou, the ships that had been built were moored there. Then, waiting for favorable winds, they set sail and eventually traveled to the vast ocean and the Spice Islands.

Wang Cheng strolled along the beach, gazing at the vast sea in the distance:
"Master said that the ancestor of the Shen family, the God of Wealth, went to sea back then. Like Wang Bangyan, the ancestor of my Wang family, who was also a member of the treasure ship crew, they eventually disappeared together in the depths of the vast ocean."

For many years, the Shan Hai Society, composed of descendants of the Treasure Ship, has remained abroad, largely because they want to unravel the mystery of the disappearance of the Treasure Ship's crew.

Everyone wants to know what exactly happened back then.

If you want to track down the whereabouts of the treasure ship's crew, you absolutely cannot bypass the Five Tiger Gate, and that batch of Zheng He's treasure maps.

It's worth taking a little risk this time.

Passersby on the street would stop and greet him from afar.

"Young Master Zheng, may His Excellency enjoy boundless blessings?"

Wang Cheng returned the greeting with a smile:

"All is well, thanks to you."

Three days have passed, and neither of the other two sides has discovered anything unusual, nor have they found any trace of a large gathering of outsiders.

After thinking it over, Wang Cheng decided to take the initiative to lure Qingliu out, based on his prediction of Qingliu's next move.

He secretly transformed into the appearance of Zheng Jin, the eldest brother of the third senior brother, by wearing a dragon robe and python robe, and bought a lot of shipbuilding knowledge and interpersonal relationships from the master craftsmen at the shipyard.

They made it so realistic that even the Zheng family members couldn't tell the difference, and then they secretly took over Zheng Jin's job.

"Anyway, there's no danger to my life, and I have several treasures to my name. I'm confident I have some experience in how to protect myself, so the danger of becoming an inside agent is still within a manageable range."

When Wang Cheng walked out of the shipyard, he discovered that it happened to be a temple fair.

The temples dedicated to the Three-Eyed King, the Dharma Lord, the Mysterious Altar Lord, the Back Pool Granary, the Great King Lin, the Five Manifestations Lord, and the various ghosts and spirits, are bustling with worshippers and visitors.

Despite not being a direct port for sea access due to the maritime ban, this place controlled most of the upstream industries and goods supply, earning more than maritime merchants.

Without thriving commerce, Minzhou Zhizhong, a region characterized by eight parts mountains, one part water, and one part farmland, could never have achieved such a prosperous state.

Wang Cheng, intending to lure the snake out of its hole, didn't shy away from anyone and stepped inside.

"Huh? That's..."

I had just walked two blocks when I suddenly spotted a very familiar figure flashing by.

Although the face was unfamiliar, the figure and physique gave him a sense of familiarity, and he subconsciously followed after him.

I couldn't help but catch my breath as I turned the street corner.

But here grows a pure white fringe tree that is at least several hundred years old, also known as April Snow, with snow piled on its branches and flowers in full bloom.

From afar, the trees are covered in blossoms, like snow covering the branches, or like clouds falling from the sky. A gentle breeze blows, and the petals flutter down, like snowflakes dancing in the air.

The figure in the white dress stood under the tree with her back to Wang Cheng, holding an oil-paper umbrella, her beauty breathtaking.

Without even seeing their face, the person in question, "Rare Goods for Sale," already knew their identity.

She is not the reincarnation of the Dragon Girl. So who is A Xiao, the Pearl Dweller?
However, Ah Xiao had no rare finds and did not recognize Wang Cheng, who had also changed his appearance.

As the two stood under the flowering tree, Wang Cheng subconsciously recalled a line of poetry: "If we are bathed in snow together in the future, we can be considered to have grown old together in this life."

He immediately shook his head and chuckled.

Only she herself will turn white-haired. Even if another hundred or two hundred years pass, the Dragon Girl will probably still be the same youthful and beautiful girl she is now.

Then she became curious: why would she suddenly send someone to the state capital?

Just as Wang Cheng was about to step forward to acknowledge them, it was as if an invisible page of a book was turned in the air in front of him, causing him to step into the depths of that page.

At the same time, I felt a sense of weightlessness beneath my feet, and my mind went blank.

In his hazy state, before Wang Cheng could even open his eyes again, he suddenly heard a seductive and alluring female voice:

"Big brother, it's time to take your medicine."

(End of this chapter)