Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 80 Fishing for the Dragon at the Stone Drum: A Desperate Gamble

The southern part of Minzhou is Meiling Port, which is only two hundred miles away from Yuegang.

A large, decorated boat with colorful flags was moored on an open body of water where no one was around. Inside the cabin, several gentry captains who had evacuated Yuegang were feasting and celebrating.

A somewhat old-looking geomantic map, "The Dragon Vein Map of Minzhou," was placed on the central table.

"Everyone, the Jiulong River comes from the Gengyou direction and flows straight eastward, with water flowing along both sides of the dragon vein."

The "Riding the Dragon Technique" states that if you face the direction of the incoming water, and the water flows out when it rotates to the right, the tomb is in the Kun position; if it rotates to the left and the water flows out, the birth and nurturing are in the Xun position.

And this location, which occupies the life force of the water dragon vein and is also the location of the dragon pearl, is precisely the city of Xiangzhou.

But this is only the surface; the Xiang River flows through the prefectural city, then turns left once more, and enters this area.”

On a compass, the Heavenly Stem "Geng" represents the west, and the Earthly Branch "You" also represents the west. The "Geng-You direction" actually refers to the west, and the Jiulong River flows from west to east.

The Xun position corresponds to the southeast.

Pu Shouying's fingers traced the watercourses across the geomantic map, finally landing on Yuegang, and she said:
"Looking at the mountain range, Tianbao Mountain in Xiangzhou Prefecture has three steep and majestic peaks. It stretches for more than a hundred miles, with twelve peaks extending southward."

Passing through Wushi and Youche, and reaching Wanggaoshan and Zizhishan, the county seat was formed, which is the main mountain within Xiangzhou Prefecture.

Mountains represent Yang, and water represents Yin. The Yang pearl brings endless blessings to the city, while the Yin pearl flows into the sea. The earth veins that give rise to this Yin-Yang union are located in Yuegang, which is backed by mountains and faces the sea.

The blood offering across the river has already caused Lady Yan's dragon aura to leak out, proving that our initial guess was correct.

After Lady Yan's spirit was reincarnated, her physical body remained hidden within the ley lines of Yuegang, utterly defenseless and completely at our mercy!

The task assigned by the benefactor finally made progress before the second day of the second lunar month. Pu Shouying was overjoyed and couldn't help but show off her knowledge in front of everyone.

The official title of "Treasure Hunter" comes from the third pentad of the Autumn Equinox, "Water begins to dry up." When the water dries up, treasures will appear, and this person is most skilled at finding treasures.

Pu Shouying, nicknamed "Divine Eye," possessed a unique skill in finding dragon veins and dividing gold.

The family-inherited Taoist book, "Shan Hai Han Long Jing," states: "To find the dragon and divide the gold, look at the winding mountains. Each winding is a barrier. If there are eight layers of danger at the gate, it will not go beyond the shape of Yin and Yang and the Eight Trigrams."

With his exceptional skills, he became the chief strategist for that important person. Despite being just a commoner, his actual status was even higher than that of some local officials.

The noble person who received the [Dragon's Blood] inheritance was able to successfully scheme against most of the dragons in the East Sea in just six or seven years. This treasure hunter deserves great credit.

"Captain Pu's strategy is flawless. The Five Peaks Banner and the Mountain and Sea Association have great reputations, but they are all utterly vulnerable. Hehehe."

The other three boatmen from the gentry faction—[West Lake Boatwoman] Tang Miaofu, [Monkey Trainer] Old Man Dong, and [Traveling Merchant] Iron Abacus—offered a barrage of flattery.

Especially the beautiful and alluring Tang Miaofu, sitting next to Pu Shouying, almost nestled her whole body into the arms of this man of Central Asian descent.

Despite the lingering chill of early spring, this boatwoman on West Lake was only wearing a thin red gauze blouse.

A pink peach blossom bodice was tied behind her snow-white neck, her slender waist was so white it seemed to glow, and a section of her fair, jade-like calves and delicate golden lotus feet wearing emerald embroidered shoes were visible under the table.

The two captains beside her were so enigmatic that they didn't know whether to look at the map or at her legs.

In fact, during this period, the literati, wealthy merchants, and powerful figures of the Great Zhao Dynasty advocated foot binding for women.

But whether it was the Great Zhao Dynasty or all the dynasties before it, the pursuit was always "three inches of lotus feet" and "the lotus feet are so narrow, the Xiang skirt is slightly exposed, revealing a deep affection".

Therefore, the three inches refers to the width, not the length, and there is no need to break the foot bones.

In this era, women who bound their feet could still work and play football.

This is completely different from another form of bondage that devastates both the body and the soul, confining women to their homes and preventing them from ever stepping outside.

Food and sex are human nature! Excluding external factors, believing in the aesthetic views of literati is more convincing than believing in their moral standards.

Just like the sixth-rank "West Lake Boat Girl" trained by Master Pu, she was an absolute beauty from head to toe, and few men could resist her charm.

Especially when her snow-white toes swayed back and forth in her emerald-green embroidered shoes, the two captains stared wide-eyed.

They smacked their lips, all reminiscing about the blissful taste of the previous night.

Old Man Dong, the "Monkey Showman," accidentally lost the talisman "Heart-Stabilizing Golden Hoop." Realizing he had let down his ancestors, he no longer wanted to die.

There are still many wonderful things in the world. I've wasted the first half of my life watching monkeys.

However, at this moment, Tang Miaofu's captivating peach blossom eyes were alluring, and she didn't even look at the two of them. All her boundless charm was given to Pu Shouying.

I poured him a glass of wine and brought it to his lips to moisten his throat.

Then Pu Shouying said again:
"We don't need to look for a specific location anymore, nor do we need to care about her reincarnation. As long as we dismantle the feng shui pattern of Yuegang, the geomantic veins will reveal themselves."

Madam Yan's true identity has nowhere to hide!

Moreover, with the influx of numerous evil spirits, once the "Eight Directions Ascending to the Pavilion Formation," which has suppressed the feng shui of Yuegang for over twenty years, is broken, it could potentially lead to a reversal of yin and yang in the entire Yuegang.

Bring the most representative local legends to the surface of the present day, forming a dangerous 'historical dregs,' and eliminate all our enemies at once.

At that time, Moon Harbor had not yet been established, and specific information could not be found.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's guess what you think the dregs of Moonport's history might be surfacing.

After a moment's thought, the several large boats shouted in unison a legend known to everyone in the Jiulong River basin: "The origin of the Jiulong River is the fishing for dragons at Shigu!"

Pu Shouying laughed heartily, confident: "That's right, I also think it's this historical legend of the dragon being the natural enemy."

Once the unrest in Yuegang spiraled out of control, even the Shan Hai Society, responsible for maintaining balance, was unable to suppress it.

The powerful official would directly dispatch officials and soldiers from the prefecture to the battlefield, letting those peasants experience the power of the government.

I have three victories, and the enemy has three defeats; this operation is guaranteed to be a success!

Just as Tang Miaofu was about to agree, her expression suddenly froze, and the emerald earring on her earlobe lit up. She immediately held her breath and listened intently to something.

Then the part-time intelligence broker whispered a few words to Pu Shouying.

"What?! A member of the imperial family is rebelling? The imperial envoy is coming to Minzhou to govern?"

The latter suddenly stood up, his signature fake smile long gone.

The gentry faction and the commoners faction have been battling it out since before the new year. Although there has been no direct confrontation, they have been exchanging blows and attacks on each other through underhanded tactics for several rounds.

This time, the gentry faction used the "blood sacrifice across the river" to disrupt Yuegang, effectively undermining the overall feng shui situation and securing victory.

Pu Shouying never expected that the civilian faction, which had been on the defensive, would also strike them right where it hurt, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.

With a grim expression, he addressed the other two captains:
"We just received a message from our informants in the central command."

Someone submitted a memorial to the emperor, revealing that a member of the royal family who had inherited the unique official title of "Dragon's Blood" from the previous Yunmeng Empire was colluding with officials to plot a rebellion.

He absorbed the dragon energy from the many large ships in the East China Sea and frantically searched for Lady Yan's true dragon form, all in order to replace the emperor as the ruler of the state.

The emperor was furious and dispatched Lu Yi, the third son of the Lu family and commander of the White Scale Guard, the emperor's personal guard, to Minzhou to investigate the case.

With the special permission of the emperor, one can act first and report later!
Emperor Taizu of the Great Zhao Dynasty, Han Lin, rose to power through the Mingwang Sect, and the Han family patriarchs have been leaders of the Mingwang Sect for generations.

After they came to power, the White Scale Guards, selected from the core followers, became an extension of the [Lord of the State]'s power.

Even a mere commander of a thousand men can control a high-ranking local official, let alone a commander-in-chief who has been appointed by the emperor. Not only us, but even the nobles are in trouble.”

Despite her seemingly calm demeanor, Pu Shouying was inwardly terrified.

"We're innocent! When did we ever think of rebelling?"
That's a really good one. Two times!

These are all tactics that we, the gentry, have used to oppose reforms throughout history.

But he still couldn't fathom how the commoners, who were clearly plotting in the shadows, could possibly know the secret of the Dragon's Blood.

The secrets of the Dragon's Blood Cultivation were unknown not only to Xie He and his henchmen, but even to Pu Shouying himself.

They are not afraid of ordinary rumors at all.

Who in the Great Zhao Dynasty doesn't know that the royal family members are all good-for-nothings who just loaf around and wait to die? No one would believe they were going to rebel.

But the memorial was so detailed and detailed that not a single word of it was a lie.

No wonder Emperor Shaozhi was furious.

Dragons have scales that suffice to be touched and will die! The emperor's scales are none other than the power he holds.

Don't even mention mere members of the royal family; even their own sons would be killed without hesitation.

The key issue is that with the White Scale Guards entering Minzhou to investigate the case, who in the government would dare to make any rash moves at this time?
Even if someone were to plot a rebellion and seize the throne, no one would be smart enough to be the first to do so.

Even if the ruler of the state and the dynasty are weak, they can easily suppress any "vanguard of the king".

You might accidentally win the "Nine Clans Elimination Game".

The question is, what about their three wins?
"We don't have much time left, and we can no longer afford to conserve our strength."

Pu Shouying had no choice but to resort to her last trick, which she had prepared for many years, and lit a stick of incense that symbolized good fortune.

As the wisps of smoke coalesced into the silhouette of a middle-aged man with a crescent-shaped hairpin, he gave the order:

"Pu Shouyan, go and inform all the masters and heads of the family to gather all the Japanese pirates they have trained over the years, whether they are real or fake."

Organize the fleet, target Moon Harbor!
Anyway, this isn't the first time we've stormed state capitals and committed acts of arson, murder, and looting.

Even if the official forces can't do anything, so what? These Japanese private armies are also top-notch and vicious characters.

By the way, I'll also take the amulet treasured by my Pu family, the first wooden stake used by Emperor Gaozu of Han when he secretly crossed the Chencang pass while pretending to repair the plank road.

Our ancestors slaughtered the last descendants of the Zhao Song imperial family and seized this treasure from them. Every time we use it, it can turn the tide of battle.

Ultimately, what determines the outcome of a war is always strength, and at crucial moments, we mid-level rank soldiers are willing to personally intervene.

Failure will result in punishment, but success will make us the greatest contributors to the powerful, and even ghosts and gods will bow down to power!
I refuse to believe that even with inside and outside cooperation, we can't forcefully take Yuegang, complete the ritual, and wipe out the Cai Shui Wang family, whom we've already offended.

Even assuming the worst, with so many of us, could the Heavenly Consort possibly kill us all before she suffers the backlash of the precepts?

Pu Shouyan, facing the other side, solemnly accepted the order:

"Yes, master!"

(End of this chapter)