Chapter 28: The Devil King's Pill

  Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a reunion with their families! To those who have recommended brothers for the Mid-Autumn Festival, don't hesitate anymore, just give them to "Qiang Ming" now.

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  "Oni-ō, Oni-ō, Jōriku-sama and the brothers are all done for!"

  Li Zi knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

  Guī Wáng Wán sat high up, listening to Lǐ Zǐ Hú recount the events, and hummed in his nose: "Cháng Lù is arrogant and self-righteous, he stands alone away from me, it serves him right, I won't avenge for him."

  "The King of Demons." Li Zihu's eyes rolled around: "Penghu is now arrogant and domineering, saying that if there are any more pirates coming, they will be killed without exception. Especially the pirates from Fusang country, one comes and one dies, two come and two die!"

  The Demon King Maru's anger flashed by, and he calmly said, "Do you want to use the provocative method to provoke me?"

  "Zi Hu dare not." Li Zi Hu hastily said: "But Peng Hu clearly knew that Chang Lu was a disciple of Gui Wang, yet still used despicable means to kill him. This has a great impact on Gui Wang's reputation, please reconsider."

  The Demon King furrowed his brow: "Continue."

  Li Zihu plucked up his courage: "Please forgive Li Zihu's boldness, but Li thinks that if Ghost King can borrow the strength of General Chang Lu to avenge himself and sweep across Penghu, he may be able to regain his former prestige and once again dominate the four seas. Ghost King, think about it, now Zheng Zhilong has transformed into an official soldier, and Liu Xiang has just been defeated in the Battle of Lao Wan Bay. If Ghost King can seize this opportunity, who on the sea will be a match for him?"

  These words hit right at the heart of Guī Wáng Wán.

  Since being defeated by Zheng Zhilong, his momentum has never been restored. Every day, he can't help but think about how to restore his former glory. Now, hearing Li Zihu's words, a great opportunity is right in front of him.

  Li Zihu looked at him for a while: "How old are you this year?"

  "Return to the King of Ghosts, fifteen already."

  "He's only fifteen years old." Kingo Maru was greatly surprised: "At the age of fifteen, he can have such thoughts, and in the future, he will also be an extraordinary person. I heard that you can read?"

  "Yes." Li Zihu said respectfully: "I've read a few books since I was young."

  The Demon King looked at Li Zihu kneeling on the ground and had a few points of fondness: "I have no children, you can be my adopted son."

  Li Zihu was overjoyed when he heard this, and he thought that his narrow escape from death had unexpectedly turned into a blessing in disguise, earning him the appreciation of Gui Wangwan. Although Gui Wangwan's power was not as great as it once was, he had after all been the master of the seas, and this might be an opportunity for Li Zihu to rise to greatness.

  He repeatedly kowtowed: "Thank you, Master, thank you, Master."

  "Ha ha!" laughed the King of Demons: "Alright, alright! What you just said makes perfect sense. You are my sworn son after all, I must avenge for you! Pass down the order, have all ships sail towards Penghu, I will make Penghu's blood flow like rivers!"

  "Wait!"

  Suddenly someone on the side shouted loudly.

  The Demon King turned his head and looked at him with a hint of politeness on his face: "It's Mr. Dongshi, what do you have in mind?"

  Mr. Dong said in a low voice: "Please ask the King of Ghosts to withdraw his attendants."

  The Demon King waved his hand and those subordinates all left this place. Li Zihu hesitated for a moment, then retreated out as well.

  "Mr. Dongshi, please speak." said Kikōmaru at last.

  Mr. Dong sneered, "Gui Wang, that new adopted son of yours is not reliable at all. Chang Lu is also a meticulous person, how could he be ambushed so easily? I think there must be something fishy going on."

  "What does the teacher mean..."

  Mr. Dong stepped forward: "Penghu has never offended pirates before, why did they suddenly rise up this time? The King of Ghosts had better figure it out. We can't afford to fail again."

  The King of Ghosts was very convinced by Mr. Dongshi, and after listening to his words, he thought carefully for a long time before nodding: "What the gentleman says is true, I will first send someone to Penghu to investigate..."

  "It's not enough to just have Penghu." Mr. Dong said hastily: "The official army has just defeated the Red Barbarian and Liu Xiang's coalition, and morale is high. I think this matter is related to Fujian Governor Zhou Weiqun. Without his support, I reckon Penghu wouldn't dare be so bold either. Ghost King thought again, since the official army has already dealt with Chang Lu and others, how could Li Zihu, a small child, possibly escape? What's more, I don't quite believe in the story of the rope breaking and being reborn at sea. Therefore, before figuring out Penghu's military strength, we need to see what's happening in Fujian."

  The Demon King nodded at the words: "In that case, it's better to slow down and not rush. Everything will be done according to Mr.'s instructions. First, investigate clearly before speaking, I'll send out scouts separately to Penghu and Quanzhou to investigate!"

  Mr. Dong smiled slightly: "Ghost King is wise, so I'll go rest first."

  The King of Ghosts knew he had a nap habit and surprisingly stood up to see Mr. Dong off.

  As he entered his own cabin, a disciple-like person was already waiting inside. Mr. Dongshi gave him a signal and the disciple closed the cabin door. Mr. Dongshi's face suddenly changed:

  "Beijing drift, the matter is urgent! I don't know where a Li Zihu came from, strongly urging Gui Wangwan to bloodbath Penghu. I've temporarily stabilized Gui Wangwan. Tomorrow, I'll find an excuse for you to go buy stationery, and you think of a way to immediately head to Penghu, find Commander Hong Diaoyuan, don't say anything else, just tell Hong Diaoyuan that the assassination of Chang Lu has failed, Gui Wangwan will arrive soon, hurry up and prepare, or the whole island will be in danger!"

  "Sir, thank you for understanding!" Xie Tian hastily replied: "But I've been gone for a long time, and I'm afraid it will arouse the suspicion of Gui Wang Wan, sir...".

  "Don't bother me, don't bother me." Dong Shi gentleman stamped his foot repeatedly: "As a Ming official, I unfortunately fell into the den of thieves, and my reputation was completely lost. What face do I have to continue living in this world? I endured humiliation and hardship just to find an opportunity to report back to the imperial court, now that opportunity has arrived. Even if it means sacrificing my life, I must protect the entire Penghu Island!"

  "Master!" Xie Tian knelt down with a "thud", tears streaming down his face: "Xie Tian has followed Master for six years now, receiving Master's teachings every day. Born as a subject of the Great Ming, died as a spirit of the Great Ming, not daring to forget for a moment. If Master were to leave this world, Xie Tian would absolutely not dare live on alone, and once the Penghu affair is settled, Xie Tian will certainly follow Master in death!"

  "Northern drift!" Xie Tian helped him up: "Don't speak of death lightly! The character I helped you obtain is to remind you that we are a group of people drifting about, with no home to return to and no country to rely on. Don't forget your identity at any moment. It's not easy to have the opportunity to escape from the bandits' lair, don't do anything foolish. I'm old, and I owe it to the emperor's grace, so I must die to show my loyalty. You're different, you're still young, live a good life, and make contributions to the great Ming dynasty! This is also your teacher's last request!"

  "Yes!" Xie Tian's eyes turned red with tears: "Xie Tian will listen to teacher's words, live a good life, and avenge teacher! Teacher, please rest assured, if teacher encounters any mishap, Xie Tian will tear the Ghost King Pill into pieces!"

  Mr. Dong sighed and thought that his disciple was good in every way, but had one flaw - his murderous aura was too heavy, which didn't quite befit a scholar.

  But these are no longer things for me to consider.