Chapter Nineteen: Presenting the Treasure

  Tō Kōzan Taira, a Japanese swordsman and student of Kiōmaru, the master of Ono-ha Ittō-ryū.

  What he misses most is the time spent roaming the vast ocean with Guī Wáng Wán.

  At that time, they were invincible, and the sea was their domain. Everything they ate, wore, and used came from the sea.

  If it weren't for Zheng Zilong, they would still be living such a glorious life. Unfortunately, the appearance of a Zheng Zilong changed everything.

  The Demon King was defeated at the hands of Zheng Chongliang, and the pirate fleet also disintegrated as a result. Later, although the Demon King recovered from his injuries and made a comeback, his momentum had already greatly diminished.

  And this is also the main reason why Jōkō Bōta chose to go solo, but after losing Kiwamaru, he can only mix with third-rate pirates.

  Jōri Kōtō was not very satisfied, he was the only disciple of Kiōmaru, and he dreamed of reaching the strongest position of Kiōmaru, but he never succeeded.

  Standing on Penghu Island, looking at his busy subordinates replenishing supplies, Kong Liang Baotian's heart was somewhat annoyed. A fisherman on the island approached him a little closer, and with a swish of his whip, he struck out.

  The fisherman let out a pained cry of "Ah yo", his skin splitting open, but under the cold smile of Chang Lügang Bao Tian, he could only endure the pain and silently leave this place.

  The pirates burst out laughing wildly.

  "Sir, Hong Tiao Yuan has arrived!" A subordinate came up and said: "Do you want to stop him?"

  "Those Ming officials and soldiers are completely useless, and Hong Duan is even more useless!" Chang Lü Gang said with a tone of not caring at all.

  Indeed, he had been to Penghu countless times. When the Ming Dynasty resumed "Penghu Tour" again, he was still a little afraid, after all, the odds of winning for a small group of pirates against regular troops were not great, but soon he found that it wasn't that way at all.

  The number of Ming dynasty officials and soldiers was small, and they did not dare to fight hard against themselves, but Chang Lü Gongbao also did not dare to take action against them. Hong Diao Yuan was after all a formal official of the Ming Dynasty, once something happened, it would provoke the Ming Dynasty to pursue and wipe out with full force, and Chang Lü Gongbao had no chance of winning.

  As a result, pirates and the Ming forces on Penghu formed a subtle relationship: neither side provoked the other, and they coexisted peacefully.

  "Hong Baizhang, yours, how did you come?" Chang Lügēng Bǎotián asked in fairly fluent Chinese.

  Hong Diao Yu was always smiling and didn't seem to bother anyone: "Chang Lu, I heard you're here, so I came to take a look at you. How's it going? Is the supply going smoothly?"

  "Of course, smoothly."

  "That's good, that's good." Hong Diao Yuan said with a conciliatory tone; "If there's anything you need my help with, just let me know."

  "Thanks." Chang Lü Gang said with a hint of disdain.

  These useless Ming dynasty officials, who knows what's the point of just protecting themselves?

  "Ah, Chang Lu, this time I came not only to see you, but also to introduce someone to you." Hong Diao Yuan said suddenly.

  "Whose is it?"

  "There's a bookworm named Qin Yun." Hong Tiao Yuan furrowed his brow and thought for a moment: "He seems to want you to help him with something."

  "My, a bookworm's disappearance!" Chang Lügāng Bǎo Tián refused without hesitation.

  Hong diao yuan chao bian shang kan kan, cou jin le xie, ya di yin sheng dao: "Chang lu, bie na me ji de jue jue, zhe ge du shu ren you ge biao di, yun le chuan huo wu xiang qu quan zhou, jie guo lu shang bei ren jie le, zhi jiu bao liu xia lai le yi ke zhen zhu. Ta biao di ji de xiang yao zi sha, zheng hao ni shang dao lai le, wo gei ta chu le ge zhu yi, nimen dou shi chi hai shang fan de, kan neng bu neng rang ni bang le xie ban fa, ba huowu gei zhui hui lai......"

  Chang Lu Gang was about to say that Hong Diao Yuan's idea was absurd, but the latter immediately added: "He is willing to offer you that pearl. Chang Lu, I have seen that pearl before, it's huge, and it might be worth over a thousand taels of silver."

  Chang Lügang's eyes lit up when he heard this, and after a moment of hesitation, he said with a pretentious tone: "Director Hong, I didn't want to get involved in this trivial matter at first, but for your sake, I can meet him."

  Hong Diao Yuan's face broke into a smile as he thanked him repeatedly, then told Old Ji to go and call Qin Yun and his cousin over.

  After waiting for a short while, Qin Yun and a young man carrying a box walked over. Qin Yun was clearly one of those book-smart people who didn't have the strength to tie up a chicken, and his "cousin" looked like he was only eighteen or nineteen years old. Chang Lu's guard against Tian dropped slightly.

  He didn't suspect that anyone would be hostile to him. The people on Penghu Island were very obedient, and pirates had never caused any trouble here.

  When they approached, Lu Gongbao often stopped them and asked them to explain what had happened.

  Qin Yun's "cousin" looked extremely frightened, stuttering and stumbling over his words, taking half a day to say one sentence clearly, which completely eliminated the little vigilance that Chang Lü Gang Bao Tian had left.

  "What's the name of the person who robbed you?" Chang Lügēng Bǎotiān asked casually.

  "Call... call Liu Xiang..."

  Qin Yun's brother-in-law was just about to say this name when Chang Lu Gang Bao Tian suddenly jumped in fright.

  Liu Xiang? He's an even bigger pirate than the Ghost King Maru in his heyday, and even Hong Yi had to ask for his help. Although he was recently defeated by the Ming army, who would dare provoke him with just one ship?

  In that half-day without speaking, Qin Yun hastily helped his "nephew" and said: "Your Majesty, as long as you can help my nephew get back half of the goods, we are willing to present this pearl to Your Majesty."

  "Jade pearl", these two words made Chang Lü Gangbao Tian pause: "What kind of jade pearl?"

  "Please take a look, Your Majesty." Qin Yun held the box in his hand and walked towards Chang Lian's residence.

  "Be careful, Tabo, don't fall." Qin Yun said as he followed him.

  At this time, Lu Gongbao's attention was completely absorbed by the box in Qin Yun's hand.

  "Your Majesty, this pearl is truly priceless."

  As he walked up to Chen Lugong Baotian, Qin Yun slowly opened the box. Chen Lugong Baotian's gaze was fixed tightly on the box.

  The box was opened, but inside it was empty and there was nothing. Just as Chang Lü Gang Bao Tian was bewildered and didn't know what had happened, Qin Yun suddenly raised the box and smashed it into Chang Lü Gang Bao Tian's face.

  Chang Lü Gang Bao Tian's face dodged to one side, knowing it was not right. Just as he was about to draw his sword, a strong arm suddenly clamped tightly around his neck. Next, an icy object pressed against his chest, and a cold voice said:

  "My old man is Ding Yunyi, and he'll have you killed with just a flick of his finger!"