Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 713 - Chapter 713 Chapter 2 Thunder

Chapter 713: Chapter 2 Thunder Chapter 713: Chapter 2 Thunder “The situation is precarious at present. Last month, news came that Mo Laosan and Ruan Xiaoping of the White Bottom Gang–one was shot dead by a musket, the other was captured alive–were beheaded in public two days ago. Before that, Short Ox and Red Head had been eliminated by the authorities consecutively, and most of the other factions have either vanished or surrendered to the officials. Now, there are very few factions left that have more than twenty ships and more than a thousand men capable of battle.”

“As far as the Five Flags go, things are not much better. Not to mention the Black and White Flags, thirty of the elite ships of the Blue Flag Gang under Qianjun Biao mysteriously vanished at sea, rumored to have been struck by the Black Tea Tide, with thousands dead, their bones lost to the depths. Xu Longsi, of the Yellow Flag, is even more despicable! When Lord Chongming was captured in the northern expedition years ago, he refused to kneel before the officials and met his death with honor. Xu Longsi, being a descendant of Lord Chongming, let the government use him as they pleased. He’s a disgrace to his ancestors, nothing more than a dog or a pig.”

Li Yan recognized that this was the voice of Xu Chaoyi.

The Lord Chongming he mentioned, Xu Hui, was formerly a general under the Zheng Family in Taiwan. During several northern expeditions, the Zheng Family attempted to overthrow the government and restore the fallen dynasty, and it was during these campaigns where Lord Chongming bravely met his end.

The leader of the Yellow Flag Gang, Xu Longsi, as well as the mother of Zheng Xiu, Madam Shi, were both descendants of Lord Chongming. Xu Chaoyi, as a member of the Xu clan and having married into the Red Flag Gang with Madam Shi, should now be addressing Xu Longsi as the head of the family.

Xu Longsi’s submission to the government was unforgivable, and Xu Chaoyi’s loathing for his former young master was easily imaginable.

“Uncle Chaoyi just went to visit the Treasure Ship King, how is his illness?”

This voice was slightly hoarse but not without the immaturity of a young girl,

Li Yan moved slightly and peered through the window paper to clearly see the faces of the two people in the room.

Xu Longsi showed little change, still standing tall. Opposite him was a young girl, standing graceful and delicate. She wore a blue, floral-patterned, narrow shirt that just covered her navel, with a dark red leather belt around her waist. From her wide black trousers emerged two fair feet, shod in straw sandals, her appearance was sharp and refined.

“It’s very bleak. Lin Ajin is critically ill, and I don’t think he’ll live much longer.”

When Zheng Xiu asked, Xu Longsi replied in a dull tone.

Lin Ajin’s background was the same as Xu Longsi’s, a former general under the Zheng Family, but the Lin ancestors defected from the Zheng Family and refused to be lapdogs for the officials, instead becoming pirates. Their relationship with the Five Flags was always delicate, but definitely not close.

Back then, Li Yan was factually in control of the South Seas pirate alliance. Even to procure a few shipbuilding designs from the Treasure Ship King, he had to go through the good offices of the Tianbo Division, which speaks volumes.

But times have changed. The pirates of the South Seas are scattered, and both the Precious Ship Lin Clan and the Red Flag Gang are in dire straits together. Zheng Xiu doesn’t carry the same burdens of thought as the older generation did, and has frequently corresponded with the Treasure Ship King over the years, referring to each other as uncle and nephew.

“As for the Five Flagsi Alliance, in my opinion, these Five Flags are nothing but a name.”

Zheng Xiu chuckled bitterly.

Xu Chaoyi glanced at Zheng Xiu and seemed to have more to say, but held back, mostly out of sympathy.

Compared to the delicately carved and childish girl from six years ago, Zheng Xiu now came off as worldly and seasoned. With the political situation deteriorating and Tianbao’s temperament having greatly changed, Zheng Xiu, who had been managing the gang’s affairs for several years, rarely showed a smile on her face anymore.

“Uncle Chaoyi, do you have something to say?”

Zheng Xiu clearly noticed Xu Chaoyi’s emotions.

“Oh, I just think that in these turbulent times, we need to be more careful and cautious. Yang Zuowu and Feng Kaiming have many followers in the gang; the situation is deeply intertwined. If we rashly kill them, their loyalists may become dissatisfied. If there’s internal strife within the Red Flag, it could all be over. Even if the two are executed, the fact that two top leaders of the Red Flag colluded with the government would still damage morale. In my opinion, there is only one man in the gang who could kill Yang Feng without any objections, and that is Tianbao Dragon Head. Since the evidence of their colluding with the officials is irrefutable, we should ask Tianbao Dragon Head to come out and deal with them officially, to set an example. With the prestige of Tianbao Dragon Head, the morale of our forces should remain intact.”

Zheng Xiu, expressionless, replied, “The leaders are due to discuss matters at the Martial Arts Hall in a while. It’s too late to inform Tianbao now, and it might even complicate things. After I have executed Yang Feng, I will naturally report to Tianbao.”

After thinking for a while, Xu Chaoyi said, “I’m just worried that Yang Feng might sway people’s hearts by spouting rhetoric at the Martial Arts Hall, without mentioning other concerns. Yang Zuowu, Xue Ba, Zhao Xiaoyi, and Zhi Nong are all very close friends, and these three men are in the inner circle of Tianbao Dragon Head. Yang Zuowu also married his daughter to Xue Ba. I’m afraid that if things escalate, it could affect these people.”

Zheng Xiu was silent for a moment before speaking, “Uncle Chaoyi, how do you know that Xue Ba, Zhao Xiaoyi, and Zhi Nong haven’t colluded with the government as well?”

“This…”

“Xue Ba is brave and forthright but simple-minded and easily deceived–you’ve said so yourself. Yang Zuowu is his father-in-law, and Zhi Nong comes from a foreign family, cunning and vain, while Zhao Xiaoyi is a leader of the Black Flag; Tianbao had to use both grace and might to subdue him. Several Black Flag leaders now hold office under the government; how do you know he won’t entertain the same idea?”

Xu Chaoyi was rendered speechless by Zheng Xiu’s questions, unable to respond for a moment.

Zheng Xiu pursed her lips and smiled, “Uncle Chaoyi, I was just speaking off the cuff. In my opinion, these three are still innocent. But the Red Flag is the last bit of foundation my mother left behind, and I dare not wager on it, nor can I afford to. Ever since Tianbao got entangled with the Fiery Cauldron Madam six years ago, his temperament has become increasingly eccentric.”

The girl’s eyes lowered somberly, “I’ve visited her several times and felt that sometimes he is lucid, at other times, he’s confused, occasionally he is full of vigor, and then again he can be dull and sluggish. Sometimes I see him causing tumultuous waves at sea, his martial skills and magic are both profound and inscrutable, yet at times I also feel that his fierce exterior masks a brittle spirit… I can’t see through Tianbao, nor can I guess what he might do. Right now, at the critical moment for the Red Flag’s survival, if he were to pull the rug out from under us again and sweep the Red Flag’s treasury clean, wouldn’t the Red Flag’s century-old foundation be doomed to be buried with him…”

Li Yan touched his chin somewhat ashamedly and couldn’t help but cough.

“Who’s there!”

Zheng Xiu’s senses were actually sharper than Xu Chaoyi’s.

Li Yan walked up to the threshold, his facial features still that of Zheng Yunsheng’s.

“Yunsheng?”

Xu Chaoyi’s expression softened a bit. “I asked you to guard Tianbao’s other residence, what are you doing here?”

Li Yan’s Adam’s apple quivered for a while before he rasped, “It was Tianbao Dragon Head who sent for me, he said he didn’t need that many people and told me to just protect Leader Xiu. So I had to come and ask for Leader Xiu’s opinion.”

Xu Chaoyi scrutinized the Li Yan before him with furrowed brows, but said only, “Since Tianbao Dragon Head does not want you at the other residence, you might as well rest.”

After he finished speaking, Li Yan remained immobile.

“What are you doing?”

Xu Chaoyi’s tone was slightly lowered.

“I dare not disobey the words of Tianbao Dragon Head, please forgive me, Leader Chaoyi.”

Li Yan looked directly at him.

Xu Chaoyi was about to erupt when Zheng Xiu grabbed his hand thoughtfully, “You’ve seen Tianbao? Did he personally tell you this?”

“Yes.”

Zheng Xiu gazed at Li Yan for a moment, then suddenly her face lit up with a smile, “That’s good then, stand behind me.”

Li Yan nodded and moved behind Zheng Xiu.

Soon after, the feint sound of voices approached from afar, and five elder men, around fifty years old and hunchbacked, with turbans wrapped around their heads, were the first to arrive.

“Leader Xiu, Chaoyi.”

The leading elder looked around, “Why isn’t Tianbao Dragon Head here?”

“Elder Ning and the others, please take a seat first, and you will find out in due course.”

These men were the surviving elders of the Red Flag Gang, having lived through the eras of Zheng Yiguai, Madam Shi, and Tianbao. They were highly respected and many of the Red Flag’s top brass were their nephews or sons. Some of the elders held nominal positions at the gang’s headquarters, in charge of tasks such as dispensing funds, managing schools, and implementation of punishments.

Zheng Xiu reassured them, and within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, other younger leaders arrived one after another, filling up the circle of seats.

Today’s Red Flag, including Zhi Nong and Zhao Xiaoyi, had a total of sixteen major leaders. The most powerful leaders controlled about thirty boats and several thousand men, even the smallest forces had more than a dozen boats with over a thousand men. Each one of these leaders was powerful enough to compete with veteran pirates like White Bottom, Red Head, and Short Ox. They commanded a force of about eighteen thousand in total.

In addition, there were four hundred small boat captains with varying numbers of crew, the largest not exceeding ten men, totaling nearly thirty thousand, with a relatively loose structure. These boat captains normally sailed independently, indistinguishable from the fleets of the twenty-four major leaders, and only during critical moments would they follow the orders of the Dragon Head to disrupt the order and join the fleets of the fourteen major leaders for collective combat.

In name, the leaders and boat captains were equal, with the same salary and expenses.

This system of coexistence between leaders and boat captains was designed by Madam Shi. In the past, whenever a leader met with an accident or intended to retire, Madam Shi would promote one of the several hundred boat captains to become the new leader, abandoning the predecessor’s confidants. She also explicitly forbade too close of an interaction between leaders and boat captains to ensure her own rule; the only exception was the once Tianbao.

Tianbao had been one of the original fourteen chief leaders and shared close ties with hundreds of coxswains, as they ate and slept together while commanding the treasury and information network. His later ascension to the position of Dragon Head was thus a natural progression.

After Li Yan rose to power, he promoted Xue Ba from among the coxswains to take over his leadership role, though the crucial cannons and large ships remained under his command. Over six years, when a leader washed his hands of the underworld, Li Yan then elevated Cha Xiaodao. Controlling dozens of ships, he became one of the fourteen grand leaders.

Apart from this, Li Yan placed his nephew, Zhi Nong, in the newly created position of the fifteenth leader, commanding a group consisting of the Five Grandma Miao descendants and some crew members. Despite few ships and just over a thousand hands, Zhi Nong’s leadership remained stable, thanks to his bizarre sorcery.

As for Zhao Xiaoyi, in recent years the Black Flag had essentially become defunct due to the authorities’ eradication efforts. Leading a few thousand men under Tianbao’s command, he was considered the sixteenth grand leader. His forces included the Black Flag’s elite and were formidable; apart from Xue Ba’s unit, none of the other leaders could match him.

In addition, led by Xu Chaoyi were less than two hundred Gaoli ghosts with copper heads and iron arms, impervious to knives and guns–who served as the bodyguards for Tianbao, Zheng Xiu, and others. Xu Chaoyi himself held high prestige among the hundreds of coxswains. Although he wasn’t one of the sixteen leaders, everyone addressed him as such, and within the Red Flag Gang, his real status was second only to Tianbao.

When Cha Xiaodao entered, he immediately caught sight of Li Yan standing behind Zheng Xiu and raised his eyebrows at him.

Li Yan acted as if he saw nothing.

“I say, Chaoyi, isn’t the Tianbao Dragon Head here yet?”

The speaker was short and plump with a ruddy complexion, none other than Yang Zuowu, who confidential reports accused of colluding with the authorities.

Zheng Xiu replied calmly, “Uncle Zuowu, be patient. Tianbao will be here shortly, but before he arrives, I do have an important matter concerning the life and death of the Red Flag that I need to discuss with all the leaders.”

“How coincidental!”

Yang Zuowu’s voice boomed like a bell, “I also have an important matter concerning the life and death of the Red Flag that I need to discuss with all the leaders!”

Xue Ba yawned, “Isn’t it just that the authorities are coming to attack our Lantau Island? How many times haven’t we seen this in the past decade? Let them come and be repelled.”

The feral youth of the past now bore the appearance of a young man in his early twenties, but still lacked a beard, and his lively eyes were yet to shed their boyishness.

Yang Zuowu shouted assertively as he looked leisurely at Zheng Xiu, “Leader Xiu, my matter involves you, so I should speak first.”

Zheng Xiu smiled unabashedly, “The matter I have to discuss also involves you, Uncle Zuowu, so let me go first.”

Yang Zuowu stood up, “I’m afraid I must insist on going first.”

“How dare you!”

Xu Chaoyi and Zhao Xiaoyi both cried out simultaneously, then glanced at each other.

Swallowing hard, Zhao Xiaoyi spoke up, “Leader Xiu is the co-ruler of the South Seas; if he has an urgent matter, it naturally should be addressed by him first.”

“Exactly, Uncle Yang, whatever it is, you should let Sister Xiu’er speak first,” Xue Ba chimed in.

Yang Zuowu sneered, “If this girl were a descendant of the Lord of the State, she would naturally be the co-ruler of the South Seas, but if she were private…”

Before he could finish, Li Yan, who stood behind Zheng Xiu, moved in a blur of motion, reaching across most of the table to grab Yang Zuowu by the throat.

Among those leaders present, Zhao Xiaoyi had the best martial arts skills, yet for a moment, he couldn’t discern what had happened. He only recognized that it was one of the Gaoli ghosts but didn’t know the name.

Li Yan hesitated, intending to hold back a bit longer to get a clearer picture, but the situation could spiral out of Zheng Xiu’s control after Yang Zuowu’s statement.

“Brother Yunsheng, what are you doing? I haven’t clearly heard what Uncle Zuowu was about to say,” Li Yan turned to look at Zheng Xiu, who was staring intently at him with unblinking eyes.

“…”

Li Yan’s heart sank, fearing he had underestimated Xiu’er. He released his grip, allowing the bug-eyed Yang Zuowu to tumble to the ground, and then gracefully returned to stand behind Zheng Xiu.

Xu Chaoyi’s face was a picture of complexity, admitting to himself that he couldn’t have countered those two moves from “Zheng Yunsheng.”

Amidst the awkward atmosphere, Feng Kaiming’s eyes flickered as he said, “Zuowu! Don’t spout nonsense.”

Everyone more or less knew of the affair between Tianbao and Madam Shi, though it wasn’t publicly acknowledged. Even the rumors concerning Xiu’er’s origin had been a subject of dispute. As for the matter of Zheng Yiguai being impotent, it truly was a family disgrace, known to very few.

Yang and Feng, not knowing where they had learnt about the impotence issue, treated it like a treasure trove. The Zheng Family of Treasure Island had an unassailable reputation at sea, and were looked upon with esteem. If they could escalate this issue, at the very least, they could damage Tianbao and Zheng Xiu’s personal reputations. If Yang and Feng used this as an excuse to cause trouble, the Red Flag Gang might fall apart, and with the added pressure of the government’s crackdown, a great opportunity could arise.

The two played good cop, bad cop for a few exchanges.

It wasn’t until Yang Zhengwu shouted loudly, “Although the old Dragon Head Zheng is valiant, he is impotent and couldn’t possibly have offspring!”

Elder Ning and others finally slammed their hands on the table in anger, “Shut up!”

“Fellow leaders.”

Unexpectedly, it was Zheng Xiu who halted several respected elders in the gang.

Zheng Xiu stood up and picked up a clay bowl from the table, “Yang Zuowu speaks such shocking words in court, as Xiu’er, I must confront him to prove my innocence. If my origin is indeed tarnished, I shall dash my head to death right here in the Martial Arts Hall, never to live in dishonor. However, if this is unfounded…”

Her eyes suddenly shot open, her pupils engorged with blood, “This old coot will have slandered my deceased parents and tainted the doorstep of the Zheng Family of Treasure Island. I will never let this go.”

“I have a witness.”

Yang Zuowu bellowed.

Xiu’er gave a slight smile, “Then please, bring forth your witness.”

Seeing Zheng Xiu’s demeanor, Yang Zuowu felt an unexplained sink in his heart. Yet, like an arrow drawn, he had to shoot. He whistled, and a woman with a vacant expression walked in. The leaders recognized her — she was Zheng Xiu’s nanny, Qiuru, who had followed Madam Shi for decades and was an old servant of the Zheng family.

“Qiuru, please repeat to everyone what you told me,” he said.

But the woman glared at Yang Zuowu with venomous eyes, “Yang, you and Feng Kaiming plot to frame your masters, may you not die well. Even in death, I won’t let you be!” With that, she threw herself against the corner of the table, blood gushed out instantly, and her life was uncertain.

Yang Zuowu stood there, dumbstruck, waving his hands subconsciously, “This is all what she told me.”

It was Feng Kaiming who reacted faster, hurriedly pinching the woman’s Renzhong acupoint and yelled at Yang Zuowu, “She cannot die.”

“Of course, she cannot die, Brother Yunsheng!”

Without calling out to Xu Chaoyi, Zheng Xiu instead called out to Li Yan.

Li Yan moved as if blessed by good fortune, kicking away Yang and Feng, and then lifted the woman in his arms.

Zheng Xiu stood up. Pointing at the woman with one hand and at Yang and Feng with the other, she said, “Either Qiuru has willingly set a trap for the Red Flag leader, or Yang and Feng harbor treacherous intentions. There’s definitely something amiss here.”

She faced the elders and leaders, “I suggest we detain the three of them separately. Xue Ba, Qian Tuo, you two immediately take men to seize Yang and Feng’s ships and men, and after the truth is clarified, we shall decide.”

All this happened swiftly, and Zheng Xiu spoke with such clarity and reason, it was impossible not to be convinced.

Xue Ba and Qian Tuo hesitated for a moment, but both agreed.