Chapter 128: The Heir Apparent Arrives at His Loyal Domain of the Eastern Sea!

Pinghu Port, on the west coast of the Nine Vassal Islands, guards the crucial transportation and trade route between the Divine Land and Wa Province. Although not as prosperous as Yue Port—the world trade center—it possesses its own unique local customs as the former ruling foundation of the Prince of Jinghai, as well as the administrative center for the mainland and the surrounding thirty-six island barbarian tribes.

Perched atop a commanding hillside that easily withstands tsunamis and torrential rainstorms stands the Prince of Jinghai's temporary palace, constructed entirely in accordance with the regulatory standards of an imperial prince of the Great Zhao dynasty. It was called a "temporary palace" because Wang Cheng had always believed his true home was the Minzhou prefecture, to which he would inevitably return sooner or later.

The palace grounds are exceptionally vast, featuring golden nail-studded crimson doors, emerald-tiled double eaves, massive pillars with bracket sets, and painted ceilings. Every single brick and tile exudes an indescribable opulence. Half-encircling the rear are five picturesque peaks—Round, Straight, Crooked, Pointed, and Flat—forming the "Five Mountains Soaring Splendor" feng shui formation, which continuously inhales and exhales the spiritual energy of mountains and seas while suppressing the royal fortunes of the Five-Peak Banner.

Yet, ever since it lost its master, even the most magnificent palace could not escape a lingering shadow. In a corner of the palace, shielded by layers of thin gauze curtains, the Fragrance-Inclining Hall appeared somewhat dim and gloomy even in broad daylight.

In the quiet chamber at the deepest part of the palace, a tall figure in a black robe sat in an armchair. Before him, wisps of blue smoke curled from an incense burner, outlining a hazy human face. Had Lu Yi, the commander's assistant of the White Scale Guard, been present, he would have instantly recognized the owner of this face as that "accidental anomaly" of the Han family's imperial clan—Han Wugui, the Heir Apparent of Prince Guangze!

However, the conversation between the two was far from pleasant.

"Ha, did I hear that correctly? Your Highness the Heir Apparent, this time you want me to find an opportunity to wipe out the imperial delegation and prevent the strict-party faction from earning merit? All this time, you have constantly been ordering me to do this and that, but what about the tasks I entrusted to you? Where are the results? Ever since last year, you have failed to find that escaped fish Wang Cheng, nor have you managed to ensure he can never return to Wa Province! Our initial deal wasn't made like this!"

Hearing the other party's interrogation, Han Wugui's expression darkened as he retorted with barbed words:

"I am well aware that the person in this world who most desires the death of that Heir Apparent of Jinghai is you. If it weren't for your cooperation as an inside man, the Prince of Jinghai—the strongest water-harvesting master of our era—could never have rashly come ashore to be surrounded and slaughtered by the forces organized by Wang Bengu and the others. The hatred of a murdered father is irreconcilable. As long as that heir apparent returns alive to the East Sea Kingdom, it will not be difficult to investigate who the true mastermind behind everything really is."

"But you should also know that ever since that brat Wang Cheng escaped, my ritual for sending off the king's boat and the 'Nine Dragons Spitting Pearls' formation were successively broken, and in the end, even the Prince of Jinghai—who had already returned to his position under the mountain-sea curse—could not be eradicated. Pu Shouying, my capable subordinate, had all ten clans exterminated, and many officials tied to the Pu family were implicated. Even my own biological son had to be disposed of. The forces under my command have already suffered a vitality-damaging blow; I truly lack the strength to help you hunt people down anymore."

"Furthermore, I have replayed our previous operations many times and determined that the birth date characters and cursing mediums you provided were flawed. Otherwise, that brat Wang Cheng, having initially been struck by the 'Mount Tai Thousand-Cattin Sinker,' could never have escaped, and all subsequent tracking methods would not have failed..."

The black figure in the armchair raised a hand to interrupt him:

"Spare me this useless talk. The birth date characters I gave you are completely flawless. To my knowledge, apart from your 'Dragon's Seed' technique, I have never heard of any method that can fundamentally rearrange birth dates and defy heaven to alter one's fate. If you yourselves are incompetent, do not shift the blame onto me. Aside from failing to kill those two second-generation nobodies from Yue Port, I have accomplished everything you asked of me. Moreover..."

At this point, the black figure suddenly sneered:

"Your Highness the Heir Apparent, do not think I am unaware. The reason you have been able to evade the searches of the White Scale Guard and avoid leaving behind any evidence of colluding with local officials is precisely because the 'Heir Apparent of Prince Guangze' is not your true physical body at all, but your reincarnated form! All the mundane affairs of contacting officials and gentry are handled by your true... physical body: the Lord Ao, who possesses the blood of Bixi and resides within Dongting Lake, while you command another deeply hidden and massive network of forces."

"Your Highness the Heir Apparent, you truly are a master of calculation. The Han family stole the Mandate of Heaven from the Zhu family, and you then borrowed an outsider to steal the Mandate of Heaven from the Han family. Back then, the price you paid to precisely reincarnate into a vassal prince's family could not have been light, could it?"

Isn't this just exposing each other's shortfalls? Who is afraid of whom? Both held leverage over the other; otherwise, such a stable cooperation would have been impossible.

"You..."

Han Wugui let out a breath and bypassed the topic:

"Hmph! Verbal squabbling is meaningless. Since you wish to exploit the attack on the Zhao prefectures to strike down competitors within the Five-Peak Banner, elevate your own people to power, thoroughly seize control of the East Sea Kingdom, and ultimately become the second Prince of Jinghai with illustrious military achievements, you cannot allow the imperial delegation to confer titles upon those four Generals Suppressing the Sea and eight Generals Conquering the Sea, nor partially lift the maritime ban in the form of tally-matched trading ships. That would be creating enemies for yourself."

"As an extra free piece of news, the chief envoy of the delegation is named Luo Wenlong! You have certainly heard of him from others. Proceed according to plan. This is not for me, nor for those gentry-faction masters, but for yourself. When the time comes, someone within the delegation will cooperate with you."

Having said this, Han Wugui directly extinguished the "Connecting Heaven Auspicious Incense" on the other end, and the blue smoke in the quiet chamber dissipated accordingly.

Left alone, the black figure continued to sit blankly in place.

"I am also a 'White-Water Lad,' and the foundation of the ritual is 'rivers flowing into the sea,' continuously accumulating warships, cannons, subordinates, and shipping routes. According to the original plan, as long as that little bastard Wang Cheng died, I could ascend—just like Han Wugui, through the rituals of the 'Nine Dragons Spitting Pearls' and 'Rivers Flowing into the Sea'—to the upper-three-rank position of a 'Living Ghost and Deity'! Through internal and external coordination, I would seize supreme ruling power over the East Sea."

"I also know that my methods actually have many flaws and cannot withstand close scrutiny. The reason I haven't been exposed yet is simply because communication between here and the Divine Land is severed, and no one can connect me to the role I played. But as time goes on, something is bound to go wrong. As long as I win, no one will care what unseemly methods I used."

"Yet, in a plan that should have been foolproof, why on earth did that little bastard refuse to die?!"

The world judges heroes by their success or failure. If one wins, even if the word "harlot" were hung on the wall, people would still consider him an "open and honest" person. If one loses, even if the study wall bore the calligraphy "Spring Pond Delighting Grace," no one would think him refined; whoever saw it would simply spit and curse: "Damn it! How utterly vulgar!"

The man stood up, strapped on his sabre, and strode out of the quiet chamber, still utterly baffled:

"Where on earth did that little bastard who blocked my grand enterprise go? If I had already completely mastered the Five-Peak Banner, why would I ever need to care about any Great Zhao delegation? Doesn't the water-harvesting Wang clan love taking the greater good into consideration above all else? For the sake of my supreme throne, why couldn't you just obediently die like your father did? Wicked thief! You deserve to die!"

In the outer Fragrance-Inclining Hall, a peerless beauty of exceptional grace and bearing came forward with a swaying, willow-in-the-wind gait, offering him a gentle, tender bow:

"Husband, shall we dine?"

The beauty wore a turquoise silk skirt with golden hanging ornaments on her head. Her posture was charming yet chaste, dignified and polite, resembling a young lady from a prestigious noble family.

Seeing his exquisitely beautiful wife, whom he had hidden away in a golden house not long after their marriage, the man recalled the name Han Wugui had just mentioned. Although a smile lingered on his face, a sudden surge of killing intent rose in his heart. He decided to act once more as the black-glove enforcer according to the other's wishes.

Gently taking his wife's hand, he said:

"Wife, I am not hungry yet. I must step out on some business, so please dine first. I had some jars of your favorite Qinhuai Spring wine brought from the Divine Land; we can share a few small cups later."

"Yes, husband."

The beauty nodded meekly and said no more.

At that very moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall. A burly man over two meters tall burst into the hall in a rush. The man released his wife, frowned, and snorted coldly:

"Captain Sun, rushing about in such a fluster—what kind of decorum is this? What happened to your face?"

The newcomer was none other than Sun Xiong, the "Mountain-Carrying General," one of the twenty-four generals who had previously dispatched the sailing warship *Ziying* to hunt down Wang Fugui and Han Shushu!

However, at this moment, his face was bruised and swollen as if he had tumbled down a mountain. His eyes were bloodshot; he clearly had not rested properly in a long time, and his state of mind bordered on trance-like.

"Ah, Chief Captain, don't even ask. While I was using stone locks to train my strength today, the handles of both stone locks broke simultaneously, and before I could dodge, they both smashed into my face. I don't know what is going on."

"Ever since our *Ziying* mysteriously vanished while hunting down those two juniors, Han Shushu and Wang Fugui from Yue Port, only Gao Ren the interpreter escaped back alive. To keep the other brothers from losing heart, I took him in as my fifth sworn son. But ever since then, my luck has never been good. Stray bullets, stone locks, falling masts... they just keep coming at me. Two days ago, a female assassin wandered near my house—no one knows who she was targeting—and accidentally tossed a thunder-fire bomb into my yard. That bomb was wrapped with a layer of venom-tipped iron nails in the most vicious way possible. It nearly blew me to pieces."

"Now, it's gotten to the point where even drinking cold water makes my teeth ache."

At this point, he suddenly lowered his voice:

"Chief Captain, do you suppose... could this be retribution from Prince Jing?"

Seeing his subordinate cringing and acting paranoid, the man had long grown impatient:

"Shut your mouth! You didn't rush over here just to babble about this, did you? If retribution comes, it will strike me first; how could it ever fall on a blockhead like you?"

The "Mountain-Carrying General" Sun Xiong suddenly remembered something. His dazed expression instantly straightened, and he stammered in a panic:

"Ah, yes, yes! Chief Captain, it's bad! News just came from the port that Huang Yuanzhou, the Mirage General who was stationed in Yue Port, has actually returned—and he brought the Heir Apparent with him!"

"It's been confirmed as true. Lord Dragon Tail caught the scent first and rushed over. The Twenty-Four Generals, Thirty-Six Fierce Warriors, and men selected from the Five-Peak Banner are all racing down there. The brothers are waiting for you to give the orders."

A jolt struck the man's heart:

"What? Wang Cheng has actually returned?!"

He delivered a resounding slap across the man's face.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?!"

He hurriedly rushed out. By now, Pinghu Port was already in utter chaos.

Simultaneously, within the five peaks forming the "Five Mountains Soaring Splendor" formation and across the surrounding seas, numerous inhuman figures abruptly opened their eyes and let out piercing, long howls.

"I smell the scent."

"The Young Master has returned!"