Chapter 87: My Ship Is Not Without Its Advantages! (Votes and Subscriptions Requested)

“You’re out of your league. If you want to take advantage of me, forget it.”
Coming back to their senses, they realized that today’s unexpected turn of events wasn’t so hard to accept after all.
After all, suspicion between them had long simmered, and they had tested each other more than once.
Wang Cheng had already left traces, like the oddly familiar aura that struck Axiao during their close encounter on the Azure-Clad, the message sent by Prince Jing to watch over his son, and the dragon energy and chiwen they had encountered in the depths of history.
Axiao herself had plenty of flaws.
An inscrutable treasure, her status as the temple attendant of Lady Yan, and her distinctive azure-blue eyes.
Yet neither had ever been certain.
Only now, having re-entered the sediment of history, did the dragon energy in their bodies slowly begin to manifest, peeling away the disguises from these two “siblings of convenience.”
Thus, it wasn’t the sorrowful “brother, you share your heart and I plot against you,” but rather, “you plot against your brother, and your brother plots against you!”
All square, their mood lightened considerably.
“Thank goodness it’s him.”
“Thank goodness it’s her.”
In the aftermath of the surprise, Wang Cheng and Yunxiao felt lucky. Though it was unfortunate their disguises, worn for so long, had finally slipped, at least only the other had seen through them, sparing them the need for murder and secrecy.
Among the two great pillars of sea-god faith—the Prince and the Heavenly Lady—the ghosts and spirits, especially the amorous dragons, may have left countless descendants along the coast.
But now, only the two of them remained as the living first-generation direct heirs, each the sole survivor of their respective lineages, Prince and Heavenly Lady.
Both possessed the refined dragon energy required for the ceremonial “Nine Dragons Spitting the Pearl”—two grasshoppers tied to the same string, bound literally in life and death.
Blessings may not be shared, but if one perishes, the other cannot hope to escape.
This was a natural alliance, unbreakable as iron.
Their relationship had instantly risen from mere convenience siblings to a bond of life and death, making their interactions much more relaxed.
Yunxiao was no longer the aloof, ethereal figure she appeared to outsiders; the filter of the cold, stunning dragon-sister was shattered.
Underwater, she pulled Wang Cheng along at high speed, setting the terms with this slippery youth:
“Your father asked me to look after you. Shouldn’t you be calling me Aunt Yan?”
Wang Cheng reverted to his true self, his words sharp enough to infuriate anyone.
“How novel! From the way you say it, I’d think your old colleague asked you to bring some barley candy and pick up his child from private school.
Just look at you, so naive to the world. I, though barely eighteen, have more worldly experience than you. If you want me to call you Aunt, fine—but then you call me Brother, how about it?”
“No deal. I think you’re courting death.”
“So, nothing to discuss then?”
After a round of banter, they finally reached a truce.
Once Old Wang awoke, they would reassess their ranks among the aquatic spirits; for now, they were of the same generation, sticking to their old forms of address.
Yunxiao’s willingness to compromise wasn’t for any other reason.
It was simply because Wang Cheng had shed the guise of “Wang Fuguo,” whose looks were decent enough, and revealed his true, handsome self—like jade, meeting her again anew.
She hesitated, her cheeks reddening, and did not insist further.
With a soft cough, she turned to recount her own years:
“When I was very young, my father and brothers all returned to their places for various reasons. Before I was reincarnated, I lived solely as a dragon.
You should know, there are three main paths for spirits to cultivate: first, gaining incense and becoming an unusual deity in their monstrous form;
second, after reaching a certain level, part of their spirit escapes the body, reincarnates, and after breaking through the confusion of the womb, embarks on the official path of humanity;
third, a combination of both.
By a stroke of fate, I received worship along the Nine Dragons River and managed to walk both paths.
Twenty-two years ago, I was born as Axiao, a pearl diver enslaved by a powerful family in the South Sea. Only during the grand pearl harvest did I accidentally unravel the mysteries of my womb.
Looking back now, I remember seeing a massive black dragon shadow underwater—perhaps they had dredged up a Dragon Pearl forged in the era of the Yunmeng Empire.”
“I won’t hide it from you: my human form has yet to break through to the middle third rank, held back by my true body.
Because my reincarnated self and accumulated popularity can’t return to my true body, my dragon form has been suppressing the sediment of history for over twenty years, never freed.
That’s why I say those gentry did bad things for good reasons—giving my human self a chance to return here, help my true form transform into a human, break free from its bonds, and let that nobleman from the Han family get nothing for his trouble.
I need you to protect me.”
Axiao had previously said she didn’t blame Wang Cheng, the victim, but he still felt somewhat at fault, and immediately beat his chest in promise:
“No problem.
Whether I can block attacks depends on my ability, but whether I’ll die before you is a matter of attitude. If someone wants to harm you, they’ll have to step over my corpse first.”
Others might say such things as mere rhetoric, but from Wang Cheng’s lips, it was pure truth.
Yunxiao felt much more at ease, deeply appreciating the feeling of someone willing to risk their life for her, reliable to the core.
Boom—
At that moment, a huge rumbling sounded behind them; without turning, they knew the rival flotillas had been swallowed as well.
But unlike them, the others didn’t appear directly in the lower stretch of the river, instead landing far off at the river’s mouth.
On the Azure-Clad, the evil spirit’s yin and yang forms shared a single consciousness, with no delay whatsoever.
He watched as the rival flotillas, locked in chaotic battle, were swept up by a giant tide, forced into the river mouth within the sediment of history, then rode the tide upstream.
The river was indeed vast, able to swallow so many warships without a hint of crowding.
Some of the Japanese pirate’s small ships rushed ahead, eager to claim the honor first.
Just as they were about to pass through the river mouth, a swath of golden light suddenly flared on the left bank, and over ten thousand elite armored soldiers appeared, bows drawn, shouting in unison:
“Kill the Tide God! Kill the Tide God!”
A king in white armor and gold led the charge, firing an arrow whose golden light spanned the sky, piercing the foremost Japanese turtle ship from bow to stern.
Where the arrow passed, no pirate survived.
Then came a rain of ten thousand arrows, turning the advancing small pirate ships into hedgehogs.
A few still struggled forward, attempting to force their way upriver, but most fell silent, drifting lifelessly on the water.
The surging tide, struck by arrows, instantly dissipated, providing no further propulsion; from here on, progress depended solely on sails and slow wind.
Axiao’s voice sounded at just the right moment:
“That’s the King of Qian shooting the tide.
The stretch of history’s sediment around the Stone Drum Dragon-Fishing site is saturated with the resentment of nine dragons—too fierce for me alone to suppress.
So I borrowed three items from elsewhere: the King of Qian’s tide-shooting arrow, the Iron Chain Across the River, and a Dragon-Locking Well.
Over years, they’ve become part of the sediment, automatically triggered by stress.
We took the shortcut by jumping into the well; those riding the tide have two extra barriers to cross.
They might not stop the eight great shipmasters, but at best, delay them a bit.”
“The King of Qian shooting the tide? He’s a legendary figure in history.”
Wang Cheng knew that in the late Tang, Qian Liu, King of Wu and Yue, was a bold warrior, and after founding his kingdom, he was revered as ‘King Qian.’
When governing Qiantang, the sea dikes kept breaking: the tide came twice daily, and any repairs were immediately destroyed.
This was because a Tide God haunted the Qiantang River, always opposing them.
So King Qian gathered ten thousand armored soldiers, and during the Tide God’s passage, unleashed a rain of arrows, driving it back and finally securing the dike.
“In this world, it’s not myth but history.

If we had a talisman from the ‘Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats’ episode, this ‘King Qian shoots the tide’ would be harmless, right?”
Next came the famous “Iron Chain Across the River.”
It originated in the Western Jin’s conquest of Wu: Wu, to block the Jin army from crossing the river, stretched iron chains across the water at strategic points, embedded iron spikes beneath, hindering ships.
In the end, General Wang Jun melted the chains with torches, breaking through the defenses.
“One ruled the world by filial piety, the other a rat of Jiangdong, their legacies lingering in history, infamous for ages.
The rival flotillas may not get past this point; they’ll have to abandon their ships and swim upstream, just like us.”
At that moment, Yunxiao murmured:
“My son Wang Cheng has no talent for ghosts and spirits, but excels in filial devotion.”
When Wang Cheng clasped his hands and pleaded with his good sister to let him off, she tilted her sharp chin and continued:
“The two barriers ahead together form the ‘King Qian’s Sea-Locking Tide.’
Have your Guardian Spirit General warn the Five Peaks Banner to watch for the underwater iron chains—no need to go forward, just hold the line.
Ahead lies only the third barrier: the Dragon-Locking Well, where my true form is bound. Follow me.”
As Wang Cheng and Yunxiao sped up, the great shipmasters of both flotillas had already used their skills to force their way past the King Qian’s tide-shooting.
The chubby Huang Yuanzhou, with two rice bags hanging from his waist, knelt three times on the deck of his own wind-powered flagship toward the sea.
“Please, godmother, assist me!”
Instantly, the mist rolled in, bending light to hide his flotilla; during the rain of arrows, their aim faltered.
Most arrows landed in the water.
The Azure-Clad also slipped through undetected.
Another shipmaster, the River-Turner Han Zechang, was even more direct: his flotilla formed a V-shaped formation with his flagship at the tip.
As the arrows flew, this salvage expert, gifted with the “Lifting the Cauldron” spirit, donned his talisman, the “Relic of the Overlord,” and punched the air, sending a blast that scattered the arrows, rendering them harmless.
King Qian’s tide-shooting was powerful, but to stop the eight rulers of the world’s trade center was a fantasy.
After passing through, Huang Yuanzhou listened intently, then proposed to the other two shipmasters:
“Gentlemen, there’s no need to go to the Nine Dragons’ source—just keep the gentry faction out.
I suggest our three families form a crescent-shaped formation.
My wind-powered flagship, the Conch, will lead the center. Uncle Han, please cover my left flank.
Shipmaster Pu, please cover my right. Let’s trap all the pirates here, shall we?”
Pu Shuying’s eyes flashed, thinking, “Such an opportunity?
A crescent formation requires us to sail in the same direction with an open pocket. If I slow down slightly and turn my bow, and support is delayed, your defenseless stern will be exposed to my cannon range.
I can hit you, but you can’t hit me.
Huang Yuanzhou is courting death, wanting to test whether my expensive wind-powered ship, bought from the Franks, is as fierce as they claim—he’ll have only himself to blame.”
If Pu Shuying could wipe out the civilian flotilla while completing the noble’s mission, he could seize Moon Harbor as well, fulfilling all his strategic ambitions!
He failed to notice that Wang Cheng’s evil spirit was quietly watching his rear:
“My ship isn’t weak either!
Crew, helmsman, break formation and sail independently—follow Pu Shuying and aim for the T position.”