Chapter 571: Chapter 555: It’s Hard for an Honest Official to Settle Domestic Affairs

Captain answered honestly, “Ordinarily, when setting sail, one follows the charted courses that predecessors have explored. Deviating from them makes it very easy to encounter unknown currents or hidden reefs, and death would likely leave no whole corpse behind. Therefore, vast as the seas are, the truly explored areas are extremely limited, and there are a great many islands that remain undiscovered… For example, the island where the two of you have secluded yourselves had never been found by us prior.”

Zhao Changhe nodded, not to mention islands; even if there were a continent, it wouldn’t be so easily discovered.

The captain continued, “The Tianyuan Pirate Group has been active in the East Sea for nearly thirty years, waxing and waning, sometimes rampaging, sometimes lying dormant. No one knows whether it’s due to internal reasons or what. In any case, after roaming so much, they’ve come to know many places unknown to others… This time they’ve angered the Sea God, and I’ve heard they’ve made a disgraced escape from their long-occupied base. No one knows where they’ve fled to now, and we must search again. Our countries are united in this effort; I am but one part of it.”

San Niang said, “Oh, so you are a general, which country are you from?”

The captain replied, “We’re from Java… I am Lai Qi, the navy admiral.”

Zhao Changhe listened somewhat absent-mindedly to the familiar geographical name paired with the incongruent Hua Xia surname, his thoughts drifting away.

San Niang laughed, “Oh, an admiral, my apologies, my apologies.”

Lai Qi fell silent in embarrassment.

With their ship barely better than a fishing vessel and their tattered equipment, claiming the title of ‘admiral’ was honestly a bit mortifying, let alone having the same persuasive power as Xing Daorong, the admiral of Lingling… The truth was, their military was merely made up of repurposed fishing and merchant ships, and to this day, they still habitually referred to themselves as captains rather than generals.

San Niang knew that such was commonly the case with these small nations; many “countries” had populations smaller than a single county—in fact, some were merely the size of a town. The idea of organizing a powerful navy was indeed a tall order. Thus, she refrained from mockery and simply said, “With just these few ships of yours, how do you plan to look for them? Even if you found them, wouldn’t you just be delivering yourselves to death?”

Lai Qi replied, “There are multiple countries united in this effort, not just us.”

San Niang intentionally asked, “Since the Sea God is deemed divine, can’t He find them? Why must you search?”

Lai Qi awkwardly responded, “There should, there should be a divine edict soon.”

Indeed, the Sea God had not issued any divine decree about where the Pirate Group was. Blind believers thought it to be a test from the deity, while more rational folks knew that the so-called Sea God was not omniscient and omnipotent; even in the ocean, there was much beyond His knowledge.

Not only was He not all-knowing, but He had also failed to eradicate the pirates, allowing them to escape. It could be spun as a magnificent victory, but the essence was that the pirates had gotten away, which fell short of the expectations tied to a “god.”

However, since the Sea God had intervened personally, He was certainly looking too. Perhaps He would find them soon. San Niang’s question was all the more maliciously charged because she herself couldn’t locate the Pirate Group’s whereabouts. Instead, she might be able to hitch a ride on the enemy’s ship back to her maternal home.

Guigui, thinking of this, found it amusing and disdainfully said, “I thought you had a clear target in your pirate extermination campaign. Turns out you don’t even know where they are… Since it’s a separate search by each nation, how will you communicate with each other when you find them?”

Lai Qi explained, “We will gather near Dong’an Island; it’s also the location of the Commander’s Tent for this Alliance Army. General Hai Changkong of Penglai will be in command. We have agreed to meet there in seven days.”

Hearing this name, San Niang suddenly became a bit distracted.

Zhao Changhe took over the conversation, “That’s enough, you may go.”

Lai Qi left with an apologetic smile, “Please enjoy yourselves.”

Zhao Changhe stood up to close the door properly, then strolled back and poured a cup of wine for San Niang, “What’s wrong, an enemy of yours?”

The last time San Niang told her story, she actually hadn’t reached the crucial point, glossing over it. For instance, the cause of her mother’s death was left with a “I’ll tell you later.”

After all, it was a matter related to her parents; it was understandable that she did not wish to go into detail.

But now San Niang spoke quite naturally. She took a sip of the wine Zhao Changhe handed her and said softly, “Hai Changkong was Hai Pinglan’s trusted aide, just like Hai Qianfan. They both received their surnames as an honor, they’re also adopted sons… Back then, Hai Changkong was a young man not yet twenty, accompanying Hai Pinglan in their flight across the seas, distinguishing himself along the way. I was quite close to him as a child.”

“Adopted sons, in concept, does that mean they also have the right to succeed? If you’re not around,” Zhao Changhe quickly grasped the key point.

San Niang gave a wry smile, “Perhaps, although there are hundreds of his adopted sons, those who truly stand out could indeed be potential successors, provided there’s no me or mother… When mother was around, none truly felt they had a chance, so there wasn’t any point in making a move, nor did they possess such strength. Once mother was gone, and while they were pursuing me, it really could have become a possibility because of this.”

“Hmm…”

“Correct, he was the one who pursued me with the most zeal at that time.” San Niang laughed, “He can be considered an enemy, but I find I can’t seem to muster any hatred towards him.”

Zhao Changhe said, “That’s because your true nemesis isn’t him, you can’t hate Hai Pinglan. And with so much time passed, plus your own laid-back nature, you wouldn’t bother holding a grudge against a minor character.”

San Niang muttered, resting her head on the table, “Actually, it’s not like that, because it’s essentially just a messy, unresolved account.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “What exactly is the situation?”

San Niang muttered, “I’ve mentioned to you before that the cause of mother’s death is a mystery… There were those who proposed establishing a country in Penglai, and Hai Pinglan was supportive. He could not forget his time carving out his own territory in Jiangnan and was determined to restore the nation. Penglai has a great climate and a large population, doesn’t that make it a little Jiangnan?”

“You mean your mother opposed it?”

“Mom initially opposed it; she was far from her native land and always saw the sea as a place of refuge, never intending to settle there. Seeing Hai Pinglan lose his ambition and content himself with isolated peace on the island, she was really unhappy.”

“At first, originally…”

“Yes, later on, somehow she agreed. It should have been a happy ending for everyone. Preparations for nation-building were already underway enthusiastically, but on the eve of the ceremony, Hai Pinglan announced she’d been attacked and was dead.”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

San Niang laughed, “The funny thing is, Hai Pinglan himself was also seriously injured. Tell me, did he really suffer that injury from an enemy attack, or was it during the time he killed my mother and got counterattacked?”

Zhao Changhe was speechless.

San Niang said, “Your first thought is whether there was a dispute over power between them, like who would be the king? After all these years of hard work, it was my mother who took care of everything, and her prestige among the pirates was the highest. If she had wanted to be queen, Hai Pinglan might really not have been able to compete. But how could Hai Pinglan willingly give up the throne to his wife? Hence the fight and the accidental killing.”

Zhao Changhe said, “That’s the only conclusion to draw, right? There’s no other reason to think of. Of course, if you say it’s just a domestic quarrel that led to an accidental killing, that also makes sense on a realistic level…”

“Right, even if you try to find other reasons, you first confirm it was murder.”

“Mmm, an ‘attack’ in one’s own palace? Where are the enemies?”

“Exactly, at that time everyone thought it was a marital dispute over the throne. How could the pirates loyal to my mother be happy? I wasn’t happy either. In fact, the most agitated person at the time was me. I went to demand an explanation, followed by Hai Qianfan and a whole group of strong supporters.” San Niang sighed and said, “Tell me, did it look like I was seizing the chance when he was also severely injured to stage a coup and claim the throne?”

Zhao Changhe scratched his head, “It does, it really does.”

“Those loyal to his side, like Hai Changkong and the others, naturally ended up fighting a civil war with us. Later, he took action from his sickbed to suppress us. Hai Qianfan protected me as we retreated, and a group of us went back to being pirates at sea.” San Niang continued, “Later, as I said, he continued to pursue pirates, treating them entirely as enemies. I couldn’t bear to see the pirates die or get injured, so I went to land.”

Zhao Changhe was stunned for a moment and then suddenly furrowed his eyebrows.

San Niang asked, “What’s wrong? Did you realize something?”

Zhao Changhe indeed realized a problem—there was no definite proof from start to finish that it was Hai Pinglan who did the killing…

Hai Pinglan taking personal action to suppress his daughter and later continuing to hunt down pirates gave the impression of definite proof. But actually, as a ruler, that should be considered a fairly normal reaction. After all, there were emperors who had been deposed by their children.

At that time, San Niang couldn’t think so far; she fled to seek divine intervention, wanting spiritual beings to descend to the world to let people know that all notions of imperial power and domination were just dust.

But after calming down over the years, transforming from a young girl to a mature woman, and becoming a venerable leader of thousands, San Niang must have also gradually sensed something wrong, hence starting to talk about the “mystery of the death” and “uncertainty if it was murder.”

But there was still a problem…

If there were misunderstandings, when the times changed, Hai Pinglan had a thousand ways to convey to the Tianyuan Pirate Group an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding. All these years without even trying to explain, allowing the misunderstanding to persist, and even organizing the Alliance Army to attack this time… it might not be a misunderstanding.

This whole mess had become a tangled knot, and Guigui had no inclination to think about it any further. Also, because of the lingering thought in his heart that it “wasn’t him,” he was even less inclined to actively investigate and uncover the truth. What if it was confirmed to be him, then what would he do?

It was easier to let things rot, to avoid them entirely. To her, the affairs of the Four Symbols Sect were far more important than the mess at sea. If it weren’t for having to venture out to sea this time, she’d probably prefer not to give it another glance.

Looking at San Niang sprawled on the table, resigned to letting things rot, Zhao Changhe suddenly said, “I suggest you… go ask him.”

San Niang lifted her head, “Hmm?”

“Chichi was also once afraid to face Xia Longyuan, but in the end, meeting him turned out to be nothing, and the pressure she’d put on herself didn’t exist.” Zhao Changhe said, “You should ask too… If it wasn’t him, once confirmed, you and your father can seek revenge together. Now that you’re a revered figure of the Secret Treasure Third Layer, your strength might even surpass your father’s. If there’s anything he’s reluctant or unable to do, the two of you together might be able to achieve it…”

San Niang narrowed her eyes and looked at him steadily, “And what if it is him?”

Zhao Changhe said, “You’ve lived all these years considering him your enemy; if it is him, what difference does it make from before? If so, it’s ridiculous to deceive yourself into thinking it might not be him. As the Venerable Xuanwu, do you lack even the courage to confront your enemy?”