Chapter 54

The lower deck of the "Divine Machine Ship" is cold.

It wasn't the kind of damp, chilly feeling you get at sea.

It was a heavier, more oppressive, colder chill, a chill that was mixed with rust, blood, and despair, a chill that belonged to a cage, a chilling coldness.

Tang Pu stood in this deathly atmosphere.

He felt like he was about to choke to death from the smell.

A person was hanging in front of him.

It was Ah Da, the so-called second-in-command of the pirates, who was captured alive from "Ghost Hand Island".

He was covered in wounds.

He was whipped, branded with a hot iron, and splashed with salt water.

He's a tough guy.

Tang Pu had seen many tough guys. On the battlefields of the North, there were many captured barbarian centurions who were far tougher than him.

But in the end, they all spoke up.

Because they are afraid of dying.

And this guy in front of me...

He doesn't seem afraid.

"Heh...heh..." Ah Da raised his bloodied and mangled face, so unrecognizable, and a hoarse laugh, like a broken bellows, escaped his throat. "Didn't...didn't you eat? Prince An? Is that all the...strength you have?"

Tang Pu's hand, gripping the whip, was bulging with veins.

The guards behind him were all seasoned veterans who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood; they were experts at getting people to talk. But now, looking at this half-dead pirate, for the first time, their faces showed a sense of helplessness and frustration.

"Your Highness, we've exhausted every method the army can use," the captain of the personal guards, a man with three scars on his face, said in a low voice. "If we continue fighting, people will die."

Tang Pu remained silent.

He simply stared at Ah Da's murky eyes, which, though stained with blood, still gleamed with a hint of contempt and mockery.

He knew he had lost.

He lost to a pirate's backbone, just like a soldier.

A surge of violent, helpless rage suddenly rose from the soles of his feet. He wanted to chop off that bastard's head with a knife.

But he couldn't.

He was the only clue.

It is the only living clue to finding the true lair of the cunning and treacherous "Black Shark".

I'm too lazy to think about it.

Tang Pu slammed the whip in his hand to the ground.

"Keep an eye on him! Don't let him die!"

He left those words behind, turned around, and walked out of the suffocating cell.

He needs air.

He needs... her guidance.

He stood on the deck, the sea breeze blowing on him, but he felt no chill. He only felt as if a fire was burning in his mind and heart.

He didn't know what to do next.

A direct assault is the worst possible strategy. Having suffered such a heavy loss, "Black Shark" must already be as frightened as a bird, hiding in its deepest lair. The East China Sea is vast, dotted with islands; finding him would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The emperor gave them only three months.

Although those fools in the British Duke's mansion have suffered heavy losses, they still have plenty of money and manpower. It won't be long before they can rebuild a fleet.

Time is not on his side.

For the first time, he felt something called "powerlessness".

Just then.

A small carrier pigeon boat, flying the flag of the Cui family's trading company, swiftly cut through the waves like a black lightning bolt and approached.

The messenger presented a familiar letter, sealed with sealing wax and carrying a cool, fresh scent of ink.

It's hers.

Tang Pu's heart skipped a beat.

He dismissed those around him and opened the envelope.

On the letter was her familiar handwriting, delicate yet sharp.

The letter was very short.

There was no mention of torture or forced confessions written on it.

There wasn't even a single word about the "Black Shark's" lair mentioned above.

What's written above is...

“Ah Da, whose real name is Li Gou Dan, was born into a salt-producing family in Cangzhou. He still has an elderly mother at home who has suffered from a cough for many years and is bedridden.”

"His wife was forcibly taken by his accomplice 'Leopard' three years ago. 'Leopard' is a confidant of 'Black Shark'."

Of all the profits from 'Ghost Hand Island,' Ah Da only got two, while 'Leopard' got five.

The letter ended with only one sentence.

“Yuanzhi, there’s no need to ask Chao Xue. Just… ‘care’ about his mother, and then ‘unintentionally’ let him know that ‘Leopard’ is now on another island, swaggering around and having a great time, with the treasure that should rightfully belong to him.”

Tang Pu looked at the letter.

His military mind, which had become hot and chaotic due to anxiety and anger, was suddenly chilled to the bone as if doused with a bucket of ice water.

Then came a huge, chilling shiver that sent shivers down his spine.

He understood.

He understood completely.

He looked at the thin sheet of paper and felt that what he was reading was not words.

It is...the human heart.

He believed that war was a knife, a gun, blood, and bones.

But she told him that real wars sometimes don't even need to involve bloodshed.

She did not attack him personally.

She won his heart.

This...this is terrifying, such a scheme!

Tang Pu's hand holding the letter trembled slightly.

Looking at the vast, turbulent sea in the distance, he felt an almost divine awe for the young girl sitting in her boudoir in the capital.

...

When Ah Da was brought out again, he thought he was going to be tortured again.

He was ready.

At worst, I'll just die.

Eighteen years later, he'll be a hero again.

But this time, it's different.

He was led into a clean, dry cabin, which even had a burner of calming incense burning.

There was no branding iron or whip on the table.

There was only a pot of warm wine and a few steaming dishes of his hometown food, which he hadn't eaten for several years.

Braised pork knuckle, smoked chicken, and a bowl of... his mother's specialty, dumpling soup.

The young prince, who looked like a demon, sat across the table, toying with a teacup in his hand, his face expressionless.

"Eat up," Tang Pu said.

Ah Da didn't move. He watched him warily.

"There's no poison in the wine or the food," Tang Pu said calmly. "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to go through all this trouble."

Ah Da hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he couldn't resist the long-lost fragrance that made his nose tingle.

He grabbed a braised pork knuckle and began to devour it.

Tang Pu did not urge him or ask him any questions.

He just watched him eat quietly.

Ah Da devoured everything on the table in a whirlwind, even drinking the broth from the bowl of dumpling soup.

"I sent someone back to your hometown, Cangzhou," Tang Pu finally spoke, his voice as calm as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

Ah Da's body suddenly froze.

“Your mother… her cough has flared up again.” Tang Pu looked at him and continued, “I had someone invite the best doctor in the capital to see her, and I also left some money. The doctor said that although it cannot be cured completely, if she takes good care of herself, she should be able to live for another ten or eight years without any problem.”

On Ah Da's bloodied and mangled face, his cloudy eyes suddenly widened.

He looked at Tang Pu, his lips trembling, wanting to say something, but unable to utter a single word.

Tang Pu ignored his shock.

As if remembering something, he changed the subject, speaking in a tone tinged with regret:

"Speaking of which, it's a pity you were captured this time. I heard from my men that the spoils from 'Ghost Hand Island' were quite substantial. They even hauled in three large ships full of gold."

"Unfortunately, none of this has anything to do with you anymore."

He paused, then added, seemingly unintentionally.

"Oh, right. I heard that in order to appease people, 'Black Shark' blamed all the losses on you. And that guy called 'Leopard,' because of his 'meritorious service in guarding the island,' not only did he get your share, but he was also... promoted and became the deputy commander of 'Black Shark.'"

"Right now, he's taking your money, sleeping with your woman, and throwing a big party to celebrate in another of 'Black Shark's' hideouts."

boom--

Something seemed to explode in Ah Da's mind.

His face, which had just regained some color after a hearty meal, instantly turned paler than a corpse.

Then, it swelled up into a horrible, liver-colored hue.

betray!

A naked, bloody, and shameless betrayal!

Why was he subjected to brutal torture here, yet remained defiant to the death? It was for that so-called "brotherly loyalty"!

But what about his "brother"?

Where is his "boss"?

They take credit for his achievements, share his money, sleep with his women, and treat him as a scapegoat to be sacrificed at will!

"ah--!!!"

A roar that was not human, filled with extreme anger, resentment and venom, burst out from Ah Da's throat.

His cloudy eyes instantly turned blood red.

He looked at Tang Pu as if he were looking at a god who could help him take revenge.

"I'll talk!!" he roared. "I'll tell you everything!!"

"That son of a bitch 'Black Shark,' his lair isn't at sea! It's on 'Dragon Tooth Island'!!"

"That island is easy to defend and difficult to attack! It's surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one waterway leading in! The waterway is full of hidden reefs! And on the island, there are Western cannons that he acquired at great expense!!"

"But!!" His voice grew even sharper with excitement, "There's another person with him! 'Iron Face'! The pirates' number two! He's long harbored resentment over 'Black Shark's' unfair distribution of the spoils! He's just like me! He also wishes he could tear that bastard 'Black Shark' to pieces!!"

Tang Pu listened quietly.

His face remained expressionless.

But in his heart, a raging storm was brewing.

Dragon Tooth Island.

artillery.

Iron face.

Everything was exactly the same conclusion that his mastermind had deduced in another secret backup letter.

A bold, crazy, yet infinitely possible plan took shape in his mind.

Join forces with "Iron Face".

They cooperated from within and without.

Conquer "Dragon Tooth Island" in one fell swoop!

He looked at the pirate captain before him, who had completely broken down and was crying like a child.

He knew that this competition was no longer a competition.

This was... a one-sided massacre orchestrated by his mastermind.