That man was the leader of the Giant Whale Gang. His real name was unknown, but his nickname was Fatty Ke. He looked just like his name, with so much fat on his face that his eyes were almost invisible.

As soon as this person arrived on the island, he gave Qiu San Niang a potted red coral plant that was one meter tall and half a meter wide.

"I heard that Third Sister likes red coral, and I just happened to get a good one, so I brought it to you."

Fatty Ke smiled warmly.

Yun Zhao then noticed that although Qiu San Niang dressed very simply, she often wore a string of red coral on her wrist.

The deep red coral beads made her skin appear exceptionally fair and delicate, like jade.

Yun Zhao felt deeply ashamed.

He had known Qiu Sanniang for so long, yet he had never paid attention to her preferences; his observational skills were far inferior to those of Fatty Ke.

Today, the leaders of the allied gangs who were at the banquet all brought gifts. Although Fatty Ke's red coral was a bit expensive, Qiu San Niang didn't pay much attention to it.

She accepted the gift readily, thanked Fatty Ke, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then instructed her followers, "Take Master Ke to the banquet hall."

Just as the gang members were about to obey, Fatty Ke shook his head: "I'll wait for Third Sister to go with me."

Qiu Sanniang smiled and said, "I'm afraid it will be another half an hour before I can go over. I'm afraid I'll neglect you while I'm busy greeting the others."

"It's alright," Fatty Ke said with a smile. "I'm quite chubby, and the doctor said I need to move around more. You go about your business, I'll just wander around here."

Qiu San Niang had no choice but to go along with him.

Yun Zhao discovered that this Fatty Ke, who claimed to be just taking a stroll, actually started chatting with Third Sister about this and that.

Anyone with eyes can see that his real intentions are not what they seem.

Yun Zhao felt extremely frustrated.

I think Fatty Ke is like a toad trying to eat swan meat.

They don't even look at their own body type, yet they dare to covet Third Sister.

But Qiu San Niang's expression didn't change at all, as if she hadn't noticed Fatty Ke's intentions.

—They may have noticed, but remained silent.

The two talked at length about gang affairs. After listening for a while, Yun Zhao walked away, feeling annoyed.

At the banquet, he sat at a table with Qiu Sanniang and the leaders of various gangs. Fatty Ke continued to fawn over her, pouring wine for Qiu Sanniang and adding rice to her bowl.

If Qiu Sanniang hadn't firmly refused, he probably would have even served her food.

Yun Zhao had never thought that it was necessary for men and women to eat separately, but this meal made him realize that it was actually a good thing.

At least Fatty Ke didn't have a chance to curry favor.

But pirate gangs don't follow those rules, so he could only keep this idea to himself.

Everyone at the banquet except him was very excited and drank alcohol as if it were water.

He was afraid that Qiu San Niang would get drunk and be taken advantage of by Fatty Ke, so he kept a close eye on her condition.

Qiu Sanniang seemed to sense his concerns and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, I have a high alcohol tolerance, I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk."

The warm breath on Yun Zhao's ear felt like a hand plucking a string in his heart.

He trembled, and his face suddenly turned red.

Seeing this, Qiu San Niang teased, "Looks like you can't hold your liquor. Your face turns red after just two cups."

Yun Zhao: "..."

He's really good, okay!

But Qiu San Niang didn't give him a chance to prove himself and turned around to clink glasses with others.

Yun Zhao watched them clinking glasses and exchanging toasts with a melancholy expression, unable to suppress a sigh in his heart.

His performance tonight was absolutely terrible.

As the banquet drew to a close, the gang members went wild, some singing loudly, some wailing, some jumping around... and some pouring out their hearts.

Yun Zhao discovered that Qiu San Niang's follower, Xiao Ba, was unusually well-behaved when drunk, answering every question and even revealing how much silver he had.

So he took his wine glass and sat down.

Do you know what Third Sister likes?

He asked Xiao Ba in a low voice.

Xiao Ba said in a serious tone, "Third Sister likes Xiao Ba."

Yun Zhao: "..."

If he weren't still a bean sprout, he would have believed it.

"Besides Hachiko?"

Little Eight started counting on his fingers: "And gold, silver, coral, agate, pearls, a new ship, cannonballs, rice..."

If we keep counting like this, we probably won't finish before dawn.

Yun Zhao interrupted him: "That's not what I meant. I meant... wishes and such. Is there anything Third Sister wants?"

“What I want…” Xiao Ba tilted his head and thought for a while, “I’ve got it! Third Aunt likes whales! Once we saw a whale swimming by at sea, and Third Aunt said it was so beautiful and she wanted to touch it.”

Want to touch a whale?

This is far too difficult.

Yun Zhao frowned and pressed, "Is there anything else?"

His response was a series of snores.

Xiao Ba has already fallen asleep.

Yun Zhao had no choice but to give up.

The war was over, and there was no need for him, the strategist, to stay in Hong Kong. He returned to Nanyue City the next day.

Unexpectedly, after getting away from Qiu Sanniang, I heard about her scandal.

The rumors were about her and Fatty Ke. Everyone was talking about how Fatty Ke was pursuing her. They said that in order to win her heart, Fatty Ke sent her a red coral every day, and they had plucked all the red corals off the seabed.

Yun Zhao knew this was fake; it was a rumor spread by jewelers in Nan Yue City to inflate the price of red coral.

But this did not resolve his anxiety.

The fact that San Niang liked whales lingered in his mind, and he repeatedly felt the urge to find fishermen to go out to sea and catch whales.

Reason held him back.

Regardless of whether they could catch it or not, what Third Sister probably prefers is a free and unfettered whale; catching it might backfire.

But he couldn't think of any other way to please Third Sister.

In terms of wealth, he certainly can't compare to Fatty Ke; he can't produce any rare gems or anything like that.

So he spent his days looking gloomy and sighing.

Xiao Qingyin noticed and asked him, "Cousin Zhao, what are you worried about?"

Yun Zhao: Of course, I'm worried about how to win over a wife.

But he was too embarrassed to say it aloud, and only replied, "I'm thinking about how to touch a whale, but that's just a pipe dream, right?"

"Not necessarily."

Xiao Qingyin replied.

"Although whales are not very friendly, there are exceptions."

Yun Zhao's expression changed.

"What exception?"

Xiao Qingyin told him about the news she had read in her previous life: "Whales are easily parasitized by marine parasites such as barnacles and whale lice. They usually get rid of these parasites by touching their own bodies, but most of the time, these parasites stay with them for life."

"When they really can't stand it anymore, they may ask humans for help. If someone is willing to help them, they will let them touch them."

"Really?"

Yun Zhao was overjoyed, clinging to a straw like a drowning person desperately.

Xiao Qingyin nodded: "However, it depends a lot on luck. Not everyone can happen to encounter a whale that needs help."

Yun Zhao felt that he was still somewhat lucky.

Of course, even if he didn't have it, he would still use this method.

This was the only way he knew to get close to the whale.

He went out to sea that very day to look for whales.

There is a sea area southeast of Heung To that is frequently visited by whales, which many fishermen have seen.

After understanding the situation, Yun Zhao went to that sea area to wait for the prey to come to him—no, to wait for the whales to come to him from the boat.