Mermaids Weep (4)
Han Chengjin's heart jumped into his throat. He didn't dare to breathe, his chopsticks hovering over the edge of his bowl, nervously pricking up his ears to wait for the next conversation.
“It just so happens that we also wanted to talk to you about this matter again, young master.” Ye Yingying put down her chopsticks. “We need a boat to go out to sea. We are from the inland and are not very familiar with sailing. We would like to borrow a safe boat from you so that we can get through the storms at sea.”
“The boats are no problem; I’ll have Uncle Liu prepare them in a bit,” Han Chengyu replied. “But I have one condition: if Cheng Jin asks you two to take him along, please don’t agree.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Yingying leaned back, not following Han Chengyu's lead, but instead changing the subject and asking, "Brother Chengyu, the disappearance of cultivators must be a major headache for the local families. Now that we have a 'culprit,' what are you hesitating about?"
Han Chengyu frowned, somewhat displeased with Ye Yingying's attempt to change the subject: "This is an internal matter within the Secret Sea, and you two need not concern yourselves with it."
Ye Yingying, unperturbed, shifted to a more comfortable position and began her analysis: "You don't have much information about the merfolk to begin with. If a war were to break out, it would inevitably take place at sea. The seas are mostly merfolk territory. Let alone a 50% chance of victory, even a 30% chance isn't guaranteed. The heads of the noble families can't possibly be unaware of this. Given this, why are the various noble families in such a hurry to fight this war with little chance of winning?"
Han Chengyu was slightly taken aback and looked up to scrutinize Ye Yingying.
Ye Yingying continued, "I suspect the news of the cultivator's disappearance has spread too far. Not only do the locals in the Secret Sea know about it, but even the carriage drivers who only stay overnight know. The news spreads like wildfire, but the murderer has yet to be caught. How can business in the Secret Sea continue? Who will bear the condemnation from the other continents? At this point, it would be better to introduce a 'murderer' that everyone knows to quell the unrest."
Han Chengjin, who was standing to the side, suddenly looked up, his surprised gaze shifting back and forth between Ye Yingying and Han Chengyu. He was shocked by Ye Yingying's analysis, and at the same time, he tried to find an answer from his brother's expression.
Ye Yingying propped her head up with one hand, her fingertips tapping her chin idly: "But how difficult must it be to catch a culprit that the various aristocratic families are willing to risk their lives attacking the merfolk for? If he's so powerful, will he stop just because the aristocratic families are attacking the merfolk? Attacking the merfolk and the disappearance of cultivators are not necessarily related. Since attacking the merfolk can't solve the problem of missing cultivators, why are those aristocratic families still so persistent? Unless there's one possibility—"
“The murderer is under the protection of a powerful family,” Yun Yanqiu said, offering her guess.
Han Chengjin slammed his fist on the table and stood up, shouting excitedly, "Brother, really?!"
The focus fell on Han Chengyu, who had his head down and a solemn expression.
He glanced at the two guests from the Lingyun Alliance and sighed, "Your guesses are basically the same as mine. I admire you."
Ye Yingying smiled and said, "Now, can you share some of what you know with us?"
Han Chengyu nodded: "After I took over as the acting head of the family, I learned that there were cases of cultivators going missing in the Secret Sea area. But these cultivators were all independent cultivators from outside the area, without any sect or faction, so there was no way to investigate them after they went missing."
"Originally, all the families assumed that they had encountered a disaster while sailing at sea on their own, and the case was dropped. But recently, an elderly couple who had just moved to the Secret Sea said that their son had gone missing. Coincidentally, this son was also a wandering cultivator who had been traveling for many years. He had come to the Secret Sea to visit the two elderly people, but who knew that he would disappear after only one day at home."
Han Chengyu paused for a moment, then continued, "After their son went missing, the old couple specially consulted a fortune teller and were told that their son had died. The two were heartbroken and held a funeral for their son near the port. The port was crowded and noisy, and after asking around, they found out that there were actually quite a few missing rogue cultivators, which immediately caused panic among the people."
"So the powerful families were forced to start discussing countermeasures under pressure," Ye Yingying concluded.
“You could say that…” Han Chengyu pursed his lips, “I originally thought that with the combined efforts of all the powerful families, we could catch the murderer quickly. But the more we discussed it, the more something seemed off. That’s when I realized that the problem might not be external, but internal.”
It seems that although the Secret Sea is xenophobic, it is not exactly united internally.
“Brother…” Han Chengjin looked worried. He had thought that his brother would encounter many difficulties as the head of the family, but he did not expect the difficulties to be so great.
"The Lin family was the first aristocratic family to propose attacking the merfolk. Their current patriarch, Lin Shiyou, is second only to my father in strength and is considered one of the top families in the Secret Sea. It was because of his proposal that other aristocratic families dared to follow suit."
"Have you investigated their internal situation?" Ye Yingying asked.
Han Chengyu shook his head and sighed, "I haven't had time yet. For now, I can only arrange some men to keep an eye on Lin Shi's two trusted confidants' every move. But I'm late in making these arrangements. Now, almost all the powerful families are leaning towards the Lin family, and I haven't had time to find any leverage against them..."
Ye Yingying pouted: "I do have a method, Brother Cheng Yu, would you be willing to give it a try?"
"I would like to hear the details."
"He took us out to sea in Han Chengjin's name to find the merfolk."
Han Chengyu frowned, his eyes wary, clearly showing strong resistance.
Ye Yingying couldn't see his expression and continued, "Those aristocratic families are clamoring to identify the merfolk as the culprits behind the cultivators' disappearances simply because they think no one dares to investigate. Now that someone is willing to risk their life, it's reasonable and morally enough to shut them up for now. Besides, while we're searching for the merfolk at sea, haven't we bought you more time to investigate the Lin family?"
"Since we're just buying time, there's no need to bring Cheng Jin along." Han Chengyu was still somewhat reluctant to let his younger brother take the risk.
“That’s not necessarily true. In the eyes of the various families in the Secret Sea, we two are still outsiders. But Brother Cheng Jin, as the second young master of the Han family, is the one recognized as ‘one of us’ by the families. Isn’t your reluctance to ask for help from the outside also out of consideration for this face?” Ye Yingying patiently explained, “‘The second young master of the Han family, for the sake of the life and death of the Secret Sea, took the initiative to invite the guest elders of the Lingyun Alliance to go to sea with him to find the merfolk, determined to personally investigate the connection between the merfolk and the missing cultivators.’ Using this kind of statement will not make it seem like the Lingyun Alliance is forcibly interfering in the private affairs of the Secret Sea.”
Han Chengyu's expression softened somewhat, and Han Chengjin, who had been observing from the side, suddenly brightened up, feeling that his chances of going to sea had greatly increased.
Ye Yingying felt that she had said enough, and Han Chengyu should agree by now, so she waited patiently for him to speak.
But after waiting for a long time, there was only silence on the table. Ye Yingying bit her lip and couldn't help but mutter to herself: This Han Chengyu, he really dotes on his younger brother too much!
But dragging it out wasn't a solution either. Ye Yingying coughed twice and decided to give it another push: "Actually, on the way here, I heard from Brother Cheng Jin that he went to many places to ask for help but was turned away. He felt that he hadn't done anything useful and that others looked down on him."
Han Chengjin was taken aback, unable to recall ever saying those words.
Upon hearing this, Han Chengyu's expression clearly changed. He hadn't expected his younger brother to have such thoughts, and he quickly turned his head, looking at Han Chengjin with a complicated expression.
"Brother Cheng Jin also wanted to prove himself through this matter, which is why he asked us for help."
Han Chengjin blinked, not daring to speak, but this did not prevent Han Chengyu from suddenly realizing that he had indeed neglected his younger brother's feelings recently.
“Cheng Jin…” Han Chengyu gazed at his younger brother’s face, a hint of guilt in his eyes.
Han Chengyu, having served as acting head of the family for many years, has faced his share of pressure and difficulties, but he has persevered. Thanks to his efforts, Han Chengjin, now an adult, still retains his innocent and carefree nature. Ironically, this has led to his younger brother suffering grievances outside the home, unable to confide in his older brother. Han Chengyu, as the elder brother, feels even more guilty for not noticing his younger brother's troubles. Thinking of this, Han Chengyu feels even more guilty.
Han Chengjin was actually old enough to participate in the affairs of the Secret Sea, but he was naive and Han Chengyu was afraid that he would have difficulty facing a group of cunning and shrewd family heads, so he had not let him participate for a long time.
However, if they do manage to find the merfolk at sea this time, it would be a great opportunity for Han Chengjin to gain a foothold in the secret sea families. But...
Thinking of this, Han Chengyu couldn't help but look up at the composed Yun Yanqiu. This guest elder of the Lingyun Alliance had maintained an expressionless face from beginning to end, as if nothing could stir up any waves in his heart.
Han Chengyu had heard of Yun Yanqiu before. The Lingyun Alliance's every move was always closely watched by the entire cultivation world, and among them, the identity of guest elder was the most special.
Before this, the Lingyun Alliance had only had one guest elder—Li Zhoubai, the Northern Bright Sword Master. During his lifetime, he dedicated himself to slaying demons and monsters. Centuries ago, in the massive demon-slaying campaign, it was he who led the righteous cultivators to a resounding victory. At that time, the previously unknown Lingyun Alliance, thanks to Li Zhoubai's reputation, attracted a large number of sword cultivators who came seeking his guidance, quickly becoming the largest sword cultivator sect in the cultivation world.
Compared to the renowned Li Zhoubai, Yun Yanqiu could be considered virtually unknown. As a guest elder of the Lingyun Alliance, Yun Yanqiu almost never participated in gatherings between aristocratic families and sects, and he was rarely seen within the territory of the Lingyun Alliance.
As for his strength—Han Chengyu probed the strength of the spiritual power emanating from him and guessed that it was only comparable to his father, who was at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage.
His strength at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage would be considered considerable in today's cultivation world, but compared to Li Zhoubai, who was only one step away from becoming an immortal, he was truly lacking.
The more Han Chengyu thought about it, the more he felt that Yun Yanqiu was a complete mystery, and the woman next to him was unknown. Why was she acting with a guest elder of the Lingyun Alliance?
Will Cheng Jin be able to return safely from their sea voyage?
Yun Yanqiu seemed to see through Han Chengyu's unease in his silence. He turned his head, and the moment his calm eyes met Han Chengyu's, Han Chengyu was suddenly stunned.
Han Chengyu straightened his back and said seriously, "It's time for Cheng Jin to be tempered."
Han Chengjin was overjoyed upon hearing this; his brother had agreed!
"I will have someone arrange the boats. The sea is still calm, and tomorrow is a good day to go out to sea."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, young master." Ye Yingying revealed a triumphant smile. "There's one more thing I hope you can help me with."
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