“Thank you,” Wang Jun said, walking back toward the portal.
“Wang Jun,” Hong Xin called out. He looked back and saw her waving shyly at him. “Don’t take so long to come see me next time, all right?”
Wang Jun smiled. “I’ll come visit soon. I promise.” He then walked through the portal of shadows toward his first destination. He wasn’t sure how he was going to do it yet, but if he was going to blackmail someone, he’d do it properly.
The wheels in his mind began turning, and by the time he reached their front door, the plan was perfect. It was going to be a busy night.
Chapter 34: Crossing Swords
Four men floated above crashing waves just north of Beihai City. They looked on as hundreds of black ships slowly made their way toward the harbor. The massive black vessels barely skimmed the ocean as they cut through it. The sky was clear despite the turbulent sea.
The four men had a working relationship, one that benefited each side greatly. Zhou Li just wished it were more than that. Unfortunately, a half dozen years of buttering up hadn’t worked quite as well as he’d hoped. Such was life.
“I must thank the Sea God Emperor for taking the time to see this demonstration,” Zhou Li said. The Sea God Emperor, Gong Xuandi, grunted. He was disinterested with the whole affair and was only here because his prime minister and grand marshal had convinced him to come along.
“We’re confident that this excursion will be well worth our time,” the prime minister, Gong Luoyang, said. “Haijing City has historically limited financial cooperation with the mainland. The planned increase in trade more than makes up for the inconvenience.”
“Not to mention your offer for hired naval support,” the grand marshal, Gong Huan, said. “I must admit that I’m a little skeptical about the so-called naval power you’ve touted. I’m grateful for the Emperor’s support in evaluating it. If things are as you’ve said, we’ll be able to clear out large amounts of territory around Haijing at a much faster rate.”
Fortunately, the Sea God Emperor’s trusted advisors were more than friendly with Zhou Li. As such, they could be counted on for timely support if the Sea God Emperor felt the urge to return to Haijing City. That would be a disaster. There were other ways to instigate the Sea God Empire, of course, but those ways were much messier. Instigation worked best when both parties actively hated each other.
As the ships approached, Zhou Li stared at Beihai City. The coastal nation was practically defenseless, as they’d never built more than the maximum number of ships their treaties with Haijing allowed. Yet he felt unease as he looked at the harbor. The single image projecting far into the future suddenly distorted, splitting up into tens of images. Uncertainty.
Zhou Li hated uncertainty more than anything else. He quickly sifted through the tangle of images, following likely karmic threads to their logical destinations. He changed his script to better railroad the upcoming conversation, and to his relief, the plan was saved. Barely.
At that moment, a glimmer of light appeared at the docks, followed by a few dozen more. Thousands of other lights poured in behind them. These were all cultivators, and he already knew every one of them, their stories and their vices. One of them was particularly irritating, but another was very easy to manipulate. It was a worthwhile trade-off in his opinion.
“It seems the North has sent a delegation to greet us,” Zhou Li said. “Shall we greet them back?”
The Sea God Emperor shrugged. “To do otherwise would be discourteous. Please signal for parley. Instruct our guardsmen to allow them to pass.”
“A wise decision, Your Grace,” Gong Luoyang said.
“Gong Jian,” the Sea God grand marshal said. “Have your men control those sharks and form orderly lines. I don’t want them biting anyone by accident.”
“Understood!” Gong Jian said. The marshal, who served under Gong Huan, issued quick instructions. Before long, the few hundred men and mounts that had accompanied them floated at attention behind the Sea God royalty and Zhou Li. The ships slowed down, and the bright lights advanced.
“Marshal Feng Ming of the Song Kingdom, Marshal Jiao Meng of the Desert Wind Kingdom, and Ambassador Li Fei of the Quicksilver Empire all send greetings and request a parley!” a loud voice said from the approaching lights.
“Granted!” Gong Jian shouted back.
Zhou Li looked at the three men, then at the guards and their feral mounts. All the elements were in place: important people, something important to burn down, and ample gasoline. All he needed now were sparks to start the blaze. They would arrive shortly.
Feng Ming’s foreboding headache proved accurate. Not only did several hundred black ships appear on the horizon as expected, four powerful individuals and a few hundred guardsmen with demonic mounts had come along with them. They hadn’t expected anyone from Haijing.
“This is no longer a naval skirmish but an extremely delicate political situation,” Li Fei said from behind their protective formation. “Please try to behave yourselves.”
“It might be best if you do the talking,” Feng Ming suggested.
“That would be a great sign of disrespect to the Sea God Emperor, his prime minister, and his grand marshal,” Li Fei said. “They respect strength, not political maneuvering and cunning. I will send you mental advice as we speak, but could you please promise me you won’t say anything stupid?”
The question was pointed both at Feng Ming and the man beside him, Jiao Meng. Jiao Meng was Jiao Ming’s brother, and they were alike in more ways than one. He disliked Feng Ming very much and wanted nothing more to embarrass him at every turn. “I definitely won’t step out of line,” Feng Ming said.
“Spoken like a coward,” Jiao Meng mumbled. He followed up with a quick apology as Li Fei glared at him coldly.
Meanwhile, Feng Ming
