RWNEFE -Chapter 105 Those Who Follow Me Prosper; Those Who Oppose Me Perish!

With a loud bang, the finely crafted warship—reinforced with heavy iron—smashed into the pirates’ vessel, tearing open a huge hole. Seawater rushed into the hold in a frenzy.

The pirates’ faces turned deathly pale. It was over.

~

When Tian Laosan opened his eyes, he saw several unfamiliar people sitting in the room and screamed in fright.

Kun Cha’s woman, Wan Xiaoxiang, also woke up. Seeing so many strange men in her room, she shrieked and clutched her clothes, curling up into a ball.

Shen Lanxi didn’t waste words. She looked coldly at Tian Laosan.

“How does it feel to sleep with the stronghold chief’s woman?”

Tian Laosan’s eyes darted in panic as he instinctively searched for a way out, thinking of escape.

“Kun Cha is never coming back,” Shen Lanxi said calmly. “If you behave yourself, I’ll guarantee you become the pirate boss of the entire Jiaodong Archipelago. From then on, you and your little Xiaoxiang can do whatever you like.”

Tian Laosan didn’t believe her. Kun Cha was so formidable—how could he just be gone because she said so?

Unless… the grain delivery was a trap.

“You killed our stronghold chief?!” Tian Laosan cried in horror, his whole body beginning to tremble.

Shen Lanxi sneered. “I’m nothing more than an insignificant pawn, acting on orders. The one who truly wanted Kun Cha dead is our princess.”

“He was too greedy.”

Hearing this, Tian Laosan’s mind began to race.

Kun Cha must have gone too far and angered the Third Princess, so she decided to eliminate him—and then needed someone else to do her bidding, so she planned to prop him up instead.

With that thought, Tian Laosan steadied himself.

“My loyalty to the Third Princess can be sworn to the sun and the moon,” he said cautiously. “But I truly lack great ability. If I become the stronghold chief and end up ruining the princess’s plans, what then?”

Shen Lanxi’s expression darkened, her tone icy.

“So you don’t want to obey the Third Princess’s orders? You want to defy her?”

Tian Laosan turned pale in terror. That wasn’t what he meant—he really just wasn’t capable.

“Those who defy the Third Princess face only death!” Shen Lanxi finished coldly.

The moment her words fell, the shadow guards beside her shing drew their weapons and pointed them at Tian Laosan, as if ready to cut him down the next instant.

Tian Laosan was scared out of his wits.

“That’s not what I meant! I’m willing to be the stronghold chief! I’m willing to serve the Third Princess!” Afraid that a second’s delay would cost him his head, he dropped to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly as he shouted his loyalty.

Only then did Shen Lanxi retract her grim expression.

“The Third Princess has everything planned. Your chief and second chief are both gone. Assemble the men immediately and announce yourself as the new stronghold chief. Anyone who disobeys—behead them on the spot.”

Tian Laosan scrambled to his feet. As he walked out, his legs were still shaking.

“You two, follow him and protect the stronghold chief,” she said, pointing to two shadow guards.

Tian Laosan’s heart skipped. He had just been thinking about rallying his brothers to seize them—now, flanked on both sides, he didn’t dare harbor a single thought.

~

At sea—

After fighting through most of the night, both Dragonbone Bay and Tongluo Island suffered massive casualties. The pirate leaders were all killed or captured.

Tu Baichuan also took heavy losses. He hadn’t expected two pirate factions—who ended up uniting mid-fight—forcing him to face them both at once.

“Centurion Tu, ten of our men are dead, fifty-five severely wounded, and one hundred twenty-one lightly wounded,” a soldier reported quickly.

Hearing that ten brothers had died, Tu Baichuan’s fury surged.

“Bring the pirate leaders to me!”

“Yes!”

More than twenty pirates were captured alive, including Kun Cha and Yang Li.

“Today I’ll kill you all to avenge my fallen brothers!”

Kun Cha had been shot through the arm, his leg broken, and his face battered. Two soldiers dragged him and threw him in front of Tu Baichuan.

Hearing that Tu Baichuan intended to kill them, Kun Cha struggled up and shouted, “You can’t kill me!”

Tu Baichuan laughed angrily. “Can’t? You think you’re still a pirate chief? Since you’re so arrogant, go feed the Sea Dragon King.” He immediately drew his broadsword.

“You can’t kill me—I’m one of the Third Princess’s people!” With death imminent, Kun Cha stopped hiding it and hurriedly pulled out a token from the Princess’s residence.

Tu Baichuan had already raised his blade. Seeing the gleaming token, his face darkened as he ground his teeth.

If it were another centurion, he might not recognize it. But Tu Baichuan once saw someone from the Princess’s residence carry such a token to the Grand Commander’s office to see Liu Chengen. Their arrogance left a deep impression on him.

“I have a Princess’s token too!” Yang Li shouted when he saw Tu Baichuan hesitate, quickly pulling out his own.

Though he hadn’t fully decided to cooperate with the Third Princess, survival came first.

The Third Princess had ties with the Liu family of the navy. For her sake, the Liu family surely wouldn’t kill them.

Tu Baichuan’s face grew so dark it looked ready to drip water.

“How did you get tokens from the Princess’s residence? Speak honestly. If you dare lie, the blade in my hand won’t spare you!” Enraged, Tu Baichuan swung his sword and beheaded a nearby pirate lackey.

Kun Cha shuddered and spilled everything like pouring beans from a jar.

“Every time a merchant ship passed by, people from the Princess’s residence would send word in advance. We’d set up ambushes along the route. If they cooperated, they paid protection fees. If not, we robbed the ship.”

Tu Baichuan could hardly believe what he was hearing.

A royal relative of the Great Zhou, colluding with pirates—killing, kidnapping, looting. What kind of princess was this? No different from a bandit.

Even worse—every time reports came in and they pursued the pirates, the pirates always vanished without a trace…

Who had been tipping them off?

Cold sweat broke out all over Tu Baichuan.

“Bind them and gag them. Back to camp!”

“Yes!”

~

Through Tian Laosan, Shen Lanxi took control of Dragonbone Bay. Those who refused to submit were beheaded the moment they stepped forward.

“Master, the Liu family’s people have left. Our people have also withdrawn,” a subordinate reported.

Shen Lanxi nodded. She had never intended to place all her hopes on the exiled prisoners—she knew exactly what they were worth.

“Take men to Tongluo Island. If any pirates are still alive, tell them this: those who follow me prosper; those who oppose me perish.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Tian Laosan, who immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

What handsome plaything? This was a ruthless killing star who didn’t even blink.

“Tian Laosan, take men out to sea and bring the grain ship back!”

Tian Laosan wiped his sweat quickly. He’d thought the grain ship had already been taken away. Fine—he’d rather see it with his own eyes than stay another moment near this killing demon.

After Liu Yanhui and the Qinglan Academy scholars were brought back, Wei Dongzhu also arrived from Tongluo Island to report.

“Master, I thought the Liu family would seize the grain ship, but they didn’t touch it,” Liu Yanhui said, puzzled. Through the crack in the door, he’d even seen that the Liu family’s people never boarded the ship.

Didn’t they need grain?

Shen Lanxi sat boldly in the main seat, her words sharp.

“They were set up this time and are already like startled birds. Then they encountered an unattended grain ship. Let me ask you—if you were a general attacking a city, and I set up an Empty City Stratagem for you, would you enter or not?”