Mo Sang – CH 344

Chapter 344. Bandits

“Please let him in,” Li Sangrou immediately responded.

Old Zuo ushered He Shuicai in and went back to the shop in the front.

He Shuicai was dark-skinned and thin, but his eyes were bright and spirited.

Li Sangrou stood up, carefully examining He Shuicai, and smiled, “You seem to have lost weight, but you look quite well.”

“I have not lost much weight, just gotten much darker.” He Shuicai bowed deeply in greeting, then turned to Gu Xi, lifting the front of his long robe as he was about to kneel.

“No need!” Gu Xi raised her hand to stop He Shuicai. “Here with your Boss, you must follow your Boss’s rules; when entering someone’s territory, follow their rules.”

He Shuicai still knelt briefly, then stood up and bowed deeply.

“You’ve been out of contact for over a year; everyone was very worried about you,” Li Sangrou said, gesturing for He Shuicai to sit, pouring a cup of tea, and pushing it in front of him.

He Shuicai bowed to Gu Xi again before carefully sitting down and smiling at Li Sangrou. “There was a slight accident, but thankfully it is nothing serious.”

As he spoke, He Shuicai glanced at Gu Xi.

“You just got back? Did you go home?” Li Sangrou asked, observing He Shuicai’s travel-worn appearance.

“I just got off the boat outside Xishui Gate this morning and came straight here,” He Shuicai replied with a slight bow and a smile.

Li Sangrou slowly said, “Oh,” and asked, “What kind of accident happened?”

“Nothing serious,” He Shuicai said vaguely, glancing at Gu Xi again.

“He’s not an outsider. Just tell me what’s wrong,” Li Sangrou said, following He Shuicai’s gaze to Gu Xi, and smiled.

Gu Xi immediately laughed, “Your Boss is absolutely right; just speak freely.”

He Shuicai raised his eyebrows, looked at Gu Xi, and then at Li Sangrou, and suddenly grinned, nodding as he smiled. “Yes, yes, yes, Old Zuo just said something similar.

Something did happen.” He Shuicai picked up his teacup and took several sips.

“A year and a half ago, I took our three ships, bought silk, and headed to Srivijaya. On the fourth day after leaving Quanzhou Port, we encountered pirates, and both the ships and everyone else were robbed.”

He Shuicai sighed with lingering fear.

“At the time, I thought we were all doomed.”

“Who knew, the knives were already raised when someone shouted that their chief wanted to take me there.

I was taken to the chief, whose surname was Hou. Chief Hou asked me: ‘Where are you from? Can you read? Can you use an abacus?’ I did not dare say I was from Jianle City, so I said I was from Jiangning City, that I could read a little, and that I could use an abacus. Chief Hou then ordered them to untie the ropes on me, saying I should teach his wife how to use an abacus.

Chief Hou’s wife, surnamed Ma, was only in her early twenties. The pirates all called her Sister-in-Law Ma. Chief Hou was already in his late forties, almost fifty.

Later, I taught Sister-in-law Ma how to use an abacus. From the day after I started teaching her, Sister-in-law Ma instructed me on how to please Chief Hou, how to please the second-in-command, and what the third-in-command’s temper was like. She even said that she could learn the abacus in two or three months, half a year, and if I still could not win Chief Hou’s favor after she learned the abacus, I would not survive.

I could tell from Sister-in-law Ma’s intentions that she was trying to win me over, so I aligned myself with her.

Sister-in-law Ma taught me how to appear useful. With her as an inside man, after two or three months, Chief Hou trusted me quite a bit and started having me go ashore to sell and barter goods.

In early spring this year, Sister-in-law Ma told me she wanted to kill Chief Hou and install a new leader. So, taking advantage of the time I went ashore to barter, I made two trips and bought several packets of arsenic for her.

In the mid-fourth month, on Chief Hou’s birthday, Sister-in-law Ma made her move. She put arsenic in his wine, poisoning Chief Hou and his two brothers, the second and third leaders. Sister-in-law Ma came out with a knife, summoned the sixteen underlings, and said that Chief Hou, the second and third leaders, were dead and that she was now the leader.

Among the sixteen minor leaders, four or five were rebellious. Sister-in-law Ma and her sister came prepared. They first ambushed and killed two, and I killed one as well. The remaining two fought head-on with knives, but they were no match for Sister-in-law Ma and her sister and were also killed. The rest were willing to follow her.

Among the pirates, there were also relatives. Chief Hou’s daughter married the leader of another pirate group. Chief Hou’s son, Hou Qiang, was leading a separate group on a trade-related trip—robbing ships.

Originally, Sister-in-law Ma had set a trap to kill Hou Qiang, but on his way back, Hou Qiang received word and ran away.

Later, Hou Qiang went to find his sister and brother-in-law. His brother-in-law then gathered two more pirate groups. The three groups attacked Sister-in-law Ma together. Sister-in-law Ma had just gathered her men, but their unity was broken, and they could not win. So, she, her sister, and I boarded a small boat and escaped ashore.” He Shuicai paused, looking at Li Sangrou.

“Sister-in-law Ma and her sister came with you?” Li Sangrou asked knowingly.

“Yes, I’ve temporarily settled them at the inn across the street.” He Shuicai nodded.

“Why did you bring them back? What are their plans?” Li Sangrou’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Sister-in-law Ma’s greatest desire is to kill Hou Qiang, the son of Chief Hou. She said she swore an oath to Heaven that even if she cannot kill Hou Qiang in this life, she will kill him in the next. No matter how many lifetimes pass, she will definitely kill Hou Qiang with her own hands.

I was thinking,” He Shuicai looked at Li Sangrou, “that the Boss has always told me to keep an eye on these people. I feel that Sister-in-law Ma is no ordinary person.

She was originally a fisherwoman from Quanzhou. When she was fourteen, she was kidnapped by Chief Hou and his gang. At first, when Chief Hou took her, his wife was still alive. It is said that Chief Hou’s wife was extremely fierce and often beat her half to death. She endured it. Later, she even won Chief Hou’s favor. It is said that Chief Hou’s wife was pushed into the sea and drowned by Chief Hou at her instigation.

She always endured it. When she first said she wanted to kill Chief Hou, I was shocked. I am not completely blind, but I saw how close she was to Chief Hou.

Later, seeing her kill people, fight that small-time leader, and later fight Hou Qiang and his gang, I realized that she was incredibly capable. Before she killed Chief Hou, you could not tell at all.

She’s a formidable woman. I think perhaps the Boss can handle her,” He Shuicai said, looking at Li Sangrou with a hint of apprehension.

Li Sangrou turned to Gu Xi, who met her gaze and smiled before speaking. “Go and take a look first. You decide on this matter; I will smooth things over for you later.”

Li Sangrou hummed in agreement, thought for a moment, and then looked at He Shuicai, saying, “Go and invite Lady Ma and her sister over. Let’s talk here.”

“Alright!” He Shuicai quickly agreed with a smile and stood up.

Watching He Shuicai stride into the courtyard, Gu Xi hesitated before standing up and smiling, “I think I will have to excuse myself.”

“No need. You can listen in that room over there,” Li Sangrou said with a smile, gesturing to the small accounting room a few steps away.

“Alright!” Gu Xi replied with a smile.