The Story of Xia Yang's Parents 4
Beauty traps are nothing new in the Spirit Hall. In order to attract talents, the palace never hesitates to use various means.
It's just that it really doesn't feel good when it happens to you.
In the following days, Huo Yang began to pay attention to Xia Shi's messages.
This man is indeed famous. Before he was thirty years old, he became one of West Coast's most powerful pirates, with more than a dozen ships and hundreds of Soul Master under his command.
I heard that he was born in Sea God Island, but he left the island because he failed the test, and then he became famous at sea.
The first time I met Xia Shi in person was in a tavern at the port.
Huo Yang pretended to be passing by and glanced at it from a distance.
He was a tall, strong man, his skin darkened by the sea breeze. He was sitting in the corner drinking. He didn't talk much, but his eyes were sharp.
The pirates around him treated him with respect, and it was obvious that his prestige was not low.
The opportunity for contact came unexpectedly.
That day, Xia Shi's fleet returned to port for supplies, and several of his men had a conflict with the port guards on the dock.
Huo Yang went to deal with it as branch palace Deacon, and Xia Shi was also invited over.
The two met face to face for the first time.
Huo Yang acted in a business-like manner and handled the conflict according to the rules. He punished and compensated those who deserved them, without favoring any party.
Xia Shi didn't speak from the beginning to the end, just watched her handle it quietly, and finally nodded and let her subordinates do it.
"Huo Yang Deacon, right?"
Before leaving, Xia Shi suddenly spoke and said, "The things we did were quite fair."
Just such a sentence became the beginning of many things later.
After that, Huo Yang "ran into" Xia Shi several times.
Sometimes at the dock, sometimes at the market, sometimes at the teahouse near the branch hall.
She always appears at the right time, says something innocuous, and maintains a distant distance.
Following the instructions taught by Bishop, she deliberately showed a capable yet gentle side, occasionally revealing a little yearning for life at sea and admiration for the strong.
She thought she was acting, performing a play she had to perform for her mission.
But gradually, she found it more and more difficult to distinguish between the inside and outside of the play.
Xia Shi was different from the many Soul Masters she had seen. He did not boast about his strength or experience, and he spoke and acted with genuine energy.
One time she casually asked about life at sea. Xia Shi didn't tell any thrilling stories. She just told a simple story about how she brought the whole ship out of danger during a storm. After finishing the story, she added, "It's all the brothers who worked hard, not me alone."
When I went back that night, Huo Yang couldn't sleep.
She thought of Bishop's meaningful eyes, of the principles of "serving the overall situation at all costs" instilled in the palace, and of the chance encounters and carefully designed conversations she had deliberately created these days.
Then she remembered Xia Shi's expression when he spoke, it was frank and direct, without any twists and turns.
Later, things developed beyond everyone's expectations.
Xia Shi is indeed moved by Huo Yang, and is indeed willing to submit to the Spirit Hall.
But the day Xia Shi came ashore clean, he confessed his love to Huo Yang.
What's even more surprising is that Huo Yang himself was really moved.
On the day the two confirmed their relationship, Xia Shi looked into her eyes and asked, "Are you sincerely following me, or are you just doing it for the mission?"
Huo Yang was silent for a long time, and finally said, "It was a mission at the beginning, but now... it's not anymore."
When she said these words, the stone in her heart fell to the ground.
There are some things that you can deceive others but you cannot deceive yourself.
The road behind will be much easier.
Xia Shi surrendered with his men, and Xiling Harbor's maritime power was quickly integrated.
That Purple-Clothed Bishop "accidentally" fell into the water during a patrol at sea not long ago and never came back.
Huo Yang and Xia Shi naturally took over the branch palace affairs.
At this time, Spirit Hall's support for Xiling Harbor weakened, and the resources of the branch temple were greatly reduced.
Therefore, the resources available to Soul Master in the branch hall are greatly reduced.
So, at this time, Xia Shi and Huo Yang stepped forward.
At first, the two of them were relatively young and not very convincing.
However, Xia Shi had his own methods, and the contacts and connections he had accumulated over the years at sea came in handy.
So, Xia Shi and Huo Yang, together with everyone in the branch hall, raised funds to buy ships and build a fleet. Xia Shi took the opportunity to whitewash his men and kill two birds with one stone.
After that, the fleet started serious trade, and the branch temple gradually established a firm foothold in the port by leveraging this trend.
Everyone in the branch hall benefited, so everyone came to support Huo Yang.
With the support of Xia Shi and the support of his subordinates, Huo Yang took the seat of Bishop in the branch hall.
Although as a rule, this position should be held by Soul Saint, she is only level 55, but due to special handling during special times, the higher-ups turned a blind eye.
The couple are both Soul King, which alone are not top-notch, but their Martial Soul Fusion Skill and "Icefire Cage" are Xiling Harbor.
Once they join forces, their power is comparable to Soul Saint.
Relying on this, they can tell the truth at the port.
The palace probably felt that it owed something to Xiling Harbor, so it made an exception and gave Huo Yang Black-Clothed Bishop level resources, including a set of meditation methods that only high-level Bishop could practice.
This also increased her cultivation speed a lot.
When she was forty years old, Huo Yang gave birth to a son, named Xia Yang.
On the day when the child was one month old, Xia Shi held his son and stood on the balcony of the branch hall, looking at the place where the sea and the sky meet in the distance.
Huo Yang stood beside him, suddenly remembering the reluctant young Deacon who was sent to perform a mission many years ago.
She gently held her husband's hand.
The sea breeze blows by, bringing the sound of distant tides.
After the Xia Shi family settled down in Xiling Harbor, life gradually got on track.
His wife Huo Yang works as Bishop in the Martial Soul Branch Hall, taking care of the Soul Master affairs of the port.
Xia Shi returned to the sea.
This time is different from before.
He no longer works as a pirate, but has formed a serious merchant fleet, anchored under the name Xiling Harbor Martial Soul Branch Hall.
The funds for the fleet were pooled together by everyone in the branch hall, with Xia Shi taking the lion's share, and other Deacon and the stewards also took some shares.
It is nominally a branch property, but Xia Shi is responsible for all actual operations.
The flagship of the fleet is named "Mystic Tortoise". It is a three-masted ship with a black turtle pattern specially carved on the bow.
In addition to ordinary sailors, there are also three Soul Master on board: Zhang Feng, Sun Chuanjun, and Li Zhishu.
These three people are not the pirate brothers Xia Shi used to be.
This is to prevent people from the Martial Soul Branch Hall from gossiping, and also for the fleet to do business in a clean manner.
Xia Shi deliberately avoided the old department this time and recruited all of them from Soul Master at the port.
Zhang Feng was the first to board the ship.
He is in his early thirties, Martial Soul is Wind-Walking Cat, forty-level two Soul Ancestor.
When Zhang Feng came to apply for the job, he spoke straightforwardly, saying, "I used to be in the army. In recent years, I have worked for Vast Sea City to make a living. I know how to sail, I can fight and see, but I have a straight temper and don't know how to bend around."
Then, Xia Shi tried his skills and found that he was really solid, so he stayed.
Sun Chuanjun came a few days later.
This man is a little older, about forty, Martial Soul is Golden Warblade, level forty-five Soul Ancestor.