Liang Yanqiu

"New people replace the old in Port Surumai, calling for the gang leader three times a day. I'm an old man who hasn't been back for more than half a year, and yet people still recognize me."

"Others may not recognize it, but if the infamous Heavenly Blood Python still refuses to acknowledge it, then we'll have to poke its eyes out with silver needles and then soak it in seawater to wash it."

Hu Mang turned his head and saw a brown-skinned man who looked like a short-legged tiger, staring at him excitedly.

Sun Hu.

"Brother Mang!"

The two exchanged a smile, then hugged each other tightly, the big muscle man crashing into the big muscle man with a loud thud.

"Call me Brother Mang!"

"Brother Mang!!"

The group of people wearing headscarves shouted even louder.

Java has always been known for its fierce people, a mix of humans, demons, and indigenous people. Moreover, the land is remote and small, with limited resources. People often fight to the death over a single water source or a small boat.

As the largest port in the area, local powers fought fiercely over every berth and small dock, resulting in bloody battles, assassinations, and even the hiring of sorcerers from Nanyang to Jiangtou. Often, the fighting got out of control and both sides suffered heavy losses. Such a situation often ended with the proverb "when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."

It was under these circumstances that underground fighting often became a means for local powerful forces to resolve local grievances, and even gradually developed into a custom, a trend, and a tradition.

Many factions would even invite the strongest warriors from the Tubo tribes to fight in those poorly defined territories, and then ask the Autonomous Association to act as the witness.

The so-called underground arenas aren't actually underground; they're mostly above ground. It's just that the losers go underground.

Hu Mang's greatest achievement as the Heavenly Blood Python was not his winning streak, but rather that he captured 27 small docks and large ship berths in this port, allowing Zheng Qingbo's power to firmly establish itself in the port.

Double-flower red sticks are plentiful.

As a result, the Hu Mang was nearly killed more than once.

After showing Hu Mang around the "territory" he had conquered, Sun Hu's expression turned serious, and he said:

"Zheng Haitou wants to see you."

Hai Tou means "big corner," which in turn refers to a powerful local force.

Zheng Qingbo's ability to become a member of the Autonomous Association makes him a respectable local figure.

Especially among native Chinese, he is an absolute big shot.

Who would have thought that this big shot was a poor boy who only had his underwear left and was forced to go to sea thirty years ago?

Hu Mang rode in a rickshaw pulled by a local half-demon, which ran faster than the shared flying swords Heavenly Gate.

We bypassed several local slums and urban areas from the port and headed straight for Liang Household Garden.

Liang Household Garden is a large courtyard for local Chinese immigrants. The reason why the surname is Liang instead of Zheng is because this Mr. Zheng married into the Liang family and made his fortune by relying on the Liang Household's influence.

However, during the five years Hu Mang was here, Zheng Qingbo had already become a big shot and no longer needed to depend on the Liang Household family for his livelihood, especially after Old Master Liang died.

So Hu Mang had heard of the saying "stealing the beams and replacing the pillars" a long time ago, but he didn't know how well this big shot had done with the replacement while he was away.

When he was around, he even helped Boss Zheng beat up quite a few Liang Household.

The three characters "Liang Household Garden" on the plaque are still strong and clear, and it is said that they were carved by Mr. Liang himself, but they look quite old now.

This private residence of a Chinese merchant who made his fortune during the period of migration to Nanyang, while inheriting the charm of Jiangnan gardens, has long been thoroughly influenced by the humid and hot climate of Nanyang.

Unlike the white walls and black tiles of Jiangnan, the high walls are built with local volcanic ash bricks and stones, and the exterior walls are painted a soft off-white. The eaves are not as high and upturned as those in the Central Plains, but are low, gentle and wide, which makes it easier to catch tropical downpours. Wind chimes made of seashells hang under the eaves, and when the hot wind blows, they tinkle softly.

The manor's layout still resembles that of Jiangnan, with a front courtyard, a central courtyard, a waterside pavilion, and a rockery garden, but it has been completely transformed with Nanyang style.

Entering the mansion through the crescent-shaped moon gate, one sees no Taihu stones. Instead, the courtyard is piled with coral reefs and volcanic rocks salvaged from the deep sea. Bright red bougainvillea and firecracker flowers grow freely in the crevices of the rocks, with vines climbing up and down the pile of stones and fallen petals covering the ground.

Instead of pine and bamboo trees, coconut trees, wax apple trees, and frangipani trees are planted along the roadside, with their milky white and pale yellow petals falling all day long, covering the bluestone road.

The stone slabs are perpetually covered with a thin layer of dampness, and moss spreads along the cracks in the stones.

Upon reaching this point, Hu Mang stopped and looked at Sun Hu.

"If I keep going, what if 500 axemen suddenly jump out from either side and hack me to death?"

"How could that be, Brother Mang?" Sun Hu's expression was a little unnatural.

"Then why are there so many Liang Household here?" Hu Mang asked.

This statement obviously has another meaning.

"This--"

"Old Sun, I know a guy who's a bit like you, I used to call him Brother Li. He was a traitor too, and he ended up dying a really horrible death."

"I asked him to invite you."

A deep, husky female voice rang out, and then a figure emerged from behind the Nanyang Water Pavilion.

Hu Mang sighed inwardly and nodded slightly.

"Sister-in-law, it's been a long time!"

Liang Yanqiu is the mistress of this Chinese merchant's manor. She is in her early thirties and is not the delicate and gentle type of lady from Jiangnan. She is a woman who has experienced the heat of Nanyang and seen the storms of life.

She wore a modified Peranakan embroidered dress made of thin, soft blue gauze. The dress was slightly fitted at the waist, with loose shoulders and sleeves to keep out the humid heat of Nanyang. As she moved, the gauze clung to her skin, subtly revealing the soft curves of her shoulders and neck.

The clothes weren't fully fastened; the neckline was loosely open, revealing a glimpse of her delicate collarbone. Polished seashell pendants dangled from her ears, making a soft, tinkling sound with every movement.

"I thought you didn't want to see me. What, you want to leave now?"

Hu Mang sighed again, looking at the woman who was as radiant as a sunflower.

"Not really, it's just that I just got back and I'm already not paying respects to my elder brother and sister-in-law. Looks like I'm in trouble now."

Hu Mang turned his head and looked at Sun Hu, whose expression was becoming increasingly unnatural.

"Were you already completely smitten with your sister-in-law, or did you only switch allegiances while I was away for the past six months?"

"He has always been mine," Liang Yanqiu said calmly. Her voice was neither as soft and delicate as that of a woman from Jiangnan nor as hoarse as that of a man, but rather possessed a unique charm.

The Hu Mang looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.

"Since we're already here, let's go in and take a look."

"Of course we have to come in," Liang Yanqiu said, taking Hu Mang's arm directly.

"I've always treated you like a younger brother, Little Python. Is that your nickname?"

"No, my mom usually called me 'Little Snake' when I was little."

"That auntie really underestimates you."

Liang Yanqiu's lips curved slightly.

Hu Mang looked at the other person and carefully examined him for a few moments.

"Sister-in-law, you've changed your hairstyle!"

Liang Yanqiu's originally stiff high bun was loosely tied up, with a few strands of hair hanging down her temples. A white slanted hairpin was gently inserted, which carried a touch of the casual charm of a mature woman, but also concealed the calm and sharpness of the head of the household.

Is it pretty?

"Good."

Hu Mang stared at the other person's hairpin for a few moments, then nodded slightly.

According to the customs of Nanyang, white slanted hairpins are only worn when one's husband has died.

Has the fight gotten this fierce?

A meeting of the island's Autonomous Association.

An ordinary-looking middle-aged man received a message from his secretary.

"They were taken away directly? How hasty," the middle-aged man chuckled.

"I'm afraid they're grasping at straws in their desperation," the secretary complimented.

The middle-aged man smiled, pondered for a moment, and then wrote a note and handed it over.

The secretary was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening.

"Okay, I understand. I'll inform them as soon as possible."

The relationship between the younger brother and the older sister-in-law is often characterized by a romantic element.

Especially during these five years, Hu Mang could barely be considered Zheng Qingbo's number one henchman.

But thankfully, nothing really happened between Hu Mang and his sister-in-law.

For several years, he was obsessed with fighting and killing, studying spear techniques every day in order to find a way to counter Gu Yunshu's "One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws".

My few interactions with my sister-in-law were all after the match, when she would send me some ointment for bruises and sprains through someone.

At first, Hu Mang thought that the other party had poisoned the medicine in retaliation for him beating up the Liang Household's young men.

It was later discovered that this was not the case.

The only thing that could be considered somewhat private was that on several occasions, before he was ambushed by the forces vying for control of the dock, he received notes from his sister-in-law.

At that point, he sensed something was wrong.

It could be Zheng Qingbo who betrayed them, or it could be Liang Yanqiu who betrayed them.

But there's always a betrayer.

So the entry of Turbid Qi into his body was just a trigger; in fact, if he hadn't been seriously injured, he would have already fled with the bucket.

This is probably the fate of those in the civil engineering field: either on the run, or on their way to be on the run.

Hu Mang was led directly to a small Buddhist shrine at the back of the courtyard.

Liang Yanqiu respectfully burned incense and prayed to Buddha, pressing her palms together and bowing to the ground, revealing her beautiful waistline.

Hu Mang then plopped down on the prayer mat.

As for gods and Buddhas, you can just offer them a few prayers and that's enough.

He was a wise and benevolent ruler, yet he didn't demand daily offerings from people.

So Hu Mang casually looked around at the furnishings in the Buddhist hall.

In the wooden shrine opposite, a Han-style Guanyin is enshrined, and to the side stands a gilded local seated Buddha. The walls are decorated with meticulous landscape and figure paintings, as well as talismans drawn by local shamans. Outside the hall, several sandalwood and agarwood trees are planted, their branches and leaves lush and fragrant.

"Is there anything you want to say?" Liang Yanqiu asked without turning her head.

"In our Heavenly Gate, we generally don't discuss exchanges of benefits or conspiracies in front of the Buddha. But here, it seems that those powerful figures prefer to lay out their underground deals in front of the Buddha. Is it because sins laid out in front of the Buddha are no longer sins?"

Is this self-deception, or disrespect for gods and Buddhas?

Hu Mang thought for a moment and then casually said this.

"Perhaps. Here, as long as you sincerely make a wish before the Bodhisattva, any sins or karmic burdens will be completely dispelled."

"The Bodhisattva might not think that way," Hu Mang casually remarked.

After Liang Yanqiu finished praying to the Bodhisattva, she casually pulled out a stack of documents from behind the Bodhisattva and handed them over.

Hu Mang glanced at the other person, casually took the book, and began to look through it.