Chapter 162: Gou Er Emerges

The sailor stood for a moment, making sure his master had noticed his arrival.

“Captain! Li Huamei has made contact with that group.” He then recounted the entire process, adding a contemptuous comment at the end: “They’re a bunch of greenhorns.”

“As expected.” Li Siya glanced at the piece of paper she had been studying for days—the cover of a pirated CD of Uncharted Waters 4: Power-Up Kit, featuring the heroic Li Huamei.

Not even the transmigrators themselves knew how the cover of this pirated disc had fallen into Li Siya’s hands. Perhaps someone had casually stuffed it in their pocket when buying the disc back then—no one even remembered losing such a piece of paper.

After the failed kidnapping, all those involved had been cleanly killed by the Australians. Li Siya couldn’t get any valuable information from anyone present. Her only connection to this group of Australians was now this piece of paper.

It was a very strange piece of paper. During her period of seclusion in Macau after this setback, the cover of the pirated Uncharted Waters 4 disc became the thing Li Siya looked at the most. She had a vague feeling that she had encountered something she shouldn’t have.

There was nothing special about the paper itself, but the illustration on it was something she had never seen before. The painting technique suggested it was the work of a European, but the content was very puzzling: the sea, a three-masted great ship, a beautiful female pirate, and some incomprehensible explanatory text. She knew of the “Age of Discovery,” but why add the Roman numeral 4? What did “Power-Up Kit” mean? As for the “Proof of the Conqueror of the Seven Seas,” it was an even greater mystery. The most incomprehensible thing was that the word “glory” appeared several times. Was Li Huamei very glorious?

But in any case, since Manager Wen treasured this picture so much, it was clear that Li Huamei was an extremely important figure to the Australians, or a legendary figure in their history. The Australians’ attitude towards her was very respectful—this could be seen from the description on the picture.

This gave Li Siya a new idea. After her failure in the adventure with Aragones, she had become somewhat wary of the Australians. She had been defeated by them twice, and although strictly speaking, it was her employers who had suffered the losses each time, she had a premonition that this group of Australians was extremely difficult to deal with.

But the words “search for the Proof of the Conqueror of the Seven Seas” on the cover rekindled her ambitions. Although she didn’t know what this thing was, an object obtained by a figure so admired by the Australians was naturally a rare treasure. Li Siya was not short of money; her piracy and business were merely to satisfy her thirst for adventure. So, she had a new goal in her life—to obtain the Proof of the Conqueror.

The problem was, what exactly was the Proof of the Conqueror? The picture had neither a description nor an illustration, so she had no way to even start inquiring. It seemed the only entry point was the Australians themselves.

After careful consideration, she finally decided to infiltrate the Australians. She knew from her intelligence that the Australians had already sent people to Guangzhou and had opened a jewelry store there to sell their goods. It was clear that they were trying their best to expand their network of relationships here.

Li Siya’s plan was not complicated. The Australians were new here and would certainly strive to find local collaborators. To attract collaborators, the Australians would not hesitate to offer high prices and let the collaborators earn enough money—Gao Ju was a good example. Cooperating with the Australians to a certain extent now would surely bring great profits. Cooperation would make them trust her, and she could eventually spy on their secrets. Even if she couldn’t get the Proof of the Conqueror, there was still a lot of profit to be made from the Australians. No matter how she calculated it, she wouldn’t lose out.

Originally, being an adventurer, she had intended to take on the role of infiltrating the enemy herself. But she had already shown her face to Manager Wen, and her reputation here was too great, both of which were unfavorable factors. In the end, she decided to send her wet nurse’s daughter, Li Chun. Li Chun was of pure Chinese blood, had grown up in her household, and like her, was deeply influenced by both Chinese and Portuguese culture. She was both her deputy and her sister, and they had been adventuring at sea together for years. She was very suitable for the role of a female sea merchant.

Finally, to make it easier for the Australians to accept her, Li Siya gave Li Chun the name “Li Huamei.” She had an instinctive feeling that the Australians would have a good impression of her spy due to the illusion created by this name.

After hearing the report, Li Siya was silent for a moment and then said, “Go and tell her not to overdo the acting. Try to establish a connection first.”

The sailor bowed and was about to leave when she added, “Tell her she doesn’t need to send someone back to report every little thing! Only send someone back for important matters. You should come here less often.”

“Yes, Captain.” The sailor withdrew.

After the sailor left, the room fell into a dark silence again. Li Siya took one last look at the piece of paper, put it in an exquisite enamel box, and locked it. She pulled out a small plastic powder box from under her pillow, opened it to look at herself, and pulled a cord.

A maidservant immediately appeared. They were all female slaves Li Siya had bought from an archipelago off the coast of India. The natives there were ugly, fierce, and warlike, but once they recognized you as their master or friend, they were extremely loyal. Very few people here understood their language, which was a better way to keep secrets than being mute.

“Bring the guest from room 11 in the guest courtyard,” Li Siya ordered in the native language.

A short while later, Gou Er, the second son of the Gou family who had survived the attack on the Gou family estate, appeared before her. Seeing Li Siya’s loose, translucent silk robe, his eyes lit up with a lecherous glint, his greedy gaze roaming over her curvaceous body.

“Have you had enough of looking?” Li Siya suddenly spoke, startling Gou Er. Foreign girls are truly shameless! he cursed inwardly. Dressed like that, and she dares to say something.

Of course, such thoughts could not be shown on his face. Ever since the Gou family estate was destroyed, Gou Er had been a stray dog. He knew that neither the bloodthirsty Australians nor Boss Zhu, to whom he had entrusted the stolen goods, would let him off lightly. As soon as he got home, he had arranged his affairs and fled with his son and a few subordinates. Fortunately, he had been prepared. When the transmigrators first landed, he had sent his wife and family to his father-in-law’s house—a local tyrant in Lingao—and hidden a large amount of money in a well. But he was not resigned to being finished just like that. He immediately went to Qiongshan County, where he had his channels for selling stolen goods and his backer—Secretary Ma in the Hainan Military Intendant’s yamen.

Secretary Ma was a native of Hainan, of Hui descent, and also a scholar. Although a scholar, he had inherited his ancestors’ business acumen and, relying on the power of the Hainan Military Intendant, was a key figure in the Gou family’s route for selling stolen goods in Qiongzhou and Guangzhou. He wanted to ask Secretary Ma to lobby on his behalf and persuade Intendant Tang of Qiongzhou to send troops to suppress the bandits. Furthermore, the Gou family still had several thousand taels from the sale of stolen goods deposited with him.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he met with Secretary Ma and told him about the matter, Secretary Ma was scared to death. Losing Boss Zhu’s goods? That’s courting death! Not only did he refuse to lobby for him, but he also refused to give him the money from the sale of stolen goods, saying that he would need something to show for it when Boss Zhu came asking.

Having failed to get the money, Gou Er was unwilling to give up. He secretly went to the Guangzhou area to see the situation, hoping that his activities could attract the attention of the government and get them to send troops to suppress the bandits. Only when he arrived in Guangzhou did he realize that the so-called connections he thought he had in Qiongshan County were worthless in Guangzhou. His son Gou Chengxuan’s scholar title was utterly insignificant. Gou Er, who had always considered himself a local emperor, had never felt so small. In Lingao county town, even the county magistrate had to be polite to him, but in Guangzhou, he was berated as a “country bumpkin from nowhere!” by the doorman of a secretary in the Governor-General’s yamen—just because his tip was too small. Whether it was submitting petitions to the government or visiting various people to ask for help, it was all to no avail. The difficult-to-understand Lingao dialect of the father and son became a laughingstock for many. He spent several thousand taels of silver, but besides a few noncommittal words, he got nothing of substance.

To make matters worse, his frequent activities in Guangzhou naturally attracted the attention of Zhu Cailao’s men. If it weren’t for the fact that he was a tough guy with some skills and had a few loyal subordinates, he would have long been captured by Zhu Cailao’s men and presented as a trophy. Even worse, various other bandits, both on land and at sea, were also after him. In the end, with nowhere to turn, Gou Er had no choice but to seek refuge with Li Siya, who had actively recruited him, and fled to Macau.

“Master Gou, the Australians have already arrived in Macau,” Li Siya said.

Gou Er was a man who could keep his composure. He quickly cupped his hands and said, “I am alive today entirely thanks to the great captain’s protection. I, Gou Xunli, am irreconcilable with the Australians. Whatever the great captain commands, just give the order!”

“Go back to Lingao as soon as possible.” Li Siya didn’t bother with any fancy talk. As she spoke, she watched Gou Er’s reaction. If Gou Er showed the slightest hint of fear or hesitation, he would be useless to her. She could hand him over to Zhu Cailao, or to the Australians—whoever offered the higher price…

A shiver went down Gou Er’s spine. He didn’t dare to look at Li Siya’s eyes, which shone like a cat’s in the dim light. In that instant, he completely guessed what she was thinking. He suppressed his intense fear and said in a low voice:

“I will go back right away. I wonder what the great captain’s orders are for me when I return?”

“Do you still have a base in Lingao?”

“Yes, I have made arrangements. I have men in both the county town and the countryside.” To show off his power, Gou Er said, “As long as the great captain gives the order, I can mobilize two hundred men at any time.”

“Your two hundred men should just lie low for now.” Li Siya resumed her lazy demeanor and leaned back on the pillows. “Where do you plan to settle?”

“In Luomao Mountain. The chieftain of the mountain stronghold is my sworn brother.” Gou Er was confident. The leader of this band of bandits in Luomao Mountain was named Hu Lanyan. The two of them were sworn brothers, and he had been generous with his silver. It shouldn’t be a problem for him to take him in.

“Good. Go find the accountant later, get a cage of pigeons and one hundred taels of silver, and my token. Go to the dock and find a small boat with a blue cloth strip hanging on the bow. The captain will see the token and take you back to Lingao. You can land wherever you want, but once you’re ashore, you’re on your own.”

“I understand!”

“As soon as you’ve settled down, send me a carrier pigeon message. I will naturally send someone to contact you.”