Stepping out of the cabin, Gui Long saw several of his subordinates already standing by in full battle readiness.
Looking at the burly men clad in armor and wielding katanas, Gui Long felt a slight sense of relief.
These were all subordinates he had recruited; with them around, he wasn't completely without means to resist.
"Who are those people ahead?"
"They're wearing red; it should be a resistance patrol team."
"I understand." Gui Long nodded, then with a wave of his hand, he walked to the front of the deck.
The cargo ship's speed had already slowed to a very low pace, and because of this, the Waverider in the distance was rapidly approaching.
Atop the Waverider, a red flag fluttered in the wind, clearly identifying it as a Waverider belonging to the resistance from afar.
"What are you doing?"
After approaching the cargo ship, the Waverider also slowed down. A Sergeant wearing crimson armor emerged from the Waverider's cabin.
"Merchants, selling some inexpensive trinkets." Gui Long clasped his fists towards the Sergeant below, and at the same time, he also revealed the weapon at his waist.
As soon as Gui Long did this, several people beside him followed suit. For a moment, several burly men ostentatiously displaying their weapons suddenly appeared on the cargo ship.
"Merchants..."
The Sergeant looked at Gui Long, who was wearing samurai armor; his armor coverage was clearly much higher than his own.
He then glanced at the several burly men beside Gui Long, and immediately felt like retreating.
The other party had more people than them, and their ship was larger. Although his Waverider had cannons, who knew if the other ship had them too?
These guys in front of him were merchants now, but they could turn into pirates the next second.
Gui Long saw the Sergeant's actions and immediately knew that his intimidation had worked.
But intimidation alone wouldn't be enough.
"I imagine you gentlemen, Sergeants, have been drifting at sea for a long time and must be quite weary."
"A small token of appreciation; I hope you can make things convenient for us." Saying this, Gui Long picked up the Mora he had prepared beforehand and tossed it over.
"Clang!"
The Sergeant weighed the bag of Mora in his hand, feeling a sense of relief and a smile appearing on his face.
"It would seem I'm being ungracious if I continue to pester you. Go on, but remember to apply for a merchant's permit next time!"
The Sergeant seized the opportunity to back down, slipping into the cabin and quickly speeding away.
Watching the Waverider's receding shadow, Gui Long let out a sigh of relief. From now on, it would be smooth sailing!
"Alright, everyone, disperse. You can relax your guard a little, but don't let it down too much." Gui Long waved his hand at the surrounding crowd and walked towards the cabin.
He always felt that Ember would cause trouble on his ship.
Pushing the door open, Gui Long saw the bored Ember and Morgott, who was meditating with his eyes closed.
"Done?" Ember asked him when he saw Gui Long.
"Done. Very lucky, met a reasonable one. From now on, I don't expect anything major to happen."
Gui Long sat back down and took off his mask. Now, he should be able to relax a bit.
"I heard that person mention something about a merchant's permit. Why don't you get one?" Ember saw Gui Long relaxing and thought he would be even more relaxed if he got a merchant's permit.
"Get one? Wouldn't that be restricting myself?" Gui Long said with a hint of disdain, apparently dismissive of this 'merchant's permit'.
"How do you mean?" Ember asked.
"The scope of business is limited to one region, the types of goods are limited to a few, and the trade routes are limited to a few..." Morgott opened his eyes and said faintly.
"To correct that, there are still trade routes between Narukami Island and Watatsumi Island, but without some influential background, you simply can't secure them."
Gui Long looked at Morgott with some surprise, then added.
"The way I am now is great; I can run both sides and earn a lot just from the price difference." Gui Long said, lying on a sack with his legs crossed.
"Your risk is very high. What if you meet someone unreasonable?" Ember spread his hands, asking.
"If I meet someone unreasonable... hehe..."
A rare glint of ruthlessness flashed in Gui Long's eyes. He had killed members of both the resistance and the Shogunate Army before; what's the big deal?
As long as it's handled cleanly, no one will find out.
"Has no one ever told you that your laugh is really unpleasant?" Ruthlessness? Ember didn't see it; he only heard Gui Long's grating, sinister laugh, exactly like a conniving merchant on a stage.
"You're also not very good at conversation." Gui Long put away his smile. Sure enough, his killing intent was useless.
He was truly displaying it to a blind man.
The cargo ship, laden with grain, swayed on the boundless sea. As Gui Long had predicted, after being intercepted once, the rest of the voyage was as smooth as the ocean surface.
"Thud!"
The swaying cargo ship suddenly jolted, coming to a complete stop. This instantly woke up the drowsy Ember.
"Disembark!"
A dark figure darted out, and Ember stepped onto the shore.
But as soon as he got off, he noticed something unusual.
"This weather... is there something wrong with it?" Ember looked up at the Sky, thick dark clouds obscuring it, and a fine, continuous rain falling as if it would never cease.
Every now and then, a roaring pillar of lightning would illuminate the dim world, briefly dispelling the darkness before quickly fading away.
Yashiori Island, why does it look like the Doomsday?
"There's something in the air." Morgott raised his hand and tried to grasp it, but caught nothing.
"Cough, cough, cough! It's been problematic for a long time. I don't know how the people of Higi Village manage to live here." Gui Long said with a sigh as he directed his subordinates to unload the goods, looking at the island's scenery.
It had been like this when he last came here. He only stayed for a short while and felt a tightness in his chest. He really didn't know how the people of Higi Village managed to survive here.
"Where are the people from Higi Village?" Ember looked left and right, but didn't see any familiar faces.
"What's the rush? Aren't they coming now?" Gui Long saw Ember running from one place to another, and while startled, he pointed at the figures on the distant path and said.
"I see them." Ember stopped. He gazed into the distance and saw a group of people carrying large and small baskets walking on the path.
Leading them was none other than Washizu! As for why Ember saw him so clearly, it was entirely because his attire was almost identical to Gui Long's.
So, Inazuma's samurai armor is either red or purple, huh? Ember looked at Washizu in the distance, then at Gui Long beside him.
If it weren't for the different colors, he really wouldn't be able to tell who was who.
"Ember?"
"We meet again, Washizu."
Ember and Washizu exchanged glances from afar, then he saw Washizu's big flying kick coming his way.
"I dodge!"
Ember sidestepped, narrowly avoiding Washizu's big flying kick.
This scene utterly shocked Gui Long, who was standing by. Washizu was carrying a huge basket full of crystal marrow!
With such a heavy load, he could still make such a large movement. Was this broken village chief really that strong?
"Are you thinking something bad?" Washizu got up from the ground and asked Gui Long.
The latter immediately shivered, quickly shaking his head in denial, "Absolutely not! I was just counting the goods."
"I believe you." Washizu nodded. Although Gui Long was a pirate, he was one of those rare pirates with a very high reputation, otherwise Washizu wouldn't have maintained a long-term partnership with him.
"Then you truly believed the right person," Gui Long echoed. It seemed that his efforts to maintain his good reputation were indeed very useful.
"I think I believed the wrong person. Why did you kick me as soon as you saw me?" Ember ran over and questioned Washizu.
"Explain this to me, and I won't kick you." Washizu removed his armguard, revealing his arm covered in fur, and retorted.
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