Chapter 36: The Environment

After speaking, the Third Leader walked step by step to Xiao Lan’s front. He looked at Xiao Lan’s figure with an admiring gaze, as if appraising goods. Finally, under Old Man Song’s worried eyes, he slowly brushed aside the messy strands of hair on Xiao Lan’s head.

Earlier, when he was carried out by his Sea Dragon Gang underlings, her hair was disheveled, and her face was unclear.

Now, after pushing aside Xiao Lan’s hair and seeing the young girl’s tearful, frightened expression, he revealed a faint smile and said, “She looks passable. How about it, do you want to marry me?”

Xiao Lan felt a chill in her heart, as if a poisonous snake was slithering up her neck.

Old Man Song, standing nearby, said in a low voice, “Third Lord…”

“What are you worried about? I’m just joking. Do you think I’m that kind of person?” The Third Leader turned around and, using the previously set-up frame, leaped a few times back onto the ship.

“Let’s go, men!” The Third Leader stood by the ship’s edge, gave Xiao Lan a deep look, and then walked away laughing, as if something very pleasing had happened.

After a commotion, the Sea Dragon Gang members sailed away on their large ship, unaware that they had just escaped a deadly disaster.

Zuo Zhicheng also relaxed his previously clenched fists. If the Sea Dragon Gang had truly intended to do anything, he would have had to reveal his martial arts and kill them all. This was to repay the life-saving favor from Xiao Lan and her father; he couldn’t just stand by and watch them be humiliated.

After the Sea Dragon Gang left, everyone on the ship breathed a sigh of relief.

A middle-aged sailor said, “It’s a good thing that Black Heart Tiger didn’t go crazy. I think Xiao Lan should hide for a while after returning.” The so-called Black Heart Tiger was clearly the Third Leader’s nickname.

“Didn’t that Black Tiger already take eight concubines?”

Lao Xing said fiercely, “Hmph, that Black Heart Tiger is the most perverted and lecherous. I heard that any woman he takes a liking to, even if she’s already married with children, gets snatched or tricked away by him.”

Hearing them speak one after another, Xiao Lan’s face showed worry. Old Man Song, standing nearby, comforted her, “Xiao Lan, don’t worry. Once we return home this time, I’ll take you to stay at Master Jiang’s house for a few days. Master Jiang is kind and righteous; he will surely protect you.”

After listening for a while, Zuo Zhicheng learned that the so-called Master Jiang was the owner of a martial arts hall called Haoran Martial Hall in Xinlu Port. He was known for his generosity, boldness, and strong sense of justice, and had often stood up for the ordinary people of Xinlu.

Many dockworkers had trained at Haoran Martial Hall and received Master Jiang’s protection. This was a small neutral force in Xinlu. However, because martial arts halls were not like gangs, they lacked binding power, so the relationships among members were very loose. It was only through Master Jiang’s personal prestige and martial arts that gangs like the Sea Dragon Gang were somewhat deterred.

The people on the ship discussed for a while but couldn’t come up with any more effective ways to prevent Black Heart Tiger’s actions. Zuo Zhicheng, who had been silent throughout, was naturally not relied upon by Old Man Song and the others. In their eyes, Zuo Zhicheng was just an unlucky person who had been shipwrecked before reaching the New Continent—penniless, knowing no one in the New Continent, and in a worse situation than themselves. How could they count on him?

After everyone discussed for a while and still couldn’t think of a better solution, Old Man Song sent them off to work. Only then did Zuo Zhicheng approach Old Man Song and ask about the situation in Xinlu and the Sea Dragon Gang.

Old Man Song glanced at him and said, “Brother Zuo, why are you asking about the Sea Dragon Gang?”

Zuo Zhicheng smiled like an ordinary, cheerful young man. “It’s nothing. I just thought they seemed very arrogant and got a bit curious.”

Old Man Song warned him, “Brother Zuo, the New Continent isn’t like the Central Plains. The Imperial Court’s reach is limited here. While there are many opportunities, it’s also more dangerous. You must never offend a big gang like the Sea Dragon Gang.”

Otherwise, you wouldn’t even know how you died—though he didn’t say it out loud, the meaning was clear enough.

He was afraid that Zuo Zhicheng, in a moment of youthful passion, might do something rash, which would not only bring misfortune upon himself but also implicate them. That’s why he gave this warning. Seeing that Zuo Zhicheng listened attentively and nodded, he began to explain the situation in Xinlu and the Sea Dragon Gang.

Xinlu Port was one of the port cities established by the Great Qi Dynasty on the New Continent. All of Great Qi’s colonies on the New Continent were managed by three Patrol Superintendents. The so-called Patrol Superintendents were the highest officials appointed by Great Qi for the New Continent, overseeing everything in the colonies. However, they had no authority over Great Qi’s stationed troops—a measure by the Imperial Court to prevent the Patrol Superintendents, who were far from the Emperor’s reach, from gaining military power and declaring independence.

But this system of checks and balances led to mutual restraint between the Patrol Superintendents and the military commanders, weakening the Imperial Court’s power on the New Continent. Of course, this weakening wasn’t primarily in external affairs but internal control.

Although the Patrol Superintendents held high positions, they lacked sufficient military force. In this remote land, with its mix of ethnic groups, all walks of life, and tensions between natives and Great Qi people, various factors made it hard for the Patrol Superintendents to maintain control over the colonies and ensure public order. This led to the proliferation of gangs, bandits, horse thieves, and pirates.

Over time, although the military and officials still checked each other, they had united when dealing with both the New Continent’s natives and the Great Qi Imperial Court. This further weakened the Imperial Court’s control over the region, almost turning it into an enclave.

Great Qi’s laws were almost ineffective here, while the New Continent had developed its own set of rules over decades. This also led to rampant corruption among local officials, with the entire bureaucracy becoming thoroughly decayed.

Yet, the maritime trade between the New Continent and the Central Plains, along with the New Continent’s precious resources, brought substantial profits every year.

This was why the Great Qi Dynasty had sent people multiple times to try to regain control of this place.

Hearing this, Zuo Zhicheng couldn’t help but think of the fleet he was previously with. The fleet’s destruction seemed very suspicious, making him wonder if it was related to forces on the New Continent. If so, then the situation here was likely even more complicated than he had imagined. It also strengthened his resolve to avoid contact with the Imperial Court for now.

After all, with so much darkness and secrecy, if he were discovered as the fleet’s sole survivor, he could easily get dragged into high-level conflicts.

The Sea Dragon Gang emerged under these complex circumstances. Its influence was deeply rooted in Xinlu, with thousands of members. The gang leader, Long Feiyang, was known in the martial world as the Overturning Sea Dragon. Under him were four other leaders, called the Four Heavenly Kings, who managed businesses like smuggling, human trafficking, drug transportation, debt collection, and prostitution.

Along with another organization called the Hundred Families Association, which was formed by people from several native ethnic groups on the New Continent, they were the two largest gang organizations in Xinlu.

After learning a bit about the situation in Xinlu Port, various thoughts flashed through Zuo Zhicheng’s mind.

‘This situation is suitable for me to fish in troubled waters. I can accumulate wealth, practice martial arts, and study Dao Arts in secret.’

‘But that Black Heart Tiger probably won’t let it go.’

Thinking of Black Heart Tiger, who had just left, Zuo Zhicheng seemed to smell a scent that was all too familiar from his previous life.

It was the smell of scum.