The next morning, a large stone and a sack were missing from the wharf outside Suzhou city. Some people heard a "plunk" sound as a heavy object fell into the river. Shortly afterward, word spread that Master Ming's third concubine had returned to her hometown of Quanzhou for a visit, with no definite date for her return.

In the same hazy morning mist, on an island far out at sea off the coast of Quanzhou, under the cover of the pre-dawn darkness, many ferocious skuas swooped down from the clouds and landed on the island's surface, densely covering the entire ground. The greedy skuas lowered their heads and incessantly pecked and tore at something with their blood-stained beaks. Because there were so many birds, the competition for food was particularly fierce. From time to time, skuas would fight violently over feeding grounds, and for a moment, feathers flew and blood splattered across the dim island.

They were not devouring the small chicks and turtle eggs they usually enjoyed, but... human corpses.

The entire island was littered with corpses! The pungent stench of blood and filth rose into the sky. Fortunately, it was early spring, so there was no overly foul odor of decay. Even so, so many corpses had attracted skuas from hundreds of miles around.

What a feast.

A structure resembling a wharf was vaguely visible on the island, but it was now completely deserted. The dead men's wide, terrified eyes, their white pupils immobile and covered with a layer of post-mortem film, seemed unable to comprehend that someone could have found their way to the island to kill them.

With a "thwack," a skua accurately pecked at the corpse's unclosed eyes, snatched a bloody eyeball, and twisted its neck proudly. Then, lowering its head, as if afraid that a companion would try to steal its food, it spread its wings and moved to a spot under a reef to begin feeding, only to find that the food was a bit hard and stuck in its throat, causing it to caw frantically.

The island was full of corpses, flesh giving way to bare bones, organs torn out, blood and filth, flying and fighting birds – the air was thick with death and fear.

...

...

A hand, weak and struggling, pushed aside the bodies above and carefully shooed away the damned skuas nearby. A pair of eyes peered anxiously from the gap, confirming that the soldiers who had landed on the island had already left by boat. Only then did this island pirate, who had narrowly escaped death, climb out of the corpses of his companions with lingering fear.

The man had been slashed on the shoulder, leaving a bloody mess. If it weren't for his experience and keen awareness of the murderous intent of the soldiers, and his quick thinking to play dead and use his companions' bodies to shield himself, he would have been dead long ago.

The soldiers who had come to the island were supposed to be comrades of these pirates, but they had suddenly turned violently homicidal, their ruthlessness indescribable. Only after everyone on the island was dead would the pirate leader realize that the Ming family had come to silence them.

The man who had narrowly escaped was dark-skinned, clearly someone who had lived at sea for many years. He had ordinary features, a determined expression, and narrowed eyes. Despite experiencing such a disaster, he did not seem particularly panicked. Panting, he sat among the corpses of his companions, forcibly calmed himself, tore off a piece of his companion's clothing, tightly bandaged his wound, and then began to get up and search the island for fresh water and food.

When the soldiers left, they thought everyone was dead, so they had not destroyed the fresh water and food, giving him a chance to survive.

After recovering some of his strength, dawn broke.

...

...

Facing the rising sun over the sea, the man sat slowly on the wharf, watching the birds flying and landing not far away, looking at the tragic deaths of his long-time companions. His lips began to turn white, but he suppressed his nausea, grabbed a pot of fresh water, and poured it into his parched mouth.

The dead were all his companions, but he would not bury them. Firstly, there were too many dead, and he could not possibly bury so many corpses alone. Secondly, for pirates, if they could not be buried in the sea after death and were taken to the sky by these skuas, it might not be a bad ending. Thirdly, these pirates had committed many evils in their lives, often killing and raping. Now, to be killed and then eaten by birds could be considered retribution.

His name was Qing Wa'er, a local of Quanzhou, from an ordinary family with ordinary abilities. He had been a sailor at sea for many years. At some point last year, the large ship he was on was hijacked by pirates. Somehow, he had managed to survive and even joined the pirates, becoming their partner and doing those ugly things on the vast sea outside Quanzhou.

The pirates on this island were the largest group at sea, but strangely, they didn't do much business, and the leader seemed to be deliberately concealing the group's movements. After being on the island for half a year, Qing Wa'er finally discovered that the island's main business was to rob the Ming family's cargo ships bound for the West.

Each time they robbed a ship, they left no survivors, especially the court officials responsible for escorting the ships.

In just half a year, Qing Wa'er, due to his calmness and ruthlessness, had gained the leader's appreciation and become a small headman among the pirates, gradually learning more details and beginning to have the opportunity to come into contact with some very important matters. Unfortunately... at this time, on this night, a powerful fleet found the island and bloodily massacred everyone on it.

The morning sun touched his face, but it was not refreshing, because he was surrounded by corpses and blood. Qing Wa'er's throat gurgled a couple of times as he recognized the pirate whose thigh meat was being pecked at by birds not far ahead. It was Cai Zai, who lived in the same cave as him.

Qing Wa'er blinked weakly, stood up with some difficulty, walked to Cai Zai's corpse, used the wooden stick in his hand to drive away the cursed skuas, looked at Cai Zai's body in silence for a long time, and finally said slowly, "If I get back alive, I will take good care of your parents."

After saying these words, he resolutely abandoned his companion's body and walked along the hidden path under the wharf in another direction. All the ships on the island had sunk, but there was a backup plan left by the pirate leader. He didn't know if the wooden boat there was still there.

Qing Wa'er did not walk fast, but he was particularly determined. He had to get back to the mainland as soon as possible, because although he had survived, the later intelligence had not been sent out, and Director Ti should already be anxious.

As he walked, he wiped away his tears, forcibly refraining from looking back. Although the pirates behind him deserved to die, after spending half a year with them, even a heart of stone could not help but develop some feelings.

At this moment, a flame of anger rose in Qing Wa'er's chest. He was so close to obtaining evidence of the Ming family's collusion with the pirates... The troops from last night were extremely powerful. Which force did they belong to? Since they came to the island to silence everyone, it must have been some military bigwig who could mobilize the powerful coastal fleet... Could it be the Ye family? But he didn't have the qualifications to judge. He only hoped to send this intelligence back to Suzhou as soon as possible.

Yes, the crying Qing Wa'er was one of the five Crows of the Quanzhou Outpost B Team of the Fourth Bureau of the Supervisory Council. He was the secret agent who had reported to Fan Xian about the Ming family's connection to the pirates.

-------------------------------------------------

Far from this bird island, outside the city of Suzhou in Jiangnan, inside that Ming Garden that seemed too pure to be tainted by worldly affairs, Ming Qingda, the current head of the Ming family, was standing respectfully in front of a chair, answering the questions of the person in the chair.

The person in the chair was a woman, an old woman.

Even in front of Her Royal Highness Princess, Ming Qingda did not need to be so restrained and respectful, but in front of this old woman, he had to lower his head, because this old woman was the truly most powerful person in the Ming family... the Grand Dowager, his biological mother.

Years ago, if it had not been for this old woman's ruthless methods in poisoning the most favored mistress, and in chasing the seventh son out of the family after the old master's death, the Ming family's enormous fortune would probably have fallen into that person's hands long ago. What share would Ming Qingda have had?

Every time Ming Qingda looked at his elderly mother, he never associated her with the words "venerable and virtuous," but instead thought: "To be old and not die is to be a thief..." Had his seventh brother's corpse probably already turned into bones somewhere? He thought this, feeling relieved, but also a little chilled. As long as this old woman was alive, he could not be considered the true master of the Ming family.

"Your actions are too slow," the Ming family Grand Dowager looked at her son and said coldly without any regard for his feelings. "If you want to wash yourself clean, then you should have started two years ago."

Ming Qingda was known to be clever, otherwise he would not have been able to control such a large Ming family industry, but in front of his mother, he was criticized so harshly that his face flushed. He frowned and said, "Why two years ago?"

"Because two years ago, the palace decided to let Fan Xian marry Lin Wan'er!" The old woman's eyes flashed coldly, and she said with hatred.

Ming Qingda's face was respectful, but he had other thoughts in his heart. He thought that even if they had guessed that Fan Xian would come to Jiangnan to take charge of the Internal Treasury at that time, who knew that he was the Emperor's illegitimate son? Who knew that he was a descendant of the Ye family? Who knew that he would one day command the Supervisory Council? This old woman seemed to be confused.

The old woman scolded, "If I hadn't asked the military to help this time, if the Supervisory Council had found that island, how would Fan Xian have dealt with you, given his character?"

Ming Qingda sneered inwardly and said with a respectful face, "It's unfilial of me to worry Mother."