Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 517 - 13 Sinister Clues

But the Deep Sea Church seemed to be somewhat different.

Unlike the Red Lantern Association, it did not need to rely on horrific and bloody lies to maintain its intimidation, its doctrine and image were relatively mild, and it had a very broad base of followers, having staged several large-scale rallies.

Of course, in the eyes of the San Francisco Police Department, all heretics, without exception, were synonymous with bloody conflicts and trouble.

At that moment, a Fairy Maiden clad in red approached the doorway and respectfully said, "Sir, Liang Hui is here."

"Let him in."

Ever since Li Yan had succeeded the "Great Yog," he had almost abandoned all the ritual instruments and ceremonies of the Red Lantern Association. On regular days, Zhen Lian and a group of Fairy Maidens would address Li Yan by the extremely common honorific of the age, "Sir."

As for in private, when Zhen Lian contrived interpretations from the "Taiyin Secret Tome," coupled with her own emotionally charged elaborations, she referred to Li Yan as the "Blue-Garbed Emperor," the true deity bringing world turns, but that was a different matter.

"Additionally..." the red-clothed Fairy Maiden did not hurry to leave, "that Mr. Chang Yu, he went to a brothel on Dugang Street last night. The madam there is a devotee of the Red Lantern Association, and according to her, Chang Yu has a lover named Yanzi."

"I understand, you may go."

Li Yan said.

Liang Hui, wearing a long robe, followed behind a Fairy Maiden with respectful caution, glancing left and right as he proceeded. After roughly half a minute, he entered the church and saw Li Yan sitting on a long bench and Zhen Lian standing in attendance.

"Mr. Liang, how are you doing? Did the gift I sent you meet your satisfaction?"

Upon seeing Li Yan, Liang Hui immediately knelt to the ground without a word, "There is nothing more delightful than the grace of a monarch, like rain and thunder."

These were words Liang Hui had learned after consulting with an expert from Hesheng, which amused Li Yan.

"I’ve said I have no interest in being your emperor; I just want what I deserve..." Pausing, Li Yan then asked, "Whose opium is that batch?"

Hesheng controlled more than half of San Francisco’s opium supply, so Liang Hui had no reason not to know the origin of these people trading by the seashore.

Liang Hui licked his lips before speaking, "People from Hesheng have always gotten the semi-finished product from plantation owners in the south, to process it themselves. The gift for His Majesty has nothing to do with Hesheng."

Liang Hui had his unique art of survival; first and foremost, he made it clear that while Hesheng indeed trafficked in opium, he himself had no connection whatsoever with the Deep Sea Church. His loyalty to the Red Lantern Association – no, to the "Blue-Garbed Emperor" – was total and unreserved.

Li Yan also understood the thoughts of Liang Hui, so he got straight to the point:

"Then, who is the owner of this batch of goods?"

"The Odonk Brotherhood, many of whom are followers of the Deep Sea Church. Before coming to see Your Majesty again, there was also a bit of a conflict with some people from Odonk."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan laughed heartily, "It seems my good intentions have brought you trouble, Mr. Liang."

Liang Hui quickly denied it, "Actually, our business conflicts with the Odonk Brotherhood have been significant. Your Majesty is doing me a favor."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Zhen Lian remained silent, with her head bowed to one side.

"Yet, I still feel somewhat uneasy." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

After a long pause, Li Yan stared at Liang Hui and suddenly asked, "If a war breaks out between the two sides, who do you think would win, Hesheng or the Odonk Brotherhood?"

Liang Hui responded without hesitation, "Victory will ultimately be yours, Great Blue Emperor."

"..."

After hearing this, Li Yan beckoned with his hand. Liang Hui, not understanding his intention, got to his feet, patted the dust off his knees, and hurriedly approached.

"I’m not a stingy patron; if I want to dispatch someone, I first need to ensure they have the necessary capital to fulfill my commission."

Li Yan stuffed a small handful of something into Liang Hui’s hand, "You’ve experienced their magic firsthand; now be my witness. This should be quite simple for you, I’m not concerned about the process—only the results matter."

Liang Hui glanced at the palm of his hand, pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized.

"Additionally..."

Li Yan thought for a while, "Tonight, I will send a friend to you, the one you met at the teahouse last time. Should you encounter any other difficulties, he will assist you."

While speaking, Li Yan held up two fingers, "I give you two days."

Liang Hui nodded emphatically.

"Go attend to your business, Mr. Liang, I presume you have plenty of troublesome matters to deal with now. Zhen Lian, see Mr. Liang out."

Squeak~

The door shut tightly; Zhen Lian and Liang Hui walked one after the other down the corridor. When they were close to the exit, Liang Hui remained silent, but Zhen Lian grew somewhat impatient, "Are you really going to trigger a firestorm?"

Liang Hui gave Zhen Lian a strange look, "This is His Majesty’s wish."

"Yes, of course," Zhen Lian replied drily, "But you must understand, if you and the Odonk men engage in a large-scale conflict, City Hall will not stand idly by! Have you considered this? If the police station mobilizes the Steam Guard in force, you, me, the Odonk Brotherhood, and even the cursed Deep Sea Church might all be finished!"

"The Great Blue Emperor will certainly not stand idly by either!"

Liang Hui spoke with conviction, seemingly even more fanatical than Zhen Lian about Li Yan.

"Mr. Liang! Don’t forget that it’s the Black Robe Emperor’s world now! Machinery and steam, they drain all the magic from the gods! Even the Great Yog had to rely on a flesh vessel to survive in this world. Even the reigning emperor..."

Zhen Lian suddenly stopped mid-sentence, knowing it was a taboo topic for a missionary to mention. However, she couldn’t just watch Liang Hui, driven by his youthful vigor, drag everyone into an abyss!

Yet Liang Hui remained unmoved, "Fairy Maiden, rest assured. I can guarantee you that City Hall will not care, and the police station will not go to war over this."

Zhen Lian opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. Liang Hui, however, spread open his palm, where several pink pills lay quietly, exuding an enticing luster.

[Witch’s Love Potion]: Sacrifice twelve hours of your lifespan to halt aging for one year.

This was something Li Yan acquired during the "Yan Capital Escape." To him, it was as good as junk. It had been gathering dust until today, when it finally came in handy.

————————————————

The San Francisco Stock Exchange, established fifty years ago, features magnificent Corinthian columns on the exterior walls—very grand. Two gentlemen wearing top hats stand at the entrance, whispering to each other while people board and disembark the tram cars in a row, creating an exceptionally lively scene.

The interior of the exchange is divided into two floors, resembling a hanging basket structure, ornately decorated, with oil lamps burning day and night. Numerous traders in red vests shout and take notes in little books, papers strewn everywhere, speculators with flushed faces bidding aggressively, with none of the decorum of high society in sight.

But what no one knows is that this grandiose stock exchange is also called "The Madman’s Stock Exchange."

The original owner of the stock exchange, named Chamos, was one of the first few gold mine owners to make a fortune in San Francisco and was a firm anti-steampunk advocate.

He was the first to establish the Smoke Elimination Association in San Francisco, collaborating with numerous scholars and Romantic writers to popularize ecological concepts, call for environmental protection, and leveraging his political and commercial influence to pressure Congress. He proposed over thirty resolutions—shutting down armament factories, halting the deployment of oceanic rail tracks, stopping the extraction of groundwater, etc. His support was vast, including noteworthy individuals like Henry Thoreau and John Muir.

At one time, Chamos was considered a conscientious businessman, a phenomenal financier.

But in the end, an arm could not twist a thigh, and the ocean railway was laid out in San Francisco nonetheless.

It was on the very night that the authorities conducted the railway project bidding that Chamos, with a weapon in his embrace, attempted to stab a bidder at the site, and was subsequently subdued by police. The deranged Chamos wept and laughed, his emotions highly agitated.

It’s worth mentioning that the company which facilitated the laying of the ocean railway, and ultimately won the bid,

was none other than the then-soaring Enfield!

In the trial that followed, Chamos claimed that steam civilization was the biggest lie of the age, with people felling forests and mining for iron, arrogantly trying to conquer nature, leading to their own destruction. However, his behavior had indeed broken the law, particularly later on when the police found many esoteric writings in his home, including books of spells used in rituals. Many of Chamos’s opinions originated from these books, from certain extremist sects, not so-called scholars and thinkers, which caused his reputation to plummet.

From then on, the ramblings of a madman spread far and wide.

Chamos’s properties and gold mines were seized, and he was forcibly taken to a mental asylum, where he inexplicably committed suicide in his ward two months later.

There were numerous conspiracy theories at the time, pointed directly at Enfield, but without evidence, they eventually amounted to nothing.

The stock exchange, bought by his partners, reopened a year later, trying to wash away the past shadows.

All this, Li Yan had learned from the Red Lantern Association through Zhen Lian. At this moment, he sat in a café, the stock exchange just across the street. However, in accordance with the law, Chinese people were not allowed to enter the exchange, and Li Yan had no need to resort to violence.

He spent a hefty sum to invite an old trader who had worked in the exchange for forty years to come out; this person was one of the few remaining who had once worked for Chamos.

"Chinese sir, I mean no offense, but whatever you want to know, I think we should be quick about it,"

said the disheveled old man, who appeared to be in his sixties and whose face was etched with tiredness. His name was Carl, a notorious gambler, but that was nothing unusual in San Francisco.

"I’ll get straight to the point. I want to know about the former owner of this exchange, Chamos’s life. If there are any relics or such, that would be even better. I’m willing to pay for any clues you might have."

Li Yan took out a gold bean, flashing it before the old man’s eyes.

The old man blinked, hesitantly saying, "Sir, I’m afraid I can’t help you with that."

"Why is that?"

"Back then, the Enfield Company gave all employees a large sum of hush money to keep us from talking to anyone."

"Back then? I imagine you must have almost spent that hush money by now, haven’t you?"

Li Yan raised an eyebrow.

Carl hesitated for a long time before shrugging his shoulders, "Alright, but you’ll have to pay me the gold first."

No sooner had he spoken than the gold bean traced a graceful arc into his pocket.

"Very good," Carl said with a satisfied smile, and without another word, he stood up and walked away.

Before he could take off, Li Yan had already grabbed him from behind by the shoulder.

"I’m telling you, you’d better think it over clearly."

With a shout like he had seen a ghost, Carl suddenly struggled desperately, "Guard! Guard, this yellow-skinned monkey is going to kill me!"

The sharp sound of a whistle suddenly rang out, and a patrol officer clad in individual armor charged over, his heavy arm armor smashing down towards Li Yan’s head!

"Boss Liang, this doesn’t seem like your usual style. The Odonk Brotherhood has already compromised, with the gold and goods, we can find a few stand-ins and hand them over, and this storm would be over,"

said a muscular, short-haired man in his thirties, standing behind Liang Hui.

"We have the goods; where’s the gold?" Liang Hui adjusted his collar in front of the mirror, staring at the man in the reflection, "Who should I go to ask for it?"

The man was silent for a long time.

"Do you think we have a choice? The foreigners lost over a dozen men this time; are they going to let us off so easily? Just return the goods and gold, and all will be well? You believe such talk? You might as well drown yourself in the toilet and save your father the embarrassment."

The man clenched his fists, the knuckles cracking.

"Hesheng is under my control, it’s not your place to speak out of turn. When I’m dead, you can dismantle Hesheng and sell it off, and I won’t have a say."

"I once thought that day was near..."

The man said this seemingly out of nowhere.

Liang Hui’s eyebrows twitched, suddenly turning around, only to have the man swiftly pull out a dagger, aiming for Liang Hui’s chest!

Clang! Clang!

The parrot in the birdcage flapped wildly, feathers flying everywhere.

Cha Xiaodao looked up and saw the red-tiled roof, knowing he had come to the right place, he approached and said, "I’m looking for Liang Hui."

The two thugs exchanged glances, hesitating for a long time before saying, "Our boss is dealing with some family matters. Why don’t you come in and have a seat while you wait?"

Cha Xiaodao sniffed the air and grinned, "Sure."

As he was about to walk in, he heard a hearty and confident laugh.

"It must be Mr. Cha; I apologize for not greeting you sooner,"

Liang Hui greeted him with a smile, a trace of blood still fresh on him.

"How do you recognize me?" Cha Xiaodao spoke and then realized, "Oh, right, we’ve met before."

"Not only that, sir, your distinct demeanor sets you apart from the crowd,"

Liang Hui was not remiss in his manners.

"Flattery?"

Cha Xiaodao said with a playful smile.

Liang Hui shook his head, "It’s from the heart."

His smile faded as he glanced back and waved his hand, as muscular thugs carried out a dozen bodies upstairs and disposed of them through a side door, leaving a trail of blood that was immediately cleaned by a maid with braided hair, scrubbing the floor.

"What’s going on here?"

Cha Xiaodao pointed to the bodies being carried out.

Liang Hui shook his head, "It’s an unfortunate family matter, best left unmentioned. Mr. Cha, please come upstairs."