To be precise, although Gao Zhuang and Tao Tao appeared to be getting along well, a sense of unfamiliarity permeated every exchange.

This was understandable; after ten years apart, even if they had been close once, the passage of time would have inevitably eroded their bond, leaving them almost like strangers. This is why some say that relationships, too, require cultivation; abandon the effort, and the connection fades away, ceasing to exist.

In essence, their conversation was halting, a period of awkward adjustment. After exchanging pleasantries, they suddenly ran out of things to say. They looked at each other, wide-eyed, a silence beginning to settle between them.

The atmosphere quickly became somewhat strained. Wang Guan noticed and, amused, stepped in to ease the tension: "Brother Gao, the scenery nearby is quite nice. How about a walk outside?"

"Great idea, I’ll show you the way..." Tao Dou quickly agreed, sensing the awkwardness. He inwardly chided his father for being poor at smoothing things over, deciding he would take the initiative himself.

"Then... let's all go together," Gao Zhuang stood up, smiling slightly with a touch of embarrassment. "Uncle Tao, we'll come back to see you later."

"Yes, yes!"

Tao Tao certainly had no objection; on the contrary, he felt a sense of relief.

As they spoke, led by Tao Dou, the three of them walked out. The center of Langqi Island was hilly, but the surrounding area was flat, partitioned into fields. Walking along the small paths between the fields, one could experience a profoundly beautiful pastoral scene, provided they ignored the sea visible to one side.

"The sea reefs are up ahead."

At the right moment, Tao Dou introduced the view: "Around here, we also call them Shí Luó and Shí Gǔ [Stone Gong and Stone Drum]. This is because some stones are shaped like gongs and drums, and when the waves crash against them, they produce a sound like a loud drum performance. Especially when the tide is rising, the sound is like thunder—truly magnificent."

"Is that so? Then we certainly must see that," Gao Zhuang smiled, offering a polite compliment. After all, he spent so much time at sea; what kind of island scenery hadn't he witnessed? Forget loud drumming sounds—he had even been lucky enough, or rather unlucky, to witness a sweeping tsunami, narrowly escaping death.

"Actually, the best view is from the White Cloud Mountain's Sun-Gazing Platform in the middle of the island," Tao Dou offered casually. "There are ancient temples, ancestral halls, old fortresses, tombs of famous people, and cliffside carvings, among other things."

"Mhm, we can go take a look if we have time later," Gao Zhuang nodded. Since he was already here, there was no rush to leave; a casual stroll wouldn't hurt. At the same time, he casually inquired, "Brother Tao, where do you usually work? Do you not have to go in today?"

"Here it comes, finally asking..."

Tao Dou felt a surge of emotion, almost tearful. He quickly composed himself, then scratched his head and laughed, "Actually, I'm a tour guide. It’s usually quite relaxed; I only get busy during peak tourist season. But I prefer being out on the water. I used to help out on my dad's boat when I was little, but then... the boat was sold, and to make a living, I had to switch to being a guide."

"All these years, I dream every night about sailing out to sea on a boat..."

As he spoke, Tao Dou's eyes filled with anticipation. Gao Zhuang should surely understand such a strong hint. However, to his disappointment, Gao Zhuang seemed not to catch on and offered no comment.

"We're at the seaside now."

At this point, Gao Zhuang turned back and smiled. "Brother Wang, the wind is strong, and the sea mist is heavy. Don't go too close, lest your clothes get damp."

"Got it."

Even though this wasn't his first time seeing the ocean, Wang Guan still felt a surge of emotion. Unlike the deep, relatively calm waters near the pier, the shoreline here was dotted with numerous reefs.

When the sea breeze swept in, waves rolled toward the reefs with the force of an overwhelming tide, only to dissolve into fine white foam that ascended into the air, turning into a light drizzle that sprinkled down onto the beach sand.

Instantly, the sand was pitted with countless small holes. Faintly, one could see small crabs emerging from their burrows, retreating into the sea as the tide ebbed. It was these receding waves that gently smoothed the pockmarked sand, leaving no trace behind. Then, when the next tide rushed in, the cycle would begin anew.

For those accustomed to the inland regions, the first sight of the sea is always exciting. That’s why Cao Cao left behind the immortal poem Guan Cang Hai [Viewing the Sea]. Unfortunately, Wang Guan lacked that poetic gift; he had seen the sea countless times, and though his feelings changed with each viewing, no verse or essay had ever been born from it.

This time was no exception. After watching the sea for a moment, Wang Guan began to stroll along the beach.

This area was called a beach, but it was really just a tidal flat. Due to the abundance of reefs, it wasn't a suitable harbor. Even the villagers wouldn't use this spot to launch their fishing boats.

"You know, people were killed here back in the day," Tao Dou remarked, struggling to find conversation, one of his few merits being his ability to talk at length regardless of whether others had anything to say.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Wang Guan grew somewhat curious: "What happened?"

Tao Dou’s spirits immediately lifted, and he eagerly explained, "That was a very long time ago; I heard it from the elders in the village. Pirates used to frequent our area frequently, often kidnapping villagers to join them. To make an example of them, the authorities captured a group of pirates and executed them by beheading right here on the beach..."

"I heard they killed so many people that the entire beach was stained red. And especially at night, the sounds of mournful cries from wronged spirits were constant, enough to terrify anyone."

As he spoke, Tao Dou adopted an expression of fright, rubbed his arms, and continued, "It wasn't until the villagers invited masters from the White Cloud Temple to hold a seven-day mass for the departed that this unrest was temporarily quelled."

"Pirates?"

Wang Guan sounded surprised but thought it normal. After all, since the opening of the Maritime Silk Road, people realized that while going to sea carried high risks, the rewards were even greater. More merchant ships sailed, and pirates naturally followed.

Trade required capital, but piracy was a business requiring none, naturally tempting many to take the plunge. It probably started around the Song Dynasty and continued through the Yuan, Ming, and Qing periods; maritime trade never ceased, nor did the pirates. Even in modern times, pirates are not mere legend; they persist.

"Temporarily quelled the unrest?"

At this moment, Gao Zhuang keenly seized on the key phrase: "Meaning, the matter wasn't entirely over?"

"Exactly."

Tao Dou nodded repeatedly, then sighed, "Only a few days after the dharma assembly, the pirates were enraged because some of their men had been captured and executed. In anger, the great pirate leader gathered his forces, leading over a hundred large ships, and launched a massive assault, breaking through the coastal defenses and pressing toward the shore, resulting in a fierce battle with the imperial navy..."

"I heard that battle raged for three days and three nights, nearly allowing the pirate leader to capture the provincial capital. But the government troops were cunning; they had already anticipated the pirate leader’s retaliation and set a trap, waiting for him to fall for it."

Tao Dou possessed a genuine talent for storytelling. As he narrated, he instinctively shrank his body, showing a hint of lingering fear: "That battle was earth-shattering, stirring up seas and rivers, cannon fire blazing everywhere, and the sea dyed red with blood... In the end, the imperial forces proved superior and repelled the pirates."

"Just repelled them?" Wang Guan asked, surprised. "If that's the case, it leaves endless trouble behind."

"After repelling them, the government troops surely followed up with a counterattack to annihilate the pirate gang before returning victorious," Tao Dou laughed. "From then on, the waters around Langqi were considered peaceful."

"Only peaceful for a time," Gao Zhuang interjected. "Pirates are like leeks; cut one patch, and another grows. They aren't so easily eliminated. Though the pirates afterward didn't command the same scale of power."

Wang Guan paused, curious: "Huh, judging by your tone, it sounds like you know which great pirate he's talking about."

"Yes, Brother Gao, you know who I mean?" Tao Dou was slightly confused but had decided that whether Gao Zhuang was right or not, he would agree.

"In the Fujian-Zhejiang region, very few great pirate leaders could muster a hundred large ships and dare to clash directly with the imperial navy. To my knowledge, there were only the Zheng pirate syndicate of the late Ming Dynasty, and the pirate king Cai Qian of the mid-Qing era."

The Zheng family of the late Ming needs no introduction; it was the pirate syndicate led by Zheng Zhilong, father of Zheng Chenggong, who would later recover Taiwan. They engaged in maritime trade, reaping all the profits, and once commanded a fleet of a thousand armed vessels, repeatedly defeating the Ming dynasty’s forces. Zheng Zhilong later entered official service as a coastal general, monopolized overseas trade, and controlled ten thousand ships—he could be called the world's first shipping magnate.

It was relying on the foundation left by his father that Zheng Chenggong could occupy Taiwan and fight the Qing court for decades. The rise of the Zheng syndicate was the product of the Ming Dynasty’s two centuries of sea bans, born of both contingency and inevitability, making it impossible to replicate.

"After occupying Taiwan, the Zheng family was no longer pirates but a regional power. Therefore, the great pirate Tao Dou mentioned couldn't be one of the Zhengs," Gao Zhuang continued. "Excluding the Zhengs, that leaves only the pirate king Cai Qian."

"What's Cai Qian's background?" Wang Guan naturally inquired.

"He was a local from Fujian province," Gao Zhuang said vaguely. "As you know, due to my work, I pay attention to these matters. While checking documents recently, I learned that in the late Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, there was a man named Cai Qian who, due to poverty and losing his parents young, was hit by a famine in the fifty-ninth year of Qianlong's reign and simply turned to piracy at sea."

"He led his followers across the waters of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, robbing ships, blockading trade routes, and collecting transit taxes. Because he was ruthless and daring in battle, his power grew rapidly; within a few years, he became the foremost pirate syndicate on the southeastern seas, with a following of twenty to thirty thousand men and over two hundred large and small vessels."

As he spoke, Gao Zhuang showed a touch of awe: "This man roamed the seas for over a decade, defeating the Qing forces sent to suppress him. He eventually raised the banner of 'Overthrow the Qing, Restore the Ming,' captured a county in Taiwan, honored the Ming as the legitimate dynasty, established the Guangming era name, sacrificed to heaven and earth, and proclaimed himself the 'King of Suppressing the Sea and Wielding Might'..."