Chapter 43: The Prelude to the Storm (Part 1)

  After receiving Nia's flag signal, Old Bar stepped onto Tang Jie's new ship with a questioning and puzzled expression, his face wearing a faint smile.

  He didn't see Tanger's dispirited expression when he returned, so he couldn't understand Nia's anxiety and confusion. In his opinion, this young man must have suddenly possessed such a powerful warship and was excited to the point of madness.

  In fact, Bar was wrong.

  "Captain Barbossa, you've arrived..."

  This was Tanger's first sentence after seeing Old Bar, his tone was complex to the extreme, his eyes were sizing up Old Bar's face as if trying to see through this person's heart.

  Lao Ba had been sailing for many years and had met countless people. Just from Tang Jie's tone, he could tell that this young man was struggling in confusion and distress at the moment.

  "Child, what's wrong?" Old Barl smiled "I see doubt and confusion in your eyes."

  Tang Jie gazed intently at Old Bar for a while, the old man in front of him was the best and most enthusiastic person to him since he came to this world. His grandeur, bravery, wisdom and vast knowledge had left a very deep impression on Tang Jie.

  How could such a person be someone who has been taking advantage of me and his own underlings all along?

  Tang Jie let out a sigh: "Captain Bar, may I ask you a question?"

  Old Bar and Tongjie stood by the boat, one hand patting the side of the boat, smiling and saying: "Of course, my child, what questions do you have in your heart, I hope I can answer them for you?"

  Tang Jie opened his mouth, he wanted to say, Captain Barlow, I met Horn...

  But he looked at Old Bar's piercing gaze, and the words that came to his lips turned into: "Where are we going, Captain Bar?"

  Lao Ba Er looked at Tang Jie with a somewhat unnatural expression, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He just smiled and said: "Kid, if I'm not mistaken, you must have met Bi Xiuliu before, right?"

  Tang Jie's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and he nodded: "How did you know?"

  Lao Ba sighed: "This guy who won't take the hint, he'll catch up sooner or later. With such a big commotion in the city, who else could it be besides him?"

  Big Beard patted Tangie's shoulder: "Before you came back, we were all worried and afraid that you would suffer at the hands of that old rascal. Fortunately, nothing happened to you..."

  Tang Jie forced a smile, if it wasn't for Horn saving me, I would have died there!

  Tang Jie was unwilling to entangle this topic again, he continued to ask: "Captain Bar, you haven't answered my previous question yet."

  He fled from this heart-wrenching question like a deserter, he could face an invincible strong enemy and fight without fear, but he couldn't face Old Bar who was both trusted and respected by him.

  He didn't dare imagine what Old Bar's reaction would be if he asked this question.

  If Horne is sowing discord between him and Old Bal, then if he just asks about it, a shadow will be left in the heart of Old Bal, this extremely cunning old beard will think: I gave my daughter to you, and also gave you a new ship, but you would rather believe a traitor than me?

  Lao Ba's eyebrows rose, and he said in a deep voice: "Tang Jie, I've already answered your question. As a captain, you not only need to learn how to navigate the sea, fight against wind and waves, and fire cannons, but also need to learn how to assess the situation, make strategic decisions, and adapt to changing circumstances. Have you ever thought that since Bi Sai Liu has caught up with us, where should we go next?"

  "Should we continue to take them around in circles on the sea?" Tang Jie asked.

  "We don't have time for this!" Lao Ba said firmly.

  Tang Jie was puzzled: "But weren't we just sailing around in circles with them at sea before?"

  Old Bar sighed and shook his head, saying: "Before, we were always circling at sea with the people brought by Biseile. That was because we were in the territory of York State, where Biseile's control range is located. This old fox can rely on his strong strength and wrist to hunt us down and block the news of the treasure map. But here, this is Mata State, no matter how powerful Biseile is, he cannot extend his sphere of influence to this country."

  "If I'm not mistaken, the commotion in the city earlier must have alerted Admiral Alramix of Xisis. This guy is definitely not someone that Biscuit can control..." Old Bar laughed coldly "Now things have gone beyond my expectations, and also beyond Biscuit's expectations. So now it's just a matter of who can get to Atos' treasure first."

  "If we keep circling around for a longer time, more people will notice the anomaly of Xixi. " Old Bal stared at Tang Jie tightly and said in a low voice, "Kid, if it were you, first, you would have discovered that Bisai Liu, a hereditary duke, disregarded his identity and chased after a pirate for over two months. After that, there was the incident of the pirate causing chaos in Dam City, and the hereditary duke of York privately coming to Mata Kingdom. Hmm, think about it again, with the recent rumors about the Pirate King's treasure map circulating everywhere, what would you find from this series of clues?"

  Tang Jie's expression turned cold: "I think Bi Sai Liu must have found the whereabouts of the treasure map, he is tracking down the pirate who has it!"

  The big beard nodded and looked at Tang Jie: "That's right! Before, I dared to play hide-and-seek with Bi Sai Liu because his strength was still bearable for us. Although we can't resist him head-on, we can turn around with him, and we can fight with him in strategy and tactics."

  "Bisley doesn't want more people to know the whereabouts of the treasure map, and neither do I. But once things get out of my control, out of Bisley's control, then more and more people will know the whereabouts of the treasure map. Hehe..." Bar's big beard twitched, as stiff as steel wires.

  "When the time comes, there will be countless people coming to grab Atos' treasure?" Tang Jie continued in a low voice.

  Old Bar looked at Tang Jie and said, "Kid, these countless people aren't what's scary. What's scary is that there are some incredibly powerful individuals and forces in this world that you can't even imagine. For example, the Pirate Kings of each of the Seven Seas, the Knights Templar of the Church of Light, the Pond Empire, and the Kelsman family, the first family of the Pond Continent... There are just too many, my child..."

  "You've been in this world for too short a time, you can't imagine how strong the powerful ones among them are. You also can't imagine how vast the forces behind the Church of Light, the Empire of Pondor and the Kelsman family are!" Old Bar sighed, his eyes gleaming with both fear and excitement. "Once they get wind of the map to Atos' treasure, they'll definitely be drawn into this treasure hunt. By then, we won't stand a chance against these monsters!"

  "So, we must rush to get Atos' treasure?" Tang Jie continued in a low voice, but he asked inexplicably "But since their strength is already so strong, will they still care about Atos' treasure?"

  The old man burst out laughing: "The sea is vast, so vast that we can spend our whole lives sailing on the surface of the sea and still not traverse every region of the sea; The sky is vast, so vast that no matter how far the sea extends, it will always be under the canopy of the sky; But neither the ocean nor the sky can be compared to the breadth of a person's heart. However, my child, you must know that what makes human hearts so broad is not just love and kindness!"

  "More often than not, the name of this boundless and endless heart is called ambition and greed!" Old Bar's mouth corner was filled with a cold smile, and his eyes flashed with a hint of icy chill. "For these powerful families and strong individuals, their pursuit of power and influence is endless! Moreover, over 100 years ago, Atos' rise to power made them suffer greatly, so they will absolutely not be pleased to see another pirate king capable of ruling the ocean rise again!"

  Tang Jie listened intently and whispered on the side: "I know, shall we head to the location indicated by the treasure map now?"

  "Of course, my child!" Bar looked around and found no one nearby, then lowered his voice to Tang Jie and said "What about the treasure map I gave you?"

  Tang Jie crouched down, pretending to adjust his pant legs, and pulled out the treasure map hidden in his boots, handing it over to Old Bar.

  Old Baal took the treasure map, looked at it carefully, and then pointed to the southwest direction: "You just asked me where we are going next? I'll tell you now, sail in the northwest direction of my hand, no more than two days, and you can reach the place where Atos hides his treasure!"

  Tang Jie carefully looked at the treasure map, only to see that it clearly depicted a coastline diagram with longitude and latitude markings for east, west, south, and north. However, the specific location of the treasure was burnt out, leaving a hole in its place. He furrowed his brow and said, "But this spot is burnt out, how can we know exactly where the location is?"

  Ba Er smiled: "The boat will naturally go straight to the bridge! Once we get there, we'll definitely find it! This time, as long as we can shake off Bi Sai Liu and his men, from now on, all the seas will be ours to roam freely!"

  Tang Jie's mind was racing with thoughts, and suddenly he thought of a question: "Right, you mentioned earlier the grudge between Bi Sui Liu and A La Mu Shi. Is it possible for these two people to unite?"

  Lao Ba's face turned iron-green as soon as he heard this sentence!

  He looked at Tang Jie with a shocked and fearful gaze, as if he was frightened by the possibility in his casual words!

  I'm in a bad mood, so I'll just post one update today.

  Tomorrow two updates as usual...