The ocean in the night, a huge island and stars that shined. It was empty of the bustle of people.
Sheng Chumu looked coldly at the tight formation of the Four Seas Sect. He finally understood. Fang Ziyan was different from other pirates. He did not rob merchant boats but loved to attack other pirates. Sheng Chumu had not been with them for long but already saw seven or eight battles of varying sizes. What Suicide Nine, Tiger Bear Clan, Taisui Sect. The more intriguing their names were, the faster they died.
However, today’s Light Dragon Clan was slightly tricky. Because Fang Ziyan had gone on a fighting spree, several pirates had joined them.
“Evil eating evil, be careful not to choke.” Sheng Chumu snorted.
Fang Ziyan opened a wine sack and drank a mouthful. Unexpectedly, he threw the wine sack to Sheng Chumu, intending to share it with him.
Sheng Chumu did not stand on courtesy as he drank heartily. However, his face changed as the wine went down his throat. “They even dare to steal tribute wine?”
Fang Ziyan shrugged. “Give it back to me if you don’t want it.”
“Dream on!” The alcoholic side of him was awakened. It was only when the wine sack was empty, did he throw it back to Fang Ziyan.
“Fang Ziyan, since you are still alive, help me send a letter to Chang’an.” He guessed that Lu Yunji must have killed the messengers that he sent back to shut them up. After consuming the wine, his boldness knew no boundaries.
“Why don’t you just ask me to let you go free?” Did he think he was a messenger?
“I don’t believe that pirates are so nice. I am General Dingyuan from Great Tang. It doesn’t matter what is your motive for rescuing me but let me tell you. I, Sheng Chumu, will not be associated with you.”
In the beginning, when Fu Rou rejected Fang Ziyan, she also mentioned that she did not want to be associated with him. Now that Sheng Chumu was bringing it up once more, Fang Ziyan could not stand it anymore.
“I wasn’t born a pirate. I also had a warm and kind mother. Although her embroidery was average, she was an excellent cook. I love to eat the red braised pork my mother made the most. My father was the deputy of the county and was always conscientious in everything he did. He never took advantage of the people. His only hobby, similar to my grandfather and great-grandfather, was to rear eagles. My father loved keeping eagles and was very good at it. He has a king eagle that everyone would praise for its personality whenever they saw it. I always thought that my father loved his king eagle more than he loved me and was jealous of it.” He was actually speaking about his hidden past to someone he was not very close to; not to mention, the man had stolen his fiancée.
“It sounds like you were the child of an official, so how did you end up as a pirate?” Sheng Chumu was curious.
“Because of the king eagle.” Fang Ziyan narrowed his eyes. “There was an extremely powerful person that got his eye on my father’s king eagle and wanted my father to give it to him. My father refused to do so. After that, my father was set up and locked into prison. My mother fell into depression and eventually passed away because of an illness. In order to hide what they had done and remove all weeds, those people started to chase after me. I escaped to the river but was shot in the chest by their arrow and fell into the river. Eventually, I was rescued by the old leader of the Four Seas Sect. He became my godfather.”
“You are very similar to me and almost lost your life because of an arrow. I was chased until I had nowhere to run and could only jump into the ocean.” Sheng Chumu was sympathetic. He suddenly shook his head. “Eh, to fall into the trap of sympathizing with my enemies. I almost fell for it. You definitely don’t have good intentions for rescuing me.”
Fang Ziyan asked, “Who is chasing after you?”
Sheng Chumu looked at Fang Ziyan seriously. “Okay fine, I will tell you the truth. On the surface, it looks like the rebel troops are after me, But the truth is the despicable people from the Lu family are using them to get rid of me.”
Fang Ziyan suddenly turned serious. “The person who forced my father to give up the king eagle and tore my whole family apart also had the surname Lu. He is a Great General in the Great Tang.”
Sheng Chumu and Fang Ziyan stared at each other before shouting simultaneously, “Lu Yunji!”
Filled with vengeance towards the same enemy, Sheng Chumu put his arm around Fang Ziyan. “On account of our similar hardship, let me sell a secret tactic to you.”
Fang Ziyan shrugged but could not get rid of Sheng Chumu’s claws. “Just say what you want to say.”
“When fighting against the Light Dragon Clan, burn their boats first before surrounding their island. You don’t have to attack them. They will fight among themselves for food and boats. You just have to wait and reap the benefits of their internal struggles.” Sheng Chumu had formed a strategy in his heart.
Fang Ziyan looked at Sheng Chumu. He could not bring himself to praise Sheng Chumu but his eyes were filled with admiration. He called for Ma Haihu and instructed him to do as Sheng Chumu suggested. Very soon, a black cloud appeared over the ocean.
Chapter 20.1: Miracle
The Light Dragon Clan was in chaos and the Four Seas Sect got rid of the last poisonous weed in the seas. The moment Fang Ziyan returned to the ship, he looked for Sheng Chumu. Sheng Chumu sat down pompously. “So now you are willing to discuss with me?”
Fang Ziyan was quite impressed with him. “Since you are so smart, you should be able to guess what I am planning.”
Sheng Chumu laughed, “At the beginning, I thought you wanted to become the king of the seas. However, I don’t think that is the case anymore. You are trying to accumulate merits to return to the court. The reason why you did not kill me is because you need a high ranking official to back you up.”
Fang Ziyan asked, “Are you going to help me?”
Instead of replying, Sheng Chumu questioned, “Are you going to let me go?”
Without any hesitation, Fang Ziyan answered, “As long as you are willing to help me, I can let you go immediately.”
Sheng Chumu only reached out his hand and demanded, “Hand it over.”
Fang Ziyan knew what Sheng Chumu was referring to and he knew that he had been seen through as well. Yet, his pride meant that he refused to hand it over to Sheng Chumu. Sheng Chumu continued to stare at him with his hands out.
The two glared at each other intensely for a long time but Fang Ziyan eventually gave in as he was requesting his help. Digging through his pockets for a while, he finally took out a small thing and placed it in Sheng Chumu’s hand.
It was the spice bag that Fu Rou had given Sheng Chumu.
Sheng Chumu put the item away. “If you do not want to remain a pirate, you should get rid of your habit of stealing things from others. I am the one Rou’er likes and that spice bag was made for me. Keeping it with you would only make you a dirty thief.”
Fang Ziyan changed the topic. “Go back to your room and tidy it up. I will get men to prepare a boat for you. Hurry up before I change my mind. With your terrible mouth, the more you talk, the more I want to throw you into the sea.” Sheng Chumu better not think that he was giving up on Fu Rou. He didn’t get a spice pouch but he still had their betrothal gift, the Pendant of Longevity.
Sheng Chumu turned and rushed back into one of the rooms in the ship. Unfortunately, he randomly entered a room and found Ma Hainiu in the midst of changing clothes. She screamed at him and Sheng Chumu brought a hand up to cover his eyes. Turning around, he bumped into Ma Haihu, who had dashed over upon hearing his sister’s scream.
“What is wrong?” Ma Haihu stared at the situation in confusion.
“Brother, he saw me changing!”
Ma Hainiu’s voice strangely appeared excited to Sheng Chumu.