Chapter 107 - Four Pirate Generals

After the lively night hunt, Hei finally arrived at the beach with Lian and his little sisters. Even though they had fought, they weren’t exhausted. The opponents weren’t particularly strong, not to mention the cultivation advantage they had over their opponents.

However, after a long day of sailing and the events of a short while ago, it could be said that they had earned a well-deserved rest. But, before that, the two little divine beasts had to take a bath. They needed to remove the blood residue from their bodies. And since they wouldn't bathe alone, Hei and Lian were forced to wash too.

When they got to the beach, they all rushed into the water and enjoyed the warm temperature of the ocean. Indeed, it wasn’t bad to go for a night swim. It was quite relaxing and allowed Hei to think calmly.

As he floated on the water surface, Hei pulled out the Heart and pulled out a small purple round object from there. It was the spirit core of his mother.

Right. In the end, before burying Bao Bei, they had taken their mother’s spirit core. Bao Bei herself had ordered them to do it, and although he was reluctant to the idea, Hei still obeyed his mother.

Given the preciousness of that object, Hei kept it in the Secret Dimension all the time. Occasionally though, he would pull it out to admire it. In a sense, it was like looking at the soul of his mother. Holding the spirit core in his hands was like touching his mother.

Noting that Hei had brought out the spirit core of Bao Bei, Ye and Xing, who were playing chasing each other in the water, approached their big brother. Their expressions had returned to being sad as they watched the purple spirit core with reverence.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to spoil the fun for you.” Hei said, feeling the change of mood of his little sisters.

'No, you don't have to apologize. Is it just that... can we keep it for a while?’ Asked Xing pleadingly.

Her eight legs were immersed in the water and acted as oars to move. The rest of her body instead floated above the water surface, so she hadn’t problems with breathing.

"Sure, take it. You can ask me whenever you feel the need." Hei answered with a smile.

Indeed, his little sisters had never asked him to pull the spirit core of their mother on their own initiative. Only when he did it, they could touch it and hold it close. So, he gave the spirit core to Ye and Xing and watched them as they caressed with love what once represented the essence of their mother.

By his side, Lian was silently observing this moving scene. Slowly, she approached Hei and touched his shoulder.

"Something worries you?" Asked the beautiful blue-haired young woman as her sapphire eyes looked straight into Hei's.

"More or less. I'm thinking about how to act regarding the map fragment we have found. The sect leader gave us enough resources to advance to the second rank, spirit soldier. They are also enough for the first stages of the spirit soldier rank. However, those resources are sufficient only for the two of us. They aren’t enough for Ye and Xing, and I don't feel like killing spirit beasts just to acquire their cores. If they are hostile spirit beasts or that we have to kill to eat, that's fine. But I would like to kill them as little as possible if I can."

“And what do you have in mind? Do you want to go in search of that treasure?"

"I think so. Those pirates were all in the sixth stage. Their leader must necessarily be a spirit soldier if he is capable of commanding so many sixth stage martial artists. Therefore, the buried treasure is precious enough to interest a spirit soldier, perhaps even more. If this is true, we can remedy our shortage of resources. But if we go in search of the treasury, it means that we must attack the crew ships to which these pirates belonged. It means that we won’t fight and kill just because they attacked first. It will be us that assault them."

“And this is what disturbs you? That you could involve people who have nothing to do with the treasure?"

“Let's say yes. Pirates are criminals, but it's not as if all of them are bad. Some of them may have become pirates due to circumstances and may never have hurt ordinary people. But it's too late now. Since mother died, our journey has been marked. I'm not so naive that I have to create stories to satisfy my conscience. In order to have the strength to protect you, I will get my hands dirty with blood, even if I end up involving innocent people.

To tell the truth, if it had been a matter of harming spirit beasts, I would have been more reluctant. But if they are human, then... after all, even if pirates, they remain martial artists. Those who decide to take the path of cultivation implicitly accept to die and kill for their own goals. As far as possible, I will avoid creating unnecessary victims, but if there is someone I must kill, then I will do it."

After his speech, Hei looked up and held out a hand as if he intended to grab the moon.

"I will reach the pinnacle of this world. No, not me alone. The four of us together. We will all reach the pinnacle of this world."

At her side, Lian also reached out her hand, placing it gently next to Hei's.

“Even if in the eyes of the whole world you end up looking like a heartless beast, even if your hands end up turning red from the blood of the people you killed, in my eyes, you will always remain Hei. My family. I bet the same goes for Ye and Xing. So pay no attention to what others think and continue on your way, doing what you think is right and necessary to protect us."

“Thanks, Lian. Without you, I don't know how I, Ye, and Xing would have done."

Having resolved his doubts, Hei made his decision. Lian was right, only his family's judgment mattered. Nothing else. Even if he ended up becoming the enemy of the whole world.

"Ye, Xing. We return."

Taking the spirit core of their mother and placing it within the Secret Dimension, Hei took her little sisters and headed for the beach.

When they arrived on the shore, Hei pulled out several towels and a set of dry clothes for him and Lian. Since it was difficult to wash clothes on the open sea, he had bought enough clothes for a whole year.

Without embarrassment between them, the two youths undressed and quickly dried themselves with the towels before getting dressed just as quickly. The location where they were at the moment was a little far from Captain Fu's camp, and considering that the sailors were sleeping, there was no danger of them peeking at Lian.

When he got dressed, Hei took two large towels and handed one to Lian. Then he gave the girl Ye while he took Xing. Together, they began to dry carefully the two little divine beasts who started to writhe because they preferred to dry themselves with the wind. But of course, it was Hei who had the final say, and they could only accept their fate with reluctance.

When they arrived at the camp, as expected, they saw the sailors sleeping blissfully without worries. Only Captain Fu was awake. At the moment, he was smoking a slightly worn wooden pipe as he slowly exhaled mouthfuls of smoke.

“So, you're back. Have you taken a bath?” Asked the captain.

As an experienced seaman, he quickly noticed the still not completely dry hair of the two youths. Also, their bodies gave off a faint smell of saltwater.

“Yes, my spirit beasts got dirty by exploring the forest surroundings. And since the water was warm, we decided to take a bath too." Hei replied promptly.

He had long since become good at lying to people who asked questions about him and his family. The trick was to tell only part of the truth to seem honest. Indeed, what he said wasn’t false. Except it wasn't the whole truth, that's all.

Captain Fu had no suspicions since he could see the little spider and the little snake still wrapped in towels with their eyes closed. Despite their protests, Ye and Xing had ended up falling asleep as they were being dried.

"I understand. You should still get some sleep. At dawn, the boys will start the repairs, so there will be a lot of noise."

“Yes, we just had in mind to do this. Ah, captain. You have been doing this job for a long time, so I bet you are expert with the stories of famous captains and pirates of the past, right?"

“I can't say I'm an expert, but I have my knowledge. Do you have any questions about it?"

"Does the name Hae Seong sound familiar to you?"

Since Hei and Lian knew nothing about the past of the Forgotten Ocean and the famous people who had sailed its waters, Hei decided to ask the person who had the most chance of knowing the answer.

"Hae Seong? Familiar, did you say? I doubt there is a single seaman who doesn’t know that name. Pirate King Hae Seong. He is a pirate who lived a hundred years ago. As I suppose you know, the Continent doesn’t accept us, martial artists, from the islands. But nothing prevents someone from the Continent from coming to us. But, the difference between the Continent and the islands is like the difference between Heaven and Earth. Even if they are at the bottom of the pyramid, hardly anyone will face such a long journey. The only ones who could do this are spirit soldiers or lower. However, if they ended up messing around, they would be killed by the coalition of martial artists from the islands.”

"And this Hae Seong was, therefore, a spirit soldier?"

"Not at all. Hae Seong was a spirit master and also a powerful one. I heard that he offended someone important on the Continent and ran away with his tail between his legs in the islands. During his escape, he suffered serious permanent injuries, which significantly reduced his strength. Even so, he was comparable to a just advanced spirit master. In a short time, he created his crew and sowed terror in the waters of the Forgotten Ocean, welcoming many followers. However, he eventually bit off more than he could chew and pissed off the big sects. Thus, a coalition of sects confronted Hae Seong's crew, ending that nightmare. Even today, although a hundred years have passed, it remains famous, mainly because his elusive treasure has never been found. And we are talking about the treasure of a spirit master of the continent."

Hearing the words of Captain Fu, Hei was even more convinced. He had to go after that treasure even if he had to delay his arrival on the Continent. After all, even if he went to the continent, the problem of resource shortages wouldn’t have disappeared. And on the Continent, the competition would have been more ruthless.

The Spirit Artifact had defined Hei and Lian as having high-ranked talents. But it wasn't like they were a rarity on the Continent. Besides, martial artists with inferior talent could still overcome them, thanks to the support of their families. Therefore, it was necessary to obtain as many resources as possible before reaching the Continent. Only then, he would have a stable support on which to base his future decisions.

“And what about a certain pirate named Jin-Sang? Are you familiar with him?"

This time, Captain Fu's expression and voice became harsh. His eyes gave a feeling of caution and suspicion.

"Why do you ask me that name?"

Listening to his grumpy response, Hei raised his eyebrows. Apparently, the captain of the crew to which the pirates killed in the forest belonged was someone dangerous.

"I just heard it around. You don't need to answer me if you don't want to." Hei put up an excuse that appeared to be a poorly made-up lie. But the fact that he didn't try to insist made it less lie and more like the truth.

Still half dubious, Captain Fu sighed and answered.

“Well, it's not like it's a secret, and it's not unlikely that you've heard of it. It is one of the famous four Pirate Generals. These four individuals command the largest pirate fleets in the Forgotten Ocean. Son of the Wind, Hong Shin, Storm Lightning Kan Ki-Nam, the Steam Goddess Ho Ri-Na, and lastly, Red Devil Jin-Sang. They are spirit soldiers and govern the criminal world of the islands. However, they are intelligent enough not to affect the affairs of the big sects. Not to mention that their strength makes them rather difficult to get rid of. Among them, the Red Devil Jin-Sang is said to be a descendant of the Pirate King Hae Seong. But if this is true, it isn’t known."

While telling about Jin-Sang and the other Pirate Generals, Captain Fu's eyes had focused on Hei all the time. But the young martial artist had no particular reaction.

'Am I overthinking about things, and it is really as the boy says?' Thought Captain Fu to himself.

“Thanks for your answers, captain. So, Lian and I will take our leave to go to sleep. Goodnight, and thanks again."

Hei's words brought Captain Fu back to reality, diverting him from his thoughts.

"Oh, yes. Goodnight."

Since Hei asked no further questions and since he had no reason to question him, Captain Fu gave up on asking where Hei heard Jin-Sang's name. As an experienced seaman, he knew when it was better not to investigate matters that didn’t concern him, especially if they concerned Jin-Sang. His name carried an incalculable number of corpses behind him, some even belonging to important sects.

Hei and Lian chose a quiet spot in the camp, separated from the rest of the ship's crew. Even though the sailors were sleeping, Hei couldn’t sleep if strangers were too close to him. Even more, now that their mother wasn’t there with him.

'So, it's decided, right?'

Suddenly, a spirit message came to Hei's mind. The sender was none other than Lian.

'Yup. Even if we were to step back, we still have a piece of the map. There is no way he won't come looking for the fragment. But even if he is a spirit soldier, we can still act. There are three other individuals on par with Jin-Sang, and there are chances that they too may have map fragments. So it's likely that we can use their rivalry to get in the way. But before then, we need to increase our strength. We must at least reach the rank of spirit soldier.’

'So are you saying we're going to piracy as well?' Asked Lian.

The only way to increase their strength and stay updated on the situation among the Pirate Generals was to become pirates themselves.

'Yes, but rather than attacking ships of innocent people, we will target pirate ships. If we manage to destroy the stalemate between the four Pirate Generals, then it will be only a matter of time that they will try to kill each other. The ideal would be to join the crew of one of the remaining three Pirate Generals and make him/her grow to become a threat that Jin-Sang cannot overlook.’

Planned their moves for the imminent future, Hei and Lian then closed their eyes and let themselves be lulled by the sound of the waves as they fell asleep. Among them, Ye and Xing were still sleeping blissfully, enjoying the warmth of the bodies of the two youths.