Chapter 109 - Pirate Deal

It took some time to lose the guards. Since it was a pay period, many of them wanted to earn some extra cash through some arrests. Fortunately, with the detection abilities of Ye and Xing, losing the guards wasn't particularly difficult.

"Phew... we got them out of the way. But it will be better not to go around for now. Let's go find somewhere to sleep, okay?" Hei proposed to his little sisters and Lian. They nodded their heads and followed Hei.

Since they didn't know the city, he had to ask passersby for directions. The tavern wasn’t the only place that allowed to rent rooms. There were several hotels placed here and there in the city. Usually, these places were quieter than taverns because of the higher price, which was better for them since they could rest undisturbed.

So, they came to a luxurious hotel and booked the hotel suite on the top floor. Since they were martial artists, luxuries that were unthinkable for ordinary people were nothing but trivial expenses for them.

Usually, Hei was a thrifty guy, only spending what he thought was necessary. But he thought it was nice to indulge in luxury from time to time, mostly for Lian and his little sisters.

The long sea crossing had been rather tiring, and they would soon be riding the waves of the Forgotten Ocean again. Therefore, they didn’t know when they would be able to rest like this.

The room was huge, at least compared to the ones Hei had seen. On one side of the wall, there was a large queen size canopy bed with soft, high-quality blankets. There was also a polished wooden desk and a couple of sofas with finely crafted fabric.

The bathroom was also huge and had a large bathtub that could easily contain several adults at a time. There were a series of glass flasks containing perfumed fragrances and various soaps.

Rounding out the suite, there was a balcony overlooking the city. From there, it was possible to observe the frenetic coming and going of people on the streets and the unfolding of city life.

Hei let out his little sisters who were happy with the room and began to explore it curiously. Hei instead went straight to bed and lay down, followed shortly after by Lian.

“Since we can't move and have to wait at least until the night comes, it's better to rest. The beds in the cabin weren’t all that comfortable, so we should sleep now that we have the chance."

Lian nodded that she understood and slipped with Hei under the covers. Then the two youths went to sleep. Even Ye and Xing, after having explored the suite, got on the bed, and slipped under the covers, sleeping blissfully.

They spent the day in the suite, enjoying all the comforts that room offered. They even had a banquet worthy of a noble brought into the room and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.

In the end, the night came, and it was time to go. Hei paid the housing costs, and with Lian and his little sisters, he left for the tavern.

The situation in the tavern had calmed down. The guards had arrested those they found passed out. The lucky few who survived the fury of Hei and Lian managed to escape, taking advantage of their knowledge of the city streets. Even though they were angry about how things had gone, they decided to leave it alone. They had learned their lesson and wouldn’t disturb those two young martial artists.

However, even if it was calm inside, it couldn’t be said that the place was in place. Most of the tables and chairs had been destroyed and were to be thrown away. Therefore, for that night, the tavern was closed to the public.

But the owner wasn’t worried or angry at all. The compensation he had received was well beyond the expense necessary to repair his business. Not to mention he had already ordered new tables and chairs that would arrive the next morning. So his business would stop only for tonight.

Therefore, when Hei and Lian arrived there, they found the door locked. They tried to knock a couple of times until the innkeeper's voice came from inside.

"We are closed. Come back tomorrow."

"It's me, let me in," Hei replied quietly.

The innkeeper recognized Hei's voice and hurried to open the locked door.

"Sorry, sorry. I thought you were other customers who wanted to come in. Come on, get inside."

The innkeeper removed himself from the door to make room for Hei and Lian, who entered the tavern. As they had imagined, the place was quite bare, and inside, there were only a couple of tables and chairs that survived the morning brawl. But what attracted the two youths was the presence of a man sitting on one of those tables.

He was a man in his early thirties. Like most seamen, he had various scars on his hands and face. He was currently drinking a mug of beer while chewing what appeared to be a chicken leg.

When he saw the man, Hei's eyebrows furrowed. The tavern was supposed to be closed right now. Therefore, either he was a host's acquaintance, or he had something to do with the request that Hei had made.

“As you can see, I haven’t been idle. I took the initiative for you to summon someone who can help you with your request. He is-"

As the innkeeper was about to introduce the man, he raised a hand to tell the innkeeper to stop talking. Then, taking the last sip of the mug and finishing chewing, he turned to Hei.

“So are you the kid who wants to become a pirate? I heard you make a mess today. What's your name?"

Listening to his words, Hei frowned even more. He could sense that the man wasn’t taking him seriously.

“In theory, it would be courteous to introduce yourself before asking someone for their name. Don't you think?"

Hei's voice was steady as he stared at the pirate without blinking. The pirate was irritated by that answer and replied.

"Boy, what do you think I am? I am a pirate. Those fucking rules don't apply here. Now, answer the question or else disappear."

"I understand. Okay then, I'll disappear. Innkeeper, in the end, you weren’t as useful as I hoped. Be satisfied with what I have given you."

After saying this, Hei turned and headed for the door. The innkeeper, hearing those words, panicked and tried to remedy that situation.

"No, wait. We can still solve- "

"There is nothing to discuss. I have no interest in dealing with someone whose name I don't even know. I indeed want to give myself to piracy, but it isn’t as if there is only a group of pirates, Am I not correct, my dear pirate without a name?"

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Hei turned and smiled in the direction of the pirate, still sitting at his table. The pirate had a slight wrinkle sticking out of his forehead. He didn’t like at all the disrespect that Hei was showing towards him. If it were up to him, he would have torn that brat to pieces, but...

"Alright. I'll tell you my name. Are you willing to talk then?"

At that point, Hei went to the pirate and sat down at the table. Behind him, Lian remained standing, ready to intervene at any moment.

There were three reasons why Hei had acted so arrogantly. First, he didn't want to get into a passive position in the pirate deal. If he had accepted his terms without discussion, it would have been difficult to manage things according to his will.

Second, since it was about recruiting new members, it was unlikely that a spirit soldier would come. But they would send a seventh stage instead since he had shown his cultivation that morning during the fight.

And third, it was to guess which crew the pirate belonged to. If his conjectures were correct, with a seventh stage martial artist as a recruiter, he had to belong to the crew of one of the four Pirate Generals. And if he stopped him despite their dissent, then it meant that the Pirate General needed talented men for his/her plans. As a result, it was likely that something was going on regarding the stalemate between the four Pirate Generals.

From how Hei had managed to realize these details in a short time after a rapid interaction with the pirate, it was easy to notice his high capacity for analysis and perception.

"My name is Mo Songmin."

"I am Hei."

"Well, Hei. So why do you want to become a pirate?” Mo Songmin asked as he looked into Hei's eyes. He was trying to detect traces of lies in the words of the young boy before him.

"To get stronger," Hei replied briefly.

It wasn’t a lie. The main reason for Hei's actions was to get stronger.

“To get stronger, you say? I understand. You're a man of few words. So I'm going to go straight to the point. I can't tell you which crew I am part of, nor you can ask the innkeeper or any other person. I will come to find out if you asked about me. In that case, you can forget about any possibility of being recruited. Does it suit you?"

Hei nodded quickly but said nothing. He was waiting for the rest of Mo Songmin's speech.

"Okay. To get started, you will have to carry out some missions on my behalf. When you prove yourself reliable, you will be subjected to a final test. If you succeed, you will be officially part of the crew. Do you have a boat?"

"I own an artifact ship."

At the word ship artifact, the pirate was quite surprised. Hei didn’t expect Hei to possess such a thing. His expression became more serious.

"Is it possible to see this artifact ship?"

“Yes, but it is hidden. And I don't want anyone else to know about its location. If you want to see it, you will have to follow me. But you will have to keep your eyes closed all the time. Always assuming you dare to trust me."

Hei smiled again, this time more bold to put pressure on Mo Songmin. In reality, there was no need for such a request since the artifact ship was currently within the Secret Dimension. However, he wanted to see how far the Pirate General, that Mo Songmin served, needed talented recruits.

Mo Songmin appeared conflicted. Several times he bit his lips in indecision, but eventually, he convinced himself to take the risk. He could sense that the boy in front of him had something in mind and wouldn’t risk doing something foolish like attacking him.

"Alright. Led the way."

With Mo Songmin accepting his offer, Hei got up from the table. He left some coins at the innkeeper for his work. Then, he headed out of town with Lian and Mo Songmin.

He didn't have a precise point in mind. He just needed to walk until they reached a reasonably appropriate place to hide an artifact ship. Mo Songmin was therefore blindfolded by Lian's ribbons as soon as they set foot outside the city.

When they reached a small grove overlooking the ocean, Hei stopped. Then he took out the Heart and placed it gently on the ground. From there, the artifact ship came out. At that point, Hei motioned for Lian to remove her ribbons from Mo Songmin's eyes while hiding the Heart.

Mo Songmin looked around briefly to get an idea of where they were. Then his gaze fell on the artifact ship in front of him. When he saw it, he was amazed and couldn’t help but murmur a few words.

"Hey, wait. Isn't this the artifact ship of Jin-Sang's pirates?"

Swoosh! Snap!

Lian's two ribbons wrapped violently on the pirate's neck, who was lifted into the air. Hei pulled out his spear and prepared to strike.

Noting that the two young martial artists weren’t joking about killing him at all, Mo Songmin sent a spirit message to Hei because he was unable to use words because of suffocation.

'Wait, cough. You don't need to kill me. If you let me go, I'll tell you everything. Please.'

Hei quickly pondered his words. From Mo Songmin's words, he didn't seem to be part of Jin-Sang's crew. But since he recognized the artifact ship, it was likely that he was familiar with the Red Devil’s crew. If it was because he was an ally or an enemy, that Hei was unable to know. However, for the possibility that Mo Songmin was an enemy of Jin-Sang, Hei ordered Lian to let him go.

Mo Songmin was dropped to the ground and remained in that position for a few moments as he coughed violently, trying to catch his breath.

"Speak, or I'll force you to do it."

Hei didn’t allow himself to be pitied and mercilessly ordered that Mo Songmin began to spill the beans. The pirate looked at the boy who he had looked down on all the time. His anger told him to take revenge for the affront received. Yet his instincts told him that he would surely die even if he was a seventh stage spirit apprentice like that brat.

“Before I speak, let me ask you something. What happened to the men to whom this artifact ship belonged." Mo Songmin took on a grim expression while asking that question.

Even if it meant making his situation worse, he had to know the answer. It was necessary to get out of there alive.

Hei didn’t lie and answered his question.

"Dead. They are all dead."

Listening to his words, Mo Songmin couldn’t help but be surprised.

"Dead? Do you mean all ten men in that group and their three spirit beasts?"

From how Mo Songmin knew the numbers of pirates to which the artifact ship belonged, and even the number of spirit beasts at their disposal, Hei became even more convinced that Mo Songmin knew well the composition of the Red Devil Jin-Sang’s crew.

"Yes, all dead. We killed all ten pirates, including their spirit beasts."

Hearing Hei's confirmation, Mo Songmin was stunned.

Dead? How was that possible? Even though they were only in the sixth stage, the fact that they always traveled in ten and the presence of their spirit beasts made them an important component in Pirate General Jin-Sang's crew. It was difficult for spirit apprentices to try to attack them.

“So, are you ready to speak or no? It's your last warning."

"Okay. My name is Mo Songmin, and I am part of the crew of the Steam Goddess Ho Ri-Na. The reason I recognized the artifact ship is because I was given the mission to track down that ship. The elimination of that group of pirates and their spirit beasts is of great importance for our captain's plans. However, since we cannot send one of our spirit soldiers at the moment, that mission has been entrusted to us, sixth and seventh stage spirit apprentices. But I never thought they would be killed by a couple of kids.”

Listening to Mo Songmin's words, Hei caught some interesting details. He had used the words 'one of our spirit soldiers.' Therefore, there must have been other spirit soldiers under the command of Pirate General Ho Ri-Na. And if that was true for her, all the more reason, it had to be the same for the other Pirate Generals.

“If it was really you to kill that group, then I have a proposal. You want to become pirates, don't you? If so, then what I have to say will certainly interest you.” Mo Songmin suddenly said as he tried to get out of that situation.

"Speak," Hei replied briefly. He didn't want to expose his thoughts to Mo Songmin. In that way, the pirate would still feel in danger and reveal other interesting details.

“Our captain, the Steam Goddess, is looking for reliable and talented new members. I don't know the details, but I know she's planning something big. If, as you said, you two killed Jin-Sang's men, then our captain will be more than happy to welcome you. She will also certainly put you in her main projects since you own an artifact ship. If you spare me, I will talk to her so that she will accept you into the crew. Furthermore, I can assist you in modifying your ship. If you intend to sail the ocean with that ship, you have to modify it. It’s possible that I am not the only one who memorized the features of that artifact ship."

At Mo Songmin's words, Hei smiled into himself. Jackpot! He had managed to catch one of the four big shots on the first attempt. And from what he heard, the Pirate General Ho Ri-Na was preparing something big. And it was likely to be related to the map fragments. But even if it wasn’t the case, it was still an opportunity that he couldn’t miss.

"Okay. I'll let you go. But on the condition that you sign a blood pact in which you swear that what you told me is true. If you refuse, you leave me no choice but to kill you and erase every trace of your existence."

Mo Songmin bit his lip until he bled. But in the end, he accepted. Even though he didn't like the idea of the blood pact, what he had said was the truth. So, he had nothing to fear. Furthermore, the deal only concerned things he had already said and didn’t force him to say anything more to Hei.

After signing the blood pact, Mo Songmin left. Hei agreed that they would meet at the tavern in precisely three days from now to find out Pirate General Ho Ri-Na's answer.