Xuelang arrived at Donghai three weeks after he told his father they would be visiting. The journey had taken such a short time because he had been eager to get there. His servant had reported to him that Lianhua had been spotted somewhere in the vicinity of the port town.

After Xuelang had taken the throne his search for Lianhua had been cut short and he had not been able to leave the palace to search for her himself. Many times he had gone to sleep at night and had wondered if he should just give up the chase but the idea of not being with her, or any woman for that matter, for the rest of his life always kept him resolute.

As soon as he had hopped off his horse (he had adamantly refused a carriage, as well as wearing his royal attire) and set foot on the ground he had wanted to go and search for Lianhua. However, he knew he had to speak with the presiding general of the town before he could try to escape. Luckily for him he knew the general quite well.

“Your highness, it’s good to see you again.” Came a booming voice from the doorway of the building he was to have the meeting.

“General Lei.” He turned to face the man who had now engulfed him in a bear hug. “I see you haven’t changed, you’re as loud as ever.” The man laughed, his head thrown back and his grey beard trembling.

“And you haven’t changed either Prince Xuelang, oh wait, its emperor now. Please forgive my rudeness Emperor Xuelang.” The man gave him a low and exaggerated bow.

“Stop playing around Lei Cai.” The man rose from his bow, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Let’s get down to business, the quicker I get rid of these pirates the quicker I get to go home.” This was all a lie of course. He wouldn’t be heading home until he found Lianhua.

They entered the building and as the general shut the door behind them he proceeded to explain the situation. Long story short, the pirates had a witch working for them, this was the whole reason why the General was not able to locate them.

“At first we figured they had a hiding spot somewhere along the coast, but after searching the entire area we gathered there was something else going on.” Explained the General. “A few days ago one of our transports got robbed, there were no survivors. That was however until yesterday, one of the ship’s crew members washed up on shore. He was scarcely able to tell us what happened before he died. That’s how we knew they had the help of a witch.”

Xuelang stared at the map that was laid out before him. It showed the totality of the area bounded by the eastern coast.

“I don’t like dealing with witches.” He finally said after some time, his last encounter with a witch running through his head. “Never have and never will. But the presence of a witch here does cause for a drastic change in the situation.”

General Lei’s eyes flashed, he was one of the few persons outside of the royal family that knew of his condition. He was part wolf, even though it wasn’t much. He was more falcon than wolf.

“How do you think we should proceed?” asked the General. During this whole time Xuelang’s father had remained quiet, observing how his son would handle the situation.

“That’s quite simple General,” Xuelang raised his head and gave the man a smirk. “We’re going to use the oldest trick in the book.”

“And what’s that?” he asked curiously.

“We’re going to lure them in, and what better way to lure in a bunch of crooked pirates than a celebration.”

Understanding dawned on the old General and a smirk turned up the corners of his lips.

“As you wish your highness.”

News of the upcoming celebration spread far and wide. Most of the people didn’t know what they were celebrating but who needed a reason to have a merrymaking event.

The date was set for the end of the week so as to give the people five days to get themselves ready for the event. Xuelang could just imagine the excitement the pirates were feeling at the thought of so many people out in the open. A celebration was one of the places where people let their guard down, so for the pirates it was the best time to rob everyone blind.

The day of the celebration came a lot faster than Xuelang had originally thought. He was amazed at the sudden transformation that the town had undergone. Paper lanterns were hung everywhere possible. Stalls were set up along the streets and people flocked from one to the other.

As he looked through the window of his room in the inn he was staying at he could hear the telltale sounds of bells chiming and the tapping of feet as dancers got ready to perform. For the first time in a long while he was excited.

When night fell the whole town was aglow. The lanterns that had been hung were now lit and children were running around with firecrackers. He hadn’t moved from his spot by the window the whole time and as the streets below him became significantly noisier adrenaline started to pump through his veins.

A knock came at his door.

“Enter.” He replied gruffly, he was a little irritated that he had been interrupted.

“It’s time, Sir.” He turned around to face the boy behind him. His earlier anger forgotten as a smile appeared on his face.

“Good, are all the men in position?”

“Yes Sir.” Replied the boy, his back ramrod straight.

“Then what are we waiting for, we’ve got some pirates to catch.” He dashed out of the room with the young man following behind him, or more like trying to keep up with his long strides.

Xuelang left the inn. He and the boy parted way and he began to mingle in with the unsuspecting crowd. He was the emperor. The people surrounding him didn’t know that but he knew the pirates would. His job was to act as bate. He would lure the pirates close enough for the soldiers who were in disguise to capture them.

He walked slowly down the street, pretending to admire the stalls and the craftwork they held. He even bought something. He walked past a stall selling colorful jewelry when his eyes happened upon a little teardrop necklace that reminded him so much of his Lianhua. It was made of tourmaline, a shocking blue-green material that was almost the same color as his eyes. After he bought the necklace the stall owner told him that the piece of jewelry had a twin, he bought that too.

Focusing back on his task he moved forward to a platform that had been set up in the middle of the street. As he drew closer he could see a group of female dancers prancing about on stage.

For a moment he stood there admiring their grace and agility when his eyes flicked on a pair of legs that were extremely familiar. He had wanted to take a better look but the group rotated and the woman went to the back, so he stood there with his eyebrows furrowed waiting for her to come back to the front. When she did though his eyeballs almost came popping out of their sockets.

There she was, his Lianhua, dancing on stage for all these people to see. He was so shocked his mouth was left agape. She was wearing a beautiful red dress that clung to her curves. Her shoulders, waist and legs were left uncovered and to him that was the same thing as her being practically naked.

When he realized however that there was over a hundred pairs of eyes watching her he didn’t know if he should be angry or jealous. In the end he decided that he was both angry and jealous that so many people were staring at what was his.

He had been momentarily distracted by her dazzling beauty, forgetting completely that he was doing a job. Luckily for him she didn’t notice him so he had time to slip away with a promise that he would return for her after the mission was over.

Not long after that the pirates made their move. Xuelang had felt there presence the moment he moved from the stage. He led them away from the crowds and to a more remote area. He had feigned having a stomachache and while grabbing his abdomen he had sped up his pace. And just as he had planned the pirates flew in for the capture. But what they didn’t know was that they were the ones who were going to be captured.

Men crowded around him and he had to stop walking. Their beady eyes trained on him. They had long curved swords and knives pointed at him and as he witnessed the rotten smile coating their lips he almost threw up what little he had ate for dinner. He was still trying to repress his gag when one of them rushed him.

“Come now gentlemen, no need to rush.” Swiftly he lifted his hand in the air, signaling for the soldiers to attack. There was a flurry of feet as ropes and nets began flying out from every direction. The pirates hardly realized what was happening before they were all bound.

“Mission accomplished.” Said Xuelang as the pirates were rounded up and shackled. All manner of curses filled the night as the prisoners were dragged away.

“Your highness.” Called General Lei who was approaching him. The man had a huge smile on his face and if he hadn’t been expecting it Xuelang would have surely fallen over from the heavy slap the man landed across his back. “Well done.” The smile never left his face.

“All in a day’s work.” Said Xuelang rolling his battered shoulder. “Now that the mission is over, if you would excuse me I have somewhere to be.” He didn’t wait for the General’s words before he hurried off.

By the time he made it back to the stage the performance had ended. Desperately he had looked around for her but to no avail. It was then he realized how stupid he was being, he was a wolf for crying out loud! Taking in a deep breath through his nostrils, he searched for the scent that was uniquely hers.

After a few sniffs in some really crude places he finally picked up on it. Quickly he followed where his nose led him, not wanting to lose the scent among the other scents swarming around him.

She always led back to the water, didn’t she? He thought to himself as he made his way to the outskirts of town and onto a path leading him to what he guessed was a nearby river, judging by the smell.

He was walking for no more than a few minutes when he happened upon a small cottage sitting near the river bank. Lianhua’s scent was all over the place and it was mixed in with something that smelled oddly familiar.

For a while he contemplated if he should move forward or not. He waited so long to find her but now that he had he didn’t know what to do. He had planned so many things for this moment, he had had dreams about what he would have done if he found her but now none of those things mattered.

He was about to turn around and walk away when he heard the front door to the house open and his beautiful little lotus stepped outside in nothing but a thin cloth wrapped around her waist. All rational thought left his mind as his head swam with desire. He stormed over towards her and just like the first time they met he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. But only this time he pulled her to his chest and his awaiting lips.