Yecao Cao felt the itching of the blindfold but could not move as his hands and legs were tied. The musky taste of an old rag filled his mouth and the bindings scraped against his skin. He was carried like a woman in a strong set of arms. If it wasn’t for the bindings, the experience would have been rather comfortable. Enough to fall asleep. But he needed to memorize each step and turn if he wanted to find a path through the cliffs. It took quite a while before they arrived at their destination. Yecao Cao was dropped in a multitude of pelts.

“Careful, that boy is worth more than the entire city of Dongzhou, “ a raucous voice sounded.

“What should we do? Send a letter to the Emperor?”

“It’s better to send it to the Wang. Let him be the middle man.”

“Do you fear the brat Emperor?”

“Anyone with wit would do so.”

Yecao Cao agreed with the husky voice. The current Emperor was notorious for getting rid of anyone who opposed him. One mistake on their parts could lead to their execution. Though Wang Yu Jían also had a notorious reputation, if not as cruel, it seemed to not be enough for these men to fear him.

Yecao Cao felt a rough hand grabbed onto his chin. “Behave, little Zhiji, and you will get home to your beloved Emperor soon enough.”

“Wonderful, just what I wanted,” thought Yecao Cao sarcastically as the man let go of his chin.

“Though I cannot understand what the Emperor see’s in this guy. I mean, look at him. I have seen pigs thinner than him.”

“Yeah, how the hell did you carry him all the way here, Wei?”

“He is actually not as heavy as he seems.”

“Well, he is rather short.”

“Maybe the Emperor likes them squishy?”

“Well, fuck you all,” thought Yecao Cao bitterly. He could distinguish at least five different voices not including the husky voice that is most likely the leader. He could hear other people at a distance but could not determine how many.

“Should we try him out?”

“I did not know that you liked pandas, Wei.”

“I don’t but I do like curvy women.”

“He is not a woman.”

“…”

“Wait, you didn’t know?”

“Why would the Emperor want a man?”

“How would I know? I just know that Zhiji means he is the male lover of the Emperor.”

“Has he so many women that he got tired of them?”

“Lucky bastard.”

Yecao Cao felt a headache coming on from listening to these idiots. Apparently, the leader did as well as his voice soon sounded throughout the place. “Get to work, fools!”

The echoing sounds suggested that they were most likely in a cave. He could smell the salty air of the sea and hear splashes from the water. He had hoped that they would at least pull off the blindfold but they were not stupid enough to show their faces to him.

Yecao Cao was quietly listening to everything that could give him a clue to where he was and the thieves soon forgot about him. He could hear the sound of a fire along with loud laughter which soon turned into a blurred mess as they became more intoxicated. Soon, few of them could speak clearly and after a while, only snoring was heard.

Yecao Cao twisted his aching wrists and successfully freed them. He pulled off his blindfold and untied himself. His eyes never left the men who laid on their beds but none stirred. They just kept on snoring and mumbling in their sleep. He could see a small ship from where he was. It was hardly an impressive ship as it was built for speed not strength. Black sails adorned the ship showcasing them as pirates.

Yecao Cao slowly rose with careful movements while his eyes were plastered onto the men, fortunately, they were not very clever. It never occurred to them that he might escape so they had not put a guard on him. He soon realized how foolish they truly were as there was no guard by the entrance either. Yecao Cao could only facepalm himself before sneaking off.

He had just turned around the corner when he walked into something sturdy. He held back a squeak and cursed his fate as he must have bumped into the only pirate not wasted. Two bright, blue eyes stared into his and his heart calmed down as he recognized them.

“You scared me Shue!”

“And you did the same with me, Zhiji. What possessed you to act as the bait?”

“I thought it would be a good idea. I highly doubted the pirates would risk getting caught for mere supplies so I just presented them with a better offer.”

“Pirates?”

“Their ship wears the black sails.”

“Are they foreign?”

“No, they are from Tiandi. Most likely from the small islands between Tiandi and the mainland,” Yecao Cao replied before looking back. “Can you get back on your own?”

“Won’t you be coming with me?”

“If you have memorized the way then I don’t need to. The plan was for me to memorize the path here and then escape to get help. But you can travel faster than me so it would be better if you went back to get help.”

“And you?”

“If I’m gone then there is just a question of when they discover it and be alerted to our arrival. As long as I’m there, they won’t move on,” Yecao Cao said before smirking at Shue’s disguise. He wore the rags of a pirate but had not hidden his Vanian traits. “I don’t think that will fool anyone, your hair and blue eyes give you away. Not to mention that you are far to pretty to be a pirate.”

Shue bowed,” I will take that as a compliment but you will need my help to be tied up again.”

Yecao Cao nodded and snuck back with Shue at his heels. The pirates were still snoring heavily and there was no problem. One bearded man rolled over and held onto a bottle of wine like it was his treasure. Yecao Cao froze for a moment but the man did not stir anymore and Shue tied Yecao Cao up with haste.

“What are you doing?”

A husky voice sounded that Yecao Cao recognized as the leader’s. Shue froze but did not turn around. The cave was dark so the leader had not yet discovered his strange appearance. Yecao Cao gasped as he saw Shue’s face twist and turn, reshaping itself. His body cracked as he grew. His hair turned black as the night just as his eyes and soon Yecao Cao stared at the bearded man. Shue grinned at him with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

“Why is the Zhiji not gagged?” another voice suddenly asked. Yecao Cao frowned and peeked over Shue’s shoulder to see two fellows. One tall as a mountain while the other was small and thin. The smaller one had a narrow face with cunning eyes while the towering one was as wide as he was tall and carried a large spiked club. Both were covered in scars and the tall one had his bald head tattooed.

Smaller only carried a scorpion tattoo on his face which made his green eyes stick out even more. Yecao Cao did not know why but both these people smelled of danger.

Shue turned around with wobbling steps and gave the two a grin while he grabbed his crotch,” I thought he could use his mouth for some good.”

Yecao Cao did not know if he should marvel at the accuracy of Shue’s act or be insulted by the insinuation of the comment.

The smaller man raised an eyebrow and said with a cold voice,” and his blindfold?”

“It fell off when I tried to put it in,” Shue laughed silly and the small man grinned to show a row of sharpened teeth making him look more like a shark than a human.

“Did it now?”

The large man hit Shue straight over the face sending him to the floor. For a moment, Yecao Cao’s heart stopped as he was sure that they had been caught.

“You never were able to keep your hands off our prey, Wei. Though I assumed that you at least had the wit to listen to us,” the smaller man said with a grimace.

“Sorry, boss.”

The taller man walked closer to Yecao Cao and lifted him up with one hand from the ground. His dark, cold eyes were like stones. Unmoving though, much to Yecao Cao’s surprise, they were clever. He had assumed that such a large man was in no means intelligent. To ensure that the act was believable Yecao Cao gave him an aggrieved glare and tried to kick him.

“Release me, you beast!”

“At least the little plum still has some spark!” The smaller man said with a chuckled before leaning down towards Shue.

“Lucky for you, Wei. If he had been hurt, I would have cut off your balls and sent them to your mother as a birthday gift,” he kicked Shue. “Get the fuck out of here.”

Shue rushed off but gave Yecao Cao one last glance before he seemed to melt into the darkness. The smaller man came closer and gave Yecao Cao a wide grin.

“No need to hide our faces anymore. Lucky you, I am rather pretty.”

“What are we going to do with him, brother?” asked the large man with his husky voice.

“Let’s take him to our quarter. His chrysanthemum will be far safer with us than with the company of our men.”

Yecao Cao spat at the smaller man who laughed as he leads the way towards the ship. The larger man carried Yecao Cao like he was a sack of rice and he could only curse his fate. Why did he have to do this again?

*****

Wang Yu Jían rushed towards Shue who walked over to him with brisk steps. Shue’s face did not betray his feelings but Wang Yu Jían could see his jaw being stiff. His eyes were clear but hard as iron.

“What news is there? Speak!”

Shue did not even hesitate. “The Zhiji acted as bait. He was captured and taken to the thieves lair. Their ships carry the black sails of pirates. The Zhiji was making his escape when I caught up to them.”

“Where is he?”

“He stayed behind.”

“What?! Why?” Wang Yu Jían groaned and rubbed his temples. He knew why. It was a sound tactic. Discover their lair by sending in a mole. Escaping to then bring reinforcement. Shue would bring the reinforcement while Xiao Cao distracted them. If he had returned to the city, the pirates would have realized that their lair was compromised and moved on. “Can you navigate the cliffs?”

“Yes, I scouted the area. I can describe to you how to get to the cave on foot while I take my ship and attack them from the sea.”

“A two fronted assault…” Wang Yu Jían grimaced. Normally, that would be a good strategy but Yecao Cao was still their prisoner. The pirates might hurt him if they attack without a solid plan but without knowing the capabilities of the pirates… “How many are there? How big is the ship? What about their leader?”

“I saw around twelve pirates but there might be more on the ship. The ship was not larger than any ship you have here. It was clearly built for speed and the size makes it easy to navigate larger rivers but it cannot go into deep waters.”

“And their leader?”

“There were two of them.”

“Two?” Wang Yu Jían felt his chest grow heavy. He had heard a nasty rumor…

“Yes, one small with sharpened teeth and a scorpion tattoo on his face. The other was large as a mountain with a bald head covered in tattoos and wearing a large spiked club. Both seemed battle worn as they were covered in scars,” Shue explained and his eyes narrowed when he saw Wang Yu Jían’s expression. “You know of them?”

“Shit!” Wang Yu Jían exclaimed. “This is why you don’t rush into situations before knowing what you are dealing with. Silly boy!”

“Are the Zhiji in danger?”

“He has bitten off more than he can chew.”