Yecao Cao grimaced as he flexed his sore back. He had not been sleeping between two men since he had to sleep with his two elder brothers when the rooms were being renovated in their estate. Being pressed between the muscles of two larger men was not a dream of his. Neither was it to be thrown onto the deck of a ship like a sack of rice.

The two brothers, how they could be related was beyond Yecao Cao, ordered the dull men who were receiving divine punishment for their enjoyment last night. Most of them looked half-dead and could only reply with a groan. The man Wei, who Shue had been impersonating last night, received punishment for taking liberties with the prisoner. Wei just looked utterly confused by the matter and Yecao Cao could not help but to pity him. Though he soon remembered that Wei was a pirate who had kidnapped him.

“So you do like pandas, Wei,” chuckled a scrawny man who was missing two front teeth.

“Shut up, Hong!” muttered Wei and send Yecao Cao an angry glare like this whole ordeal was his fault. Well, it kind of was but Wei did not know that.

“Wei, keep scrubbing the deck. I want to see my face reflect on the floor,” shouted the smaller of the brother’s which apparently was called Xiao Nu. His larger brother called Da Nu turned to give the two men a glare which sends them running like headless chickens.

Xiao Nu grabbed onto Yecao Cao’s face with a grin. “You sure keep drawing our crewmen’s attention. If you keep that up we might allow them to entertain themselves with you.”

Yecao Cao sends him a glare which only made the man more amused. “Like I want their attention!”

“As long as the goods don’t get too damaged,” Da Nu commented with his husky voice and earned himself another glare from Yecao Cao which was utterly ignored by the large man.

Yecao Cao did not have a chance to reply though as a loud yell echoed from a distance,” Intruders!”

Pirates rushed off to confront the intruders but Yecao Cao could not see the battle. He could only hear the loud yells and smell the fire. Loud clangs of swords colliding sounded in the distance and the battle was moving closer. Yecao Cao made a sigh of relief that did not go unnoticed by Xiao Nu.

“It’s too early to celebrate, Zhiji.”

With a roar, every man on deck turned to their leaders,” Set sail!”

“But our men-“ Wei begun but his mouth slammed shut when he faced Da Nu’s cold eyes promising to cut him in half if he finished that sentence. Without another word, the men started to set sail. Shouts of surprise were heard from the cave as the men on the land were abandoned by their leaders.

“Cowards! I guess you truly fear the soldiers after all,” Yecao Cao mocked but Xiao Nu only kicked him.

“Do we look like fools? Why would we fight an army when we can just-“

“Brother!” Da Nu interrupted him but it was all ready to late. The only opening among the sharp cliffs was covered by a giant shadow looming over the ship. Its giant sails covered the sky and left no room to breathe.

The ship of the Vans was truly a sight to behold but apparently, the brothers did not appreciate it as Xiao Nu grabbed onto Yecao Cao forcing a dagger to his throat as shadows jumped onto the ship. The Vans wore shimmering scalelike armor that gleamed in the morning light. They looked far from common sailors and Yecao Cao had to once again wonder if the mainland was so rich that it could equip even commoners with such armor.

“If you don’t want your Zhiji’s face to be carved off I suggest you back off!” Xiao Nu hissed between his teeth and pulled at Yecao Cao who grimaced when a searing pain crossed his neck. He could feel blood dripping from a fresh wound and cursed the fool for not being more careful.

The Vans did not stop though and soon pulled out their weapons to engage the pirates. Xiao Nu clicked his tongue in annoyance before nodding to his brother who pulled out his terrifying weapon.

With one swing, the Vans was pushed aside. Only a few of them were able to roll out of the way but were hit during the second swing.

“Look at your friends being squashed like melons!” Xiao Nu said in delight which made Yecao Cao’s stomach turn. He bit the man's hand with such ferocious force that he could hear the man's hand crack. Xiao Nu squealed and threw Yecao Cao off him. Yecao Cao grimaced as he landed hard and tried to wiggle his fleshy body up when a shadow was cast over him.

Yecao Cao squinted at Xiao Nu who had drawn a second blade,” I will send you to the Emperor in pieces.”

The dagger fell and Yecao Cao tried to roll out of the way but froze when a loud crash interrupted the attack. Xiao Nu had been kicked to the other side of the deck with such a force that a shockwave erupted from the attack. Yecao Cao squeaked as he was thrown away by the force and looked up at his savior with wide eyes.

Wang Yu Jían held up his sword towards Xiao Nu with a face devoid of his usual gentleness. “This boy is not for you to touch, scoundrel!”

Yecao Cao’s eyes fell upon Xiao Nu who spat out blood and cracked his neck. His previous relaxing stance was switched out for one of caution as he stalked Wang Yu Jían. Yecao Cao could understand why. That kick was not normal. The force could only have been made with chi, the weapon of a cultivator, but Wang Yu Jían wasn’t from one of the sects. He must have trained in secret and from the looks of it, his level wasn’t low.

Yecao Cao got up on his feet when he noticed that Wang Yu Jían had gotten the attention of the other brother as well who walked over to them.

“A cultivator?” Da Nu asked and narrowed his eyes at Wang who snorted.

“That is for you to find out, Da Nu.”

“You know of us?”

“I know your reputation. I heard that you were exiled from the Li sect on the Fang Zháng island. Even the rowdy Li Tieguai thought you to be too undisciplined for his clan.”

Yecao Cao grimaced as he listened to Wang Yu Jían. Two cultivators. Wonderful. This would surely not be an easy fight.

“The old man doesn’t allow sharp weapons,” Xiao Nu said and licked his daggers. “So he was distraught when he knew that I and my brother used them. My brother even filled his club with spikes just to enjoy the feeling of ripping his opponent to pieces.”

Wang Yu Jían did not react but Yecao Cao’s eyes narrowed as he watched the two. For each second, his doubt started to grow. He was now fairly sure that Wang Yu Jían would not be able to handle them on his own. He cast a glance on the Vans who were either hurt or busy subduing the other pirates. He really didn’t want to fight.

Just as the thought left his mind the two scoundrels attacked. Yecao Cao let out a gasp when wind hit his face as the smaller Xiao Nu showed a speed not even common among cultivators. Yecao Cao’s eyes could barely see him but Wang Yu Jían fended off the attack but soon faced the giant monster called Da Nu and the battle went downhill as Wang Yu Jían was hit with a kick that sends him flying.

He landed on his feet but blood flowed from his mouth. The Wang had barely the time to gather himself as Xiao Nu was there in a flash cutting at the Wang with his daggers. Wang Yu Jían was able to dodge but a red stream across his face bore witness of the attack.

“Xiao Cao, run!” The Wang shouted at Yecao Cao who clenched his teeth. If he wanted him to run he would run. Yecao Cao’s body relaxed as he took a deep breath. He felt his chi flowed through his blood like a river and focus on it. An ancient chant came out from Yecao Cao’s mouth foreign to those who listened. A loud clang like that of a bell rang for each word being uttered.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Zhiji before a loud sound like that of a shockwave erupted and the body of the Zhiji vanished. It took a while before everyone’s eyes caught up to the scene and their eyes turned as a shout echoed.

“Ouch! I think I broke my hand!”

Yecao Cao had tears in his eyes as he held onto his throbbing hand. Xiao Nu laid on the ground with wide eyes while rubbing his jaw. A grimace erupted from the Zhiji’s face as he pulled on his clothes that no longer fitted him. His body had turned from that of a panda to that of a beautiful, thin man with pearly white skin that gleamed in the sun. He would surely have been a sight to behold if his pants weren’t gliding off to show his ass to the world at the moment.

“My hand hurts!” Yecao Cao complained to the Wang who had gotten onto his feet with a wide grin.

“So you have learned your grandfather's technique!”

“Didn’t you hear me? My hand hurts!”

“That tends to happen when you hit someone at the speed of light,” Wang Yu Jían chuckled and pulled out a small sword from the ground and threw it to Yecao Cao who barely was able to catch it. Unfortunately, what little cover he had vanished when he grabbed onto the sword as nothing was holding his clothes up. He cursed his grandfather’s technique, the fleeting plum, as it was really impractical. It allows you to use fat to transform it into chi that enhanced one's speed. He had only used it for running away though, as that was what his grandfather had used it for. Now he had to use it for fighting and it turns out that the technique did not give one fighting abilities.

“Another cultivator? I have never seen such a technique before. Which sect are you from?” asked Xiao Nu with eager eyes.

Yecao Cao snorted and tried to stand there dignified while holding on for dear life to whatever clothes he had on and pointed the sword at Xiao Nu, “Don’t insult the great me. My grandfather’s technique was created by him and he was far better than any cultivator.”

Yecao Cao lied without shame if only in hope of intimidating them. A failed attempt as neither of his adversary looked frightened. In fact, Xiao Nu looked excited and licked his dagger. “Let’s test that speed against mine, shall we?”

Before Yecao Cao could answer Xiao Nu set off with his own ridiculous velocity but fortunately, now Yecao Cao could follow him. In fact, his movement seemed almost dull as Yecao Cao started to run in order to collide with him. Which was truly fortunate, as he needed that advantage to counter Xiao Nu’s far more experienced fighting skills.

Yecao Cao sword collided with the daggers which send a shockwave through the deck. Most had to hold on to something but Wang Yu Jían had no such luxury as he had resumed his battle with the tall brother. With a graceful dodge, he countered the large man’s attack. He was able to get a few hits in but wasn’t able to send the man flying as he had done with the smaller brother.

The sword didn’t even scratch the large man’s skin and only gave him a few bruises. Wang Yu Jían grimaced and withdrew his sword. He relied on his inner force to break through the large man’s defense. With a well-aimed palm strike, the Da Nu threw up blood showing signs of internal damage.

“Brother!” shrieked Xiao Nu and Yecao Cao took this as an opening. He threw himself at Xiao Nu.

A piercing pain rushed through his abdomen and Yecao Cao grimaced at Xiao Nu’s grinning face. “Not very experienced, are you boy?”

A sickening laugh echoed in Yecao Cao’s ears while he looked down to see Xiao Nu’s dagger pierce through his stomach. “Why do everyone aim for my stomach? Is the heaven’s trying to tell me something?” Yecao Cao thought bitterly and pulled himself away from the dagger with a grunt.

“Xiao Cao?!” Yecao Cao heard the Wang shout but was distracted when he was sent flying by Xiao Nu’s kick.

Xiao Nu waved triumphantly his dagger to the crewmates who cheered. Yecao Cao gritted his teeth and focused all his power onto his legs. With a high speed and arms trembling. He threw himself one more time swinging with the last of his strength. He could hear shouts from the crewmen trying to warn their leader but Xiao Nu confused it with cheers. His grin faded when a slash over his throat stopped his shrieking laughter.

Yecao Cao grimaced as he looked into Xiao Nu’s shocked eyes. They slowly became dull as the light left them. The head rolled off his body leaving only silence in its wake.

“You fucking-“

Yecao Cao wobbled but could not run as he supported himself on his sword. In a daze he stared at the large, enraged body rushing towards him. Da Nu threw everyone in his way overboard as he rushed towards the man that killed his brother.

Yecao Cao closed his eyes as the large man winded up his spiked club, waiting for his death. A gurgle reached his ears and he opened his eyes as something warm dropped onto his face. He stared at the large man being impaled by a spear. Behind him stood a man in golden scale armor and a dull expression on his face.

“Thank you, Wuya!” the Wang said with a sigh and bowed to the Van who pulled out his spear like the man was a fish leaving the body soulless.

“Shue ordered me to aid you,” The Van said casually. Wang Yu Jían nodded before going over to Yecao Cao who groaned and fell to the ground.

“Xiao Cao! Are you okay?” Wang Yu Jían asked and pulled Yecao Cao into his embrace. Yecao Cao saw Shue jump onto the boat from the shore which the ship had been pushed to. He rushed over with medical supplies and Yecao Cao couldn’t help but grin.

“I should have stuffed my clothes full of cakes.”

Wang Yu Jían and Shue frowned at his weird comment but Yecao Cao had no time to explain as he soon lost consciousness.