Voyage With The Pirate King

As the full moon rose to the peak of the inky sky the closed-door meeting finally came to an end. What should have been a two-hour session had run over five hours because they couldn't come to an agreement.

This keystone business was highly controversial considering that Qilin Hao was associated with Prince Rui and this vile man had no good intentions. If they were to offer up those keystones on a silver platter to the enemy they would be not only putting themselves at risk but the entire continent.

Only the heavens know how long it took for humans and the first Nocru to drop arms and learn to coexist. For a very long time, there was tension between the human community and the Nocru living in the same country. The tension was amplified by the segregation of the imperial city from the rest of the continent.

The imperial family and nobles built high walls and separated themselves from who they regard as peasants. The so-called peasants were left to mingle with the Nocru they had fought against for years. It was like taking a cat and a fish then place them in one cage asking them to play nice.

The animosity between the two ran so deep that it was embedded in their bones yet they were now forced to get along. The communities only managed to learn to live together harmoniously when humans and Nocru started having children together.

The more children born between the two the greater the harmony creating a balanced system. But if that portal is opened and there is an introduction of a foreign predator into this ecosystem it would most definitely fuck up this balance.

This means that the war Ji Yao was trying so hard to prevent would happen just with stronger and much more dangerous players. However, this was also the only way he could get his father back. Thinking he could outsmart his mother, which is highly unlikely by the way but let's not burst his bubble as of yet, he agreed with the plan.

Plus he could also screw with Prince Rui as payback for that beating he experienced a couple of days ago. After coming to a mutual understanding as a whole the closed-door meeting finally came to an end.

Feeling a little out of it Ji Yao decided to go to his father's bedroom. Whether it was to calm his seesaw like emotions or that he missed his father that remained a mystery. Ji Yao sat where his father would usually sit and felt a great sense of loss. They usually fought when he was around but that was their way of getting along and now that he wasn't here, Ji Yao felt sad.

His entire life revolved around Ji Wen and now that he wasn't here he felt like a part of him was forcibly ripped from him leaving him with nothing. A huge hole was left in his heart making him feel empty inside.

He pushed open his father's secret compartment and found three bottles of serpent's kiss and the blueprint on how to open the portal. His father being half Nocru barely got drunk on rum or whiskey but the one in his secret compartment was the kind brewed for the Nocru.

And the blueprint was the same one he found in Prince Rui's study. Ji Yao unscrolled it and studied it carefully as he reached for his father's stash of Serpent's kiss. It was an intentional move to numb himself from everything just this once. He opened it and took sip after sip as he scrutinised this blueprint that could change the world in the blink of an eye.

He was curious about Niuq, curious about his grandmother's clan and curious about his mother's clan. He wanted to know what Niuq looked like but the cost for such curiosity was too high. Ji Yao took another sip to dispel that line of thought.

He had drunk before under his father's urging but he never did it again because it tasted horrible. But now that bitter liquid was the only thing that seemed to treat the painful feeling in his heart. When the warmth from the liquid spread across his chest he felt a great sense of ease wash over him.

Because he was sitting down he didn't realise how drunk he was so much so that when he stood up he tumbled to the ground. He sat back down casually brushing his hair back. His vision was a little blurred possibly from the alcohol or from the tears in his eyes.

After encouraging himself a little he finally stood up and managed to get to the bed. He didn't even bother taking off his outer robe which was unlike him. Boots and everything he slipped under his father's quilt and found a cosy spot with great difficulty. He felt like his limbs were lifeless as he fumbled around under the quilt.

Just as he got cosy he laid his head on the pillow only to feel something was a little off. His hand slid under the pillow and pulled out a string with a keystone attached to it. This was the keystone Rui Fei gave to him which the boy robbed from his brother. At least something was finally going right for him.

Ji Wen hadn't taken this keystone with him for reasons unknown but Ji Yao could use this to find the rest. He hung the keystone around his neck and sniffled before falling asleep.

Rui Fei who had just come from calming the torrent wreaking havoc in his veins had seen all of this. As to how he calmed himself down, well, let's just say Ji Wen would be so mad when he finds random craters north side of his island. Rui Fei was like a dog that leaves random holes all over the garden and backyard.

He knew Ji Yao was going through something coupled with his lie but he didn't think he would be this upset. The man had drunk himself silly making this boy worry.

That moment when Ji Yao fell to the ground he was so nervous that he unconsciously stretched out his hand but when he remembered that he was being a peeping Tom he clenched his fist and held back.

But all bets were off the moment Ji Yao fell asleep. He leapt down from the tree and landed on the ground as light as a feather. Without making a sound he slipped in through the window like a thief in the night.

His dark shadowy figure made him seem sinister as he walked over to Ji Yao's bedside in light footsteps. Just as he reached the canopy bed covered with a black lace curtain a loud sound of a sword unsheathing grasped his attention.

He had seen this sword in Ji Yao's hand when he attacked Ju Lang and had to acknowledge its superiority but he didn't think it would have the balls to attack him even when Ji Yao was sleeping.. It definitely had a mind of its own but even then it was no match against Rui Fei.