The eerie scene almost suffocated Hu Tonghai. Was this a mountain demon or a ghost? Old Hu wasn’t some young fellow moved by lust. He knew that the more bizarre the scene, the greater the risk it contained. He’d rather return to the rain than face unknown risks. Light-handed and light-footed, he prepared to crawl back, his movements slow and vigilant.

Just as he stood up preparing to flee, a great force pushed from behind. Involuntarily, he flew into the cave. Hearing movement, the woman lying on the bamboo bed sat up in confusion, shamelessly sitting at the bed’s edge with legs spread, looking uncomprehendingly at Hu Tonghai sprawled on the ground.

“How about it, Old Hu? This old man’s woman isn’t bad, right?” Qiu Ran Ke, covered in mud and water, walked in from outside the cave leaning on a crutch, a gleaming axe in his hand.

Just as Hu Tonghai was about to speak in self-defense, the axe back struck his cheek. Most of his mouth’s teeth were gone in an instant. Qiu Ran Ke laughed loudly saying: “Old Hu, if you dare do it, don’t explain. This old man accepts being thrown by Yun Ye onto a deserted island to fend for himself, because this old man planned to rob him. However he treats this old man is within reason. But Old Hu, you people betrayed this old man—this old man doesn’t accept it! Speak! In what way is this old man inferior to that slut? Worth you being so heartless?”

Hu Tonghai also ran the jianghu habitually. At the moment of life and death, he wasn’t fearful either. Spitting out the teeth in his mouth, he said loudly: “What good is there following you? Found a nation? Your heart is stuffed with donkey hair? The Great Tang is at its zenith. The Lingnan fleet is extremely powerful. Yun Ye is famously ruthless and merciless. Would he allow you to establish a nation?”

“We’re pirates. Pirates should honestly rob on the sea, living our wandering, homeless days. Your brain short-circuited to go establish a nation. Establish a nation and wait for Yun Ye to come exterminate you? The ocean belongs to the Great Tang, not to you or me. Do you think now is still the chaotic end of Sui where you can crisscross the sea with no one controlling you?”

“Yun Ye came to control the ocean. You also saw how terrifying his three new warships are. If the Great Tang has three today, by tomorrow there’ll be thirty. What do we use to fight them?”

“You also wanted us to send our whole families young and old to Jinao Island. This old man refuses. That’s sending the whole family into a fire pit. Once the Tang fleet comes to encircle and suppress, not one of us can escape. This old man is a pirate, true. This life is fated to be beheaded—this old man accepts it. But my wife and children, I must secure them a future.”

“The Great Tang has never had any amnesty policy. They’ll only send large armies to encircle and suppress. That woman is Goguryeo’s empress, her methods superior. The Great Tang won’t grant amnesty, but they will! Although Goguryeo is also a broken ship about to sink, however you compare, it’s a hundred times stronger than your stupidity. Go ask all your brothers—who doesn’t think this way? If you were devoted to being pirate king, the brothers would follow you risking their lives. A leader like you is truly rare—through water and fire, they’d follow you. But you fucking want to establish a nation.”

“Where are all the eighteen rebel kings and thirty-two routes of dust on land today? Weren’t they all exterminated by the Li Tang? That’s the end result of establishing nations. In the past, brothers at sea also followed Xu Yuanlang in rebellion, including three of my elder brothers. They were all first-rate heroes of the sea, but not one returned!”

When Hu Tonghai spoke to an intense point, he tore off his upper garment with one motion, pointing at a terrifying scar on his shoulder and back, saying again: “Look! This is what the Tang’s Xuanjia Army left me when I fought them. At that time, I wasn’t yet Xu Yuanlang’s man, just following my eldest brother’s instructions to retrieve family members. This wound was left when we fled. My elder brothers, to let me live and care for the family’s young and old, were trampled alive into meat paste by the army.”

“Zhang Zhongjian! Establishing a nation is using human lives to fill it in. No one wants to build your throne with their own corpses. At this time, do you think besides betrayal, we had a second path to walk?”

Full of rage, Qiu Ran Ke never expected Hu Tonghai to be even more furious than himself, and what he said seemed reasonable too. Walking to the bamboo bed’s edge, he pulled that Wa woman’s legs together with one motion, pushed her inside the bed, sat himself at the bed’s edge, and said softly: “Why didn’t you say these things before?”

Hu Tonghai laughed coldly once and said: “Say it in advance? How did you treat brothers who betrayed you before? Boss Liang was also a heroic figure. Thinking you were dead, he took your woman. Seeing you return, he immediately abdicated and returned the dragon head’s seat to you. You, in full public view, split Boss Liang alive in half. Your former woman begged you bitterly to just kill her, not to kill the two young sons. You kicked your wife’s head off with one foot. The two young sons were also smashed to death alive by you. So imposing, so murderous! This old man, full from eating, bored and thinking my life too long, would run to tell you establishing a nation is a stinking move?”

Qiu Ran Ke’s expression changed several times. Finally, he said dejectedly: “Now saying anything is too late. We’re trapped on this island. Yun Ye said this island has a back current. No matter how we run outward, in the end we’ll still be brought back to the island by the back current. Without sufficient power to return to the ocean, it’s just a dream.”

“When I asked him for this woman, I took a fancy to her clothing, all silk—can make sails. Yesterday I built a raft. As a result, still didn’t break out. Ocean waves flipped the raft back. It smashed to pieces on the reef.”

“Hehe, this old man knew that grandson Yun Ye wouldn’t let me off so easily. Old Hu, forget it. That axe blow just now—consider it my revenge. We’ve all mixed until we’re neither human nor ghost. Let’s wipe the slate clean of past matters. We should work together to figure out how to escape from Yun Ye’s bitter prison—that’s proper business.”

Qiu Ran Ke’s words were still credible. Hu Tonghai walked to the cave entrance to wash away the blood filling his mouth, came back to sit by the fire, and said: “As long as you don’t do stupid things like establishing nations again, I, Hu Tonghai, vow to follow you. In this world, finding someone whose word counts is too difficult. One after another, they all call you brother to your face while reaching for weapons at their waist—ruthless people.”

“I’m old, can’t mix anymore. These years I’ve also saved some gold and silver. Keep some for old age. If your ambition isn’t dead, I can assist you with some money. But establishing a nation—please spare me. When I came out this time, my daughter-in-law was already pregnant. I still want to see my grandson before dying.”

The two looked at each other for a moment and sighed together. Hu Tonghai threw away the tree branch in his hand. Qiu Ran Ke tossed away the axe in his hand. Holding their heads, each worried separately. Only that Wa beauty quietly rubbed her bare legs against Qiu Ran Ke’s waist…

Yun Ye’s fleet still sailed on the ocean. The giant ships had no problems, but those merchant ships traveled bumpily. Finally, helplessly, Liu Renyuan issued the order to drop anchor. There were no stars in the sky—star-steering techniques couldn’t be implemented. Although using the compass could also work, the risk was too great.

Day broke. The heavy rain still hadn’t stopped. The ocean became frenzied. Dark clouds pressed low on the sea surface. Enormous albatrosses swept past the giant ship’s mast again and again. The dolphins that usually most liked leading the way in front of ships also disappeared without trace. This was an omen that a storm would rise at sea. Liu Renyuan ordered all vessels to hoist full sails and advance rapidly. Only by escaping this rain cloud area was there possibility to avoid this storm already brewing.

The albatrosses were the best guiding lights. The fleet chased the albatrosses’ figures at full speed toward the coast. From early morning until afternoon, when Liu Renyuan saw yellowish seawater, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. Not far ahead was a lagoon. Only by safely delivering the fleet there could they be considered safe.

A gust of wind blew past. The pirate flag hanging on the mast shook wildly. The storm’s leading edge finally arrived. Yun Ye stood on the bridge, watching merchant ships enter the lagoon one after another, then the Qingque, the Chengqian. When Yun Ye’s vessel, the Princess, entered the lagoon, the auxiliary sail finally couldn’t bear the wind force. With a tearing sound, it ripped open from the middle. The entire ship also violently shook. Liu Renyuan struggled to drive the Princess into the lagoon. At the same time, three iron anchors dropped into the ocean. The Princess paused sharply, finally stabilizing.

Very strangely, the wind blew for a while then stopped. But the ocean seemed to boil even more fiercely. Taking advantage of the last faint twilight, Yun Ye raised his telescope to look around everywhere—discovered no abnormalities.

Wu She paced back and forth on the ship in agitation, telling Yun Ye he had a feeling of great disaster approaching. Not just him—Dan Ying, ever since climbing the mast, hadn’t come down. Xi Tong continuously wiped the mo-sword in his hands. On his thick palms, veins jumped chaotically. Han Zhe hung all his weapons on himself and wrapped two pieces of floating wood around his body.

“Yun Ye, the last time I had this feeling was before my father went mad and wanted to strangle me to death. I hid in a grass nest for three days waiting for him to recover before going back. This time is far more intense than last time. Make preparations.”

For such matters, Yun Ye always readily followed advice. He brought Li Tai over from the Qingque, learned from Han Zhe’s example and bound floating wood all over Li Tai’s body, then connected himself and Li Tai with rope. Liu Jinbao insisted on also connecting his rope with the lord’s. Li Tai’s guard captain had the same idea.

Yun Ye simply ordered every ten people to be connected together, preparing to respond to the unknown disaster about to arrive.

In the distance on the sea surface, loud sounds came—very deep, continuous and unbroken. In the pitch-black night, it seemed an ancient behemoth was stepping with heavy footsteps, slowly walking over. Yun Ye didn’t believe there were any demons in the sea, but the merchants on those merchant ships had already begun kneeling and praying.

Yun Ye and Li Tai, fully armed, sat around a table. Under the dim lamplight, Yun Ye suddenly discovered ripples forming in his cup—different from the small waves caused by ship swaying. He took out a knife and cut the rope connected to himself. Leaning over the ship’s rail to look down, he saw the entire lagoon’s water beginning to leap.

“Earthquake! Everyone to your stations! Prepare to resist the tsunami!” Yun Ye’s voice began to distort.