Chapter 115 - Gray-haired Woman

Life in the pirate town went better than expected. Hei was assigned a small private home to stay with Lian and her little sisters. Each day they would mainly spend their time cultivating. With the resources provided by the Rainbow Island's sects and those from the Secret Dimension, they didn't have to worry about their expenses at the moment. Just during meals, they would go out to eat in the tavern or some other places.

The two guards continued to monitor them all the time, but it wasn't a problem. Since they were secretly carrying out that mission, they always positioned themselves at a certain distance from Hei and his family. Therefore, they didn’t hinder the peaceful family’s life at all, not to mention that Hei and Lian had no plans to do anything shady in the town.

All they wanted to do at the moment was to wait for the next mission, their third and final mission. Thus, Hei and Lian would finally be able to be received at the main base where Pirate General Ho Ri-Na resided.

On one of those quiet days, Hei, Lian, Ye, and Xing were at the tavern eating as usual. They had spent a whole month here in the town and now knew the place by heart. During this time, their spirit power had shifted from the middle seventh stage spirit apprentice to high seventh stage spirit apprentice.

Since they weren’t forced to release their spirit power, no one noticed the change. After all, it was impolite to investigate a person's stage of cultivation. Only if there were reasonable reasons, this could be asked.

Anyway, it was perfectly fine for Hei, who preferred to have some degree of secrecy about himself and his family. It would also be useful to surprise any enemies.

'Big brother, a month has passed. I got bored with being here and just cultivating. Can we play later?’ Ye asked with a disconsolate tone.

Indeed, even the two little divine beasts had worked hard to increase their cultivation and be on par with their big brother and Lian. However, the period of stay in the pirate town had lasted longer than expected. Now they were feeling the approach of boredom since Hei had currently forbidden them to play.

"Alright. Now that we have made a breakthrough, we can take a few days off. For now, think about eating your fill. I will then give you an afternoon nap, and we will play with whatever you want.” Hei replied in a low voice as he consoled his little sister.

'Really? And can we all sleep together?’ Xing asked this time.

Although the little spider was the more diligent of the two, at times, she let herself be carried away by the enthusiasm of her sister Ye. So, she ended up being playful again, losing that aura of seriousness she had.

“Of course, everything you want. Right, Lian? "

"Yes, we'll all have a nice afternoon nap together." The blue-haired young woman replied with a smile as she reassured the two little divine beasts.

At that moment, the door of the tavern opened, and another young woman with long gray hair entered. She must have been between 18 and 20 years old. She wore tight-fitting black pants that outlined her legs, and the shape of her breasts was also visible even with the obstruction of her clothes.

The young woman, with determined steps, went to the counter and ordered the innkeeper, "Give me a big mug of the best beer you have, quickly. I have a tremendous thirst."

The innkeeper nodded and brought the young woman a large mug of beer, filled to the brim. The young woman took the mug and drank it all in one gulp. Apparently, she was really thirsty.

As she finished drinking, a pirate, who often frequented the tavern, approached her, “Hey, little sister. You're new here, I've never seen you around here. How about having a good time with me, your big brother? You will see that you won’t regret it."

The young woman didn’t even glance at the male pirate. Instead, she turned to the innkeeper again, "Another round, please."

The pirate man who had tried to talk to her frowned at the disrespect has was receiving.

"Hey! Bitch, I'm talking to you. "

After saying this, the pirate tried to grab the young woman on the shoulder, but before he could do it...

Slap!

A violent slap flew across his face. The impact was so great that it made the pirate lie down directly on the ground with foam in his mouth.

'A sixth stage.' Hei thought to himself as he watched the scene from where he was sitting.

It was the first time he had ever seen a woman with such cultivation among pirates. But his amazement ended there. It wasn’t as if it were rare to see a martial artist woman as strong as men. The Pirate General Ho Ri-Na and the sect leader of the Flower Sect were an example of how women could compete without problems with men on the path of cultivation. Not to mention the most concrete example he had at his side - Lian.

The gray-haired young woman seemed to notice Hei's gaze because she moved her eyes to where he was. And she was surprised by what she saw.

Although it wasn’t uncommon to see young boys in the pirate ranks, these were mostly deckhands who were embarking on pirate life for the first time. Their cultivation stage would have been low, and they would hardly have dared to go around the tavern on their own. After all, it was easy to come into conflict with other pirates present there.

Yet, sitting at a tavern table, was a young man and a young woman. From the appearance, they were even younger than her. And as the other pirates paid attention not to disturb them, it seemed that they weren’t mere small fries.

The gray-haired young woman was intrigued and walked over to the table where Hei and Lian were.

“Hi, it's the first time I've seen you here. My name is Ho Yeon-Hong, but Yeon is more than good. Can I know your names?” The young haired woman cordially turned to Hei and Lian.

Hei looked up to look at her and replied, “Hei. She is Lian. "

Since the newcomer had been educated to introduce herself before asking for their names, Hei felt it was appropriate to answer her question at least.

"Hei, Lian. And where are you from? Which crew are you part of?” Ho Yeon-Hong continued with her questions. She seemed to be the type of person who always took control of the flow of conversation.

"We come from a distant island. Regarding which crew we are affiliated with, it would be mine.” Hei began to become irritated at that series of questions from a stranger, but he restrained himself and answered anyway.

"Yours? Are you a captain then? What about your ship? What kind of ship do you have? Do you mind if I sit down?” Ho Yeon-Hong, without waiting for Hei's response, moved one of the free chairs to their table, and sat on it.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Hei quickly stood up, "I apologize, but we have several things to do." After saying this, he took his little sisters off the table as Lian got up too.

"Hey! Wait up! Aren't those spirit beasts? Where did you get them?” Ho Yeon-Hong wasn’t discouraged and tried to grab Hei on the shoulder. Ironically, she was behaving just like the pirate she had slapped. Only the intentions behind her actions were different.

Swoosh!

With a slight slap, Lian chased away Ho Yeon-Hong’s hand that was about to touch Hei's body, "It isn’t polite to touch a person you have just met without his permission."

Lian's tone was calm but cold. She was angry at the behavior shown by that newly known young woman. Ho Yeon-Hong appeared surprised by the reaction. She didn’t expect to be rejected so openly.

“Come on, Lian. We're done here, let's not waste any more time."

Hei's voice came like a bucket of cold water over Ho Yeon-Hong. It was the first time that someone defined making her acquaintance as a waste of time. Even if she didn’t reveal her status, her fascinating and beautiful presence alone was capable of captivating men. It was enough to see the interaction of a little while ago with that lewd pirate from before.

But before she could reply, Hei and Lian had already left the tavern in the direction of their home.

After that sudden meeting in the morning, there were no other surprises during the afternoon. As promised to Ye and Xing, the four of them slept together and spent the day playing until the two little divine beasts fell asleep tired.

"Sleep well, my little ones. Big brother promises you he will play with you more often when we finish our duties here.”

Hei laid a series of wool blankets over Ye and Xing. Even though they had no problems resisting cold, the two little divine beasts liked sleeping with a hot temperature. It was because it probably reminded them of their mother's warmth. The same was also true for Hei.

“Hei, about that woman in the tavern today. Her age is similar to Mei's and the others', so she must have a background of a certain importance. My actions may have offended her. If so, I may have got our family into trouble. Sorry. ”Lian said as she bowed her head.

At the tavern, she acted on impulse. Something in her had flicked without her noticing it. So, without even thinking about the consequences of her actions, she had pushed that woman's hand away before she could touch Hei's shoulder.

Hei, hearing Lian's apology, smiled and stroked her head. “Don't worry. It's okay. In fact, I wanted to thank you for your gesture. You have nothing to apologize for."

Lian, therefore, raised her head at Hei's words and looked him intently in the eyes. Her sapphire blue pupils were reflected in Hei's dark brown pupils.

In that delicate moment, someone was heard knocking from outside. Soon after, Old Tohyon's voice could be heard. "Master Hei, there is an emissary for you. They say you have been summoned urgently."

Hearing Hei's words, Hei's brow furrowed. A month had gone by without communication from Pirate General Ho Ri-Na. Now, however, an emergency communication had suddenly appeared. All on the same day, they met that woman. There was, therefore, a high probability that she had something to do about it, but what was her involvement, he couldn’t have known.

Lian appeared troubled by the summons. It was as if her fears of having brought trouble to Hei, Ye, and Xing had come true.

"I'm coming, tell them to give me a few minutes," Hei replied to Old Tohyon, sending him to notify the emissary who had come to look for him.

“Don't worry, Lian, nothing will happen to me. It is not said that the woman from before had anything to do with it. There is indeed a possibility of that happening. But, in the end, an entire month has passed since the attack on the estate at Black Tea City. It wouldn't surprise me if Pirate General Ho Ri-Na started moving again. Probably this rest period is finally about to end, and we have to go back to the ocean again. So, stay here with Ye and Xing and watch them while they sleep, okay?"

Although not entirely convinced, Lian nodded her head. She could only hope that it was nothing serious, and instead, it was as Hei had said. In any case, they would soon find out.

Hei, therefore, left his home and outside were Old Tohyon and one of the two guards who had kept an eye on him for this whole month. He recognized him because, using Snake Tongue to monitor the movements of the two guards, he ended up memorizing their body scents.

“You have been summoned by Sok Yeong-Gi-nim. Follow me.” The guard didn't say much but just ordered Hei to follow him using the name of Sok Yeong-Gi, the spirit soldier under the direct command of Pirate General Ho Ri-Na.

'Old Tohyon, head to the artifact ship and wait there. Prepare to leave immediately, if needed.’ Hei sent a telepathic communication via spirit message to the old seaman who appeared slightly surprised but didn’t show it outside. As they said, the experience was a significant advantage in this type of profession where you could die at any moment of carelessness.

Hei, therefore, followed the guard to the villa where Sok Yeong-Gi was.