Hǎiyáng City was a bustling port city located western coast of the Shang Kingdom. Perhaps the reason it had so much traffic was because it was the only coastal city they possessed. That made it the only trade route available for ships looking to trade goods in their kingdom, and while the Shang Kingdom did not have as much to offer as author nations, they did have several specialties that were highly sought after.

Because they didn’t want people to know who she was, their airship had set down several lî outside of the city, and they had proceeded to travel the rest of the way via carriage. The airship would travel back to the Imperial Capital once they left.

Hou Jingshu looked out the window of her nondescript carriage. There were so many people in Hǎiyáng City that it seemed even more populous than the Imperial Capital. She knew this to be an illusion, however. The Imperial Capital was spread out across several hundred lî worth of land, while Hǎiyáng City was only about fifty square lî in size, according to the maps.

Still, there are so many different types of people.

While the city might not have been as populous, the variety of individuals greatly exceeded that of the Imperial Capital. There were people with light skin, dark skin, black hair, blond hair, and many different colored eyes. As a major trade hub, people all along the west coast did business here.

Their two major trade partners was the Qing Province and Southern Tang Dynasty, both located south of the Shang Kingdom. People of the Qing Province had darker skin due to their location as a desert. They were always out in the sun, and so their skin had grown dark to protect them. Those of the Southern Tang Dynasty had fair skin, but their hair was much lighter, often coming in varying shades of brown and blond. She heard hair dyes were also popular among people from that nation.

No one looked at her carriage, which was exactly what they wanted. This wasn’t a covert operation that required secrecy, but the fewer people who knew who they were, the better.

“You were born here, right, Yewan?” asked Hou Jingshu.

Zheng Yewan, sitting next to her, nodded. “That’s right. I was born here and lived here until I turned sixteen. I moved to the Imperial Capital and joined the Shang Kingdom Imperial Academy after breaking through to the Hunger Realm.”

“What can you tell me about Hǎiyáng City?” asked Hou Jingshu.

Shrugging, Zheng Yewan said, “not much that you don’t already know. I did hear a rumor recently that some pirates have been attacking vessels off the coast. We’ll want to be wary of pirate attacks once we set sail.”

Hou Jingshu nodded as she continued watching the people outside.

They eventually reached the docks, consisting of several wooden piers where more than a dozen vessels of varying size were located. There were several different styles. It was possible to tell which country a ship belonged due based on their design.

All ships were made of wood, but their construction was vastly different. Ships from the Southern Tang Dynasty, for example, tended to be larger and had the prow had a greater arch. They also didn’t have any rowers. The Southern Tang Dynasty was known for the strong water affinity of their cultivators. On the other hand, ships from the Qing Province were all galleys characterized by their long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboards. Most people from the Qing Province had a fire or earth affinity, so they could not rely on manipulating the currents for propulsion.

Yin Wuhan left the carriage and went to speak with one of the dock workers, who directed him to a dark-skinned man dressed in a traditional hanfu of the Qing Province. It revealed much more skin than clothing found in the Shang Kingdom.

“Do you think we’ll be able to leave immediately?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“Doubt it.” Zheng Yawen shook her head. “Most vessels don’t set sail until morning. The sea can be deadly at night. You not only have to worry about crashing into coral reefs that are hard to spot in the dark, but ocean fairing magical beasts are more active at night.”

“So they are nocturnal?” questioned Hou Jingshu.

“Yes. Most of them. I know a few that aren’t, but they’re not as dangerous as the nocturnal magical beasts.”

“Hmmm.”

It was late evening, which meant they would be unable to do more than secure passage. Hou Jingshu bit her lip in frustration.

“You need to be more patient,” Wu Yong admonished. “I know you want to reach the White Tiger Sect Ruins as soon as possible, but even if we reach the ruins now, we wouldn’t be able to enter.”

It was still several months before the White Tiger Sect Ruins would open. Hou Jingshu knew that, and yet, she was just so impatient to arrive. Her father was dying of an unknown illness. She felt like she was on a timer. Even knowing that she wouldn’t be able to enter immediately after arriving didn’t help this feeling of anxiety welling up inside of her.

“I know that. I do. But I can’t help it. I just have this feeling that I need to reach our destination as soon as possible,” Hou Jingshu tried to explain.

Wu Yong and Zheng Yawen shared a helpless look, but Hou Jingshu ignored them. They just didn’t understand how she felt.

Yin Wuhan soon returned to inform them that he had secured passage on a vessel headed for the Qing Province, but they wouldn’t leave until tomorrow. Hou Jingshu had expected that but still sighed in discontent. In either event, since they wouldn’t leave right away, they needed to find a place to stay for the night.

Because Hǎiyáng City catered to traders, there were many inns lining the main street. A lot of them were booked but a few weren’t. They managed to secure two rooms at one of the less prominent inns. It wasn’t exactly dirty, per se, but it definitely wasn’t the kind of place a princess would have normally slept in.

“I am sorry, your--Jingshu. This was the only place available,” said Zheng Yawen.

Hou Jingshu shook her head and smiled. “Don’t worry. I do not mind spending the night here. It’s only for one day.”

Their group was currently sitting at a table inside of the tavern attached to the inn. Most inns had a tavern to cater to hungry patrons. It was a little crowded and dingy, but Hou Jingshu had seen worse places than this. The only thing that really bothered her was the smell. This place reeked of sweet and alcohol.

Fortunately, the food wasn’t bad. All of the seafood they had was caught fresh every day. The lobster that Hou Jingshu ordered was cooked inside of a spicy red soup that gave a shock to her system. It presented a burst of flavor that hit her tongue like a fire technique. Even though she nearly screamed when the spices hit her tongue, she found it impossible to stop eating.

“Don’t look now, but someone is watching us,” Wu Yong said in a hushed voice.

“Where?”

“Across the table to your right.”

Hou Jingshu was unable to stop herself from looking in that direction. Five dirty men dressed in skimpy clothing befitting sailors sneered at her. She almost shivered in revulsion when she saw the way they licked their chops like they were looking at a delicious meal.

She turned away from them and looked at her companions. “Pirates?”

“Most likely,” Zheng Yawen answered. “I imagine they are slave traders too. There’s a good chance they will attack our vessel after we set out for sea.”

Hou Jingshu frowned. She did not want to be attacked at sea. Not only did she lack experience sailing the ocean, but she lacked ocean combat experience too. Fighting pirates on their home turf was not something she wanted to do.

“Let’s kill them now,” she said.

“Uh… you are aware that these five are just a reconnaissance force, right?” asked Wu Yong.

Hou Jingshu nodded. “I know. Yawen, do you think they’re ship is docked at the port?”

Zheng Yawen shook her head. “Highly unlikely. Pirates are not welcome here since they’re bad for business. Even the ones selling slaves need to dock off the coast and come in through hidden channels to avoid the authorities. They’re vessel is mostly likely anchored out at sea. That group probably came here on a small raft.”

Slavery was not illegal, but only officials with a license were allowed to buy and sell slaves. It was also illegal to enslave people against their will. All slaves were either people who had sold themselves to pay off their debts, were sold by family members for the same reason, or were criminals who were serving a life sentence for crimes committed. Pirates typically kidnapped innocent civilians and sold them off to rich families and sects.

“Then we’ll just kill these five so they can’t let their crew learn of us,” Hou Jingshu said.

“Well… yeah, okay. That’s a sound plan,” mumbled Wu Yong.

“Problem?” Hou Jingshu raised an eyebrow.

Her love’s half-brother gave her a wry smile. “None at all.”

The group finished eating their food, then pretended to retire for the night. However, Zheng Yawen slipped out of the room she shared with Hou Jingshu through the window and remained on the roof. She watched the entrance for the group of pirates, who soon left the building. After that, she informed Hou Jingshu and the others, who all slipped out under the cover of darkness.

They followed the pirates from the roofs, careful to maintain just enough distance that they wouldn’t lose sight of them. The pirates eventually left the city. This would have been a problem since it meant they had no cover with which to hide while they tailed them, but Hǎiyáng City was fortunately surrounded by trees. Hou Jingshu had the others follow her from branch to branch.

Leaping through the trees brought Hou Jingshu equal amounts of nostalgia and pain. She remembered playing tag with Wu Jian and Wu Meiying this way. One of them would chase after the other two through the trees. They could not fall to the ground, or they would automatically lose. It was nice to see her training with them had paid off.

Unfortunately, while Hou Jingshu had experience jumping through the trees, her companions did not, especially Yin Wuhan, who was much bigger and heavier than the rest of them. He landed on a branch that was too weak to support his weight and fell down with a scream.

The pirates they had been following quickly turned toward him. They grinned and surrounded the man as he warily climbed to his feet.

“Well, now. I’m a little surprised to see we’ve got a tail. You’ve got guts for deciding to follow us.”

“He might not be alone. We should check our surroundings.”

“Alone or not doesn’t matter. He’s dead either way.”

Hou Jingshu had stopped leaping through the trees the moment Yin Wuhan fell. She crouched low and observed the five pirates as she stealthily removed one of her hair pins from her hair. The golden pin contained no glint. While it looked like shimmering gold during the day, it was painted with a type of dull coat that prevented it from reflecting moonlight.

She sought out Wu Yong and Zheng Yawen. They were both crouching on their own branches not far from her. Wu Yong had already undone his sash and was just waiting for her signal. Zheng Yawen held a black dagger in a reverse grip as she glared down at the pirates.

Hou Jingshu took several deep breaths as she readied herself. Her heart was hammering in her chest with very real fear.

It had been a long time since she had fought with her life on the line. She had not faced such a dangerous situation since the battle against the Ming Family and former elder Wei all those years ago.

I hope I’m not out of practice, she thought before preparing to throw her hair pin.