“I am the Second Young Lady of the Fu family. If you want to demand ransom, you should take me. Let my Third Madam go. She has to go back in order to get the ransom money ready.” Fu Rou not only took the hit for Third Madam; she had offered herself in place of Third Madam.

Du Long grabbed a hold of Fu Rou as he looked at her in disdain. However, he realised that she was actually attractive and raised both his hands to slap the dust off her face. Alas, she was indeed beautiful.

Du Long’s eyes glimmered as he laughed out loud. “Ha, she is actually attractive. This trade is finally worth it! Get the goods and take the young lady!”

Third Madam could not help but grab onto Fu Rou’s sleeve. “Don’t…don’t take her!”

Du Long kicked Third Madam. “If you want to get her back then prepare the ransom money. If not, I will let my men have her after I am done with her myself. Any man would appreciate a beauty like her. Hahahaha!”

The pirates then left.

At another part of the territorial waters, another clash had ended in a fierce battle.

Lu Hanxing was covered in wounds as he was forced to kneel in front of the head of the pirate gang. His eyes remained fierce. “Do you all know who you are robbing? This is General Lu’s ship!”

“I am robbing your Lu family.” The leader stared at him with a penetrating gaze. The leader was Fang Ziyan. He was mortal enemies with Lu Yunji and his revenge had only just begun.

Fang Ziyan waved his hand, ordering his men to dump Lu Hanxing into the ocean.

Lu Hanxing was shocked. He had believed that he was going to be killed. However, as he resurfaced, he caught sight of a small boat and quickly grabbed onto it.

Fang Ziyan looked frostily at Lu Hanxing. “If you don’t die of hunger, thirst or from the heat of the sun, remember to tell this to General Lu when you see him. The leader of the Four Seas Sect thanks him for supporting our men. We hope that he is well.”

Lu Hanxing spat out a slew of vulgarities.

All of a sudden, an eagle’s call filled the air for a long while. Fang Ziyan lifted his hand.

The eagle stooped down and landed on Fang Ziyan’s wrist, closing its wings. A brass messenger tube was tied on the eagle’s claw.

Fang Ziyan retrieved a note from the brass tube. As soon as he read it, his expression changed. “Du Long, you bastard. You ignored my warning to leave the Fu family’s ship alone.” He immediately ordered, “Fine, I shall take this opportunity to get rid of him!”

The Four Seas Sect had the greatest influence in the seas surrounding Guangzhou. When the previous leader passed away, Fang Ziyan succeeded him. The other pirate clans no longer wanted the Four Seas Sect to have the biggest influence. Du Long was not only cruel, he even schemed and ganged up with the smaller clans with the intention of replacing Fang Ziyan and the Four Seas Sect. With them making a move, it gave Fang Ziyan the reason to attack them.

Du Long’s men had always been at loggerheads with the Four Seas Sect. Without a single word, they broke out into a fight. However, Du Long’s men were no match for the Four Seas Sect and the Four Seas Sect barged in.

Fang Ziyan stood in the front of the group as he led the fight but did not see any sign of Du Long. As he thought of how Du Long was well-known for being an impatient pervert, he started to worry that he was too late. 

Suddenly, a cry of pain could be heard from one of the rooms. Fang Ziyan dashed in and kicked down the door.

In the room, Du Long’s hands were covering the area between his legs as he rolled around on the floor. His face had paled from the pain.

Fu Rou’s face had turned red from anger. Grabbing a stool, she hit him repeatedly with it. “We agreed on a ransom. How can there be someone as greedy as you? You want both the money and me? Dream on! If you ever try this again, I will make sure you will never be able to have children!”

Fang Ziyan burst out in laughter. Fu Rou immediately spun around, her eyes were brimming with anger. “Are you with him?”

Fang Ziyan walked over. Fu Rou held the stool in front of her defensively. “Don’t come over!”

Fang Ziyan took off his cloak with one hand while his other hand knocked the stool out of Fu Rou’s hands. He wrapped the cloak around Fu Rou’s body and lifted her in his hands.

Du Long was drenched in cold sweat as he saw what was happening in front of him. Unfortunately, he was in no position to stop Fang Ziyan after Fu Rou’s kick had almost rendered him disabled. He could only shout, “Fang, how dare you barge into my territory and steal someone from me…”

Fang Ziyan stopped walking as he turned his head back. With a glare that could kill, he snarled, “I warned you that you are not allowed to go for the Fu family’s ship. Since you did not take me seriously, then you have to take responsibility for your actions!”

Fu Rou eyes suddenly opened. She felt as if she had a nightmare. In her dream, she ended up in the hands of a pirate. Then, she was captured by another pirate and knocked unconscious.

Fu Rou frantically sat up and looked around her surroundings. She was in a small room, with a window facing the ocean. The rays from the sunset shined through the open window, dyeing the room a fiery red. Light bounced off the blue sea, causing it to sparkle. However, she was in no mood to appreciate it.

It was only then did she lower her head and realise that someone had changed her clothes for her. She was now wearing a clean and comfortable gown.

She was shocked and suspicious but did not feel like she had been raped. Furthermore, her wounds around her wrists caused by the tight ropes had been bandaged by clean cotton cloths.

While thoughts raced through her mind, a tall man entered the room. He had a pair of sharp eagle eyes, and a rather depressing expression. Fu Rou immediately recalled that he was the one who seized her from Du Long.

Fu Rou withdrew to the furthest corner of the bed and remained alert. “My family will definitely get the ransom ready.” Although she didn’t understand why it was another group of pirates, they were all just as bad as each other.

Fang Ziyan looked up as he seized Fu Rou’s chin. Fu Rou wanted to shake him off but Fang Ziyan switched to holding the back of her neck, forcing her to look at him. He raised his hand.

Fu Rou thought that Fang Ziyan was going to hit her. However, his hand landed softly. A cool refreshing sensation spread over her cheek. He was just helping her to apply medicine.

Fu Rou blurted out, “You are different from other pirates.”

Fang Ziyan remained serious. “Am I better looking?”

Fu Rou was not in the best of moods but as she looked at him closer, she could not help but find him slightly familiar.

Fang Ziyan finished applying the medicine and placed the medicine bottle back into his pouch. When he took his hand out, he accidentally dropped something. He quickly tried to hide it, but Fu Rou was faster than him as she snatched it away.

Fu Rou looked at the item that she had snatched away in surprise. “Why is this Pendant of Longevity with you?”

Fang Ziyan’s expression did not change. “This has been mine for many years.”

Fu Rou’s gaze lingered on Fang Ziyan’s face. “You…”

“Back then, there was a young boy that had fallen into the river after getting shot by an arrow. My adoptive father had rescued him. He held this tightly in his hand the entire time he was unconscious.”

Fu Rou was pleasantly surprised she had not expected to be able to hear news about someone from her past. “Then where is that young boy now?”

“Do you know him?” Fang Ziyan looked at Fu Rou. Fu Rou nodded enthusiastically. “I do. We grew up together and he was like an elder brother to me.”

Fang Ziyan’s face froze. “An elder brother?”

Fu Rou interrupted him anxiously, “Where is he now? Quick, tell me.”

“He…” Fang Ziyan laughed bitterly in his heart. “Is dead.”

The hope in Fu Rou extinguished in a second. For a split second, she thought he survived. If so, she would feel less guilty. Until now, she had always felt partially responsible for his death.

“He got shot in his left chest and the injury was too severe. Not long after we rescued him, he passed away.” Fang Ziyan declared his own death.

Fu Rou stroked the Pendant of Longevity. “Then this…”

“I thought it was quite intricate and kept it as a souvenir.” Fang Ziyan’s expression started to close off. “It has always been with me.”

Fang Ziyan then reached out to take it back. Fu Rou was not willing to let go of it. “This belongs to me.”

“You belong to me now. Why are you trying to take my things?” Fang Ziyan got off the bed and headed towards the door.

Fu Rou shouted, “Wait, what is your name?”

“I am the sect leader of the Four Seas Sect. You can call me Fang.” As he finished speaking, he had exited and closed the door.