Chapter 59: Righting a Wrong, Wait for Me to Scout the Pirate Stronghold First

“Eldest Sister, a pirate ship.”

Bai Yu looked in the direction Bai Xi was pointing and immediately spotted the ship flying the skull and crossbones flag.

This wasn’t the first pirate ship they had seen over the past few days. This stretch of sea seemed to be pirate territory; pirate ships passed through from time to time, though most of the time, they traveled in large groups.

Under those circumstances, no matter how strong Bai Yu and Bai Xi were, they didn’t dare to face them head-on.

This time was different. Besides the pirate ship, they saw an ordinary fishing boat. From the looks of it, the fishing boat had been intercepted by the pirates.

The two vessels were some distance away, but both Bai Yu and Bai Xi had excellent eyesight now. They could clearly see the situation: the fishing boat carried ordinary fishermen, while the people on the pirate ship were forcing them to board the pirate vessel.

“This is bad, Eldest Sister. Someone was slashed and fell into the water.”

“Let’s head over.”

The two shared a look. Bai Yu nodded quickly and stepped into the control cabin, maneuvering the ship toward the scene.

As their ship approached, the pirates quickly noticed their presence. While keeping the fishermen under control, they shouted gibberish and steered the pirate ship toward the larger vessel.

This pirate ship was slightly smaller than the one they had encountered before, and it looked relatively low in the water as it drew near.

The pirates, however, didn’t care about the difference in ship size. Instead, they looked at the sisters’ ship with greedy eyes, pointing their blades at them. Some even moved toward the boarding ladders.

Looking at them, Bai Yu knew these people were far from good. She took a metal rod that Bai Xi had specifically prepared and swung it hard at the man attempting to climb the ladder.

With one strike, the man plummeted straight into the water, appearing lifeless.

This single blow infuriated the pirates. They raised their swords and began shouting.

Bai Yu didn’t listen to a word they said. She walked directly to the bow of the deck, leaped across with a powerful kick, and then, with one strike per person, knocked every armed pirate into the sea.

Afterward, she tapped on the ship’s hull with a cold expression.

The crew members were flushed out by her knocking. Seeing the stragglers lying on the deck and then looking at Bai Yu holding the metal rod, they all fell to their knees begging for mercy.

Bai Yu saw no ruthlessness in their eyes. She turned and shouted toward the second floor of her own ship, “Miao Miao, come out and translate for me.”

A moment later, Bai Miao pushed open a window from the second-floor cabin. “Eldest Sister, what do you need translated?”

“Ask them if they have ever killed anyone,” Bai Yu said, pointing at the kneeling crew.

The crew members couldn’t understand Bai Yu’s words, but wanting to survive, they babbled incessantly.

Bai Miao listened for a while, getting the gist of what they were saying before asking, “Have you ever killed anyone?”

Hearing familiar words, the crew members looked up in surprise at Bai Miao on the second floor. They quickly realized this was their chance to live and began explaining their situations.

“One at a time. I can’t hear you with so many people talking,” Bai Miao said, pointing her small finger from the window. “From left to right, each of you explain your situation. No lying! My Eldest Sister can tell if you’re lying.”

After she spoke, the first person on the left immediately started talking about his circumstances.

As Bai Miao listened, she relayed the information to Bai Yu. “This man is a captured fisherman. He’s been rowing the oars and has never killed anyone.”

Bai Yu nodded and pointed, signaling the man to stand with the other fishermen.

The second person continued, also a captured fisherman.

Then the third, and the fourth.

As Bai Yu listened to Bai Miao, she also observed the men. She noticed something off about a few of them, but since they all claimed to be fishermen, she didn’t say anything yet.

Once Bai Miao finished questioning everyone, Bai Yu spoke. “Miao Miao, now ask if any of them lied.”

Bai Miao asked as instructed.

As soon as the words left her mouth, three men jumped out together, pointing at three other men.

The three being accused immediately began crying out that they were being framed.

“They say they really are fishermen and that the ones pointing at them are the bad guys, that they were sent by the pirates to watch them,” Bai Miao said, tilting her head. “Eldest Sister, which ones are telling the truth?”

“These three, of course,” Bai Yu said, directly grabbing the three who had jumped out first. She pinned them down on the deck. “Miao Miao, ask the rest of them about these three.”

Bai Miao asked again, and the remaining men became agitated, pointing at the three Bai Yu had pinned down and cursing them angrily.

By now, the situation was clear.

These three pirates were not only wicked but had tried to trick Bai Yu into attacking innocent fishermen while she was still confused.

Facing such people, Bai Yu showed no mercy. After telling Bai Miao to turn around, she gave each of them a strike with her rod and threw them into the sea to feed the fish, along with the other stragglers from before.

Once these three were dealt with, the surviving fishermen who had been forced to work for the pirates knelt again.

This time, they weren’t as cautious as before. Their expressions were full of the relief of survivors. Even the fishermen who had just been intercepted by the pirates were overcome with emotion.

Just then, someone swam over from a distance. Looking closely, it was one of the fishermen who had been slashed and thrown into the sea earlier.

Bai Yu lowered a rope and pulled him up.

She then had Bai Xi bring some hemostatic herbs¹ to apply to his wound, temporarily stopping the bleeding.

Bai Miao came downstairs at this time to help Bai Yu communicate with the fishermen.

Bai Yu asked, “We want to go to the Pirate Stronghold. Do you know its exact location?”

“The Pirate Stronghold is very dangerous; there are many pirates there,” one of them said. “Even though you are very strong, it might be hard to deal with so many of them.”

“But we have to go. We were separated from our family before. Given the situation with the pirates here, it’s very likely they encountered them,” Bai Yu said, taking the portraits Bai Miao had brought down. “You are sailors, so you should be able to move around the stronghold. Have you seen any of these people?”

As she flipped through the portraits, most people shook their heads.

But when she reached one particular portrait, someone fell into deep thought.

Bai Yu immediately looked at the portrait and saw it was Bai Wei. She felt a slight sense of relief; after all, Bai Wei was a man, so even if he were captured by pirates, his situation might be slightly better than a woman’s.

However, if Bai Wei really had been captured, his situation would still be perilous. Bai Yu asked urgently, “Have you seen him?”

“I’ve seen someone who looks like the person in the portrait, but I’m not sure if it’s the one you’re looking for.”

“Then do you know his name?”

The man shook his head. “The people captured and taken to the stronghold come from many places. Most don’t speak the same language. Even among us, we can’t really understand each other; we only know a few simple words. The pirates are afraid we’ll unite and revolt, so they don’t dare put people from the same place together.”

“Is that so?” Bai Yu frowned, looking at the portrait again. “Even so, we have to go find him. Are any of you willing to come with me to find the Pirate Stronghold? We want to use this pirate ship to go there.”

As she spoke, she felt they might not agree, so she added, “It’s fine if you’re unwilling. I’ll find a way to temporarily settle you on a nearby island. Later, I’ll secure a few pirate ships to send you home.”

After she finished, she waited quietly for Bai Miao to translate.

She was waiting for their thoughts, but she didn’t expect that after Bai Miao finished translating, these men would all begin to weep silently.

After crying, one of the men wiped away his tears and said through gritted teeth, “If we go with you to the pirate stronghold, can we kill the pirates?”

Bai Yu paused for a moment, speaking from their perspective. “Kill pirates? That will be very dangerous. It might be better for you to go back.”

“Even if I die, I’ll kill as many pirates as I can,” another man spoke up. “The pirates charged directly into my home to snatch people. I’m still alive, but my family is all dead. There is no point in me living on, so I will go with you. I’ll kill them one by one, two by two. Even if I die in that pirate stronghold, as long as I can take a few of them with me, I’ll be able to face my family in the afterlife.”

“I’m going with you too. My family is gone as well.”

“I… even though I wasn’t snatched from my home, I was out at sea with my father when it happened. I survived, but my father is dead. I want to kill pirates. Please, take me with you.”

“I’m going too.”

“Me too!”

These crew members all harbored blood feuds against the pirates to varying degrees, differing only in how many relatives they had lost. While they were held in the pirate stronghold, they had no room to fight back, but now that they finally had a chance to kill pirates, they were more than eager.

As they spoke of killing pirates, the eyes of these fishermen, who had previously looked so gentle, became bloodshot.

It was the first time Bai Yu had felt such intense emotion.

She had to go to the pirate stronghold regardless.

Since these people might have seen Bai Wei, it was possible that the people on the same boat as him had also met with disaster and been captured. she couldn’t afford to gamble. The pirates were vicious and cruel; for every day an ordinary person stayed on that island, the danger increased.

“Fine, I will take you with me.”

Bai Xi stood up. “Then I’ll go pack our things.”

Bai Yu looked up. “Xiao Xi, you aren’t coming with me. You and Miao Miao will stay on our own boat.”

“Eldest Sister, how can that be?” Bai Xi instinctively refused. “It’s too dangerous for you to go alone.”

“If I go alone and run into danger, I can hide quickly. But if you come with me, I’ll have to divide my attention to look after you,” Bai Yu said. “Stay on the boat and keep your distance. There shouldn’t be any problems. I will take them to the pirate stronghold.”

Bai Xi wanted to argue further, but Bai Yu spoke again. “It’s not just the two of you on the boat. There are them as well.”

Bai Xi looked back and saw the three women who were focused on making clothes.

Taking advantage of the fact that the others couldn’t understand her, she spoke directly to Bai Yu. “Send them to the forest then. They can live there.”

“We could, but not right now,” Bai Yu said. “I am truly concerned for your safety. We will use the pirate ship to approach the stronghold. I can change into men’s clothing to disguise myself, but you two are still so small. It would be hard to pull off, and the pirates would easily spot the flaw. You can join in later, of course, but only after I’ve assessed the situation at the stronghold.”

Bai Xi looked at her own stature and then thought of Bai Miao’s short height.

If Bai Miao tried to go undercover, she could only pretend to be a captured fisherman, which would inevitably involve some suffering.

Bai Yu’s strength was currently great enough that she could handle ten or even twenty pirates without much issue. If there were more than that, Bai Yu surely wouldn’t be foolish enough to charge straight in.

Bai Xi finally compromised. “Then I’ll go prepare tools and rations for you.”

Bai Yu nodded. “Good.”

Translator’s Notes