The inn’s restaurant was fully booked and the doors were kept by dozens of men from the Pirate Queen’s crew.

At one of the tables, Wu Long sat with his women on one side and Cao Mei and her mother sat on the other. The waitress served them tea with trembling hands and Wu Long confrontingly smiled at her, giving her a generous tip and sending her on her way.

“First, let me introduce myself, my name is Cao Xiang, and I lead the remnant loyalist army of the Liugwei Kingdon in the Southern Archipelago”

The Pirate Queen was more composed than in the room before as she had some time to process everything.

“It is nice to meet you, I am Wu Long”

He replied with a charming smile and then introduced the beauties sitting beside him.

“You do not seem angry”

Cao Mei asked as she could not understand his attitude that seemed to not match someone who was set up. There was slight hostility on Shen Min and Wei Lan’s faces, as well as caution from Hua Ziyan and Luo Mingyu, but Wu Long and Ye Ling seemed completely unaffected by the events prior to this.

“I just understand your choice. I am not usually merciful to my enemies, andnot overly lenient to those who are used by my enemies either, but I can make an exception for an exceptional beauty”

He shrugged his shoulders and then smiled at her while she widened her eyes.

“Are you saying that you will not pursue this with us?”

“Yes, though I was going to on my way here, but I changed my mind”

He said simply. Cao Xiang felt even more guilty as she lowered her head.

“When did you know? Is it when I delayed for them to arrive? Or even before that since the wandering troupe was already on the island?”

“When I was asked to visit this island I was more or less expecting something similar”

He simply replied and this time it was Cao Mei who had a look of astonishment on her face as she understood that he agreed to go even if he expected a trap while she was cluelessly happy.

“I more or less expected you to be aware of the people behind the scenes since from what I heard your rebellion used to be much more fierce than a simple blockade of the Southern Sea. However, you were still too inconsequential for them to bother with you.

But just as you were about to succeed more than a decade ago, presumably when you just broke through to the Foundation Building Realm and when Cao Mei was still a teen you suddenly stayed your hand and became more passive, which is when I assume you got your first warning from them”

Wu Long started to explain a little more in detail and Cao Xiang sighed, nodding in acknowledgement.

“Yes, I was told that the Liugwei Kingdom is not something I should concern myself with and that they would not mind if I governed the archipelago as long as I listened to their will”

“And you would have fought against them if they did not threaten you with the one weak spot that you got”

Wu Long finished for her and Cao Xiang lowered her eyes again in frustration while Cao Mei’s eyes widened with shock at this discovery. The caution from Hua Ziyan and Luo Mingyu, as well as hostility from Shen Min and Wei Lan, lessened as they understood that if she did not comply, her daughter would be what they retaliated with. ．

“I assume her father was killed by them as a warning?”

Wu Long said with confidence.

“Eh? No, I killed that bastard myself long before she was born”

But Cao Xiang made the air of omniscience around Wu Long sink to the bottom of the sea with the very next sentence.? When he looked at Cao Mei she nodded with confirmation that she knew about that and it was not a big reveal for her either. Ye Ling and the others smiled a little as he got very comfortable in the role of “I predicted everything” during the first part of this conversation.

After some moments of awkward silence, Cao Mei cleaned her throat and broke the silence to move the conversation along.

“I still do not get why you are not going to pursue it”

“When you have something you cherish more than your own life you can be made to do things that you do not want to, it is as simple as that. Although I say that, I would have killed you if you were not an attractive woman”

Wu Long said as Wei Lan rolled her eyes and the others smiled.

“But truthfully, when I met Cao Mei I probed her by vaguely telling her about the people behind the scenes and she truly did not know anything about them, which means she truly is innocent, and I would not want to make her sad by killing you”

He added a little more genuinely.

Cao Xiang sighed with a defeated expression as she never felt so guilty in her life. She was able to somehow barely avoid going against her morals since up to now there were no specific orders to her except not to try and change the rule of the Liugwei Kingdom, which already weighed heavily on her heart these past years. But now, she was ordered to make sure Wu Long was sent into a trap, and when it failed he forgave her.

“There is one thing I would like you to do though”

He said and she took a deep breath, resolving herself, and nodded.

The moment she dreaded came but she was ready for it, and she was resolved to comply since Wu Long was just as much a threat as those people who made her into his enemy. She knew that there was nothing free in this world, not to mention forgiveness for such a grave matter. She also felt guilty so she was ready to make amends, even if Wu Long asked for her body. The only thing she was not ready to concede was her child.

“You will have to go with me on my travel to the Wood Spirit Continent, since when I spared you two, you will now be used to get to me if I left without taking you with me”

He said and Cao Xiang looked blankly at him for a few moments, her mind not being able to process his request which was more of a benevolence.

“You… you want to help us?”

“Not really… it is more like I don’t want to go rescue you after I am back here from the Wood Spirit Continent”

Wu Long replied with a smile.

“I will give you a couple of days to think about it”

“No need, I agree”

Cao Xiang replied to Cao Mei’s bewilderment. Her mother was ready to leave the people she led and head with Wu Long. This was something that she did not understand, but to Cao Xiang it was a simple decision. She and Cao Mei indeed were in danger as they were now associated with Wu Long, and the pirate fleet was too inconsequential for those people, they also should know that it cannot be used against Wu Long, and even if it could be used against her, it would still be not as effective. And on top of that she was already resolved to do almost anything Wu Long asked of her except surrendering Cao Mei in any capacity.

“Wu Long, if they would be in danger by being associated with you… does it mean Sister Feng Yi and my parents…”

Luo Mingyu worriedly asked from him but he gently patted her head.

“They are on the continent, and the path I went through is being secretly followed by the Secret Imperial Guard of the Azure Eagle Empire, since I made a deal with someone from their Imperial Family. And since it is in their interests that I stay safe anyone I am associated with is under protection of the Azure Eagle Empire exactly because they do not want me being lured with them.

The people we are dealing with do not mess with any of the Empires. This Southern Archipelago and the Southern Sea is different though, since it is considered a neutral zone between Empires and none of them can exert absolute influence here? by agreement between them, creating a buffer zone of influence. Which is why they made their move here again after laying low from Jurong to Liugwei Kingdoms”

Wu Long comforted her and she sighed with relief, smiling from his gentle touch.

Shen Min also nodded as her thought was about Princess Cai Yin who remained in the Tingren Kingdom. When her eyes met with Wu Long’s he gently smiled at her letting her know that he understood her worry even if she did not voice it, and she slightly blushed in return.? Even if she was now completely honest with Wu Long, trusting him without reserves, she was not always open about her own negative feelings so Wu Long had to sometimes guess or outright ask what worried her.