Chapter 504: Chapter 504: Endless Battles_1
Legend has it that the King of Pirates was initially a woman from a brothel, extraordinarily beautiful, who later married the pirate leader Zheng Yi, becoming the Lady of the Bandit Chief.
However, she wasn’t content with being a woman behind a man. During pirate operations, she began to devise strategies for her husband, eventually garnering the respect of the Pirate Navy and being referred to as "Sister-in-law Zheng Yi", embodying the phrase "with my name, crown your surname".
Moreover, she was not only wise but also a formidable swordsman. Her longsword danced like the wind, creating ripples in the water. An unknown number of people became the souls slain by her sword.
In one battle, Zheng Yi died, and Shi Fanggu took over his Pirate Navy. With the help of her nephew and adopted son, she became the terrifying King of Pirates.
As a pirate, she enforced tolls, murdered for plunder, burned and looted. Naturally, she did many bad deeds.
However, the saying that evil shall meet evil did not come true for her. Shi Fanggu eventually accepted the Qing Dynasty’s amnesty, married her adopted son, who ranked second in the official hierarchy. Thus, she became Lady Grant and ended up spending her old age in peace.
The impression the legendary heroine left on Qin Sisi was profound. Therefore, when she saw the portrait provided by the captain, she immediately remembered the image of Shi Xiugu from a book. The two images merged in her mind.
Now, Qin Sisi could roughly guess the grudge between Shi Fanggu and the captain. She slightly turned her head and asked in a deep voice, "Did she kill you and your crew?"
The captain sighed sorrowfully and replied, "Yes, my fleet was passing through a port, her people demanded protection money. I, relying on my genuine skills and a large group of brothers, refused to pay."
As a result, when she found out, she directly waged war on my fleet. Most of my brothers died in the battle. With their cover, I, along with five brothers, tried to break through the encirclement on the fastest ship, but unfortunately, we failed."
In the heat of battle, the losing party naturally has to pay the price with their lives.
After a brief hesitation, Qin Sisi continued to ask, "The five beheaded ghosts, they were beheaded, right?"
She remembered reading that Shi Fanggu’s favorite method of execution was beheading.
The captain nodded and said, "They were beheaded, and I was dismembered and thrown into the sea."
Originally, her people planned to take my ship, but for some reason, there was a sudden storm at sea. The sea wasn’t afraid of Shi Fanggu. When she discovered the worsening weather, she immediately retreated with her people, and my ship was abandoned at sea."
In the evening, when the Messenger of Death came, I felt aggrieved and refused to leave. My five brothers stayed with me, roaming the sea on our ship."
After hearing the captain’s entire story, Qin Sisi felt some sympathy for the captain and his fleet. However, there was no right or wrong in a pirate battle, only victory or defeat.
But there was one thing that she was very unhappy about with the captain.
"Since your brothers were so loyal to you, how could you bear to devour their ghosts?" Qin Sisi asked indignantly, still unable to get over the fact that the captain had devoured the last two ghosts.
The captain responded loudly, "For us, the ship is most important. I have the greatest ability. Seeing the enemy in front, the ship might not be safe. I am the only one who has the ability to fight you."
At the captain’s resounding words, Qin Sisi was momentarily speechless. She wasn’t one of them and couldn’t comprehend their sincerity in sharing hardships.
However, thinking about the moment when those ghosts took off their heads, placed them on the floor, and loudly shouted "Welcoming the captain" with determination, maybe the captain was right!
After contemplating for a moment, Qin Sisi said to the captain, "Your wish is to get revenge by killing her, right? But the Qing Dynasty has long perished, and she has been dead for many years. I’m afraid I can’t help you fulfill this wish."
Gleaning the captain’s thoughts, Qin Sisi decided to be straightforward, which was better than refusing after the captain had made his request.
The captain did not show disappointment. Instead, he stared at Qin Sisi and asked, "Didn’t you say you could fulfill wishes for the next life?"
Of course, he knew that many years had passed and he could no longer avenge his past life. However, there were still other methods.
Qin Sisi was startled. "You mean...?"
The captain cut her off decisively: "In the next life, she and I shall continue to be pirates, and we’ll have another fight. I refuse to believe that I won’t be able to defeat her."
If they were adversaries in a past life, they would continue to be adversaries in the next. Never-ending battles, till death do them part.
Qin Sisi paused and asked, "What if you fail again in the next life?"
The captain promptly replied, "Then we’ll continue fighting in the life after the next."
Qin Sisi asked somewhat helplessly, "Can’t you let go?"
The captain responded firmly, "Not until I defeat her. Only then can this grudge be put to an end."
Qin Sisi was inclined to counsel the captain. If the cycle of revenge continues, when will it end? It would be better to let go and live life separately. You take the high road; I’ll cross my single-log bridge.
But she opened her mouth and eventually didn’t say it.
A fixation becomes a fixation because the parties involved harbor emotions that others can’t comprehend, let alone empathize with – greed, attachment, anger, hatred, and the cycles of love and revenge.
Qin Sisi turned to look at Ye You. He nodded in agreement.
Qin Sisi no longer dwelled on it and said to the captain, "Fine, I promise you. In your next life, you and Shi Fanggu will still be adversaries. If you win, the grudge is settled. If you lose, you’ll continue to be adversaries in the life after the next until you defeat her."
The captain was visibly moved, probably because he had never thought he would have another chance to fulfill his wish.
He made a fist and bowed in thanks to Qin Sisi, saying, "Thank you, miss."
Qin Sisi shook her head slightly, saying, "I’m helping you fulfill your wish, and you’re offering me your Soul Power. This was a trade from the start, there’s no need for thanks."
The captain insisted, "Miss, even if you didn’t receive my Soul Power, you could always find other ghosts, whereas I, if I miss this chance, I’m afraid I’ll have to keep drifting in the ocean for a very long time. I’ll never have another chance to fulfill my wish."
As he spoke, the captain reached into his pocket, pulled out a small, exquisite pouch, and handed it to Qin Sisi. He said, "This pearl I came across by accident; it’s quite valuable. I’ve always carried it with me, but I’ll definitely have no use for it in the future, so I’m giving it to you, Miss!"
Qin Sisi was taken aback. She accepted the small pouch and pulled out a water-drop-shaped pearl from inside.
