~~~六~~~

~~~旅程开始~~~

After finishing their meal, the four walked up the stairs to get some rest before officially starting their journey in the morning when the two human men realized something.

"A-Lián, are you sharing a room with Wūsé?" Zhang asked as he and Yuan narrowed their eyes at the fox immortal.

"Yeah, always have," the ravenette replied with a shrug as she stood right outside her room, "Saves money and let's us plan better."

"Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" the nineteen-year-old questioned before Wūsé wrapped an arm around the female's shoulders.

"We've been sharing a room for almost ten years now, there's nothing wrong with it," he retorted while leaning against the woman of similar height, "Plus, aren't you sharing a room with the cloud boy?"

"That's enough," the princess sighed, lightly slapping her long time companion on the arm before turning to the two males.

"Outside of the palace I will act as free as I possibly can, so please bear with it, but you don't have to worry about Wūsé," she explained, "He hasn't done anything to me and won't ever, so let's all just get some sleep before we start heading out."

Unbeknownst to the female, as soon as she walked into her room the male in black stuck his tongue out at the two mortals before following and closing the door behind him.

"So we're really just going to let them come with us?" he asked, turning around to face the ravenette who had already laid down in bed with a book in hand.

"You know how they are," she spoke, not even looking up as the male fillened in the space next to her, "They may be vastly different in personality but they share the same stubbornness."

"It's just easier to let them come along and adjust our plans on the way," the woman continued as she turned the page, "plus they might make it easier for us when we reach the islands."

"All this effort just to get your hands on a thing you don't even know actually exists," Wūsé sighed as he slipped his arm under the woman's neck.

"Even if it doesn't, going somewhere outside of the continent would be fun," she chuckled, a small smile playing on her lips as she continued to read, "Getting to see new places and experience a new culture."

"A-Lián, you're the strangest mortal that I've ever met," the man chuckled softly as he laid on his side and wrapped his other arm around the ravenette's waist.

"From the way you act to the way you naturally attract strange occurrences is unlike anything I've ever seen with others," he continued while placing his chin on her shoulder, "It could even compete with the strangeness of the immortals."

"Oh, you mean those 'bastards from heaven'?" Mei Lián quoted as she closed her novel and looked to her companion with an amused smirk, "How flattering."

"Trust me, you're so much better than those pretentious fucks, because you actually have a heart," the noiret commented as the female rolled her eyes, "no matter how much you try to play it off, you're the most loving, cutest thing that I've ever come across in my twenty thousand years of existence."

"Get the fuck off of me," hissed the female as she began to struggle in his arms with a pout, "I am not cute! I will fucking gut you!"

"I'm sure you will," the male chuckled, ignoring her attempts of escape before the candles blew themselves out and the room was plunged into darkness.

The next morning, the group of four had a quick breakfast downstairs before they continued making their way southeast out of the small town.

"So what exactly is your plan on getting to the Shèng Islands?" Zhang questioned while they walked down the dirt road, "Not many ships go there from what I know."

"Well I have my ways, but in order to get there we're going to head over to Kashā first," the ravenette explained casually.

"You do realize that is one of the most dangerous port cities on the continent, right?" the nineteen-year-old replied, "Who in their right mind would pick us up from there?"

Mischievous smirks appeared on both Wūsé's and Mei Lián's faces as she turned to the newer pair and said, "Take a wild guess."

"They aren't more immortals are they?" the younger of the human males continued with wide eyes, "how many of them do you know?"

"Just A-Sé," she chuckled while placing a hand on the immortal's upper arm, "The ones taking us to the Shèng Islands are completely human."

"Kashā is a place known to be riddled with bandits and other criminals," Yuan stated as he looked down at the female who walked at his right, "these friends of yours..."

"Are indeed criminals," Wūsé finished his signature smirk, "surprisingly successful ones considering who's in charge of them."

"If she hears that you've been talking shit, you know she's going to kill you right?" the ravenette mused as she raised a brow at her longtime travel partner.

"She can try, but the only mortal who has the capability of killing me is you," the fox replied as he tapped the female on the nose, earning a loud hiss.

"You really do get around, don't you?" Zhang chuckled with a lopsided smile as he scratched the back of his neck, wondering what other secrets would be revealed on this trip.

"Yeah," she chuckled back before staring at them with piercing crimson irises and slitted pupils, "It's nothing personal, but if you breath a word of this to my family, I will personally rip out your vocal chords."

As the Pàn male's eyes widened in shock at the sudden physical change the Second Young Master Kang placed a hand on the princess' shoulder and she realized her unintentional mistake.

'Fuck! Māo, we're fucked!' she thought while snapping her head forward once more, forcing her eyes back to their original state, 'I really hope he won't press on that!'

"A-Lián!" the male in red called as he moved in front of her and held her by the shoulders, leaning in to inspect her eyes.

"What was that?!" he pressed even after she shoved him off and began walking again at an even faster pace than before.

"Hmm, I don't know what your talking about!" the ravenette sung as she spun around him and continued on her way, the other two males just watching the whole event unfold.

"Yuan, Wūsé you saw that right?" Zhang questioned as he turned to the taller male with wide eyes, "Her eyes turned red and looked like a snake's!"

The male in white only let out a hum and walked passed him with the fox immortal, neither of them even giving him a second glance as he lagged behind.

He wanted to know more, but it was obvious that none of the others would speak of what just happened so Zhang just kept quiet, deciding he would find out on his own sooner or later.

The rest of the week was spent traveling down to the coast, stopping at towns for the night when they were available or camping when they weren't before they reached Kashā.

If there was one thing they learned in that week was that the female really did not like to waste time as the only breaks taken, other than for sleeping once the sun set, were honestly for the two mortal males as the Second Princess and her older companion barely seemed winded.

They weren't joking when they said that they traveled from sunrise to sunset, slaying demons as they made their across the continent on foot rather than using cultivation like the two males were used to doing for their hunts.

"Well, if you wanted to get from Point A to Point B as fast as possible using cultivation would make sense," Mei Lián had said after being asked by Zhang once they arrived in the shady costal town, "But when you're being hunted down it draws too much attention so it was best to go by foot even if it is a bit slower than flying on your swords or my fan."

"Oh yeah, your spiritual weapon is a fan," the noiret commented as they made their way into an inn to break for lunch, "What's its name?"

"Sabrina," she replied, opening the fan to reveal the characters written vertically on the left side of the tree that was painted on it.

"Sabrina?" Yuan questioned with a raised brow upon hearing the foreign name, not hearing anything like it before in regards to spiritual weapons.

"My mother wielded a western styled sword called a saber when she was alive but the blade was buried with her," the ravenette explained as she ran her fingers over the illustration.

"So it's a tribute to your mother," the Pàn male stated earning a nod from the female as she began playing with her fan.

"The name also translates to 'river goddess' so it was also a good fit for me as my base elements are water and spirit," she continued before closing the weapon once the food arrived.

"Yeah, one could easily guess your element was water," Wūsé chuckled as he picked up his own chopsticks, earning nods from the other males at the table.

"I'm going to pretend I know what you mean by that and just not ask," the ravenette muttered, taking a sip of her peach tea before starting her meal.

"Who's taking us to the Shèng Islands?" the male in white questioned, getting straight to the point of why they were in the notorious town in the first place.

"Hehe, I can't tell you when there's other people around," the ravenette mused quietly as her eyes flicked to the others who were seated at other tables.

"I mean you can, but we'd most likely get jumped the name was spoken," Wūsé chuckled under his breath before drinking a cup of wine, "You'll see in a few hours."

After everyone was done with their food, the ravenette led them down to a cove that was hidden from sight unless one looked at it from the sea.

"A-Lián, should we be worried that you're going to kill us?" Zhang asked as they just sat down on the sand to wait for whoever was supposed to pick them up, "This place is pretty secluded."

"I mean, if that's an invitation, then-" "A-Sé, behave yourself," the princess scolded as she pulled a book out of her bag of holding, "We aren't killing them."

"Fine, fine," the male in all black sighed before laying down completely, draping an arm over his eyes to block out the sun, "but remember what was promised."

"How could I ever forget when all you do is remind me of it?" Mei Lián chuckled as she turned the page of her book before a certain Pàn Clan male laid his head in her lap.

"Zhang, what are you? A cat?" the female asked as she raised a brow and set her book to the side, but not moving to shove the male off.

"Hey, get off of her, that's my spot!" the immortal hissed as he removed his arm to glare at the much younger male along with the male in white.

"Then why didn't you take it before I did?" the nineteen-year-old retorted as he merely stuck his tongue out at the others.

"Guys, all of you are adults, please act like it," the ravenette sighed as she did her best to ignore the tension between the three males and go back to her book.

Just as she was getting to a climactic part in the story, she heard a low growl and when she looked up to her immortal companion his eyes were glowing a bright gold.

"If you're just going to act like children, I swear to the gods, I will swim to those damned islands by myself right now!" the ravenette snapped as she sent a pointed stare to each of the males, "So you better work out whatever little... issues you have with each other."

The fox let out a low chuckle as he turned away, gritting his teeth in a strained smile as he resisted the urge to summon his own weapon.

"If it weren't for the fact that A-Lián's clothes would be stained red, then I would have slit your throat by now," he hissed before moving to lean his head on the ravenette's left shoulder and wrap an arm around her.

With a sigh, she just shook her head and looked back down to her book only to feel a pang in her chest that prompted her to look over at the male in white who sat by himself.

"A-Yuan, why don't you come sit with all of us?" the princess suggested as she pat the empty spot to her right, "It's going to be a little while longer till my people get here anyway."

The tallest of the group said nothing but took his sword and moved to the spot, earning a small smile from the female before she went back to reading.

"What book are you reading?" Zhang questioned as he looked up at the paper cover from where he was laying his head.

"It's a translated version of a western horror-romance novel," Mei Lián explained, while turning the page to digest the characters on the page, "You wouldn't like it."

"Really? You don't seem like the kind of person to enjoy romance novels," the older male commented with a raised brow.

"That all depends on how it's written," the female replied, her eyes never leaving the paper, "Clichés are disgusting but that's why I like this book. It doesn't go by just the clichés."

"It has an overarching story that has the romance as just a small part of the plot even though the relationship between the love interests is what the piece is known for in it's home country," she explained, tapping the spine of the book lightly on Zhang's nose.

"A-Lián, that's boring," he whined batting the book away as his nose twitched, "If you want to read about passionate relationships, then I have some recommendations for you."

"Pàn Zhang!" Yuan hissed, immediately reaching for his sword upon realizing the meaning behind the other's words.

"What? I'm sure A-Lián has read that kind of stuff before!" he retorted, earning an amused lip twitch from the fox immortal as he looked over at the ravenette, "Right?"

It was difficult to ignore the stares that the two sent her way, but the eighteen-year-old managed as she stayed silent and kept her eyes on the off white parchment of her book.

"A-Lián," Wūsé mused with a smirk as he leaned in to touch his nose to the female's cheek, "Why don't you answer the bastard's question?"

"I mean it's not like I haven't," she muttered, pushing away her companion's face, "Admittedly, some of them are pretty interesting."

"Hmph, no one would know since you can read that kind of stuff with a straight face," chuckled the male in black only to get smacked in the chest with the ravenette’s book.

"A-Sé!" she practically squealed before burying her face in the parchment to avoid the wide-eyed stares of the other mortals since she couldn't move away with someone on her lap and an arm around her.

"A-Lián, there's nothing wrong with liking p-" "Say another word and I will-" Mei Lián started before losing her train of thought "I'll... You all just. Stop. Talking..."

The sun was in the middle of the sky when the fox immortal took his head of the princess' shoulder and said, "They're here."

Looking to the water, the female nodded and placed her book back into the bag tied to her waist upon seeing a large ship with a tattered black flag marked with a skull and crossbones flying from the crow's nest.

"By the love of the heavens, you're friends with pirates," Zhang commented with a sigh as they all stood up and waited for someone to approach them.

"And I have an immortal as a travel compaion," Mei Lián replied with a shrug as she rolled her neck, earning a satisfying crack, "Which is more surprising?"

The male in red only shook his head with a small sigh as their companion in white kept his gaze locked on the ship that got closer before stopping and dropping a rowboat to the water.

When the boat reached shore the group was greeted by a shorter female with dark brown, shoulder length hair and circle framed glasses as she sprung up with the oars that were almost taller than her.

"Mei! Wūsé!" she called with a large smile as she leapt out of the dinghy to envelop the taller female in a hug, "It's been so long since we last saw you guys!"

"It's nice to see you too, Shay," the ravenette chuckled, returning the hug before gesturing over to the other two males.

"These are Pàn Zhang and Kang Yuan, my new friends," she introduced as the two gave their own bows to the youngest female, "They're going to be joining me."

"Um... I don't think I can take five people in one trip," Shay muttered as she looked between the group and the dinghy, "Unless one of you is willing to swim."

"No worries," Wūsé replied, morphing down into his more compact form before being picked up by the ravenette and sending a smug look to the other males.

"That works! Now come on," the young pirate chuckled before beckoning the group to the small boat, "the captain's been waiting for you!"

"You're the ones that took your sweet time getting here, but alright," the eighteen-year-old chuckled as everyone got settled into their own seats.

As the female rowed them over to the main ship, the princess let out a satisfied sigh as she leaned back and closed her eyes, hair fluttering lightly in the breeze.

Purple eyes taking notice of the female's new hair stick, Shay said, "Where did you get your hair stick, Mei? It's really pretty."

"It was an engagement present from her fiancé," Wūsé's voice spoke, causing the eyes of everyone to widen as they stared at the immortal.

"Mei, you're engaged?!" the younger woman shrieked as she shifted her gaze to the ravenette who looked down at her companion with betrayal written all over her face, "To who?! And since when?!"

"Second Princess Mei Lián was engaged to the Second Young Master Kang Yuan of the Kang Clan during the Millennium Festival," the fox explained, tail swishing lightly from side to side as it hung off the side of his partner's legs.

"Wait so you're engaged to him?" Shay asked as she nodded towards the male in white while keeping her gaze on the Long Clan Princess, "... You do realize that they're going to grill him, right?"

"They won't as long as all of you keep quiet about it," hissed the ravenette as the boat was lined up against the main ship for ropes to be tossed down.

"Keep quiet about what?" questioned a voice from behind the small boat as everyone looked over to see a young man swimming in the water.

"Jano, you better keep your mouth shut," the female demanded, pointing her closed fan at him just as the ropes were tossed down.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything as long as he doesn't mess with us," the boy promised as he brushed hair out of his face, "It is normal for higher ranking people to marry other higher ranking people after all."

When the boat was pulled up, the five teens hopped onto the main deck where they were met with the sight of a woman donning a red coat and black hat with a matching plume.

She wore a large, toothy grin with her arms crossed over her chest as she eyed the four individuals that approached her.

"Welcome back, Your Highness!" the woman greeted playfully as she slung an arm around the shoulders of the taller female, "Who are your little guests?"

"These are some of my friends from the other cultivation clans; Pàn Zhang and Kang Yuan," Mei Lián replied with a smile before turning to the boys and gesturing to the woman in red.

"This is the esteemed captain of the Chaos Pirates, Akemi D. Sora," she introduced as the two nineteen-year-olds bowed before looking around the busy deck, "They'll be the ones taking us to the Shèng Islands."

"Did you just say that these guys are from main cultivation clans?" one of the passing crew members asked as he carried a barrel on one shoulder, "They aren't here to arrest us or some shit, right?"

"Nothing bad will happen to anyone as long as we all act civil, or at least somewhat civil for some of you," the ravenette replied before side stepping to avoid a glass bottle that was flung in her direction.

"Mei, you know that's impossible," the male chuckled as they all turned to a newly started fight between members, "This ship is a floating battle arena."

"God fucking dammit," the captain muttered before stalking her way over to the crowd and breaking up the fight, chewing everyone out for slacking off as she did.

"How did you even become friends with these people, A-Lián?" Zhang questioned after the four were led to get settled in an extra cabin that had four hammocks.

"I was actually in Jin Hǎi'àn because I heard there were some suspicious things happening and I met Sora in one of the tea houses," the female replied as she sat down in the hanging fabric, "She had good commentary on the play and had interesting stories."

"We just kept talking during my stay and we became good friends," she continued with a shrug as a black fox settled in her lap before turning to the males with a smile, "These people may be extremely chaotic and pirates, but they actually have good morals."

"But they're pirates," Yuan reiterated in his usual monotone manner, earning a nod from the female before she shook her head.

"By technicality yes, but for good reasons, in my opinion," she spoke, placing her hand on the wooden wall next to her, "The Lilium used to be a western slave ship; carrying prisoners of war, those who couldn't afford to pay their taxes, and others who were wronged by their government to be sold to those who were born in a higher position than them."

"Sora and Rozen, the first mate, were two of those who proceed with mutiny in order to free everyone," the ravenette explained, "This earned them the literal brand of 'pirate' and didn't allow them to live normally... they had to steal to live, kill to survive, and fight to defend themselves from the various governments who wanted their heads as they continued to pick up others who were wronged."

"Is... Is that why a lot of the crew are kids?" questioned the male in red, remembering how young everyone on the ship seemed to be, earning a solemn nod from the ravenette.

"Orphans, the homeless, the abused, all of them are what make up this crew," Wūsé commented as he lifted his head from the woman's lap, "Everyone here has known suffering to varying degrees, but they've made some recovery within each other's company."

"Well, it's good that they found each other, then," the nineteen-year-old sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest, "They aren't alone anymore."

Yuan nodded as he let out a simple hum before the door burst open to reveal a beautiful woman with wavy brown hair and bright green eyes, wearing a matching green blouse and brown leather boots.

"Come on out, we're having dinner up on deck as an early celebration," she mused, linking arms with the ravenette as she pulled her up.

"Celebration for who?" the eighteen-year-old questioned as she tilted her head to the right, a small thud echoing in the air as the black fox leapt to the ground.

The brunette's eyes immediately narrowed behind her cat-like glasses, eyebrows knitting together as she asked, "Mei, are you fucking stupid?"

"It's March first next week," she sighed, facepalming as the taller female just blinked at her silently, "You're turning nineteen, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but that's next week," the princess retorted as she allowed herself to be dragged by the wrist with the males following, "Why celebrate now?"

"You guys just want another excuse to drink, don't you?" Mei Lián sighed as they reached the top of the stairs to see multiple tables of food and desserts set out.

"It's because you'll already be on the islands by then and we won't be able to celebrate with you," Rozen huffed, taking a mug of beer from one of the tables with a smirk, "But that too."

The whole celebration was nothing like the two young masters had ever experienced back in their own clans, full of noise and pure chaos as the pirated proceeded to drink foreign alcohols that were much more potent than the wines made on the continent.

"Be careful, Zhang, western alcohol is much stronger than what we have at home," the ravenette warned with her glass of cold water as he began drinking what she thought was rum.

"Relax, A-Lián, I have a strong tolerance," the male chuckled before his eyes lit up and he turned to the male in white.

"Hey, Kang Yuan, you should have some!" he chirped, waving the bottle in front of the older male, "It's really good!"

"No," Yuan replied, narrowing his eyes at the mischievous teenager as Wūsé let out a chuckle with his own bottle of alcohol in hand.

"You have to stop being such a wet blanket, Little Rabbit," he commented, the Kang male snapping his gaze to the immortal at the nickname.

"Both of you stop harassing A-Yuan," the princess scolded as she pulled Zhang back into his seat and shrugged the fox's arm off of her shoulder.

"You know that his clan doesn't allow the consumption of alcohol, so don't force him," she continued with a pointed stare, "Just keep drinking until you pass out like the rest of the people here."

"A-Lián," Wūsé mused with a chuckle, causing the female to tense as he leaned over to whisper right into her ear, "You know that won't happen."

"Ah yes, immortals can't get drunk on human alcohol," she muttered, rolling her eyes as she looked anywhere but her companion.

"Huh? What was that, A-Lián?" he continued nuzzling his nose into the crook of the female's neck, "I don't think I quite heard you."

Kang Yuan and Pàn Zhang both scowled at the scene before them, but before either could say anything a glass bottle knocked the male's head to the side.

"No touching!" shrieked a small female wearing male clothing with round glasses and brown hair that was kept short.

He immediately stood up with a strained smile and would have drawn his sword on child if not for the ravenette keeping a tight grip on his wrist as he said, "It's you again... I'm surprised you're still alive."

"Stop touching my Mom!" the girl exclaimed, causing the eyes of the human males to widen as she picked up another glass bottle.

"'Mom'?" Yuan questioned quietly as the ravenette shook her head, keeping her grip on the immortal's wrist as he dodged another bottle.

"I have declared her and many others as my children, so that would make me their mother," she explained over the petty insults the pirate and fox threw at each other.

"A-Lián, let me go," Wūsè growled as he locked his crazed glare on the much smaller female who stood a few meters across from him with her shoulders squared.

"No, you'll actually kill her if I do and I won't have you slaughtering my children," Mei Lián hissed in return as she yanked him back down and turned his head away from the female before turning back herself.

"Tóuyīng, stop provoking him, you know he can and will fling you off the side of this ship with no warning," she lightly scolded, prompting the smaller female to come around to the front of their table.

"He was touching Mama Mei and that's not allowed!" the brunette hissed as she glared right at the male who was separated from her only by the table.

"Oh right, you have an obsession with my A-Lián," the male in black chuckled, causing the girl to tense as he leaned back and lazily crossed his arms.

"Well you'll be livid when you hear that she has a-" he was cut off by the eighteen-year-old slapping her hand over his mouth just before he could finish.

"Wha?! Mom, what was he going to say?!" the girl questioned as she looked at the ravenette with wide eyes.

"Nevermind him, introduce yourself to my friends," she instructed, keeping her hand over Wūsé's mouth as she gestured to the two young masters.

"Oh! I'm Tóuyīng, nice to- wait a minute," the girl started as she turned to the two with a smile only for her eyes to narrow upon realizing what they were.

"Mom, why were you followed by two men?!" she exclaimed as she angrily pointed at Zhang and Yuan, "That's not allowed!"

"Hey, we aren't bad people," the male in red tried to reason as he gestured to himself, "I'm Pàn Zhang and the quiet one is Kang Yuan."

"Owl, you will not," ordered the princess as she took the knife out of the younger female's hand, "They are my friends and I need them alive."

"But they're men!" Tóuyīng whined trying to reach up for the blade only to fail as the ravenette easily dodged her before knocking away a glass that was thrown from her left, "Men are not allowed near Mom!"

"A-Sé," she warned as the male only looked away while tapping his fingers against the wood of the table before drinking more wine.

As the woman moved to lecture both the immortal and the pirate about not fighting with others so violently, Zhang couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face.

"I see how she was able to keep such a level head at the conference now," he commented, earning a nod from the male in white, "Dealing with my father and brother's schemes are nothing compared to trying to pacify all the weird people she hangs around."

"Mei Lián is like a mother," Yuan spoke, slowly sipping at his own glass of water as his eyes traced up to the hair stick that held up her braids.

"Yeah, she would make a good one if she can deal with all of this without snapping," the male in red chuckled as they watched the ravenette put the younger female in time out by having her kneel in front of the table and face away from them.

"Ha! Serves you right!" Wūsé laughed with a smug smirk as Tóuyīng bit her tongue and resisted the urge to scream foul names at him.

"A-Sé, keep this up and I'll put you in time out as well," Mei Lián threatened before an idea popped into her head, "That goes for you too, Zhang."

"Huh?" the male hummed, perking up as soon as he heard his name, "Why am I being warned? I haven't done anything in this."

"You didn't now, but if you keep egging on A-Sé unprovoked, you will end up in time out," she firmly replied with crossed arms, eyes holding the same conviction even as he shot her a pout.

~~~Fin. Chapter 6~~~