They say cleanliness is next to godliness but Ji Yao was a bit much. With his aversion to dirty things, you would think he would directly ascend to heaven. Okay, that was a bit exaggerated but how else can one describe his reaction right now?

He was stupidly standing there wondering if this was all worth it. Yes, he was raised by a pirate and spend sixty per cent of his time at sea but it was a well-known fact that the Red Bane and the rest of the fleet under Pirate King Ji were the most pristine and unsullied that even the emperor himself wanted to buy Red Bane from a criminal alliance.

And when he failed to buy it, he went as far as trying to apprehend Ji Wen and seize all his property under the guise of having committed grievous crimes against the people. Did he rob people? Yes, but he only robbed bad guys and as to how he classified bad guys that all depended on his mood.

He was like if batman and Jack Sparrow had a baby, a baby with so much backup making him invincible. When the army came after Ji Wen to rob his ship ahem… I mean arrest him for all his crimes they were ruthlessly defeated because he was the boss of the sea plus he was half Nocru.

Anyway, back to the infamous immaculate ship, it was that way because of Ji Yao. His requirements were so high that Ji Wen went all out because for his precious egg over here, he would do anything. Just like how he ended up caving in and crouching down to carry Ji Yao on his back.

“Hop on….. dad will carry you,” he said to Ji Yao with a serious look on his face. Since he seeded this son then he would go all out.

Ji Yao, “…..”

Okay, even he had to admit that his father went over and beyond for him. He walked past him trying to pretend he was the least bit affected by the rotten pile of garbage on the ground and the strong stench coming from the water on the road or so he chose to identify it as that.

The two men dressed in fine robes and wore expensive brocade boots attracted the beggars and rowdy hawkers in the street especially Ji Wen. The man was embellished with sparkly jewels on all five of his fingers on his left hand. With that many sparkly things on him, you would think he was a dragon in his previous lifetime or something.

Some had the rotten idea of robbing these fine gentlemen who smelt like the fresh sea breeze but when their gazes landed on the tattoo on each of their right hands they looked away and pretended like they hadn’t seen anything. Even the illiterate would easily recognize that tattoo. It was the symbol of death and who else would have that symbol apart from the god of the sea and his minions.

They had heard a lot of rumours the kind of rumours that gave one nightmares so why would they want to shake the beehive and see what comes out. One by one they disappeared in the shadows not daring to look in their direction lest they offend these tyrannical lords.

The pair turned into a dark narrow passage with tall walls on either side. Based on the sounds coming from the poorly soundproofed walls they were stuck between a brothel and a tavern. Lewd sounds of a man groaning followed by a woman’s high pitched cries, like she was being impelled by a tree trunk, reached their ears making Ji Yao frown subconsciously.

Ji Wen noticed his reaction and decided to tease his son. He stopped and took out a purple bag tied with a golden string and said, “My treat so how about it.” The coins inside the bag clinked as he dangled it on his index finger by the string.

Ji Wen smiled seeing Ji Yao’s ‘what the fuck’ expression. This is exactly why he did it. It was to see some sort of emotion on his son’s face and now that he got the sweet taste of victory he couldn’t stop.

“What? Even Zhang Li took his son to the brothel so why can’t I? Come on don’t be a stickler…. let your dear father introduce you to the most beautiful women. You can take it as practice for when you are married,” he said with his fist on his chest standing tall and proud.

“So if Zhang Li jumps into the ocean with a rock tied to his leg you would do the same as well?” asked Ji Yao feeling disgusted by just thinking about that brothel where his butt was groped. He sincerely regretted not chopping off that Zhang Ci’s hand.

Ji Wen laughed and said, “How is it the same…,” before pausing when he felt something. Sensing the assailant’s position he said, “Above you,” warning his son. But Ji Yao knew this wasn’t a warning, in fact, it was his father telling him to take care of it.

His father acted as his master as well so when he asked him to fight he would do it with no complaints and if he can’t handle it, his father would then intervene.

As expected, Ji Wen languidly leaned against the wall with his hands crossed on his chest as he lazily studied his son’s moves like a coach at the Olympics.

Ji Yao leapt up from the ground and met the assailant adorned in black and white robes and a straw hat head-on in a frontal assault.

The man dodged his attack and pulled down his hat hiding his yellow eyes with vertical slits. The white ribbons wrapped around half his arm from his wrists unravelled and flew in Ji Yao’s direction. Mid-air, these seemingly regular ribbons slithering in the air changed form into white vipers brandishing their fangs as they headed towards him.

Ji Yao’s eyes widened as he took out his sabre and spun in the air slushing at the vipers. He managed to behead both vipers as he landed back on the ground glaring at the man who was crouching on the roof.

The man let out a throaty chuckle as he stretched out his hand towards the cut vipers that had returned to their ribbon form. When he curled his fingers the ribbons that had been cut to four pieces suddenly revived and transformed into four vipers seething with anger.

“Fuck,” swore Ji Yao as he immobilized his seraphic energy from his aether. Red sparks spread from his hand to the tip of his sabre ready to electrocute some vipers to ash.

The vipers let out a loud shriek with yellow droplets of poison dripping from their fangs. Ji Yao wasn’t fazed as he rushed into battle without a second thought.. While fighting, one of the vipers dodged the incoming stream of vicious sparks and because of the narrow space, the attack directly hit the wall of the brothel exposing some lewd scenes.