He was not the man Nian Zhen spied through the spygla.s.s. This man was younger and had the unmistakable air of a scholar. His face was the anti-thesis of a pirate. It was as clean as a girl's, the skin clear and unshaven. The clothes he wore were also immaculate, without a speck of dust. He walked unhurriedly to where Nian Zhen stood, spearing An Ning a glance which was simultaneously bold and curious.

"Where's the captain?" Nian Zhen asked, his gaze encompa.s.sing the half dozen men that accompanied the scholar.

"He's waiting for you on the boat," the young man said. "We captured the spies you sent. The captain wants to talk to you about them."

"On his boat, of course?" Nian Zhen asked.

"Of course."

"Tell him to wait then. I'm extremely busy," Nian Zhen smiled off-handedly then grabbing An Ning's hand, he started walking away.

The rest of his group followed after him, stunned. They hadn't taken several steps when the young man's voice again spoke.

"Wait!"

Nian Zhen stopped but didn't turn his head.

"How about we meet here in the same place at eight tomorrow morning. Would that work in your busy schedule then, your majesty?" the young man said, slightly sarcastic.

Nian Zhen turned his head and met his eyes.

"You know my name but I don't know your captain's," he said.

"Tsai Po. Captain Tsai Po."

"Tomorrow then."

Nian Zhen turned away without another word. An Ning looked back and saw the young man still staring at them. Their eyes met. The two gazes measured each other. An Ning nodded imperceptibly then followed Nian Zhen.

They gathered in the tower after they went back. Nian Zhen wanted to talk in private because he didn't want to alarm the twins and An Ning's family.

"Talk," he commanded, looking at Hank and Kari.

"Offer an exchange," Hank said.

"What?"

"Money? Gold?"

"Empty the treasury you mean? What if they attack us afterwards after they've taken all our money and we're too poor to fight them back? No. That's a concession we can't take a b.l.o.o.d.y chance on. It will destroy Chengdi."

"Fight back?" Kari said tentatively.

"With what? We don't have a f.u.c.king army."

"Negotiate with them tomorrow and if it doesn't work, then go with them to their hideout."

An Ning's voice was calm. She was staring at Nian Zhen, her face expressionless.

"But that would mean Nian Zhen would be exchanging himself for them," Hank protested.

"Not necessarily," An Ning disagreed. "Not if the negotiations totally ignore this spying and hostage business."

They stared at her, perplexed. Nian Zhen was frowning in confusion.

"What you mentioned earlier? Negotiate under the guise of diplomacy?" he asked after a while, as if finally understanding what An Ning was trying to say.

"Precisely," An Ning nodded. "Don't mention Indian or the other men with him. Negotiate with a clean slate, from a strong vantage stand. Convince them that this is the opportunity you were waiting for to meet their captain and start peace talks with him."

"If it doesn't work?"

"Then you go to war."

Nian Zhen smiled.

"With whose army?"

"Let me worry about that."

Nian Zhen was silent, still frowning.

"Prepare to go on a short trip," he finally told Hank and Kari when the silence stretched for several minutes. "We'll take some of the produce we have in storage to barter with. Pirates seldom go to sh.o.r.e to shop. Then we'll take the shopping cart to them to sell."

"Fresh produce?" Kari asked, startled. "Eggs, and flour, and meat?"

"Bars of soap and scent and clothes for the women," added Hank, chuckling.

An Ning laughed.

"Sneaky," she told Nian Zhen. "That's what they call back door diplomacy."

"We're just giving the natural course of commerce a gentle nudge," Nian Zhen shrugged. "Of course, it'll become a two-way street when they agree to finalize an agreement."

'Hold on, you're not actually thinking of going with them, are you? On their s.h.i.+p?" Hank asked, perturbed.

"Who says we're taking a ride back with them?" An Ning asked coolly. "Of course, we're taking our own s.h.i.+p."

It was not exactly a s.h.i.+p but rather a 128 feet cruise barge with six cabins that can accommodate up to twelve pa.s.sengers, staterooms for the crew, and facilities that include a bar and restaurant and two sun decks. Enxuo's sense of humor was also evident on the name he chose for the boat: Whimsy, which side by side with the bigger and more imposing pirate s.h.i.+p Fancy, was rather wishful thinking on his part.

But the sight of the barge, however, had a rather psychological effect on the group of people gaping thunderstruck at it. To say that they were shock by it was an understatement. The barge was painted in white and blue colors and looked amazingly out of place if not incongruous floating on the waters of an unnamed sea leading to nowhere.

The pirate crew was not only shocked but even more so totally flabbergasted by the sight of it. The captain had been very sure of his footing when he left the boat that morning. He was even seen rubbing his hands gleefully, antic.i.p.ating the riches the king must be willing to pay for the return of the hostages.

The captain and the king met, both of them surrept.i.tiously studying each other under hooded eyes. The two men declined to shake hands but instead went straight to talking about unpleasant things that included spying, territorial breach, and most unpleasant of all, payment terms that even Nian Zhen, warned by An Ning beforehand, had a hard time swatting aside. Of course, the captain dug his dratted toes on this unpleasant side of the talk while Nian Zhen listened, seemingly without reaction, with only a slight smile on his face to show that he understood.

Nian Zhen didn't like the captain. Of course, he hated him sight unseen after he caught him peeping tomming Ning Ning using a spygla.s.s but he disliked him even more so now because he seemed to be one of those charming b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that just grates on his nerves for some reason. The guy was not even good looking. He was tall and slim and had a rugged, out-doorsy type of attractiveness that some women might think was attractive. Like Kari, for example, who was practically drooling over him like an idiot. And what the heck was this fetish for baring his muscled chest and abs for? d.a.m.ned pirate.

As for the captain, he also didn't like Nian Zhen because he finds him too young and too pretty and seemingly too perfect for comfort. The king was a boy not even in his twenties. He was a tall youth who looked like a white, beautiful lily. Clear skin, pink lips and a face that could practically destroy kingdoms. What the heck? Is this boy really a man or just a pretty face? But he seemed to like women if that spark of rage he revealed when he caught him peeping tomming his woman was any indication. But the woman was out of this world pretty. A lush and perfect body made for loving. That silky black hair that reaches past her upper thighs... He'd bet those l.u.s.trous strands would not only look seductive spread underneath her on the bed but feel like silk under his touch. You d.a.m.ned lucky b.a.s.t.a.r.d! The captain cursed silently, feeling an uncomfortable stirring in his loins.

Outwardly, however, the two men politely listened, even showed teeth, and tried not to be too obvious that each was actually trying to outmaneuver the other.

He Heng, the immaculate young man whom Nian Zhen met yesterday, stared at them moodily and stifled a yawn. This is so f.u.c.king boring, he thought. Why can't they just agree on the sort of payment they want then everybody can go home and continue with their lives. All these hemming and hewing were nothing but poorly disguised efforts to extract money from someone anyway. Somebody eventually pays so why bother negotiating? He didn't like Tsai Po or Nian Zhen. Both of them were hypocritical airheads in his opinion. He Heng can't wait to go home and return to his books. It was a lot better than listening to these two idiots trying to out-brag each other anyway. He Heng turned away to stifle another yawn.

"Of course, it would be an honor to accompany you to Pirate City. We've heard a lot about its beauty so we're quite excited to see it," Nian Zhen was saying.

He Heng goggled at him, his yawn stuck in his mouth.

"You're going with us?" he said, not realizing he just breached the one important rule of negotiation, and that is showing surprise. Tsai Po glared fiercely at him.

Nian Zhen stifled a laugh and coughed instead.

"I've thought about it and thought why not? It's a perfect opportunity for both camps to get to know each other, don't you think so?"

"But I got the impression yesterday that you didn't want to go with us since that would mean staying on the Fancy," He Heng jeered.

A nerve started twitching on Tsai Po's forehead.

"Of course, if the king wants to accompany us to Pirate City, we should be honored to take him with us. Not question him about his decision," he said, ending his sentence by staring so fixedly and so glaringly at He Heng that he actually felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on its end.

"But..."

"Silence!"

Nian Zhen couldn't help it. He laughed.

"He reminds me of my cousin. But with her, its the germs," he confided, chuckling.

"He Heng is also my cousin," Tsai Po said, not actually happy to admit the fact. "With him its being away from his books."

"But isn't his majesty scared that we'll murder him when he boards the Fancy?" He Heng was reluctant to let go, meeting his cousin's glare with another glare.

"Oh, but I'm not staying with you on your boat," Nian Zhen said casually. "I've made other arrangements."

The two men gaped at him. Made arrangements? What arrangements? Chengdi only had a small army but no navy. How was he planning to reach Pirate City then? Swim his way there? But before they could ask him to elaborate more on these so-called arrangements, a loud booming sound shattered the silence then the barge slowly came into view.

Tsai Po and He Heng's jaws literally dropped when they saw the s.h.i.+p coming at them. The barge didn't have any mast or sail or anything resembling the Fancy. Instead, what it had were chairs on the deck and on the upper deck. It was even missing the pirate's pennant and merely proclaimed its name in small letters inked in red.

On the front of the boat standing with the twins and Gu Sheng, was An Ning, who was dressed in white shorts and a simple red t-s.h.i.+rt. She was also wearing loafers borrowed from Lux, who, like her mom, was also dressed simply in jeans and a white tee.

The outfits were courtesy of Hippolyta who practically emptied An Ning's and the twins' wardrobes as well as Ceres' and An Ma's when they teleported using the Volkswagen camper, which An Ning had cleverly hidden in her s.p.a.ce ring. Li Cheung had made their journey easy and luggage-free

by simply bestowing another s.p.a.ce ring to his wife, an infamous h.o.a.rder revered by the equally rabid h.o.a.rder Enxuo.

When An Ning left the boat on a raft and waded onsh.o.r.e, she was immediately cornered by Tsai Po, whose eyes were still glued to the cruise barge like it was a miraculous sight that had finally made a believer out of him.

"What....what is that thing?" he breathed reverently, his eyes devouring the Whimsy like it was a woman he wanted to get on with immediately.

"A boat?" An Ning said. "You are Captain Tsai Po? How do you do? I am An Ning."

"This is a boat? A boat? How can it be a boat?" Tsai Po asked, staring at the barge like he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"Because that's what we call her. A boat. Of course, she has a name but she's also a boat," An Ning shrugged.

"I've never seen anything quite like this," Tsai Po muttered. "I mean, how is this even possible?"

"Would you like to board her and look around? Of course, another option would be for you to travel with us so we can talk more about the boat."

"Travel with you?" Tsai Po's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"I've reserved a cabin for you actually. Just transfer your gear from Fancy to Whimsy and we're good to go," An Ning said, smiling.

"Tsai Po, are you serious? Is this even wise?" He Heng was again the skeptic they want very much to throw overboard.

"How is that different from me staying on the Fancy and him staying on the Whimsy?" Nian Zhen asked haughtily. "Captain Tsai Po will be perfectly safe with us, I can a.s.sure you."

"You can stay with your captain, if you like," An Ning told He Heng, shrugging. "I don't mind."

"I'm not sharing a cabin with He Heng, am I?" Tsai Po came out of his distractedness to demand.

"No, no," An Ning a.s.sured him. "We'll have him stay in the back. Out of everyone's way."

He Heng glared haughtily at her then encountered Nian Zhen's equally chilling gaze and flushed guiltily.

"Have my luggage transferred to this boat," Tsai Po commanded He Heng then inadvertently raised Nian Zhen's hackles by taking An Ning's hand in his and pulling her towards him.

"Come on, pretty lady. You promised me a tour. Let's go and look at this boat of yours. Why the Whimsy though?"

"And you? Why the Fancy?"

Tsai Po laughed.

"Because I once fancy a woman, of course."

"Typical," An Ning smiled. "And she turned you down, right?"

"That's right," Tsai Po surprisingly agreed. "She ended up marrying my brother instead. They died a few years back and I now take care of their daughter."

"You have no other family?"

Their voices died away as they climbed the raft and paddled a few distance away to the gangplank. A visibly angry Nian Zhen was left staring at them, his eyes emitting a rage that could fry any unfortunate soul unlucky enough to cross his path. He watched as An Ning and Tsai Po climbed up the steps then reached the twins' side. Castor and Pollux smiled and bowed politely as An Ning introduced them to the captain. Then the four heads vanished from sight. Nian Zhen was left feeling cold and alone on the sh.o.r.e.

Suddenly, An Ning's head reappeared on the deck. Next, she was seen running down the gangplank and being rowed back to sh.o.r.e again. An Ning waded onsh.o.r.e and stopped in front of Nian Zhen. She pulled his hand, waking him it seemed from a deep sleep.

"Where were you?" An Ning asked, anxiously. "I thought you were following behind us. Is there something wrong?"

A beaming smile suddenly cut across Nian Zhen's relieved face.

"Nothing is wrong. Not now. Come on, let's show this ancient mariner what a s.h.i.+p from the future looks like."

And taking her hand, he pulled her with him as they rowed back to the boat, climbed the steps and disappeared inside.