Chapter 24 - A Deranged Ji Yao

"No..... that's not the one aboard Red Bane. I have never-," he said before Rui Fei cut him off.

"What did you just think of?" asked Rui Fei with an arched brow.

Zhang Ci, "What?" with a believable befuddled look.

"Just now, what did you think of? Are you hiding something?" asked Rui Fei with a hint of impatience in his captivating voice. He put down the leg that was resting on the bench as his finger tapped the table in annoyance. His entire body was suddenly surrounded by a dark sinister aura that suppressed even those who had nothing to do with this.

Zhang Ci's shifty eyes solidified his guilt but he wouldn't dare disclose such precious information. Even he couldn't catch a glimpse of Ji Yao so why would he point this arrogant youth in the right direction.

"Ahem... what can I gain from lying to you. There is a girl aboard Red Bane but she doesn't look like that. Other than her there is Ah-Yao..... he is a boy and he's mine so....," explained Zhang Ci but he didn't get to finish his arrogant statement when someone jumped him out of the blue.

Earlier on Ji Yao had heard Zhang Ci's declaration of sovereignty over him which led to this moment. He had already been holding back but once those words left Zhang Ci's lips it was like a switch was flipped unleashing the rottweiler from its harness.

Zhang Ci had it coming. His punishment was long overdue and this good father was going to beat him black and blue. Ji Yao chose not to engage his aether because if he did he would undoubtedly kill Zhang Ci which would only bring unwanted trouble. Relying on his physical strength which wasn't small he tackled Zhang Ci and landed a couple of punches before everyone reacted.

Zhang Ci's friends tried to intervene but they were pushed back by a powerful green force that appeared out of nowhere. Everyone was sent flying in all directions except for the Rui siblings.

Rui Li climbed up the table for a great view of the beatdown jeering, "Tear his ass up... tear, his, fuckin, ass, up!" Zhang Ci's group of friends tried to get up but they were nailed in place as they helplessly watched him get a thorough beating.

"You have no fuckin manners so let this good father teach you," said Ji Yao clutching Zhang Ci's collar before hitting again.

Seeing Ji Yao's bloodstained knuckles, Xiaoyu rushed over to coax the livid man. That's when both Rui Fei and Rui Yewan took a closer look at this green-haired girl. This had to be the girl their benefactor swapped places with to enter Prince Rui's pavilion. If that was the case then.....

"Is that..." asked Rui Yewan but before he could even guess correctly, Rui Fei had already grasped Ji Yao's wrist that was on its way to discipline Zhang Ci.

Ji Yao who had been stopped tried to yank his hand free but failed miserably. Annoyed, he tried again but the grip on his wrist was so tight with barely any wiggle room. He was about to cuss the youth out when Zhang Ci chose this exact moment to open his filthy mouth.

He spat out a mouthful of blood before calling his name, "Ah-Yao! What a surprise," with a radiant smile that could reach the heavens. He was also half Nocru and could take a beating which is why he was still lucid despite having a bloodied face.

Ji Yao completely forgot to cuss out the stranger holding his arm and tried to punch Zhang Ci again but his entire body froze when he felt something poking his thigh beneath him.

Ji Yao's eyes widened as he fumed in anger. "You fucker!" he yelled as he engaged his aether. The burst of seraphic energy shook the entire room making the management of the restaurant terrified that the establishment they had worked hard to build would be brought down in a matter of seconds.

Zhang Ci was so embarrassed and tried to explain but who could reason with a deranged Ji Yao. Sensing the familiar seraphic energy he had been searching for Rui Fei was stupefied for a moment. It seemed he had got the wrong gender all this time.

He suddenly had the urge to lift that veil and see what lay underneath when the person he was holding suddenly vanished into thin air. All he saw was a flash of green before the two people disappeared.

All that was left was a pitiful red-faced Zhang Ci who had gotten hard from being punched. Rui Fei was about to ask him who this Ah-Yao was when a sheaf of latrion arrows shattered the restaurant windows heading straight into his direction.

He dodged the arrows that whooshed past his ears. The three siblings had been in this exact situation before and knew the protocol. They immediately exited the restaurant and Rui Li made hand gestures erecting a protective shield.

The arrows struck the shield as Rui Fei issued orders. "Find shelter and create a fortress while I hold them off," he said.

The two of them nodded and leapt up to the sky to leave. Noticing the two teenagers trying to escape, three of the assassins left the shadows in hot pursuit but mid-air their bodies were suddenly pushed off by a force powerful enough to bring down a building which it did.

Lucky enough the streets were empty otherwise innocent bystanders wouldn't be able to escape from this. Rui Fei didn't tap deeply into his aether using less than ten per cent of his strength but that alone was enough to kill the weak chickens who dared to take on a tiger when everyone knows that wouldn't end well.

The bodies of the three men crashed into several buildings dying on the spot. While this was transpiring the concord was a mess as they too had felt the massive surge in suppressive seraphic energy unfamiliar to them apart from one person.

To be honest they were afraid to go out but because they couldn't let their pride get wounded they followed behind Pirate King Ji.

Unbeknownst to them, all Ji Wen was thinking about was his son's safety and nothing else. It wasn't about pride, honour or anything like that. He couldn't give a damn about any of that. To be frank, he just wanted to grab his son and go. As for the rest? They would have to sort themselves out.. They were pirates after all and weren't in the charity business.