Chapter 227
Chapter 227
Qiu Tianwei knew he could suppress the pirates' intentions for a time, but he could never suppress their greed. Gold moved the hearts of men. Everyone knew that countless riches lay beneath them in that massive pit. To tell the pirates to endure, knowing this, was an impossible task. Morale had to be bolstered, not broken.
The next day, Qiu Tianwei ordered the pirates to engage in a war of insults, hoping to provoke a response from the enemy. Soon, a flood of pirates began to hurl curses at Count Xuanwu in the pit below. They were pirates, after all. They could spew the most vicious words imaginable, and the foulest insults rolled off their tongues with ease.
They began to shout obscenities the likes of which had never been heard before. Count Xuanwu and Shen Lang's entire families were defiled. The Count's wife, Su Pepe, and Shen Lang's wife, Jin Mulan, suffered the utmost humiliation from the mouths of countless pirates. Their taunts grew more and more vulgar. With their words, the pirates desecrated every part of the two women's bodies. If their words had been filth, the great pit would have been completely buried in the muck they spewed.
Below, in the massive pit, the warriors of the Jin Clan were on the verge of exploding. Though most had not had much contact with the Countess, Jin Mulan was the commander of the family's private army, a woman they all revered like a goddess. Of course, in the army, men could talk endlessly and without restraint about women. Even queens and princesses were fair game for their jokes, and the soldiers of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate were no exception.
But not a single one of the family's soldiers would ever dare breathe a word about Jin Mulan. If anyone had dared to even utter her name in jest, they would have been beaten to death on the spot. In the heart of every Jin Clan warrior, Jin Mulan was a pure and immaculate goddess, someone who could never be defiled.
Although everyone admired Shen Lang's cunning, every warrior secretly believed that Young Master Shen Lang was unworthy of their goddess, Mulan. But… since you were so vicious, and no one dared to cross you, they had no choice but to say you were a good match. And now, these despicable pirates were insulting their goddess in such a way. The Jin Clan warriors burned with regret that they couldn't charge up, draw their swords, and fight the pirates to the death.
Jin Zhong spoke.
“My lord, let me go up and kill them all. I can’t stand it anymore.”
Count Xuanwu, Jin Zhuo, was also seething with a rage that soared to the heavens. He loved his pure, innocent wife more than anything in his life. The thought of these filthy, wretched pirates daring to insult her filled him with a furious desire to tear them limb from limb. But Count Xuanwu endured. Losing one's temper over small matters could ruin a great plan.
“Lang’er, you sly fox…”
Count Jin Zhuo said resentfully. He believed Shen Lang had anticipated this scene and had made his escape early. The pirates were greatly disappointed when Count Xuanwu showed no reaction and did not come out to fight. Not only were the numerous pirate leaders inwardly fuming, but even the pirate soldiers were full of complaints.
‘What are you doing, King? Scared of a big hole like this? Do you really think a pit this big can swallow thirty thousand men? Count Xuanwu has fewer than four thousand soldiers, and most of them are new recruits. There’s an immeasurable amount of gold down there, and you still won’t fight?’
Just then, the heavy snow stopped, and the sun peeked out. Much of the snow covering the ore-rich soil below melted away. As the sun shone down, a glittering expanse of gold came into view. It looked as if several small mountains made entirely of gold were piled up.
‘It’s not even a mile away, yet our King doesn’t dare to attack. What a coward. Is a man like that fit to be our leader?’
Qiu Tianwei could feel the resentment brewing among his men. He decided to taunt Count Xuanwu’s side even more fiercely. Even if the Count didn't get enraged, it would be a way to vent the pirates' frustration and raise their morale. But in the end, he still would not descend.
‘I don’t know if you, Shen Lang, have truly laid a trap down there, but I will not go down. You can’t harm me. Damn it, a pit this large looks ominous just by looking at it. Doesn’t it look like a place where people would fall to their deaths?’
* * *
What did pirates enjoy most? Crudeness, of course. As the afternoon sun grew hotter, the pirates' taunts became even more intense. Count Xuanwu was on the brink of exploding from the ceaseless barrage of insults. Qiu Tianwei found a few handsome men and had them dressed in women’s clothing. Aside from Qiu Yao'er, the pirates didn't bring women on campaigns, considering them bad luck. But life on the vast ocean was incredibly lonely, so many pirate leaders kept handsome male entertainers.
Now, they were put to use. One was dressed as Jin Mulan, another as Su Pepe. A third was dressed as Shen Lang. Ropes were tied around their necks like dogs, and the three were forced to crawl frantically on the ground.
“I’m Su Pepe, and I’m so lonely. Everyone, come and take me!”
“I am Shen Lang. I love men the most, so everyone, come quickly!”
The sight of the handsome pirates crawling on the ground, fawning like dogs, was utterly vile. A mob of pirates then rushed forward, tore their clothes, and acted out an even more depraved scene.
“Count Xuanwu, do you see? Your wife, Su Pepe, is being taken by us.”
“Shen Lang, you pretty boy. Doesn’t it feel good being taken by so many?”
As the countless pirates watched the obscene performance, transfixed, their complaints against their Pirate King, Qiu Tianwei, were temporarily suppressed. Down in the pit, Count Xuanwu drew his greatsword and swung it wildly.
‘There’s a limit to a man’s humiliation. How dare you insult my wife, my daughter, and my son-in-law like this. I regret that I cannot tear you all to pieces.’
This alone revealed the true nature of Count Jin Zhuo. Had it been Zhang Chong, you could guarantee he wouldn't have been angry in the slightest; instead, he would have laughed at them with contempt. Another day passed. Qiu Tianwei resolved that he would not go down tomorrow either.
‘Don’t these pirate warriors love watching such filthy performances? To keep their morale from dropping, I just need to stage an even more extreme show tomorrow. Today, it was a mob of pirates trampling Su Pepe, Shen Lang, and Jin Mulan. Tomorrow, I’ll stage Shen Lang being torn to pieces.
‘It’s no great loss to kill one male entertainer. I’ll have him made up to look as much like Shen Lang as possible, strip him naked, force him to kneel, and then execute him by a thousand cuts. I guarantee the pirates will watch with glee. As long as I don’t let them get bored, that’s all that matters. Once they become bored, they might start to harbor resentment.’
* * *
Early the next day, the most handsome male entertainer was made up. It was impossible to say how much he resembled Shen Lang. The entertainer, dressed as Shen Lang, was stripped naked, forced to kneel in an open area, and let out a wretched scream.
“Count Xuanwu, Father-in-law! I am Shen Lang! Save me… Save me…! Lady Mulan, save me! Your husband is about to be killed! I am Shen Lang, I deserve to die! I am lowly, I deserve to be torn to pieces…”
The entertainer had thought it was just an act. But to his horror, a real sword came flying at him.
“Ah…! Agh…!”
He wet himself in shock and screamed in agony. The surrounding pirates watched the play with unparalleled excitement. It felt as if they were truly slicing the flesh of Shen Lang himself.
“Just you watch. Shen Lang’s end will be even more miserable than this. The Crown Prince has his eye on Jin Mulan, and Shen Lang is a worthless nobody, so he will be executed by a thousand cuts. Right now, a fake Shen Lang is being sliced up, but soon, the real Shen Lang will be torn to pieces. How satisfying! First, castrate him. Castrate that Shen Lang!”
The countless pirates roared in unison.
“Count Xuanwu, look! Your son-in-law Shen Lang is about to be castrated, aren’t you going to come and save him?”
“Jin Mulan, your husband is about to be castrated, hurry up and save him! Good heavens, your husband’s thing is so small. Can he even satisfy you? Should we help you out?”
The pirates spewed another torrent of insults. Then, suddenly, someone shouted.
“Everyone, look! The people below are gone!”
Everyone was stunned. Qiu Tianwei rushed forward to look down into the pit. Sure enough, it was as the man said: the bottom of the pit was completely empty, without a single shadow in sight. Even the temporary stone shelters had been dismantled.
‘Is… is this the work of a ghost? Count Xuanwu and his four thousand men were definitely there yesterday. How did they suddenly disappear today? We have this pit surrounded airtight. Did they grow wings and fly away?’
Not only that, but the bottom of the pit was in disarray. The ore-rich soil had all been spread out, revealing countless specks of gold dust. At a glance, it looked like a sea of gold. The pirates could swear on their lives that this had to be a gold vein from an ancient era. No gold mine in the world had such a high concentration of gold. How much gold was down there? Did the heavens know? Did the ghosts?
The pirates could no longer bear it. They couldn't watch the mock execution any longer. Their king was a true coward. With ten times the enemy’s numbers, he had just waited without fighting, and in the end, the enemy had vanished without a trace. They didn't know how Count Xuanwu had escaped with four thousand men, but they had. And they must have taken a great deal of gold with them when they fled. One pirate couldn't hold back any longer and roared.
“There’s not a single enemy down there, and we’re still not allowed to go down? There’s gold everywhere, and we still can’t go get it? Are we still pirates? This is like being a frightened woman!”
With Count Xuanwu’s four thousand men having vanished as if they had grown wings, the pirates, having lost their target, finally let their pent-up emotions explode.
“All brave men, follow me and let’s seize the gold!”
“Seize the gold!”
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of men charged ceaselessly toward the bottom of the pit. The situation was finally, completely out of control. Qiu Tianwei was furious.
“No one is to go down until I give the order! Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!”
But he could no longer restrain the pirates. They were not a regular army; they were pirates. It had already been an incredibly difficult and taxing task to hold them back for several days.
Qiu Tianwei felt the hair on his body stand on end. His instincts screamed that this was an extremely dangerous situation. How could Count Xuanwu’s four thousand men have vanished into thin air?