Chapter Ninety-Four: Not All Hostages Are the Same

The Japanese pirate looked at Wei Ruo with a bewildered expression, as though seriously weighing the plausibility of what she had said.

After pondering for a while, he continued in his broken Chinese, “What can you do?”

“I am well versed in agriculture. I know many farming techniques that can change the nature of the land and increase grain yields.”

Wei Ruo understood Japan’s situation. It was an island nation desperately short of land, with very underdeveloped agriculture and very limited arable fields. She also knew a few of their customs, and she knew exactly where to strike.

“You can grow more grain?”

“Yes. More grain. Whether it is barren soil, saline land by the coast, or steep mountain ground, I have ways to improve it. If I succeed, more people in your country will be able to eat their fill.”

Most of what Wei Ruo said was a grand promise. The improvements that could be made to the land were limited, and in some places the cost of reclamation, or the long-term cost of maintenance, was simply too high to make it worthwhile.

“How do I know you are not lying?” the pirate asked.

“The method for improving the land in the southern district that you saw was something I came up with. You have been lingering along the eastern coast for quite some time now, so you should know that this place was once nothing but wasteland. If I can improve this land, I can help you do the same in Japan.” Wei Ruo answered.

“What are you doing, Wei Qingruo? Why are you telling two Japanese pirates all this? Do you want to help them grow grain so they can eat well and come back to fight us? They are pirates, robbers, heartless bastards who kill without blinking!” Wei Yilin snapped.

Wei Ruo rolled her eyes at Wei Yilin. How could she possibly not know the things he was saying? She hated these Japanese pirates too, despised them even—but they still had to look at the situation they were in.

A gentleman’s revenge may wait ten years if need be. She had to save her own life first before she could think of any way to deal with these people.

If she lost her life, everything else was nonsense.

Right now the Wei family was searching the entire city for her, and Meimei was nearby as well. She still had a chance to escape.

What she needed to do was make sure they did not hurt her before they found her.

Wei Ruo ignored Wei Yilin and kept smiling at the pirates. “You don’t need to mind this brat. His head is not working properly.”

“He said he is the son of Captain Wei. He called you sister. You are Captain Wei’s daughter too.” Though the pirate’s Chinese was clumsy, his mind was still perfectly clear.

“Yes, I am indeed Captain Wei’s daughter. But now I’m in your hands, and I want to live. So I am willing to offer my value and win a mutually beneficial result for both sides. That has nothing to do with who I am.” Wei Ruo coaxed him.

After hearing her out, the pirate did not answer at once. Instead, he stepped back out of the cave and spoke with the other pirate.

While the two of them muttered to each other, Wei Yilin questioned Wei Ruo, “Wei Qingruo, what exactly are you trying to do?”

“What am I trying to do? Survive. Can’t you tell?”

“What you are doing is despicable!”

“Wei Yilin, do you even know the difference between despicable and stupid?”

“You are betraying your country and betraying countless frontier soldiers. You... you are ungrateful!” It took Wei Yilin a moment to come up with the words to denounce her.

“Who exactly am I betraying? Who have I killed? You, on the other hand, ran around recklessly and dragged me down with you. You are the one who got me killed!”

“You!” Once again Wei Yilin was at a loss for words.

“If you have more to say, keep going. I’ll take it as a lullaby.” Wei Ruo replied calmly.

Being bound and locked in a cave by two Japanese pirates was a terrifying thing indeed. Having someone shout beside her at least eased the oppressive atmosphere a little.

After a while, the pirate returned.

“If you really can do what you say, we will not harm you.”

“No problem.” Wei Ruo agreed readily.

“But we will not release your younger brother, and we may even kill him,” the pirate said.

Letting Wei Yilin go would mean exposing their route. They were keeping him either as a hostage or as insurance; if anything went wrong and they could not take him with them, then for the sake of safety they would have to kill him to silence him.

“We do not get along. He would love for me to die. Besides, if he really cared about me, he would not have called me sister just now and let you find me. When you truly love someone, you hope they live well—you do not drag them into trouble with you. So do whatever you want.” Wei Ruo replied.

Wei Yilin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He wanted to argue, but found that he had no words to refute her.

“Good.” Naturally the pirates did not want Wei Ruo to make any further demands of them.

“Since we have reached an understanding, be a little nicer to me too. Don’t let me be ruined by you before I even reach Japan.” Wei Ruo went on.

“What do you want?” the pirate asked.

“Untie me a little. That way I’ll be more comfortable, and my hands won’t develop problems from poor circulation. Don’t worry, this cave has no other exit. You’ll be guarding the entrance, so I can’t get out. And I don’t know any martial arts, so I’m no match for you.” Wei Ruo said.

The pirate hesitated. He looked at Wei Ruo for quite a while, then thought back to how they had captured her just now. If she really knew martial arts, she would not have been seized so easily. In the end, he nodded and agreed.

The pirates untied Wei Ruo.

After that, the two of them went back outside the cave.

The pair seemed to be plotting something. Though Wei Ruo could not understand a word they said, she guessed they were discussing how to evade the soldiers of Xingshan County, successfully make it out to sea, and return to Japan.

Freed at last, Wei Ruo leaned against the rock wall, looking relaxed and at ease.

By contrast, Wei Yilin was tied with his hands behind his back, sprawled crookedly on the ground in obvious discomfort.

It was not only physically uncomfortable; he felt even worse inside. He had heard every word the pirate had said. They had made it clear they would not let him go, and if anything happened, they would kill him outright.

He did not want to die. He wanted to live.

Though he had argued so righteously with Wei Ruo a moment ago, once the fear of death truly came for him, he began to envy her.

At the very least, those pirates had said they would not kill her.

Wei Yilin felt a deep, indescribable regret in his heart, but when facing Wei Ruo, he still did not want to admit that his choice had been less wise than hers.

Wei Ruo paid no attention to the look on Wei Yilin’s face, and she did not care what was going on in his head.

She took a small brocade pouch from her chest and pulled out some dried sweet potato, chewing on it.

Wei Ruo usually carried snacks with her when she went out, so when she had told Xiumei to go back to the carriage and fetch food, it had indeed been an excuse. She had simply wanted to hand those provisions over to the poor townspeople.

Nibbling on the sweet, fragrant dried sweet potato, Wei Ruo looked leisurely content.

Wei Yilin’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.