Chapter Eight: An Adorable Girl?

Two warships slowly sailed across the calm sea—one a standard cruiser of the British Empire, its imposing silhouette a symbol of order in the Caribbean Sea. Yet, oddly, a pirate flag fluttered atop it, lending the vessel an incongruous, almost comical appearance. The other ship was far more wretched: it looked every bit a genuine pirate ship, but resembled a rag doll torn apart and clumsily stitched back together. Only a single, lonely mast kept it from being completely immobile. This, too, explained why it had taken Sun Li and his companions three days to reach the wood elves’ lair.

The island was far removed from any trade routes, a secluded haven graced by a small river and a grove, supporting a thousand wood elves. Periodically, kin from the outside world would deliver food and supplies to them.

The sudden blare of alarm shattered the island’s tranquility. The sentries in the watchtowers could hardly believe their eyes—a battered pirate ship had captured a pristine British cruiser, even if it was flying the Jolly Roger. Instinctively, they sounded the alarm, bracing for an English assault. It was evident the stronghold had been discovered, and the era of piracy was drawing to a close—so the wood elf soldiers thought.

Hundreds of wood elf warriors promptly mustered to greet their leader, Su Yun Yun. Had Su Yun Yun not sensed something amiss ahead of time and sent a boat to land and communicate first, a rare civil war among the wood elves might have erupted on this tiny island.

Sometimes, a glorious victory can be a double-edged sword. Friendly fire is a recurring theme in Earth’s history—recall the Eight-Nation Alliance’s assault on the Qing Dynasty: the lack of coordination and the Qing’s hasty retreat led to allied artillery shelling their own positions, as the frontlines advanced too quickly. It was quite the farce at the time, the brunt of the joke being borne by the Qing.

Once the ships docked, Sun Li couldn’t help but laugh wryly at the sight of a whole contingent of heavily armed wood elf warriors on the shore. Well, at least their caution was commendable.

As Sun Li hovered around Su Yun Yun, fussing over her well-being, a pure and innocent voice suddenly struck him like a hammer to the heart: “Sister, who is this uncle?”

Turning stiffly, he saw a wood elf maiden who looked exactly like Su Yun Yun. Though their features were identical, her wide, innocent eyes made her appear so guileless—was she truly Su Yun Yun’s sister, the queenly leader? They looked the same, but their bearing and expressions belonged to two different worlds altogether.

That, however, wasn’t the main issue. This adorable girl was also twenty years old, just like Su Yun Yun, yet she’d called him “uncle.” Was it just because he hadn’t shaved these past few days on the ship? Did she have to be so brutally honest?

Of course, Sun Li would never voice such complaints. Faced with such an obviously naive and innocent girl, he simply couldn’t bring himself to scold her—especially with Su Yun Yun watching close by.

All he could do was meet the girl’s gaze with a pained, constipated smile. Seeing this, Su Yun Yun, as if thinking the blow wasn’t enough, burst into laughter—a laughter so hearty and unrestrained that Sun Li finally understood how much she must have suffered from his teasing during their days at sea.

When it came to Sun Li, Su Yun Yun couldn’t outfight him, and scolding him would only feed misunderstandings—after all, Sun Li had once said, “A slap is affection, a scold is love.” She’d scoffed at first, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense: if someone truly didn’t matter, why bother correcting their mistakes? Simply ignore them, or, if truly provoked, act decisively. Yet, ignoring Sun Li was easier said than done. Why, Su Yun Yun dared not examine too closely. Thus, she’d been at the mercy of his endless banter these past few days—properly behaved, he was a man; when not, he was anything but.

At last, she had a chance to see Sun Li on the back foot. Observing his embarrassed expression, Su Yun Yun felt a surge of satisfaction, and her laughter became all the more jubilant.

“Little sister, what’s your name? You can call me ‘big brother’—I’m definitely not old enough to be your uncle!” Sun Li said awkwardly to Su Yun Yun’s sister.

“My name is Su Lulu, I’m Su Yun Yun’s twin sister. But, brother, you look so old! Don’t blame me for mistaking you,” Su Lulu replied, her large, innocent eyes never leaving his face.

Fine, Sun Li decided not to argue with this pampered princess—surely only someone thoroughly spoiled would expose a guest’s shortcomings so bluntly.

“Hehe, it seems you and my sister are getting along well. That saves me the trouble of an introduction. You two have a nice chat—I’ll go take care of matters on the island. See you later,” Su Yun Yun said, seizing her chance to slip away, ostensibly to give Sun Li and her sister some time alone. In her mind, this was an act of kindness.

Sun Li was momentarily stunned, only to realize Su Yun Yun had vanished in an instant. He’d never noticed she could move so swiftly. Just as he considered chasing after her, a timid voice piped up: “Brother, my sister asked me to chat with you. Lulu always listens to her sister, so let’s talk.”

Looking at Princess Lulu’s innocent face, Sun Li noticed her eyes glistening with the threat of tears—any move to leave would surely unleash a torrential flood. He felt as if under a binding spell, his feet rooted to the spot.

Well, what kind of soft-hearted person would make such a sweet girl cry? He decided to stay and keep her company, entirely forgetting the blood of hundreds of thousands of orcs stained his hands.

And so, on the island’s beach and through the woods, two figures—one tall, one short, a man and a woman—walked together, side by side. On Sun Li’s first, second, and third day at the wood elves’ lair, he never saw Su Yun Yun again.

Not that he cared much about the passage of time. In fact, spending time alone with such an adorable girl was quite a delight. He happily accompanied Princess Lulu for days, finding her an easy source of information—her sister’s preferences, the kind of man she admired, all revealed in great detail by someone who knew Su Yun Yun best. Sun Li was well pleased, and his fondness for Princess Lulu grew to new heights. After all, winning his own goodwill was never too difficult.