Chapter 159
The conflict ended with the pirates from the Hunter leaving the brothel without a single coin . To thank the brothel’s patrons, Zhang Heng bought them all a round of drinks . He left the place, earning praises and respect for his generosity . Once this matter was settled, Dufresne asked Zhang Heng to head to the arms dealer’s house . It seemed that the arms dealer had managed to get his hands on the ammunition for the Jackdaw’s 24-pound cannons . Dufresne wanted to discuss the number of cannonballs that they would need with Zhang Heng . He also wanted to talk about recruiting a new cook for the ship as well .
It was now sunset, and Zhang Heng finally returned home . Anne was no longer there when he opened the door . He then went to her room to look for her, but she was nowhere to be found as well . After the incident in Charleston, Marvin had decided to stay on the Queen Anne’s Revenge . No one knew where they were at the moment . Now that Anne had moved out too, Zhang Heng was left alone in this empty space .
Suddenly, Zhang Heng felt something missing in the house . On a typical day, Anne would complain that she was hungry at this hour . Right now, there was all but silence . Unconsciously, Zhang Heng had gotten used to Anne’s voice around the house .
He missed her tough masculine antics .
He missed her coming home to him after fighting with someone outside .
He missed her long rants about other pirates looking down on her .
The truth was, Zhang Heng wasn’t prepared for her eventual departure . Buying a house had always been Anne’s dream . As she was one step closer to her goal, she gradually lost the reason to continue staying in Zhang Heng’s house . Just this morning, the two of them were talking about how she could do whatever she wanted when she had her room . And Zhang Heng was genuinely happy for her . Somehow, the two avoided the topic of their separation .
…
Zhang Heng finished his dinner alone that night . Before he went to bed, he read the journal that he took from the Jackdaw . Suddenly, in the middle of the night, he was woken by a curious rustling in the house . Immediately, his eyes popped open, and he grabbed the saber lying next to him . In all possibility, it was an intruder breaking in . Considering the Jackdaw and the black-market alliance were not on good terms, Zhang Heng knew that he had the potential to make enemies . Logically, Malcolm wouldn’t have sent someone to kill him since the black-market alliance hadn’t officially considered him as their enemy . Besides, a man of Malcolm’s stature would surely not resort to using such a despicable method to eliminate Zhang Heng .
To prevent himself from becoming a gunshot victim, Zhang Heng swiftly lit the oil lamps in his house . He then lay flat in front of the door and attempted to listen to the footsteps outside his room . When the sounds in the hallway stopped, Zhang Heng instantly stood up and opened the door . He was hoping to surprise the intruder with his saber . However, the shadowy figure in front of him was quick enough to dodge his attack . Instead of retreating, the intruder’s fist was raised and was poised to attack .
The intruder was bolder than Zhang Heng expected . He wanted to dodge the intruder’s attack, but quickly realized that it was too late to do so . The intruder landed a hard punch on his chin . He was thinking of slashing the intruder at the same time but held back . Soon, the conflict turned into an intense fight in the dark . After a while, Zhang Heng noticed that the intruder’s moves were too familiar . He had sparred a couple of times with Anne and was familiar with her movements . He was also pretty sure that Anne knew that she was fighting him . However, she had no intention to stop her brawls anytime soon . He could feel her getting more excited with every breath .
The moment Zhang Heng hesitated for a short while, he was hit in the chest twice and was forced to recollect himself to handle Anne’s relentless attacks . The battle abruptly ended when Anne jumped on him and pinned him to the ground . To Zhang Heng’s surprise, his sword skill had been promoted to LV 2 once the fight was over . He was left speechless when he received the notification . On the other hand, Anne was gasping for air, and her face was flushing as well .
“You lost!”
“…… . . ”
“Why are you not talking?”
“You came back in the middle of the bloody night just to fight with me?!”
“Of course not . I’m here to inform you that I’m not buying the house . ”
Anne let go of Zhang Heng’s arm, slid her butt across his belly, and got off from him .
“Why? Wasn’t that your lifelong dream?”
“I thought it was . When I was young, my father was the one who provided me with food and a place to stay . On the contrary, my mom had to constantly please his whims and demands . At that time, I thought I could freely live the way I wanted if I had my own house . So, that became my main goal when I came to Nassau . Completing my goal meant that I was finally independent . ”
“You have done some awe-inspiring things in this era . ”
At that point in history, women were perceived as the weaker of the sexes . Hence, their social status was way lower compared to men . Though Zhang Heng had helped her a lot in Nassau, the fact that she managed to gain the respect of the men around her was indeed unprecedented .
“I don’t want to leave this place . Buying the house means that I can finally live freely . However, if I can’t live the life that I want even after buying the house, it would be pointless . That’s not freedom to me . I mean, it’s good to have my own house and all, and I would very much enjoy putting my legs on the dining table and not being forced to finish my soup . But, my true freedom has nothing to do with all that . I want to be able to choose the life that I wish to lead . ”
Once she was done talking, she pushed Zhang Heng to the floor, ripped off her top, and climbed on him .
“I like you! I don’t care whether you like me or you have your eye on others . I don’t care if or when you’ll leave me . Maybe this love that I have for you will disappear someday . By that time, I will reserve the right to leave you . ”
In the dark, Zhang Heng could see her eyes alight with the flames of passion . After hesitating for a short while, Zhang Heng caressed her body with his hands . He gently ran over the scars littering her soft skin .
“Are they ugly?” asked a bashful Anne .
“No . They are beautiful . ”
Zhang Heng was dying to tell her, to be not so cavalier about her life and so blindly charge at every enemy that came at her . Nevertheless, he chose to stay mum in the end . Knowing her personality through and through, Zhang Heng knew that it was pointless telling her things like that .
“I’m glad that you’ve decided to stay . ”
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