16. Where are you?

Desperate screams and crashing sounds erupted from within the captain's cabin. Xiao Zhan was lost in a storm of despair, fury, and sorrow. Beads of sweat trickled down his distorted face, and his breathing was ragged and uneven. Pain was etched into his features, both physical and emotional. The room was a wreck, mirrors shattered, papers scattered like fallen leaves, a table turned upside down.

As soon as he regained consciousness, Xiao Zhan knew something was terribly wrong. His eyes frantically scanned the cabin, taking in his familiar surroundings. To his horror, he realised he was back on his ship. His heart raced, a wild drumbeat of panic and disbelief. His worst nightmare had become reality - Wang Yi Bo was nowhere to be seen. He blamed himself entirely for this fatal mistake.

A bullet from the stranger had pierced Xiao Zhan's shoulder. Though not life-threatening, the injury demanded immediate attention. Fortunately, his fall down the slope had been cushioned by thick foliage, and he had landed near the shore. But the bullet wound bled profusely, and his vision blurred as he lost consciousness. The last thing he remembered was seeing Reira and his father running toward him before darkness engulfed him.

Now, Xiao Zhan was alone in the cabin, consumed by a tormenting sense of failure.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Reira and Wang Han rushed inside, alarmed by the commotion. They found Xiao Zhan amidst the wreckage, destroying everything within reach. Desperately, they tried to calm him down.

"It's my fault! I couldn't protect him! I was too careless! I am a failure!" he screamed, his voice raw with anguish.

"You need to calm down! Your shoulder is injured; the wound will tear!" Reira shouted, trying to guide him to the bed. But he was too enraged and slapped her hand away.

"How can I calm down? I didn’t protect him…" Xiao Zhan sobbed, tears streaming down his cheeks. The pain in his eyes was unbearable to witness.

"Son! Get a grip!” Wang Han’s voice boomed through the room, laced with concern and urgency. He stepped forward and placed a hand on Xiao Zhan’s shoulder. The grip was firm, a father’s touch both grounding and pleading. “Son, listen to me. We’re here to help, but we need to understand what happened first.”

His father's words seemed to penetrate Xiao Zhan's haze of despair. He hesitated, his movements slowing as he met his father's gaze, eyes brimming with grief. His whole body trembled from exhaustion, rage, and blood loss. He struggled to steady his ragged breathing, trying to compose himself.

On the brink of a breakdown, Xiao Zhan slumped onto the bed, rubbing his hand over his chest in a futile attempt to calm the storm inside him. It took several moments, but eventually, he managed to recount the events on the island with halting words and a hoarse voice.

"How long have I been out?" he demanded, his voice tinged with desperation.

"Son…" Wang Han hesitated, knowing the truth would only add to his son's torment.

"HOW LONG?" Xiao Zhan shouted, his fists clenching so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his entire body trembling.

"Two days…" Wang Han finally admitted, his voice heavy with defeat.

"Two days!?” Xiao Zhan's voice cracked, as he surged to his feet, swaying dangerously. “I need to go back and find him! They must be holding him captive at their base. I need to get him out of there! He…he needs me!" His breathing quickened, and his body shook with urgency.

"Xiao Zhan…" Wang Han whispered, crouching before his son. Again, he placed a steadying hand on Xiao Zhan's shoulder, gently shaking it.

"I know it's dangerous, but I have to go. He’s counting on me! He’s waiting for me to rescue him!" Xiao Zhan's hands moved erratically through his dishevelled hair, reflecting his inner turmoil.

Reira and Wang Han exchanged troubled glances, their expressions laden with concern.

"Xiao Zhan… we took care of the base," Reira began carefully. "After capturing the heads of the group, we burned the entire complex down. Some traffickers escaped, but Wang Yi Bo wasn’t among them. We don’t know if he’s still there or if they took him on one of their ships…."

Xiao Zhan froze, the weight of Reira's words crashing down on him like a tidal wave.

"You have no idea where he is?"

***

"So it's really you?!" Wang Yi Bo stared at the man in utter disbelief.

"Yes, it's me. So what?" came the cold reply.

"Li Wenhan!" 

The other man snorted and rolled his eyes. Wang Yi Bo couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

"But... why are you here? Why did you attack us?" Wang Yi Bo asked, his voice a mix of confusion and desperation.

"Have you always been this stupid, or did your bastard pirate fuck your brain cells out of your head?" Li Wenhan sneered, looking down at Wang Yi Bo with contempt.

"How can you say that? What happened to you? Li Wenhan, I can't recognise you anymore. I'm asking again, what are you doing here?"

"What happened to me, you ask? Your pirates destroyed everything and took most of our important men hostage! They even burned everything down!" Li Wenhan’s voice was laced with venom.

After returning to their base with their hostage, Li Wenhan and his men discovered that the pirates had turned the tables on them. Enraged but unwilling to surrender, they retreated to a secret cave hidden within the forest to regroup and plan their revenge. Wang Yi Bo would be central to that plan.

Seeing the anger in Li Wenhan's eyes, Wang Yi Bo suddenly understood. Clenching his fists, he looked at his former friend with all the hatred he could muster.

"You are one of them, aren't you?" Wang Yi Bo's voice was sharp with realisation.

"One of what?" Li Wenhan asked, feigning innocence.

"A trafficker. You sell human beings for your own profit. Right?" Wang Yi Bo spat out the words.

"I am," Li Wenhan said nonchalantly, as if discussing the weather.

A sharp pang pierced Wang Yi Bo's heart.

"But why? We swore to protect and serve our people, to help those who can’t help themselves! How can you do this?"

Li Wenhan smirked and crouched down, leaning close to Wang Yi Bo's face. "Yi Bo, Yi Bo, righteous as ever. You’re too naive for this world. You're judging me? What surprises me even more is that you're with the very people you used to despise... If we're talking about loyalty."

"I did despise them, but they showed me the truth - that the world isn’t just black and white. The problem isn’t with pirates or companies. It's with people like you, who strip others of their dignity for personal gain. That’s the true evil!" Wang Yi Bo replied, his voice filled with conviction.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Li Wenhan snorted disdainfully.

"And when our ship was attacked, you left me to die and escaped with the traffickers, didn’t you?"

"Well, that was convenient. I would have preferred otherwise, but things happened as they did," Li Wenhan said with a shrug.

"Convenient? I can't believe you're the same person I grew up with," Wang Yi Bo said, disbelief colouring his voice.

"People change. Grow up, for God's sake!"

"But... we were like brothers... yet you left me there..."

"Oh, we were," Li Wenhan said dismissively. "But you were too self-righteous, too loyal. You were a pain in the ass, stuck on rules and principles."

"What's wrong with being righteous?" Wang Yi Bo demanded.

"Everything! That's not how the real world works. Humans aren't kind and generous!"

"Like you?" Wang Yi Bo asked bitterly.

"I never claimed to be. But I learned to take control of my own destiny."

"By selling other humans? How can you live with yourself?"

"Who cares about others?" Li Wenhan replied indifferently.

Wang Yi Bo fell silent, the weight of betrayal and guilt heavy on his shoulders. His thoughts drifted to Xiao Zhan, and he wondered if he was alive and safe. It was all his fault. If he hadn’t wandered into the forest blindly, none of this would have happened.

The guilt gnawed at him from within. He had no idea how long he’d been here. Tears welled in his eyes, and he bit his lip to stifle a sob.

Li Wenhan observed his struggle with a disdainful expression before turning away, leaving Wang Yi Bo alone in the dimly lit room. A few cracks in the stone walls allowed slivers of light to illuminate his prison. It was a small natural cave, clearly used as a storage room, with nothing notable. His captors hadn’t even bothered to bind him, knowing he was too weak to escape.

Exhausted, Wang Yi Bo lay down on the cold floor and wept. "Please, be alright, my love," he whispered, his voice breaking with sorrow.

***

"Xiao Zhan, I'm sorry," Reira said, her voice trembling with concern. "We found you on the beach, unconscious. We didn't know what happened. Please, say something. Don’t just sit there."

Reira knelt beside Xiao Zhan, who remained silent, staring at the ground, lost in a world of despair. She shook his shoulders gently, desperate to elicit a response, but he stayed silent, his eyes distant and unfocused.

"Son," Wang Han said softly, placing a comforting hand on Xiao Zhan's back. "I promise we'll do everything we can to bring Yi Bo home. Pull yourself together; nothing is lost yet."

Xiao Zhan's silence lingered, his mind a whirlwind of emotions. The images of Yi Bo's laughter and warmth played endlessly in his thoughts, each memory a bittersweet reminder of what was missing. Just then, Kuko, swooped into the room, her wings fluttering wildly as she dropped something at his feet - a bracelet.

The very bracelet Xiao Zhan had given Wang Yi Bo.

Kuko landed with a thud, screeching loudly, her eyes fixed on Xiao Zhan. She flapped her wings frantically, as if urging him to do something. Reira, startled by the bird’s sudden appearance, attempted to shoo her away.

"You silly parrot, this isn't the time to cause a scene!" Reira scolded, waving her hands to no avail. Kuko snapped at her fingers in defiance, her determination unwavering.

“Ouch, you little—”

The sight of the bracelet ignited a spark within Xiao Zhan. With a sudden burst of energy, he stood up, eyes wide with renewed purpose. In his hand, he clutched the bracelet like a lifeline.

“Kuko, my honeypie, do you know where they are?” Xiao Zhan’s voice trembled with excitement, his heart pounding with hope. The intelligent parrot chirped affirmatively, bobbing her head vigorously. She had followed the kidnappers for the last two days, watching and waiting, knowing that her rival needed to be found to make her king happy.

Kuko screeched again, darting towards the cabin door, beckoning Xiao Zhan to follow.

Without hesitation, Xiao Zhan bolted after her, his determination unyielding. The world outside was a blur as he raced forward, driven by a singular mission: to save Wang Yi Bo.

“Son! Stop!” Wang Han called out, frustration lacing his voice. “You need a plan. Don’t do anything rash! What did I teach you!?”

But Xiao Zhan was already gone, his father's words lost in the wind.

“I can’t, Pa! I have to go!” He shouted over his shoulder, the resolve in his voice unshakeable.

Wang Han watched helplessly as his son disappeared from view, shaking his head in exasperation. “You can’t just charge in there like this!”

Reira placed a reassuring hand on Wang Han's shoulder. “Let him go, Han-Ge. It’s no use trying to stop him now.”

Wang Han sighed, worry etched across his face. “I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“He’s never been in love before,” Reira replied softly. “Love can turn you into someone you never knew you could be.”

***

But fortunately, the chase was interrupted before Xiao Zhan could leave the ship. Just as he reached the ship's edge, the adrenaline that had propelled him forward began to fade. His knees wobbled, and he had to grab the nearest support to steady himself and avoid collapsing onto the planks. 

That "thing" happened to be Xue Yang, who had rushed towards him the moment Xiao Zhan exited his cabin. Trembling, Xiao Zhan leaned heavily on his loyal crew member, struggling to regain his composure.

His outburst had not gone unnoticed. Jiang Cheng, Song Lan, and a few others approached with determined strides.

"Xiao Zhan! What are you thinking, you moron?" Jiang Cheng erupted, his voice a mix of anger and concern. "Do you think you can pull off a one-man rescue mission? I guess the blood loss has affected your brain!" His face was flushed with frustration, always the fierce protector. He couldn't stand idly by when one of their own was in peril.

"He's right, Cap," Xue Yang chimed in, his voice low and steady. "You can't go like this. We’re all in this together. Wang Yi Bo is our friend too." His expression was grim, a testament to the sleepless nights he'd spent worrying. His jaw clenched. Wang Yi Bo wasn't just a friend; he was like family. The thought of losing him was unbearable. 

"This is too dangerous!" someone protested.

"We know that," Xue Yang replied, his resolve unwavering. "That's why we'll come with you. End of discussion."

Xiao Zhan looked at them, torn between gratitude and stubbornness. "Is this the way to talk to your Captain?"

"Stop complaining," Jiang Cheng shot back, a teasing glint in his eyes. "This is personal. Don’t get all sulky because we’re not treating you like the boss right now." He punctuated his words with a playful punch to Xiao Zhan's uninjured shoulder.

"Finally, someone with common sense," Wang Han said as he joined the group, his presence a calming influence. "Listen to your family, son. You can achieve this together. I know you're anxious, but running headlong into danger won't help anyone."

"Think about it, Xiao Zhan," Reira added, gently holding Kuko, who had been caught mid-flight. "We need you. You are our Captain and always will be."

Xiao Zhan sighed, the weight of responsibility pressing heavily on him. "He needs me… I’m sorry. I can't think straight right now. Please, help me with this. You can punch me as much as you like, and I’ll get you free wine at Cindy’s for a month when we’re back."

"You better keep your promise, you miserable bastard," Jiang Cheng grumbled, though a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. The rest of the group couldn’t help but chuckle, their spirits lifted by the banter.

"So, what's the plan?" Xiao Zhan asked, focusing on the task ahead.

"There can't be many of them," he continued, his voice regaining its steadiness. "When they attacked us, they were a small group, maybe ten people at most. I’m not sure about their hideout, but I doubt they have much reinforcement."

"We should scout the area first and then decide how to proceed," Reira suggested, her strategic mind already at work. "I can send two of my spies. They're specialists for this kind of task."

"Good idea," Xiao Zhan agreed. "And, as strange as it sounds, my parrot will guide you."

"Are there really no more reliable options?" someone muttered skeptically.

"Right now, she’s our best chance to find our princess," Xiao Zhan replied firmly.

"She’s a trustworthy fighter," Xue Yang interjected, defending Kuko. "She even helped us uncover traitors before." The parrot puffed out her chest with pride, earning amused glances from the crew.

"Okay, okay, just saying," the skeptic relented, a hint of admiration in his voice.

"Come on, guys," Xiao Zhan urged, rallying his crew. "Let's bring Yi Bo home."