This story is one that haven’t been told. One that hasn’t been planned before hand. One that doesn’t have an end yet. One that is burning to be told. Will it be epic? Will it be romantic? Will it make you cry? These questions are all legitimate. Unfortunately, no answer is possible. You will have to read it to find out. Now, now. Ladies, gentleman, and curious mouses, let’s dive in!

Here. It starts here. Once upon a time in America. Wait! No. Once upon a time, somewhere on the sea. Somewhere far away in a land called China. There is a girl. What’s her name again? Jung. Jung Wheein. There is a girl named Jung Wheein. She is an orphan. Born from a dead mother, given to a buddhist monastery and daughter of a brigand. Fortunately, she never got the chance to meet her dad. So really, what are the chances for her to become a brigand? More than a brigand! A whole pirate! Hated by the Chinese government, feared by the small town villagers and clearly not having heard about showers for years. For too many years if you ask… anyone who isn’t a pirate from Ming China. So here she is now, on a ship, doing worse than her father – absolutely not the dream of any reasonable parent. Good thing for her, they are both dead.

Her dad died a few years prior, leaving behind him a map. Wheein was really confused when she received the legacy of a parent she had never met but still kept it dearly. The day she received the news, she left the monks. To everyone’s surprise – or not –, she became a brigand. At this time, it is quite frequent for brigands to hide in monastery or disguise themselves as monks. Wheein had met quite a few during her childhood, and even got herself some connections in the criminal world for the biggest displeasure of the monks who had done their best to keep this child on the right path.

Wheein, Jung Wheein or just Jung for her fellow mates is one of the good ones. Good at everything. That is a way of summing it up. Really good at her pirate job. That is how she became the right hand of the captain. Second Jung. When she walks on the ship, she is respected by her mate, and with her everything always goes right. Right the way she wants. It explains why she is now on land, making a deal with powerful rich nobles of Ming China. A part of the job she doesn’t enjoy very much.

The job is simple on the paper but difficult in reality. Powerful noble families which get their money through trades are seeking the help of pirates to protect their ships and to attack the shops of their competition. Wheein has to make a deal with those seeking this special service. Her crew and ship are well known among the mercantiles which helps them closing deal with big fishes. The rewards gets bigger the bigger the fish is, but it also means the more possible for the government to get involved. And that is something no one wants to happen.

And this fish is big. Huge even. One that only comes once in a lifetime, the opportunity for Wheein and the entire crew to settle it one and for all. Become rich to their head and never have to work ever again. Goodbye half wet food smelling of the hold, goodbye storms making you pray the Seven Gods and the sea monsters for it to stop, goodbye hammock uncomfortable to sleep in from winter to summer.

Yes. Goodbye. Wheein could already see herself closing this parentheses of her life. Being a pirate has only been a way to get to her real goal. The one which takes the form of a parchment safely kept in the pocket of her jacket. An entire different story, really, you will have to come back another time for me to tell you. I am telling you, our story is packed with stuff to happen here and there, and we don’t have the time to worry about Jung Wheein betraying everyone to get her father’s legacy on some island that doesn’t even exist. Okay?

So. Our story, begins with Jung Wheein facing for the first time in her life Kim Yongsun. A noblewoman, with great connection on the seven seas, and the Ming government. More importantly, the one who promises more gold than you can imagine for a REAL simple mission. Obviously, there is a catch! Wheein knows that, more importantly, Wheein’s Captain knows that, and this is why she has sent her most intelligent mate to investigate what this is about.

Kim Yongsun is rich. Not because she tells Wheein as she sees her for the first time in her office, but because her property screams RICH in rare jewels, sophisticated architecture and subtle perfumes. Rooms bigger than Wheein’s ship, domestics walking everywhere to get the place running. Kim Yongsun is rich rich.

« ‘Got yourself all dolled up to meet me? »

Indeed, Wheein cleaned her face, and changed her usual wear for cleaned clothes that Captain Moon lended her. If it had been up to her, Wheein wouldn’t have changed a thing about herself, and would have come to the meeting in her terribly damaged white shirt who has seen too many sword fights, and her precious pants she bought with her own money after her first pay – they successfully raided a ship transporting silk and managed to sell it on the black market for twice the price.

« It is an honor to meet you, Master Kim. »

« So formal. So formal. Did your Captain tell you to watch your words? »

« Captain orders are to close the deal, and get back on the ship without making any trouble. »

« And it is you that they send? I don’t even deserve the Captain? »

Wheein sees what Kim Yongsun looks like for the very first time. The woman is beautiful, and she can’t suppress the slight twitch of her eyebrow. Wheein loves a beautiful woman, and Yongsun is more than beautiful. Long silky Hanfu inspired from the blue of the sky falling to her feet, gold and jade braided in her hair kept high on her head in a complex bun makes Yongsun look as noble as she is. Wheein believes some women are meant to be admired.

Except Yongsun isn’t a woman to be admired. She is a woman of action, and she is the one leading the deal. Captain Moon has been clear; not to fall in her bad grace but to still stay alert of her surroundings. Wheein works into accomplishing her mission to her best of her abilities, but she has to admit, she isn’t insensitive to Yongsun’s beauty.

It is hard to forget when the woman comes so close to her, touches her face from the tips of her delicate white fingers, and her perfume fills up Wheein’s brain. It becomes foggy up here, and when Yongsun opens a map in front of her, she forgets to look where her finger is pointing, preferring to travel up her exposed wrist to her face. Distracted again by her long hair following in her neck, and really she isn’t to blame because beautiful women are a rare sight when you work on a ship.

« … you only have to be sure the shipment safely gets to the port. There should be five boats, but it could be less. It is always around here that the shipment get attacked. Once I have confirmation from the dealer the shipment made it safely, I will pay you. »

« How do we know which are your boats? »

« They have my flag at the back. A red dragon. Fairly easy to spot. »

« How do we know they won’t attack us? It would be terrible if we end up having to fight them when we are tasked to protect them. But you have to understand, I won’t let my crew get attacked without answering. »

« You are a clever one, aren’t you? All this questions popping in your brain on their own. … Well. You will show them this. Hum? Your own little flag at the colors of my name. Wave it for them to know who you are. »

« And- »

« A clever one, really. »

« How will we proceed to payment? We need a reassurance that you will keep your words. »

Yongsun chuckles behind her clothe. As if the situation is so funny, as if she knew Wheein would say this before they even started to talk and she has been waiting for this moment. She gets something out of her pocket, and lays it on the opened map. The biggest ruby Wheein has ever seen in her entire life.

It is a crazy big jewel, but the way Yongsun lays it on the paper, it seems not much for her, and Wheein wonders again how rich the woman truly is. If a ruby this size isn’t much for her, than she must be rich to her head, unable to spend so much money. Wheein would gladly helps her feel lighter, but she has the order not cause trouble.

« I believe this will keep you worries at bay. »

Yongsun doesn’t have to say much, the deal is done, both parties agree. Wheein bows gratefully to the woman, maybe one too many. Her feet quickly carries her out of the office, and soon she is down the stairs leading to the open courtyard.

The ruby in her pocket feeling heavier than it truly is, she skips happily to the gate of the property. It is a quick trip to completely exit the property, really anyone would have taken less than five minutes, but Wheein takes thrice the time. It isn’t her fault, really, she isn’t to blame. Even if Captain Moon asks, she has nothing to do with the course of the events.

Sitting in the shades, is a woman, deep into a book, and wearing a Hanku whiter than the snow. Her hair aren’t kept in a sophisticated bun like Yongsun’s but braided and covering her shoulder. Her skin isn’t of the whitest tone, but tanned, reminding Wheein of the delicious filling found in the Hotteoks she once ate on the coast of Choseon.

It isn’t Wheein’s fault. Really. She got distracted, and stared. Not sure on what to think, on what to do with her body to get the woman’s attention. Yes, she wants this woman’s attention on her, she wants this woman to look at her, and to… And to maybe smile at her? Wheein isn’t sure, but this woman has her attention, and she won’t leave until they at least exchange a stare.

So Wheein wonderful idea is to stay here in the middle of the courtyard, swinging arms, stupids look on her face, and just… Just here. Because Wheein is a pirate, she has been for the last years, and she has mostly known the unstable sea than the steady land, she sometimes looks a bit ridiculous on land. Like right now.

Her hands want to grip a rope, or just something, but this is a courtyard and the only thing to grab is a tree, and she will look more like a monkey than a distinguish pirate. Wheein has nothing distinguish about herself, not even her boots which have lost their color because of the salty water. Yet, she manages to get the woman’s attention.

She raises her head, and her eyes fall on Wheein. Hard to miss in the middle of the courtyard since she doesn’t really fit in the rich property with her look that is nothing right according to the Han’s costumes. An odd thing, and yet, not unpleasant to look at. The woman offers Wheein a smile, and shyly goes back to her book. What did she do! Smile to a stranger!

So yes, Wheein finds her way out after the smile. It takes her another hour to find the way to her ship, she just has to stop for a drink in a tavern and ends up fighting the owner because she forgot to bring money with her and she can’t pay with her fists. She is now flying out of the tavern, her small height making her harder to catch, she is quickly out of the town, and on the road. She regrets not having taken the time to steal a horse, but quickly remembers that she has no idea how to ride one, and last time she tried she felt so sick she threw up and managed to fall in her own vomit.

So the remaining part of the way is done walking. Under the hot and sticky weather of the season, she finally gets to her ship. Obviously, due to their activities, they can’t just moor at the port, so they usually find a quieter port – sometimes abandoned port when they are lucky. Wheein easily climbs aboard, and sighs at the familiar sensation of the sea under her feet. Barely perceptible for an untrained feet, but Wheein has years worth of experience.

It is rather quiet, surely Captain Moon has let free quarter to the crew for the afternoon, and Wheein only greets a handful of mates. She skips to the Captain cabin, it is on the first deck, a rather large room where is kept precious treasures and maps collected along the way by the Captain. Wheein doesn’t spend a lot of time there, but often visits to take her orders, and inform the Captain of the progression of their travel.

It always has this mysterious smell of something close to incense but fruitier. A large table, covered in maps and books takes most of the space. The Captain is more often than not studying them, and Wheein wonders what could be so interesting about them, as if they tell secret only some could figure out. Even the precious map in Wheein’s pocket isn’t that interesting.

Wheein has studied it for hours, contemplating every inscription, and trying all the pirate tricks she could think of to see if a secret message wasn’t hidden, but to no avail. Her dad has given her a map of an island that doesn’t even exist, without even the promise of a treasure to find. Still, it is the only thing that connects her to her family in some way, as small as it might be, it is something.

« Jung. You are back. »

From the back of the cabin, Captain Moon emerges. Unlike most pirates, the Captain takes great care of her appearance. Her boots are always shining, her pants and shirt properly tucked in and without fold – even after a fight – she often has a long coat following her everywhere, and Wheein is sure more treasures are hidden in the pockets but she wouldn’t dare to try and find out. More importantly, a large tricorn is always fixed on top of her head, keeping her face hidden of the sun and the stares.

The Captain is the most interesting and mysterious human Wheein has encountered – and she has grown up around the monks. Well maybe for our readers monks aren’t much than bald men praying all day long, and observing silence. Yes, this isn’t all false, but they are also expert warriors mastering the difficult and violent technics of martial arts. At least the one who educated Wheein were. And they did teach her more than buddhism, making her a dangerous and capable warrior.

So yes, Wheein isn’t easily impressed. Yet, Captain Moon immediately got all of her attention. An outlaw with morals and a great sense of violence paired with intelligence. Wheein wonders how one come to become such a strong figure on their own, but doesn’t dare to ask the Captain. There are a lot of things she doesn’t dare to do around the Captain.

« Tell me everything. »

Wheein welcomes the warm cup of tea, and sits down at the table. In front of them, a map of the South China Sea. With the major port of Guangzhou in the middle, and the diverse maritime road showing the commercial axes of the region. Wheein points down on the map the road the ships should take and where their travel might get dangerous according to Yongsun.

Her words are clear, and she makes some observations herself on the best strategy to follow in order to lead the boats safely to the port without risking the patrolling authorities to take a look at their own boat. Captain Moon smiles when she sees the ruby Yongsun gave as a meant of solid proof to their contract, and congratulates Wheein.

« Could have done better myself. Now, tell me. How was she? What did you think of her? »

Wheein pounders on the question for a moment, this isn’t a usual question at all. And she wants to ask the Captain why didn’t she go herself to this meeting. Obviously she will answer that she knew Wheein was capable of the job, and that she had things to do around the boat. The classic.

« I think she was beautiful. And very rich. »

« And? »

« … Well, she understands that she has the upper hand in this deal. So, she tried to push me to see if I would react. »

« What did you do? »

« I follow your orders. Stayed out of trouble. Closed the deal. »

« Jung. You are smart, but not quite there yet. Guess it comes with experience. »

Wheein raises an eyebrow, but Byulyi doesn’t say more. Instead, she takes the ruby and smashes it on the table. The jewel explodes in pieces around the room, rolling under the furnitures, and bumping at Wheein’s feet. Exactly the opposite of what a real ruby would have done if being smashed against a table.

« You are right, she does have the upper hand. Now. Why don’t we think a little about all of this? »

Wheein’s brain is empty of thoughts. And her connections aren’t strong enough to connect all the pieces like Captain Moon does. Maybe all of her experience isn’t much in the end.

« You told me she was rich. Very rich, even. That, I want to believe is true. So, why would a rich noblewoman like Kim Yongsun only have a poor shipment of five ships for silk? A woman of this caliber, if undergoing business with merchant wouldn’t have such a small ambition. Don’t you think? »

« Then… why was she searching for someone to protect her ships? »

Captain Moon stays silent, even with her face half covered by her hat, Wheein is sure her eyes are shining with amusement. Amusement. A real great way to describe Captain Moon’s goal in life. Everything seems to be fun in her eyes. Being a pirate is fun. Stealing is fun. Boarding a ship is fun. Yes, Wheein believes Captain Moon is how so dangerous because she seems to do everything for fun. Fun? Wait.

« There is no ship to protect. There is no shipment of silk coming to Guangzhou. »

« Exactly. »

« … Then why? Is this for fun? Is she doing that for fun? »

« Everyone isn’t as easy-minded as I am, Jung. »

Wheein wouldn’t think that Captain Moon is “easy-minded”. Yes, she lives for the fun of life – even if her definition wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste. But, she is more subtile than that. Her mind manages to understand situation on a larger scale than many.

« … Captain Moon, would you happen to know Kim Yongsun? »

« Oh… I knew you could use this brain of yours. Hum! »

There is a satisfied smile on Captain Moon’s lips. She stands up to walk around the room, putting her thought in order before delivering them to her Second in a way that would make it easier to figure it out herself.

« Let’s look at it differently. Hum? Do you know who is this Kim Yongsun? »

« A noblewoman. »

« And? »

« And… She is rich. She… »

Wheein’s memory travels back to the office in which she was standing hours ago. In a way, it resembles Captain Moon’s, but if you looked at it closer, there were a lot of signs indicating her social status. Kim Yongsun is a scholar, and from the portrait hang in the corner, she is from a family of scholars.

Scholars in Ming China are the ones who have achieved to pass the “imperial exam”, a really difficult exam that only a few can pass by mastering the study of the “Classics” which are the Confucian canon and Laozi. Other capacities where tested during this exam such as poetry, calligraphy, etc. Scholars according to the degree of the exam they achieved – there were nine possible degrees – could access different benefit in the society. A true “ladder of success”.

« She is a scholar. »

« Indeed. Do you know what that means? »

« Well, she… She is working for the Emperor. »

« Exactly! Kim Yongsun is known for being one of the most brilliant scholar, managing the highest score on the highest level of the Imperial examination. Her entire family is made of scholars, and there are known for their loyalty to the Emperor. Now, that you know all of this, what can you guess? »

« It was a trap. »

« That is obvious. So much money for such an easy task, I would have to be a fool to not see it coming. »

« Than… Why did you send me? If you knew from the beginning that it was a trap? »

« What would she want to catch with such a trap? Hum? For such a loyal woman like Yongsun to the Emperor? »

« … Us? She wants to catch criminals. »

« Dig deeper. Almost there. »

« … You. She wants to catch you. »

Captain Moon nods, all happy with herself, as if it is the best situation possible. Wheein tells herself again that the Captain is a mystery. If she knew that Yongsun wanted her form the beginning than why even bother to answer the mission? It wasn’t making any sense.

« And since she has been so nice with you, we are going to answer her call. After all, she did give us something to remember her. Hum? »

Steps can be heard around the ship, announcing that most of the crew is back on board, Captain Moon smiles at Wheein, already amused by the situation, and exists her cabin with loud kick in the door. Wheein jumps from her seat and follows the Captain outside on the deck. The entire crew is already gathered in front of their captain, waiting for her orders.

Captain Moon isn’t often the one directly giving the orders, but when she does, it means they will have a lot of fun. Wheein does as she is told, and they are ready to sail. The shipment they should protect should arrive in the early hours of the morning, so they will take their position during the night. Captain Moon, behind her wheel hasn’t dropped her smile, and Wheein wonders what kind of idea the woman has in store.

A real mystery.