As I opened my mouth to speak, Dragon Prince held up a hand to stop me. "I know - you have come for my Turtle Ball. This world is ephemeral, and I can see through it as if it were mist. Nothing is concealed from me. I'll give you my Turtle Ball if you recover three relics stolen from my father: the Robe of Calm, the Staff of Temperance, and the Begging Bowl of Humility. They were taken by the Crimson Lotus!"

"I'm sorry, who?" I asked, and Dragon Prince explained. "They are a band of evil monks who congregate within the Wai No Shrine. They will not surrender these relics, so you must be prepared to take them by force. Then you may have my Turtle Ball."

An hour later, aboard the Santo Oro, Emma and I were scouting out Wai No Shrine with our spyglasses. Everywhere I looked, I saw the monks were either meditating in the lotus position, or going about their daily business like working in the vegetable gardens. "They don't seem like crazed monks to me... What do you think, Emma?"

Emma shook her head as she lowered her spyglass, and Milo Graytail, a member of Rena's crew, walked up to us on the forecastle. "Your orders?"

I sighed as I put down my spyglass. "It doesn't look like they have any cannons, so we'll be entering the shrine with the longboats. I want all hands in this raid, but if they kill anyone, they can expect fifty lashes from Mr. Quentin's cat."

Milo nodded as he went away, and I wondered if a flogging would really be enough to deter some of the hardened pirates in the crew. Shaking my head to put the thought out of my mind, I leapt into the first longboat that hit the sky, soon followed by the members of Rena's crew. Followed by the others, we rowed towards the pier, where we drew our weapons as we swarmed into the shrine, awaiting my signal.

I took a deep breath as I shakily raised my pistol into the air to fire it and give the signal to start pillaging, and a Goose wearing red robes shouted, "No! Wai No Shrine is peaceful! What are you doing?"

"Despoilers! Ravagers! Agents of chaos! Lay down your weapons, or our Guardians will defeat you!" Another monk said angrily, with red Elephant-like oni appearing at his side.

"I've seen things you pirates wouldn't believe." One of the oni said, his dark eyes glittering with fire. "Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Aquila. I watched cannon fire glitter in the darkness near Valencia Stormgate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain."

Another monk, a Crane wearing a straw hat, stepped forward. "We are a peaceful monastery, given to meditation and quiet contemplation of the wonder of life. Why... why... are you attacking us?"

I then heard a murmur pass among the monks, and they made way for a Goat monk, presumably the leader of the Crimson Lotus monks. "Master Hong Bao..."

"What is the meaning of this unprovoked attack?" Master Hong Bao demanded, pointing the tip of a wooden staff at me, and I swallowed before I forced out the bitter-tasting words hanging on my tongue. "Dragon Prince said you stole three relics from his father."

Master Hong Bao's eyes widened. "Dragon Prince? Impossible! He was transformed into a Wind Horse, cursed by Lo Pan."