Chapter 70: The Pirate King

Page 1 of 3

Fang Yue snapped out of his reverie, remembering that Fang Baoliang was still standing there.

He hadn’t called Fang Baoliang over just to have him take a few blows.

Originally, he’d planned to have Fang Baoliang train under Deng Dahai for a while, to observe him further, but now he’d changed his mind.

He wanted to develop industry in Fishtail Town, but he lacked manpower. Even if he wanted to travel elsewhere in the future, he wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving the town’s ventures unattended.

This world teemed with demons and monsters; since a dog demon had appeared in Fishtail Town, it was unlikely there would be peace in the future.

If Fang Yue was in town himself and something unexpected happened, he could handle it. But if he had to leave, the town would definitely need a powerful figure to hold the fort, to prevent any accident from spiraling out of control.

Fang Baoliang was undoubtedly a suitable candidate. He was a fisherman from Fangqiao Village, and his background was clear.

The change in Fang Baoliang was just as Fang Baoliang could sense Fang Yue’s robust, fire-like vitality.

With a warrior’s keen senses, Fang Yue could also vaguely perceive a certain energy within Fang Baoliang steadily growing stronger. This aura was still quite faint, but it gave Fang Yue a subtle sense of threat, even a hint of fear.

So Fang Yue intended to cultivate him, to teach him some martial techniques.

He would observe him in the process, rather than waiting until he was sure before teaching him anything.

After all, time waited for no one—learning martial arts was a long journey.

Although Fang Baoliang had changed, it was still unknown when he would become truly capable, able to withstand demons and ghosts.

Therefore, the earlier he was trained, the better, lest he fall behind when the time came.

“Baoliang, what do you think of this hard-body technique I practice?” Fang Yue asked.

“It’s really powerful,” Fang Baoliang replied, scratching his head, unable to think of a better word. He was, after all, a fisherman, uneducated and with limited experience.

He truly thought this technique was formidable; with all his strength, even after striking Fang Yue several times, it seemed as if he were merely scratching an itch.

“Would you like to learn it?” Fang Yue asked.

Fang Baoliang was taken aback, then replied joyfully, “I’d like to.”

He had thought Fang Yue would have him train under Deng Dahai and observe him for a while before being willing to teach him martial arts; he hadn’t expected it to begin right away.

Even though he no longer held much hope that martial arts could help him fight the slumbering monster beneath the sea, he still wanted revenge on the pirates who’d killed him, and he wanted his parents and younger brother to have a good life. That meant he had to learn martial arts.

He no longer had much hope for his own life, but his brother still had a future.

At the very least, before losing everything, he wanted to earn enough for his brother and parents to live comfortably for the rest of their days.

...

Page 2 of 3

Night had fallen, the sky strewn with stars.

In the house, the candlelight flickered, illuminating the book in his hands.

Fang Yue was seated at his desk, holding the manual "Fiery Cloud Skill," reading it with full concentration, absorbing its contents bit by bit.

Learning never ends, no matter where you are.

Every scrap of martial knowledge Fang Yue acquired, every principle he understood, became valuable nourishment for developing new techniques.

He didn’t know how much time had passed; by the time most of the candle had burned away, Fang Yue finally lifted his eyes from the manual, stretched, and straightened up.

The room was quiet, but compared to its usual emptiness, there was someone else here tonight.

Xing’er had pulled up a stool and was sitting not far away, near the edge of the candlelight, working a needle and thread through a shoe sole.

“Xing’er, you just arrived today and have been busy all day. Go rest early. There’s no need to mend shoes; just buy a few pairs in town, it doesn’t cost much,” Fang Yue said.

Xing’er looked up and replied earnestly, “Young master, I’m not tired. Mending shoes doesn’t take much effort, and spending money is wasteful.”

Fang Yue didn’t press the point. Instead, he asked, “Where’s your family from?”

Xing’er answered, “I’m from Wuzhou.”

Wuzhou lay to the south of Yunzou, bordering it. Both regions were coastal, though Yunzou had many hills, while Wuzhou was covered in deep forests and, according to legend, was shrouded in mist year-round, hence the name “Mist Province.”

“You’re from Wuzhou—how did you end up in Yunzou?”

Though the two provinces were adjacent, each was vast, far larger than a province in Fang Yue’s previous life.

And travel in this era was inconvenient, with land journeys dependent on animal power. Journeying from one province to another was no simple matter.

As she stitched the shoe sole, Xing’er said, “My home was a small coastal county in Wuzhou. Master Ren’s merchant ship passed through, and happened to see the old woman broker trying to sell me, so he bought me and brought me to Ping’an County.”

Fang Yue asked, “Do you still have family?”

Xing’er’s hands paused, a shadow passing over her face. “It’s been years since I went home. I don’t know how my family is now. When I was sold, my father had just died of an illness, and we were too poor to survive, so I was sold. At the time, my mother, myself, a younger brother and a younger sister were all that was left.”

Fang Yue sighed. “You’ve had a hard life.”

Xing’er shook her head. “It hasn’t been hard. Old Madam Ren treated me very well; she was a kind soul. Now, with you as my master, you’re also a good person. Xing’er feels very lucky.”

Fang Yue laughed and teased her, “We’ve only known each other a day, how do you know I’m a good person? Maybe I’m outwardly gentle but a beast in human guise.”

Xing’er was startled, her lips trembling. “Young master, I believe you’re a good person. Xing’er wouldn’t be wrong. Everyone else says so too.”

Fang Yue thought, seeing her on the verge of tears, “How could she possibly believe that?”

He shook his head. “Enough, it’s late. Go rest. I’m going to bed too.”

Page 3 of 3

“Oh.” Xing’er put away her needle and thread and hurried to the next room.

Fang Yue was left speechless. She really had been frightened—was she always so jumpy?

“How could someone as graceful and handsome as myself, one of the most eligible bachelors in Ping’an County, be so frightening?”

...

After Xing’er left, Fang Yue shut the door.

“It feels like a storm is coming; I can sense something major is about to go wrong.

At present, aside from the endless supernatural threats, the most pressing danger is the imminent threat from the pirates.”

Fang Yue felt a restless unease in his heart.

“Reveal.”

He recited the word silently, and an ancient bronze mirror appeared before him, floating in midair.

“It’s said that among the pirates gathering around the offshore islands near Baiquan Prefecture, there’s the Pirate King of the Eastern Sea.

So, let’s see where he is now—maybe I can glean something about the pirates’ movements.”

With that thought, Fang Yue intoned, “Offer.”

Virtue points were consumed. The mirror’s surface wavered and changed.

A kerosene lamp burned on a table. An old man in plain clothing sat there, listening to a pirate report.

Judging by the room’s size and layout, it must have been a cabin on a ship.

“That old man in plain clothes must be the Pirate King of the Eastern Sea,” Fang Yue mused, a bit surprised. He’d expected the Pirate King to be burly and imposing, not an ordinary-looking elder.

But as the scene focused on him, the old man seemed to sense something. He stopped speaking, glanced around suspiciously, then, seeing nothing amiss, turned back to listen to the pirate.

“What a keen perception,” Fang Yue thought in alarm.

There was only an image in the bronze mirror, no sound, and Fang Yue couldn’t read lips, so he couldn’t tell what they were saying.

After observing for a while without gaining any useful information, Fang Yue was forced to break the connection.

Virtue points were precious; he couldn’t afford to waste them.