“Eat.”

  Long Wei stared at the half-burnt fish with little interest, but he accepted it solely because his stomach had been growling persistently.

  Yang Feng, the old man with the wide-brimmed hat who had “saved” Long Wei, ate his own portion of the grilled fish. As he chewed, he casually threw out a question that immediately reignited Long Wei’s anger. “So, what happened to you? How did you end up floating down the river?”

  Long Wei’s mind immediately flashed back to the events of the previous night. It was like a scene playing before his eyes, the moment his father fell lifeless into the river and the challenge issued by the two great warriors.

  His gaze wandered along the Bai He River, taking in the surroundings. It became clear why there were no other bodies floating by or pieces of shipwreck. He had been carried far downstream toward a southeast bend, while the remnants of the battle likely headed westward.

  “I was on a ship, and it was attacked by river pirates,” Long Wei answered, not completely lying.

  The old man nodded, his face showing a hint of pity. “I’m Yang Feng. What’s your name?”

  “Long Wei,” he replied briefly before taking another bite of his burnt fish.

  “Long Wei…” Yang Feng repeated the name a few times, clearly trying to commit it to memory. “I found you drifting here alone. Did you board the ship by yourself?”

  Long Wei opened his mouth. He wanted to say that he was the only one who survived, but his mouth snapped shut. After a few moments, he finally answered, “Yes, I was alone.”

  Yang Feng nodded again. “Where are you headed?”

  “To the Eastern Sea. If it weren’t for those damn pirates.”

  “The Eastern Sea? I’ve heard rumors lately that the pirates there have been getting more brutal.”

  “That’s me, old man!” Long Wei thought, but his mouth responded, “I know. I won’t go too far out to sea, just along the coast to visit distant relatives.”

  Yang Feng nodded again. “After this, will you still go there?”

  Long Wei lowered his gaze.

  After his father’s forces were wiped out, Long Wei had no place to return to. The Sea Ghost pirates had been his home, his refuge, but it was destroyed now.

  Long Wei wondered in his heart whether he should return to the East Coast and become the target of mockery from the pirates, or wander off to become whatever he needed to survive. He quickly made up his mind.

  “I’ll go somewhere else.” And stay a pirate, but perhaps a land pirate this time.

  Yang Feng’s eyes widened. “What about your relatives on the East Coast?”

  “I can visit them another time when things are better.”

  Yang Feng finished his fish, which was now reduced to bones, then tossed them into the river and stood up.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “You can stay at my house until you’ve recovered,” Yang Feng smiled. “And help me with fishing, of course. I haven’t had a fishing buddy in a long time.”

  From that day on, Long Wei stayed at Yang Feng’s modest, almost crumbling home. Since the house only had one room, Long Wei slept in the front area on a thin mat with a blanket that was no thicker than a single sheet.

  As a fighter from the Sea Ghost pirates, Long Wei wasn’t a weakling. It took only three days for his wounds to heal completely. In reality, most of that time wasn’t spent healing his external injuries, but rather, his internal wounds.

  On the third morning, Long Wei opened a conversation between their usual routine of fishing by the river.

  “Elder, I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

  “Oh, you can go,” Yang Feng answered casually.

  Long Wei was surprised. He immediately turned his head to look at the old man beside him.

  “What I mean is, tomorrow evening, I’ll be heading up the mountain for meditation. The full moon tonight is a great time to strengthen my Qi. I’ll return here tomorrow morning, close to noon. You can wait for me, if you want.”

  Long Wei furrowed his brow, surprised that someone so old would still care about their Qi. He thought, shouldn’t he be worrying about his own grave, considering there was no one else to help him in this forest?

  “Oh, alright, but sorry, I can’t wait,” Long Wei replied. He was worried that Zhu’s men might be pursuing him.

  Night came quicker than expected. Yang Feng had left at sunset, and now Long Wei was ready to continue his journey, heading anywhere far from the Eastern Sea. He still didn’t want, or more accurately, couldn’t face the Sea Devil pirate forces led by Zhu Ren in his current state.

  But before he left, Long Wei remembered his next goal: to become a pirate too, but on land. Perhaps, a bandit.

  It wasn’t surprising. Long Wei had grown up among pirates—brutal men who were experts at taking things by force. The same malicious desire began to rise in him when he realized he was alone in the house.

  “This is my first step,” he grinned.

  Long Wei searched through every corner of Yang Feng’s small house. It didn’t take long, there wasn’t much to find, and the place wasn’t big. But there was a small rectangular box hidden beneath the bamboo platform bed where Yang Feng slept.

  Long Wei took the box and opened it without hesitation. His eyes widened.

  Inside lay a beautiful, bright green jade bracelet. The last time Long Wei had seen such a fine piece of jewelry was when one of his father’s men had raped a rich princess and demanded ransom. But this bracelet was far more beautiful.

  Long Wei’s hands trembled slightly as he picked up the jade bracelet. He felt an odd impulse in his heart, as if telling him to treat it gently.

  “This... I have to have it…” Long Wei laughed, mesmerized by the extraordinary object.

  And so, the young man left Yang Feng’s house, his departure marked by the theft of its only treasure. He smiled all the way as he journeyed northward.

  Time passed, and night gave way to morning. Small boats and a large ship soon docked by the small hut. A dozen people jumped off the boats, their demeanor frightening, like pirates.

  Yang Feng, who had just returned from his meditation, frowned. “Who are you looking for?”

  An old man dressed entirely in white, along with another old man in all black, appeared on the deck of the large ship. The man in white shouted, “Yang Feng, hand over the Sky Jade!”

  Yang Feng’s eyebrows nearly met. “White Ascetic, you’re still chasing after that ridiculous thing?”

  “Don’t lie, you have it!” the old man in black snapped.

  “Death Hand,” Yang Feng chuckled. “Still pretending after your defeat all those years ago? And now you’ve brought so many friends?”

  The White Ascetic and Death Hand leapt from the ship, their bodies floating and landing softly on the ground.

  “I’m not here to play around. The Emperor wants it,” Death Hand said, his tone threatening.

  “I’m not playing either. If you want to know, the gods are on my side this time,” Yang Feng chuckled again, nearly laughing.

  “Hand it over!” The White Ascetic waved his hand, summoning a strong wind that swept toward Yang Feng, who was still laughing.

  “It’s gone!” Yang Feng responded with a sweep of his own hand.

  The two tremendous forces collided, creating a distant rumble and an overwhelming gust of wind. Only the three powerful figures remained in place, while the others were pushed back three steps.

  “I’m not lying,” Yang Feng continued, somehow holding a long bamboo pole that he usually used for fishing. “So your search is in vain. Just tell that arrogant Emperor to look among his concubines. Maybe one of them is hiding it. Hahaha.” Yang Feng laughed louder.

  “Find the jade!” the White Ascetic ordered his rough men, and with that, they charged at Yang Feng, joined by Death Hand.