Chapter 406 - 300: Sinister Hearts, Making a Deal

Chapter 406: Chapter 300: Sinister Hearts, Making a Deal

’So the horn blast that just scared off the Sea Sirens must have come from someone like that.’

Mulling this over, he gave a slight nod.

"Alright, I’ll head over now."

After giving the sailors a nod, Wu Liangchen followed Cai Liben up toward the higher decks of the ship.

The passageways grew wider the higher they climbed, and they eventually arrived before a cabin near the very top of the massive ship.

Cai Liben stepped forward and knocked lightly on the door. "Sir," he said with the utmost respect, "I’ve brought the person you were looking for."

"Let him in!" A man’s slightly weary voice came from inside the room.

"Yes!"

Cai Liben took a step back, clearing the way.

Wu Liangchen didn’t hesitate, stepping forward to push open the cabin door and walk in.

Once the door swung heavily shut, Cai Liben remained outside, his expression shifting uncertainly. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

Meanwhile, upon stepping into the cabin, Wu Liangchen found the room somewhat dim, the air filled with an indescribable smell.

It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was bitter, like the scent of medicine.

He then saw a chair positioned before the window. Someone was seated in it with their back to the door. Though he couldn’t make out their features, the silhouette suggested it was a youth.

Wu Liangchen scanned the entire cabin in an instant before fixing his gaze on the figure. "May I ask why you were looking for me?" he said in a low voice.

"No wonder you managed to achieve Opening Veins on your own. You have a rare, straightforward personality."

As the voice spoke, the chair slowly swiveled around, revealing a slender, pale-faced youth.

He looked at Wu Liangchen with a smile, his eyes filled with what seemed to be admiration.

Wu Liangchen, however, was inwardly shaken.

He had discovered something strange.

Although the youth was sitting right before him, he couldn’t sense his presence at all.

It was a phenomenon he had never encountered before, and it left him utterly astonished.

Just then, the youth spoke.

"Don’t waste your effort. I’ve already used Magic to shield myself. You can’t perceive me."

Magic!

’Just as I thought!’

A chill went down Wu Liangchen’s spine, his vigilance instantly rising to its peak.

If he were facing a Martial Artist, no matter how powerful, Wu Liangchen wouldn’t be this tense.

But now, facing a man who might command all sorts of strange arts, Wu Liangchen had no choice but to be on his guard.

After all, this was an entirely new realm, one he had never encountered.

He had suspected the person would be extraordinary before he even arrived; he had, after all, heard the horn blast that repelled the Sea Sirens with his own ears.

But now that he was truly face to face with him, Wu Liangchen instantly prepared for the worst.

’At this distance, I could rush over and kill him three times in the blink of an eye.’

’And the door behind me won’t stop my retreat. If it comes to it, I can even smash through the wall...’

Numerous scenarios flashed through Wu Liangchen’s mind.

Just then, the youth chuckled lightly. "No need to be nervous. I didn’t ask you here with any ill intent. On the contrary, I want to make a deal with you."

"A deal? What kind of deal?" Wu Liangchen didn’t relax in the slightest, his cold gaze fixed on the youth.

"It’s simple. I want to hire you as my bodyguard for the time being."

"Be your bodyguard?" Wu Liangchen was taken aback.

"That’s right! In the battle just now, although I used a Secret Technique to scare away the Sea Sirens, I also suffered a great drain on my vitality. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be in this state," the youth said with a wry smile.

"But on this massive ship, would anyone dare to harm you?" Wu Liangchen couldn’t help but ask.

A navigator’s role, as the name implied, was to guide the ship through this fog.

’They should be desperately trying to protect him right now. Who would dare wish him harm?’

"You don’t understand. It’s true the ship can’t do without me right now, but because my vitality is so drained, many people are coveting the Magic I possess. After all..."

"...if they obtain this Magic, they too can communicate with the sea and become the new navigator," the youth said with great candor.

Wu Liangchen gave the youth a long look. "But aren’t you afraid I might do the same?"

"You?" The youth shook his head and chuckled. "You just boarded this ship and haven’t even been to the Alliance. You have no foundation to speak of. So even if you killed me and took my Magic, it wouldn’t do you any good."

Wu Liangchen’s heart stirred. He knew the youth’s words were true.

’I have no foundation right now. Even if I took the risk and killed him, I probably couldn’t get away with it cleanly.’

’Besides, who knows what kind of life-saving measures this youth has? He might just be pretending to be weak right now.’

’Most importantly, I wouldn’t stoop to such a thing.’

He didn’t believe so-called Magic was any more impressive than Martial Arts. Magic might hold a short-term advantage, but its weaknesses were equally apparent.

Take this youth, for example. He had used some Secret Technique and a horn to drive away the Sea Sirens, but he had been grievously wounded in the process, his vitality severely drained.

This huge limitation made Wu Liangchen uninterested. He felt Magic was merely icing on the cake, not something to be relied upon as a core skill.

Right now, Wu Liangchen believed in nothing but his own two fists.

If his own strength were to leap a few more levels, he probably wouldn’t need anyone’s help and could repel the Sea Sirens with his power alone.

Of course, Wu Liangchen didn’t let any of these thoughts show.

"So you chose me?"

"That’s right!" The youth nodded. "I saw your spearmanship, and I just sensed your power. You’re the perfect choice to be my bodyguard."

"But if this is a deal, what’s my payment?" Wu Liangchen asked.

"Simple. I can help you escape your current predicament," the youth said.

"My predicament? I don’t think I’m in one."

The youth smiled.

"No need to hide it. The moment you stepped through that door, I used a spell to soundproof this cabin. No one outside can hear a thing."

"I don’t believe for a second you failed to notice Cai Liben’s hidden malice."

"I won’t beat around the bush. I’ll just tell you directly. From the moment you boarded this ship, you became prey for Cai Liben and the captain behind him, Xiong Tianzong."

"And their goal is very clear: your Martial Vein!"

"Martial Vein?"

"That’s right!" The youth nodded. "It’s a rather complex concept, and I can’t explain it fully in just a moment. You just need to remember this: it’s the single most sought-after thing in the Alliance right now. Period."

"I could even say that, based on the strength and potential you’ve shown, your Natural Martial Vein is worth more than all the cargo on this ship combined."

Wu Liangchen fell silent.

Although he still wasn’t clear on what a Martial Vein was, he could guess its general meaning from the name itself.

’It must be something like one’s Martial Arts potential or talent.’

’I just never expected that in this overseas secret realm, such a thing could actually be traded like cargo.’

"I’d even bet that after seeing your spearmanship, this Xiong Tianzong will covet you even more."

"The moment you set foot ashore, he’s bound to sell you to some mega-corporation or great family. At that point, even if you have heaven-defying abilities, you won’t be able to escape the tragic fate of having your Martial Vein stolen."

"And I can help you avoid that!" the youth said, looking at Wu Liangchen with a sincere expression.

"As long as you can protect my safety during this time, I have my own ways to help you avoid the greedy eyes of those mega-corporations and great families once we’re ashore. I can give you a stable environment to develop. How does that deal sound?"

"It sounds good, but the question is, can you really do it?" Wu Liangchen asked after a moment of silence.

The youth smiled. "You underestimate us navigators. There aren’t many of us, but each one has some power, and we’ve even formed a Navigators’ Guild. So as long as I get ashore safely, I’ll have a way to protect you."

"Alright. I’ll trust you this once." Wu Liangchen finally nodded in agreement, realizing he had no reason to refuse.

The youth smiled happily and extended his hand. "Let’s get acquainted. My name is Yuan Mingfei."