Before anyone could react-
Someone launched himself from their boat, soaring into the air. It happened so fast that no one saw who it was at first. Then the figure came into focus.
The famous young dragon, Jin Ranyi.
"Heaven Cleaving Sword!"
The pirate split in two. Then the ship. Then the river itself.
Everyone stared in disbelief. How could a young boy have such strength!
Just as the story was about to continue-
FWOOOSH!!
A stinky wave of liquid crashed into Jin.
SPLAAAASH!
His eyes flew open.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Jin quickly realized that they were on land. The ship had been docked against a secluded riverbank, surrounded by thick forest on three sides, with only the Silver Spine River at its back.
Jin blinked. Woken from his beauty sleep, he looked around and saw his companions, the crew, and the many noblemen traveling with them.
But they looked back at him with a face of disgust. That's when the smell hit him, the awful smell of piss with God knows what.
One of the pirates, the one who'd thrown the bucket, grinned.
"It's always fun seeing you noble kids when you fall down to our level."
He looked like he was having the time of his life.
Jin's hands and feet were bound. He wisely kept his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted was to get drenched in something even worse.
'Hey, System. Remind me what happened after I pulled out my knife.'
[You were struck on the back of the head. Some of the pirates had already hidden themselves aboard the ship. I apologize for not warning you sooner. My perception is limited to your own, and at the moment, it is no better than a mortal's.]
Jin shook his head.
'It's fine. I wouldn't have been able to escape anyway. That pirate boss felt about as strong as the Qin elder.'
He looked around.
The pirates had deliberately isolated him from the others. It seemed they'd already figured out who he was.
Further ahead, one of the noblemen from his ship was speaking with the pirate boss. They stood too far away for Jin to make out a single word.
'System. Even if I can't hear them, I can still see their faces. Can you read lips?'
[Yes, absolutely, Master.]
Almost eager to make up for its earlier mistake, the System relayed their conversation directly into Jin's mind.
Only a few sentences were enough.
Jin understood the situation.
The Peng Clan's greatest business confidant had sold them out.
For what reason, Jin didn't know. And right now, it didn't matter.
What mattered was that the ship ahead had been carrying the Peng Clan Leader's daughter. She was already captured and kept inside a tent, waiting to be used as a bargaining chip.
As Jin pieced everything together, the pirate who'd been standing over him suddenly shouted,
"Everyone! Come take a look! Did you know what we've got here? The famous young master everyone's been talking about!"
Jin's expression darkened.
The last thing he wanted right now was more attention.
Heads turned one after another.
Most of the pirates had assumed the most valuable captive was the Peng Clan's young lady. None of them expected another prize to be aboard.
Then they got a good look at him.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"No way that's the so-called young dragon!"
"Piss Dragon!"
Though Jin wanted to retort, he stayed silent. There was no point in arguing.
This wasn't the Qin Clan. Nobody here was strong enough to shield him.
Seeing Jin remain calm even after all the humiliation, the pirate grew curious.
'Interesting. First noble brat I've seen who hasn't barked back after all this.'
A grin spread across his face as he called out, "Oi! Cut his ropes. Let him loose. A dragon's supposed to soar through the skies, right?"
Dawei and the others watched it happen, but none of them stepped forward. Not even An Guoli. Nobody wanted to stick their neck out, and Jin couldn't blame them. He wouldn't have either.
Chunsheng clenched his fists. 'If only I had the strength...'
Sadly, the world didn't run on 'ifs' or 'buts'. It ran on what is.
The ropes fell away. Jin rubbed his sore wrists and slowly stood up, his expression calm. Inwardly, however-
'Why me, man? Why did I have to reincarnate into a young master's body?'
While Jin was inwardly cursing his luck, the pirate asked,
"Why don't we have a little duel? I'd like to see the Jin Clan's swordsmanship for myself."
Shouts of agreement erupted from every direction. Everyone wanted to watch a young master get beaten down. After all, the man standing before him was Cao Lin, the vice leader of the pirate crew.
"Ahhh!"
Amid the chaos, only Jin seemed to notice the cry.
From the corner of his eye, Jin saw a young girl, no older than ten, being dragged out by her hair. The pirate hauling her stopped only a short distance away, just enough for her to witness the "spectacle" about to unfold.
Nobody paid her any attention now.
Cao Lin was already walking toward Jin, and every pair of eyes followed him. Even the pirate leader, Guo Feng, had set his own matters aside to watch.
'Looks like I underestimated my popularity.'
Jin raised his fists into a boxing stance.
His teeth clenched, jaw tightening. He knew he wasn't a match for Cao Lin. The pirate wasn't trying to kill him anyway. He just wanted to humiliate him.
Even so, there was no way in hell Jin was going down without a fight.
His philosophy was simple.
'Survival matters... but so does integrity. Otherwise, I might as well start licking people's shoes.'
He had already taken the pill before standing up. Though it couldn't restore him to his peak, he figured it would be enough-
SMACK!
A fist crashed into his face.
Jin stumbled back, eyes widening in surprise.
Fast.
He hadn't even seen the punch coming.
THUD!
A blow buried itself into his abdomen.
SMACK!
Another punch snapped his head to the side.
Jin hadn't landed a single hit.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Laughter erupted across the ship.
To them, every young master and young mistress was the same.
Spoiled. Arrogant. Looking down on everyone beneath them.
Now one of those nobles stood before them, soaked in filth, his face swelling purple, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. He crashed into the muddy soil again and again...
...yet each time, he forced himself back to his feet.
Watching that filled something ugly inside them.
It fed their inferiority.
Almost like a fetish.
THUNK!
A brutal uppercut sent Jin crashing onto the deck.
He lay there, chest heaving, unable to gather the strength to stand. Every punch had felt like being struck with a hammer, and that was with his opponent holding back.
The System had predicted every attack. But predictions meant nothing when his body couldn't keep up. The fact that he'd managed to stay on his feet for this long was already a miracle.
At that moment, Jin realized something.
Overwhelming power crushed every strategy.
He'd never expected to win. He'd only hoped to steal a small opening, pull off a trick, survive somehow. But a curse this severe couldn't be erased by a single pill. The gap between them was simply too great.
Until now, he'd always forced himself to keep moving. But lying there, he couldn't run from his own thoughts anymore. Once hope slipped away, only questions remained
'Why didn't I pay attention when that truck was coming?'
'Why didn't I just ask the goddess to let me rest in peace?'
'Why didn't I go back to the Qin household... apologize for using the artifact... and tell them the truth?'
His vision blurred.
He bit down hard, refusing to make a sound.
But the tears came anyway.
"Ohhhh, is the young master crying? Do we need to call your mother to help you? I heard she's a real bea-"
A mouthful of sand cut him off.
"Ugh! You bastard!"
Jin slowly pushed himself to his feet.
Tears still ran down his face. Every part of him wanted to give up.
But he refused to give this piece of shit the satisfaction.
'All I wanted was to survive and live peacefully, but my luck chose nightmare difficulty anyway!'
Just as Jin settled into one last fighting stance, Shuye appeared beneath his robes.
"Jin! Stop! I'll use my energy to teleport you out of here. I'll fall asleep for a few decades afterward... but I won't die."
Before Jin could respond, a sharp System chime rang through his mind.
DING!
[
New Quest: Begin your Journey!
Objective: Defeat Cao Lin, Vice Leader of the Drunken Tide Crew (B Tier)
-Reward: 500 Gold Coins, 10 Low-Grade Healing Pills, 20 System Points
Objective: Kill Guo Feng, Leader of the Drunken Tide Crew (A Tier)
-Reward: 2,000 Gold Coins, Feather-Step Movement Technique, 50 System Points
Objective: Save Peng Xinyi, Daughter of the Peng Clan Leader (S Tier)
-Reward: Iron-Hide Salve, Jin Clan's Advanced Swordsmanship (Complete), 100 System Points
-Special Reward (First-Time User): Breath-Synching Technique, Blood Ginseng, 10000 Gold Coins, 500 Low-Grade Spirit Stones
]