Chapter 428: Elder Cousin, Younger Cousin!

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Everyone's faces were red from the cold, but their eyes were bright from excitement.

One after another, the cooks, the sailors, the riggers, the helmsmen, the guards, the bowmen… they continued to disembark from the s.h.i.+ps. After everyone left, a young man, his face honed by the wind and frost, finally appeared on the first s.h.i.+p.

This youth didn't seem very old, but his eyes were those of a calm and time-tested veteran. They weren't the eyes a young man should have, and were more appropriate for a middle-aged man of thirty or forty who had a story to tell.

"I'm finally back!"

w.a.n.g Liang let out a cold breath of air. Taking in the dense, lively, and amiable crowd of sailors as well as the familiar yet empty harbor cloaked in white, he internally sighed.

Though he had set out from here only half a year ago, it had felt so long that it seemed like another life.

He had seen and experienced far too much on this adventure.

Breathing in a lungful of cold air, w.a.n.g Liang raised his robe and began to descend the wooden s.h.i.+p stairs. The steps creaked as he walked, each creak resounding in every sailor's ear.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

……

……

As they watched w.a.n.g Liang walk down, everyone in the harbor—the sailors, the riggers, the guards, the cooks, the navigators, the archers, the crossbowmen, and the lookouts—began to cheer.

Each pair of eyes was filled with pa.s.sion and wors.h.i.+p. It was like this descending youth was some famous and influential figure.

Wave after wave of cheers rose up from the crowd, and not even the snowstorm or the bitter cold could stop them. Even the guards of the w.a.n.g Clan momentarily forgot who w.a.n.g Liang was and, just like everyone else, cheered him on as their most important captain.

In their hearts, his ident.i.ty as captain was clearly higher and worthier of respect than his ident.i.ty as Young Master Liang.

He had finally disembarked, his feet meeting solid ground. As he met the numerous eyes, w.a.n.g Liang finally spoke his first words after stepping onto the mainland: "We've returned! Just like I promised you all. You will all receive what you want, and that is 'fortune'!"

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

……

The already-excited crowd instantly grew even more pa.s.sionate. Those s.h.i.+ning eyes inspired absolute trust in them. Every one of them was a most loyal follower and guard of w.a.n.g Liang.

Anyone, anyone… if anyone wanted to harm w.a.n.g Liang, they would tear that person to pieces!

Just when the crowd was most excited, the clopping of hooves came from the distance, drawing their attention.

This galloping was faint at first, but it quickly became a great rumble, a stampede of horses heading toward the harbor.

"Look over there!"

Someone pointed into the distance and shouted. In a flash, everyone looked in that direction, where they saw a black and grandiose tide surging toward the harbor.

"Creeeee!"

At the very front, a golden eagle cried out, its wings cutting through the snow like metal.

And right under the golden eagle was a youth of sixteen or seventeen wearing a fur coat, his brows straight and his eyes bright, leading the group. Though he was young, this youth's every movement seemed to carry a certain majesty that made other people trust him.

"Young Master! It's Young Master Chong!"

The w.a.n.g Clan guards were the first in the crowd to recognize him. Others soon followed. There were currently few people in the capital that didn't know the w.a.n.g Clan's Qilin son.

Quite a few of the members of the fleet had joined because of this youngest scion of the w.a.n.g Clan. Of course, some of them had come because of his reputation, but even more because of the legendary Wootz Steel weapons, and others because of his astonis.h.i.+ng wealth.

"Elder Cousin, you've finally returned!"

w.a.n.g Chong rode his horse through the snow. As he approached the frozen ground of the harbor and the iced-over water, he was able to pick out w.a.n.g Liang in the very back of the crowd with just a glance.

He galloped past the crowd, dismounted, took a step forward, and then embraced his cousin.

"Hahaha, I'm back, I'm back…"

w.a.n.g Liang also laughed and hugged w.a.n.g Chong back.

This ocean adventure had truly been arduous, one in which he had barely escaped with his life, almost dying at sea. Yet now that he had smoothly returned home, the person w.a.n.g Liang was most grateful to was w.a.n.g Chong.

If not for w.a.n.g Chong, he would never have left the walls of the capital. Perhaps he would still be in the marketplace, making his flying birds and selling his little toys.

If not for w.a.n.g Chong, he would have never known about the marvelous world that existed outside of his home, or the vastness of the ocean.

If not for w.a.n.g Chong, he would have never found out that in the very depths of his heart, this was what he had always wanted!

The current him was the truly authentic him!

He didn't want that dull life. Even without superb martial arts, even without the backing of his clan, he could still rely on his own wits and ability to win the loyalty, protection, and respect of others.

"Younger Cousin, I didn't let you down. I brought back what you wanted."

w.a.n.g Liang let go and pointed behind him to the large s.h.i.+ps floating in the harbor.

Many people had died on this voyage, and they had suffered from no small number of thunderstorms and hurricanes. Their greatest harvest had been stored in the large s.h.i.+ps behind him.

Although w.a.n.g Chong had told him that those were meteorites from beyond the heavens, none of them had been tested. Whether or not all those deaths and hards.h.i.+ps had been worth it ultimately hinged on w.a.n.g Chong's confirmation.

Hearing w.a.n.g Liang's words, w.a.n.g Chong also turned to look. However, what w.a.n.g Chong looked at was not the decks of the s.h.i.+ps, but that the decks were much closer to the water than normal s.h.i.+ps.

"Elder Cousin, I've troubled you. Let's leave these matters to others. We'll go back first. You've been gone for so long, and I'm very interested in hearing about your voyage," w.a.n.g Chong said.

The w.a.n.g Liang in front of him was a completely different person from the one who had set out. His face, neck, and hands had all been tanned by the scorching sun on the ocean, and the coa.r.s.e, weather-beaten skin was completely out of place on a descendant of a great clan.

w.a.n.g Chong had never expected to see such a composed and dignified person.

Even if w.a.n.g Liang didn't say it, w.a.n.g Chong could feel that w.a.n.g Liang had many stories from this voyage.

"Wait a moment!"

w.a.n.g Liang stopped w.a.n.g Chong. Confronting w.a.n.g Chong's flabbergasted gaze, w.a.n.g Liang was quiet for a few moments and then pointed at the members of the fleet before them.

"These people set out with me on this voyage and nearly lost their lives. I promised them that once I returned, I would grant them a great fortune!"

"Hahaha, so that's what it was about. Relax; I've already made preparations. What do you see over there?"

w.a.n.g Chong pointed behind him.

Following w.a.n.g Chong's finger, w.a.n.g Liang saw many horses and multiple teams of two carrying heavy chests made of crude copper toward them.

w.a.n.g Liang began to count: one, two, three… There were more than ten of these chests.

w.a.n.g Chong snapped his fingers. A horseman pulled out a saber with a clang and cut off the lock on one of the chests. Putting a hand into the c.h.i.n.k of the lid, he lifted. In an instant, a dazzling golden light spilled forth.

That copper chest was full to the bursting with dazzling gold.

Seeing those chests packed with gold, the crowd excitedly cheered. Some of the more impatient ones even began to rush over.

"Let's go!"

w.a.n.g Chong led a horse over. This time, w.a.n.g Liang did not refuse and mounted the horse. Behind him, w.a.n.g Chong snapped his fingers, at which point all the clan guards, the guards sent by his big uncle, and the experts sent by Elder Hu and Elder Ye rushed toward the large s.h.i.+ps in the harbor…

……

w.a.n.g Chong brought w.a.n.g Liang to his own restaurant to welcome him.

The entire restaurant was empty, and the table was piled high with fine foods and wine. After the windows and doors were closed and some charcoal fires lit, the atmosphere in the room quickly changed.

While winter winds howled outside the room and snow piled down, the room was a bastion of warmth.

w.a.n.g Chong and w.a.n.g Liang, these two cousins, sat across from each other at the table. Old Eagle sat on the side, an eagle perched on his shoulder.

w.a.n.g Liang took a pot of warm wine out of the stove. He first poured himself a cup and then poured a cup for w.a.n.g Chong. He then took a piece of piping hot and tender beef from the food pot and took a big bite.

"Great, it's delicious!" w.a.n.g Liang effusively praised, and then he began to chew, occasionally taking a drink of wine.

"You didn't use to drink alcohol," w.a.n.g Chong suddenly said as he watched w.a.n.g Liang.

The w.a.n.g Liang of the past would have never done something like this, but now he did it as if it was natural. He was not like the scion of a great clan but a sailor who had spent a long time at sea.

"Haha, if you experienced what I experienced, you would also be like this."

w.a.n.g Liang heartily laughed. As he spoke, he continued to eat his beef and drink his wine.

"What in the world happened?" w.a.n.g Chong asked.

He had suppressed this question for long enough already.

w.a.n.g Liang did not hesitate, immediately recounting his experiences at sea. Even though w.a.n.g Chong had expected it, he still couldn't help but feel deeply moved by w.a.n.g Liang's tale.

The ocean was an abyss!

In that place, far from land and far from virtue, one was infinitesimally close to a h.e.l.lish abyss, and one's character would undergo the harshest of trials.

There, w.a.n.g Liang had to face all sorts of problems, both external and internal.

As he drank, w.a.n.g Liang described his experiences, but it was only when w.a.n.g Chong heard that the w.a.n.g Clan guards he had dispatched to protect w.a.n.g Liang had mutinied that he profoundly understood just how complicated the situation w.a.n.g Liang had faced was.

The ocean could make the best of people into the worst and the worst into the best, and it could provoke the greatest potential in the most incapable of people!