Chapter 37: Liu Fan's Book #37
"You're back earlier than expected..." Wayland said as he watched Cedric jump into the ship. "What happened? Did you manage to track down Roshio and his crew?" He asked with a frown as he noticed the many wounds all over the young man's body.
"That I did... most of the crewmates are dead..." Cedric replied, and the ship captain said nothing as he sensed a 'but coming. "But someone interfered, and Roshio managed to flee..." He calmly added, lazily stretching his arms.
"It shouldn't matter since I have someone after him..." Cedric said with a grin as he walked past Wayland, heading for the inner deck. "You'll have your money and a ten million bonus in two days at most..." He added, much to the ship captain's confusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I know you're a wanted man now..." Wayland said as he quickly shook away his confusion. "We came across this on our way back from Centaurea's marine branch..." He added as he reached into his inner pocket and retrieved a wanted poster.
"I did... what about it...?" Cedric said as he stopped walking and turned to the ship captain with a raised brow. "You're not thinking about canceling our deal because of it, are you?" he asked with a smile.
"That would be a real shame..." Cedric said without letting Wayland get a word in. "All that effort only to get cold feet now when the big prize is right under your nose... it just seems like a waste, don't you think...?" He asked, regretfully shaking his head.
"I didn't say anything about going back on our deal..." Wayland replied with a frown. "I simply don't appreciate being lied to..." He added with a scowl as he looked Cedric in the eye.
"And when have I lied about being a wanted man...?" Cedric said with an affronted look. "You never asked me, did you...?" He asked with a chuckle as he met Wayland's gaze.
"Anyway..." Cedric said as he looked away from Wayland and scanned the sailors on the deck. "I trust you, Wayland... I really do, but those sailors of yours, not so much..." He said as he shook his head.
"So you better keep them in check," Cedric added as he resumed walking toward the lower deck without waiting for a reply. "Or this could turn real ugly real quick..." He concluded, causing the ship captain's expression to darken.
Wayland waited for Cedric to leave before he turned to his sailors. "Listen up, lads... some of you might feel tempted to run to the Marines..." He added, alternating his gaze between the faces of his subordinates.
"And while you might get some money out of it... that will only happen if they catch that freak o' nature..." Waylan said with a scoff. "It's more likely that he'll escape and come for whoever sold him out..." He added, his tone grave.
"Now you've all seen what that guy is capable of, and I'll be the first to hand you over on a platter if he comes knocking..." The ship captain, causing the sailors to start murmuring. "There will be no place for rats on my ship, you hear?" He added, his tone harsh.
"Besides... you all heard the lad..." Wayland said, adopting a more coaxing tone as he looked at his subordinates. "There's a pie in the sky just waiting to fall into our laps..." He added with a light chuckle.
"So I advise you all not to be shortsighted fools..."
...
'Yeah... that should keep them in check...' I mused, smiling and nodding in satisfaction as I moved away from the inner deck's hatch and headed for my private cabin.
I knew Wayland and his crew would sniff out my bounty once we reached land. It's why I left the ship and went hunting for Roshio as soon as they dropped the anchor.
I needed to give them incentives not to sell me out, and nothing earned people's love more than money, or so I've learned in my time on Four Clover Island. And while I could easily kill the sailors and get it over with instead of buying their silence, it didn't sit right with me, and I still needed someone to haul my ass around the sea.
Still, even though things didn't go as planned because of that disgusting bastard, Gem, and I couldn't claim Roshio's bounty, the promise of even more money seemed to do the trick.
As for Gem himself, I didn't trust him either, but I still let him go because I knew I could track him down with Chuchun's help. The Super Sparrow birds had keen eyesight and a sharp sense of smell.
Now that Chuchun saw Gem, memorized his face, and caught his scent, he'll be able to find him no matter where he hid on the island, and the same applies to Roshio.
In any case, it's only a matter of time before I see if Gem was being genuine or trying to pull a fast one on me.
For now, I needed to rest and tend to my wounds.
...
Several hours later
'This looks like a nice quiet spot...' I mused as I walked into an empty beach near Centaurea's eastern docks. "Now let's see what the Rokushi is all about..." I muttered as I reached into my backpack and retrieved the manual Liu Fan gave me.
I had already healed from most of my injuries thanks to my slightly above average recovery speed and a shit ton of miraculous Torino Island's medical salves and brews.
I still had some bruises and mild burns here and there, but they weren't enough to impede my movement. Honestly, I felt tempted to go to the nearest brothel and drink myself to sleep in some sexy prostitute's arms since it's been a while, but it was about time I started learning the six powers.
Anyway, the first page was an introduction to the six powers and a brief description of each technique. The manual stated that there are many ways to master the six powers depending on your foundation in martial arts.
For example, a person with zero martial arts training should start with the Shigan technique, while someone who practiced Shaoling Kung Fu, like myself, would be better off starting with Kami-e.
Supposedly, the flexibility and balance the martial art emphasized were the basis needed to start learning Kam-e according to the manual, and I had no reason to doubt it, considering what I was capable of already.
At their core, three powers from the six (Shigan, Tekkai, and Kami-e) relied on muscle control. In the case of Shigan and Tekkai, you needed to solidify your muscles and temporarily give them the same hardness as steel.
As for Kamie-e, it was the complete opposite. You needed to soften your muscles to achieve maximum flexibility, allowing you to dodge attacks that may be impossible to avoid under normal circumstances, but that wasn't all.
With complete mastery over the skill, even if you were too slow to react and avoid an attack, it wouldn't matter as your body would be similar to a leaf swaying in the wind, and you won't receive any damage.
In other words, the body would be so soft that it would simply move out of the way upon impact rather than absorb it, as a leaf would if someone tried to punch it.
I was already capable of softening my muscles to increase my flexibility thanks to my training with Liu Fan, but I was still far from calling myself a master of kami-e
"Come here, boy!" I said as I turned to Chuchun, who was flying circles in the sky and whistled. "Let's do some training..." I added, grinning as I watched him glide downward and land before me.
...
Leaning into Chuchun's fluffy feathers, I couldn't help but smile, feeling relaxed as I stared into the starry sky. "That was kind of fun..." I said, wiping my mouth after gulping a sip of rum, and the giant bird cried out in dissatisfaction at my words.
"I don't understand why you're so angry... it's not like you're the one who had to get their head constantly pecked by a giant vicious bird..." I said as I turned to glare at Cuchun. "Ouch-- ok, ok, I'm sorry you're not a giant vicious bird..." I said, rolling my eyes as Chuchun retaliated with a peck at my head.
Chuchun cried out again, and I could only sigh and nod. "Fine... we'll stay here for the night and get you some fresh fish from the sea tomorrow..." I said as I reached into the giant bird's neck and scratched under his chin.
"Let's get some sleep for now..."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone