Chapter 3: Let Me Do It!
Chapter 3: Let Me Do It!
Hero…
Well, actually, a beggar.
The process of a beggar saving a beauty wasn’t thrilling or exciting at all.
Those sailors, having run ships for years, had plenty of experience with such matters. As Yang Xin leaped into the water, a gourd was thrown down immediately. He caught it and swam swiftly over, tossing the gourd to the Elder Steward. The old man could swim a little, so holding the gourd basically kept him safe. Just as the sailors on the boat extended a long pole to hook him and drag him back, Yang Xin plunged headfirst underwater, heading straight for the small patch of floating goose-yellow color ahead. Then he grabbed the girl by her hair and pulled her head out of the water.
She was already unconscious.
Having little flesh on one’s body meant there was basically no buoyancy to speak of after falling into the water.
“Over here!”
A shout came from another boat ahead.
Dragging the girl, Yang Xin, propelled by the waves that crashed over him, quickly swam toward the long pole extended from that boat. Soon he grabbed the pole and was dragged alongside the vessel. The sailors above hastily hauled the unconscious girl up, while Yang Xin simply gripped the gunwale, used his arm strength, and flipped himself aboard.
The sailors laid the unconscious girl flat on the deck…
“Step aside, let me do it!”
Yang Xin said with immediate enthusiasm.
Then, under a wave of astonished gazes, he bent down and grabbed the girl’s ankles with both hands simultaneously…
“Put her down!”
A clear, angry shout followed.
Immediately after, a willow switch slapped the back of his hand.
Yang Xin cried out in pain, his face twisting as he turned to look beside him. A girl with a relatively healthy complexion was glaring at him furiously. All around, laughter erupted. The girl stared at Yang Xin. Yang Xin gave an embarrassed grin and passed the girl’s feet over to her. She glared at him as she took them. At that moment, an older man lifted the girl’s head. The two of them carried her quickly into the cabin and laid her head-down on a long bench. Then the older man came out and closed the cabin door.
“Miss!”
The Elder Steward’s panicked shout came from the shore.
Yang Xin turned his head and saw him running over in disarray with a bunch of armed Household Servants. However, waves were still crashing continuously, and they couldn’t board this boat, which was some distance from the shore.
“No need to worry, Steward. The young lady likely just choked and held her breath. My daughter knows a fair bit of medicine and has treated many drowning victims. Those who haven’t been submerged long are usually fine!”
The older man said, cupping his hands in respect.
“Thank you, Captain!”
The Elder Steward returned the gesture, his face still clouded with worry.
Then his gaze turned to Yang Xin. Yang Xin’s appearance was actually somewhat better now. For one, the ragged burlap covering his upper body had been washed away. Secondly, much of the filth on his body had been rinsed off somewhat. However, with his two bare legs and bare upper torso, a last piece of tattered burlap wrapped around his lower half, plus the scars all over his body, he still looked like a primitive man, standing there staring at him with a crude gaze. Thankfully, since he was technically his life-saving benefactor, the Elder Steward still gave a courteous gesture, cupping his hands slightly…
“Brother…”
He said.
“Over there! Don’t let that thief run! I’m going to skin him alive today!”
A roar suddenly erupted from the dock.
Yang Xin looked up and saw the officer charging over fiercely from the distance. The man’s face was twisted as he pointed his sword at Yang Xin, his eyes seemingly spitting fire. Behind him followed over a hundred soldiers, all fully armed. They were even carrying an oversized Matchlock Gun mounted on a tripod, resembling a large sniper rifle. They hadn’t even reached the shore before they started setting it up…
“What in the world did you do to make Company Commander Han so angry he even brought out the Great Wind-Chasing Gun?”
The older man exclaimed in amazement.
“Lend me a gourd!”
Yang Xin said with an awkward smile.
After saying that, he suddenly turned around, unhesitatingly took the gourd hanging on the ship’s gunwale behind him, leaped up, and dove headfirst into the river.
On the shore, Company Commander Han snatched a Matchlock Gun from a subordinate beside him, aimed at Yang Xin in the water, and pulled the trigger. However, the bullet landed about four or five meters from Yang Xin. He casually tossed the gun back to his subordinate…
“Fire!”
He roared viciously.
“Halt! Don’t frighten my young lady!”
The Elder Steward, who had been standing there all along, suddenly shouted.
“Old fool! You want to shelter a murderous fugitive?”
Company Commander Han shouted.
“General! Please turn around and open your dog eyes wide to look!”
The Elder Steward said with a cold laugh.
He then pointed with his hand toward his own vessel.
Company Commander Han turned his head in confusion and saw lanterns bearing official titles being displayed one by one on that boat. The first characters to appear in his field of vision—”Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War”—instantly made cold sweat break out on his forehead. Upon seeing another lantern bearing “Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief,” his legs already went weak. When he saw the next one—”Governor-General of Military Affairs in Ji, Liao, Baoding, and other regions”—he abruptly straightened his back…
“Steward, please forgive my crime!”
He stepped forward, dropped to his knees before the Elder Steward, and began wailing.
“Should I still run or not?”
Fifty meters away, Yang Xin floated in the water, holding that gourd with a look of utter bewilderment.
He, of course, also saw those lanterns.
These three titles—like three massive mountains—had forced a fifth-rank Company Commander to kneel before an Elder Steward. They represented one identity: the N-level superior of this Company Commander, a name that appeared most frequently in the late Great Ming Dynasty.
The Governor-General of Ji-Liao.
If he had saved the daughter of the Governor-General of Ji-Liao…
The middle-aged man on the deck immediately gave him a meaningful look. Yang Xin looked at him puzzledly. The man gently shook his head. Yang Xin hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t dare to risk it. If he had actually accidentally stabbed someone to death, then this bit of favor wouldn’t be enough to make a Governor-General of Ji-Liao help him. Helping him collect his corpse would be showing him enough consideration. Speaking of bending the rules, it depended on whether he had any use. If he had value, helping him could yield returns. But a beggar like him would be perfect for showcasing impartiality and selflessness.
Holding the gourd, he quickly swam toward the opposite bank, pushed by the tide.
But Company Commander Han had no time to bother with him now.
The Governor-General of Ji-Liao was like heaven to him. Although he was a fifth-rank military officer and the latter was merely a second-rank civil official, under the Great Ming system where civil officials controlled the military, he was like an ant. Not to mention facing a Governor-General of Ji-Liao, even when dealing with the Tianjin Military Defense Circuit—a fifth-rank Assistant Commissioner of the Provincial Surveillance Commission just like him—he had to bow and scrape like a dog. Let alone a Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief with an Imperial Sword; executing him would be a matter of a single word. Fully aware that he had offended someone he shouldn’t have, his will to survive was at its peak. To make up for his mistake of frightening an esteemed person, he immediately, with great seriousness, had his troops protect the boat, personally standing guard with his sword at the cabin door.
Just like a loyal dog.
By now, Yang Xin had swum to the opposite bank and quickly found a river bend, directly slipping into a dense lotus marsh.
“What the heck is this?”
Lying in the shallow water of the lotus marsh, he stared in astonishment at his own body.
An old scar on his body, which had originally been festering, now looked like a specimen soaked too long in formalin—pale and sickening. Its edges were peeling off in large chunks, swaying in the water with the waves. He reached out, pinched it, carefully tugged, then gave a sharp pull. The entire half-foot-long, leaf-shaped scar peeled off smoothly, revealing fresh, tender skin underneath. Amidst the surrounding darkness, it looked like sunburned beauties on a beach taking off their swimsuits. The white-with-a-hint-of-red color was like some actress on TV posing flirtatiously while poking her own cheek.
Clearly, this originally festering, maggot-infested wound had healed.
Then he continued searching his body.
He originally had quite a few old wounds. This body probably became too injured and weak to support itself, ultimately having to rot on the streets waiting for others’ pity. Moreover, it was the body of a runaway slave. Unexpectedly, when misfortune struck, its former master ran into it again.
That’s why he got publicly beaten up on the street.
Then beaten to death.
Then his body was taken over…
Well, can’t say taken over; it should be said his soul granted it a new life, and an obviously abnormal new life at that.
His speed was clearly abnormal.
After all, casually running at Liu Xiang’s speed was still too exaggerated. That athlete sprinted full throttle on a track with special running shoes. Yang Xin, however, wore a pair of worn-out straw sandals and ran through crowded streets like a startled rabbit.
His eyesight and hearing were similarly abnormal.
Even his sense of smell was much keener than before.
He poked the wound on his face. This wound hadn’t healed yet, but even after soaking in water, it didn’t start bleeding again, which was also abnormal. This meant his recovery speed from injuries was still slightly faster than a normal person’s. Clearly, as a time-traveler inexplicably tossed here, he had ultimately received a little gift from some behind-the-scenes mastermind, even though the gift was pitifully small—like getting a lollipop after a major shopping spree at a supermarket.
But…
A lollipop is still good!
Traveling to such an era without some superpowers, he probably wouldn’t survive ten days.
The late Great Ming was not a good era.
Even though he still didn’t know which year this was exactly, since it was an era where Matchlock Guns were widely equipped, it meant at least the Wanli era. Whether early or late Wanli, he had to face the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty.
War, famine, plague, and the devastating massacres of foreign invasions.
Without some cheat, it really wouldn’t do!
He lay in the still-rising river water, looking at the blue sky and white clouds above, letting the water level gradually rise around him. Early summer lotus flowers swayed in the waves around him, green and pink together forming a bright picture scroll. He didn’t know how much time had passed; he was starting to feel drowsy. Suddenly, a lotus seedpod flew over. Yang Xin’s right hand shot out like a corpse coming to life, grabbing it instantly. Immediately after, a small Sampan parted the lotus plants and bumped into him. A curious, smiling face appeared above him…
“Move aside, don’t block my sunbathing!”
Yang Xin said discontentedly.
“If you keep sunbathing, the leeches are going to suck you dry!”
The voice that had interrupted his drowning rescue act not long ago said happily.
Yang Xin let out a startled cry.
Then he sprang out of the water as if a turtle had bitten his backside, flopping onto the small Sampan. The violent rocking made the boat girl shriek and fall, landing right on his back. Yang Xin immediately rolled onto his back. Amidst their cheeks bumping, his hands shot out and grabbed her shoulders.
“Quick, help me get it off!”
He screamed in terror.
In his line of sight, he caught a fleeting glimpse…
The boat girl, flushed with shame and anger, rolled to the side and kicked him back into the water with both feet…