Chapter 37: Plans

Chapter 37: Plans

Several hours later, the fishing boat arrived at Xinlu Port. A bustling scene of crowds greeted them there. As one of the ports on the New Continent and a vital maritime trade hub, it naturally appeared far more prosperous than other places.

Everywhere, they could see porters, sailors, and fishermen looking for work. Ships, big and small, entered and left the harbor every moment. Towards the city lay rows upon rows of buildings, stretching as far as the eye could see.

However, Xinlu Port, so thriving for contemporaries, felt very ordinary to Zuo Zhicheng. After all, the tallest buildings were only three or four stories high. Many laborers and commoners on the streets were poorly clothed. There were even children, barely in their teens, already working.

Of course, members of the Sea Dragon Gang could also be seen everywhere, guarding ships and recruiting laborers. After all, the entire dock was essentially under the Sea Dragon Gang’s control.

With so many targets appearing within Zuo Zhicheng’s left eye, coupled with his earlier experiences, he discovered another characteristic of his left eye.

The so-called infrared thermal imaging technology detected the specific infrared band signals of thermal radiation emitted by objects using photoelectric technology, converting those signals into images and graphics visible to the human eye.

Therefore, after seeing so many people, Zuo Zhicheng realized that his left eye’s Infrared Vision showed different types of people as distinct colors. The key seemed to be the varying intensities of muscular systems and their resulting heat radiation.

Most children were shown as light blue. Adults were mostly dark blue. Those burly men from the Sea Dragon Gang had many parts of their bodies shown in yellow. The more areas covered in yellow, the stronger the muscular system appeared to be.

The Innate Primordial Breath, in Zuo Zhicheng’s judgment, was muscular strength, and this seemed to hold true now. Like that strand of Innate Primordial Breath in Old Man Song’s arm appeared pink.

Like the Innate Primordial Breath on Black Heart Tiger’s body earlier, it also appeared pink under Infrared Vision. Other parts were mostly yellow.

Zuo Zhicheng looked at his own right hand. His Innate Primordial Breath was pink mixed with purple. He visually estimated the ratio of these two colors, and a number popped up: 30 percent. That was the percentage shown as Purple Innate Primordial Breath.

‘_The color division in the Infrared Vision seems to represent the strength of the muscular system and the Innate Primordial Breath,’_ Zuo Zhicheng thought. ‘_The bodies of ordinary people are mostly blue. Parts that have been exercised can turn yellow. But only when reaching the strength level of Innate Primordial Breath can they break through yellow and become pink. And above pink is purple. For those possessing purple, a higher percentage means a greater unit strength of the Innate Primordial Breath._

_However, the coverage area of the Innate Primordial Breath is also key. For example, Purple Innate Primordial Breath covering just a finger is obviously inferior to Pink Innate Primordial Breath covering an entire arm._

_The strength of the Innate Primordial Breath is built through training time and intensity. The scope of coverage depends on whether one has specialized training methods for different body parts._

_I just don’t know what color comes after purple._

_Still, this color-based classification makes it easier to gauge strength differences._’

After disembarking, Old Man Song arranged for his crew to handle the cargo. Then he patted Zuo Zhicheng on the shoulder and asked, “So? What are your plans?”

Zuo Zhicheng snapped out of his thoughts and said, “I plan to look around first, maybe find a job. Do you have any recommendations, Brother Song?”

“Look for nothing! It’s almost dark. You don’t have a single coin on you, no food even. Find a job?” Old Man Song clicked his tongue. “Forget it. Stay at my place tonight. We’ll talk about jobs tomorrow.”

“That’s hardly polite…” Zuo Zhicheng acted like a stubborn young man with strong pride. Old Man Song and the others naturally couldn’t tell he was pretending.

This was precisely the identity Zuo Zhicheng intended to disguise himself as: a rash country boy hoping to strike it rich on the New Continent, only to be unlucky enough to encounter a shipwreck.

Xiao Lan ran over earnestly. “Brother Zuo, don’t be polite. It’s your first time in Xinlu Port. You don’t know anyone. Just stay with us for a couple of days. Leave after you find a job.”

Zuo Zhicheng had expected the young girl to be disappointed after the earlier events since he hadn’t intervened or comforted her. Yet now, in her simple gaze, he saw no trace of negativity, just as before. It seemed the troubles onboard had been forgotten in just a few hours.

Looking into the girl’s innocent eyes, Zuo Zhicheng paused. Originally, according to his plan, he intended to secretly protect Xiao Lan for a while, neutralize the threat from Black Heart Tiger’s side before leaving, repaying his debt for saving his life. After that, they would never cross paths again.

However, staying at Xiao Lan’s home would actually make it easier to protect her. Moreover, being introduced by someone familiar would facilitate certain actions he needed to take.

A smile appeared on his face. “Alright then, Brother Song. I’ll impose on your family.”

“Hey! Don’t get the wrong idea. You’ll be imposing on me,” Old Man Song corrected with a click of his tongue. “Tonight, I’m taking Xiao Lan straight to Master Jiang’s house for her to stay. She needs to lay low.”

What Old Man Song didn’t say was that after the incident with Black Heart Tiger today, even though the man ultimately backed off, he was already considering moving away with Xiao Lan to escape the Sea Dragon Gang’s threat. Sending her to Master Jiang’s place was merely a stopgap that couldn’t protect her forever.

Moreover, as Xiao Lan grew older, although her face was unremarkable—just youthful and cute—her figure was worryingly shapely, attracting unwanted attention. Lingering around the Sea Dragon Gang’s port was like roasting meat in front of hungry wolves. It was too dangerous.

Hearing Old Man Song’s words, Zuo Zhicheng didn’t react much but probed, “Oh? Master Jiang isn’t afraid of the Sea Dragon Gang?”

“Of course not! Master Jiang is Xinlu’s number one divine fist. If it weren’t for him, the Sea Dragon Gang would run wild. I even learned a few moves from him.” As he spoke, Old Man Song struck a few poses. “Look, this is White Crane Spreads Its Wings. And this one, Dragon Stride, Tiger Step.”

Xiao Lan scoffed beside him. “Dad! Stop embarrassing yourself! Your clumsy few moves, and you say you learned from Master Jiang? Aren’t you afraid of shaming him?” Grabbing Zuo Zhicheng’s hand, she pulled him towards the port exit. “Brother Zuo, come on! I’ll take you home.”

Watching his daughter practically drag Zuo Zhicheng home, Old Man Song’s face darkened. He sighed repeatedly with a miserable expression, trailing behind the pair.

Zuo Zhicheng, however, stored Old Man Song’s actions and words in his mind. He had noticed earlier that Old Man Song’s right arm held strands of Pink Innate Primordial Breath. Now it seemed his initial judgment was correct: the man had trained but hadn’t practiced rigorously or consistently.

Yet, since the training showed results, it meant the Haoran Martial Hall had passed on Authentic Transmission Martial Arts to him. This puzzled Zuo Zhicheng. Why would the Hall pass such genuine techniques to an ordinary student like Old Man Song?

…

The Song family home was located in the southern part of the city, near the port, but it resembled a slum. Their home had only two rooms. Eating and drinking happened in the outer room, where Old Man Song usually slept, while Xiao Lan slept in the inner room.

The entire house contained nothing more than a table, a few stools, two beds, and a cupboard. It could be described as nearly bare.

Xiao Lan, however, didn’t seem to mind. Cheerfully, she went to wash vegetables and prepare dinner.

That evening, after the three ate dinner at home, the old fisherman hurriedly took Xiao Lan to the Haoran Martial Hall. But when he returned, he discovered Zuo Zhicheng was gone.

“Where did that kid go off to?”

Naturally, Zuo Zhicheng had gone to scout the alleys and streets, learning the layout and gathering information. The Song home was in a slum near the docks. The streets tangled together chaotically. People from all backgrounds and various ethnicities lived there. While chaotic, it was an excellent place to pick up news.

However, Zuo Zhicheng was a stranger with no money. He didn’t start asking around recklessly, drawing attention. His main goal was to familiarize himself with the terrain. He wandered through taverns, teahouses, noodle stands, and other crowded spots, acting like an ordinary local loitering on the streets. But his ears constantly picked up bits of gossip, and his eyes scanned the various buildings and streetscape, committing every detail firmly to his memory.

The entire process mirrored his past life: gather intelligence, execute plans, and finally disappear without a trace.

Several hours later, he returned to Old Man Song’s home. Worried about waking anyone, he quietly opened the door and slipped onto the bed in the outer room. The wooden plank bed was hard and small. The blanket covering it reeked slightly of fish. But with Zuo Zhicheng’s endurance, this was nothing. He didn’t complain at all. Lying down, he remained perfectly still, focused on sleep.

People in this era obviously slept early. By the time Zuo Zhicheng got into bed, the entire slum area was plunged into darkness, disturbed only by the sounds of stray cats and dogs.

But after sleeping for a while, Zuo Zhicheng noticed the other bed was creaking with restless turns. Old Man Song seemed unable to sleep.

“Xiao Lan’s mother died young. I raised her myself, wiping her filth and feeding her.”

After a while, Old Man Song’s sigh drifted from the inner room, heavy with weariness. “I’m just a poor fisherman, but I hope my daughter finds a good man.”

Zuo Zhicheng wasn’t good at comforting people and didn’t know what to say. He just listened as the older man continued. “Xiao Lan grew up spending all her days on the fishing boat, surrounded by rough men… I just hope she finds someone decent later, not like me, fishing all my life. When her mother fell ill, I couldn’t even afford the medicine.”

At this point, Old Man Song seemed somewhat embarrassed. He said awkwardly, “Black Heart Tiger didn’t do anything today, but I can’t risk Xiao Lan. While she’s safe at the Martial Hall this time, I’m planning to quit the dock business soon and move away.”

He seemed restless again.

“Brother Song, do you not know what to do if you stop fishing?” Zuo Zhicheng ventured. “I think Black Heart Tiger might not really do anything. Maybe wait and see longer?”

“Wait and see?” Old Man Song sounded a little stunned. He indeed had that worry. He’d been fishing all his life; it was all he knew. Though he wanted to cut ties with the Sea Dragon Gang for Xiao Lan’s sake, he found it hard to commit and hesitated.

He shook his head. “I’ll think it over some more.”