Chapter 144: Section 145: Big Guy
Lord Zhenjin’s protection of the Big guy did not damage his authority.
Perhaps others didn’t understand, but their admiration and love for Lord Zhenjin remained overwhelming.
Lord Zhenjin was a Divine Favored Knight, the strongest in personal combat, who also had the titles of Holy Temple Knight, heir to the Hundred Needle Family, and future White Sand City Lord. He also had a group of followers who always stood by him, and the most capable competitor, Zong Ge, also showed obedience. Lord Zhenjin’s leadership was unbreakable.
After consoling the wounded, Lord Zhenjin received numerous expressions of gratitude.
It was the Big guy whom people loathed and guarded against, not Lord Zhenjin. In fact, if Lord Zhenjin hadn’t knocked out the Big guy, they would have been in greater danger.
It was Lord Zhenjin who had saved them.
...
If the Big guy were an unforgivable killer, perhaps someone might still question Lord Zhenjin—Is this the justice of a Holy Temple Knight?
But the Big guy was ill. Moreover, his illness had been long-standing, and the shipwright had not hidden it—it had been disclosed long ago.
Although that was the general sentiment, after his own visit, Lord Zhenjin still secretly ordered Xi Suo to arrange for some sailors to actively engage and somewhat guide the wounded.
“Speaking of which, ‘going mad as a warning’ is a good reason,” Lord Zhenjin advised Xi Suo. “I don’t need you to lie, as that would create loopholes and mishandlings. Just let those sailors who have been around the Big guy for a long time tell the truth.”
“I understand. My lord, I promise to accomplish this task!”
Xi Suo was invigorated. Nevertheless, he had sided with Lord Zhenjin early on, though he never had a chance to show it.
In terms of martial power, he was not as good as Zong Ge, in loyalty, he was outshined by Lan Zao and Bai Ya, he lacked Cang Xu’s wisdom, and he did not have Zi Di’s ability to prepare potions.
Xi Suo felt immense pressure. He wanted to stand out but was overshadowed by others.
For the first time, Lord Zhenjin assigned a task to Xi Suo.
“This is a private job!” Xi Suo was excited, feeling that he might have found a way out.
“Yes, I can handle some private and dirty tasks for my lord. How did I not think of this before?”
“Even though my lord is a Holy Temple Knight, adhering to the Knight’s code with a heart of clarity, there must be some tasks inconvenient for him to handle himself, like this current matter.”
The Big guy’s breakdown, for most, was a terribly bad incident, but for Xi Suo, it turned into an opportunity.
“This is a good thing, one that could deepen my impression in Lord Zhenjin’s heart. I must handle this well!” Xi Suo motivated himself forcefully and took proactive actions.
On Lord Zhenjin’s side, after being interrupted by the Big guy’s incident, it became even harder to confess his secrets to Zi Di.
It seemed like a return to the days before, every night he would train arduously, spending the mornings catching up on sleep, and in the afternoons, he would oversee the clearing of beast herds.
Each successful hunt, the prey he brought back continuously reinforced his authority and status.
He constantly reminded everyone that he was a very powerful leader, forbidding any disrespectful thoughts among them.
At the same time, he also quietly heightened his vigilance, after all, the Big guy’s breakdown served as a warning.
However, no disasters occurred subsequently.
Almost after every dinner, Lord Zhenjin would personally visit the wounded, occasionally bringing potions.
The potions, prepared by Zi Di, were all personally distributed by Lord Zhenjin.
This act of distributing potions seemed minor, but was actually very meaningful.
The wounded urgently needed the potions, and within the entire camp, it seemed only Lord Zhenjin could distribute them. According to the Eastern Empire’s saying, this was like ‘sending charcoal in snowy weather,’ precisely meeting urgent needs.
A small potion, once distributed by Lord Zhenjin, could serve a value far beyond itself.
However, without the Big guy, the efficiency of shipbuilding dropped significantly.
As Cang Xu said, the Big guy played a crucial role in labor tasks.
About a week later, Lord Zhenjin again visited the hillside shack to discuss with the shipwright about letting the Big guy return to work.
The shipwright did not hesitate and immediately agreed. Sёarch* The N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
For he had clearly seen over these days, Lord Zhenjin’s continuous visits had dispelled the sorrow in the wounded. And behind movements like those of Xi Suo and other sailors, Lord Zhenjin’s influence was evident.
“My lord, you are a wise leader,” the shipwright was genuinely deferential to Lord Zhenjin at this moment.
Previously, when he had awakened in the camp, he had heard about Lord Zhenjin gathering people like Zong Ge and Sanda, and he was quite worried, thinking that Lord Zhenjin might be too young.
Walking this path, the shipwright had greatly changed his opinion of Lord Zhenjin.
Now, the shipwright fully realized that the knight before him, though young, was far more than just a simple believer. He upheld the knight’s way, but also lived up to his noble identity and bloodline—he possessed profound strategic acumen.
“You must continue tomorrow and work well. What will you do if someone insults you?” In Lord Zhenjin’s presence, the shipwright asked the Big guy.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it,” the Big guy answered.
“What if they hit you?” the shipwright further inquired.
“If it doesn’t hurt, like if they throw stones at me, I won’t cry out. If it hurts, I will cry out. If someone hurts me, makes me bleed, I will shout ‘Dad,''” the Big guy answered smoothly.
The shipwright nodded in satisfaction and turned to assure Lord Zhenjin: “My lord, the Big guy is ready. Actually, he isn’t dumb, he is quite clear about how to handle things. In fact, I had instructed him on this long ago. You can rest assured!”
Lord Zhenjin gazed at the Big guy in the grass hut.
Though he was physically large, at that moment, he curled up in a ball on the grass bed.
It was evident that the shipwright had been teaching him frequently these past days.
At the same time, Lord Zhenjin could easily infer the life of the Big guy aboard the Pig Kiss, filled with exclusion and loathing. He often faced insults and even beatings. Sailors generally had hot tempers, and throwing objects at the Big guy was certainly not uncommon.
And if it didn’t hurt, the Big guy wouldn’t call out.
His means of resistance consisted of only two.
One was to shout.
The other was to call for “Dad”…
The Big guy in the grass hut, just like before: disheveled, with full yellow teeth, ugly, and upon closer inspection, disproportionately large-headed and somewhat deformed. It seemed he had grown accustomed to bending over and shrinking due to the long life on the ship, or perhaps out of fear of Lord Zhenjin, his gaze darted around, his movements shrinking.
Just this appearance alone made the Big guy quite unlikable, even repulsive.
That was just human nature.
But now, hearing and seeing this, Lord Zhenjin felt very complex emotions.
He felt quite troubled.
Besides pity, there was something else stuck in his heart that he wanted to express, but he couldn’t.
It made him anxious.
In the following days, Lord Zhenjin kept a close watch on the Big guy.
Nothing unexpected happened.
The Big guy was restraining himself, often making way for others voluntarily. Whenever someone came slightly close, he would quickly shrink into the corner.
His huge body, when curled up, looked rather comical. Many people couldn’t help but laugh, and their mood gradually relaxed.
Lord Zhenjin, observing all this, couldn’t bring himself to laugh.
Instead, his heart felt even heavier.
It seemed that after the shipwright’s admonitions, the Big guy worked even harder.
With the participation of the Big guy, the shipbuilding work progressed by leaps and bounds.
On this day, the weather was clear.
Almost everyone gathered together, in the open area of the small valley, doing some important work.
“Right, just like that, a bit slower, aim for the square hole and insert the mast,” the shipwright instructed.
“Be sure to do it slowly,” the shipwright anxiously reminded again.
Under his father’s instructions, the Big guy looked very serious, carefully inserting the mast into the hole in the dragon bone.
“Very good!” the shipwright exclaimed joyfully, praising him.
The masts needed to be secured to the dragon bones, as this would provide the most stable support. Simply fitting them onto the deck would lead to the masts being broken by the wind after the sails were set, even endangering the entire ship.
The first mast had already been installed properly; according to the design of the ship, it was the foremast.
“Alright, next is the aft mast. Hm?” The shipwright looked up, noticing that the Big guy had fallen eerily silent and was behaving abnormally.
His head was bowed, his hand still resting on the foremast, his whole body motionless.
Lord Zhenjin’s eyes narrowed slightly, sensing a vague foreboding.
The shipwright shouted a few times, but the Big guy didn’t respond.
His expression also became panicked.
The Big guy started breathing heavily, like an exhausted old ox, gritting his teeth and grimacing, his eyes becoming redder and redder.
“Damn it!” The shipwright saw this and his heart sank, but he still didn’t give up and continued to shout, “Calm down, calm down, you stupid kid!”
“Run, he’s going crazy again!” An experienced sailor shouted and turned to run.
In an instant, the valley was thrown into chaos.
Roar!
The Big guy let out a bellow.
He forcefully pulled out the recently installed foremast and hurled it away.
The foremast struck the mountain wall; the front half shattered, but the back half stuck into the rock.
The Big guy then punched the dragon bone.
But at that moment, Lord Zhenjin moved against the flow, fast as lightning, leaping to the Big guy’s back and striking him again on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious.
It had only just begun, and it was already over.
The situation was always under Lord Zhenjin’s control.
“The dragon bone is fine, nothing’s wrong!” the shipwright shouted loudly, immensely relieved.
Everyone gathered back, all deeply shaken.
“The Big guy went crazy again.”
“How many days has it been?”
“No, I can’t keep working with him, I don’t want to die senselessly.”
“He’s been pretending all along! We can’t be deceived by him anymore. He has the bloodline of a giant, and I’ve heard that many giants eat people!”
“This illness is incurable, didn’t you hear what those sailors said? We absolutely can’t keep this Big Fool around; who knows when he might go mad again?”
Lord Zhenjin stood on the back of the Big guy, sweeping his stern gaze around, and the murmuring quieted down.
“Enough,” the young leader commanded sternly, “Work is done for today, go and eat!”
He then singled out a few people, former members of the Mercenary Group, along with Lan Zao, and instructed them to drag the Big guy back to the grass shed.
“Lord Zhenjin, I can put shackles on the Big guy,” the shipwright ran up to Lord Zhenjin, urgently offering, “He often wore them previously on the ship, he’s used to it.”
Lord Zhenjin furrowed his brow, clapping the shipwright on the shoulder: “Don’t worry, I don’t blame you, nor am I blaming the Big guy. It’s just one foremast, we can easily make another.”
Hearing this from Lord Zhenjin, the shipwright let out a huge sigh of relief but insisted on shackling the Big guy.
Honestly, Lord Zhenjin didn’t want to put shackles on the Big guy, he felt a strong aversion, but what else could be done?
Lord Zhenjin secretly summoned Xi Suo: “Do you know what I need you to handle?”
“I understand, my lord, this time it’s simpler than the last. We sustained no injuries, and you truly are brilliant and mighty! Look how scared these people are, they are too cowardly; a bit of mockery should stimulate their spirits.”
Seeing that Xi Suo understood his intentions, Lord Zhenjin nodded in satisfaction: “Go do it.”
Lord Zhenjin needed the Big guy for the work, not just because the shipbuilding task was enormous, or to appease the crucial talent of the shipwright. The young knight had a deeper motivation—he wanted to help the Big guy, to protect him; he wanted to find a way for the Big guy to coexist harmoniously with others.
That night, as the Big guy was sick again, an unexpected event occurred.
Rumble.
The earth trembled, stones rolled, and massive trees fell in succession.
Most people were awoken from their sleep, terrified, fleeing from their cave dwellings, escaping the small valley.
There was an earthquake!