Wow, a golden legend.

Cen Jiu chose to open the luggage, not holding out much hope for its contents.

The large trunk was packed with various supplies, suggesting that the player character came from a well-off background. Perhaps it was her luck stat at work: the trunk contained a rucksack, which she promptly equipped. Unfortunately, the bag could hold less than a third of the trunk's contents.

Left with no choice, she decided to take only the most valuable items. After rummaging through the daily necessities, she found something that looked quite significant.

[Ortega's Deed: A piece of parchment containing information about the land you purchased from Ortega.]

"A land deed? Let me see!" Sensing this was an important item, Cen Jiu noticed that the scroll seemed to emit a golden glow while inside the trunk. She unfurled it, but her excitement instantly froze. The game provided no translation; she couldn't read the text! The characters looked structured, leading her to suspect they held actual meaning—likely a language invented by the game.

Before she could dwell on it, a new prompt popped up:

[You have acquired a new skill: Aer Region Common Tongue]
[Aer Region Common Tongue Level: 1]

Cen Jiu looked at the experience bar beneath the skill; it was only a little over a quarter full. Well, perhaps once the skill leveled up, she would be able to see the detailed information.

She silently tucked the important document into her pocket and began stuffing the bag with items that looked valuable or appealing.

[Seed Pack: You don't know what kind of plants these are; you'll find out once you plant them.]
[Aer Region Spices: Spices purchased at a high price in the Aer region; they may not be worth much elsewhere.]
[Olive Oil: A light fruit oil, the preferred choice for fast days.]
[Hemostatic Ointment: Has some restorative properties; slightly accelerates wound healing.]
[Silk Shirt: Comfortable to wear; someone is bound to like this.]
[Set of Silver Cutlery: Could fetch a good price.]
...

Once the bag was full, Cen Jiu stepped out, satisfied, to continue her quest.

The corridor was deserted and dim. She headed toward the exit where a large amount of light filtered in; as she approached, the clamor of human voices grew clearer. It was a language she had never heard, yet she seemed to understand it. It sounded like they were swearing...

Cen Jiu’s curiosity piqued, and she poked her head out to step onto the stairs leading to the deck. She shielded her eyes to adjust to the intense sunlight, and as she stepped onto the deck, her gaze leveled out to see the source of the commotion.

Nearby, two figures were confronting each other, surrounded by a circle of people cheering and debating.

"Hahaha, little sheep, do you think you can control me? Do I need to teach you whose territory this is on the sea?" The one-eyed man facing the cabin entrance laughed heartily. Cen Jiu could clearly see the details of his mouth and the spittle flying as he roared with laughter.

Cen Jiu looked away in disgust, her eyes falling to the feet of this foul-smelling man. She realized there was someone lying between the two, trembling on the floor. It was a woman in tattered clothes, her garments stained with reddish-brown blood, and her exposed skin covered in visible bruises.

As if sensing Cen Jiu's observation, she suddenly met her gaze and widened her eyes.

"Every evil has its retribution; the gods know all."

The person with his back to Cen Jiu wore a light-colored silk robe, his shoulder-length hair shimmering like silver in the sunlight. He looked completely out of place amidst the reeking crew members. He stood like a chilling block of ice, his cold, enigmatic words instantly silencing the rowdy crowd.

To Cen Jiu, it sounded like gibberish. She quickly pulled up the menu to interrupt the tense atmosphere, navigating to the subtitle settings—sure enough, they were unchecked. She quickly enabled them and returned to the game. The cryptic remark now appeared with native language subtitles, accompanied by a bilingual display that included the game's original language.

Cen Jiu was speechless. This game was really committed to pushing its invented language; it seemed to genuinely want to teach it to the players... But at least she understood the meaning now. Subtitles were a blessing.

Back to the plot. The one-eyed man froze, clearly not expecting the man to be so defiant. In a fit of rage, he grabbed the man by the collar and warned him, "Sheep, what good is it to only speak this nonsense?"

The person on the ground took a solid kick. The one-eyed man stepped on her shoulder, looking at the enigma with disdain. "Want a fight? If you win, I'll let her go this time?"

The man in the white robe was shoved violently, stumbling backward. Cen Jiu subconsciously retreated a step. She was close enough to smell the heavy, woody incense trailing from him.

The crowd erupted in cheers.
"Beat that pretentious guy to a pulp!"
"Teach him a lesson!"

The white-robed man responded only with silence.

In Cen Jiu's view, the objective progressed.
[Arrive at the deck 1/1]
[Avoid the dispute, or resolve the dispute 0/1]

At the same time, a [Game Saved Automatically] prompt popped up in the bottom right corner. It was time to enter the fray!

"Ahem—" Cen Jiu’s throat-clearing was swallowed by the roar of the crowd. The poor soul pinned to the floor noticed her movement and shook her head frantically at her. Cen Jiu gave the poor girl a reassuring smile.

Cen Jiu stepped heavily onto the wooden stairs. She stood at the center of the circle of crew members, like an actor stepping onto a stage, ascending to the deck step by step while meeting everyone’s puzzled and scrutinizing gazes. Standing against the light in the center of the crowd, a gust of wind blew, causing her cloak to snap in the breeze.

"...Who is that?"
"Didn't you notice? I saw her eavesdropping down below a while ago."
"Do we have someone like that on our ship?"

The topic of conversation had shifted instantly. The one-eyed man was also confused by this well-dressed, capable-looking stranger. As the captain, he didn't even remember having someone like her on board.

Cen Jiu automatically filtered out the background noise of the passersby, pointed at the one-eyed man, and curled her lips. "What kind of skill is it to bully him?"

Thanks to the game system, her words were automatically translated into the game's original language. Cen Jiu's eyes lit up; the feeling of inexplicably understanding an alien language was truly magical. She immediately tried to add more cutting remarks.

"One-eyed, the reason you lost an eye is because you’re blind to who you shouldn't mess with."

The one-eyed man’s face darkened; his mockery of the priest shifted into wariness toward Cen Jiu. A crew member nearby seemed to remember something and exclaimed, "She’s that passenger who hasn't been seen leaving her room for nearly two months!"

Once the crewman shouted, the one-eyed man finally remembered the passenger whose true face was unknown, someone who had paid a high price to hitch a ride on his merchant ship. She and Silva, the meddlesome priest forced upon them by the Church, were the only two passengers.

Cen Jiu looked in prime condition, nothing like someone who had spent two months hiding in a room, living in fear. *How could I have suddenly forgotten she existed?* The one-eyed man felt a chill creep up his spine.

Shifting his gaze between her and Silva, the one-eyed man threw out a final threat: "Just you wait!"

"What are you looking at?! Scram, all of you!!"

With the captain shouting, the crew scattered, afraid of being the next target of his temper. On the deck, only Cen Jiu, the enigmatic priest, and the poor woman on the ground remained.

Cen Jiu stepped forward first, intending to help her up. However, the woman waved her off, using the floor to push herself slowly to her feet.

"...Thank you, this is nothing to me, and besides, we’ll be at the port soon," she said clearly, rubbing her bruised shoulder. "Don't help me anymore; I’m worried you’ll face retaliation."

The priest nearby looked deeply at Cen Jiu and shook his head. "The Lord is with us; to look away is a moral failure." His compassionate expression looked just like the marble statues Cen Jiu had studied in art class—so beautiful there was an unearthly sense of detachment about him.

Cen Jiu replied modestly, "It’s nothing; I just didn't like the look of that one-eyed man."

The priest took a shallow breath, opening his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Cen Jiu’s question.

"Are we really reaching the port soon?" Having finished the formal, favor-gaining dialogue, Cen Jiu asked the question she cared about more. Did the game really intend to start so peacefully? Her player’s intuition told her that since she had already made an enemy of the captain, she had to blow this situation up.

Cen Jiu’s question made the priest alert. "Why do you worry?"

"I just have a feeling something is going to happen, so I came up to check." Cen Jiu was ambiguous.

"Thank you for your kindness," the priest said, lowering his eyes. "My name is Raphael Dominis Silva; you may simply call me Silva."

"What should I call you?"

*So there is a naming phase after all.*

Cen Jiu gave her common gaming name: "I'm Jiu. You can call me Ah Jiu."

"Bella." The battered woman also shared her name. She crossed her arms and said, "I heard them say this morning that we should reach the port by tonight, so I was thinking of running away." Bella gave a self-deprecating smile. "I got caught instead. It’s what I deserve."

Seeing Bella hobbling toward the cabin, Cen Jiu walked straight over to support her. "Where are you going?"

"To rest. I refuse to be under this scorching sun any longer."

This was the perfect time to build favor. Cen Jiu launched a warm, supportive offensive: "Come to my room. If that one-eyed man dares to come, I'll give him a piece of my mind!"

She didn't forget to bid a polite farewell to the other character. "Goodbye, Silva. If he gives you any trouble, you can come to me, too."

These two definitely had deep storylines attached to them; gaining more favor with them was the right move!

"Goodbye, Ah Jiu. But I think Captain Parsi has no interest in causing trouble right now; he has more important things to do." Silva gave a wry smile. Like, investigating her true identity and how she managed to sneak onto the ship undetected.

"She will be safe with you; may the gods watch over you." He closed his eyes and prayed, clutching his triangular pendant. But when he opened his eyes again, he was all alone; Cen Jiu had already whisked Bella back into the cabin.

He couldn't help but chuckle. "That is truly—"

The wind blew the sails, and the clouds drifting across the sky cast shadows on the deck. A seabird from afar let out a shrill cry, struggling against the wind, flapping its wings in panic.

Silva frowned, staring at the churning sea in the distance.

"A mysterious lady, indeed..."