It took Lan Hao Tian a while to calm down after witnessing her power. Judging by her display, he even started to feel that he might not be as strong as she was.
"Who... who are you, really?"
"I am Shui Xin Ling," she replied.
He shook his head immediately and said,
"You know that's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"Are you pretending not to understand? I'm asking about your identity. The power you just showed... that's not something an ordinary person could possess."
"Then shouldn't you tell me your name first? If only you get to ask questions, how is that fair?"
Lan Hao Tian considered her words. She had a point. He nodded and replied,
"I'm Lan Hao Tian. A pleasure to meet you. Now, will you tell me about your background?"
A single tear slid from the corner of her eye as she spoke.
"I was born on a poor island, isolated from the rest of the world. As I grew older, I was abandoned and had to wander across the lands. Today, I was unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of slavers. If you hadn't saved me... I fear I would've ended up as someone's property. A debt like this... I can only repay with my life."
The more Lan Hao Tian listened, the more he felt something was off. By the time she finished, his face had darkened.
"Stop, stop. You don't have to say any more. If you don't want to tell the truth, that's fine. We only just met anyway. If you want to come with me, I don't mind. I could use strong allies on the road ahead."
Shui Xin Ling's eyes lit up with interest.
"So what exactly are you planning that requires such strength?"
He didn't answer immediately. The truth was dangerous—and he lacked the power to follow through just yet. Besides, her identity was still unclear. If she were a noble, revealing too much could put him in serious danger.
But then she said something he never expected.
"You... want to defy the empires."
Her words struck him like thunder. For a moment, Lan Hao Tian felt as if his very thoughts had been laid bare—and he had no idea how.
Lan Hao Tian had no choice but to take a deep breath and ask,
"How did you know?"
But what stunned him even more was her expression—she looked genuinely shocked, eyes wide as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You're kidding, right? You really are planning to do that? I was just joking! I always make comments like that for fun."
The corner of Lan Hao Tian's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He hadn't expected to accidentally reveal such a dangerous secret. But the more he looked at her, the more convinced he became that she wasn't just some ordinary girl.
"Your identity isn't simple either. Ordinary people don't joke about something like this," he said.
She let out a laugh and said,
"Let's just say I can't reveal who I am—for now. But what are you trying to do? It sounds exciting. I want in."
That surprised him even more. He knew all too well how powerful the great empires were—and how dangerous his goal truly was.
And yet, she didn't seem like someone ignorant of the world. If anything, her eagerness to join him only made him more curious about who she really was.
He thought to himself,
"She's probably not affiliated with any empire. But whatever force she belongs to must be powerful—powerful enough that even the empires wouldn't dare act rashly. Or… could her personal strength be on the level of a world-class expert? No, that doesn't make sense. She might be stronger than me, but not by that much."
After thinking it through, he finally nodded and said,
"Alright. You can come with me."
She grinned, then gave him a playful slap on the shoulder.
"Great! So, what's our relationship from now on?"
He scratched his chin for a moment before asking,
"I'm planning to form a pirate crew. Do you want to be one of my crewmates?"
Shui Xin Ling immediately shook her head.
"Nope. Our strength is pretty much equal. I'm not going to be someone's subordinate. I want something more... balanced."
"How about… friends?"
"Too boring. Come up with something better."
Lan Hao Tian's mouth twitched again. At that moment, he seriously considered kicking her out on the spot—but his reason held him back.
"Stay calm, stay calm, he reminded himself. Sure, she's a bit eccentric… but she's powerful. And the force behind her definitely isn't ordinary. If I'm serious about starting a revolution, I can't afford to turn down an ally like this."
He dug through the old memories of his past life, recalling the great revolutions of humanity throughout history. Eventually, a word surfaced in his mind. He said,
"How about 'comrades'? It means people who share the same ideals."
"Comrades?"
Shui Xin Ling repeated the word under her breath. It sounded smooth and had a decent meaning. She smiled and nodded.
"Alright, from now on, we're comrades. So… where are we going now?"
"Haven't decided on a place yet. First, I need to borrow a map of the surrounding area—and a boat."
"Borrow?"
She looked skeptical. Judging by what she had borrowed on her way here, like the loaf of bread she'd eaten earlier, she had a feeling his "borrowing" might be similar to hers.
Lan Hao Tian replied without batting an eye,
"That's the standard behavior of a pirate. If I don't have something, I'll just borrow it from someone else."
"Without returning it, I assume?" Shui Xin Ling quipped.
"Huh? Don't tell me you're the same."
She immediately shook her head and snorted.
"Hmph. Shallow thinking. I'm not a pirate. I'm just poor. What I'm doing is robbing from the rich to give to the poor. A noble act, really."
Lan Hao Tian's mouth twitched. No matter how she framed it, it was still stealing from others. But he didn't bother arguing further and asked instead,
"You made it all the way here—so I'm guessing you have a ship?"
Contrary to his expectation, she flatly shook her head.
"Nope. I hitched a ride on a merchant ship to get to this island. Don't tell me you did the same?"
Lan Hao Tian sighed and replied,
"I had a boat, but it was old and broke down midway. I swam all the way here from the sea."
"What the hell—what kind of comrade are you? You're seriously unreliable."
His face darkened as he shot back,
"You've got a lot of nerve saying that. What part of you is any better than me, huh?"
"I'm cuter than you."
"You—goddamn it!"