Setting sail

At night, in the resting quarters of Athena's temple, Bai Mo heard voices as soon as he entered. The handmaidens seemed to be laughing about something. When he opened the door, he found Jason with a woman in each arm. A handmaiden on one side picked up a cup and poured him wine, while another fed him a freshly peeled grape.

"Looks like you're already ready to take the throne, enjoying the good life so soon."

At the sight of Bai Mo, Jason spat out the grape seeds and stood up, not forgetting to run a hand over a handmaiden's shapely figure before walking over to him.

"Oh, my friend, how did it feel? Did those old bastards bow and scrape when you showed them my token? Come on, let me see what you got."

Bai Mo tossed Jason a sheet of parchment, then sat in a chair and examined the flag in his hands. Jason glanced over the list on the parchment and lost interest, turning his attention to Bai Mo's flag.

"To be honest, I thought you'd take quite a bit of money."

"What, were you planning to kill wild beasts by throwing money at them? It's not much use to us. Heroes from all over the world will be coming aboard your ship, and every king along the way will be incredibly generous."

Hearing this, Jason sat beside him and studied the flag as he said, "Ah, you're far too young. Once we reach Colchis, we're bound to run into plenty of trouble. Most trouble caused by people can be solved with money. Without it, we'll have to waste time dealing with it."

After examining the flag, Jason said rather helplessly, "This flag is hideous. I'm not hanging it up."

"I have my own use for this flag. You need to give me a flagpole to fly it from."

"Fine, fine. I'll get you a flagpole outside your room. Then everyone can laugh at you."

Jason returned to his seat and continued enjoying the handmaidens' attentions. Quite a few beautiful young women wanted to approach Bai Mo as well, but the murderous aura he exuded kept them away.

Jason curled his lip, thinking that this fellow really had no appreciation for women. Still, Bai Mo's refusal to ask for money had made Jason see him in a different light. If his companion were greedy for wealth, Jason would never dare entrust him with anything important.

That night, Bai Mo went alone to Athena's temple. This time, he wanted to request a different kind of help.

"The god of love's leaden arrow? Why would you need that?"

Bai Mo said calmly, "Jason will be the captain of the Argo, shouldering a great mission. But even the bravest hero can become intoxicated by a beautiful woman's tenderness. What happened today has me worried that Jason might set aside the adventure for love. I've heard that the little god of love's leaden arrows can extinguish the flames of love, so I'd like to ask for one."

Athena gazed at Bai Mo with unfathomable eyes, falling silent for a moment as though considering whether this little butterfly's fluttering wings would cause a storm that swept the world. In the end, however, she agreed.

Seemingly casually, Bai Mo asked, "I'm curious. If someone were struck by the little god of love's golden arrow, then struck by a leaden arrow, what would happen?"

"The effects of the two arrows would cancel each other out, just as adding ice water to a blazing furnace would return it to room temperature."

Athena answered offhandedly, then left. She had to pay the little god of love a visit.

But Bai Mo's words had been a lie. Familiar with mythology, he knew the legend of the Golden Fleece. This leaden arrow was insurance. As long as he protected Heracles' page, Heracles would not leave the party, and Heracles was absolutely a golden finger for speedrunning the Golden Fleece.

On Mount Olympus, the young god of love, Cupid, was not having a very good time.

For some reason, Athena suddenly came demanding a leaden arrow. But how could I, the little god of love, just hand one over because she asked?

Athena said, "I know what you're thinking. I know every little scheme in that head of yours. If you try to plot against me, believe me, I'll cut your bow and every one of your arrows to pieces."

"Hey, can we make peace? Was I speaking a little too loudly just now? How about I kowtow to you?"

Cupid was mischievous, but against Athena, whose strength and wisdom both far exceeded his own, it was better not to act so tough. She could even scheme against Hera, and even Zeus could do nothing about her.

That night, when Bai Mo returned to his room after training, he found a leaden arrow beside his bed. He carefully put it away.

Countless people gathered around the harbor. On the stage, a bard's nimble fingers plucked a melody on his harp. Bonfires burned, illuminating every face, and the firelight and alcohol left everyone's cheeks flushed.

People danced around the bonfires, with fine wine and food ensuring that everyone enjoyed themselves to the fullest. But these were no ordinary people. Some even had wings sprouting from their backs, yet no one was surprised, for they were all heroes, the offspring of gods, and so everyone got along very well.

Tonight was the eve of the Argo's departure. Bai Mo disliked this atmosphere. His long solitary life had made him accustomed to solitude, and fond of it.

But a golden figure caught his eye. It was a golden lion, who also looked toward Bai Mo. The instant their eyes met, both knowingly looked away.

In later ages, there was a song: Greece had only two true heroes. Heracles, the god of strength, counted as one, the demigod Achilles counted as half, and most of the remaining half belonged to the heroes aboard the Argo.

The two male lions had noticed each other. Fortunately, neither wanted a fight. No, rather, Heracles did not want a fight.

One of the simplest ways for a magnetic field powerhouse to grow stronger was to fight. When their life reached its limit and their emotions and will became driving forces, their magnetic field power would increase. Bai Mo had been stuck at electric current push for a long time. His teacher had been the Great Blade Martial God himself, so why was he still unable to reach magnetic field rotation? Did he need a battle to the death to break through that final restraint, or did this world simply not permit magnetic field power to exist?

As Bai Mo pondered, someone suddenly rushed up to him.

"You! I found you!"

The fellow's voice was not particularly loud, or perhaps the banquet was simply so loud that it drowned him out completely. Still, Bai Mo's hearing allowed him to catch the words of the man before him. He raised his head. Before him stood a man whose arms were bundled up like rice dumplings, his face full of hatred and his bloodshot eyes fixed on Bai Mo.

It's that blacksmith from before. I didn't expect him to come all the way here.

Anyone could attend this banquet. Bai Mo swept his gaze over the crowd, where several people were watching him with hostile eyes.

"It was you, you bastard! Hahaha! This time, I'm going to break every bone in your body!"

Bai Mo did not reply. He simply rose and walked toward a patch of woods.

Everyone was celebrating at the banquet now, and Bai Mo did not want to act in front of them. The men the blacksmith had brought felt the same.

"Scared now, are you?"

He had spent his entire fortune buying connections. These men were all skilled soldiers from the king's army, obtained through the wealth and connections he had accumulated over his long life.

Bai Mo entered the woods, and the plainly dressed soldiers followed. Killing these soldiers would cause quite a bit of trouble, but Bai Mo did not care at all. After all, he probably would not return here after this journey.

"Boy, I'll give you a chance. Let me break every bone in your body, and I'll spare your life. Hehehe, with that face of yours, quite a few noblewomen might take a liking to you. Don't bother struggling."

Bai Mo felt no stir within. Three years of training had honed more than his skills. Three years of daily tempering had also tempered his state of mind. To him, these men's words were no different from the sound of the waves.

Just as he prepared to take down his blade blank, someone appeared in the forest. His arrival made everyone present hold their breath. Heracles.

"What's going on here?" Heracles asked. Cowed by the strongest hero's imposing presence, none of the soldiers dared act. Bai Mo briefly explained what had happened, and Heracles turned his eyes to the soldiers' weapons.

Grasping a sword by its blade with one hand, he took it and examined it, then turned to the blacksmith and said coldly, "This is what you forge?"

The blacksmith nodded. This kingdom rarely saw war, and he had used his connections to sell some weapons to the military. Of course, those had been free, serving only to help those above him pocket the military funds allocated by the king. In return, he could run amok in the marketplace.

In an instant, Heracles swung the sword at the blacksmith's neck. The sword was not particularly sharp, but Heracles' strength made it tear straight through his neck. He collapsed helplessly to the ground, bleeding without end, his eyes wide as eggs as he stared at Heracles.

"You should have done this long ago," Heracles told Bai Mo calmly. In the final moments of his life, the blacksmith also understood why he was dying.

"Many who set out on adventures have no strength and lack wisdom. All they have is courage. If they don't even have a decent weapon, they'll only become food for wild beasts. Selling them these things is harming them, killing them indirectly. You should have killed him outright instead of sparing his life."

When Heracles finished, the blacksmith finally breathed his last, ending the most painful stretch of his life. The soldiers dared say nothing more. They apologized and left immediately, unwilling even to retrieve the blacksmith's corpse, while Heracles' figure also vanished into the woods.

Bai Mo looked at the blacksmith, whose blood had already drained away, and used electric current push to turn the body to ash.

"This was a lesson," Bai Mo said quietly. He no longer wanted to go to the banquet. This was the first time he had seen someone die before his eyes, and he was in no mood for it. He simply returned to his lodgings to wait for dawn and set out on his journey.

At the banquet, a drunken, muddleheaded Jason noticed that his companion had disappeared and could not help feeling puzzled. But as captain, he could not leave tonight. He could only remain at the lively banquet. Where Bai Mo was, however, it was very quiet. He gently stroked the blade blank in his hands.

"Master gave me a blade blank, not a blade. I used to think he wanted me to forge it into a blade with my own strength. But now, perhaps he gave me an edgeless blank because he took my heart into account."

Bai Mo fell into confusion, questioning his own heart. What would his future be like? Would he accomplish great things and become a ruler above all others, or do as he pleased and kill anyone he disliked? What sort of person did he want to become? Or rather, what sort of person was he?

In an instant, countless figures flashed through his mind, those magnetic field powerhouses from the comics. Every one of them had lived out their life through their own actions. They had clear goals and principles to live by. What about Bai Mo? What kind of life did he want?

He thought all night, stopping not because he had found an answer, but because dawn had come, and it was time to depart.