Chapter 013: A Price Beyond Reach

There's a saying, isn't there?

Heavy rewards bring brave men.

Jack Sparrow didn't know that saying, but having traveled far and wide, he understood the principle well. When he tripled the wages for hauling rum, a group of dockworkers became tempted.

They flocked into Wang Bo's bar, carrying crate after crate of rum to the dock.

By then, Jack Sparrow had already thrown the magic ship into the sea.

The palm-sized magic ship, upon contact with seawater, swelled rapidly as if inflated, and within seconds became a vessel dozens of meters long.

This sight stunned many workers on the dock.

Then, amid the crowd's exclamations of awe, Jack Sparrow directed the workers to load the rum onto the magic ship and sailed away from Port Royal.

As for the workers' wages, Jack Sparrow never intended to pay them.

After all, he was a pirate.

Only after the magic ship sailed away did the workers realize they had been tricked, but none dared to stop him. The magic ship's appearance was too fantastical; everyone was already frightened, so naturally they didn't dare mention the wages.

From the start, Jack Sparrow was pulling a fast one.

Those simple workers had been used by him.

Not until Jack Sparrow had sailed far from the harbor did the workers spit in disdain, a gesture of their respect for Jack Sparrow.

Wang Bo watched this from inside the bar and couldn't help shaking his head. He knew well that Jack Sparrow wouldn't care about the workers' complaints—after all, he was a despised pirate.

After getting rid of Jack Sparrow, Wang Bo returned to his usual peaceful life. In the following days, the bar remained stagnant, with no customers.

But Wang Bo didn't mind; he wasn't running the bar to make money anyway.

One afternoon, Wang Bo was lounging in a deck chair by the bar, lazily soaking up the sun, when the bar door suddenly swung open and a blonde woman walked in.

Without looking up, Wang Bo said, "What would you like to drink, miss?"

But the woman answered irrelevantly, "I heard from the townspeople that you're a pirate?"

Wang Bo frowned and looked up at the young woman who had entered, wanting to see who was so rude. Standing before him was a woman in ornate robes, with fair skin and slender fingers, her clothes spotless—a stark contrast to the ordinary women struggling to make a living outside.

This was an idle, pampered noble girl. In Port Royal, such girls were rare, and there seemed to be only one noblewoman interested in pirates.

"Elizabeth Swann?"

The blonde woman stepped back. She had never seen him before, yet the bar owner could name her identity in a single word—this made her wary.

"You know me?"

"I've heard of you," Wang Bo said. "After all, there aren't many noble ladies interested in pirates these days."

Elizabeth asked curiously, "How do you know I'm interested in pirates?"

She hadn't told anyone about this, not even her father, that she secretly yearned for the pirate life.

Not the burning and looting, but the freedom. Yes, what she longed for was the free life of a pirate, to break free from the oppressive and constraining noble upbringing and gain true freedom.

"Because I know magic. So I know many things."

"You're a wizard?"

"To be precise, a mage."

"What's the difference?" Elizabeth didn't understand; to her, wizards and mages were the same.

"There's a subtle difference, but it's not wrong to think of me as a wizard," Wang Bo said, too lazy to explain.

Elizabeth said, "So you can see the future."

"I can," Wang Bo nodded. He had indeed learned a few divination spells from Lady Gremory.

"So you're not a pirate."

"Of course. Disappointed that I'm not a pirate?" Wang Bo looked at Elizabeth with a half-smile.

Elizabeth broke into a smile and said, "Meeting a mysterious mage is even more exciting than meeting a pirate. May I ask, why would a mage like you come to a small place like Port Royal?"

Wang Bo said, "Probably out of boredom."

"What do you plan to do in Port Royal?" she asked warily. This was her father's territory; she had to be sure.

Wang Bo shook his head. "I won't do anything."

"Really?" Elizabeth was skeptical.

"Do you think I would deceive you?" Wang Bo countered. He felt no need to lie to a young girl.

Elizabeth looked at him doubtfully, then finally nodded. "Alright, I'll trust you this once."

Wang Bo chuckled but said nothing.

Seeing his dismissive expression, Elizabeth gritted her teeth and said, "Actually, I came to ask you about something today, but now I'm sure that ship that appeared at the port a few days ago must be connected to you."

Wang Bo finally understood her purpose. "So you're here about the magic ship."

"Yes."

"What do you want?"

"I want to buy a magic ship from you," Elizabeth said earnestly. Ever since she heard about that magic ship, she couldn't sleep, dreaming of owning one herself.

That's why she came to the bar.

Originally, she had intended to ask Wang Bo about the owner of the magic ship, but she never expected him to be a mage, and suddenly it all clicked.

That magic ship was definitely connected to Wang Bo; perhaps he had even made it himself.

Wang Bo asked with interest, "I do have magic ships here, but you can't afford one."

"Name your price." Elizabeth was, after all, the governor's daughter, and quite confident in matters of money.

Wang Bo didn't give a price right away. Instead, he briefly described the magic ship's functions, then asked, "How many gold coins do you think such a ship is worth?"

Elizabeth wasn't stupid; she immediately understood that such a magic ship was priceless.

Not to mention other things, the endless supply of water and food alone would drive countless people mad.

She realized then that this was a price beyond her reach.