Jason thought for a moment, then suddenly recalled one of those cliché, dog-blood TV drama scenes he often saw. He thought to himself, "No matter what, I'm a transmigrator, and I even have a system. At the very least, I should have some kind of protagonist's halo, right?"
After thinking it through, Jason decided to gamble.
Clang! With a sharp sound, he drew a retainer's sword from its sheath. Seeing this, Kaladi thought Jason had changed his mind and was about to execute him. He silently closed his eyes.
With his eyes shut, Kaladi only heard a clang! again. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that Jason had actually tossed the sword down beside him. Confused, he lifted his head and looked at Jason.
"I suddenly want to make a bet with you," Jason said with a smile. "If you still think killing me is worth it for that woman, then pick up that sword and kill me. Otherwise, you must swear eternal loyalty to me!"
"Young Master! Absolutely not!" The attendants beside Jason all cried out in alarm.
"It's fine. You don't need to worry," Jason said calmly to them.
Kaladi glanced at the sword on the ground, picked it up without hesitation, and walked toward Jason.
"Young Master, run! We'll protect you!" Several attendants immediately drew their swords and stared at Kaladi.
"You all step back. It's fine."
As he spoke, Jason calmly walked to the front of the attendants.
Though he appeared unruffled, inside Jason was scared out of his wits.
Thump, thump, thump! He could clearly hear his own heartbeat.
Kaladi stepped forward and placed the sword against Jason's neck.
"Where does your confidence come from?" Kaladi stared at him. "What makes you think I won't kill you?"
"Because I know you won't do something foolish for that kind of woman," Jason replied. "Earlier, you were just acting on impulse."
Feeling the icy blade against his neck, Jason started to regret this decision. This was completely courting death. But with things already at this point, he could only grit his teeth and push on—his guts were practically green with regret.
He thought that if the attendants rushed over to pull him away now, he would definitely retreat. But they were far too obedient. Jason had told them to step back, and they really didn't come any closer.
"Then go die!" Kaladi said, tightening his grip on the sword.
Jason shut his eyes tightly, praying nonstop in his heart—Jesus, Buddha, he prayed to everyone he could think of.
At the very last moment, Kaladi finally realized that he truly couldn't bring himself to do it. He suddenly felt that it really wasn't worth doing this for a vain, gold-digging woman.
Clang! Kaladi threw the sword to the ground and knelt before Jason.
"You win."
"Phew—!" Seeing that he had escaped death, Jason immediately let out a sigh of relief.
Looks like those dog-blood TV drama plots are actually pretty useful, Jason thought to himself.
"Since you're unwilling to kill me, then you must swear loyalty to me. You still remember, right?" Jason said to Kaladi.
"Yes," Kaladi replied. "From this day forward, I will swear my life in loyalty to you, with no second thoughts. I swear upon the honor of the Owen family."
"Good. Then let's go," Jason said contentedly, taking the lead as he walked out. The attendants were left behind, staring at Jason's departing back with looks of shock mixed with admiration.
Jason secretly felt pleased with himself. Mission accomplished—acting cool, successful.
News of this incident quickly spread everywhere. Everyone praised Jason's courage and decisiveness.
Rumors also began circulating among the people that the Lyon family's young lord had been transformed by the gods after disappearing once, undergoing a complete change. That devil-may-care, troublemaking Jason was gone. The current Jason Lyon was a man of courage and strategy.
Jason was quite happy about these rumors. At last, he had washed away the bad reputation of the former Jason.
A few days later, with everything prepared, Jason set off with Kaladi for Sagos to take up the post of Deputy Administrator. Mounted on tall horses, Jason and Kaladi bid farewell to Dawn and Martin.
"Although the distance between Zorn City and Sagos is short, you still need to be careful," Dawn instructed Jason. "Make sure to stay on the main road and don't wander off."
On the Cardias Continent, wide main roads were built between every city. Each territory's lord stationed many patrol soldiers to ensure the safety of travelers and the villages along these roads. Outside the cities, the safest places were undoubtedly these main roads.
"Alright, Father. Don't worry," Jason replied.
"Kaladi," Dawn said, "since Jason chose to spare you, I will also let bygones be bygones. From now on, you must protect Jason well and assist him properly. Do you understand?"
"Rest assured, my lord. I will protect the young master with my life," Kaladi answered.
"Disloyalty to the young master must never happen again," Martin said sternly. "Don't let me be ashamed because of you again. Do you understand?"
"Rest assured, Father. I will never let such a thing happen again. I've already sworn to defend the young master to the death," Kaladi promised.
"Mm." Martin nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright, it's getting late," Dawn said. "If you delay any longer, you won't reach Sagos before nightfall. Set off quickly."
"Yes, Father. Take care of yourself," Jason said as he bade Dawn farewell, then departed with Kaladi.
Watching Jason's retreating figure, Dawn said to Martin beside him, "Don't you think this child has changed too suddenly?"
"Perhaps he truly has divine assistance," Martin replied. "If the young master's ability to level up is real, then his future will definitely be extraordinary."
"I hope so," Dawn sighed. "My Lyon family has been declining little by little these past years. We desperately need someone strong to revive our house."
"I believe a tiger father will not give birth to a dog son," Martin said. "Back then, your father fought alongside King Carter to defeat the Duregan family and reestablish the Carter dynasty.
"And later, during the internal family strife, you helped your father preserve the Lyon family. The blood of the Lyon family's bravery also flows in Young Master Jason's veins. I believe he won't disappoint you."
"Sigh… I only hope that the tragedy of brothers turning against each other in my father's generation never happens again."
...
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Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
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(End Chapter)