From Chonghua’s capital to Lin’an, the distance was not particularly far. Traveling by spirit boat along the waterways, they could arrive in a day.
The journey was smooth, with favorable winds and calm waters. On both banks, the mountains rose heavily, and the cries of the apes echoed back and forth. The towns they passed gradually changed from magnificent buildings with deep eaves and elaborate bracket systems into whitewashed walls and dark-tiled roofs, with households built along the water.
The woman steering the boat for them was about seventeen or eighteen years old, a native of Lin’an who traveled this waterway year-round. Mo Xi and Gu Mang were traveling in ordinary clothes, while the boatwoman usually only cared about how much fish and shrimp cost per jin and what the wind and waves would be like the next day. She had no interest whatsoever in political affairs, so she did not recognize the two of them.
Along the way, she spoke in the soft Wu dialect, laughing brightly as she chatted with them about all sorts of things. One moment she talked about the customs of Lichun Kingdom, the next about the harsh winters of Yanbei City, how beef soup noodles in Fancheng were best eaten with chili peppers, and how the baked flatbreads sold at a stall in the Northern Border were so crispy they went crunch when bitten.
Gu Mang listened in a daze while chewing the little dried fish the boatwoman had given them. Suddenly, he said, “You’ve been to so many places.”
“Me? I’ve hardly been anywhere.” The boatwoman’s laughter was more crystalline than the little waves stirred up by her slender bamboo pole. “When I reach a port, I have people bring up food and supplies for me. I barely get off the boat a few times a year. My toes never touch the ground. Hehe, I’m an immortal of the water.”
If someone else had said such a thing, it might have sounded arrogant and affected.
But this young woman really was as bright as a hibiscus and as beautiful as peach blossoms and plum blossoms. When she smiled, her dimples were deep, while her eyes seemed to hold affection and water, black with a hint of purple. Standing at the bow, her slender hands holding the bamboo pole, her sleeves fluttering and her black hair dark as ink, she truly possessed the stunning beauty of a goddess rising from the water.
It was just a pity that she was a little chatterbox.
All along the way, Mo Xi had listened to her chatter nonstop, and his ears were getting tired. But when he turned his head and looked at Gu Mang, Gu Mang was listening with great interest. His blue eyes were wide open, and sometimes when he became completely absorbed in the story, he would even forget to chew the dried fish hanging from his mouth.
“I’ve lived on this little boat with the master who took me in since I was little. After my master passed away, I’ve lived alone. Don’t look down on my little boat. What kind of wind and waves haven’t I seen? What kind of people haven’t I carried?”
Seeing that Gu Mang was interested, Mo Xi followed up with a question.
“Who have you carried?”
The boatwoman looked rather proud.
“A lot of great cultivators. Their titles are so long that I can’t remember them all. But let me tell you, when my master was still around, Yue Juntian, the Sealed King of Lin’an, even steered our boat once.”
Mo Xi was somewhat speechless and gave a wry smile.
“Yue Juntian is himself a grandmaster of artifact refinement. Why would he need to ride someone else’s boat?”
The boatwoman’s eyes immediately widened.
“I didn’t lie! Why couldn’t he? When he was young, he loved traveling incognito. He really did ride my family’s boat before. I was little back then and didn’t recognize him. Later, my master told me that the lecherous man was Yue Juntian. Whenever he had nothing better to do, he loved coming to Lin’an City and leaving behind romantic debts.”
“…”
“My master also said it was lucky I was still young. When I got older, if I ever saw that man, I should smear mud all over my face. Otherwise, since I’m so pretty, he’d take a fancy to me and drag me back to become his concubine.”
“…”
The boatwoman said, “Fortunately, he’s gotten too old these past years and can’t play around anymore. All of us boatmen say we haven’t seen him travel south incognito again.” As she spoke, she patted her chest. “What a huge relief.”
Gu Mang listened to all of this in a muddle, while Mo Xi was quite embarrassed.
Everyone in Chonghua knew that Yue Juntian was a lecher. In the end, the tangled fate of younger generations like Murong Chuyi and Jiang Yexue could all be traced back to Yue Juntian being far too unfaithful.
He simply had not expected Yue Juntian’s reputation among the common people to be this terrible. Especially the girls in his own fief—they actually treated him like some terrifying figure from a ghost story and spoke about him like this in private.
Still, what the boatwoman said was not wrong. Yue Juntian really was unreliable. Fortunately, his health had been poor these past years and he had grown old. Otherwise, after Jiang Yexue and Yue Chenqing, who knew whether he might have created a third heir for himself.
As the boatwoman continued chatting, she became somewhat carried away with herself. Steering the boat with her pole, she said, “Ah, no wonder Old Yue likes coming to our place. There are so many beauties in Lin’an Prefecture. Some of those girls are so fresh and lovely. I’ve seen them washing vegetables and rinsing silk by the water several times. They’re really charming. They’re only just a tiny bit less pretty than me.”
Mo Xi’s head began to ache from listening.
Gu Mang, however, remained completely calm. He took another bite of dried fish and said, “You’re pretty.”
The boatwoman immediately blossomed with delight, her face lighting up with a smile.
“You’re quite handsome too, little brother.”
Gu Mang turned his head toward Mo Xi.
“What does ‘handsome’ mean?”
“It means you’re good-looking too.”
Gu Mang nodded.
“Then you’re the most handsome one on this boat.”
For a moment, Mo Xi neither knew how to respond nor whether he should respond. In the end, he turned his face away and gazed at the rippling lake water as it was sliced apart by a single reed, clearing his throat twice.
When they were nearing Lin’an City, the number of boats on the water noticeably increased.
A water town was ultimately different from the imperial capital. Boats crisscrossed the waterways, beautiful women rinsed silk by the river, fishing boats sang as evening fell, and children from the south competed to swim through the water.
Mo Xi even saw a child no more than four years old swimming joyfully through the river like a white streak cutting through the waves.
“His swimming skills are really good,” he could not help saying.
“Of course. The people who live along this river learn to play in the water before they learn to walk.” The boatwoman giggled. “Two guests, remember to gather your things. Once you see more people stepping on the waves to catch fish, we’ll have reached the Lin’an port.”
Mo Xi thanked her, then asked, “Miss, you’ve met so many people over the years. Have you ever heard of a hermit in the mountains outside Lin’an who possesses the art of reincarnation?”
Seeing how innocent and carefree she was, and knowing she had no interest in the techniques of the immortal sects, he had only asked on the off chance. He did not really expect her to know anything.
Unexpectedly, the boatwoman tilted her head.
“Is that one of the legendary Three Forbidden Arts?”
Mo Xi’s heart lit up.
“Exactly.”
“Oh…” She thought for a moment. “I really have heard a few passengers talk about this legend before. They said there was indeed some great master outside Lin’an City who possessed such a technique.”
“Do you know the exact location?”
The boatwoman shook her head.
“I didn’t remember it that clearly. My master once told me that birth, aging, illness, and death couldn’t be forced. As for some art of reincarnation, I also thought it sounded too fantastical. At the time, I just treated it as idle chatter and let it go in one ear and out the other. If you’re interested, why don’t you go into the city and ask some cultivators? Recently, Master Yue Juntian came to his fief to recuperate and conduct sacrifices, with his whole family accompanying him. Asking those cultivators would certainly be much more useful than asking me.”
As she spoke, her eyes were clear and open, carrying the calm acceptance of an ordinary person.
Indeed, if one could sail beyond the heavens and live a long, leisurely life, life and death might not be something worth clinging desperately to. It was simply that such peaceful tranquility was something they had been destined to seek yet never obtain from the moment they were born.
When they reached the port, Mo Xi settled the boatwoman’s payment in shell coins. Gu Mang, however, seemed reluctant to leave, staring at the burlap sack hanging beside the mast.
So Mo Xi asked the boatwoman to sell him another sack of dried little fish.
Only then was Gu Mang happy. Hugging the burlap sack, he ate as he followed Mo Xi through the lanes of Lin’an City.
“Steamed cakes for sale—lotus blossom cakes—osmanthus cakes! May every step bring you higher—”
“White magnolia flowers! Selling white magnolia flowers~”
The scenery and customs here were different from those of the imperial capital, and even more different from the Northern Border frontier.
All along the way, Gu Mang looked left and right. Although he did not say much, whenever he saw something he liked, he would simply stand there motionless, staring at it.
Before long, Mo Xi’s Qiankun pouch was filled with all sorts of inexplicable little trinkets.
From bamboo dragonflies to little clay figurines, from tiny porcelain cups to little silk fans, a whole pile of them jingled and clattered together.
Mo Xi had originally planned to go directly to the Yue family’s residence in Lin’an to pay his respects, but seeing that it was already getting late, he changed his mind.
“Let’s find an inn to stay at first,” he said to Gu Mang. “Then I’ll take you out for dinner, all right?”
Gu Mang was currently biting into a candied fruit covered in frosting. Hearing this, he did not say anything, merely nodded obediently.
The two found an inn beside the lake.
It was currently the end of the lotus-blossom season. When they pushed open the window, they could see lotus leaves stretching to the horizon, an endless expanse of green. Dragonflies rested atop the lotus blossoms that had bloomed in full abundance, while lotus pods stood gracefully among them, delicate and lovely.
Mo Xi put all the miscellaneous things from his Qiankun pouch into the room, then the two went downstairs to ask the innkeeper.
The waiter was busy wiping down the tables. Seeing Mo Xi, he bowed respectfully.
Mo Xi said, “Excuse me. May I ask which restaurant in Lin’an City has the best food?”
The waiter was an understanding man. Seeing that although the two were dressed inconspicuously, the fabric used for their clothes was of excellent quality, he immediately smiled broadly.
“Ah, you two guests, we should clarify one thing first. The place with the best food may not necessarily be the most luxurious. Some of the little stir-fry shops in noisy alleys make excellent food. I’m just afraid the two esteemed guests might look down on them.”
Mo Xi turned back and asked Gu Mang, “Do you want good food, or a comfortable place?”
Gu Mang was very straightforward.
“Can’t we have both?”
Mo Xi looked questioningly at the waiter again.
“If you want both a comfortable place and good food, then we’ll have to find a middle ground.” The waiter said, “Turn left when you leave the inn. After passing through three streets, you’ll see a tailor shop. Go to the left of the tailor shop, and in the second alley you’ll find a restaurant called Jiuxiang House. That restaurant has two floors, with plenty of space. As for the food, although it isn’t the absolute best, it’s still quite good.”
He paused, then chuckled.
“The owner used to work around the docks, so his family knows the snacks and dishes from all the major cities along the waterways of Jiangnan. The crystal shrimp balls and sweet-and-sour mandarin fish are especially delicious. Oh, and don’t forget their Pear Blossom White. They say good wine fears no deep alley, and that is indeed the best wine brewed in Lin’an City.”
Mo Xi asked Gu Mang, “Want to go?”
Gu Mang still had not put down his sack of dried little fish. Hearing this, he nodded while biting one of the fish.
After thanking the waiter, the two easily found Jiuxiang House according to his directions.
Perhaps because the location was somewhat remote and the rent was reasonable, the restaurant had been built quite spaciously. The environment really was wider and more comfortable than that of many other establishments.
They asked for a table on the second floor, ordered several specialty dishes and stir-fries, along with a small pot of wine and some pastries.
The dishes were served very quickly, and before long everything was on the table.
The shrimp balls were glossy and white, each plump piece of shrimp meat translucent and glistening, arranged on a white porcelain plate covered with green lotus leaves.
The sweet-and-sour mandarin fish was covered in a bright, savory sauce. A poke of the chopsticks revealed plump, tender white fish meat. Dipped into the sweet-and-sour sauce sprinkled with fine ginger shreds, it was perfectly tangy and sweet.
The sliced pork with garlic sauce had also been specially prepared. The three-layer pork belly was boiled and sliced into pieces as thin as cicada wings, then chilled over ice. When it was brought out, wisps of cold vapor rose from it, and all the greasiness had disappeared. It could be dipped in light soy sauce and pepper salt, and once in the mouth, it was refreshing and cool, with the different layers of the meat clearly distinct.
The quick-fried stir-fries were also delicious. The stir-fried pork kidneys were curled into beautiful shapes, and when they were brought out, they seemed to still carry the sparks of the stove. The seasonal young bamboo shoots were exceptionally crisp as well.
Even the vegetable soup with greens was tender, fresh, and refreshing, making it especially appetizing to look at.
The two were eating when Mo Xi noticed that Gu Mang particularly liked the shrimp balls. Before long, the entire plate had been emptied, so he planned to call the waiter over to order another serving.
Just as he turned his head, preparing to call downstairs, he suddenly saw a familiar person who had appeared at the counter below at some unknown point.
A man dressed entirely in white, his expression solemn, was speaking with the shopkeeper.
Mo Xi froze.
Murong Chuyi?
What a coincidence…
No, that wasn’t right.
He had come to Lin’an with the Yue family to stay in their fief. Even if he was not staying together with Yue Juntian and the others, why had he come wandering into the streets and alleys alone?