Chapter 107: The Fishing Net
After strolling through Guanshui Street, Chen Ping'an had purchased all the items he needed and was preparing to head back. Unexpectedly, A Liang suggested taking a nighttime boat ride to admire the Chongdan River. Few responded, with only Lin Shouyi nodding in agreement.
Chen Ping'an didn't mind dropping off his belongings first to see the treacherous rapids, but Li Baoping tugged at his sleeve. Chen Ping'an understood immediately. He weighed his money pouch—the scattered copper coins were enough to buy some sugar-coated hawthorns.
Zhu Lu pulled her father Zhu He to browse the weapon shop. Li Huai loudly complained of hunger, so A Liang had the courier take him back to Pillow Inn for a late-night snack.
The group thus parted ways.
Lin Shouyi walked side by side with the bamboo-hatted man and asked softly, "Senior, you said Li Huai has the most fortune. That copy of *Duan Shui Da Ya*, which looked brand new and freshly carved—is it the most valuable item?"
A Liang nodded lightly and revealed a heavenly secret: "It only looks new; it's actually quite old. The contents written in the book aren't worth much—it's a jumble of water-element cultivation techniques, deliberately meant to mislead people. But the material of the book itself is rather precious. It can be stored for a few hundred years without suffering from bookworms."
A Liang took off his small gourd and took a swig. "And if I'm not mistaken, several booklice have already been born in it. Of course, you can't see them with the naked eye. These are a type of spirit creature, extremely tiny, swimming between the lines like live fish in a river. Booklice feed on the spiritual essence contained in the text. When fully grown, they're at most as thick as a hair. There are many kinds of booklice in the world. The ones in that book are an ordinary variety. But if you were to sell it to wealthy nobles who enjoy novelty, it should be worth at least three thousand taels of silver. So it's one of the most valuable books in that shop."
The boy was astonished.
Booklice he couldn't even see could be sold for three thousand taels of silver? Was money the least valuable thing in the world beyond this town?
A Liang seemed to read the boy's thoughts and chuckled, "Once you truly step into the path of cultivation, you'll understand that gold and silver, in the eyes of common folk—even if you pile them up like a mountain—are spent in the blink of an eye. Gone just like that. That said, since wealth must flow like water, it shows that these vulgar yellow and white metals are actually quite valuable."
Lin Shouyi nodded.
A Liang laughed. "If I said this to Chen Ping'an, he might not understand."
Lin Shouyi shook his head. "When it comes to money, he definitely understands."
A Liang laughed heartily and brought the boy to the riverside of Hongzhu Town. The noise of the crowd was overwhelming. The boy was used to the quiet nights of his hometown village, so it felt strange. Especially every breath he took seemed to carry the scent of rouge and powder. At first it smelled fragrant, but after a while, it became cloying.
When the two walked through an alley and arrived at the riverbank, the view suddenly opened up. Both sides of the river were paved with thick bluestone slabs. There were singing girls and laughter everywhere. Many beautiful women leaned lazily against the railings of tall buildings, revealing arms as pale and tender as lotus roots. Their dresses were mostly bright red and green. Strings of lanterns hung from the buildings, casting a glow that made the women radiance even more enchanting and seductive.
Painted boats of various sizes drifted slowly along the banks, bamboo curtains hanging down. On most boats, two women sat at the bow and stern, with one person rowing.
Compared to the unrestrained postures of the women in the towers, who loudly solicited customers, the boat women, though also revealingly dressed, had a touch of demureness in their demeanor.
The younger women were like the modest beauties of a neighbor's family, while the older matrons resembled refined ladies from wealthy households. From time to time, the women in the towers would hurl insults and curses at the boat women who competed for business, even throwing vegetables and fruits. The boat women were used to it and mostly didn't take offense, unless they were hit directly. Rarely did they stand up to yell back.
Whenever a boat woman clashed with a brothel lady, it inevitably drew a chorus of cheers from the men, as if they wished the world would descend into chaos.
Lin Shouyi felt his scalp tingle. "Senior A Liang, weren't we supposed to go to the Chongdan River to enjoy the scenery?"
A Liang shamelessly replied, "Since it's the confluence of three rivers, this is technically part of the Chongdan River."
Lin Shouyi was speechless.
A Liang crouched by the riverbank, watching the painted boats passing by just inches away. Every time a boat woman cast him a flirtatious glance or greeted him in a soft, syrupy voice, A Liang would silently take a sip of wine and mutter to himself. Lin Shouyi crouched down and pricked up his ears, catching fragments like "preserving one's chastity," "a gentleman of integrity," "the word 'lust' is a knife above the head." Lin Shouyi couldn't help but smile. So Senior A Liang was no better than himself?
A Liang turned his head slightly to look at a small painted boat not far away. A plain-looking woman sat at the bow, looking around openly. She didn't seem like a prostitute but rather a wealthy noblewoman out on a nighttime stroll. Behind her, a girl of around sixteen was rowing, her face strikingly beautiful.
A Liang stood up. When the boat drew near, he suddenly pulled out a conspicuous gold ingot. "Is this enough?"
The woman smiled gently, neither nodding nor shaking her head. The rowing girl stared wide-eyed, as if she wished she could take the deal for the woman.
The woman's gaze bypassed the bamboo-hatted man and pointed at Lin Shouyi. "This young master can board the boat alone."
A Liang quickly tucked away the gold ingot. "This kid is a pauper! Broke! Penniless!"
The woman said softly, "I won't charge him any silver."
Following the woman's finger, the girl saw a red-faced young boy with rosy lips and white teeth, graceful and refined—a good seed. She also gave a shy smile.
The poor bamboo-hatted man, who had money but couldn't spend it, was left aside, utterly bewildered. He thought to himself, "Is this woman blind or just picky? A handsome and virile man like me, and she doesn't fancy me, but instead fancies that scrawny bamboo pole Lin Shouyi? If that's the case, if I dragged Chen Ping'an over, who's even skinnier, she'd probably pay me to take him?"
A Liang muttered, "That's hurtful, you know."
The woman smiled at the boy. For some reason, this plain-looking woman suddenly seemed a bit seductive. "Aren't you coming aboard?"
Lin Shouyi shook his head.
A Liang sat on the steps and took a sulky gulp of wine. "Kid, get on the boat. At worst, you'll never get to drink gourd wine again. What wine in the world can compare to the taste of pleasure? Don't miss this chance."
Lin Shouyi stood still, but he rolled his eyes at the bamboo-hatted man's back.
The painted boat had to move on, as the boats behind were already urging it forward.
The woman turned her head and gave the boy one last smile.
The boy remained unmoved, staring back at her coldly.
Painted boats continued to glide past the two of them, boat women of all shapes and sizes unfurling like a scroll of beauties.
Lin Shouyi asked softly, "A Liang, did you come here specifically to wait for her?"
A Liang adjusted his bamboo hat, shook his head, and chuckled, "Just a whim. I wanted to know how big this fishing net really is."
The young scholar sat beside him, openly watching those painted ladies.
On the bluestone paths along the river, little children with baskets ran back and forth, their crisp voices hawking apricot blossoms—one call rose in the east, another answered in the west.
---
Zhu Lu wanted to pick out a dagger for self-defense. She hoped it would be both sharp and attractive. But the weapon shop was already closed. The girl stood glumly at the doorway, silent.
Zhu He comforted her, "We can come again tomorrow."
The girl leaned against a hitching post outside the shop and looked up at the night sky.
Zhu He asked carefully, "Something on your mind?"
Zhu Lu shook her head.
Zhu He ventured, "On the last leg of the journey from Qidun Mountain, the young lady asked to ride the same mountain turtle with you. Did she say something to you?"
Zhu Lu gave a soft "mm" and replied listlessly, "The young lady told me to be polite and courteous to everyone."
Zhu He sighed with relief. "The young lady wasn't wrong. Out in the world, it's wise to be friendly and make money peacefully."
Zhu Lu lowered her voice. "That A Liang—I can accept him, he's from the Wind Snow Temple. Even though he doesn't fit my image of an immortal, an immortal is still an immortal. No matter how annoying, I can tolerate him. But Lin Shouyi and Li Huai—what are they? Just because they were classmates with the young lady for a few years, they act like they own the place. One is the bastard son of a maidservant, the other the son of a nobody. What right do they have to sit on equal footing with our young lady? Especially that..."
Seeing she was reluctant to continue, Zhu He finished, "Chen Ping'an?"
The girl pursed her lips.
Zhu He sighed. "There's no outsider here. What I'm about to say might not be pleasant..."
The girl's face suddenly lit up, interrupting him. "Father, in the letter the young master sent to the young lady, at the end he wrote several pages of random thoughts just for me. His running script and regular script are getting more and more perfect. He told me in the letter about his thrilling experience personally joining a pursuit to kill a band of horse bandits. He said he met the legitimate eldest grandson of a Pillar State, the Chen family. He described the scene of Taiping Fire, said that the Great Li capital was full of wonders—people riding pythons and cranes through the streets, and the capital's citizens were completely unphased. He also said that at the northern gate of the imperial city, there were two living golden-armored gate gods, said to be gifts from a Daoist sect to Great Li at its founding, over four or five zhang tall. Father, isn't that interesting?"
Zhu He said helplessly, "It's safer to call him the Second Young Master."
The girl beamed. "The First Young Master isn't here anyway. Besides, he's so simple-hearted, even if he heard, he wouldn't get angry."
Zhu He scolded, "Don't be disrespectful!"
Zhu Lu lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling.
She whispered, "The young master... Second Young Master once said to us servants that those with good fortune can enjoy themselves even lying down. Those without good fortune come to this world only to suffer. Li Huai has good fortune, Lin Shouyi has good fortune too—they became students of Cliff Academy. They'll likely become famous in the future. At worst, they'll live comfortably as wealthy men."
The girl slowly raised her head. "That Chen Ping'an isn't badly off either. At least he doesn't have to call anyone 'miss' or 'young master.'"
Zhu He dared not meet his daughter's gaze.
A family-born servant was a servant from the womb.
Zhu He hesitated to speak.
The girl's eyes were firm, her tone resolute. "Father, it doesn't matter. Second Young Master said that once we reach the Great Li capital, there are plenty of ways to shed our servant status. Besides, the border armies of Great Li are willing to recruit female martial artists. If we accumulate enough military merit, maybe I can even become a titled lady."
Zhu He looked at his daughter, seeing a different light in her. He felt both strange and gratified. He nodded. "Then we'll enlist together, father and daughter. We can look out for each other. Now that Second Young Master has a foothold in the capital, we'll ask him to help us pick a good border army—not too many tough battles, and not too hard to earn merit. But before we shed our servant status, we must never disgrace the reputation of the Li family of Dragon Spring. Even if we later truly stand on our own, we must always be grateful to the Li family..."
The girl laughed, quickly stepped forward, took her father's arm, and pulled him back toward Pillow Inn, teasing, "I know, I know. Father, since when did you become so talkative?"
Zhu He tousled his daughter's hair. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to say it anyway. "If you get a chance, apologize to Chen Ping'an. Regarding the battle on Qidun Mountain peak, no matter what the original intention was, if something was done wrong, it was wrong. So you should apologize, and you should make amends."
Zhu Lu was silent for a moment. But perhaps because she was in an excellent mood tonight, she smiled brightly. "Okay!"
---
Hongzhu Town, following Great Li's ritual system, had both a civil and a martial temple: the Wenchang Pavilion and the War Sage Temple, which respectively housed a civil official god holding a jade tablet and a martial god in armor, sword suspended, stepping on a civet cat.
The two temples were located in the southern part of town, about five or six hundred paces apart.
In the deep night, both statues trembled almost simultaneously. Dust fell from them in a shower. Pale golden ripples rippled across the surface of the statues.
At the same time, on the banks of the Xiuhua River and the Yuye River, the two river god shrines' clay-and-gold statues underwent similar phenomena.
North of Hongzhu Town, along the Qidun Mountain range, a bare-chested man carrying a wine jug and three more jugs hanging from his waist stumbled drunkenly. Though reeking of alcohol and staggering, each step covered five or six zhang. He walked over the mountain paths as if on level ground. Soon he reached the mountaintop stone platform of Qidun Mountain. He belched, then stomped heavily.
The Qidun Mountain earth god Wei Po appeared nearby.
The man glanced at the handsome young man holding a green staff and chuckled, "Congratulations. You've finally broken that spell confinement. Not only have you regained your true earth god form, but you're also poised to become a mountain god yourself. Looks like you've recently encountered a tremendous opportunity."
Wei Po's face darkened. "Speak frankly."
The man wiped his mouth and cut straight to the chase. "How strong is that swordsman named A Liang?"
Wei Po remained silent.
The man said flatly, "This is a matter of great importance. I have neither the mood nor the time to waste on you. If you don't speak, I'll smash your golden body to pieces. You won't have a chance to rise from the ashes."
Wei Po asked, "Before I answer, may I know the reason?"
The man nodded. "That man killed two of our top-tier assassins from Great Li: Li Hou, a martial artist of the seventh rank, and Hu Yinglin, an eight-layer qi refiner. Both were first-class experts under Lady Ye Zhu Ting's bureau. After learning the news, His Majesty was quite displeased. He believes this man broke the rules first, so Great Li wants to demand an explanation from him."
Wei Po's heart grew heavy.
The man's tone turned icy, and he sneered. "I advise you not to get involved. It's best if you can wash your hands of this completely. If you can't, you might go for another bath in the Chongdan River. But I'm certain that this time, no one will be willing to risk their soul's destruction to fish out your fragments from the riverbed and piece your golden body back together, then secretly bring you back to Qidun Mountain. Isn't that right, Northern Peak Main God of the Divine Water Dynasty?"
Wei Po smiled bitterly.