Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Missed

Li Yan Er finally poked her head out from Gu Shi Yi’s collar, shaking like she’d just been dragged out of a whirlpool.

“Whew… Shi Yi, that was terrifying. It felt like something heavy was pressing down on me. My whole body felt awful—like my soul was about to shoot right out of this body…”

Gu Shi Yi forced out a bitter smile. “We probably leaned in too close to watch. That man noticed us. He even looked at me before he left.” Her voice dropped without her meaning it to. “I’m just a mortal, so I could grit my teeth through it. But you’re a soul possessing a body—you can’t withstand that kind of pressure. Thankfully, he didn’t seem hostile…”

Even so, it had been only a glance, and it nearly knocked Yan Er’s soul loose. Worse, it left her with the sickening sense that she’d been seen through from the inside out.

Li Yan Er swallowed hard, still shaken. “Just one look… and he was that terrifying. So this is what cultivators in your realm are like?”

She’d heard Shi Yi talk about cultivators plenty, but tonight was the first time she’d seen them fight—seen that invisible, unspeakable pressure that came with them. In her old world, this kind of thing existed only in novels.

Li Yan Er kept marveling, but Gu Shi Yi’s worry only deepened. “Now I understand why Master flew into a rage when I touched Mystic Profundity Bright Mirror. Those five people might’ve only been the first group…”

The thought of cultivators like that coming after her in wave after wave sent a chill racing up from her soles. She thought about it for two breaths too long, and then she sneezed hard.

“A… achoo!”

She tugged at her damp clothes and told herself she needed to hurry back and change.

There was still time before dawn. She would sleep a little first, then use the female ghost’s seal to withdraw silver, then find a boat and run—fast and far—like that was the only proper way to live. Which, at the moment, it was.

They hurried back to the inn, shook the unwilling waiter awake, and demanded a huge bucket of hot water. Gu Shi Yi took a long, blissfully hot bath. When she came out, towel-drying her hair, she saw the table—

Empty.

She slapped her thigh. “Damn it! I forgot Great King!”

Hair loose and half-dried, she stormed back to the docks. The little sapling had been tossed onto the ground, mud splattered everywhere. The brand-new clay jar she’d bought was gone without a trace.

Great King saw her and immediately wailed like the world was ending. “Gu Shi Yi! Gu Shi Yi! Y-you… why did you only come now… waaaah… why did you only come now!”

Its voice was sharp enough to carry halfway down the pier.

Gu Shi Yi lunged, grabbed it, yanked her collar open, and stuffed it into her chest. “Are you trying to die? Keep it down!”

“Waaah… waaah…”

Great King seemed to remember it shouldn’t advertise its misery. It kept crying, but softer now, quivering against her. Gu Shi Yi hugged it close and crept back to the inn like a thief. Once inside, she shut the door, then finally pulled it out and set it on the table.

Great King sniffled and glared. “Gu Shi Yi… you… you left me there and didn’t care at all…”

Gu Shi Yi coughed awkwardly. “It all happened so suddenly. My brain shorted out. I forgot you for a moment. Are you… okay?”

“Okay?” Great King puffed up. “You dumped me, and then there were cultivators fighting in midair—one moment killing aura, the next sword qi. I was so scared I almost jumped into the river!”

It was a spirit creature too. How could it not be sensitive to that kind of thing?

“And that wasn’t even the worst…” Great King’s voice wobbled again. “Some old woman came out of nowhere. She saw me. She yanked me right out, threw me on the ground, and took my jar… waaah…”

A jar was a jar. New was new. Perfect was perfect. That old servant woman had actually shaken the dirt out like she was checking a sack of rice, then walked off with it!

Great King started crying again. Gu Shi Yi broke into a cold sweat and hurried to soothe it. “All right, all right. Stop, stop. Out with the old, in with the new.” She thumped her chest like she was making a sacred vow. “I, Ming Er, will buy you a new one. Porcelain. White porcelain.”

Great King hiccupped. “I… I want one with colors.”

“Fine. Painted. The fanciest painted one.”

By the time she finally calmed it down, dawn had arrived.

Gu Shi Yi glanced out the window at the brightening sky. “Well. No point sleeping now. Let’s withdraw the silver first.”

She took the ruby ring, found the money shop on the main street, and handed it over. The clerk checked a ledger and said, “Honored guest, you deposited four hundred and fifty-six taels of silver with our shop. How much would you like to withdraw?”

“Four hundred and fifty taels in banknotes. Six taels in loose silver.”

She pawned the ruby ring as well and got eighty taels. With silver in hand, she turned left, intending to hit the market for a porcelain jar—only to find the street suddenly in an uproar. Pedestrians scattered to both sides as squads of soldiers thundered past on horseback.

“What happened? What’s going on?” people called.

A passerby said, “An official arrived. The Government Office is clearing the streets and sprinkling water.”

“What official?”

“No idea… but I heard they’re sealing the docks too. No ships will be allowed to sail until the person leaves!”

The commoners of Xuan Cheng had seen this sort of thing before. If it wasn’t royalty, it was someone with real power passing through.

“Sealing the docks?” Gu Shi Yi’s heart dropped.

Who knew when that “official” would decide to go? If she stayed here one extra day, that was one extra day of danger.

She spun on her heel and ran back to the inn.

Only after she burst in did she remember she still hadn’t bought what she needed. She scanned the courtyard, spotted a chipped earthen jar in the corner, and snatched it without hesitation.

“Yan Er! Yan Er!”

Inside, Clay Doll and Great King were whispering by the window. Li Yan Er looked up. “Shi Yi, did you get the silver?”

Gu Shi Yi nodded and started packing at speed. “We need to leave. An official came to Xuan Cheng, and they say they’re sealing the docks. If we don’t go now, we might not be able to leave at all!”

She grabbed Great King and shoved it into the earthen jar.

Great King exploded. “You said painted! Why are you fooling me with a broken pot again?!”

“No choice. Emergency measures.” Gu Shi Yi didn’t even pause, hands flying. “We’re taking a boat to Twin Sages City. The market there is bigger, the goods are better. Once we get there, I’ll buy you something even better.”

Great King instantly cooled down. “You swear?”

“I swear. Now move!”

They rushed out, drove hard to the docks, and sure enough, people from the Government Office were already there. Merchants argued for a little more time, trying to unload cargo before the seal fully took effect.

Gu Shi Yi scanned the boats and picked a medium-sized merchant ship. She hurried over.

The ship was preparing to depart. The shipowner listened to her destination, looked at her cart, and hesitated. “Your cart takes up a lot of space. And your horse needs feeding. Twenty taels.”

“Twenty?!” Gu Shi Yi nearly swallowed her tongue. “That’s outrageous!”

A normal passenger to Twin Sages City paid at most two taels. Somehow she’d become ten times more expensive.

The shipowner snorted. “The Government Office is sealing the docks today. I’m hurrying back to Twin Sages City, so I didn’t load much cargo. On a normal day, even if you offered forty taels, I wouldn’t take a cart. The space it eats could hold goods.”

Annoying. Also not wrong.

Gu Shi Yi clenched her jaw. “Fine. Twenty taels it is!”

First priority: get away.

At least she’d just made a small fortune. Otherwise, she really would’ve cried blood over the price.

She drove the cart aboard, unhitched the old horse, and fed it water and fodder. Since following Gu Shi Yi, the horse had eaten well, slept well, and moved far less. It had even put on some weight, its coat looked smoother, and it no longer carried that “I might collapse any second” air.

After settling the horse, Gu Shi Yi went to her cabin. It was low and cramped, basically a bed stuffed into a box. She could turn around—barely. Still, she was pleased.

“It’s just me eating and sleeping,” she muttered. “A bigger room is just burning money.”

As she looked around, the ship shuddered. The merchant ship pulled away from the docks, slid into the river channel, and started toward Twin Sages City.

Gu Shi Yi climbed onto the deck and watched as the dock behind her was sealed by the Government Office. Only then did she let out the breath she’d been holding.

“Thank heavens… we made it out before they closed it.”

She didn’t know that the moment she left Xuan Cheng, the north gate of Xuan Cheng opened wide to welcome a convoy. The garrison commander stood at the city gate to receive them. When the carriage stopped, he hurried forward and bowed deeply.

“National Preceptor!”

From the luxurious carriage, behind low-hanging curtains, an aged yet gentle voice drifted out. “You didn’t need to come out in person, Garrison Commander. You’re too courteous.”

“Not at all! Not at all!” The garrison commander straightened, still clasping his hands. “The official station has already been prepared. Please enter the city, National Preceptor, so we may speak.”

“Good.”

The garrison commander mounted and rode ahead. The convoy followed, rolling into Xuan Cheng at an unhurried pace. Inside the carriage sat a thin old man in a Daoist robe, with three wisps of long beard under his chin. Beside him sat a young man with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes.

The young man lowered his voice. “Master… is Ninth Martial Granduncle truly nearby, around this Xuan Cheng?”

The old man nodded. “Not long ago, I sensed Mystic Profundity Bright Mirror nearby. And the place where your sister Yi Fang went missing is also around Xuan Cheng. We can search the area properly.”

At the mention of his missing sister, the young man’s worry showed. “My little sister was returning to Du Cheng to visit family when she vanished on the road. The maidservant and bodyguard traveling with her disappeared too. Our household only received a jade slip message calling for help. If her lifebound jade plaque had actually shattered instead of merely dimming, the elders would’ve believed she was dead.”

“If she isn’t dead, we can find her,” the old man said, stroking his beard. “This time you brought the three-eyed eagle your family raises. It will help.”

“I’ll take Master’s good omen,” the young man said, then added quickly, “But the sect’s affairs are more urgent. We should handle the sect’s great matter first.”

The old man smiled. “No need to rush. I traveled with such fanfare precisely to secure help from the Yue Kingdom Government Office. Once we enter the city, I’ll explain things to the garrison commander. He’ll mobilize men to search. With the three-eyed eagle assisting, both matters will be done.”

The young man frowned. “Master, no matter how many they are, they’re still mortals. How long will mortals take to find someone?”

The old man’s smile didn’t change. “Mortals have their uses. You’ll understand one day.”

“Master is right.” The young man hesitated, then asked, “Master, there is something this disciple doesn’t understand. Please grant guidance.”

“Ask.”

“You said Mystic Profundity Bright Mirror is a treasure of the immortals. Then why has our sect kept it for so many years? Our sect… our sect isn’t a cultivation sect. If it’s truly an immortal treasure, why didn’t those great cultivation sects come seize it long ago?”

The old man chuckled softly. “That begins with our sect’s founding. This realm holds many relics left behind from the Primordial Era war: the Heavenly One Sect’s Taiyi Divine Sword, the True Origin Sect’s Chaos Bowl, Liu Xian’s Immortal-Hem Skirt… Those treasures scattered after the immortals’ great battle, then were found by cultivators—sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose.”

He paused, voice mild and steady. “Our Mystic Profundity Bright Mirror is different. It once belonged to an immortal maiden. After it was lost in the war, the immortal maiden’s descendant became our Mystic Profundity Sect’s Sect-Founding Patriarch. He searched this realm for years before recovering his ancestor’s relic.”

“But Founding Patriarch did not inherit the immortal maiden’s physique,” the old man went on. “He had no spirit roots and could not cultivate immortal techniques. He turned to the secular Daoist path, hoping to use Daoist arts to grasp the great dao without spirit roots. He lived more than two hundred years and still failed.”

“Yet Founding Patriarch was a man of rare wisdom. Though he never stepped into the cultivation world, he discovered a method to drive the spirit mirror without spirit roots. Before his death, he poured his essence blood into the treasure mirror and laid a curse: none but our sect’s disciple may touch it. If anyone tries to force the treasure mirror, it will self-destruct.”

The young man’s lips parted as if to speak, then closed again.

The old man continued, unhurried. “A curse placed with a lifetime of cultivation is no trivial thing. If an immortal treasure self-destructs, it can destroy everything for hundreds of li. Over the years, sects like the Heavenly One Sect and True Origin Sect—those who know the truth—have still sent people to inquire about the mirror, but none dared act rashly. As for the sects that don’t know the details, they scatter people everywhere, searching blindly.”

The young man couldn’t help asking, “Then why doesn’t Master explain this to the other sects?”