Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Captain Yu’s Dream

The old man’s eyes cooled. He gave a short, humorless laugh. “I know what my Ninth Martial Uncle is capable of. If we relied on Mystic Profundity Sect alone to find him, it would be like fishing a needle out of the sea. All those sects have searched for more than twenty years and still haven’t found him, haven’t they?”

His tone sharpened, the gentleness stripped away. “Since he dared to steal our sect’s supreme treasure, I’m not going to let him live too comfortably. So I won’t reveal our sect’s secret to anyone.”

He sneered, then added, almost conversationally, “As far as I know, these years he’s been hiding like a rat—dodging and scrambling, never daring to stand in the light. His days haven’t been pleasant. And now? I suspect he doesn’t have long left. His power is weakening. He can’t cover up the treasure mirror’s spiritual aura anymore…”

Hmph.

After more than twenty years, it was time for that mirror to return to its rightful owner.

The old man turned and smiled at the young man again, practiced warmth settling over his features. He studied the young man’s handsome face as if he were admiring something he owned.

“Tian Er,” he said kindly, “this master will tell you a secret known only to our sect master…”

Tian Er’s eyes lit up. “Master, please speak.”

The old man nodded. “The immortal maiden ancestor of Founding Patriarch possessed the rare Heavenly Spirit Root. She left behind a mirror-driving technique that can only be cultivated after reaching Nascent Soul Stage. Only by cultivating that technique can one unleash the treasure mirror’s full power.”

His voice grew smoother, richer, like he was painting a future in gold. “And now, you are the first disciple with a Heavenly Spirit Root since our sect was founded. Once the matters here are settled, I will take you personally to seek an audience with the sect master of the Heavenly One Sect and have him accept you into their sect. From then on, you will step onto the true cultivation path.”

“With your talent, your future achievements will have no limit,” he continued. “When you reach Nascent Soul Stage, you will return, take charge of Mystic Profundity Bright Mirror, and with that treasure of the immortals, it will not be difficult for Mystic Profundity Sect to enter the cultivation world of Great Yue. You are clever as well. In time, you will surely raise our sect to glory and have your name remembered for ages.”

Tian Er was overjoyed. He hurriedly bowed. “Thank you, Master, for planning for this disciple with such care!”

The old man smiled, stroking his beard. “Good child. You are this master’s disciple—like my own son. It is only right that I plan for you. There is no need to thank me.”

While master and disciple spoke inside the carriage, the merchant ship carrying Gu Shi Yi was already ten li away from the city.

Traveling by water was always easier than traveling by road. Sitting on the boat took no real effort, yet they could cover dozens of li in a day. Gu Shi Yi spent her idle hours feeding the horse and chatting with passengers. With her sharp tongue and easy grin, she quickly blended in with everyone onboard.

By the second night, after dinner, she had already started setting up shop, reading fortunes for anyone willing to pay.

She leaned toward a sturdy deckhand and squinted as if she could read heaven’s ledger off his face. “Young fellow… look at those brows, that nose, those lips. Your features are blessed. But…”

She glanced around, then hooked a finger at him. “If you want a clearer reading, I’ll need to feel your bones.”

Before he could protest, she reached out and patted, then squeezed his chest twice, slid to his waist and belly, and then circled behind him and smacked his backside with a firm, approving thump.

“All right, all right… not bad. Not bad at all.”

She stroked her chin—where she had no beard to stroke—and smiled like a seasoned master. “You’re asking about romance, aren’t you?”

The deckhand’s face went scarlet. He scratched the back of his head and nodded. “Y-yes… hehe… yes.”

Gu Shi Yi’s smile widened. “Your love star moves next year. Next year, you must head north. Your match is in the north.”

The young fellow’s eyes went round with awe. “Master Gu is incredible. My distant cousin lives north of our village. I heard she’ll turn eighteen next year. My mother said she wanted to arrange that marriage…” He swallowed. “Does that mean… she’ll be my wife?”

Gu Shi Yi only chuckled and patted his chest again, as if blessing a fine horse. “Relax. Next year you’ll marry. The year after, you’ll be holding a son.”

“Thank you! Thank you, Master Gu!”

The young fellow fished out five copper coins, then grimaced and tried to tuck two back. Gu Shi Yi snatched the whole lot in one clean motion.

“Five coins,” she said, bright and righteous, “and I’ll add one more reading.”

She wiggled her fingers, pinching them like she was counting invisible threads. “Within the next forty-five minutes, you’ll be harmed by petty gossip and a nasty tongue. The way to protect yourself is simple—leave here immediately.”

“R-really?” The young fellow looked stunned. “It’s that accurate?”

Gu Shi Yi nodded solemnly. “If you believe me, then move.”

He hesitated.

She leaned in, lowering her voice with theatrical menace. “If you don’t go now, the petty villain will be here any second.”

The young fellow jumped up and hurried out—only to be caught the moment he stepped into the corridor.

A shrill voice snapped, “Little Seven! What are you doing hiding here and slacking off?”

Before Little Seven could speak, the person shouted toward the front deck, “Owner! Little Seven is in here slacking off!”

“I—I—I wasn’t—I…” Wang Little Seven really had snuck away to get his fortune told. He was honest to the core, and with someone yelling like that, his brain turned to paste and his mouth stopped working.

A moment later, the shipowner arrived and planted a boot squarely on his backside. “Wang Little Seven, no dinner for you tonight! Get back to work!”

The commotion moved away. Gu Shi Yi chuckled, counted the five copper coins, then tilted her head toward the back of her collar.

“Yan Er, you’re amazing. You only read that old man’s fortune book for two days, and you can already read people this accurately?”

Li Yan Er crawled out from inside Gu Shi Yi’s loose men’s clothes, looking embarrassed. “It wasn’t me. Great King heard it.”

Great King was a spirit creature. On a ship, it could hear and sense everything. By the time Little Seven slipped into Gu Shi Yi’s cabin, the shipowner outside was already looking for him.

Gu Shi Yi waved a hand, utterly unconcerned. “Calculated it, heard it—who cares? We still got five copper coins.”

Great King, who had been standing by the door like a decorative plant, twisted its body and sighed loudly. “Look at you. Scraping together a few copper coins like this, scamming money from poor people. Aren’t you ashamed?”

Gu Shi Yi tucked the coins away with great care. “You don’t understand. Even a mosquito is meat.” She grinned. “The old man taught me: when you wander the world, eat when you should, drink when you should, and never let a coin you can earn slip away. Otherwise, what do you think kept me from starving while traveling with him all these years?”

She counted off on her fingers. “Save silver. Cause fewer problems. And when something smells wrong—grease your feet and run. Three treasures. Works every time.”

Whether it was Wang Little Seven’s live demonstration or sheer desperation, the passengers truly began to believe in Master Gu’s “skill.” By dawn of the third day, someone was already pounding on her door.

“Who is it?” Gu Shi Yi mumbled, hair a mess, poking her head out from under the blanket.

Outside came the shipowner’s voice, strained and hoarse. “Master Gu! I… I have an urgent matter and need your help!”

Gu Shi Yi sat up. “All right. Wait a second.”

She threw on clothes, tied her hair in a quick knot, and dragged her cloth shoes toward the door. Li Yan Er and Great King watched with matching horror.

“Shi Yi,” Li Yan Er blurted, “put your clothes on properly!”

Gu Shi Yi glanced down at herself, then at the two conspicuous bulges she hadn’t bothered to hide properly. “Oh.”

She giggled, hefted them with both hands, and sighed with exaggerated satisfaction. “I’ve been eating well lately. I even got bigger.”

She grabbed a wide cloth band and bound herself tight, then pulled her outer clothes on properly and finally opened the door.

She’d spent too long roaming with an old Daoist priest. Any sense of “ladylike” had died somewhere along the road and never been mourned. Her posture and swagger were more manly than most men. When she dressed like a man, nobody suspected a thing—except for the obvious problem on her chest, which insisted on existing no matter how rude she was to it.

Gu Shi Yi opened the door and smiled. “Boss Yu, you’re up early. What’s so urgent? We haven’t reached Twin Sages City yet.”

Boss Yu looked like a ghost himself—dark circles, clammy skin, eyes rubbed raw. “Master Gu, I’m not up early. I haven’t slept all night.”

Gu Shi Yi blinked and looked him over. “What happened to you?”

Boss Yu sighed so hard it sounded painful. “Ever since we left the Xuan Cheng docks, I’ve been dreaming every night. Every night, the same dream. I always dream of a young lady. Master Gu… please read me. What’s wrong with me?”

Gu Shi Yi immediately put on a wicked grin and waved both hands. “That one isn’t my job. You’ve been stuck on a boat too long and you’re thinking about… that. Once we dock, Boss Yu can go find someone and solve it.”

Boss Yu turned even more miserable and frantically waved his hands. “Aiyo, Master Gu, it’s not like that! It’s not like that—listen, listen…”

It really was strange. After their ship left the Xuan Cheng docks, for several nights in a row, Boss Yu kept having the same dream. In the dream, a Red Robe woman cried to him like her heart was being torn out.

“Yu Lang… please… let me go. Let me go! I beg you, let me go!”

The first night, Boss Yu didn’t take it seriously. Then it happened again the second night. And the third. Night after night, the Red Robe woman cried until the sound felt soaked into his bones.

Last night was the worst. As she cried, blood tears streamed from her eyes. Her face swelled grotesquely, her eyes bulged out, and Boss Yu jolted awake so hard he nearly launched out of bed. He wiped cold sweat, lay there shaking for a long time, and finally dared to drift off again—only to fall straight back into that same nightmare, the woman still weeping blood and begging him to release her.

After that, he didn’t dare sleep again.

He’d endured the night sitting upright, watching the shadows move, until he remembered Wang Little Seven swearing the “customer” on the ship was a capable master. At dawn, he came straight to Gu Shi Yi.

“Master Gu,” Boss Yu pleaded, “please take a look. I… I feel like I’ve attracted something unclean.”

If it really was something unclean, he needed a way to drive it off. But the ship was already on the river. He couldn’t abandon it and go ashore. Twin Sages City was still ten days away. If he couldn’t sleep for ten days, he would die.

Gu Shi Yi’s teasing smile faded. She looked him over carefully. Between his brows, a thread of black qi lingered. She checked the corner of his eye, then had him show his palm.

Her expression turned strange. “Boss Yu… you… you really did get hit with a peach-blossom hex.”

Boss Yu’s face drained. “Then what do I do? I heard Monk Miao Lian of Guangci Temple in Twin Sages City is an eminent monk. They say he can shine Buddhist light everywhere. Once that light shines, no evil thing can hide. But we’re still ten days from Twin Sages City! How am I supposed to endure these ten days?”

Gu Shi Yi made a calming gesture. “Boss Yu, don’t panic. First tell me what you did in Xuan Cheng. I’m guessing you picked this up there.”

She didn’t add the obvious second half out loud: you probably broke some girl’s heart, and now she was clinging to you like a burr.

Boss Yu lowered his head, thinking hard. “I didn’t do anything. I just delivered a batch of goods to Xuan Cheng, then picked up a batch of tea in Xuan Cheng. The cargo was a bit light, so I planned to wait…”

His voice stalled. His expression stiffened.

Gu Shi Yi watched him like a cat watching a mouse. “Well? Remembered something?”

Boss Yu’s face twisted. After a long pause, he stammered, “B-but I… I only stayed two nights on a flower boat…”

Gu Shi Yi’s brows lifted. “Oh? So that’s where you picked it up.”

Boss Yu shook his head quickly. “No, no, I didn’t provoke anyone. It was business socializing. I invited two familiar customers to drink.”

He hesitated, then said more quietly, “Before, I was too scared to look closely at her face in the dream. But now that I think about it… that Red Robe woman—wasn’t she the flower boat’s hua kui? She’s expensive. One night costs eighty or a hundred taels. I’m just a small merchant. One trip doesn’t earn much, and I still have a family to feed…”

“Hua kui,” Gu Shi Yi repeated, unease crawling up her spine. “Red robe…”

Boss Yu hurried on, as if speed could outrun bad luck. “Those two nights, I only watched the singing and dancing, tipped some silver, and she came over, toasted me, and said a couple of words. That’s all.”

Then he seemed to remember something and his face went even paler. “That night, the flower boat caught fire. Later I heard the boat burned, but everyone was fine… except she was missing.”

Gu Shi Yi’s expression snapped tight. “Missing? What do you mean, missing?”

Boss Yu shook his head. “I don’t know. I only heard the madam say they counted everyone afterward. The young lady, the house guards, the servants—everyone was there. Only she was gone. They thought she burned to death on the boat, but two young ladies said they jumped into the river with her from the third deck. They were rescued, but after that they never saw her again…”

The more he spoke, the deeper Gu Shi Yi’s frown grew, until it knotted. She remembered clearly: she had helped that woman up to the third deck herself. Even if Gu Shi Yi jumped first, there had already been plenty of boats rushing in to rescue people. How could that woman simply vanish?

Gu Shi Yi’s voice went low. “Boss Yu… what did she say to you in the dream?”

Boss Yu swallowed. “She just kept telling me to let her go. I… I didn’t do anything to her. I only saw her twice. And when the fire started, I wasn’t even on that boat. How… how did this end up being my problem?”

Captain Yu couldn’t make any sense of it.