Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Easy Silver

As the words spilled out, bloody tears streaked down Captain Yu’s face. Gu Shi Yi watched his features begin to warp—skin pulling tight, expression twisting into something no longer human. His pupils flared red, and a thin thread of black qi seeped from his nose and mouth like smoke.

Gu Shi Yi frowned. “That resentment is too heavy. You’re about to turn into a vengeful ghost.”

The peachwood sword in her hand snapped out with a sharp whoosh.

Smack.

A clean red line appeared across Captain Yu’s cheek, as if he’d been cut by a blade. He clutched his face, eyes flashing with fear, fury, and hate all tangled together.

Gu Shi Yi’s voice went icy. “If you have a grievance, go to the Underworld Court and file it properly. Don’t come here to harm the living. Leave now, and you’ll still have a chance to reincarnate. Refuse, and I’ll scatter your soul on the spot so you’ll never be reborn.”

Captain Yu’s facial muscles twitched. Those red eyes still glared at her, dripping poison.

Gu Shi Yi didn’t waste another breath.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

She went left and right with the peachwood sword like she was swatting a fly, beating Captain Yu’s cheeks until they swelled high and red. His mouth opened in a stream of shrill, miserable screams.

Finally, Gu Shi Yi pointed the sword straight at him. “One more time. Are you leaving or not?”

Captain Yu covered his face with both hands, trembling. He shook for a long moment, then his eyes rolled back and his body went limp, collapsing onto the deck.

A strand of black qi shot out of him and plunged back into the woman’s corpse.

Gu Shi Yi gave a satisfied huff. She slapped a fresh talisman onto the corpse’s forehead, then walked to Captain Yu, lifted his discarded shoe, and pressed it firmly over his mouth and nose.

“Mmph!”

Captain Yu’s eyes flew open. He flailed, choking on outrage and air, and shoved the shoe away, clutching his throat with a face full of misery.

“Gu… Master Gu… what is that?”

Gu Shi Yi smiled sweetly. “Your own shoe, and you’re disgusted? It’s fine. The matter’s settled. In a bit we’ll dock somewhere and bury the body.”

Captain Yu nodded furiously, then winced as his face pulled. His cheeks were swollen like steamed buns, red and frightening.

“Master Gu, my face… what happened to my face?”

Gu Shi Yi kept the same sweet smile. “Nothing serious. That female ghost didn’t want to go quietly and gave you a few slaps. But you’ll still need medicine. If ghost qi gets into your body, there’ll be trouble later.”

Captain Yu went pale. “Th-then what do I do?”

Gu Shi Yi produced a small bottle like a magician revealing the final trick. “Boss Yu, don’t panic. This is my Master’s secret medicine—treats cuts, bruises, and also drives off yin and disperses evil. Don’t let the bottle fool you. The ingredients are real. Outside, it goes for ten taels a bottle.”

Captain Yu’s eyes widened with suspicion.

Gu Shi Yi added smoothly, “Try it. If it doesn’t work, I won’t charge you.”

Before he could answer, she popped the lid, poured out a little powder, and rubbed it onto his cheeks.

For all his flaws—lecherous, greedy, and shameless to the bone—Old Daoist Priest’s medicine really was the real deal. Within a few breaths, Captain Yu felt a coolness spread across his skin. The burning eased. The tight pain loosened.

His expression flipped from terror to amazement. “Thank you, Master Gu! Thank you!”

Gu Shi Yi waved a hand. “No need to thank me. Just remember to pay silver.”

Captain Yu nodded like his life depended on it. “Of course! Absolutely!”

An expert like this was the sort you neither trusted blindly nor dared offend. Besides, she really had solved his problem. The silver should be paid.

In the end, Captain Yu offered fifty taels as thanks, plus ten taels for the medicine. Sixty taels in total.

Li Yan Er and Great King stared at the money and sighed.

“Just like that… sixty taels?”

Gu Shi Yi smiled smugly. “Naturally. Who do you think I am?”

Great King’s branches shook as it clicked its tongue. “Captain Yu is unlucky. If you hadn’t shoved yourself into this, Qiao Qiao wouldn’t have died. If she didn’t die, she wouldn’t haunt Captain Yu. In the end, Captain Yu gets beaten by you and still hands you sixty taels. Truly—sold out and still counting the money for the seller.”

Gu Shi Yi lifted one finger and wagged it, putting on a deep, mysterious air. “No, no, no. Wrong.” She sighed dramatically. “Today’s fruit comes from yesterday’s cause. Karma, you see. Everything is fate.”

“Pah!” Great King dripped disdain.

Only Li Yan Er looked worried. “You said Qiao Qiao was about to turn into a vengeful ghost. What if she comes back to haunt Captain Yu?”

Gu Shi Yi slapped her chest. “Relax. When you take silver, you keep your word. I took his fifty taels. After-sales service is included.”

A few li later, the boat reached a small town. Gu Shi Yi made Captain Yu personally buy a good coffin, then had Qiao Qiao’s corpse placed inside. They carried it outside the town and chose a small hillside with decent feng shui.

While people dug, Gu Shi Yi changed into a Daoist robe. She chanted scriptures, burned paper offerings, and performed the rite with impressive seriousness. Once the coffin was buried, she sent everyone away and spoke toward the fresh mound.

“You have a coffin. You have a grave. I’ve already filed your case with King Yama at the Underworld Court.” Her voice sharpened. “Tonight at midnight, an underworld constable will come to escort you there. Whatever grudges you have will be judged properly. If you still refuse to let go and keep clinging to the living, don’t blame me for being rude. I’ll scatter your soul so you’ll never be reborn. Forget glory and wealth—you won’t even have the chance to be a pig or a dog.”

To emphasize her point, she flourished the peachwood sword in a neat, showy arc. Then she pointed at the mound.

A thin blade of sword qi burst from the tip and shaved a little peak off the fresh earth.

Only then did Gu Shi Yi grin, sheath the sword, and lead everyone away.

After that, the journey truly went smoothly. Nothing strange happened again. Because of the incident, Captain Yu even upgraded their cabin, moving Gu Shi Yi upstairs into a larger room beside his own. The passengers and deckhands treated her like a living legend. She cast one divination after another—whether they were accurate was anyone’s guess, but her purse certainly grew heavier. And Li Yan Er’s skill at divination improved by the day.

On the day they were nearing Twin Sages City, the river grew crowded with boats. So crowded it backed up into a full blockage. Their boat waited outside the city for most of the day; by the time the sky darkened, they still hadn’t entered.

Li Yan Er and Great King leaned on the window, staring at the packed boats and the lanterns glittering across the water in a long, endless line.

Li Yan Er sighed. “I thought only our world had traffic jams. I didn’t know you could jam boats too.”

Gu Shi Yi was meditating on the bed. She opened her eyes, amused. “What’s so strange? You’ve never seen Sea-Watch City. Sea-Watch City is more than ten times bigger than Twin Sages City, and the roads are twice as wide as this river.”

She tilted her head, thinking. “It’s about… thirty-two lanes, like your world.”

Li Yan Er’s mouth dropped open. Then she remembered her clay body and hurriedly held her own jaw up.

“Thirty-two lanes and it still jams? How many people live there?”

Gu Shi Yi considered. “Four or five Shanghais’ worth, at least.”

Li Yan Er stared as if she’d just been told the sky had a price tag. “That big?”

Gu Shi Yi nodded. “Super, super big. Cultivators and worldly mortals live together there, right beside the Illusory Sea. When I was sixteen, I stayed there for two years with Old Daoist Priest. But he said there were too many experts. He was afraid we’d get discovered if we stayed too long, so we ran.”

In truth, those two years were the poorest they’d ever been. In a city that huge, everything cost money—food, lodging, travel. Old Daoist Priest was terrified of being found out and didn’t dare scam people openly, so he could only dig into his savings to keep them alive. After two years, he couldn’t endure it anymore and dragged Gu Shi Yi out.

Li Yan Er’s eyes shone. Great King’s twig-tip wiggled with longing. “If we ever get the chance, we should go see it!”

Gu Shi Yi immediately clutched her purse in spirit. “Both of you, stop. Unless I strike it rich one day, I’m not stepping into that place without at least a hundred thousand taels.”

Li Yan Er and Great King looked at each other, then said in unison, “Save money! Starting today, we earn like crazy and save it!”

Gu Shi Yi snickered. “And earlier, who was it that said I earn dirty money?”

Li Yan Er turned a meaningful look at Great King. Great King twisted away, pretending to admire the view outside.

Gu Shi Yi laughed, about to tease it more, when someone knocked.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Master Gu, are you in?”

Gu Shi Yi glanced at Li Yan Er and Great King—one hurried to hide, the other straightened—and called, “Come in.”

The door opened. Captain Yu stepped inside, smiling.

“Master Gu, our boat finally has a number. We’ll enter the city soon. I came to ask—where do you plan to stay in Twin Sages City? Do you need someone to guide you, or arrange food and lodging?”

He’d watched her cast readings all the way here. Whether coincidence or skill, they always seemed to land. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe blindly, but he also wasn’t foolish enough to offend.

Gu Shi Yi thought for a moment, then smiled. “To be honest, Captain Yu, I haven’t planned anything. I roam the four seas, walking the jianghu and slaying demons and devils. Wherever I arrive, that’s where I rest.”

Captain Yu looked even more respectful. “If that’s the case, then even better. A master like you is someone we can’t invite even if we try. Since we’ve reached Twin Sages City, why don’t you stay at my home? Let me do my duty as a host.”

Gu Shi Yi’s heart did a quick calculation. Free food, free lodging, no silver spent—perfect.

Then she thought of Yan Er, Great King, and the faint possibility of pursuers behind her. Saving silver was one thing; dragging an innocent family into danger was another.

She waved a hand and sighed like a hermit. “I cultivate in seclusion. I don’t take in worldly smoke. If it weren’t for that female ghost, I wouldn’t have met you at all. Now our connection has reached its end. When it’s time to part, we part. Don’t force it. Don’t force it.”

Captain Yu straightened as if he’d just witnessed enlightenment. “Master Gu truly is an expert!”

When the merchant boat finally entered Twin Sages City, Gu Shi Yi hired a carriage and left the ship with her companions. After waving goodbye, the carriage rolled straight into the city’s roaring traffic.

It was past midnight, yet the streets were still crowded—carriages clattering, people flowing like water, lantern light everywhere.

Li Yan Er leaned close and asked, “Shi Yi, where are we going?”

Gu Shi Yi yawned and said, “First, an inn. We’ll stay here two days, then keep moving.”

Following her usual habits, she wandered the city for half the night before finding an inn that was small, shabby, and old. She argued the price down with the shopkeeper until she was satisfied, then checked in. The room was tiny, and because it was cheap, she had to feed the horse herself.

For once, Great King didn’t complain. It only muttered about saving money so they could someday see Sea-Watch City.

They checked in so late that after Gu Shi Yi meditated, dawn was already smearing the sky. She collapsed into bed and slept straight through to evening. Only then did she wash up and head to the inn’s main hall for food—and, just as importantly, gossip.

That was when she heard a piece of news big enough to make the whole room buzz.

“Have you heard? The Yin family in Twin Sages City is recruiting a groom!”

“Recruiting a groom?”

“Yes! The Yin family’s Eldest Miss is twenty this year—beautiful enough to shame the moon and sink the fish. And I heard she has a water spirit root. She cultivates up in Twin Sages Mountain. She’s already at mid Foundation Establishment Stage, but her technique hit a bottleneck. She needs a dual-cultivation Dao Companion to break through, so she came down the mountain to recruit a husband!”

Someone scoffed. “If she’s recruiting a husband, she’ll recruit a man who cultivates. What does that have to do with us? We can only watch the excitement.”

“No, no, no—you’ve got it wrong.” The speaker leaned in, face full of secrets. “Her technique is special. The man who becomes her Dao Companion needs a special physique. It doesn’t matter if he’s a cultivator or a mortal. If he fits, he fits.”

The room’s interest flared at once.

“What kind of physique?”

“That, I don’t know,” the man admitted, shaking his head. “But I heard it’s one in ten thousand among men…”

The crowd groaned and jeered. “One in ten thousand? Then for us mortals, isn’t that still no chance?”

The man waved his hands. “What do you know? Sure, it’s one in ten thousand, and only the Yin family can test it. But I heard this—anyone who goes to be tested gets a gift. At least two taels of silver, and if you’re lucky, pearls and jade. Why not go try? Even if you can’t become the Eldest Miss’s dual-cultivation partner, a few taels of silver is still silver!”

Worst case, they poke and prod you a bit. A grown man’s not exactly getting taken advantage of.