Chapter 70: Lake

Chapter 70: The Lake

"Clang~~ A piece of rotten jade cracked and flawed, three taels~~"

"Three taels?! I'm not pawning it!" Feeling utterly disgusted, Li Huowang grabbed the jade pendant and strode out of the pawnshop.

In the real world, this jade pendant was worth at least four hundred thousand, yet here it was only valued at three taels; this pawnshop was truly extortionate.

Stepping out the door, Li Huowang turned his head to glance back at the pawnshop's signboard. "This place is so crooked, they must have swindled a fortune. Why not just come back tonight and rob them?"

The moment this thought arose, Li Huowang's heart jolted in alarm. Clenching his fist, he punched himself hard in the face, then strode irritably toward the inn.

Back in his guest room, Li Huowang found a map and spread it out completely across the bed. Turning to Bai Lingmiao, who was sewing a drum skin nearby, he said, "Go fetch Xiao Man."

Li Huowang's finger slowly slid southward across the map. Before his death, Li Zhi had mentioned a group of nuns in black robes in the south, who might be able to resolve the Danyang Zi within him.

Now, the Danyang Zi was constantly influencing him; he had to find a way to get rid of it as soon as possible. This was more important than anything else; the Black Tai Sui and everything else would have to wait.

Li Zhi had said those nuns were barely considered good people, but Li Huowang didn't believe it. After everything he had been through, he trusted no one now.

To persuade those nuns to deal with the Danyang Zi, he would need to offer them benefits they could hardly refuse, all while ensuring his own safety.

Li Huowang's gaze fell upon the bedside, where the Heavenly Book lay next to the Lifespan Gourd. This was all the bargaining chip he had left to offer.

But that was a matter for later. Right now, the most pressing priority was to find the nuns Li Zhi had spoken of.

"Senior Brother Li, you're looking for me?" Xiao Man walked over, panting slightly. Aside from a faint redness at the corners of her eyes, her expression was completely devoid of emotion.

"Where did you just go?" Li Huowang asked.

"I went to an escort agency and gave them the farewell note I wrote in Siqi, asking them to deliver it back."

"You could have let someone else handle that. Lay low for a while so the town's constables don't cause you trouble," Li Huowang told her.

Xiao Man's eyes flickered slightly, and she calmly shook her head. "It's fine." Then she added, "My mother didn't report it to the authorities."

"Oh, then come over here and help me look at this map. You're a local, so you must know the area well, right?"

Xiao Man walked over and looked at the spot Li Huowang's finger was pointing to on the map.

"Do you know if there are any nunneries around here? The ones where they wear black."

"A nunnery? In black?" Xiao Man thought for a moment, then pointed her fuzzy finger toward a mountain in the southwest.

"It should be here, Henghua Mountain. I heard Squire Sun from town went there to worship the Golden-Bodied Bodhisattva."

"The Golden-Bodied Bodhisattva! What do you know about this nunnery?" Li Huowang gathered as much information about the place as he could.

"Not much. My family was poor, so we couldn't travel that far to burn incense and pray. I've only heard that their temple is quite prosperous."

"Hmm..." Li Huowang shook his head inwardly. That was as good as saying nothing; Zhengde Temple was just as prosperous.

"Does this nunnery have any special virtues? For instance, Zhengde Temple is known for its efficacious prayers for children."

Xiao Man thought for a long time before finally speaking. "I've only ever heard that the nuns there are all very fat."

"Very fat? How is that a special virtue?" Li Huowang pondered for a moment, then tapped the spot on the map with his hand. "Let's go. We'll head there and take a look."

Li Zhi's half a string of cash was exchanged for dry rations, fine rice noodles, and a large jar of lard. Li Huowang and his group set off for their next destination.

They were not alone; many people were traveling the same road.

From their snippets of conversation, Li Huowang gathered that these people believed war was imminent and that living on the border was unsafe, so they were heading inland to prepare for the worst.

They walked and stopped like this, and as they passed one fork in the road after another, the crowd gradually dwindled.

Just as Li Huowang thought they were about to be left alone once again, a vast expanse of water blocked their path.

A gentle breeze rippled across the water's surface, also causing the Daoist robe on Li Huowang's body to sway slightly.

"Is this the sea Second Uncle talked about?" Gouwa said in astonishment.

The vast expanse of water lay before them like a mirror between heaven and earth, stretching so far that its edges were nowhere to be seen.

Li Huowang took out the map again to check. "No, this isn't the sea. It's just a lake, a very, very large lake."

Siqi was already abundant in water, so it was not strange at all to have such a massive lake.

"Senior Brother, why is the lake water a bit black?"

The color of the lake water was somewhat dark; even standing at the edge, one could not see the bottom, naturally inspiring a sense of dread.

Li Huowang put away the map and looked at the other crowds standing by the water. "Let's wait a moment and see what they do."

When a small black dot appeared in the distance, the heads on the shore began to stir. It was a wooden boat; the people here crossed the lake by boat.

The wooden boat looked quite old, but it was also very large.

"Come, come, come! All aboard! Seventy cash per head," a boatman standing on the deck shouted to the others on the shore.

"Why seventy cash now? Last year it was only forty-six," someone on the boat complained about the price.

But the barefoot boatman didn't indulge him at all, glaring at him with angry eyes. "I'm just asking if you're riding or not. If you've got the skill, swim across yourself."

Seeing the man obediently hand over the money and back down, the smug boatman spat into the lake. "With war looming, you still have so many rules. What's wrong with me raising the price?"

"Let's go, board the boat." Li Huowang stepped forward. In an unfamiliar place like this, he wasn't afraid of the high price; he was only afraid of others harboring malicious intentions.

The boat, carrying dozens of people, began to slowly head toward the center of the lake.

Those unaccustomed to boats were prone to seasickness, but Li Huowang felt it was tolerable.

He turned his head and asked the boatman, "Boss, how long until we reach the other side?"

"Hehe, it'll take two shichen. Don't worry, we'll definitely arrive before dark."

Li Huowang nodded, watching the dark water being cleaved by the bow of the boat with vigilance.

The ink-black lake water looked deeply oppressive, as if some terrifying creature might crawl out from within.

"There shouldn't be any man-eating things in this lake, right?"

Having been through so much, Li Huowang was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow.

"What are you talking about? Those are just tales made up by idlers. I've lived on this lake for nearly twenty years, and look at me, I'm alive and well, aren't I? Rest assured, nothing will happen. I take the money, I get the job done."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's heart settled slightly.

As the boat slowly moved forward, the sun in the sky gradually slanted westward.

When the clouds in the sky were dyed red by the setting sun, the boat slowly sailed into a vast expanse of reeds.

"We should be arriving soon," Li Huowang thought to himself, looking at the reeds all around.

Just as he was thinking this, a splash sounded, and the noise of something falling into the water came from behind.

When everyone who heard the sound instinctively turned to look, they discovered that the poling boatman and the boat captain had actually vanished!

"Mother of God! They've been eaten by something in the water!!"

An unknown shout sent the dozens of people on the boat into a panic.

"Sit down! Do you want to capsize the boat?" Li Huowang's rebuke quieted the boat considerably.

He turned around and looked at his own people. "Who among you knows how to pole a boat?"

But all he received in response was a unanimous shaking of heads.

Just as Li Huowang was pondering what to do, the reeds all around began to rustle.

A handful of small wooden skiffs, bearing men, women, and children of all ages wielding blades, closed in around the great ship.

Aboard one of those skiffs, Li Huowang spotted the very skipper they had encountered but moments ago.

At that very moment, he was wielding a small dagger to shave noodles. Catching Li Huowang's gaze, he beamed and said, "Young lad, heh heh, would you care for rolling-blade noodles, or wonton noodles?"

(End of Chapter)