In the morning following the great storm, a thick mist rose over Yellow Mud Bay.
The fog drifted in from the heart of the lake, gathering near the shore. The burgeoning light of dawn rendered the surroundings as murky as the churned waters of the river bend, where scattered branches and debris from the previous night’s gale could be seen bobbing on the surface.
These were the scars left by the storm's rampage.
However, for the fishmongers long accustomed to braving wind and waves, such a sight was hardly rare. They went about their business, tidying their wares and preparing to queue for entry into the city.
Normally at this hour, the small boats laden with fresh river catches would have already formed a long dragon in the darkness at the river’s mouth, waiting for the city gates to open so they could surge inside. But today, for reasons unknown, a massive vessel lay athwart the narrowest point of the estuary, perfectly sealing off the passage into the Li River.
The ship stood as tall as a two or three-story building, its hull adorned with exquisite decorations—clearly a plaything for the wealthy. The fishmongers, wary of offending someone powerful, held their tongues for a long while. But as the hour for entering the city drew near and the great ship remained motionless with no sign of life on board, their patience began to fray.
Resentment mounted as more small boats crowded into the channel, and the vendors began to huddle and whisper.
"Whose ship is that? Even if they're here for the festivities, they can't just block the middle of the road like this."
A worker from a nearby dark tea stall, having nothing better to do, shook his head with a different perspective.
"That 'Sword Appreciation Assembly' is already over. Besides, why would the truly wealthy come to this stinking place to join the fray? I heard they all gathered by the Stone Boat on the first day."
Hearing this, a fisherwoman named Lady Xu rolled up her sleeves and stood at the prow of her boat, cursing roundly.
"I don't care who they are! Even a good dog doesn't block the path. It's early morning—are they going to let us do business or not?"
A boatwoman on a neighboring vessel stepped onto her own canopy and peered toward the large ship.
"Lady Xu, don't lose your temper just yet. I see that despite all our shouting, there’s no movement inside. Could it be that there’s no one on that ship at all?"
At Lady Xu’s words, the crowd nodded in agreement.
"If that’s the case, why are we still waiting? Let’s go up and have a look!"
Lady Xu took the lead, with a few others following tentatively behind. At first, they were hesitant, but curiosity about what a rich man’s ship might hold eventually won out. Within a few steps, they were all craning their necks to see.
Strangely, the ship was not moored at the pier, nor was anyone seen entering or exiting, yet a rope ladder and a gangplank had been lowered along its side. The group boarded the deck without much effort. After circling around and confirming the absence of any crew, they entered the main cabin on the first level.
The interior was even more beautiful than the exterior suggested, filled with a riot of reds and greens that somehow avoided looking gaudy. Several pillars entwined with fresh flowers stood around the room, with veils of light silk fluttering between them in the breeze. A faint fragrance lingered in the air, a scent that teased the senses.
As the crowd looked around, someone suddenly asked, "I heard that these past few days, the martial arts folk have been gathering on Lixin Lake, and at night they frequent 'flower boats.' Could this be one of those?"
The man beside him was skeptical. "If it’s a flower boat, where are the beautiful dancers?"
"It’s broad daylight! When have you ever seen a flower boat doing business at this hour?"
The crowd erupted in laughter.
Just then, someone poked their head out from the group and spotted something sitting on a platform in the center of the cabin.
"No ladies, but there’s a treasure chest!"
The speaker was known as Old Man Liu, a man notorious for stirring up trouble and seeking petty advantages.
Lady Xu, who had been the first to board, gave a cold snort. "It’s one thing for you to be a scoundrel, but don't drag us down with you. The priority is to report this to the officials and have them move this ship immediately."
Old Man Liu, priding himself on a reckless sort of courage, found his temper rising. He hopped onto the wooden platform with a thud.
"What does a woman like you know? The owner is missing, there isn't a ghost on board—who’s to say who this chest belongs to? I reckon some family left it behind in their haste. Finders keepers! Anyone who’s too cowardly can just admit it, but don't stand in the way of others making a fortune!"
At his instigation, several other men began to grow restless. They crowded around, urging Old Man Liu to stop talking and open the chest to see what was inside.
Under their prodding, Old Man Liu hitched up his belt and strode toward the chest. Up close, he realized the chest had no lock; it was simply shut tight, with not even a crack visible along its edges.
He spat into his palms, rubbed them together, and began to feel around the sides of the chest. But the moment his hands touched the surface, he recoiled with a sharp cry of surprise.
The onlookers stood on their tiptoes, asking what was wrong.
Old Man Liu suppressed his unease and touched the chest again, his face filled with disbelief. "The seams of this chest have been sealed with ice."
"Ice? In this heat, where would ice come from?"
The spectators shook their heads in doubt. Old Man Liu held out his hands, his voice gruff. "Look at the water on my hands! Would I lie to you?"
The crowd looked and saw that his palms were indeed wet. Upon closer inspection, a dark ring of moisture surrounded the base of the chest, as if ice had recently melted there.
Jiugao was not the most affluent part of Longshu. Even the wealthy families in the city might not afford ice in the summer. The onlookers grew even more curious about the contents of the chest, yet a faint sense of dread began to take root.
"Maybe we should just leave it..."
But humans are often like that. The more they are told not to do something, the more they want to do it; the harder something is to open, the more they want to see inside.
Moreover, Old Man Liu had already climbed onto the platform; he was riding a tiger and could not dismount. Determined to turn the chest inside out, he pulled a fish-gutting knife from his belt. Finding the seam of the chest, he jammed the tip of the blade in, sank his wrist, and pried with all his might.
With a sharp *creak*, the copper chest cracked open.
****** ****** ******
By the time Qin Jiuye reached Yellow Mud Bay at a full gallop, the morning mist over the lake had not yet fully dissipated.
Lu Zican’s little white horse ran faster and faster. Perhaps because it was used to carrying Lu Zican’s burly frame, it felt particularly spirited today with Qin Jiuye’s slight weight on its back.
At first, she had been very nervous, her hands gripping the reins tight and her legs stiff. In less than half an hour, her seat was aching, and her lower back felt like it was breaking.
But she couldn't afford to worry about her backside. Along the way, she constantly calculated her route.
Shortly after settling in Dingweng Village, she had ambitiously expanded her business. Whenever she had time, she would shoulder her medicine chest and take Jinbao with her to practice medicine in the various villages outside the city. Over the years, she had built a reputation and a loyal clientele. Although she no longer needed to make these rounds personally in the last year or two, the paths she had traveled as an itinerant healer were etched into her mind. She remembered the piers, the waterways, the main roads, and even the hidden shortcuts quite clearly.
There were four major and minor piers near Lixin Lake.
The largest was the Lishui Pier outside the East He Gate. It was a government-run pier that led directly into Jiugao City. Countless ships of all sizes docked there, and it was a bustling hub for travelers, constantly patrolled by officials. Of the remaining three, one was called Pingjin Wharf, located south of the Li River. It served both government and commercial interests and could accommodate large, fully-laden cargo ships. Occasionally, pleasure boats would dock nearby; it was from that pier that she had boarded the flower boat and secretly observed Qiu Ling and the others. Another was further south, near the Stone Boat on Mingde Avenue. It had been a ferry crossing in ancient times, but it had fallen into disrepair and was choked with silt. These past few days, it had been crowded with spectators for the Sword Appreciation Assembly, but normally it was the quietest spot.
The final one was Yellow Mud Bay, where she had encountered Qin Sanyou and reunited with Qiu Ling yesterday.
The Li River curved into a bay here before flowing straight into Jiugao City, passing through several of the busiest streets. The banks were lined with restaurants and residences. If one entered the city from here early in the morning, their fresh fish would be sold out before they even made a full circuit.
Qin Jiuye gently tugged the reins, and the white horse slowed its pace.
Baisha Inlet was south of Lishui Pier. Whether Qiu Ling and Lu Zican were going to that pier to requisition men or heading for the East He Gate to return to the city, they would have to gallop north. But when she left, she had chosen to head south along the lakeshore without much hesitation.
She did this not only to avoid Qiu Ling but also because of other considerations.
To avoid the people from the World’s Greatest Villa, she, Qiu Ling, and Seventh Aunt had chosen to leave Qionghu Island from the northeast. While this avoided a head-on encounter with the main forces of the various sects, it also meant they landed further north. Most of the sects had landed on the southeast side of the island, and according to Seventh Aunt, the chaos surrounding the stolen saber had also occurred in the south. Therefore, she reasoned that whether Li Qiao was fleeing to the nearest shore or slipping away with a fleet, his evacuation route was likely to her south.
The only landing spots south of Baisha Inlet were Yellow Mud Bay, Pingjin Wharf, and the long-abandoned Stone Boat area.
These three locations would be the focus of her search, though she didn't dare completely overlook the small bays and shallows along the shore where a boat might be hidden. She kept a close watch along the way but found nothing.
Perhaps because the "Yellow Maidens" had already returned home, Yellow Mud Bay looked significantly more deserted today than it had yesterday. Aside from a few scattered empty boats, there were hardly any fishermen or boatwomen to be seen.
Then, she saw the great ship.
It wasn't docked at the pier but was drifting at the mouth of the channel. Strangely, an anchor had been dropped from the stern, suggesting it wasn't planning to leave.
After everything she had seen and heard lately, Qin Jiuye had developed a keen eye. She could tell at a glance that this ship was different from ordinary merchant or cargo vessels. She couldn't quite put her finger on why; it looked somewhat like the pleasure boats she’d seen at night, yet also like the vessels used by the martial sects.
Qin Jiuye observed for a moment. Seeing no movement on board, she dismounted and walked toward the ship.
She tried to lead the horse to the shore, but the little white horse, which had been so obedient throughout the journey, suddenly refused to budge. It planted its four hooves firmly in the ground, and Qin Jiuye was no match for its strength.
After a brief standoff, Qin Jiuye admitted defeat. She found a nearby willow tree to tether the horse. After walking a few steps away, she turned back uneasily to instruct it.
"Don't go anywhere. Wait for me here."
The little horse tossed its head, though whether it understood was anyone's guess.
Qin Jiuye sighed and wasted no more time, hurrying toward the large ship.
The rope ladder on the side was still there. Having gained experience boarding the ships of the Autumn Mountain Sect and the Outer Observation Sect, she used a nearby fishing boat to get close and climbed onto the deck with little trouble. The deck was empty, but she could vaguely see several crooked footprints leading toward the cabin.
Qin Jiuye cautiously approached the closed cabin door, straining her ears for any sound from within.
The cabin was silent. There was no music or singing from dancers, nor the loud drinking and talking of martial artists.
She suddenly remembered what that Mr. Ding had said: the dancers and performers on the flower boats were all people who had made mistakes at the Villa. Although she didn't truly understand the daily life of an assassin, it wasn't hard to guess that "making a mistake" meant failing a mission. Desertion was an even greater crime, which was why Li Qiao had struggled to survive alone for so long.
If his mission had failed, if he had been captured on Qionghu Island or discovered on some ship, would he have been blinded, had his tongue cut out, his hearing poisoned, or his fingers severed, only to be exiled to a flower boat to fend for himself?
The shadows left by the strange room in the Su Manor still haunted her memory, but Qin Jiuye took a deep breath and leaned toward the crack in the cabin door to peer inside.
The light inside was dim. She could vaguely see ornate decorations and fluttering silk veils. Between the shifting silks, a chest sat in the middle of the floor.
It was a copper chest, its lid already open. The floor around it shimmered, seemingly covered in a pool of water.
Qin Jiuye squinted for a moment, and the chest suddenly looked familiar.
She had seen a similar chest half a month ago at the Treasure Mirage Pavilion.
On that day, the final item to be presented—rumored to be a relic of Yuan Shuqing—was a chest just like this. However, that chest had been much smaller, while the one before her was nearly half the height of a person.
Why was a large, empty chest left in the cabin? Where were its contents? And why was there water on the floor?
When Qiu Ling had searched the Outer Observation Sect’s ship, he had found traces of heavy objects being stored in the hold. It couldn't be such a coincidence...
No, it wasn't a coincidence.
The unease in Qin Jiuye’s heart intensified. Before she could observe further, a draft blew through the cabin, carrying a faint, lingering scent of brine.
The smell wasn't strong, and an ordinary person might have confused it with the fishy smell of the surrounding river. But Qin Jiuye knew better. That wasn't the smell of water; it was the smell of blood.
Blood had already been spilled on this ship.
A cool breeze blew from the lake, turning the ship from a horizontal to a vertical position. The mist thinned slightly, and the last few fishing boats in the channel took the opportunity to leave. Qin Jiuye wiped the sweat from her hands, took the hairpin from her hair, and inserted it into the door crack. She carefully slid back the internal bolt and slipped into the cabin. She found a hiding spot and watched for a moment. Once she was sure it was safe, she prepared to approach the chest. Suddenly, a dull thud echoed from behind the wooden planks.
Qin Jiuye jumped, ducking back into the shadows as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
There was indeed someone else on this ship.
She turned to look at the small wooden staircase leading to the second floor. Her gaze lingered for a moment before stopping on the pillar closest to the stairs.
A hint of red showed through the clusters of fresh flowers on the pillar. At first glance, it looked like a few red blossoms among the pink and white, but a closer look revealed it was half a bloody handprint, smeared crookedly halfway up the pillar. The blood was not yet dry.
*Thud.*
The muffled sound echoed again through the wood.
Qin Jiuye turned her head and looked up. She knew she hadn't misheard. The sound wasn't coming from her level; it was coming from the floor above.
The narrow wooden staircase stretched upward into the darkness, looking deep and unpredictable.
Qin Jiuye felt that perhaps she should leave the ship for now and find another way.
However, at that moment, a faint, damp scent reached her nose, and along with it, a trace of a subtle minty fragrance.
It was the scent of the mint balm from Guoran Ju.
The wind couldn't reach the cramped, winding staircase, allowing the mint scent to linger. This meant that the person who had applied the balm had been here no more than fifteen minutes ago.
Qin Jiuye’s heart skipped a beat. Her feet, which had been ready to flee, froze in place.
She had already left him once on Qionghu Island. Was she going to leave him again? Just one look. She would just take one look. Once she confirmed it, she would leave.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped onto the wooden stairs leading to the top floor, groping her way toward the pitch-black second level.
The small ventilation windows above had been shuttered from the outside. A sliver of morning light filtered through the cracks, faintly illuminating a trail of crooked, muddy footprints on the wooden stairs.
The footprints were very strange. At a glance, there were only prints from a right foot; the left was nowhere to be seen.
Qin Jiuye felt a surge of apprehension.
*Half a person?*
She found her own bizarre thought ridiculous. She followed the footprints to the entrance of the second floor. The familiar carved floor-to-ceiling folding doors were right in front of her. A gap remained between the doors, through which she could see a corridor stretching into the darkness. The performers in their masks and costumes were gone. The colorful ribbons that should have fluttered in the wind now hung lifelessly, and the bells attached to them were silent. There was an invisible, intangible aura of danger in the air.
Qin Jiuye crouched down. Relying on her small stature, she slipped through the half-open doors.
The windows and doors were all tightly shut, making the air as still as a deep well. It was stifling, and the smell of blood was even stronger here. After crawling forward a few steps, she felt she could hardly breathe. She was light, which gave her an advantage on the creaking floorboards, but she lacked the profound martial skills of the dancers. Despite her extreme caution, every five or six steps still produced a tiny sound.
In normal times, such a noise would never be noticed, but in this airtight space, even the drop of a needle would likely be heard clearly. It was terrifying.
The footprints on the floor were becoming increasingly blurred. She stopped and found a high-waisted incense table in the corner to crawl under. Then, remembering something, she pulled the copper mirror from her waist, wiped it with her sleeve, and carefully extended it past the corner of the wall.
One side of the corridor seemed to be a row of dark, empty rooms, similar to the private booths on the flower boat she had visited before. The entrances had no full doors, only heavy curtains hanging as barriers.
She wasn't sure if it was a hallucination born of her extreme tension, but the curtains reflected in the copper mirror seemed to be moving without any wind. In the next instant, a pair of bloody, bare feet flashed past the gap at the bottom of the curtains, moving as fast as a ghost.
Qin Jiuye gasped, nearly dropping the mirror.
She hurriedly steadied her hands and tried to tilt the mirror to look back at the curtains, but she saw nothing.
This was a nightmare.
Meeting a tiger in the deep mountains was one thing; seeing it and then having it suddenly vanish was far more terrifying.
Qin Jiuye withdrew her hand, gripping the copper mirror with both hands as she began to deduce the situation.
Though it was only a fleeting glimpse, she could draw two rough conclusions. First, those were not Li Qiao’s feet, nor were they likely the feet of the pursuers from the World’s Greatest Villa. No matter how eccentric a martial artist might be, they wouldn't go on an assassination mission barefoot.
Second, while they weren't the feet of a pursuer, the reality might be even worse.
She recalled her dealings with He Yuanzhou.
He Yuanzhou had been barefoot when she was locked in the iron cage, but her clothes had been intact, and the fabric and craftsmanship were very respectable, indicating that no one in the Su Manor dared to neglect her. Thinking back, the reason He Yuanzhou had been barefoot was likely because of the "Secret Formula." Like the obvious lesions on the face, the feet of patients infected by the formula would also undergo changes—the flesh would swell, the nail beds would crack, and the tips of the toes would become coarse and sharp, making it impossible to wear ordinary shoes or boots.
*Click-clack-clack.*
A hair-raising sound echoed at the end of the corridor, instantly transporting Qin Jiuye back to the shadow-haunted, ghost-filled courtyards of the Su Manor.
If the feet hadn't been enough to confirm her suspicions, this familiar sound of grinding teeth left no room for doubt.
*Click, click-clack.*
The eerie sound rose again, this time only three or five paces away.
Qin Jiuye held her breath, not daring to make a sound. She could only roll her eyes, shifting her gaze to the floor beside her.
The sound of nails scratching against the wooden boards screeched. The silhouette of a shadow slowly took shape in the darkness, carrying a heavy scent of blood. It lingered beside her for a moment before suddenly vanishing.
In the next instant, the four legs of the incense table shuddered. Then, everything stopped. The clicking sound ceased abruptly.
A foul, bloody stench hit her face. Something hung down in front of her, light and airy, tickling her nose.
Qin Jiuye blinked, her vision finally focusing on what was before her.
It was a lock of hair—human hair, matted with blood.
She rolled her eyes upward and saw a head with disheveled hair hanging just above the incense table. The head turned slowly, as if trying to distinguish the sounds and scents of its surroundings. A moment later, with the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor, a shadow leaped from the table and headed toward the private booth across the corridor.
This time, Qin Jiuye finally saw it clearly.
It was a person in blood-stained clothes, moving on all fours. Or rather, it was a "monster" in human skin, possessing a human shape.
The creature moved quickly, vanishing from her sight in the blink of an eye. She wasn't sure if it had truly left, so she didn't dare move. She kept her nose alert for the scent of blood while straining her ears for any sound.
Sure enough, before long, the clicking sound returned, this time seemingly from a higher position.
Qin Jiuye tilted her copper mirror and finally spotted the figure high up near the ceiling. The "monster" was currently clinging with all four limbs, hanging upside down from a lotus-shaped decoration made of colorful ribbons. Its blood-stained body blended with the vibrant ribbons, reminiscent of the red lotus blossoms in the heat of a bloody pool.
For some reason, she felt the blood-stained clothes on the "monster" looked familiar.
In the next moment, the disheveled figure slowly turned its head, and Qin Jiuye’s gaze froze completely.
That was no monster; it was clearly the sword-dancing youth she had seen on the flower boat that night.
There should have been a wound on his neck deep enough to show the bone, but it had now knotted and healed, though it still looked hideous—like a mass of mangled flesh. Crimson liquid dripped from his mouth, and a dark clump was caught between his teeth. After a moment, she realized it was a clump of hair.
Bells were attached to that hair, but because they were soaked in thick blood, they could no longer produce a crisp sound.
The last time she had seen such bells was on the performers of the flower boat.
The scene of the dancers spinning and ringing their golden bells was fresh in her mind. Yet, only two days later, that beautiful body had been turned into a pile of flesh and blood, almost entirely devoured. What remained was caught in the "monster's" mouth, the soul unable to utter even a faint, muffled cry of grief.
For a moment, Qin Jiuye felt her heart stop beating.
Nausea and terror, mixed with a sense of suffocation, overwhelmed her. Just as she could no longer hold it and was about to exhale the stale air trapped in her lungs, the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor echoed from across the corridor.
It seemed to be a boot thrown from somewhere. Qin Jiuye didn't have time to wonder why a boot had appeared; the "monster" hanging from the ceiling had already lunged toward the sound like an arrow from a bow.
The shadow over her head vanished instantly. She could no longer hold back, gasping for air as she scrambled with hands and feet in the opposite direction. She had barely crawled out of her hiding spot when her vision blurred. A hand reached out from the side, accurately covering her mouth and dragging her into the shadows.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
黄泥湾 | Yellow Mud Bay | A pier/bay near the Li River.
黎水 | Li River | A river flowing through Jiugao City.
徐娘子 | Lady Xu | A local fisherwoman.
刘老爹 | Old Man Liu | A local troublemaker/fishmonger.
龙枢 | Longshu | The name of the empire or region.
宝蜃楼 | Treasure Mirage Pavilion | A high-end establishment/auction house.
元漱清 | Yuan Shuqing | A historical figure or master craftsman mentioned.
秘方 | Secret Formula | The alchemical/medical substance causing mutations.
