Chapter 91: Chapter 90: Confession, Formless
"You want to lure it onto the boat and blow it up with gunpowder?"
Fu Guosheng’s brow furrowed. He seemed to be considering the feasibility of Fu Juemin’s plan.
It wasn’t that he was unwilling to part with the boat. His main concern was...
"Who’s willing to be the bait?"
Fu Guosheng said thoughtfully, "This is a life-or-death job. A bit of money likely won’t be enough.
I’ll have to talk to them one by one in private, but there’s no guarantee I can persuade them..."
"It doesn’t have to be that complicated."
But Fu Juemin shook his head and laid out the plan he had in mind.
Halfway through his explanation, Fu Guosheng shot to his feet, flicking his sleeve so forcefully he nearly knocked all the dishes off the table.
It was only after Fu Juemin quickly finished explaining the rest that his father’s mood gradually calmed. His expression shifting, he sat back down.
"...So, it’s best if we wait until we pass the last waterway checkpoint in Yangping Province. Then we can disembark and switch to a land route.
That way, whether the plan succeeds or fails, it won’t affect the rest of our journey."
After hearing Fu Juemin’s explanation, Fu Guosheng frowned and said, "If we can pass the waterway checkpoints safely and switch to a land route for the final leg to the Min River ferry, why take such a risk?
It’s not like that Water Demon can climb ashore and chase us, can it?"
"Father, there’s something you don’t know."
Fu Juemin’s tone deepened. "These kinds of Demons hold the worst grudges.
I shot it yesterday, so it already hates me. If we don’t take this chance to get rid of it, there’s no telling when or where it’ll suddenly pop up to cause me trouble.
Do you remember that Old White Ape that Second Uncle provoked all those years ago?"
Fu Juemin couldn’t very well say that it was his own aura, one of the Demon Species, that had attracted the Water Monkey. Given the chance, the Water Monkey would never let him go.
Fu Guosheng knew, more or less, what Fu Guoping had been through during his many years overseeing civil affairs on the Luan River.
The incident with the Old White Ape had caused a huge stir back then, so of course he knew about it. He fell silent.
"This time, it would be best if it succeeds. If not... we’ll only lose a boat and some kerosene and explosives that we can’t move anyway.
It’s just..."
Fu Juemin paused, then said softly, "This plan will only work if Uncle Tong agrees to help. If he doesn’t make a move, it’s all just empty talk."
Fu Guosheng sat at the table, his eyes flickering as he weighed the options. After a moment, he turned and gave an order.
"Have the kitchen bring a few more dishes. And... go and ask Li Tong to join me."
Fu Juemin tactfully took his leave.
Li Tong had already helped a great deal with the Song Lin affair. He didn’t owe Fu Juemin anything, so Fu Juemin felt awkward asking for his help again.
But dealing with this Water Monkey was impossible without Li Tong. After thinking it over, he could only have his old man step in and see if Li Tong would help one more time.
...
The next two days went much more smoothly than Fu Juemin had anticipated.
He had been prepared to stop the boat and go ashore at a moment’s notice, but the Water Monkey, which had been tailing them, never attacked.
It had been shot before and knew bullets weren’t much of a threat, so even the sound of gunfire wouldn’t scare it off. A diesel engine, however, was something it had never encountered.
But the deterrent effect of the diesel engine was fading. Fu Juemin, who had been constantly monitoring the Water Monkey using [Yao Ling], discovered that it was getting closer and closer to the boat.
Perhaps because of arrangements made by Su Hui and the Su Family, or perhaps because the Southwest Rebel Army was launching a major offensive on Yangping that kept Song Zhenyuan preoccupied—plus the fact that news of Song Lin’s death hadn’t yet reached the Provincial Government—the Fu Family’s journey was virtually unobstructed. They passed through all eight waterway checkpoints along the Luan River over three days without issue.
They encountered almost no resistance. The few who tried to make things difficult were quickly mollified with a bribe and let them pass.
The small cargo boat traveled day and night. A journey that should have taken more than three full days was completed by just after two in the morning on the third day, when they arrived at their planned destination.
The group quickly docked at a nearby abandoned wild jetty with a collapsed wooden pier. Under the starlight, they unloaded all their luggage.
Then, the party split in two. One group escorted Fu Guosheng, the female family members, and the servants, taking the land route directly to the Min River ferry.
The other group remained behind to set up the scene and wait with Fu Juemin for the Water Monkey to arrive.
「3:45 AM.」
About two hundred meters from the river, Fu Juemin and Li Tong sat facing each other in a patch of wilderness that had been hastily cleared.
Between them was a small table set with two pairs of bowls and chopsticks, a dish of fried peanuts, and a palm-sized stove on which yellow wine was bubbling away.
The night was cold with heavy dew, and Fu Juemin had a cloak draped over his shoulders.
Behind him was a grove of wild trees. At this time of year, the poplar leaves had all fallen. When the night wind blew, the entire woods filled with the dry, sharp wails of wind scraping against bare branches. The flame of the horse lantern on the table flickered, creating a spooky, eerie atmosphere, like something out of a Republic-era ghost film.
"Young Master."
From the direction of the jetty, someone shouted to Fu Juemin from a distance, "Everything is ready."
Fu Juemin’s expression flickered. He waved to show he understood, then picked up the warm wine from the stove on the table and solemnly filled the bowl in front of Li Tong.
"I’ve been wanting to sit down and have a proper talk with you, Uncle Tong. I just never expected it to be on a day like this."
Fu Juemin picked up his chopsticks, plucked a peanut, and popped it into his mouth before taking a sip of yellow wine.
The wine was heated just right. He had never been much of a drinker, but right now, he found it was excellent for warding off the cold.
"What would you like to talk about, Young Master?"
Li Tong lifted the wine bowl in front of him but didn’t drink. In the dim yellow light of the horse lantern, his face was as still as a deep well.
Fu Juemin thought for a moment, then said abruptly, "Uncle Tong, have you ever heard a certain folk belief?
It says some people are born with the Yin-Yang Eye and can see things ordinary people can’t—all sorts of ghosts and spirits..."
Li Tong raised his head slightly. "Are you telling me you have the Yin-Yang Eye, Young Master?"
Fu Juemin shook his head and set his wine bowl down. "Not quite. I can sense the auras of evil spirits and Demons.
Likewise, those things can also perceive me.
This Water Monkey has followed our boat this whole way, and I’m the only one who knows for sure that it’s coming for me.
Oh, and..."
Fu Juemin paused before adding seriously, "This ability of mine isn’t innate. It only appeared suddenly after I was shot during that car crash."
Fu Juemin stared into Li Tong’s eyes, trying to find the slightest ripple of emotion, but to his disappointment, Li Tong seemed completely unmoved.
"You don’t believe me, Uncle Tong?"
Fu Juemin sighed softly, picked up his yellow wine, and took a large gulp. He sighed again. "I suppose that’s fair... I haven’t even dared to tell my own father about this."
"I believe you."
Fu Juemin was taken aback. He saw Li Tong’s calm expression as he said, "Since ancient times, eras of chaos have always bred monsters. These monsters can manifest as mountain sprites, wild beasts, and all manner of demons and ghouls... naturally, they can also manifest in people."
"So you’re saying I’m a monster, Uncle Tong..."
Fu Juemin laughed self-deprecatingly and was about to pick up the wine pot to refill Li Tong’s bowl.
Suddenly, a single sentence from Li Tong made him freeze, his hand hovering in mid-air.
"If there’s anything else you want to ask, Young Master, you might as well ask it all now."
The night wind, damp with river mist, swept past. At that moment, even with his cloak, Fu Juemin felt a bone-deep chill creep into his body.
The air suddenly seemed to grow heavy and still. The crackling of the lantern wick burning inside its glass shade became exceptionally clear.
But just as quickly, the oppressive atmosphere lifted. Li Tong spoke in a placid tone, "My real name is Ji Shaotong. I’m from Shuanglin County in Shangguan Prefecture... Twelve years ago, I was hunted all the way to the Luan River. Gravely wounded and on the brink of death, I collapsed by the roadside, and your father saved me..."
"PLINK... PLINK..."
The amber liquid poured into the bowl, creating a fine, steady stream.
Fu Juemin pulled his hand back. In the space of a single breath, a cold sweat had already broken out on his back, yet he forced a look of surprise onto his face. "You have a real name, Uncle Tong? This is the first I’m hearing of it...
Why bring this up so suddenly?"
But Li Tong didn’t look at him, continuing as if in his own world. "The martial sect I trained with is called the Formless Sect. It might have had some renown in the past, but by the time of the last dynasty, its numbers had dwindled, and there were no worthy successors. In the current world of Martial Arts, it would only be considered third-rate...
I had some Talent in the Martial Dao. I was hot-headed in my youth and loved to compete and fight, so I made quite a few enemies."
"Over the years, even while living under a different name and hiding within the Fu Family, old enemies have still come looking for me from time to time."
Li Tong’s voice trailed off. His gaze suddenly fell on Fu Juemin’s chest as he said nonchalantly, "That gunshot you took a few months ago, Young Master... come to think of it, you were probably caught up in my troubles."
Listening to Li Tong’s story, Fu Juemin was momentarily at a loss for words.
His original intention was to use this opportunity to probe Li Tong a little, to have a small "session of confessions" with Uncle Tong.
He never imagined that Li Tong would so casually lay out all his secrets.
Though he couldn’t tell how much of it was true and how much was false, it made his own maneuvering seem somewhat dishonorable by comparison.
