Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Found It
"Steward Liu, taking people’s money to ward off their disasters has been an age-old rule, yet not to mention whether we can find the Third Young Master on this vast lake surface, even if we did find him, how would we bring him back here?" Yang Xiao tried to struggle one last time. What he said was an objective fact: visibility on the lake was extremely poor, and there was no way to discern direction.
Unexpectedly, Steward Liu narrowed his eyes in a tone that brooked no argument, "We have prepared for this as well. After you set off in the boat, we will erect a long pole on the shore, and from it, hang a large Red Sky Lantern. Once you find the Third Young Master, you just need to follow the direction where the lantern is to find your way back."
"You’re damn well-prepared, huh," Yang Xiao said with a smile on his face, but he cursed Steward Liu and everyone in the Feng Mansion bitterly in his heart.
Seeing Steward Liu getting increasingly impatient, everyone had no choice but to get on the ship with hardened scalps. When Xu Su and Su Tingting were seen standing together, Steward Liu’s face darkened, "Two women can’t ride on the same boat. Come down, you, go with him."
After Steward Liu’s arrangement, Kuang Hongyi was with Xu Su on one boat, Shi Dali and Shi Guanming on another, while newcomers Yang Xiao and Su Tingting were assigned together.
It was clear that Su Tingting did not want to be with Yang Xiao; her first choice was experienced old players like Xu Su and Kuang Hongyi. But due to Steward Liu’s authority, she didn’t dare to object.
"Ladies and gentlemen, for your safety, the master has specially taken out the treasured Life-Extending Incense from the mansion’s storehouse. As long as you light these incenses and place them at the front of the boat, evil spirits will not notice you. But remember, you only have the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn. You must find the Third Young Master and bring him back before the incense burns out."
With a wave of Steward Liu’s hand, three servants each came forward carrying a small incense burner, with three sticks of incense lined up in each, "This is precious; light it only after boarding the ship."
"The master has also prepared a White Lantern for you, hang it at the front of the boat for you to communicate with each other easily. There’s also a Red Sky Lantern; whichever boat finds the Third Young Master first should release the sky lantern, and the other boats must quickly converge and provide support upon seeing it."
Yang Xiao looked and saw that the so-called sky lantern was just a simple Kongming lantern covered with red paper.
Taking the incense burner, carrying the White Lantern as well as the Red Sky Lantern, along with a bamboo basket pushed into his hands by a servant, the three groups boarded their boats.
With a gentle push of the pole on the shore, the three boats slowly sailed into the fog. Lifting the bamboo basket’s lid, inside were two short swords and a fire striker.
Yang Xiao, while piloting the boat, kept an eye on the surroundings and instructed Su Tingting to light the three sticks of Life-Extending Incense, and then hung the large White Lantern at the bow of the boat.
But as Yang Xiao was alert to the nearby movements, he saw Su Tingting with her back toward him, holding the White Lantern as if in a daze.
"What are you doing?" Yang Xiao asked in a low voice, urging her on.
Su Tingting turned around, her pale face showing a complex expression of fear intermingled with confusion. Then, she lifted the White Lantern closer for a careful look, and Yang Xiao saw that there were two small paper effigies stuck side by side on the skin of the lantern.
The paper effigies were white and could be seen to have been cut directly from a whole sheet of paper; they were just a thin layer, so not very conspicuous.
There were no features painted on the blank faces of the paper effigies, but the very sight of the paper effigies made Yang Xiao’s heart suddenly fill with unease.
The size and posture of the paper figures were clearly those of him and Su Tingting. Yang Xiao instantly understood why Steward Liu had adjusted the composition of the people on each boat, realizing that all of this had been planned.
The rest of the boats must also have corresponding paper effigies.
At this moment, the three boats were sailing side by side, and the surrounding fog was gradually becoming thicker, so that they could only vaguely see the contours of the boats opposite them, as well as the eerie light emitted by the White Lanterns.
In the middle was Yang Xiao’s boat. He noticed a figure moving on the boat to his left; it was someone holding a White Lantern as if signaling to him.
Without needing to think, Yang Xiao knew that it was Kuang Hongyi and the others who had also noticed the paper effigies on the White Lantern. It was inconvenient to shout in the fog over the lake, so they had to use this crude method to remind him.
Similarly, Su Tingting lifted the lantern and shook it a few times, which counted as a response.
Although they said they were rowing, they were actually just clumsily moving the pole back and forth to maintain the stability of the boat; the water in the lake was not still, there was a force in the water pushing them forward.
Looking back in the direction of the shore, they could see a bright red dot high up, which was the large red lantern hung by Steward Liu, serving as a lighthouse guiding Yang Xiao and the others home.
Before Yang Xiao could recover his wits, suddenly the boat shook violently; the strong inertia caused Su Tingting to fall instantaneously, and Yang Xiao almost was thrown out of the boat.
"What happened?" Su Tingting, having scrambled to her feet, was utterly terrified, her knees and arms injured to varying degrees.
Just now, the whole boat had lurched as if it had hit something. That something was underwater, and it was not small, otherwise, it wouldn’t have caused such a commotion.
Su Tingting’s instinct was to lean out to look under the water, but Yang Xiao pulled her back from behind and covered her mouth; the two crouched down together, making no sound.
Only then did Su Tingting realize something was amiss; the fog around them seemed to have thickened, and, most crucially, the nearby boats had vanished.
Beyond that, even the large red lantern on the shore had disappeared; now, looking around, the entire lake was covered in endless fog, with visibility less than 3 meters.
"Don’t talk," Yang Xiao gestured to Su Tingting, who was already scared out of her wits, and then pointed down at their feet.
Su Tingting understood Yang Xiao’s meaning; something was in the water, right beneath their boat.
The two held their breath; minutes, or maybe less, passed when the calm surface of the water suddenly began to churn, and their boat started to sway from side to side. This lasted about a minute before everything calmed down again.
Slowly releasing his grip, Yang Xiao gasped for air, his forehead covered in cold sweat; he didn’t dare hesitate and immediately began to push the boat away.
The fog was dense around them, and they couldn’t discern any direction, floundering like headless flies, but, fortunately, there was still quite a bit left of the Life-Extending Incense at the bow of the boat.
After an indeterminate amount of time, a strange sound attracted their attention—an unbelievable occurrence over the lake, where only the sound of water should exist.
"It sounds like someone is crying," Su Tingting curled up, hearing a person crying on this eerie lake was definitely a very special experience.
Gradually, the fog on the lake cleared a little, and a patch of green and yellow reeds appeared in front of them. Within these reeds, there was a wooden boat, slightly smaller than theirs, anchored.
"We’ve found it," Su Tingting said with a look of joy.
Someone was squatting on the wooden boat, facing away from them, their body trembling continuously; that odd sound of crying was coming from this person.
From the luxurious clothing, it could be inferred that it was indeed the Third Young Master of the Feng Family.
A red glow arose behind them; Yang Xiao startled, then swiftly turned around, only to see Su Tingting already lifting a Red Sky Lantern.
"Who the hell told you to light the lantern?"
Yang Xiao grabbed Su Tingting’s collar, but before he could continue, the next second, both of them were stunned and turned their heads, only to see two more red lanterns rising in the distant mist.
