On the Min River, the waters surged with waves like white scales, layer upon layer. From afar, the Min River resembled a great dragon, its waves the scales on that dragon's body.
A painted pleasure boat drifted on the river. Wind talismans billowed the sails full, propelling the vessel swiftly across the surface.
The boat lady cracked melon seeds, smiling as she watched Chen Shi and Li Tianqing.
Chen Shi smiled and said, "Are the melon seeds tasty?"
"Try some yourself!"
The boat lady grabbed a handful and held them out to him.
Li Tianqing hurriedly tugged at Chen Shi's sleeve.
These were two fugitive yin attendants.
Could they eat seeds given by them?
Chen Shi took the seeds anyway and cracked one. Five-spice flavor, stir-fried with dried tangerine peel—crisp and fragrant with a refreshing citrus note, soothing to the throat. Unlike other seeds that dried it out after a few.
"Tasty?" the boat lady asked with a laugh.
Chen Shi praised, "Very tasty. Why did you and your father flee the River of Forgetfulness?"
Li Tianqing's heart leaped to his throat, inwardly groaning. Was this a topic to bring up?
When they reached the Kun River ferry, Chen Shi had spotted the painted boat and insisted on boarding. Li Tianqing hadn't been keen, but couldn't dissuade him. Who knew that once aboard, Chen Shi would ask such a question!
Other scholars were on the boat too, all waiting in vain for the autumn provincial exams before heading back to Xinxiang with them.
With most of the Canal Society cultivators dead or wounded—even their hall master slain—ships on the Min River were scarce. This painted boat was their only way back to Xinxiang.
The boat lady giggled. "Why else? We couldn't stay anymore. Someone kept stirring up chaos in the underworld—once, twice, then every day. They even abducted someone's soul. We're the ones who do the work; we take the blame. Staying meant death, so we fled."
Chen Shi blinked and asked, "Who dares cause such chaos in the underworld? Did they find the abducted soul?"
"They found it."
The boat lady meticulously cracked her seeds, the meat already eaten, leaving only shells. Yet she kept cracking, watching Chen Shi with a smile.
"The underworld's in turmoil now. The Lord of Azure Skies is gone. Even if they find it, what then? Who'd clear our names? So we're just stalling."
She eyed Chen Shi as if the seed shells between her teeth offended her, cracking them over and over.
Chen Shi chatted idly with her. "Where'd the Lord of Azure Skies go? Assassinated? Overthrown? Or just lost?"
"No idea."
The boat lady sighed in frustration. "Lots of folks are looking for him..."
The boatman coughed. The boat lady shut up at once, no more talk of it.
Chen Shi looked to the shore. Strange figures flapped enormous ears along both banks of the Min River, flying while jotting notes—like they were recording the boat's doings.
"Heavenly Listeners!"
Were these Heavenly Listeners spying on him or on Chen Shi? He tensed too. Those two fugitive yin attendants?
Some faces among the Heavenly Listeners were familiar, spotted near Red Mountain Hall's headquarters recently.
Their ears were like wings, bodies dangling like little sprouts, but nimble. They could flit across rivers, even mountains.
While flying, they scribbled in notebooks.
The pests were loathsome, but killing them would summon more.
The boat lady turned away, laughing. "At the Min River's mouth into the sea, a massive severed limb washed up recently—two or three li long, thicker than anything, scales bigger than our boat hanging off it. Drew crowds.
"We saw it too. Ghostfire on the scales, each one trapping heaps of冤死 souls."
Chen Shi's heart stirred. "Could it be that sea whisperer Mazu wounded?"
He called the sea demon that made him vomit the Sea Whisperer. Its power was boundless, yet Mazu had gravely injured it, forcing retreat.
Who knew that strike severed a limb!
"Could you two take us to the Min River estuary?" Chen Shi asked. "I'll pay extra!"
The boat lady tittered. "I know you're loaded, but too late. Word is a Daoist came and took it away.
"You'd find nothing."
Chen Shi inwardly sighed in regret.
A being that mighty—a single scale would fetch a fortune.
He cracked seeds and chatted idly with the boat lady. The trip passed peacefully. She docked them at Xinxiang territory's shipyard. Chen Shi paid up, disembarked with the other scholars, and waved farewell.
They boarded a wooden cart toward Qianyang Mountain.
Li Tianqing said, "That father-daughter pair's target is probably you. Little Ten, best keep your distance!"
Chen Shi laughed. "Maybe they're after someone else. Maybe another soul got saved back then, and they were its yin attendants."
Li Tianqing argued, "How could it be that coincidental?"
Chen Shi roared with laughter, clapping his shoulder. "Then what? Can you beat them? Can I? If they wanted me dead, they'd have struck aboard. Why wait?"
Li Tianqing admired his composure. "You're pretty chill. Can't take the provincial exams this time—what's your plan back in the village?"
Chen Shi sighed wistfully. "Buy all sorts of herbs, oversee your pill refining. Then sell spirit pills and be a dirt-rich landlord."
Li Tianqing's face darkened.
The cart entered Qianyang Mountain. Chen Shi glanced back—Heavenly Listeners flapping ears behind them, recording every word.
Chen Shi frowned slightly. Why were these Heavenly Listeners tailing him again?
During the stone boat incident, they'd watched him, but vanished after—suspicion cleared, he thought.
Why now?
"Could it be the Mazu Temple business? But shouldn't they be after Granny Sha and the others? Why me?" Chen Shi puzzled.
Back in Huangpo Village, Grandma Yuzhu beamed at him. "Scholar's back! Took the juren exams, right? Became a juren lord? No fire tonight—come eat at my place!"
Chen Shi mumbled, "Governor assassinated, education commissioner dead too. Exams canceled."
Grandma Yuzhu asked, "Still just a scholar then?"
Chen Shi nodded.
Grandma Yuzhu dropped the dinner invite. "How'd the governor die?"
"People say I did it," Chen Shi said honestly.
He rarely lied to close villagers...
News of Scholar Chen's return spread fast. Households eyeing matchmaking nixed it upon hearing he killed the governor and failed juren. Greetings turned lazy: "Scholar's back? When you turning bandit?"
Another villager: "Nephew's a mountain bandit—dunno if alive. Introduce you at New Year?"
That was it.
That night, Chen Shi borrowed rice, oil, salt door-to-door. Villagers lacked enthusiasm, mostly awaiting his fall to banditry or county execution.
"Scholar, hurry and wed, sire a son. Keep the Chen line going!" Old Lady Wuzhu urged. "What about Widow Wang in our village?"
Thereafter, Widow Wang eyed him oddly.
Chen Shi relished the quiet. As usual, he lit incense for Grandpa and Godmother, paid respects to Scholar Zhu. Hearing of the governor, garrison commander deaths canceling Gongzhou's exams, even Scholar Zhu sighed. "Bad luck—not your talent.
"How'd the governor die?"
Indignant, he added, "Xinduo lost two governors, fine. But Gongzhou too? With all those officials buried alongside!"
"People say I did it," Chen Shi said uncertainly.
He'd heard whispers, but prying yielded little—folks clammed up.
Scholar Zhu gaped. "Don't blame yourself. Next provincial exams—we wait three years.
"True gold shines. With your talent, failing juren is heaven blind!"
Chen Shi felt a bit better.
The Heavenly Listeners followed to Huangpo Village, perched on trees or rocks outside, eavesdropping nonstop.
"Father-daughter spies, these listeners—how's a guy to live?"
Chen Shi itched to crush them, but knew killing would bring hordes. He held off.
Next day, Li Tianqing listed herbs for Soul Revival Pills. Chen Shi shopped in the county seat. Two rare ones absent—needed from the provincial city.
He paid deposit, waited days for full stock.
He visited Juxian Tower, met owner Shao Jing about pill-refining. "Need a good furnace."
Shao Jing laughed. "Easy. All kinds here."
Chen Shi picked an Old Eight Trigrams Furnace. The pill master who made it slaved over fire-control sigils and trigrams, etched deep into the metal.
Pill-refining was meticulous—especially furnaces. Gust wind via Xun trigram: how much, precisely.
Tempering? Zhen trigram thunder.
Complexity made master refiners rare.
Chen Shi was clueless.
But Li Tianqing excelled there.
The Old Eight Trigrams Furnace cost eight hundred taels. Shao Jing noted, "Old pill master's treasure. Age dulled his fire control—consigned here for retirement cash."
Chen Shi paid, asked, "If we make rare spirit pills, can Juxian Tower sell them?"
Shao Jing: "Sure, on consignment. High-grade ones sell well. Low-grade? Not much value, few buyers."
Chen Shi thanked him and left.
Back in Huangpo Village, Chen Shi unloaded herbs and furnace for Li Tianqing.
His mountain-logging fortune spent clean.
Li Tianqing bathed, changed, meditated till mind cleared like vast blue skies, dustless. Then refining began.
Chen Shi tensed—his all on Li Tianqing.
Fail: penniless. Succeed: Chen the magnate!
Li Tianqing used his golden core as primer, kindling pill fire in the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Hands formed seals—pill arts shifting deftly, precise.
Chen Shi watched like art, mesmerizing. Worry eased; he trusted Li Tianqing to succeed.
Over ten days passed. That day, Huangpo Village saw wagons galore: over a hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards, fully armored soldiers. Officials disembarked, asking villagers, "Does Chen Shi live here?"
Villagers froze at the spectacle. Grandma Yuzhu waved her granddaughter to warn Chen Shi: officials here—run!
Someone recognized the lead: "New Xinxiang Governor and bigwigs! Why?"
"To catch Chen Shi!"
Panic spread. They watched the Xinxiang Governor learn Chen Shi's path, clap—yamen runners beat gongs, pipes blared festively toward his home.
"Doesn't look like arrest—more like celebration!"
Villagers asked an Embroidered Uniform Guard. He grinned: "Your village brings glory! Chen Shi—er, Lord Chen—passed juren! Gongzhou first place! Chen the Provincial Topper henceforth!"
Villagers blanked. Didn't Chen Shi kill Gongzhou officials? Exams canceled?
How juren without exams?
And topper?
Juren sans exam?
"Chen Shi's juren glory honors Xinduo too. So Governor brought us, new Xinduo officials, to congratulate—and meet Lord Chen."
The Embroidered Uniform Guard said.
