Chapter 35

As the small boat glided swiftly downstream, it quickly covered a hundred feet. When Zhenbao turned back to look, he saw that the large ship was still stuck in its place, spinning helplessly. The people on board were shouting and fighting with the decaying corpses, leaving no time to pay attention to anything else.

The boatman timidly looked back, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly knelt on the deck, repeatedly kowtowing and saying, "Sir Dao! Sir Dao, please spare me, spare me!"

"What do you mean?" Eighth Master, who was steering the boat, glanced at him and said, "You are just steering the boat to take us downstream. Why would I harm you? Just keep your heart steady and put it in your stomach; there will definitely be no problem—here, I'll hand you the oars."

The boatman crawled a few steps on the deck to take the oars but did not stand up. He continued to plead, "Sir Dao, the Brotherhood has issued an order. Anyone who makes a living under the Brotherhood is not allowed to deal with the Daoists of the City God Temple, whether it's buying and selling goods, delivering food, or transporting people... On land, it's still manageable, but the river is entirely under the control of the Brotherhood. If they find out that I've taken you, Eighth Master, Zhenbao, I won't be able to work on this river anymore."

As he spoke, he kowtowed repeatedly, the deck clattering loudly.

Seeing that the man was indeed honest and simple, Eighth Master did not want to cut off his means of livelihood. He asked for the man's birth date and time, calculated his fate, and then made up his mind. He looked around and saw that they had left the Ba Mountains, and there seemed to be a small village by the river. He said, "Alright, take us to that village, and then go back quickly—remember, if you can reach Chengdu within three days, everything will be fine. If not, great disaster will befall you. Remember, remember!"

The boatman, seeing that Eighth Master had agreed, immediately stood up and rowed towards the village with all his might—later, the boatman indeed returned to Chengdu within three days. On the outskirts of the city, he coincidentally met the young lady Xiaqing and her maid who had rented a small boat for a river tour. After finding it enjoyable, they rented it for several more days. On the fourth morning, the Brotherhood began to investigate the recent movements of the small boats on the river. When they reached the boatman's place, they encountered Xiaqing's maid, Lu Yao. Seeing the maid's beauty, they spoke rudely, and were severely punished by the soldiers left behind by Luo Zihan. Later, when Luo Zihan found out, he ordered the ruffians to be whipped dozens of times... From then on, no one dared to harass Xiaqing, and the boatman's life was saved.

This is a side story, and we won't go into detail. Let's focus on the old man Baoyue and Zhenbao, who, after disembarking in the small village, did not linger. They bought some dry rations from the villagers, determined their direction, and directly crossed the mountains.

Just as they left the village, suddenly a flock of birds flew out from the roadside forest. Eighth Master pulled Zhenbao, stopped, and looked around the empty, desolate area, saying, "I am the Yin-Yang Master Wang Baoyue. Who are you? What are you waiting for here?"

From the forest came a few coughs, and an old voice replied, "So you are a high-ranking Yin-Yang Master, no wonder you can use the Yin spirits and ghost servants so skillfully, and your magical abilities are so outstanding—I am the old woman you saved from the river! I am truly grateful for your help during my escape, but I have nothing to offer as a token of gratitude. I can only wait here to ask your name and lineage, and in the future, I will set up a longevity tablet for you and pray for your well-being every day."

Her words were like those of a rural woman, revealing nothing about her own magical background. Eighth Master, knowing she had her privacy, did not expose it but replied, "That's very kind of you! Helping those in need is our duty, and we do not seek rewards or incense—my disciple mentioned that he was saved by you once, so our involvement is not a favor but merely a repayment. There's no need to thank us."

"Ah?" The old woman in the forest seemed surprised and paused for a moment before saying, "So you are the master of the child Zhenbao, a disciple of the Five Rings Sect of Yin-Yang Masters?"

Hearing the unfriendly tone, Baoyue was also surprised and said, "Yes! From your words, it seems you have some misunderstanding about us Yin-Yang Masters..."

"Misunderstanding?" The old woman in the forest snorted. "I don't dare to comment on other Yin-Yang Masters, and I haven't seen many, but the ones I have seen, like the Dings of Yandang and the Five Rings Sect of Kunlun, are only skilled in magic but have no redeeming qualities... Today, you saved me, so I owe you a life. I will repay you in the future! Our families have deep enmity, and I don't want to say more—farewell, and may we never meet again!"

After saying this, there was a rustling sound in the forest, and it was unknown what kind of magic she used, but the sound gradually became fainter and eventually disappeared!

Eighth Master was puzzled but did not chase after her. He continued on the journey with Zhenbao, asking him to recount the previous situation in detail, but still found no answers, leaving a big question mark in his mind.

Although the Ba Mountains were a series of continuous mountains, there were many hunters and mountain dwellers in the mountains. Zhenbao and Wang Baoyue walked down the mountain paths, and over several days, they traveled through the mountains. Whenever they met mountain dwellers, they bought some mountain yams, sweet potatoes, and other foods, and with the wild game from the mountains, they did not worry about food and successfully crossed the mountains.

After leaving the mountains, Wang Baoyue hired a large cart and took the two of them straight to Xianyang, then followed the official road west to Jincheng, and from there to Ningxi and finally to Yancheng. Along the way, they saw chaos and war, with warlords and bandits exploiting the people. Fortunately, the two of them, dressed in tattered clothes, did not look like wealthy people, so they did not attract much attention. Occasionally, when some unobservant people tried to harass them, Baoyue casually used a confusion spell to get rid of them.

After a month of hurried travel, they finally arrived—by then, it was less than two months before Zhenbao's ninth birthday.

On the journey, Zhenbao repeatedly asked where they were going, but Wang Baoyue just smiled. Finally, when they reached their destination, he spoke:

"Zhenbao, the City God Temple has suffered this disaster for two reasons: one, the land's connection has ended and cannot last long; the other is the invasion by the Esoteric Buddhist monks. The former is a matter of fate and cannot be questioned, but the latter is significant because these monks rarely leave Tibet and have now come to our Sichuan region with a group of experts—this is a matter of great importance. We have decided to investigate the situation, so I plan to send you to my master's place to study until I return."

Since leaving the small village, Zhenbao had been thinking about Yan'er and was very concerned. Hearing that he would be separated from his master, he couldn't help but ask, "Master, are you abandoning me?"

Baoyue had been with Zhenbao for several years and always felt that, although the child was lively and cute, he was a half-ghost with incomplete soul and spirit, which left a lingering unease in his heart. Hearing the child's words, he was shaken and could not respond for a long time before saying, "Zhenbao, how could I abandon you? This journey is dangerous, and it would be risky for you to come with me. Besides, you are at the golden age for learning magic, and you cannot afford to waste this time!"

Zhenbao pouted, "I'm not afraid of danger, and I don't want to learn those things—Master, take me with you! I promise to listen to you and not cause trouble, okay..."

Baoyue, who was always tongue-tied in such situations, turned his head away to avoid looking at Zhenbao, but Zhenbao kept pestering him. Finally, he had to change his excuse, "Alright, stay at the Kunlun Mountain sect and learn for a while. I'll come back for you after I investigate the situation—when you have some skills, you can help me, right?"

Hearing this, Zhenbao wanted to plead further, but recalling the past events and realizing that his master had likely made up his mind, he nodded heavily and said, "Alright, Master, remember to come back for me!"

Baoyue, relieved that he had convinced Zhenbao, took him around the city, bought a few new clothes, and found a strong horse. They followed the old route towards the Kunlun Mountain sect.

When they started climbing the mountain after two days, the pace slowed significantly. By nightfall, they had not covered much ground, and the mountain path became increasingly difficult. They stopped in a forest, dismounted, and lay on the ground to rest. Baoyue had some steamed buns and dry rations in his chest, and just as he was about to share them with Zhenbao, he heard thunder rumbling in the sky, and the mountain wind grew stronger.

"Bad! It looks like a heavy rain is coming!" Baoyue, seeing the darkening sky, quickly stood up and looked around. He saw a faint light on the mountain ridge and called Zhenbao to follow him.

The thunder continued, and the wind grew stronger. When they were about three miles from the light, the rain started pouring down. Baoyue took out his robe from his pocket, covered Zhenbao's head, and led him through the rain, walking with difficulty.

When they reached the light, they saw a village with about a hundred households. The village was surrounded by a high wall made of blue stone, protecting all the houses. The main gate was made of thick logs, heavy and sturdy, with watchtowers and arrow platforms, making it as strong as a small city.

Baoyue, upon closer inspection, remembered: This place was called Kunshan Fort, one of the most fortified strongholds in the Kunlun Mountains. It was initially built by a merchant who came to collect goods, and over the years, it had developed into this scale. Inside, there were several large fur, medicine, and mountain goods shops, as well as inns and taverns, buying goods from the mountain hunters and villagers and selling items and fine wines from outside. He had visited this place when he was learning his craft, but how could he have forgotten it?

In the midst of the storm, this was truly a blessing from heaven!

PS: In the "Book of Songs," "Xiao Ya - Famu," it says, "... The offerings are in order, and brothers are not far apart. When people lose their virtue, they quarrel over a dry piece of bread. If you have wine, share it with me; if you don't, buy it for me..." This means that people quarrel over trivial matters and lose their sense of righteousness and friendship.

The whole passage suggests that although the old woman in the boat and Baoyue had conflicts, they gradually resolved their enmity through repeated help.