Someone noticed that the waters of the Black Water River were growing clearer.
The water, once black as ink, had changed over the past few days until it had become a stretch of emerald ripples. Some said that a passing immortal had punished the Water Ghost; others said the Water Ghost had cultivated into a River God and begun washing its name clean.
There were still more supporters of the former, after all. No one wanted an Evil Ghost to attain enlightenment.
Yet after years of the Water Ghost's oppressive might, no one dared go into the water to test it. At most, a few bold young men would run over and take a quick look at the river surface.
At noon that day, the grass grew lush and orioles flitted through the air.
A little girl with twin ponytails came walking from the direction of the riverbank.
From afar, she wore a Cloud Dress Silk Skirt adorned with colorful tassels. Her skin was fair and translucent, and her features were as exquisite as those of a porcelain doll. Her twin ponytails swayed as she walked, making her look adorably guileless.
As she walked, her large bright eyes curiously took in everything around her.
When she came closer, one could hear her muttering things under her breath.
They were probably phrases like, "Hello," "My name is Yue'er," and "May I ask..."
After walking for a while, she finally spotted a farmer carrying a hoe and hurriedly stretched her long legs to chase after him.
"Hello!" She did not stop until she rushed in front of the farmer, nearly unable to halt in time.
The farmer had almost been bumped into when someone suddenly dashed out from the side so recklessly, and his brows had initially furrowed.
But when he saw that it was a beautiful young girl with fair skin, his knitted brows immediately relaxed, and the corners of his straight mouth lifted.
"Little girl, what is it?" He set down his hoe and asked kindly.
The young girl took two breaths, then quickly asked, "Hello, my name is Yue'er. I'm looking for a very handsome Little Daoist Priest. Do you know where he is?"
"Oh, you must mean Little Daoist Priest Li." The farmer knew who she meant without even needing to think.
He patiently pointed out the way for her. "Follow this Willow Embankment straight ahead. Don't cross the river. After you go down from the embankment, turn left. Walk three li and you'll see a stretch of Small Hillsides. Virtuous Cloud Temple is on the hillside, and Little Daoist Priest Li is usually inside."
"Thank you!"
The young girl named Yue'er thanked him very earnestly, then happily continued along the embankment.
The farmer watched her cheerful departing figure and smiled before shouldering his hoe and continuing on his way.
What he did not see was that, shortly after he turned away, the young girl had walked fewer than a hundred paces along the bank when she suddenly stopped and stared blankly at a bridge before her.
She scratched her head. "Eh? Should I cross the river?"
Just then, an old man happened to come down from the bridge, and the young girl hurriedly ran over again.
"Hello, my name is Yue'er. I'm looking for a very handsome Little Daoist Priest. Do you know where he is?" she repeated.
"Oh, Little Daoist Priest Li, right? Follow the river embankment straight ahead. Go down from it and turn left, and you'll reach Virtuous Cloud Temple very soon." The old man chuckled and patiently pointed out the way as well.
"Thank you."
The young girl bowed to the old man, then happily continued down the river embankment.
She soon finished walking the short embankment and went down, only to become stunned again as she stared blankly at the fork in the road ahead. "Eh? Which way was I supposed to go?"
She looked around and spotted a farmwife with a headscarf, so she ran over once more. "Hello."
Wang Longqi was extremely efficient. The day after returning from the Liu Family Ghost Building, before his injuries had even healed, he had already arranged workers for the Daoist Temple.
Every building in Virtuous Cloud Temple was to be repaired, and both the front and backyard were to be completely renovated. They were even adding a guest room—so that if visitors came in the future, Li Chu would not have to go squeeze in with his master.
The entire courtyard was under construction, so master and disciple could only carry their small stools outside the main gate and sit side by side, watching the bustling scene within.
They wore identical blissful smiles.
As though they were looking upon the kingdom they had conquered.
Since the Daoist Temple could not receive visitors these days, Wang Longqi had originally invited the master and disciple to stay at the Wang Family residence for a few days and return after construction was finished.
Yu Qi'an had refused first. Though there was nothing particularly valuable in the temple, he did have some treasured collections that he was rather afraid of people seeing... no, afraid of losing, so he had to stay behind and supervise the work.
As for Li Chu, he had always kept a respectful distance from this sort of unnecessary social interaction.
In his eyes, Wang Longqi paying the money was already enough to prove the friendship between them.
Those unquantifiable pleasantries and displays of warmth were best avoided whenever possible.
Thus came the scene before them.
Master and disciple sat in a row outside the threshold, idle yet happy.
Suddenly, exceptionally hurried footsteps sounded behind them.
Li Chu turned around and saw a dazzlingly fair young girl sprinting toward him.
She looked extremely excited, her arms spread wide. Her tassels fluttered, her hair was disheveled, and she was covered in dust of the world.
Li Chu calmly stood up.
This was not the first time he had encountered a girl who became wildly excited upon seeing him. Just as the young girl was about to throw herself onto him, he unhurriedly extended one finger.
Chirp.
His index finger landed squarely on the young girl's forehead, completely stopping her forward momentum.
The young girl ran into Li Chu's finger, paused, then her body bounced backward. A red mark instantly rose on her forehead.
"Ah, that hurts." She covered her forehead and squatted down.
Li Chu sat back down on his small stool and said, "Sorry, Virtuous Cloud Temple is not open these days."
"I came here specifically to find you!" After rubbing her forehead for a while, the young girl raised her face again and blinked her sparkling big eyes at Li Chu. "You're the very handsome Little Daoist Priest my grandfather told me about, right?"
Li Chu blinked, unsure how to answer.
Beside him, Yu Qi'an smiled at the little girl. "Though I don't know who your grandfather is, within several hundred li of Yuhang Town, all the most handsome Daoists are in our Virtuous Cloud Temple."
"Mm, it must be you!" The young girl carefully examined Li Chu's face, then nodded heavily.
"Is something the matter?" Li Chu asked.
The young girl said earnestly, word by word, "My name is Yue'er. My grandfather told me to come to Yuhang Town and find a very handsome Little Daoist Priest, acknowledge him as my master, and said that only he could save our clansmen."
"Save people?" Li Chu tilted his head, feeling somewhat confused.
"Master?" Yu Qi'an swiftly caught the key point as well, and a deeply interested gleam appeared in his eyes.
The young girl continued, "My grandfather said he had seen you before. After you got rid of that Water Ghost, he came to thank you."
"You're not human?" Li Chu immediately remembered who she meant.
After getting rid of the Water Ghost that day, an old man transformed from a Koi had once entered his dream to express his gratitude.
So it was him.
"That's right. My grandfather is the Clan Leader of the Koi Clan, and I'm the most beautiful Seven-Colored Koi in our clan." Yue'er lifted her nose slightly as she spoke, a little proud, but her mood quickly fell again.
"Koi?" Yu Qi'an's eyes brightened even more when he heard that.
"Our entire clan was captured by Bad Guys. I was the only one who slipped away. My grandfather told me to find you. He said only you could save them. Please, I'll acknowledge you as my master—please help us." Yue'er pleaded.
She looked utterly pitiful.
"Don't worry about anything else for now. First, tell me where they are," Li Chu said.
"I don't know. They were taken away by Bad Guys." Yue'er shook her head.
"Then who took them?" Li Chu asked again.
"I don't know. I don't know them." Yue'er shook her head again.
"Then... how am I supposed to save your clansmen?" Li Chu asked at last.
"I don't know, but... but my grandfather said only you could save them," Yue'er said pitifully in the end.
"..."
Li Chu fell silent.
Yu Qi'an shook his head as well, thinking, Such a pretty little girl. What a pity she's an idiot.
Before you continue