Chen Ping'an and Xiao Mo stood by the ferry's railing. Beneath their eyes, the earth and rivers wound like threads.
He raised his gaze. If the heavens had no walls, then a person's field of vision was like an invisible wall, with everyone imprisoned inside their own.
Xiao Mo asked, "Young Master, are you waiting for someone?"
"The owner of this ferry."
Chen Ping'an glanced at the ferry's third floor, then looked away and continued strolling toward the bow with Xiao Mo. The ferry beneath their feet, named Sweet Spring, was itself an immortal family's Magic Treasure for Cloud and Rain Making. From the founding of the Great Li Song Clan until a little over a century ago, when it had yet to shake off its status as a vassal of the Lu Dynasty, Great Li had been beset by troubles at home and abroad. Its strength was feeble, and it often had to borrow this mountain ferry from Evergreen Palace to relieve droughts in its prefectures and counties, inviting immortal masters to cast spells and bring down welcome rain. The Great Li imperial court reportedly amassed a mountain of debt this way, but Evergreen Palace never pressed the Song Clan for payment. So after the Great Li Dynasty rose to power, several Song emperors treated Evergreen Palace cultivators with exceptional favor. If Evergreen Palace had ever had a Jade Purity Realm cultivator, its elevation to a sect would have been beyond doubt. No doubt His Majesty the emperor of Great Li would even have made an exception and attended the celebration in person.
Chen Ping'an explained, "We boarded without an invitation. If we leave without a word as well, that would be discourteous. On the mountain, it's a serious taboo."
"If we take the initiative and visit the ferry's