Crimson Mandarin Duck

Gao Xian changed into a much more respectable-looking dark Daoist robe. The wooden hairpin in his topknot had also been replaced with a jade one. Only the Daoist mark between his brows had been concealed. Apart from being a bit handsome, he looked like nothing more than an ordinary Daoist priest.

After all, similarities in other aspects could be explained away. Daoists wandering the martial world were not uncommon, and there were even more wandering Daoists who treated illnesses and told fortunes. But the Daoist mark between his brows was far too conspicuous. Within Gongzhou, tales of the Sword Immortal had spread far and wide. One look, and anyone would know who he was.

"You stupid donkey can really eat. This Great Immortal has been eaten poor by you." Great Immortal Kongchen weighed the money pouch that had shrunk to its limit.

"Look at the Azure Dragon Guardian. He has never made this Great Immortal worry."

Out of the corner of his eye, he felt as if the donkey had gotten another round fatter.

The donkey looked at Great Immortal Kongchen's brand-new cloud-patterned Daoist robe, then at his exquisite jade hairpin and Jade Pendant. Finally, it lowered its head and looked at the Drunken Immortal Brew hanging from its own body, worth twenty taels of silver.

It did not dare mention it.

General Donkey protested, "Great Immortal! Every day, it's this little donkey that carries the luggage and carries you. This little donkey is the one who toils without complaint."

"But you still have to carry the Azure Dragon Guardian yourself. How can that be the same?"

General Donkey cried injustice to the heavens.

"You want the donkey to run, yet you don't want the donkey to eat grass. How could that be possible?"

"Great Immortal, you must keep your eyes wide open and see clearly who is truly most loyal to you."

Kongchenzi lowered his head to look at the crafty donkey. It had learned this Spring-and-Autumn brushwork of glossing over the key point quite quickly. "Was what you ate grass? An entire table of fine dishes was devoured by you. And you're still eyeing this wine? Yesterday, I remember that jug was only half drunk. Where did the other half go?"

General Donkey immediately looked left and right, talking about anything but the matter at hand, with the air of someone whose reasoning and confidence were both lacking.

"Maybe it spilled on the ground."

At that moment, from the bend of the great river in the distance came the roar of rushing water, crashing like ten thousand galloping horses.

"Look, it's the river! Great Immortal, we can see the great river!"

All along the way, the lazy donkey had pulled the millstone, dawdling and dragging its feet. They stayed in the finest rooms, ate the most expensive dishes, drank the best wine, and traveled upstream through the towns along the Lingshui River. At last, they saw the main course of the great river, and the sight was deeply stirring.

The great river was so broad that its boundaries could not be seen.

Man and donkey were both wildly excited as they continued onward.

They saw waves rolling for a thousand li. Upon the river, a thousand sails raced forth, while rolling white waves churned beneath the ships' hulls. Only then did the prosperity of this commercial route along the waterway reveal itself in all its grandeur.

After the start of spring, this water route, pent up through an entire winter, could not wait to begin operating at full force. To merchants, what ran across the river were not ships, but mountains of gold and silver.

The distant city had been built on only three sides. It was the commandery seat of Wendong Commandery, with one side facing the great river. Gao Xian had no intention of entering and lingering there, heading straight for the docks.

Only in Wendong Commandery could one find ships bound for Jiangting Commandery.

Jiangting Commandery was the prefectural capital of River Prefecture, and even more importantly, the meeting point of the Ling River and the Capital City Canal. That fact alone showed just how important—and how flourishing—Jiangting Commandery was.

Yet River Court was most famous for its elegant scholars and its pleasure quarters. Merchants, travelers, and scholars from other nations who came to Great Zhou could skip the Capital City, but they absolutely had to visit River Court and experience the romance of Great Zhou's pleasure quarters.

At a broker's office beside the docks, Gao Xian found a broker to help him locate a ship headed to River Court.

"There aren't any ships specifically bound for River Court in the next couple of days. You'll have to wait a few days." The broker was dressed rather respectably, standing in stark contrast to the laborers selling their strength on the docks.

"But if you're in a hurry, sir, there is a ship over there chartered by Xishan Academy. It stopped here and is also headed for River Prefecture. I can help smooth things over, though whether it works out or not, I can't say."

Gao Xian had only just agreed when another person hurriedly burst into the broker's office, panting so hard she could barely catch her breath.

"Is there a ship going to Jiangting Commandery? I need one today, immediately."

The woman was dressed in gray, looking like a page or servant. The small cap on her head did not fit properly and looked somewhat ridiculous. A large wooden chest hung on her back, heavy enough to leave her gasping for breath.

She also held a sword, though it looked like nothing more than a piece of broken scrap iron.

The impression was exceedingly strange. She looked like a martial wanderer, yet also like a peddler, but somehow like neither.

Seeing the tools protruding from the chest, Gao Xian suddenly understood. "She's a street performer from the martial world, doing acrobatics for a living."

A smile appeared on the broker's face as well. It seemed that this trip would earn him money from two people.

He repeated what he had just told Gao Xian to the woman, then went outside to make arrangements.

The woman carrying the wooden chest had finally sat down to catch her breath. Only then did she notice a Daoist seated nearby, and more importantly, that he was leading a donkey.

The woman sprang to her feet with a jolt of fright. But after cautiously examining him, she saw that Gao Xian's brow was completely blank and let out a long breath.

"A martial wanderer?" Though she was no longer afraid, she had not lowered her guard.

"A wandering Daoist. I treat illnesses and tell fortunes for people, earning some silver to return and gild the Daoist Venerable's statue and repair the Daoist temple." Gao Xian answered honestly, looking entirely harmless.

"So you don't know martial arts? You're not part of the martial world, then?" The woman immediately puffed out her not particularly ample chest with pride, as if telling Gao Xian that she was a true martial wanderer with formidable skills.

"I've never practiced martial arts. This is also my first time coming down the mountain." Gao Xian answered honestly. He truly was fresh out of the gate, and he had never practiced martial arts before—or rather, had never needed to.

"You're going to River Court too?" Having let down her guard, the woman became more familiar.

"I heard River Court is prosperous, so I wanted to go and broaden my horizons." Gao Xian said.

The woman seemed to have plenty of experience. "That's right. River Court has quite a lot of rich people. You Daoist have a pretty good appearance too. Once you get there, as long as you're good with words, you'll definitely make a huge fortune."

After sitting for a while, the girl could not hold herself back any longer. She was probably a chatterbox, or perhaps suffering from terminal restlessness.

Hugging that scrap-iron sword, she looked Gao Xian up and down, shaking her head and clicking her tongue.

"Little Daoist, it's your first time down the mountain. You're still far too green!"

"I hope this expert will offer some guidance." Gao Xian listened with utmost humility.

The girl had more than a little fondness for playing the teacher. Assuming the tone of someone with experience, she said, "Do you know what matters most when wandering the martial world?"

Before Gao Xian could answer, the girl clapped her hands. "It's hiding your strength!"

The girl's gaze drifted into the distance.

"As long as you don't reveal your trump card, others won't dare act rashly. You can reach the realm of subduing the enemy without fighting."

"Whoever reveals their trump card first loses."

After saying that, she looked at Gao Xian with utter disdain.

"Look at you. You're dressed so well, and your hairpin is even jade. This whole outfit must be worth quite a bit of silver, right?"

"Those highway robbers and demonic cultivators on the road will set their sights on you at once."

What the woman did not know was that Gao Xian dearly wished to encounter highway robbers along the way. He had deliberately dressed himself up like a fat sheep.

But he could not say that at this moment, so Gao Xian could only nod with an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"Oh!"

"Live until you're old, learn until you're old!"

Gao Xian's interest in talking was lacking, but the girl's enthusiasm for teaching others had been thoroughly stirred.

The girl pointed at her own outfit, indicating the pains she had taken with her disguise as she showed off her insights.

"You should learn from me. Don't let wealth show, and don't draw your treasured sword from its sheath. That's how you live a long life."

"Thank you for the reminder, friend. I'll change later."

The girl was delighted, having saved yet another novice of the martial world. She did not notice the donkey behind her staring at her with utter speechlessness.

General Donkey thought, Whose silly girl is this? She's talking to this killer about what to do when encountering highway robbers and demonic cultivators?

Would highway robbers and demonic cultivators still have their lives when they encountered him?

At that moment, the broker came running back.

"The people from Xishan Academy who chartered the ship want to meet the two of you. After all, everyone aboard is an academy student. It's normal for them to have some concerns."

Following the broker to the docks, they boarded the ship and saw quite a few students in long robes and hats approaching to examine Gao Xian and the girl.

They were heading to River Prefecture to meet students from other academies. It was one of the year's major events, unrelated to the academies themselves and merely a private exchange among students.

It had to be said that being good-looking did have its advantages. The expressions of these Xishan Academy students relaxed.

It was a natural disguise. Most people seemed to think that someone good-looking could not possibly be a bad person.

"My name is Tang Yao, known in the martial world as Crimson Mandarin Duck. Greetings, everyone." The girl strode forward first and flaunted her name, as though merely announcing it would shake the four directions and make the others treat her with courtesy.