At dawn, cool River Water steamed into mist.
Before the sun rose, the mist-shrouded river lay quiet. Wisps of fog drifted slowly, bringing a chill. The river's surface was a vast expanse of white; sky joined river, river joined sky. The distant mountains on the opposite bank resembled the immortal peaks of legend. Had there been a scholar here, he would surely have composed several poems praising this picturesque sight.
After a while, the dense fog clinging to the river's surface began to flow slowly, wondrous beyond measure.
As though a veil of gauze had been draped over the river...
Lujiang Town stood by the water. With more than several hundred households, it counted as a large town. Those who lived by the mountains lived off the mountains, and those who lived by the water lived off the water. Most townsfolk along the river made their living by fishing or ferrying. At first light, fishermen would carry their nets aboard their old wooden boats, hang lanterns, and head into the mist-covered river to cast their nets.
One man was the first to set out. His oars broke the still river as his boat drifted onward.
Mist dampened his eyebrows and beard, and beads of water clung to the fine hairs on his somewhat aged face. The little boat moved through the fog, blurred and difficult to make out. In the distance, a waterbird skimmed the river's surface before vanishing into the boundless mist.
The man wiped the droplets condensed from the mist off his face and spat out a curse. Perhaps he was cursing the stinginess of the town landlord, or perhaps he was cursing the recent poor catch. Who knew what was happening upstream? Every day, swollen, pale corpses could be fished out of the river.
Hopefully today would