Green waters stretched on to meet misty clouds; blue mountains ran without end.
Perhaps the dragon aura of the great river's water veins was strong enough to suppress her injuries. Since boarding the boat, Bai Yujun had coughed noticeably less. Nor had she encountered any high-ranking cultivators traveling by ship or crooked, heretical sorts. The great river had many water monsters, and with the home-field advantage, they were impossible to catch and impossible to kill—exceptionally troublesome. Bai Yujun relied on occasionally releasing a trace of flood-dragon beast aura to scare those water monsters away.
Songs drifted over the river, praising fishing boats; layer upon layer of mountains stretched on without end. They traveled by day, moored at night to find shelter, eat, and sleep. It did not feel particularly hard or tiring.
They had been sailing for over half a month, yet the Southern Wasteland remained impossibly far away. Who knew when they would arrive.
The southern lands saw much rain; unceasing misty rain stirred sorrow in the heart.
That night, they found a quiet bamboo grove by the shore to rest. Iron Ball dug up many bamboo shoots and caught a wild chicken, which they stewed into a fragrant soup. While at it, he scratched out a stone cave in the riverside cliff with his claws. Stone bed and stone stove—everything was complete.
Across the river stood Danxia cliffs that stretched beyond sight. Waterbirds beat their wings homeward, their cries clear and crisp.
While they cooked, a silly, adorable Bamboo Rat demon poked its head over at the cave entrance. Upon seeing Bai Yujun, it shrieked and burrowed into the bamboo forest. Its plump backside wobbled as fat flew everywhere while it ran.
Once the water in the clay pot boiled, Bai Yujun added the cleaned wild chicken, bamboo