Three Witches City

"My name is Qin Sang. I worked as a shop assistant for a merchant. This time, I was out purchasing stock when a band of mountain bandits captured me. Yesterday, those bandits ran into their sworn enemies. I escaped amid the chaos but lost my way and injured my leg. I could only drift down the river on a raft. I never expected to drift into this great river after falling asleep. Fortunately, you kind benefactors came to my rescue..."

Qin Sang sat on the deck, surrounded by a circle of burly men with sabers and swords at their waists. Wrapped in an old cotton-padded coat, he had recovered a little warmth as he softly recounted his origins.

The man who had gone ashore to save Qin Sang stood before him. He was around forty, lean-faced, and looked like a scholar. Like the other burly men, he wore Cloud Boots and a fitted green outfit, with a precious sword hanging at his waist. He stood tall and straight, looking exceptionally capable.

After walking upon the water for so long, he was still fresh and clean from head to toe. Only the soles of his shoes bore a few traces of water.

The other burly men treated him with great respect and called him Boss Bai. He was presumably their leader.

A man like this could not possibly be one of the river bandits who preyed on boats. From the way they spoke, they seemed more like guards from some Household. Qin Sang relaxed a little.

As he explained himself, Qin Sang instinctively omitted the part about encountering an immortal. Once he had calmed down, he realized that although this Boss Bai was no ordinary man, he was far inferior to an immortal master capable of riding a sword through the skies.

"To meet in the middle of the river is fate. Lending a helping hand is only what one ought to do, so there is no need to keep calling us benefactors! My surname is Bai, and my name is Jianglan. I am a few years older than you, Brother Qin. If you do not mind, you may call me Brother Bai..."

Boss Bai's words carried a touch of chivalrous spirit. He crouched down, his gaze sweeping over the large stain of blood on Qin Sang's chest, and smiled. "When I saw you, you were lying motionless on that raft. We thought there was a corpse on it, but fortunately, you sat up on your own... Come, let me examine your leg injury."

As he spoke, Bai Jianglan placed a hand on Qin Sang's lower leg and gently closed his eyes.

A moment later, Qin Sang suddenly felt a warm current flow from Bai Jianglan's fingers into his lower leg. It traveled upward through his veins, eventually spreading throughout his entire body. Under the warm current's nourishment, the cold dampness in his body was swept away in one stroke.

After circling through his body once, the warm current gathered again at the injured spot on his lower leg. At first, a numb itch rose from the pain, then the pain itself lessened by more than half.

Qin Sang feigned a cry of surprise. "Brother Bai, are you one of those legendary immortal masters? Is my leg healed?"

The burly men around him burst into laughter. "Kid, you can kill mountain bandits, but you do not know what True Qi is? You are lucky to have met Boss Bai, and luckier still that he is willing to expend True Qi to treat your injury. Why are you not thanking Boss Bai already?"

Qin Sang's eyes flickered as he repeatedly offered his thanks.

Bai Jianglan withdrew his hand. After settling his blood and breath, he opened his eyes and glanced at Qin Sang. "It seems you truly know nothing of Martial Arts. I am merely a martial man, not an immortal master, and I do not possess an immortal master's methods. This True Qi is also called Inner Force. Though it can ease your pain, healing your injury completely will be difficult. Your leg bone is not broken, but there are several fractures. I have already used Inner Force to disperse the stagnant blood around the wounds. Once we disembark, find a physician and have him prescribe a few decoctions to nourish the bones. Within a month, you will recover completely..."

"Miss Chun Tao is here!"

A soft cry interrupted Bai Jianglan.

Everyone fell silent and parted to either side. Bai Jianglan rose as well and turned to look.

Only then did Qin Sang see that they were near the stern of the ship. The row of cabins ahead was unlit, save for the central one, which had been arranged as a flower hall. Candles burned within, their light filtering through patterned windows. Yet gauze covered both sides of the windows, concealing the hall's interior.

The flower hall's door stood half-open. A slender figure carrying a lantern approached, and only upon drawing near did Qin Sang see that she was a girl of seventeen or eighteen.

The girl wore a thin, aqua-green garment of excellent material, but it clearly did little against the late-night river wind. Her hands trembled slightly from the cold.

Those rough, brawny men seemed very afraid of her. When they saw her approach, they all made way and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Miss Chun Tao."

Perhaps she was their mistress, Qin Sang thought.

"Commander Bai, the young lady sent me to ask why you have stopped the ship here."

Chun Tao looked displeased. With knitted brows, she stepped forward. She was a head shorter than Bai Jianglan, yet she raised the lantern with all her might, nearly shoving it into his face. Her almond eyes glared at him as she questioned him angrily.

Bai Jianglan cupped his fists in salute. "Please report to the young lady, Miss Chun Tao, that we saw a raft in danger in the middle of the river just now. There was still someone on the raft, so we stopped the ship to rescue him. He has now been saved, and we will set sail at once."

Hearing this, Chun Tao lowered her head and glanced at Qin Sang. She lowered the lantern and shoved it toward his face.

Qin Sang was dependent on others and did not dare be careless. He straightened up, grinned foolishly, and nodded.

Before he could thank her, Chun Tao gave a cold snort. "Someone, throw him overboard!"

Qin Sang was startled. He had not expected this pretty young girl to be so vicious-hearted, and he hurriedly looked at Bai Jianglan.

Bai Jianglan's brow creased slightly. He waved for his subordinates to withdraw. "Miss Chun Tao, that must not be done..."

Chun Tao's delicate brows shot up. Pointing at Bai Jianglan's nose, she began berating him in a shrill voice. "Bai! The Prince ordered you to escort the eldest young lady. Is this how you guard her? This little thief has a shifty-eyed, rat-faced look, and he is covered in blood. One look tells anyone he is no good. You dare let him aboard? What if he is an assassin? If he disturbs the young lady, how many heads do you have to lose!"

"Please calm your anger, Miss Chun Tao." Bai Jianglan remained good-tempered, explaining neither humbly nor arrogantly. "We questioned him thoroughly just now. Brother Qin knows no Martial Arts. He is a pitiful man harmed by mountain bandits who escaped with his life by sheer luck. The blood on him came from fighting for his life; there is no reason not to save him. Besides, Brother Qin has injured his leg and cannot move easily. With us brothers watching him, he certainly will not disturb the young lady."

Seeing that Bai Jianglan insisted on saving him, Chun Tao's eyes shifted. "Are there not two small boats being towed behind this ship? Give him one and let him get lost!"

Qin Sang sucked in a breath. The river stretched wide and boundless, and the autumn tide was at its peak, more perilous than the Yangtze River from his previous life. Mountain shadows layered upon mountain shadows along both banks, without a single glimmer of lamplight. Strange cries and beastly roars occasionally echoed through the darkness, making the place seem like a ghost domain.

In a lone little boat upon this river, one would not even know how one died.

This little wench was truly cruel-hearted!

Bai Jianglan said, "Miss Chun Tao, you may not know this, but we have only just entered Nine-Fold Gorge on the Wuling River. Both banks are lined with high cliffs and treacherous mountains, with no human habitation anywhere. Fierce beasts roam freely, and one can only travel downstream. Yet Nine-Fold Gorge has the swiftest and most dangerous waters on the Wuling River. If we put down a small boat, it will surely capsize. How about this? Let Brother Qin remain in the stern cabin. We will set sail now, and by dawn tomorrow we can pass through Nine-Fold Gorge. Once we reach Three Witches City, we will let Brother Qin disembark. Tonight, I will personally stand watch on the deck and guarantee that nothing goes wrong."