Bai Bingxue Returns to Gushan, Mirror

On Penglai Immortal Island, in the garden of the White Jade Palace, White Deer Immortal and Chen Renfeng were quietly gazing at a water mirror. White Crane stood behind Chen Renfeng as usual.

Suddenly, Ancestor Lu's clear laughter echoed through the garden, "How is it?"

White Deer turned towards the sound and saw Ancestor Lu drifting down from the sky. Beside him stood a Celestial Venerable, whose feet rested on a black Black Tortoise Spirit Beast. She hurriedly jumped up from her seat and bowed, "White Deer greets Xuantian Emperor!"

Chen Renfeng was startled by her words and quickly followed suit with a bow, while White Crane flapped its wings.

"Little White Fellow Daoist, no need for such formality."

"I heard you were ordered by the Queen Mother of the West to send that jade pair down to the mortal realm for their tribulation. I've come to observe the karma of the human world," True Martial Great Emperor said in a gentle tone.

"Your Excellency, please sit," White Deer said, making way and gesturing for him to sit.

True Martial Great Emperor nodded with a smile and sat down with Ancestor Lu.

True Martial Great Emperor's mount, the Black Tortoise Spirit Beast, discreetly found a spot under a tree in the garden to rest. White Crane, seeing an opportunity, flapped its wings and ran over to circle it. Chen Renfeng didn't scold it, thinking, Why is True Martial Great Emperor here? Did Ancestor Lu invite him himself?

Ancestor Lu asked, "White Deer, have Bai Yu and Qing Shi grown up?"

White Deer pursed her lips and smiled, "Your Excellency, eight years have passed in the mortal world since you left."

"Oh? And where are Qing Shi and Bai Yu now?"

"Why don't you see for yourself, Your Excellency?" White Deer Immortal tapped her fingertip, and the scene in the water mirror shifted—

A small boat was gliding across the water, with towering peaks lining the shore and cloud-shrouded ridges embracing it. A person stood upright at the bow, wearing a conical hat, with pearl-white ribbons tying back their shoulder-length hair. They were dressed in a fine silk long gown of the same color, with a pearl-white sash around their waist, and a wooden frame backpack at their feet, looking every bit like a handsome young physician.

At the stern, the boatman, also wearing a conical hat, rowed the boat with steady, even strokes, singing a local folk song:

"Asking the immortal lake at Yuyuan Immortal Site, A stretch of misty waves dotted with reeds. From the heavens, the Azure Sea connects, The mortal world knows no Penglai. Wandering gulls sleep on the sandy shores, Peach and willow trees cast their shade into the painting. Most beloved is when the toad palace opens deep in the night, A vast expanse of shimmering glass, a single trace of loneliness."

The young man at the bow heard this and carefully savored the rhythm, then laughed heartily, "Old man, you sing beautifully. I can tell by your accent you're from the Luoqie Tribe."

The boatman chuckled, "Haha, you can understand our Luoqie accent? That's rare!"

The young man replied, "My ancestors were originally from the Luoqie Tribe. We've lived by the lake, farming, hunting, and fishing for hundreds of years."

Seeing his fair complexion and clear accent, which sounded like it was from the Shànchǎn Prefecture area, the boatman didn't fully believe him—many outsiders came to tour the lake this season.

Halfway through the journey, the boatman reminded him, "Young lady, the small island ahead is Gushan Island."

The young physician was taken aback, then smiled and asked, "Old man, how could you tell I'm a young lady? I'm clearly a man."

"Haha, I, Meng San, have been ferrying people for over thirty years. I've seen all sorts of people coming and going. Though you're tall and your attire suggests a traveling doctor, you don't smell of sweat, your clothes are neat, and you even have piercings in your earlobes. My apologies, cough, cough..."

The young physician smiled faintly, impressed by the boatman's keen observation, and then asked with concern, "Old man Meng, you've been coughing all the way. Does it sound like damp cold in your lungs?"

"You have sharp eyes, young lady. The air by the lake is damp, it's an old ailment." Meng San took a sip from his water flask and chuckled, "Our Southern Expedition Country has believed in Buddhism for centuries, and I often go to the temple to offer incense. Looking at your face, you resemble a Bodhisattva!"

"Old man, you can also read faces?"

Meng San laughed, "Your forehead is full, your jaw is square; your eyebrows are vibrant, your eyes are like stars; your nose is like a jade pillar, your mouth is like a cinnabar bead, and your ears are well-formed—you truly have the appearance of Guanyin Bodhisattva."

These words made the young physician's cheeks flush. She lowered her head, took a white porcelain bottle from her medical kit, poured out a pill, and said with a smile, "I'm merely an attendant serving Guanyin Bodhisattva. If you don't mind, old man, try taking this Dampness-Expelling Pill."

Meng San didn't hesitate. He took it and swallowed it. He felt the pill melt in his mouth, and a warm current flowed from his throat into his abdomen, circulating through his internal organs. His body felt warm, and his spirits were greatly lifted.

After the medicinal effects were absorbed, Meng San marveled, "Are you truly a Bodhisattva's attendant, young lady? After taking this divine medicine, I feel like a new person!"

The young physician smiled, "Old man, I was just joking."

Meng San scratched his head, becoming even more curious, "Where are you from, young lady? What brings you here?"

The young woman bared her teeth and smiled, frankly replying, "I'm from Fujian Road in Gongjiao Country, returning to the Southern Expedition Country to find my relatives... to avenge my mother."

Meng San was shocked, "This little girl looks so well-behaved, how can she speak so directly of revenge?" He kindly advised, "Young lady, allow this old man to speak out of turn. Gushan Island is a deserted island. Not only are there pythons and beasts in the dense forest, but there might even be criminals hiding there. You are alone, perhaps you shouldn't... go..."

The young woman didn't listen to his advice and interrupted, "Old man Meng, look how blue the water of Luoqie Lake is."

"Rivers carry sand; they cannot be clear without settling. The upstream is Xingyun Lake, where the mud, sand, and dead branches settle in the mountains and water, and only then does it flow into Luoqie Lake," Meng San stated.

The young woman nodded silently, gradually falling into a memory. When she was young, she had asked her mother why Luoqie Lake was so blue. Her mother had gently stroked her head and said that there was a Green Fragrance Tree at the bottom of the lake, which kept the water clear and nourished the people living by Luoqie Lake.

Meng San no longer disturbed her and continued rowing. Gushan Island gradually drew nearer.

The young physician picked up her backpack, preparing to disembark, when she suddenly saw an unmanned small boat drifting from the southern waters.

"Old man Meng, look at the boat drifting over there!"

She pointed to the water surface about three miles away. A small boat was slowly drifting northward with the waves.

Meng San glanced over, "It looks like it's drifting from Xingyun Lake. The person rowing is probably sleeping."

"It doesn't look like they're sleeping—look, the person is slumped over, with one hand hanging outside. I'm afraid something has happened, let's go take a look quickly," the young woman said, putting down her luggage.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two boats were less than ten zhang apart. The young woman's eyes were sharp, and she shouted, "It's a young monk! He's been shot in the shoulder, old man, hurry up and row!"

Meng San accelerated his rowing, but the young woman still felt it was too slow. With a tap of her toes, she stepped onto the water and, in two breaths, leaped onto the other boat. Upon closer inspection, the young monk was slumped over the edge of the boat, motionless. An arrow as thick as a finger was lodged in his right shoulder, and blood dripped down his arm, attracting a school of small fish.

The young woman reached out and took his left wrist. His pulse was still there. She turned back and said, "Old man Meng, he's still alive."

Meng San tied the two boats together with a rope and then jumped over, assisting the young woman in lifting the young monk into the boat. As they moved him, they saw he was a plump young boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a pale complexion and weak breathing. Meng San held him, feeling that the situation was dire and almost began chanting the mantra for rebirth—the Southern Expedition Country believed in Buddhism, and most people, young and old, could recite scriptures.

The young physician quickly took out a Returning Yang Rescue Reversal Heart Protecting Pill from her medical box, pried open the young monk's mouth, and fed it to him. She then used acupoint-sealing techniques to close his Jianjing, Jianzhen, and Jianliao acupoints.

The sun was blazing at this time, and the boat swayed gently with the waves. The young woman knew it was not suitable to remove the arrow and treat his wounds here. She said urgently, "Old man Meng, let's quickly find a sheltered, shady spot on Gushan Island to treat his injuries. If we delay any longer, his arm will be beyond saving."

"Alright, alright, young lady, I'll row now," said Old Man Meng, gently laying the young monk flat on the boat's plank.