Canal Dragon King

A strange procession wound through the mountains, with more than a dozen people from front to back. Saint Aunt sat on a shoulder litter at the rear of the group.

At the center of the procession was a powerfully built young man. A bamboo pole, three or four zhang long and as thick as a bowl at its base, rested upright on his shoulder. It stayed steady as he walked, the pole swaying only slightly. When he grew tired, he deftly shifted it to his other shoulder.

It looked much like the country-fair acrobatics of "raising the banner," but there was no banner on the young man's bare bamboo pole. Instead, a small wooden bowl was fixed to its tip, with what appeared to be something inside.

Seated on the litter, Saint Aunt restlessly crossed and uncrossed her legs.

Zhao Yong was dead. Chang Xunbei had vanished without a trace. Wu Haishan had taken men to chase that brat and still hadn't returned.

Saint Aunt suddenly realized that she had no one useful left at her side!

If several people from the society hadn't arrived yesterday with "bait" for catching June Bug, the only capable person she'd have left would be her maid.

The shop hands from Zhao's Furs Shop had been forced into the mountains, taking turns carrying Saint Aunt's litter.

At first, they had been trembling with fear. They knew better than Saint Aunt's people just how terrifying Ghost Witch Mountain was.

But along the way, the springtime glimpses beneath Saint Aunt's skirts had left the shop hands' mouths parched. The fear in their hearts gradually gave way to desire stirring in their minds.

Saint Aunt glanced over and saw that the lecherous worms beneath their skulls were growing plumper and plumper. At least that was some comfort. Once we catch June Bug, I'll feast to my heart's content!

The little maid walked alongside, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the long, lofty bamboo pole ahead, puzzlement in her eyes.

But she could tell Saint Aunt was irritated, so she wisely didn't disturb her.

The little maid had served Saint Aunt for many years and had learned four or five tenths of her tricks.

With a coy, girlish look in her eyes, she chatted a little with the people the society had sent to escort the "bait." Before long, one of the young Literary Cultivators was telling her everything he knew.

"Although you suspect that Xu Yuan may have already consumed June Bug, June Bug is special, unlike ordinary medicinal guides.

"Even if Xu Yuan ate it, he wouldn't be able to digest it completely within three months.

"So as soon as he smells the bait, the June Bug inside him will instinctively draw close to it.

"And during those three months, if we catch Xu Yuan and then... eat him, the effect will be the same as eating June Bug itself."

Neither the Literary Cultivator nor the little maid showed any reaction as they spoke of eating people, as though they did it all the time.

The two of them had been whispering beneath the litter, but Saint Aunt heard them.

Lazily, she interjected, "If Xu Yuan hasn't eaten June Bug, then once we catch it, we'll leave at once.

"Three months from now, we'll come back. I'll split that brat's skull open with my own hands!"

Xu Yuan had blown up her litter. She had never been in such a sorry state since she entered the business, and she bore a grudge against him for it.

At noon, the sunlight was bright. The mountain's sinister creatures loathed such vigorous Yang Energy, so they had all withdrawn into the shadows to lie in wait.

Saint Aunt's procession stopped to rest in a river valley.

Today was not a day when "proximity to rivers" was forbidden.

According to the almanac, "proximity to rivers" was forbidden on more than half the days of each month, so there weren't many chances to rest or camp beside a river.

The river was about ten zhang wide. Here in the valley, its flow was gentle, its clear waters rippling softly.

Golden sand mingled with pebbles of all sizes along the bank. Near the water, the ground was damp and glistening.

The burly young man at the front planted the bamboo pole in the ground. It sank deep into the sand and stood there, ramrod straight.

At Saint Aunt's word, the shop hands who had served under Zhao Yong rushed to prove themselves.

Some fetched water, others lit a fire, and the rest gathered firewood.

The society's four newly arrived cultivators each took up a position, surrounding the pole and the bait. If Xu Yuan appeared, they would be ready to capture him at once.

Saint Aunt sat on a large rock, gazing at the river. Then she suddenly remembered. "River Worker Alley... When the imperial court dug the canal through here, countless laborers died along the way. Their descendants settled here and all live in River Worker Alley, don't they...?"

The maid's expression changed. "Is that Xu Yuan descended from those rebels?"

On days when "proximity to rivers" was forbidden, the only rivers one could approach without danger were the canals, which crisscrossed the realm of the Imperial Ming.

More than two hundred years ago, the Imperial Ming dynasty had teetered on the brink of collapse.

Within its borders, Gao Chuang had proclaimed himself king, sweeping across the northwest with 130,000 veteran troops and laying waste to seven provinces. Beyond them, the Jiannu had risen. Their eight elite banners were unmatched in mounted archery; they broke through Shanhai Pass, their armies pointing straight at the Northern Capital!

Almost everyone believed the Imperial Ming's fate was sealed and the dynasty would fall within ten days.

Yet, at the empire's moment of peril, the emperor personally paid audience to the Canal Dragon King. The canals between the two capitals surged to life, carrying hundreds of thousands of elite troops from the south to the Northern Capital in a single night!

The Jiannu were soundly defeated, and the Imperial Ming survived.

Over the next twelve years, the Gao Chuang rebellion was put down, the Jiannu were crushed, and all of Liaodong was brought under imperial control.

After that, the Imperial Ming threw open the canals. Within a century, waterways spread across the entire realm, reaching even the northwest and Liaodong.

There was no need to consider geology, hydrology, or any other essential conditions. As long as a channel was dug, the Canal Dragon King could drive the waters roaring through it.

The river dragons of various regions either had their waterways absorbed into the canal network and willingly submitted to the Canal Dragon King, or... had their divine offices stripped from them, and either died or disappeared.

The strange and uncanny seemed to have risen around that same time.

Yet the Imperial Ming grew ever "stronger"!

The canals provided vast, cheap transport for troops, supplies, and more. Over the past century, the territory of the Imperial Ming had doubled in size!

In the north, it had been fighting the Snow Fiend Ghost for twenty-seven years, taking 2,700 li of land from them.

To the southwest, Ghost Witch Mountain had still been part of the Kingdom of Jiaozhi 120 years ago.

Now it was Jiaozhi Province of the Imperial Ming.

But every time a canal was dug, the court conscripted huge numbers of laborers—anywhere from thirty or fifty thousand to a million!

Far from their homes, the canal workers often died in foreign lands while digging.

And the projects dragged on for years. By the time a canal was finished, many of the workers were already old and could no longer return to their homelands.

Revolts among the canal workers were therefore common. So when the little maid heard the words "canal workers," her first thought was "rebels."

Across the new territories the Imperial Ming had acquired over the past century, there were many places like River Worker Alley.

The canal workers who couldn't go home had no choice but to remain where they were, settling together for mutual support.

Saint Aunt had read some unofficial histories and notes. She gently shook her head. "It's not that simple. Something major happened in River Worker Alley back then. It seems some formidable figures lived there."

The maid looked puzzled, but Saint Aunt only laughed and shook her head. "That was all long ago. I'm overthinking it. The court has plenty of ways to wear people like that down. After a hundred years, River Worker Alley is probably full of nothing but the old, the weak, the sick, and the crippled."

The shop hands who had served under Zhao Yong had already dug several fire pits in the riverbank and started cooking lunch.

The Literary Cultivator quietly came over and reported to Saint Aunt in a low voice, "It seems something's moving!"

Saint Aunt remained composed. "Keep your nerve." Then she added, "Everyone, be careful. This is the Land Beyond Civilization, after all."

Ghost Witch Mountain received abundant rainfall, and its rivers crisscrossed the slopes. When the canal was dug here, the Shanhe Division fought several battles against the local uncanny beings. Neither side could defeat the other, and the canal was forced to skirt Ghost Witch Mountain.

The Imperial Ming called places like this the "Land Beyond Civilization."

The uncanny beings lurking there were often powerful enough to give even the mighty Canal Dragon King a headache.