After another day in Tortoise-Carried City, Li Ping'an and his companions prepared to leave.
There really was nowhere worth visiting in Tortoise-Carried City.
Before leaving, Li Ping'an remembered the innkeeper's instructions.
He offered another three sticks of incense to the Turtle God.
"Bless us with a safe journey, free of disaster and hardship."
Not a single person was in sight along the shore, let alone a boat.
Only after quite a wait did they finally spot a small fishing boat.
The boat was rowed by a young woman with a long braid and a pair of pale green shoes on her feet.
She looked like a green lotus in a lotus pond.
"Miss, are you going to Guangling?"
The woman said, "Yes, but I won't be entering the city."
There was a toll to enter the outer city, and a round trip amounted to no small expense.
"That's fine. How much is the fare?"
"There's no fare."
The woman's answer took them by surprise.
Grasshopper simply felt they had stumbled upon a bargain.
Zi Fang said quietly, "Sir... she isn't human."
Li Ping'an nodded slightly. He had already noticed the change in the Knight-Errant Brush.
"It's all right. Let's get aboard first."
The river wind grew colder, each gust more bone-piercing than the last.
Smiling, the woman said to Zi Fang, "Running around before you've fully transformed-things won't end well if you run into a cultivator who slays demons and vanquishes fiends."
Zi Fang raised his head, somewhat surprised, and retorted, "Aren't you the same?"
The woman said, "I've already taken human form. Besides, I haven't done anything bad.
"All I do each day is ferry people across the river, and I don't even charge them. They wouldn't pick on me!"
Zi Fang said, "I'm a disciple of the