After they left the Desolate Sea, the waters became even more complicated.
Li Ping'an and Old Ox lay aboard the boat. The heaving waves made them feel as though they were rising ten thousand miles into the sky one moment and plunging into boundless hell the next.
"Moo!"
Old Ox cursed and grumbled.
Li Ping'an silently recited the Heart-Calming Mantra as he drew his bow across the erhu.
The sea moved, but his heart remained still.
The erhu's melody rose and fell with the rhythm of the waves.
The night was unusually peaceful. Countless stars filled the sky, and the sea was no different.
For a moment, it was impossible to tell where the sky ended and the sea began.
Li Ping'an gazed at the moonlight for a while, yet felt no sleepiness at all.
He held up a flask of wine, ready to while away the night slowly.
"Hey, have you heard? What's gotten into Master Zhang Da lately? It's like his whole nature suddenly changed."
"Exactly, exactly. Just the other day, I heard he divided all his land among the people he'd bullied, and kept apologizing to them."
"Could his conscience have awakened?"
"But this is far too sudden."
Master Zhang Da's affairs had now become a subject of conversation over tea and after meals.
That was hardly surprising. One day, people had suddenly discovered that the fellow who had always thought so highly of himself and oppressed the common people had abruptly turned from evil to good, treating everyone courteously.
Whenever he saw someone he had bullied or deceived, he would weep and beg their forgiveness, then offer them gold, silver, and treasures.
Even the roadside vendor whose peaches he had once casually taken received compensation, and Master Zhang Da personally visited him to apologize.
Everyone