Xi Wuchou reclined in the Wooden Basin. Reed leaves brushed past with a rustling sound, their fresh fragrance filling the air around him.
He had been drifting for a long time, almost two hours. Along the way, he was sometimes enveloped by reeds and sometimes bumped into rocks or the bank, using the plank the Young Girl had given him to adjust his course. At last, the Wooden Basin struck what he had been hoping for with a thud.
-the sound of wood striking wood.
Xi Wuchou propped himself up and felt around. What had struck him was a flat platform supported over the water-yes, a dock!
Xi Wuchou climbed onto it and lay prone, identifying his surroundings by sound.
There was the sound of wind blowing past doors and windows. There was a house.
But the sound was monotonous, or rather, lonely. Around it, there was no sound of boats gently bobbing, no fishy smell, no crowing or barking. Even with true qi concentrated in his ears, he could hear no sign of any residents.
It was as though a solitary house stood in the wilderness, connected to a solitary dock.
Why would anyone live somewhere like this?
The instant Xi Wuchou wondered, a lightning bolt of realization flashed through his mind.
Wasn't this... the Waterside Pavilion where he had stayed while seeking his breakthrough?!
He pushed himself up and staggered toward the door. A house in such remote wilderness, left unoccupied for so long, had indeed fallen prey to thieves. The lock had long since been removed, and a push took him inside.
But that did not matter. Xi Wuchou came to the bed, reached out and felt around, then pressed down. A Hidden Compartment popped out.
Xi Wuchou knew there were some lifesaving pills inside. He reached