The old Land God glanced at Ninth Lady, then at Cui Jiuyang. "It seems... neither of you knows. A Land God is appointed as a yin deity... unless something is a ritual offering, this old fellow cannot touch objects of the living world."
Cui Jiuyang gave the old Land God a sidelong look. "So you came to ask us for help?"
The Land God nodded.
Ninth Lady also thought the old Land God was being rather ridiculous, rambling all over the place. Unwilling to discuss it further, she agreed outright. "We'll handle this. Just wait and see."
The two hurried down from the gate tower, went out through the city gate, and reached the outside of the Water Gate.
Only when Cui Jiuyang stood beneath the Water Gate did he appreciate just how tall and enormous it was.
Huge blocks of blue stone framed the Water Gate, which measured over a dozen zhang in both height and width, within the city wall.
Standing right against it and looking up, one could only marvel at how the Water Gate joined the wall and soared into the clouds, seeming to reach the heavens.
Ninth Lady unfastened the Water Palace seal hanging at her waist and lowered it into the water. After a long while, she drew it back up and shook her head.
"I wanted to summon a few fish to push the explosive charges up from the bottom... but... the Giant Softshell Turtle died nearby, and its lingering aura is keeping the fish away."
Cui Jiuyang said, "Then should we dive in and retrieve them?"
No sooner had he spoken than he rejected his own suggestion.
The insect eggs that Japanese bastard Togo had left behind would very likely hatch and attack only when they sensed living creatures nearby.
The Giant Softshell Turtle's aura had kept the fish and shrimp in the lake away, which was why those eggs had remained unhatched all these days...
If the two of them rashly entered the water and the eggs sensed them and hatched, they might not stop the beetles from igniting the explosive charges in time...
One great boom, and all of Jining City would be drowned!
But they absolutely could not leave this any longer. The Giant Softshell Turtle's lingering aura would probably dissipate soon. Once the fish and shrimp started swimming freely again, the consequences would be just as unimaginable!
After pondering it with Ninth Lady for quite some time, Cui Jiuyang pointed at the people fishing in the distance. "Looks like we'll have to get a fishing rod and try our luck here too..."
Ninth Lady felt rather helpless as well. They had defeated and killed Togo, the master of those insects, yet were at a loss over the eggs he had left behind...
Cui Jiuyang glanced toward the distant city gate. "We might not have time to go back into the city and buy a rod. Why don't we find a fisherman nearby and buy his?"
Ninth Lady nodded, and they went to ask around where the fishermen gathered along the lakeshore.
But they had clearly underestimated how important fishing rods were to fishermen. They asked several people, and every one waved them away and refused to sell.
One old man even caught Cui Jiuyang by the arm and said, "Lad, look. This is a proper purple bamboo fishing rod! It's not easy to find purple bamboo of such fine quality. How could I just sell it to you? Don't bother asking the others, either. Most of them won't sell."
Now that was a problem. If they could not buy a rod, surely they could not just snatch one?
They walked a few more steps before Cui Jiuyang clapped his hands. "Right! I've got it!"
Ninth Lady watched him walk up behind a child engrossed in fishing and pat the boy's shoulder. "Little Huzi! Remember me?"
The child jumped in fright, then turned to look at Cui Jiuyang. After thinking for a while, he said, "Oh, it's Mr. Cui! Hello, Mr. Cui. Are you here to fish too?"
Cui Jiuyang smiled. "What's so fun about fishing? Come with me. We'll fish for something much more exciting!"
Little Huzi was at an age when he loved mischief. How could he resist an invitation like that?
Once they reached the Water Gate, Cui Jiuyang explained to Little Huzi exactly what he needed to do.
Little Huzi cast his hook and began fishing for explosive charges.
After a good while, he had hauled up two. They opened each outer wrapping and shook the explosives into the water, putting an end to the danger they posed.
A short old man wandered over from nearby and asked, feigning curiosity, "What are you fishing for?"
Little Huzi turned and saw a kindly-looking old man. Pointing excitedly at the explosive wrappings on the ground, he said, "There are five of these things down there. For every one I fish up, Mr. Cui gives me two copper coins to buy sweet cakes!"
The little old man pursed his lips and took a look, then chuckled. "I don't like these things either. Tell you what, get to it. If you fish up all five, I'll throw in ten yellow apricots for you to eat. How's that?"
Little Huzi happily cast his line. "You promised! No taking it back!"
Cui Jiuyang and Ninth Lady exchanged a smile, slipped ten copper coins into Little Huzi's pocket, and quietly left.
Only Little Huzi and the old man remained by the water, one young and one old, shouting excitedly as they continued fishing for explosive charges...
Chapter 58: Thoughts in the Rain
It was raining.
The rain was light, falling in a steady patter. The sky was overcast, and there was no going out to have fun.
In her room at the Guild Hall, Ninth Lady stood behind the window, gazing at the long, rain-soaked street outside.
She counted on her fingers again and again. Tomorrow would mark half a month, and the Malevolent Flood Dragon's corpse should have been refined by the Grand Formation.
It was time to return to Jidu Shrine.
These past two days, wandering everywhere with Cui Jiuyang, she had felt time pass so quickly.
Although she had grown up in Jining City, she had hardly ever explored it like this.
She did not even know what had kept her busy before. It seemed to have been nothing more than training, performances, and everyday chores.
She had spent almost twenty years living amid those things, thinking of nothing and asking no questions.
Until-the man in the blue cotton gown had pushed open the door, fanning himself as he looked around the room with a smile, before finally sitting beside her and shamelessly staring at her.
Hmph. What a lecher.
What happened afterward had far exceeded her imagination. She had followed him all over Jining City, visited a sunken ship, descended to the lakebed, entered the Divine Tomb, and finally reached Jidu Shrine.
With him, she had fought the Giant Softshell Turtle, battled the Divine Attendants in the Divine Tomb, killed a Japanese woman and cut off her head, and finally pinned that enormous Malevolent Flood Dragon to the ground...
It all felt like a dream.
But to him... none of it seemed hard to take in stride.
Even when he coughed up blood or was half dead, he barely reacted. That was something she had never been able to understand-he seemed unafraid of death.
After that, she had simply wandered everywhere with him.
Every blade of grass and every tree, the streets and alleys, the hawking vendors, the old houses and ancient lanes-it felt as though she had come to know Jining City all over again.
Especially... with these feelings, and with someone like him.
What sort of person was Cui Jiuyang?
An ordinary man with something special about him, perhaps.
There was no need to explain what made him special. She knew he still had many secrets he had yet to tell.
But in what way was he ordinary?
He was just that ordinary sort of man who loved food and... women.
His fondness for women needed no explanation. The way he looked at her often gave him away.
His love of food, however, deserved a proper telling.
She had discovered that there was nothing he disliked eating.
The baked flatbreads in the south of the city, the stinky tofu in the west, the whole-pig soup in the north, the pancakes wrapped around salted fish in the east-every time, he chewed great mouthfuls and shouted for another serving.
One day, while strolling outside the city, they lingered on East Mountain, reluctant to leave the sight of the sun setting beyond the city below, and came down late.
He rubbed his stomach and complained of hunger, and she found two thoroughly cold wild-green dumplings in her Treasure Bag.
They built a fire out in the wild and roasted the dumplings until their outsides were crisp and their insides soft. He ate those with just as much delight.
He cried out at the heat, tossing a dumpling between his hands, while declaring that the wild greens were bitter first and sweet afterward, whereas the sorghum flour in the dumplings was sweet first and bitter afterward. The two balanced each other out, making every bite sweet from beginning to end.
The moonlight was lovely that night. On their way back, he told her a story about drawing moonlight into a cup and turning it into rich, mellow wine.
Listening to it made her... crave a drink.
Drinking was a habit she had picked up from making wine offerings to the Nuo Mask. Little by little, she had actually come to enjoy it...
Although drinking was not quite proper for a young woman, this still counted as... in his words, an occupational injury.
Ha. He always had such strange things to say.
Outside the city, everything was quiet that night. After Cui Jiuyang finished his story about making wine from moonlight, neither of them spoke again, and they walked all the way to Jining City like that.
She had not felt anything wrong with their silence at all, immersed in that peaceful, comfortable atmosphere.
-Until Cui Jiuyang entered the city gate and went clamoring off to eat wontons from a carrying-pole vendor.
On the long street below, two children hurried past, laughing, with lotus leaves held over their heads against the rain. Their bare feet splashed through the water on the ground.
The children's noise pulled her out of her thoughts.
I'll be going back to Jidu Shrine soon.
That was what she thought.
It was raining.
The rain was light, but Ninth Lady probably would not go out to have fun.
In his room at the Guild Hall, Cui Jiuyang lay half-reclined on the bed, gazing out at the gloomy sky.
Occasionally, a bird with nowhere to shelter from the rain landed beneath the eaves, then fluttered away again after a while.
He felt it was time for him to set off too.
His life was counting down. He had to search the world for opportunities, and time did not permit him to stay.
These past two days, strolling and having fun around Jining City with her, had truly been enjoyable.
Ah, good food with a beautiful woman for company. Was there anything better in the whole world?
When he had said goodbye to Great-Grandfather and left home, it would have been a lie to say he had not been anxious.
Great-Grandfather had said that the world was vast, and he could go anywhere in it.
But that day, at the very first fork after leaving the village, he had been utterly lost.
He did not know whether to go left or right, or which direction would give him the opportunity he needed.
He knew only that he was going to die.
He had blundered around the surrounding region like a headless fly. Relying on the smattering of divination he had learned, he disguised himself as a fortune-teller and came to Jining City.
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