A Young Man Came to Deer Island

Du Yueyi was a native of Deer Island. Her family had run businesses there for generations.

Moreover, her younger sister was a cultivator, and her Lineage enjoyed the favor of Deer Island's master, Huo Old Freak. Thus, the Du Household had risen steadily in recent years.

This time, Du Yueyi was responsible for settling the refugees.

The refugees came from Old Turtle Island. For some unknown reason, the island sank lower every year and suffered frequent tremors, making it increasingly uninhabitable.

Deer Island was remote, sparsely populated, and only recently developed, so it wanted to take in some refugees to bolster its population.

"We agreed on seven hundred people. Why have only two hundred arrived? Where's the register? The steward? The local specialties? Honestly, you outsiders... dead?"

After learning what had happened last night, Du Yueyi could not even be bothered to get angry.

She registered the refugees, arranged housing, allotted land, distributed grain, and gave instructions about seeds.

"There happens to be a hollow here, and it happens to be called Old Turtle Pit! Remember, from now on, you're all people of Old Turtle Pit Village. It even matches the name of your old home! Work honestly and have plenty of children!" Du Yueyi delivered a few perfunctory words of admonishment, and that concluded the matter.

A few days passed, and this group of outsiders actually stirred up trouble.

Only after questioning them closely did Du Yueyi learn the reason. Among these refugees was a young man blessed with exceptionally deep good fortune.

Apparently, this man had once gone into the sea to lure and catch Raimei Angelfish. Not only had he survived, he had even encountered a fortuitous opportunity.

To put it nicely, a fairy had bestowed a night of rain and dew upon him.

To put it crudely, a fairy had forced herself on him.

Yet this young man was still alive, which showed that his good fortune truly ran deep.

As word spread, several country women actually came knocking, wanting to sleep with the young man. They said they wanted a little of the fairy's rain and dew, to use something the fairy had used.

There were also a few scoundrels who tried to coax the young man into entertaining the island's wealthy women.

Islanders, after all, faced typhoons from time to time. People could die in an instant, and wealth could vanish just as quickly, so they had something of a penchant for making merry while they could.

Their customs were therefore not particularly conservative.

"Disgusting! Shameless!" Du Yueyi held such things in utter contempt. Though immortals and mortals both had two arms and one head, the difference between them was greater than that between humans and dogs.

As for indirectly partaking of a fairy's blessings to acquire a little immortal grace, that was even more of a load of crap!

So-called immortals were simply people who cultivated, attaining their accomplishments through diligent practice day and night! If someone recklessly meddled with a cultivator's possessions, they might die without even knowing what had killed them!

Not to mention, because Du Yueyi's family had dealings with the island's master, she knew that this fairy was named Xin Li. She was no kindly soul, but ruthless in her methods, known as Merciless Beauty. It was said that she was as notorious as a masked songstress named Puppet Fairy.

The young man had merely encountered Merciless Beauty. Had he encountered Puppet Fairy, he would have been drained dry by now. How could he still be alive?

Of course, to have caught a fairy's eye and escaped execution afterward showed that the young man had left Fairy Xin Li somewhat satisfied.

"I'd like to see just what this lowly outsider looks like!" As a widow, Du Yueyi had seen and experienced her share. Curious, she met the young man.

"I'm innocent! These are rumors twisted in the telling!"

The young man was not bad-looking and certainly did not look like someone who engaged in illicit affairs. Yet upon meeting her, every other word was about how beautiful and kind his big sister was, followed by gratitude for taking him in. He did have something of the air of a man capable of, and skilled at, carrying on illicit affairs.

"Ah, another unfortunate soul." Du Yueyi's impression of him was not bad. She dismissed the others, scolded the young man a little, and let the matter drop, merely forbidding him from selling himself indiscriminately and corrupting public morals.

Another month passed. Du Yueyi discovered that these refugees from Old Turtle Island had settled down, and their hearts all leaned toward the young man. Indeed, everyone was willing to listen to him.

"Could it be because of Fairy Xin Li's rain and dew?"

A little inquiry revealed that, when these Old Turtle Island refugees first arrived, they had faced many inconveniences despite having fields and houses.

This young man had been inconspicuous on Old Turtle Island. Most people did not know him, let alone have any friendship with him. Yet even before his leg injury had fully healed, he helped any family short of hands to till their fields; when another family's elderly or children fell ill, he diagnosed them and fetched medicine.

One woman's husband had long been bedridden, and the young man frequently visited to carry water and chop firewood. The woman wanted to help ease his weariness, but to her surprise, he sternly refused. He said that the people of Old Turtle Island were his family, and her husband was his brother. Helping them was only right and proper, not something he did to covet another man's wife. The woman was so ashamed that she wailed to heaven and earth.

There was even a pregnant woman who suffered a difficult labor, and he personally acted as the midwife, ultimately saving both mother and child. Afterward, however, people criticized him, and the woman also felt too ashamed to face anyone. When the young man learned of this, he tried to stab his own eyes blind, but fortunately, someone stopped him. Afterward, everyone berated the woman for feeling no shame when she cheated on her husband, only to become ashamed when someone delivered her baby.

In any case, whenever any Old Turtle Island refugee's family ran into difficulties, he would spare no effort to help, asking nothing in return.

That was not all. Whenever Deer Island natives came to harass these outsiders, the young man would stand at the very front, whether the matter concerned him or not. He had indeed fought several times with the natives and sustained some injuries.

"We all came from Old Turtle Island. We're family! We're brothers!" That was the young man's catchphrase.

Du Yueyi discovered that, in just one month, this young man had twisted the Old Turtle Island refugees into a single rope. Everyone listened to him, and no one refused to accept his leadership.

One day, the young man actually came to see her.

Du Yueyi did not want to be bothered by a lowly outsider, but remembering that Fairy Xin Li had once favored him, she ultimately agreed to meet him.

"You want to find a livelihood?" The young man said the fields had been planted, leaving him free for the moment, and he wanted to find something to do to earn a little income.

Deer Island produced Nightlight Grass in abundance, with dedicated people overseeing it. The surrounding waters also yielded dragon-patterned clam pearls, while the fish included Raimei Angelfish and various kinds of clanging false dragons, all prized by cultivators.

Deer Island was small, seven parts mountain and three parts farmland, roughly the size of a large mainland county. Its population was comparable to a small county's, mostly concentrated around the harbor, where most made their living fishing at sea.

Ordinary small boats could go out and fish freely, but larger vessels had rules to follow. Anything cultivators needed had to be handed over, while ordinary catches were left alone.

Seeing that the young man was strong and healthy, Du Yueyi lent him a medium-sized fishing boat without mentioning rent, and even pointed him toward a fishing ground.

Half a month later, the young man actually returned fully laden, having even caught a white clanging false dragon.

The young man sought out Du Yueyi and asked her to distribute the proceeds.

"I heard you lost a man on this trip?" Du Yueyi asked about something else.

"Ah, they're all my brothers. After we returned from sea, his wife cursed me, saying that he'd never accepted my leadership and that I'd secretly killed him. Though life and death are in fate's hands once you go to sea, he did meet with disaster while following me. There's some truth in saying I killed him..." The young man blamed himself deeply and swore to support the man's wife and daughter.

Du Yueyi asked no further questions. She simply took ninety percent of the catch, leaving the young man only ten percent.

That was not even enough to make all that work worthwhile, but the young man bore no resentment. He even thanked his big sister for giving him the opportunity, saying that the remaining ten percent would be just right to provide for the widow.

Another half month passed, and he returned with his catch. Again, Du Yueyi took ninety percent, leaving the young man ten percent.

Half a month later, the proceeds were divided the same way. Du Yueyi heard that the Old Turtle Islanders had grown dissatisfied with the young man and were calling her a she-octopus who devoured people without spitting out the bones.

But the young man held firm, expounding all sorts of lofty principles. Finally, seeing that he could not persuade them, he grew fierce, pressed a knife to his temple, and declared that if he heard anyone talking about her again, he would stab his own ears deaf!

When he returned from his fourth voyage, Du Yueyi replaced his boat with a larger one and proposed an even split. The young man refused, and they ultimately agreed on a seventy-thirty split.

"I don't understand lofty principles. I've simply heard since childhood that when you drink water, you should remember its source, and when shown kindness, you should seek to repay it." The young man was utterly sincere.

Du Yueyi was very pleased. She explained Deer Island's power structure to him, pointing out whom he could afford to offend and whom he could not.

Another month passed, and the young man came again.

Du Yueyi had assumed he wanted to ask for something, but he had merely come to chat and drink tea.

"Matters concerning cultivators? I do know a little..." Seeing that all his questions concerned cultivators, she told him some of what she knew, and he listened with relish.

From then on, whenever the young man returned from sea, he would come chat with her, bringing inexpensive but interesting little trinkets before talking about cultivators.

A year passed in a rush. Under the young man's leadership, the refugees from Old Turtle Island had long since established themselves.

The young man was eloquent, hardworking, and capable. He sailed his boat, cultivated connections, and made friends far and wide, never idle all day.

Although some people disliked him and had put obstacles in his path, the young man had persevered.

He had even purchased another large boat and opened a shop at the harbor, giving her half the shares.

Though this young outsider could not yet be said to be rising to prominence, he had nonetheless made something of a name for himself on tiny Deer Island.

Yet the young man remained humble and never forgot his roots. Though he had become acquainted with many Deer Island natives and made new friends, he treated her just as before.

Her share was never short by so much as a fraction, and gifts arrived every month. Whatever the matter, he would always come to ask her about it, treating her just like his own elder sister.

"Visiting anyone else is social obligation. Only coming here to see you feels like coming home, Sister."

"I happened upon this while out at sea. The moment I saw it, I thought it suited your lovely name perfectly. Please don't disdain it, Sister."

The young man came calling again, bringing a crescent-shaped red stone.

It was not worth much, and Du Yueyi was hardly short of money, but she was very pleased by the thought he had put into it.

Moreover, perhaps because he went to sea less often, the young man's dark face had gradually grown fairer. Clothes made the man, too, and his conversation was reasonably refined. He could even recite a poem now and then, making Du Yueyi find him increasingly pleasing to the eye.