Dongting Dragon Vein

Yu Tunzhou carried his fish basket through town, heading straight for the river.

As he passed a residence, a handsome young gentleman in white happened to emerge. Upon seeing him, the young gentleman's eyes curved slightly, and she approached at an unhurried pace, smiling.

Yu Tunzhou glanced at her and felt a flicker of surprise. Her figure was much too slender.

A woman?

That's right.

She was dressed as a gentle, refined young gentleman, but her skin was too smooth and porcelain-white, and she was so pretty and delicate that anyone could tell at a glance she was a woman disguised as a man.

Yu Tunzhou's gaze swept swiftly over her chest. There was no flaw in her disguise there, though...

"You're Yu Tunzhou? Let's get acquainted. My name is Liu Zhizhou."

Liu Zhizhou walked up to him with a warm smile, but once she drew near, her expression stiffened slightly, and her gaze grew more probing as she looked him over.

The presence about this fellow was more than a simple matter of three years' worth of Dragon Fish. It also concealed a hint of something that filled her with inexplicable loathing.

Yu Tunzhou nodded without speaking. His gaze swept over the residence behind the girl, and he immediately understood.

This was the residence of the group that called itself Dongting.

Dongting was not among the ancestral courts of Daoism or Buddhism, nor did it seem to be an Aristocratic Clan. In Xie Linchuan's words, that made it a second-rate house.

This had been his first stop the last time he delivered fish.

Yu Tunzhou walked around the girl and headed for the river.

Liu Zhizhou raised her brows. He was quite wary.

She hurried after him and asked with a cheerful smile, "Brother Yu, how did you get on good terms with the town guardian?"

Yu Tunzhou stopped, looked at her, and held out a hand.

"What do you mean?" Liu Zhizhou asked with a frown.

Yu Tunzhou asked in puzzlement, "Outside this town, don't people have to pay for information?"

Liu Zhizhou's eyes flew wide, and the smile vanished from her face. After a moment, she untied a sachet and tossed it to Yu Tunzhou, saying coolly:

"There's soul-calming incense inside. Wearing it over a long period will nourish the spirit."

Yu Tunzhou put the sachet away, looked the girl up and down, and said thoughtfully, "Go change into a dress, and Old Mo will surely be willing to say a few more words to you."

Liu Zhizhou looked displeased. "Why should I change into a dress?"

Appreciation showed in Yu Tunzhou's eyes. With that way of thinking, he could probably earn another fee for information.

When Yu Tunzhou said nothing more, Liu Zhizhou knitted her delicate brows. "That's it? Do you know what this sachet could fetch outside? And you give me one sentence? Also, how dare you..."

The girl's expression changed slightly, and she glared fiercely at Yu Tunzhou.

She had been born with a Divine Ability that let her know people's thoughts and whether they were good or evil. The ability had grown stronger with age, but the Great Dao of this grotto-heaven suppressed it, so she could only sense the rough outline now.

But even that was enough for Liu Zhizhou to sense that Yu Tunzhou actually felt a trace of pity for her!

Pity!

Who do you think you are, Yu Tunzhou, to pity me?!

Yu Tunzhou naturally had no idea of the angry waves surging in the girl's heart. He said seriously, "Give me another sachet, and I'll explain it clearly."

A second sachet came flying at him with a measure of anger, tossed away like trash.

She actually gave me one?

"You'd better explain it clearly," Liu Zhizhou said coldly. "I know you've had your own rules and limits in everything you've done these past three years. You'd best continue to abide by them today."

Yu Tunzhou froze. A moment ago, he had been wondering whether the girl was too free with her money or too quick to trust others. He had not expected that holding to his principles these past few years had earned him a modest reputation.

At that thought, he looked at the girl again and could not help finding her a little more radiant. With genuine sincerity, he asked:

"What was the first question you asked me?"

"How to get on good terms with the town guardian."

"I told you all you had to do was change into a dress. You focused on why you should change into one. I can't comment on that. My advice is that you should think about why changing into a dress would work."

Liu Zhizhou fell silent. She was quick-witted and needed only a hint to understand. As soon as he said it, she grasped certain "views" the fellow opposite her held about her.

Ever since she had realized she had no hope of taking the throne and chosen to leave the palace, she had indeed become increasingly concerned about a certain matter.

Master Luo had hinted at it before, but she had paid him no mind. Only after speaking with Yu Tunzhou today did she realize that it had affected her normal judgment.

"I stand corrected." Liu Zhizhou lifted her chin slightly, her tone softening. "Continue."

"Continue what?" Yu Tunzhou asked in surprise. Wasn't he finished?

Liu Zhizhou said angrily, "Is that the only way?"

Yu Tunzhou said helplessly, "When dealing with people, you have to cater to their tastes. For instance, if you want to deal with me more in the future, just have plenty of payment ready. But Old Mo really doesn't have many interests."

Liu Zhizhou sneered. "Then what gift did Xie Linchuan give you?"

Yu Tunzhou said seriously, "Brother Xie treats me sincerely, so I return his sincerity with my own. Could you treat me sincerely too?"

Liu Zhizhou took a small step back. "Lecher. Keep your distance."

Yu Tunzhou's mouth twitched, and he turned and left.

This time, Liu Zhizhou did not stop him. She watched the young man leave without expression, though a slight ripple stirred in her heart.

Returning sincerity with sincerity?

How laughable!

On the Great Dao, there is only striving, only the self!

Yu Tunzhou found Old Mo's fishing boat by the river and leaped aboard. He set the fish basket to one side and kicked the lazy fellow sprawled out on the boat, a bamboo hat covering his face.

Old Mo grunted and wriggled to one side, as though making room for the young man.

Yu Tunzhou held out a sachet. "Old Mo, your share."

Old Mo suddenly sprang upright, his hat falling away. Shock covered his face as he said:

"Yu Tunzhou, not bad! It's only been a few days, and you've already tricked some rich family's young lady out of her heart?"

"Someone just asked me about you. I earned it as a fee for the information."

"What did you tell them about me?" Old Mo tossed the sachet in his hand.

"I said you just like looking at beautiful women."

"Vulgar! Too vulgar!" Old Mo said, grief-stricken. "Yu Tunzhou, how did you make such a delightful, refined pastime sound so vulgar?"

"Mm-hmm," Yu Tunzhou said perfunctorily. "Next time I'll change it to 'a fair and graceful maiden is a gentleman's heart's desire.'"

Old Mo's eyes lit up at once, and he gave him a thumbs-up. "I love talking to educated people like you."

Yu Tunzhou then told him about Li Jingxuan.

"I already know about that." Old Mo nodded, then changed the subject. "Tunzhou, do you know what sights lie beyond the grotto-heaven?"

Yu Tunzhou hesitated, then nodded. "Xie Linchuan told me about the general state of the world: sects, Aristocratic Clans, dynasties."

He had also used Heavenly Peng's eyes to look down upon the four seas and eight wildernesses from who knew how many years ago.

Old Mo said with a smile, "The Daoist School has a classic called the 'Scripture of the Supreme Grotto Abyss Divine Incantations: Chapter of the Dragon Kings.' It records in detail the names of all the Dragon Kings who dwell in the mortal world."

"Among them is one known as the Lord of Dongting, who governs the water fortunes of all rivers and lakes. He resides year-round in the Dongting Water Palace on the Central Continent, a grotto-heaven blessed land hundreds of times larger than Luofu."

Dongting...

Shocked, Yu Tunzhou blurted out, "That Liu Zhizhou just now-is she a dragon girl too?"

Old Mo abruptly changed the subject again. "Do you know how the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple fell into decline?"

Yu Tunzhou's expression grew serious. Though he had not joined the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple, he had received the blessing of its fortune and cultivated its visualization diagram. It was no exaggeration to call him half a successor.

"Wasn't it because its later disciples failed to live up to their predecessors?"

"That was part of the reason, but more of it was because the various dragon lineages of the mortal world joined forces to suppress it." Old Mo clicked his tongue. "The girl probably doesn't know you inherited the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple's fortune yet. Otherwise, she wouldn't even deign to speak a word to you."

Yu Tunzhou frowned, but his brow soon smoothed.

Having inherited the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple's fortune, he naturally had to shoulder some responsibility as well.

He shook his head and looked at Old Mo. "Old Mo, that fist technique of mine has been working pretty well lately."

Old Mo looked blank. What fist technique?

Oh... that soft fist technique.

He gave an awkward laugh. "Good that it's working. Keep it up."

"But," Old Mo suddenly said, "it's time you practiced some other hand-to-hand techniques too. Otherwise, how will you contend with others in the future?"