The Riverbear Beast lumbered downstream along the Yong River, covering seven or eight hundred li. Quinn Shepherd caught sight of a village built beside a temple on the riverbank and paused in surprise. On the plaque of the ruined shrine sat a barefoot little girl with three braids.
Quinn immediately had the Riverbear Beast stop by the river, left Lina the Spirit Fox behind, and went ashore alone.
He entered the village and saw that the villagers lived well, content and prosperous. Several old women were heading to the temple to offer incense; the offering was half a pig.
Quinn approached the temple. The little girl saw him, quickly jumped down, and darted inside.
"Serena, I see you. Why bother hiding from me?" Quinn said with a smile.
The little girl came out of the temple, grinning. "I wasn't hiding from you! I was waiting for you to come in and burn incense, say something like you've been weak since childhood or have kidney deficiency, so I could tease you!"
Quinn couldn't help but laugh. Looking around, he saw that the temple was spotless, not a speck of dust anywhere, with only the incense burner in the courtyard still smoking. He walked up to the shrine's idol—it was a little girl, closely resembling Serena Clearbrook's human form.
Quinn circled behind the idol and, seeing no pile of bones, finally relaxed. He stepped out of the temple, curious. "Why are you living here?"
Serena puffed up proudly: "I'm earning merit here! This village is under my protection—they provide for me, and I drive off wild beasts for them. Sometimes I haul river water to irrigate their fields, bring rain or scatter storm clouds, and when there's no wind I make wind, and when storms hit I drive away the gales. I used to run around eating people and animals, but then that bald thief caught me and locked me up. Now I stay in the temple, becoming a Buddha and ancestor, with offerings and merit to earn!"
Quinn chuckled, "Weren't you heading upstream? How did you end up here?"
"That day, after we broke the ice dam together, I wandered around and ran into the monks from Little Thunderclap Temple. We fought, but I couldn't beat them, so I fled. I ended up here, hiding in this shrine. Then mountain bandits attacked, so I ate them. The villagers saw me and thought the temple goddess had manifested, so they brought cattle and sheep as offerings and burned incense for me. Since I'd received their gifts, I felt obliged to help them out a bit."
Serena hopped back onto the plaque, swinging her bare feet. "They treated me even better, and I felt more embarrassed, so I decided to stay here for good."
Quinn laughed, "Accidental kindness is still kindness. You're on your way to becoming a Buddha." With that, he turned and left.
Serena watched him go, muttering under her breath, "I don't want to be a monk. What's the fun in eating vegetarian every day..."
Quinn returned to the Riverbear Beast's back. The great green-backed beast slowly swam out of the shallows, picking up speed as it headed downstream. Glancing back, Quinn saw the ancient shrine, where the little girl sat swinging her braids, receiving incense and offerings from the villagers.
The Yong River surged on, waves tumbling and foaming.
When they reached the docks of Dragoncrest City, Quinn and Lina the Spirit Fox disembarked and entered the city.
The city was now under the control of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Although Granny Sue hadn't shown herself as Felix Fu lately, nothing unusual had happened—after all, Felix Fu often secluded himself for cultivation.
Quinn went to an inn and called for the innkeeper. "Incense-master, is there any way to bypass the viewing mirrors and enter the Everpeace Empire?"
The innkeeper replied, "There are two official passes nearby for entering the Everpeace Empire—Yan Frontier and Mizu Pass. Both are heavily garrisoned, with viewing mirrors hanging from the city towers. Any Great Ruins native will be exposed, then either shot on sight or enslaved and sent to the mines. Crossing the mountains is even deadlier: the Shenduan Range links the Great Ruins to Everpeace, and it's treacherous, nearly impassable even for birds. To guard against Ruins marauders, Everpeace has hidden Xuánjī crossbows in the mountains. Anyone trying to climb over will be shot down by those crossbows."
Quinn frowned. "So there's really no way to get into the Everpeace Empire?"
The innkeeper smiled. "Others might not, but our Holy Cult always has ways. Before trade was officially opened, our Holy Cult sabotaged two Xuánjī crossbows on the Shenduan Range to smuggle goods over the mountains, through Withered Ridge Gorge, and into the Great Ruins. Now that trade is open, that route's obsolete—it's much easier to enter Everpeace directly. If you want to cross, just go through Mizu Pass. Most of the officers at Mizu Pass are our Holy Cult people."
Quinn's expression shifted slightly. The Cult of the Heavenly Demon's reach really was enormous—the number one demonic sect for a reason!
He thought for a moment. "Prepare maps of the Everpeace Empire for me. I'll study them on the road and get familiar with the terrain."
"Yes, sir."
The innkeeper left. After dinner, Quinn and Lina the Spirit Fox washed up and went to bed.
The next morning, the innkeeper brought a thick stack of documents—maps of the entire Everpeace Empire and detailed county maps. Quinn packed them away. "Who's taking me to Mizu Pass?" he asked.
The innkeeper smiled. "Don't worry, sir. Breakfast is ready—please eat first. Once you're at the riverbank, our Holy Cult brothers will guide you."
After breakfast, Quinn and Lina the Spirit Fox went to the Yong River. A tower ship was moored at the bank, with a young woman in green standing on deck. She bowed gracefully and said in a gentle voice, "Greetings, sir. Please, come aboard."
"No need for such formality."
Quinn boarded the ship with Lina the Spirit Fox and asked the young woman in green, "Sister, can you get me into the city and hide me from the viewing mirrors?"
The young woman smiled. "I'm afraid I can't fool the viewing mirrors. But I am Feng Xiuyun, a captain of a thousand at Mizu Pass, responsible for inspecting those entering and leaving the city. So of course I can escort you in—and out."
Quinn was astonished. The girl looked so young, yet she was already a border captain of a thousand. "Thank you, Sister Feng," he said at once.
Below the tower ship, a giant beast surfaced and continued downstream. They traveled for an unknown distance as the river widened and mist began to rise.
As soon as the ship entered the mist, the beast pulling it grew restless, slowing down as if something below the water frightened it.
Feng Xiuyun frowned in puzzlement. "Why is this creature suddenly acting up and refusing to pull the ship?"
Lina the Spirit Fox tensed up too, whispering, "Sir, I sense something approaching—a very cold, eerie presence..."
Just then, Quinn felt as if something was watching him. Behind him, a fish-dragon leapt from the water, spitting out half of a Grand Guardian's Sword.
Feng Xiuyun's face grew serious as she stepped protectively in front of Quinn. Suddenly, bubbles began rising from the depths, more and more, as the mist thickened.
Other than that, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.
Quinn steadied himself. The river was so wide, and the white mist so thick, they lost all sense of direction. Lina the Spirit Fox tried to summon a demon wind, but it was useless—the wind couldn't move the fog at all.
Feng Xiuyun took out a fan, shook it open, and it grew to the height of a person. She swung the fan forward, sending out a gale even stronger than the demon wind, but still couldn't budge the white mist.
The river carried the tower ship gently downstream. The beast that had been pulling the ship now hid trembling beneath the hull, leaving the current to move them along.
Feng Xiuyun grew increasingly anxious. Just then, a song floated up from the water—soft and lilting, like a mother soothing her child to sleep, only melody, no words.
Quinn was stunned; the tune felt strangely familiar.
"I've heard this melody before!"
He leaned over the side and saw, beneath the water, a long-haired woman in white drifting downstream alongside the ship.
As the ship moved forward, the woman in the water followed like a shadow, and the song seemed to come from her lips.
"I really have heard this melody before, but Granny Sue used to sing me a different lullaby..."
Hearing the song from the water, Quinn felt a strange warmth and restlessness, as if some buried memory was trying to surface.
Suddenly, he leapt off the tower ship and landed on the water. Feng Xiuyun reached out to grab him but missed, and Lina the Spirit Fox jumped after him. Seeing the woman in the water, she shivered with fear and hurried to follow, her little fox paws leaving ripples as she ran across the surface.
"Slow down, sir! I'm scared..."
The song continued, but no matter how fast he moved, Quinn couldn't catch up to the woman in the water.
Quinn grew more and more agitated. Just as he was about to return to the ship, he felt the jade pendant at his chest begin to float.
Quinn stopped in his tracks, staring at the woman's face in the water.
The woman in the water stopped too. It seemed she was not fleeing from Quinn—she was following him.
Splash.
The youth from Oldridge Village knelt on the water, his trembling hand reaching out to touch the woman's face. Tears streamed from his eyes, falling onto the calm river surface.
"Is it you? Were you the one who sent me to Oldridge Village...?"