The Lake

Chapter 70: The Lake

“A cracked jade with some flaws. Three taels.”

“Three taels?! No deal.” Annoyed, Li Huowang grabbed the jade pendant and headed for the pawnshop door.

Back in the real world, this piece was easily worth four hundred thousand. Here, they only offered three taels. This shop was a complete ripoff.

Stepping out the door, Li Huowang turned to look back at the shop’s signboard. “They’ve probably cheated a lot of people with prices like this. Maybe I should just come back tonight and rob the place?”

The thought had barely formed when Li Huowang felt a jolt of alarm. He clenched his fist and punched himself hard in the face. Irritated, he strode back toward the inn.

Back in the guest room, Li Huowang spread the map across the bed. He spoke to Bai Lingmiao, who was nearby doing needlework on a piece of drum leather. “Go get Xiaoman.”

His finger traced a slow line southward. Before he died, Li Zhi had mentioned a group of black-robed nuns to the south. They might be able to deal with the Danyangzi problem.

Danyangzi was still infecting him. He had to get rid of him—nothing else mattered. Even the Black Tai Sui could wait.

Li Zhi had said those nuns were barely decent people. Li Huowang didn’t believe that. After everything he’d been through, he trusted no one.

If he wanted those nuns to deal with Danyangzi, he’d need to offer them something they couldn’t refuse, while keeping himself safe.

His gaze fell on the Heavenly Scripture, sitting on the floor next to the yang-life gourd. That was the only real leverage he had now.

But that was a problem for later. First, he needed to find the nuns Li Zhi had mentioned.

“Brother Li, you wanted to see me?” Xiaoman arrived, out of breath. Aside from a slight redness around her eyes, she showed no sign of emotion.

“Where were you?” Li Huowang asked.

“I went to an escort agency. I gave them the farewell note from Siqi and asked them to send it home.”

“You shouldn’t have to do that yourself. Lay low for a while, in case the town constables cause you trouble.” He said.

Her eyes flickered for a moment, then she shook her head calmly. “It’s fine.” After a pause, she added, “My mother didn’t report me.”

“Alright. Come take a look at this map. You’re a local—you know the area?”

Xiaoman walked over and looked at where Li Huowang’s finger was on the map.

“Do you know any nunneries around here? The nuns wear black?”

“Nuns? Black robes?” She thought for a moment. Her hairy finger pointed to a mountain southwest of their location. “It must be here. Mount Heng Hua. I heard a local gentleman from town went there to worship the Golden Body Bodhisattva.”

“Golden Body Bodhisattva! What else do you know about that nunnery?” Li Huowang was trying to gather as much information as possible.

“Not much. My family was poor. We couldn’t afford to travel that far just to burn incense. I only heard that the incense is quite thriving there.”

“Hmm.” Li Huowang shook his head inwardly. That told him nothing. The incense at Zhengde Temple had been thriving too.

“Is there anything special about that nunnery? For example, Zhengde Temple is known for its son-granting prayers.”

Xiaoman thought for a long time before finally answering. “I only heard that the nuns there are all very fat.”

“Fat? How is that a distinguishing feature?” Li Huowang considered it, then tapped the spot on the map. “We’re heading there.”

They exchanged Li Zhi’s remaining money for dry rations, fine rice noodles, and a large jar of lard. Li Huowang’s group set off for their next destination.

They weren’t alone on the road. Quite a few people were traveling the same way.

From their scattered conversations, Li Huowang gathered that these people believed war was coming. Living near the border was dangerous. They were heading inland as a precaution.

They traveled in fits and starts. As they passed branching paths, the crowd gradually thinned.

Just as Li Huowang thought they’d be alone again, a vast expanse of water blocked their way.

A breeze skimmed the surface, stirring Li Huowang’s Daoist robe.

“Is this the sea Uncle Er Shu talked about?” Gouwa asked in surprise.

The broad surface of the water lay before them like a mirror between heaven and earth. It stretched as far as the eye could see.

Li Huowang pulled out the map again. “No. This is just a lake. A very, very big lake.”

Siqi was a watery region. A lake this big wasn’t surprising.

“Brother, the water looks a little dark…”

The water had a deep, almost black hue. Even standing at the shore, you could not see the bottom. It was hard not to feel a creeping dread.

Li Huowang folded the map and watched the other people gathered at the water’s edge. “Wait. Let’s see what they do.”

A small dark spot appeared on the distant waterline. The people on shore began to stir. A wooden boat—old but large—was approaching.

“Come on, come on! Everyone aboard! Seventy coppers a head!” A boat captain stood on the deck, shouting at the crowd.

“Seventy? Last year it was only forty-six!” someone on the boat complained.

The barefoot captain glared back at him without an ounce of patience. “I’m asking if you want to ride or not. If you’re so capable, swim across yourself.”

The man grumbled but paid up. The captain, satisfied, spit into the lake. “War’s coming. Still so many rules. I’ll raise the price if I want to—what are you going to do about it?”

“Let’s go. Get on the boat.” Li Huowang stepped forward. In this unfamiliar territory, he wasn’t afraid of being overcharged. He was afraid of being set up.

The boat carried several dozen passengers, slowly moving toward the lake’s center.

People who had never been on a boat might get seasick, but Li Huowang found it manageable.

He turned to the captain. “How long to the other side?”

“Two hours. Don’t worry, we’ll make it before dark.”

Li Huowang nodded, warily watching the dark water splitting before the bow.

The pitch-black water felt oppressive, as if something monstrous might crawl out of it at any moment.

“There’s nothing in this lake that eats people, is there?”

After everything he’d been through, Li Huowang was jumpy as a startled bird.

“What kind of talk is that? Those are just stories made up by idle loafers. I’ve been on this lake for nearly twenty years. Look at me, alive and well. No worries. You pay me—I deliver.”

Hearing that, Li Huowang’s heart settled a little.

The boat crawled forward as the sun in the sky began to dip westward.

When the clouds were stained red by the setting sun, the boat slowly entered a vast expanse of reeds.

“Should be close now,” Li Huowang thought as he looked around.

Just as the thought crossed his mind—thump. A sound of something hitting the water came from behind.

Everyone who heard the sound turned instinctively. The boatman and the captain were both gone!

“Ma! They’ve been eaten by something in the water!”

Someone’s shout sent panic rippling through the dozens of people on board.

“Everyone sit down! Do you want to capsize the boat?” Li Huowang’s sharp cry quieted the crowd.

He turned to his own group. “Does anyone know how to steer a boat?”

Blank looks all around.

Before Li Huowang could figure out what to do, the reeds around them began to stir.

Several small boats, carrying men, women, and children all holding weapons, closed in around them.

On one of those boats, Li Huowang spotted the captain from before.

He was scraping his fingernails clean with a small dagger. Seeing Li Huowang staring at him, he laughed. “So, little one. What’ll it be? Boiled knife-cut noodles, or wonton soup?”