Chapter Thirty-Seven

Baozhu only vaguely understood what Yuanyuan was saying, and she followed Yuanyuan's gaze.

The Xiaoshui River comes from the west. When it is almost near Jiangbei Prefecture, it suddenly makes a big bend to the north, and then flows eastward into the sea.

The river essentially encircles half of Jiangbei Prefecture, like a mother's embrace, providing Jiangbei Prefecture with convenient transportation and bringing countless riches.

Looking upstream from the Xiaoshui River, Baozhu casually asked Yuanyuan, "You were put into the Xiaoshui River when you were born, how did you survive to be this big?"

Yuanyuan pursed her lips tightly and tentatively asked Baozhu, "Fox Fairy, haven't you heard the local legends?"

"What? I'm not a local fox spirit, so naturally I've never heard of it."

Hearing this, Yuanyuan breathed a sigh of relief, lowered her voice, and said cautiously, "I don't know the specifics, but back in the old house, the old woman would scold people by saying, 'We wasted money buying you.'"

"Perhaps Lianxin and I were bought from somewhere by her. Maybe someone specifically picks up abandoned girls from the muddy water."

As Yuanyuan spoke, she carefully observed Baozhu's expression.

Baozhu was still immersed in Lianxin's surging emotions, her heart heavy. She didn't look at Yuanyuan's expression or react to what she said. She just raised her chin towards Xiaoquan Village and said, "You can also say this to those celestial masters."

Before Baozhu could finish speaking, Yuanyuan's expression immediately changed. A hint of hostility flashed in her eyes as she shook her head and said, "I don't believe in any Taoist masters."

It's normal that she harbored hatred towards all the Celestial Masters because she had Ji Ren as her target of hatred.

Baozhu snapped out of her daze and looked at the girl who was so thin and small for her age.

Her face was slashed and her head shaved, just so that others wouldn't recognize that she was a woman. She spoke harsh words, but no one would think that she was inherently bad.

They were all forced into this state by the world. Compared to those who harmed her, Yuanyuan probably had to be even worse off to survive.

Seeing that Yuanyuan looked exhausted, Baozhu thought that she must have been digging in front of her godmother's cave all night and then being brought here to reunite with Lianxin. She must be very tired, so she said to her considerately, "Go back."

Yuan Yuan looked at her, and whispered with some reluctance, "Fox Fairy, will we ever meet again?"

This girl had a tragic fate. Apart from Lianxin, Baozhu was one of the only two people who treated her kindly, so she naturally became close to the fox demon.

And it's actually quite ridiculous that Yuanyuan's own kind harmed her, while most of those who were kind to her were actually monsters.

But whether they will meet again, and what the future holds, Baozhu doesn't know. For demons, a mortal's life is too short, and making promises to them lightly may only increase their sorrow.

Baozhu remained silent, and Yuanyuan understood. She smiled at Baozhu and said, "It's alright, we'll meet again if fate allows. Fox Fairy, I'll be leaving now."

The petite girl, no longer lingering, turned and walked towards Xiaoquan Village.

Baozhu stood there, watching her figure disappear.

She also felt tired, as if her morning nap hadn't been effective, and now she felt sleepy again.

Baozhu found a shady spot outside Xiaoquan Village and crouched down to wait for Li Zhi and the others to come out.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Baozhu heard the voices of the Celestial Masters talking in the distance. She perked up and, when Pei Xuanji wasn't looking, quietly slipped into Li Zhi's trunk as they passed by.

Li Zhi felt a weight on his back, knowing that Baozhu had returned. He deliberately walked at the very back and whispered, "How is it?"

“That little beggar is the person Lianxin is looking for; we have already sent her to her final rest.”

Baozhu's voice sounded sullen. Li Zhi was taken aback and asked, "Since things went so smoothly and were done so quickly, why is Baozhu still sad?"

“I can’t explain it.” Baozhu sat up, a trace of sorrow in her voice. “Influenced by Lianxin, I briefly became a mortal.”

What does it feel like to become a mortal?

Li Zhi, who was born a mortal, had never considered this question.

“So complex, so wondrous,” Baozhu replied vaguely. “So many emotions are mixed together, it’s hard to tell them apart.”

"Is that so?" Li Zhi recalled his various emotions and felt that even though they were numerous, they were quite clear and organized, unlike the complicated feelings Baozhu had described.

But if Baozhu thinks so, then perhaps it's because most monsters have simple and direct emotions, and complicated feelings would be a great burden for them.

Li Zhi's understanding of her deepened from this point on.

Just as he was about to say something more, his companions ahead of him complained that he was walking too slowly and urged him to hurry up.

Li Zhi quickened his pace.

At this moment, Baozhu behind him suddenly spoke up: "Perhaps the strange phenomenon you are looking for is upstream of the Xiaoshui River. Lianxin told me that they were put into the Xiaoshui River by their parents as soon as they appeared, and when she passed away, she dispersed into water vapor that filled the sky. Ghosts are related to water, so what if there are many ghosts, many female ghosts?"

Countless children abandoned by their parents are left adrift in the murky waters, praying for the protection of some so-called goddess so that they may find peace.

Where did they all go? Are they still alive, or did they die tragically like Lianxin?

Baozhu's heart ached dully.

Lianxin has passed away, but the marks left on Baozhu have not yet faded. She has begun to loathe her brief existence as a mortal.

Since the female ghost Lianxin was lingering by the Xiaoshui River, it seemed to be related to the truth they wanted to pursue. Li Zhi naturally believed Baozhu's words. He went forward and discussed with his companions that since they still had some time today, they might as well go upstream on the Xiaoshui River to take a look.

Since it concerned solving the case, Pei Xuanji was naturally willing. So even if Zhang He hesitated and held back, he alone could not win against the agreement of his two companions.

The three of them then headed south, towards the upper reaches of the Xiaoshui River.

After walking for about half an hour, the Taoist masters saw the Xiao River begin to bend sharply, and a rather imposing mountain rose up from the ground and appeared before them.

Although this mountain is not as famous as some of the tall mountains, it still looks majestic from a distance. However, all the trees on the mountain have now withered and died, leaving only a dark brown expanse.

Pei Xuanji looked up at the mountain, took out a map of Jiangbei Prefecture from her satchel, looked around, and said to her companions, "This is Sanzhen Mountain."

Zhang He shaded his eyes with his hand, looked up at the mountain, and asked in confusion, "Look, isn't there a house on the top of the mountain?"

Pei Xuanji put down the geomantic map, squinted, and looked up. There seemed to be something vaguely visible on the mountaintop.

"Come closer," Li Zhi said.

So the three of them walked towards Sanzhen Mountain for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and saw that the mountain stood right at the great bend of the Xiaoshui River.

Li Zhi turned around and whispered to Baozhu, "If someone lowers a child from upstream, this is the perfect place to catch him."

“Yes,” Baozhu murmured.

A series of faint, noisy whispers came from the mountain. Baozhu couldn't understand them, but she could feel that something was calling to her from above.

She had a vague feeling that there were many of her kind on the mountain...

Because they were closer, Zhang He simply took out a talisman and stuck it on his temple. He finally understood the houses on the mountaintop, which were rising and falling.

“There is a temple on the mountain,” Zhang He said.

“That’s not surprising. It would be strange if such a large prefecture didn’t have a single temple nearby,” Pei Xuanji replied.

"Huh, it seems someone's coming down from up there." Zhang He said in a puzzled tone, "The city gates were indeed open today, but who would have the mind to come to the temple on Sanzhen Mountain to offer incense?"

The three celestial masters looked at each other in bewilderment. Seeing a few lonely, unattended houses ahead, they quickly found a dilapidated mud house and hid inside, peeking out through the cracks in the house.

Those people on the mountain were fast; they had just been on the mountaintop, and in no time, they appeared in the Celestial Masters' sight.

Upon closer inspection, the three realized they were a group of colleagues in uniform.

When the patrol mission was assigned, was anyone else assigned to Sanzhen Mountain? The three exchanged a glance, all seeing the confusion in their companion's eyes.

Three Celestial Masters came down from the mountain, which was the usual configuration for Celestial Masters on missions. Although they were not members of Zhao Jia's team, two of them seemed somewhat familiar.

After his three colleagues had walked away, Zhang He lowered his voice and said, "I saw two of them in Gejiabao."

“They are all Ji Ren’s confidants,” Li Zhi added.

"Then could it be that they received a secret order from Ji Ren and came to Sanzhen Mountain?" Pei Xuanji asked doubtfully.

All three of them turned their gazes toward Sanzhen Mountain.

In previous years, this mountain would have been lush and verdant, shrouded in mist, a truly breathtaking sight.

But at this moment, under the blazing sun, Mount Sanzhen was deathly silent.

The mountain, of course, did not respond to them.

"We can't go straight up the mountain. Let's go back first and then discuss it further," Li Zhi said.

Their companions had no objections, and the three of them turned around and returned to the city via the same route they had come from.

After all that trouble, it was almost evening when they returned to the city. When Li Zhi went back to the courtyard and put down the trunk, Baozhu, who was curled up inside, was already asleep.

The fox's body rose and fell, and her breath made the tip of her tail tremble slightly.

I'm exhausted. I didn't get a good rest last night, and I've been running around all day today.

Li Zhi wanted to wake her up and let her rest in bed, but seeing how soundly she was sleeping, he couldn't bear to.

After thinking for a moment, he went to find a palm-leaf fan, took out the Book of Heavenly Treatise, sat down on the spot, and fanned Baozhu, who was sleeping in the chest, while reading by the light of the oil lamp.

So when Baozhu finally woke up, she saw Li Zhi in a strange posture.

"You'll hurt your back if you keep doing that," Baozhu said, blinking her eyes.

"It's nothing." Now that Baozhu was awake, Li Zhi stood up and stretched his limbs.

Baozhu jumped out of the box, shook its flattened fur as usual, and looked sleepy and not fully awake.

After squatting down to rouse herself, she suddenly got up and started rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for something.

Li Zhi stepped forward and said, "What are you looking for? I'll look for it for you."

"I don't know where I put the little notebook that Lianxin wrote." Baozhu stuffed her whole head into the box, but still couldn't find it.

"You handed it to me last time, remember? I kept it for you."

As Li Zhi spoke, he magically picked out the book Baozhu wanted from a stack of books that she had searched for several times.

"You're amazing! I just looked for it, and it's definitely not there!" Baozhu looked at Li Zhi with surprise, took the notebook, and transformed into human form.

Li Zhi looked at her with a smile, and then they put their heads together to look at the notebook written by Lianxin.

Baozhu ignored the pretentious poems at the beginning and turned to the end, where she found something different.

At the end of the notebook, Lianxin's handwriting had begun to tremble, far less elegant than before; she wrote only one sentence—

Yuanyuan, I finally realize that you were right. I'm sorry.

Upon seeing this sentence, Baozhu sadly put down her notebook.

After recounting the story of Yuanyuan and Lianxin from beginning to end, she looked at Li Zhi and said, "I still don't understand why, even though she had clearly figured it out before she died, that Yuanyuan was right and she wanted to apologize to her, she kept it to herself and refused to speak until she died. She couldn't let go of it and became an obsession, turning into a female ghost."

The fox demon looked at the scholar, puzzled, and asked, "Why is that?"

Under the lamplight, one side of Baozhu's face was covered in shadow, her brows furrowed, looking utterly perplexed.

Li Zhi looked at Baozhu and a thought struck him; he suddenly felt that she was different.

If it has a human body, it is a monster; if it has a human heart, what is it?

For a moment, Li Zhi was filled with regret and resentment. The carefree Baozhu, the smiling Baozhu, and countless other images of Baozhu flashed before his eyes.

He closed his eyes, suppressing his chaotic thoughts, before looking at Baozhu and asking, "Baozhu, have you ever lied? Have you ever hidden anything?"

Baozhu was stumped by his question; of course, she had lied.

She had been lying for over twenty years, lying and concealing things every single day.

Li Zhi then asked, "If Baozhu has ever concealed anything, why did she conceal it?"

Baozhu looked at Li Zhi, at his beautiful eyes, and answered silently in her heart.

Because of cowardice, speaking out will lead to loss; once spoken, everything changes.

Baozhu suddenly realized.

She felt she might understand. Often, the reason why mortals' emotions are so complicated and chaotic is because their lives are too short. So short that a single mistake or loss can fill their entire lives, forcing them to keep everything hidden in their hearts and endlessly dwell on it.

She pondered it deeply, then smiled knowingly.

After a long while, Baozhu looked at Li Zhi and said softly, "I have lived for a very long time. It may sound shameless to say this, but I suddenly feel that I am different from before. Maybe I have become better."

Li Zhi remained silent.

After a moment of silence, he reached out and gently patted Baozhu's head, saying with relief, "No matter when, growing up is always a good thing."

They sat quietly facing each other, and when their eyes met, they felt a new connection with one another.

However, this precious moment was soon interrupted when Zhang He knocked on the courtyard gate and said softly, "Old Li, are you asleep?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi stood up and said to Baozhu, "We still need to discuss today's matter, and we don't know when we'll finish. You should go to sleep first."

Baozhu nodded and watched Li Zhi walk out of the courtyard.

Zhang He stood obediently at the door waiting. When he saw Li Zhi push open the door and come out, he curiously peeked into the courtyard.

Li Zhi immediately closed the door and gave him a calm look.

"I just want to know, is your Fox King fully recovered?" Zhang He quickly tried to make amends. "I see you carrying her out to play all the time. She's probably already full of energy when she's a normal monster. She's too weak."

Zhang He's words struck a chord with Li Zhi. He remained silent for a moment, then said, "I wonder how much better I've become. Tonight—"

When the word "night" was mentioned, Zhang He's eyes immediately turned strange.

Li Zhi explained speechlessly, "She has too many dreams at night, and gets tired easily during the day if she moves around even a little."

Zhang He then stopped his fuss and started to think about it: "If it's that weak, then we can really think about the soul. If you have the chance to go to the capital in the future, you can speak to Xiao Pei politely and ask her elders to take a look at the Fox King."

Zhang He was the same person who gave Li Zhi a cold shoulder when Li Zhi mentioned the elders of the Pei family last time, but this time he actually brought it up himself.

Li Zhi shook his head: "I thought about it last time. Master Pei hates evil and is not the type to tolerate monsters. Besides, he is Master Pei's elder. There's no point in us talking about it. It's not good to make a decision on our own."

Zhang He nodded: "That's true."

They are currently staying at the Ji residence because of Pei Xuanji's influence; therefore, she is entitled to live in the best courtyard, which has a large area and many rooms.

The three of them then made it a habit to come to her courtyard to discuss things.

When they arrived at the place, they saw that the courtyard gate was wide open, and Pei Xuanji was inside, carefully reading the files. There was a thick stack of books in front of her, which almost completely covered her.

Zhang He called her name, startling Pei Xuanji. With a wave of his hand, the mountain of books collapsed with a crash.

Pei Xuanji exclaimed "Ouch!" and quickly bent down to pick up the books.

Seeing this, Li Zhi and Zhang He joined in.

The three of them started talking as they picked up the books.

Zhang He said, "After I came back, I went out again and went to the street that Li Zhi and I had gone to last time. I bought a few palm-leaf fans from a vendor and asked about the Three True Mountains."

He casually tossed the book he had picked up from the ground onto the table and continued, "Guess what? I specifically looked for a time when no one was around, but the vendor praised it highly, saying that there was a temple on Sanzhen Mountain, where a god rarely seen outside was enshrined, and the temple's attendant was a renowned philanthropist."

Pei Xuanji paused, then asked suspiciously, "What good deeds has he done?"

"Raise a child picked up from the muddy water?" Li Zhi asked as he tidied up the messy books on the table.

"How did you know?" Zhang He looked at Li Zhi in surprise. "I even asked. The temple is dedicated to a goddess. Didn't Zhao Jia say the same thing before, that there is a goddess in the Xiaoshui River and that people in Jiangbei Prefecture believe in goddesses? I only understood when I heard the vendor say that. It turns out that he was referring to the goddess in the Sanzhen Mountain Temple."

"When I hear the word 'goddess' now, I always think of the ant queen under Gejiabao." Pei Xuanji picked up all the books under the table, sat down in the chair with a solemn expression, and looked at her two companions. "And I also discovered something in the dossier."

She pointed at the files on the table one by one and said, "I have borrowed all the files from Jiangbei Prefecture in recent years and looked them all over, but there is not a single record of any strange events related to Sanzhen Mountain."

"How could that be?" Zhang He chuckled, shaking his head repeatedly. "Demons and monsters all love mountains and forests. If you check the records of the Strange People's Temple for any of the more famous mountains, you'll find countless strange events throughout the year. If you can't find anything there, it can only mean—"

“Some people don’t want these things to be investigated,” the three said in unison.

The other two companions had already shared their findings. Li Zhi paused in his work of sorting through the case files and slowly said, "I also have an old news item here."

He erased the trace of the pearl from the story of Yuanyuan and Lianxin and told it to the two celestial masters.

In the dead of night in Jiangbei Prefecture, after Li Zhi finished speaking, the sound of the night watchman's drum suddenly came from outside.

It's midnight.

Pei Xuanji and Zhang He got goosebumps.

"The goddess on Sanzhen Mountain is probably not a true goddess."

Li Zhi looked into Pei Xuanji and Zhang He's eyes and spoke slowly.