Chapter 54 The Sea God Priest
"Grandma Zhang, thank you for taking care of him," Bai Yuheng said.
Grandma Zhang held her hand and patted it gently: "It's nothing, it just so happens that this old woman of mine is all alone."
Bai Yuheng glanced at Chen Ping'an, who was chopping firewood in the courtyard, and thought of Shang Su's last request.
"What is your name, young lady?" Shang Su didn't say directly, but asked for her name.
"Bai Yuheng".
Shang Su nodded: "My request is to erase Ping An's memories so that he can live the rest of his life cleanly and peacefully."
"I think you should have a way to erase his memory, right?"
Both of them turned their gazes to Chen Ping'an, and their eyes met his. Bai Yuheng nodded: "Okay."
“Thank you. This is my last wish,” Shang Su said, taking the shard of the square mirror from her chest. “I met them when I was a child, and we met again after I came of age. We even became family… The Chen family treated me very well. They never looked down on me because of the rumors that I was cursed, nor did they hate or distance themselves from me because of my immortality. Instead, they arranged for Ping An to marry me, thus dispelling those rumors.”
Bai Yuheng listened quietly without interrupting her.
“I was constantly criticized because of the rumors that I was cursed, and I lived in constant fear. I didn’t even dare to go out. For the first half of my life, I was at least taken care of by my aunt. But after she left, I lost my backbone.” Shang Su breathed a deep sigh of relief. “If it weren’t for Changsheng and the others taking me in, I’m afraid I would have really hanged myself with a rope and ended this absurd and tragic life.”
Bai Yuheng gently shook her head and smiled softly: "You won't."
"What?"
She repeated, "You won't just die like this."
Shang Su scoffed, feeling that she didn't understand her. Just as she was about to retort, she continued, "Just the fact that you dared to kidnap men and thought about taking male concubines gives me a glimpse into your character. I think it's unlikely that you would hang yourself just because of some unfounded rumors. I think you would rather escape this place than hang yourself."
Shang Su's eyes flashed with interest as she said, "You do know me well, but I have indeed had such thoughts. Everyone does; anyone with a heart will be disturbed by the storms of the outside world, no matter how strong or rebellious I am."
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been willing to marry someone else after Chen Changsheng's death.
After saying that, she looked at her curiously again, "Don't you ever feel that way? Being crushed by fabricated charges, unable to turn your back, with everyone's spitting at you enough to drown you..."
Bai Yuheng smiled and shook her head: "I haven't encountered it yet."
Whether it was her innate intelligence in her youth, which led to her early breakthrough and ascension, or her later role as an elder of the Tianyan Sect, she had never truly encountered any particularly sharp words that could wound her. Perhaps there were, but with the passage of time, she had lived for so long that she might have long forgotten them, or perhaps compared to the suffering of all living beings, her pain seemed insignificant and negligible.
Shang Su asked with envy, "Then you must be very happy, right?"
Bai Yuheng neither nodded nor shook her head: "Happiness, I don't know what happiness is."
If world peace is happiness, then she has experienced it. But now, because of her, the people of the world are suffering again, so she is not happy.
"How is that possible?" Shang Su exclaimed in disbelief.
"If I had to say, I'm currently searching for happiness." The happiness she seeks is bringing peace to the world.
Shang Su didn't ask any more questions. She nodded and handed her the shard of the square mirror from her chest, saying, "I'm leaving everything to you."
The fragments of the square mirror landed steadily in her palm, carrying a trace of warmth. She quietly withdrew the golden primordial spirit and felt the surging spiritual power in her dantian. Bai Yuheng's eyebrows relaxed, and she spoke with a smile: "Don't worry, I will arrange everything."
Shang Su also chuckled: "Yes, thank you."
*
"Grandma Zhang, I'm so sorry. We didn't mean to bewitch you that day..." Cen Ying stepped forward to explain, a little embarrassed as she scratched her head.
Grandma Zhang waved her hand generously and said, "Oh, it's alright, this old woman understands, let's not talk about it!"
When are you departing?
"Let's wait a bit." Bai Yuheng glanced outside, estimating the time. "If we leave early, we can still find a place to stay after sunset."
Granny Zhang sighed, "That's true. Then this old woman won't keep you any longer... I just don't know when we'll meet again."
"It's fate that we met!" Cen Ying said with a smile, but her eyes still couldn't hide the sadness of parting.
"Yes, all good things must come to an end. It is a great blessing that we were able to meet at this moment."
Grandma Zhang nodded: "You young people are so optimistic. I'll try to live a few more years. Once you're done with your work, you can come and visit us! Anping County has beautiful scenery and delicious food!"
"Definitely!" Cen Ying and Bai Yuheng said in unison, "Grandma Zhang, you will definitely live to be a hundred years old!"
Granny Zhang secretly suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes and nodded repeatedly, "Good, good..."
After watching the group leave until they became a small black dot in the distance, Chen Ping'an helped Granny Zhang into the house.
"If things go smoothly for a few days, would you be willing to come with me to the North?"
Chen Ping'an nodded: "Of course I'm willing. Wherever you want to go, I'll go with you."
Grandma Zhang patted his hand, her eyes filled with tears: "Good child..."
Chen Ping'an revealed a pure and genuine smile.
*
After the four men returned the abducted grooms and dealt with Qian Song, they rode their horses along the road.
"Where do you think Cui Mingcan could go?" Cen Ying led the horse, feeling utterly exhausted after riding for almost a day.
"Isn't it very close to his home?" Li Tiankuo said. "I guess he went home."
From his perspective, those guys were the bad guys who abandoned him and didn't come to rescue him for three whole days!
If he were heartbroken and left alone, it would be very likely that he would return to his home in Jiangzhou.
“There seems to be a ferry crossing ahead. We can take a boat and set off,” Bai Yuheng suggested. “The waterway to Jiangzhou passes right by here, and it goes downstream, so we can be faster.”
"Taking a boat? Sure, sure!" Cen Ying had never been on a boat before and was extremely excited and eager to try it.
"Alright, let's rest in the town ahead for a bit, then take a boat to Jiangzhou. That way we'll be faster."
Bai Yuheng looked at Pei Yuan: "What does Master think?"
Pei Yuan had no objection and nodded, saying, "Alright, whatever you say."
Looking around at Cen Ying and Li Tiankuo, they had no reason to refuse if there was a better way to get to Jiangzhou. After everyone agreed, they found an inn to rest.
The four of them arrived at a less crowded inn. Inside, they saw only one waiter, who looked honest and simple, but always had a smile on his face.
The waiter noticed them too, and paused for a moment, as if he were sizing them up. But in an instant, the look of inquiry disappeared, as if it were an illusion. He happily walked over and asked.
"Would you like a meal or a room at the inn, sir?"
"Just one night, three rooms." Bai Yuheng said without thinking. Pei Yuan, who was offering to pay, was stunned. Even the waiter looked at her with suspicion but didn't say anything, assuming that the two were a married couple.
Cen Ying asked in confusion, "Yu'er, someone's missing..."
Bai Yuheng then noticed Pei Yuan silently taking out his money beside her, and suddenly slapped her forehead: "Hahaha, sorry, I forgot you're not Xiaomi..."
Pei Yuan: "..."
Her lips twitched slightly, but then returned to normal: "It's alright, let's open another room, we all need rooms upstairs."
Bai Yuheng glanced at him guiltily, thinking to herself that he shouldn't be angry, right?
The waiter, oblivious to the strange atmosphere between the two, cheerfully led the four upstairs and pointed out their respective rooms.
"Would you like to rest first, or have a meal first, sir?"
"What do you think?" Bai Yuheng asked the three for their opinions, and finally said, "Let's have a meal. We haven't been eating very well these past few days. Waiter, bring out some local specialties. Money's no object."
"Okay! Alright!"
"Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask if there are any boats going down to Jiangzhou from your dock tomorrow?"
The waiter had something to say about this. He first praised the local docks extensively, describing the countless merchant ships coming and going, how prosperous they were. But then, his tone shifted, his brow furrowed slightly, and he sighed regretfully, saying, "Alas, you didn't see how prosperous it was back then! The merchant ships coming and going could have blocked the docks! It's such a pity..."
He suddenly lowered his voice, glanced around, and said, "There's a guy here who's taken over the ferry crossing. Every merchant ship that passes through here has to pay extra. If you don't pay, they won't let you dock and rest. If you're not happy about it and complain to the magistrate here, you're finished!"
The four men became intrigued and pressed him for details.
"Please come in, sir." The waiter seemed to be a talkative man, getting excited when talking about gossip, but mindful of the group he was referring to, he led them into the room and closed the door before lowering his voice to say, "Outside that ferry is a sea, inhabited by the sea god, and that master is the sea god's messenger, or if we call him a priest, those who don't offer sacrifices to the sea god won't receive his protection, and if his ships reach the center of the water, they will be swallowed whole by that eight-clawed sea monster, never to be seen again!"
Cen Ying asked in surprise, "Is this really true?"
“Oh! Of course it’s true. I wouldn’t make up a story to fool you. These things have been going on for decades. Everyone here knows about them. If you don’t believe me, just grab a few people and ask them. They’ll all give the same answer,” the waiter said. “If you want to board the ship to Jiangzhou, it’s best to pay enough protection money, which is an offering to the priest of the sea god. The priest will then report to the sea god and ask him to protect you and help you cross that dangerous sea!”
The four exchanged glances and then asked, "Who is that priest? How could he make such harmful deals with the sea god?"
“I know this priest is someone important, of course…” The waiter chuckled, rubbed two fingers together to indicate to them, “I’ve worked here for decades, I know everything about this place like the back of my hand. People outside who can only say a little bit about it don’t know as much as I do.”
"I overheard all of this, and it's all life-threatening stuff! It's not unreasonable for me to take a little money to save my life, is it?"
"..." The four of them were rendered speechless by his shamelessness.
Cen Ying wanted to hear more, so she gave him a piece of silver: "Speak, as long as what you say is unique information, these two pieces of silver are yours!"
The waiter, greedy for money, had never seen such an extravagant customer before, and repeatedly said, "Alright, alright!"
"Please sit down and let's talk."
The waiter poured them tea and began to explain: "That priest was nothing special! Before the sea god appeared, he was just an ordinary fisherman! But he wasn't exactly ordinary; he loved fishing in the roughest and most dangerous places! My father went fishing with him once, and oh dear, he almost lost half his life..."
"Until one day, he chose the day with the biggest waves to go fishing. No one else went, but he ran out, saying that the bigger the waves, the more and bigger the fish! When everyone heard this, they thought, 'Hey, this guy is reckless!' They couldn't persuade him, so they just watched him go out."
"As a result, this person didn't return for several days. Just when everyone thought he had perished at sea, he actually came back! Can you guess how he returned?" The waiter teased them for a moment, wanting them to guess.
"Did the sea god he met send him back?" Cen Ying guessed.
"Hey! You're so clever, girl! That fisherman was carried ashore by an octopus, and he looked so majestic!" The waiter even stood up and made a gesture, as if he had seen it with his own eyes. "Everyone guesses that he's incredibly lucky and that's why he received divine protection and was sent by that octopus monster to escort him back."
"After that, his deeds became increasingly fantastical. Some said he was the reincarnation of a disciple of the Sea God, able to communicate with him. They claimed that the Sea God would protect those who made offerings to him, ensuring the safety of sailors and fishermen. Others said he was possessed by a demon, which is why an inhuman eight-clawed monster saved him... There were all sorts of speculations. Until one day, a ship was in distress, and the family begged him for help, giving him a lot of money to save their lives. Isn't that amazing? He actually saved them!"
The story that follows is that the fisherman used this opportunity to become a priest, build up his power, and extort money from passing ships using offerings as payment. At first, some people did not believe him, but after it happened so many times, they had no choice but to believe him.
Cen Ying stared at him suspiciously: "Anyone who has lived here for decades would know these things. You're not trying to scam us out of our money, are you?"
"Oh dear, sir, you've misunderstood! How could I dare to deceive you!" The waiter said with a bitter expression, "What I've said before is the background; what I'm about to tell you is something that very few people know!"
The waiter said mysteriously, "As I mentioned before, my father once went fishing with him. That's how I found out."
"Tell me quickly!"
"I was about seven, eight, or nine years old at the time. My dad had just come back from fishing with him, and they had a pretty good catch. They drank several jars of wine that night and both of them got quite drunk. My dad asked him why he always came back safely when he went fishing in stormy weather. My dad joked that maybe he was a sea monster in his past life... Guess what that person said?"
Before they could speak, the waiter continued, "That man said he could understand what was happening in the water since he was a child, whether it was fish or shrimp. He also said that when he was young, he once saved a fish that looked like a snake, with a human face and a long tail! And then—"
Just as he was about to get to the point, a voice downstairs shouted at him, "Fugui! Yao Fugui! Where have you been!"
"Oh dear! My dad's calling me!" The waiter looked distressed and hurriedly opened the door. As soon as he opened the door, a thin, dark-skinned, energetic old man with bright eyes grabbed his ear and pulled him so hard that he cried out.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy... Be gentle, be gentle, it hurts!"
"I told you not to be lazy, and I told you not to talk nonsense in front of the guests again!"
The old man apologized to them in a stern tone, saying, "I'm so sorry, everyone. My child has never been very bright since he was little. He had a fever when he was a child and it damaged his brain. Please don't take it to heart..."
Li Tiankuo said, "I think he speaks fluently and smoothly, and doesn't seem to have any mental problems."
The old man sighed, "Oh dear! You haven't seen how he gets sick every few days, sometimes better, sometimes worse! What he told you just now was all lies! It was all just his imagination! There's no basis for it, gentlemen, don't take it to heart. If you want to take the boat, you should buy your tickets as soon as possible, otherwise you won't be able to get them tomorrow..."
After saying that, he grabbed the waiter's ear and dragged him away, cursing in the local dialect.
"Sir, sir, I haven't told anyone else these things, you have to believe me! Ouch! Daddy, Daddy, be gentle, be gentle..."
"I'll teach you to talk nonsense!"
The sounds of the father and son arguing faded into the distance, leaving the four of them looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Are these two people's words credible?" Cen Ying was somewhat bewildered at this moment.
Bai Yuheng squinted: "Let's not talk about that for now. Let's rest for a bit and then go to the dock to buy boat tickets. We'll see how things go then."
The three agreed: "Okay."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Transitional chapter~ [cat emoji]
The "White Bones" chapter is finished! The next chapter is coming soon! Please add it to your favorites! [Cheers][Sprinkling flowers][Loud-eared bunny head]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
