Chapter 98 Fengling Ferry "Wasn't she born to human parents?...
The Yellow River, carrying silt and sand from the Qin-Jin Gorge, surges with golden waves in the morning light.
The ferry crossing was bustling with people of all kinds, and a vendor was selling freshly steamed buns to a young man in white.
"Anchor—raise—!" With a long, drawn-out shout, Lian Zhao quickly paid the bill, grabbed a large bag of steamed buns, and leaped onto the stern.
At the same time, two or three boatmen struggled to pull the cast iron anchor chain out of the turbid waves, the sluice gates of the ferry opened, and the moored merchant ships slowly left the shore.
Fifty or sixty li downstream from Pujin Ferry is Fengling Ferry. Bai Yuan and Zhou Yaren chose to travel by water this time. So, relying on the connections between the Taihang Road youths and the government, they didn't need to rent a boat. After the ferry official distributed the official documents, he also helped them onto the southbound merchant ship.
"Listen to the wind, have a steamed bun." After distributing the buns to his fellow disciples, Lian Zhao handed the paper bag to Zhou Yaren. He had bought them by the number of people, and there were only two steamed buns left in the bag, but he couldn't bring himself to give them to the other evil god.
Zhou Yaren naturally handed it to Bai Yuan: "Would you like to try some of the five grains of the human world?"
Bai Yuan glanced at the steaming buns and was about to refuse when Zhou Yaren stepped forward an inch and said softly, "They bought these for you."
Bai Yuan turned his gaze, and several boys immediately buried their heads in their pancakes, their cheeks puffing out like hamsters sitting in a row in front of a rice bin.
The boys were at the age when they were growing, and after working non-stop for several days, sometimes going hungry and sometimes eating too much, they developed a habit of wolfing down their food.
It actually looks quite appetizing.
So Bai Yuan accepted the steaming hot bun, held it between her fingertips for a moment, and then simply took a bite. After finishing, she lowered her eyes, staring at the surging yellow waves outside the cabin, chewing slowly, the phrase "the five grains of the human world" passing through her mind. The bland bun actually tasted quite delicious.
Several teenagers were stealing glances over from time to time, secretly observing, when Bai Yuan suddenly spoke up: "What are you looking at, you shifty-eyed creatures?"
Lin Mu confessed without being asked: "Who was looking at you!"
Bai Yuan's brows and eyes relaxed in the slanting sunlight: "Never seen an evil spirit eat vegetarian food?"
The teenagers: "..."
“No,” Yu Heqi said softly, “that’s not the point.”
Lin Mu: "What is the key point?"
Wen Yi: "She said we looked shifty and sneaky."
The group of teenagers stared at each other for a while, considering themselves to have normal features—how could this evil spirit curse them?!
Zhou Yaren took out the last steamed bun, took a bite, and ate it slowly and carefully. Then, amidst the murmurs of the group of teenagers, her eyes crinkled with laughter.
Bai Yuan glanced sideways, staring at the slightly curved corners of his eyes, where long eyelashes cast a light shadow at the tips.
Zhou Yaren seemed to sense something and looked up, meeting Bai Yuan's undisguised gaze. The corners of her eyes, which had been curving upwards, slowly straightened out.
Bai Yuan didn't mince words: "Before boarding the ship, who were you communicating with?"
Before boarding the ship, he summoned Fei Nu to send a message to Chang'an. Zhou Yaren calmly replied, "My master is the Grand Master of Music in the palace."
Bai Yuan didn't ask any further questions, because as soon as the flying slave leaped onto the ferry, it was caught by an ice silk thread and was pulled down from mid-air with flapping wings.
After reading the contents, Bai Yuan calmly tore the letter containing Yin Sui's whereabouts into pieces and scattered them into the Yellow River.
Since Bai Yuan stopped talking, Zhou Yaren also remained silent. He actually knew the truth, because before boarding the ship, Liu Yun, who had witnessed the whole process, told him privately: "The Taiyin torturer intercepted the flying slave."
“Hmm,” Zhou Yaren was not surprised, but the title “Taiyin Punisher” was a bit too long, so he seemed to speak somewhat carelessly, “Her name is Bai Yuan.”
Li Liuyun didn't care about the form of address: "Should we send another message?"
Zhou Yaren said, "Let's do as Your Highness wishes."
Unexpectedly, Li Liuyun asked, "What does Tingfengzhi mean?"
"Bai Yuan will not allow Yin Sui's whereabouts to be revealed. The more people who know, the easier it is for things to go wrong, and it could very well be detrimental to her." Zhou Yaren paused. "Since the letter hasn't been sent out, if Your Highness is willing to be accommodating, then let it go."
Li Liuyun looked at Tingfengzhi with a meaningful gaze. Back in the Twelve Killing Squads of Jingguan, he and his fellow disciples had been saved from being pierced by a thousand arrows thanks to Bai Yuan's help. In any case, he should repay this debt of gratitude. Of course, he could turn a blind eye: "This is your business. I won't interfere too much."
Zhou Yaren was right; although His Highness followed the rules, he wasn't so rigid as to be inhumane.
And so the matter was dropped.
Bai Yuan and Zhou Yaren stared at each other silently for a moment in the cabin. They both knew what was going on, but their purposes were different, and they couldn't open up to each other. Neither of them took the initiative to bring it up.
The merchant ship sailed downstream smoothly. According to the wind, the weather was clear and the river valley was calm. If all went well, they would arrive at Fenglingdu before sunset.
Several teenagers, having nothing to do in the cabin, finished denouncing the heinous Gu Master and then began to denounce the tyrannical King Jing'an who massacred the city. They even obtained a history book from a certain instructor in Puzhou and began to cram on the history of the late Qi Dynasty. Lin Mu pointed to a line of writing with utmost seriousness and accused, "Senior brother, look here! It actually says that King Jing'an was brave and skilled in battle, a brilliant strategist, who restored the Qi Dynasty's shattered land, turned the tide, and reunited the fragmented world, allowing the people to live in peace and prosperity. He is the founding emperor who ended a century of chaos! Wow, they've all hailed him as the greatest emperor of all time!"
Bai Yuan stared at the black and white trees, maintaining the pure and innocent heart of a young man, yet to have experienced the trials of humanity.
Bai Yuan casually replied, "Making achievements and establishing a career, then recuperating and resting, makes perfect sense."
Lin Mu searched the book over and over but couldn't find any record of the Jing'an King's massacre of the city: "How can you have no stance at all? His atrocities in Puzhou City have been completely erased."
"Nobody's my relative, so what right do I have to take a stand?" Bai Yuan said casually. "It's not normal that there's no record of him massacring the city. History has always been a one-sided affair of the victors. Who would want to write dark history into the history books? What's the point? To be condemned in public? Or to be infamous for all time?"
Lin Mu stared at those clear, almond-shaped eyes, unable to find a single word to refute them. He even felt that the historical book in his hand was hard to distinguish between fact and fiction, so he simply slammed his hand shut.
Lian Zhao: "Not watching anymore?"
Lin Mu shook his head: "Who knows if it's just random writing? It's better to read 'Listen to the Wind and Know the Image'."
“Historical records are not entirely fabricated,” Zhou Yaren said. “In fact, it was indeed King Jing’an who ended the century-long war by using war to stop the fighting.”
That makes sense, but Lin Mu suddenly changed the subject: "Why does Guanlan look exactly like Tingfengzhi?"
Zhou Yaren paused for a moment: "It might be a coincidence."
Lian Zhao said, "I find it quite strange. Could it be your past life?"
So the young people began an in-depth discussion about past and present lives, from Guanlan to Yinsui, and from Yinsui to Taiyin refining the body and cultivating longevity. They combined this with Fangxian Dao, linking Bei Qu's Taiyin/Dao body together, tracing it back to the time when Qin Shi Huang sought longevity.
Bai Yuan glanced at the ancient pine trees hanging upside down between the cliffs of Qin and Jin, listened to the several teenagers recount a long story with dry mouths, and finally concluded that the wicked Gu Master Duoyin Sui must also want to use the Dao body to cultivate the art of immortality.
Bai Yuan, finding the story uninteresting halfway through, quietly went up to the deck.
Of course, the review process cannot avoid mentioning Bai Yuan, who was trapped in the Taiyin/Dao body for a thousand years. According to Li Liuyun's speculation at the time, she was the immortal Yin body cultivated in the Dao body.
But this was denied by Bai Yuan.
The five boys suddenly fell silent, their eyes wide with curiosity and inquiry as they looked at the white-clad figure on the deck.
“She said…” Lin Mu lowered his voice and whispered behind him, “What did she mean by ‘she has never been a human being’?”
"The literal meaning, right?"
"Wasn't she born of human parents?"
"Since you've never been a human being, how can you have parents who raised you?"
"Where did she come from? She must have some background, right?"
"Why don't you go and ask?"
"I'm not going. What if it's some taboo that can't be mentioned and I offend her? I can't swim anyway."
"Don't worry, I can swim, I'll come and get you."
"No, you can ask them yourself."
"Does Tingfeng know either?"
Zhou Yaren, standing to the side, shook his head, indicating that he did not know. He first met Bai Yuan in Taiyin/Daoti and tried to get information out of him several times, but failed.
The surging river carried merchant ships to the bend where the Yellow River turned east, and the outline of Fengling Ferry gradually came into view. This place was where three rivers met, and merchant ships came and went in great numbers. Whether it was the transport of grain between Guanzhong and the Central Plains, the exchange and distribution of salt and iron between Hedong and Jiezhou, or the transport of silk, cloth, tea and medicinal materials from the south and north, all would be transshipped through Fengling Ferry.
As a vital passage for the combined water and land transport of the Yellow River, Fenglingdu is a place where countless goods need to be transferred by boat or land. Dozens of boats of all sizes are moored at the ferry crossing, and the boats stand tall and majestic.
Lin Mu poked his head out of the cabin: "Have we arrived so quickly?"
Lian Zhao stood up: "The journey has been smooth sailing, and it's taken us more than three hours."
As soon as the ship docked, Bai Yuan, who was on the deck, was the first to disembark.
Lian Zhao, with great insight, helped the unseen Ting Fengzhi.
The ferry crossing was bustling with merchants and vendors, and all sorts of shouts and calls rose and fell. A bare-chested porter carrying heavy loads squeezed through the crowd to reach Bai Yuan. She let him go first, just in time for Zhou Yaren and a few teenagers to catch up.
The old woman at the tea stall, all smiles, beckoned customers: "Oh, where have you all come from? You must be tired from your journey. Would you like to sit down and have a cup of hot tea?"
As Lian Zhao waved his hand in refusal, another person came up enthusiastically, almost dragging Lin Mu along by the arm: "Oh my, you distinguished guests have come at just the right time! As the saying goes, the river thaws in the seventh and ninth months, and the swallows return in the eighth and ninth months. The spring breeze melts the ice, making it the perfect time to eat river fish. This only happens once a year, and once it's over, you won't be able to eat river fish anymore! Look!"
Lin Mu was dragged to a riverside tavern. Staring at several live fish swaying in a large wooden basin, he listened as the waiter eloquently introduced them: "Yellow River Golden-Winged Carp, these were caught when the Yellow River broke through the ice. Look at these golden scales and red tails. After a whole winter of purification under the ice, the meat is extremely delicious, comparable to ginseng, very nourishing. There are only a few left now. Once they're sold out, we'll have to wait until next year. You've come all this way, so don't miss out. Please come in, please come in."
The boys had only eaten a steamed bun on the boat and were already very hungry. After hearing this explanation, their stomachs were rumbling with hunger, and before they knew it, they had entered the tavern and sat around an elm wood square table by the window.
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