Chapter 23 Crossing the Water
After living on the boat on the Canghe River for several days, just as Ji Er's family was getting used to it, their journey on the Canghe River came to an end, and they had to change course and cross the river to Huanghai City.
With a clang, the boatmen threw anchor ashore, and the boat came to a stop.
Huang Pinjie put some spirit crystals in the cage, let Ji Er's family in, and then gave the cage to Wu Buyu.
She walked ahead, and Wu Buyu followed closely behind, carrying the cage.
Danzhou is poor in natural resources but rich in seafood;
Here, strong winds often blow wildly like bone-scraping knives, and the last bloodline of the ancient Lich race barely survives.
Danzhou is not suitable for outdoor cultivation.
Because of its geographical location, the spiritual energy outside carries a bone-chilling cold at night and a scorching fire poison during the day. It is in a state of violence at all times. If cultivators directly absorb spiritual energy for cultivation, this spiritual energy will be like tiny spiritual knives cutting into the cultivators' spiritual platforms.
Cultivators who practice outdoors in the long term are like those who are taking a slow-acting poison; their lives will not last long.
To survive, one must use detoxifying herbs during cultivation, which is like taking three steps forward and two steps back, driving living beings crazy.
However, this place is very suitable for raising poisons, so local cultivators mostly practice poison techniques. They cultivate themselves to be cunning and their minds are generally not normal, so they cannot be judged by common sense.
Therefore, Huang Pinjie had already taken care of Ji Er's family before even disembarking, to prevent these silly birds from being targeted by passing poison cultivators.
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The banks of the river are deserted due to the constant poisoning activities; there isn't even a large boat going to the Desolate Sea City.
In the end, Huang Pinjie had no choice but to pay a high price out of his own pocket to rent a water turtle cultivator at the Profound Spirit Realm and head to the Desolate Sea City.
The water turtle carried a small bamboo house on its back. Huang Pinjie went inside and released Ji Er's family.
Everything was damp, making everyone uncomfortable. Ji Rong asked Huang Pinjie, "Auntie, it's only four thousand miles away, why don't we just fly there?"
Huang Pinjie sighed and said, "Arong, you are too young. You don't know that apart from Zhongzhou, the land of Kyushu is no longer suitable for us wild cultivators to live in for a long time. The mountains in Danzhou are difficult to travel through. It is said that there is a lot of miasma and swamps in the mountains."
"We'll spend some money to go there now; it'll be slower, but it'll be safer."
Gui Xiu's speed was incredibly slow, only managing to swim about 500 li a day, but her patience was exceptionally good. She didn't speak, she just kept swimming.
If it weren't for the occasional greeting she would exchange with her fellow clansmen, Ji Rong would have suspected that this turtle cultivator was deaf or mute.
It took eight whole days for the tortoise to finally reach the shore and climb onto the grass, whereupon it said, "We've arrived at Desolate Sea City."
Huang Pinjie quickly called Ji Er's family into the cage, then she sat on Wu Buyu's body, got off the tortoise, and paid the remaining balance.
The water turtle glanced at Wu Buyu and said, "Old fox, flying isn't allowed inside the city," and then left.
Wu Buyu had been to the Desolate Sea City once before, but that time he was carrying two attendants from the Heavenly Void Palace. They had official credentials and travel permits, so they naturally flew there and flew away.
His current status and position are vastly different from what they used to be, so he folded his wings and carried Huang Pinjie slowly.
They had only walked a mile when they saw two two-tailed scorpion demons with their heads down approaching them. Without saying a word, they stung Wu Buyu and Huang Pinjie.
Huang Pinjie hurriedly used her tail to block, but the scorpion demon was just feinting and not actually stinging her. Instead, it took advantage of the opening to deliver the poison.
Poisonous powder emanated from their claws, scattering and covering Huang Pinjie. Huang Pinjie tried to block it but missed, and hurriedly retracted her tail. Wu Buyu then flapped its wings and flew, its claws reaching for the two scorpion demons. Seeing that they were no match for them, the scorpion demons retreated quickly.
Without delay, Huang Pinjie let out a long howl, threw the Fire Fox Token into the air, and breathed out a mouthful of foxfire, instantly creating the phantom of an eight-tailed fire fox.
Before long, a four-tailed black fox came running from afar. When it got closer, the cultivators realized that this "four-tailed black fox" was clearly a Gu fox, because its body was covered with dense black insects.
It stopped three zhang away from Huang Pinjie and then stiffly bowed and asked, "Is that your esteemed guest, Aunt Jie?"
Huang Pinjie made a hand seal, revealing the form of a five-tailed fire fox. The black fox immediately rushed in front of Wu Buyu, bowed to Huang Pinjie, and said, "This little fox Feng Qing is here on Miss's orders to welcome Aunt. Aunt, please come with this little fox."
Huang Pinjie gestured for Wu Buyu to follow Feng Qing. Looking into Feng Qing's familiar eyes, she couldn't help but frown and ask, "How have you been all these years, Miss?"
Feng Qing didn't respond, but said, "Aunt Jie, you'll know soon enough."
The crossing was chaotic. Huang Pinjie followed Feng Qing toward the city gate, and there were no fewer than ten fights of varying sizes along the way.
Huang Pinjie was anxious about the Third Miss's situation, but she didn't show it on her face. She flaunted her five tails, maintaining the demeanor of a Xuanling Realm cultivator.
Upon reaching the city gate, the toad demon guarding the city came down to check their identities.
When Huang Pinjie saw that Feng Qing had produced his identity document and then spat out three large black worms that attached to the travel permit, the toad demon general looked satisfied. He immediately grabbed the black worms, threw them into his mouth, and then called to his subordinate to open the city gate and take Huang Pinjie and the others inside.
There were three city gates. After passing through each gate, Feng Qing would vomit three worms. He vomited a total of nine worms before finally entering the inner city.
Feng Qing led Huang Pinjie and Wu Buyu through a series of turns, finally stopping beside a small courtyard. It clumsily activated a magic array, leading Huang Pinjie and the others inside.
After entering, Feng Qing jumped into a coffin in the courtyard, which had a lantern hanging outside, and then fell silent.
After a while, a weak female voice came from inside the room, saying, "Aunt, Qingqing is too weak to go out. Please come in and have a chat."
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Huang Pinjie burst into tears. She told Wu Buyu to stay by the coffin, picked up the cage herself, and shakily pushed open the door to go inside.
After closing the door, Huang Pinjie saw Gu Qingqing, the third young lady she had raised, by the light.
Her third young lady, born into a prominent family, intelligent and exceptionally talented from a young age, was now curled up like a tattered, scruffy doll on an old, tranquil grass mat. Huang Pinjie put the cage on the ground, transformed into a fox, jumped to the lonely mat, and burst into tears.
Gu Qingqing twisted her neck with difficulty, her dark eyes wide open, and said, "Auntie, don't cry. I'm content to see you again in my lifetime. I was stupid. If I had listened to you, Auntie, this wouldn't have happened."
After crying for a long time, Huang Pinjie hugged Gu Qingqing and asked in a hoarse voice, "Even if you're crippled, you're still the clan leader's child. How could she bear to send you here!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingqing burst into a big laugh and said, "Aunt, you don't know this, but ever since you pulled me out of the Ancestral Fox Palace, the clan has known that I have lost my talent and have no hope for the future, so they have withdrawn all the attendants from my Qingxin Residence."
I then lived alone in Qingxin Residence to study Gu techniques, and I was happy to have some peace and quiet.
My second sister was also ruined. Only after the lord and my mother pleaded for her did she survive, but she ended up being imprisoned by the clan for life. That was all she was going to do.
However, twenty years ago, the Northern Ice Fox Clan offered generous gifts to welcome Xiao Jun back. My mother agreed, and Xiao Jun returned home.
Not long after Xiao Jun left, Second Sister died; the Lord hated her even more. He felt that if it weren't for me being the only one who won Mother's favor, Second Sister wouldn't have had any wrong thoughts and been possessed by the remnant soul of the Lich Clan.
From then on, he constantly cut back on my expenses. My health was already compromised, and I was neither well-fed nor warmly clothed. Fortunately, I had secretly watched you practice Gu techniques in the past, which is why I survived by using poison to nourish poison.
Three years ago, the Four-Tailed Red Wave of Desolate Sea City failed to break through to the Profound Spirit Realm and died. Since no suitable foxes were willing to come, the Lord recommended me to the Clan Chief, saying that my Gu poison technique had achieved some success, and my Gu fox puppet had reached four tails, so I could come to Desolate Sea City to recuperate.
“Aunt, I couldn’t be happier to be free from the master’s control, so I agreed.”
Huang Pinjie stroked Gu Qingqing's head affectionately and asked sadly, "What's the deal with the Gu fox Feng Qing in the courtyard?"
Gu Qingqing was on the verge of a breakdown and continued, "On that day, apart from you, Aunt, who was exiled to Jiming Mountain, all the others who served me were beaten to death. I secretly picked up some of Feng Qing and pieced them together."
"And your eyes?"
"Feng Qing's eyes are mine, Auntie, aren't I amazing!" The blind and scraggly Gu Qingqing nestled in Huang Pinjie's arms, her sweet and coquettish words making Huang Pinjie feel as if she were still that fiery white, well-proportioned, and glossy little fox from back then.
Huang Pinjie was extremely sad. How could her clean, soft, and cuddly little fox cub have turned into this?
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