Early the next morning, just before dawn broke.
Gu Qing woke from his sleep, did a quick wash, then slung the bamboo basket over his back and headed out.
Qiu Niang was already awake. No one knew when she had woken, but it must have been earlier than him. The moment Gu Qing opened his eyes, he saw her lying on her side, staring at him without blinking.
The guest room was small, with only a single bed, so the two of them had no choice but to make do and sleep together.
Fortunately, the girl’s frame was slender, so sharing the bed didn’t feel cramped.
Before leaving, Gu Qing placed a few pieces of silver by the bedside as payment.
The previous afternoon, after being bitten by a viper, he had happened to run into an old man carrying a fishing rod. Upon learning what had happened, the old man warmly invited them to return to the village with him to rest for the night.
He then instructed his wife and children to slaughter a chicken and prepare fish, treating them generously, never once mentioning payment. A truly kind-hearted elder.
Gu Qing had intended to say goodbye before leaving, but when he stepped out of the guesthouse, he found that the whole family was still asleep. Not wanting to disturb them and pressed for time, he had no choice but to leave it at that.
On a winter morning, shrouded in mist, he stepped onto the dirt path at the village entrance, his figure with the bamboo basket gradually swallowed by the white fog.
***
At the same time.
Xiqi.
After several days of lockdown, the city gates finally stirred to life today. With a loud creaking groan, two figures rode out from the city on fine horses at full speed.
The chaotic pounding of hooves shattered the stillness and dispersed the thin mist lingering outside the gates.
They burst through the fog and raced northward.
The two figures, one tall and one stout, were none other than Zhang Chi and his junior brother, Wang Erhu.
“Senior Brother, if you ask me, even if we really have to make this trip ourselves, there’s no need to set out this early, right?”
“It’s not even fully daylight yet…”
Slumped over his horse, Wang Erhu let out a huge yawn, the fat on his face bunching together and jiggling.
Hearing this, Zhang Chi frowned slightly and snapped without courtesy, “Idiot!”
“This mission is anything but ordinary. More than thirty disciples from our temple have all been dispatched to the Northern Region. I sent a message back to the capital last night. Within three days at most, those disciples will receive the news. When that happens… heh, who knows how the credit will be divided.”
At this point, Zhang Chi paused briefly.
Half a month ago, the matter of the Marquis of Mighty Valor colluding with evil forces and attempting rebellion was exposed.
The world only knew that the entire Marquis household had been executed, but few knew that the true scheme behind it all had always been for that little wretch, the Marquis’s youngest daughter.
As a direct disciple of the Imperial Preceptor, he naturally knew some of the inside story.
Zhang Chi’s voice lowered. “As far as I know, that little wretch possesses an extremely special constitution. One that appears only once in ten thousand years, a holy body for cultivation. Even an ordinary person who merely eats her flesh raw could prolong their life and greatly increase their strength, let alone cultivators like us…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was already clear.
Sure enough, the fat Taoist’s half-lidded eyes suddenly lit up, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Something that miraculous?!”
“Master is truly biased…why did he tell only you and not me?” he complained immediately after.
“Tell you? Heh. If that happened by the next day the entire Great Zhou would know.”
Zhang Chi looked at his junior brother with a cold smile curling at his lips.
“Leaving aside those benefits, just consider Master’s temperament. If we fail to handle this matter properly or delay along the way, and he finds out… do you think we’ll end up well?”
At this, Wang Erhu immediately straightened his back. Thinking of the rumors he had heard back at the temple, a flicker of fear flashed through his fish-bead-like tiny eyes, and he hurriedly said, “Senior Brother is right, absolutely right…”
“But Senior Brother, that man surnamed Gu left Xiqi seven days ago. No one knows where he’s headed now…how are we supposed to find him?”
The young Taoist pondered for a moment, then slowly said, “Wherever someone passes, traces are always left behind.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked into the distance. Through layers of white mist, the cold and desolate Canglan Ferry faintly came into view.
A possibility occurred to him.
Even though that possibility seemed highly unlikely, almost unrealistic, recalling how that man surnamed Gu had traveled from the southern part of the city to the north and had even stocked up on a large amount of dry rations, it began to seem more plausible.
This possibility stemmed from a legend.
According to the tale, north of Xiqi, at the source of the Red River, there stood a divine mountain that had existed for ten thousand years, blanketed in snow year-round and wreathed in clouds and mist.
At the summit of this sacred mountain grew a spiritual herb said to cure all illnesses and grant immortality.
Immortality was naturally just a folk exaggeration, but the herb itself had indeed been seen from afar by some.
Zhang Chi pondered silently. Catching sight of his junior disciple fidgeting anxiously atop his horse out of the corner of his eye, a trace of disdain flashed through his mind.
An utter fool.
Once we find him, I’ll send you to meet the King of Hell. Saves me the trouble of having one more person splitting the credit.
***
Day after day passed.
From Xiqi to the Red River, the journey was long, with towering mountains and winding rivers.
More than half of the journey consisted of rugged mountain paths that were impassable by carriage or horse, leaving only one option… to travel on foot.
Along the way, Gu Qing had at first been in the mood to admire the scenery, to remark on the local customs, and when the mood struck him, he would even casually recite a line or two of poetry.
But gradually, as they passed through forests, crossed meadows, traversed plains and hills, and waded through streams and small rivers,
His legs grew sore, swollen, and numb, and his mind became increasingly exhausted. It was hard to retain that carefree ease, and only at night, in the stillness of deep silence, could he truly relax his body and mind.
Three thousand li. What a long journey it truly was.
Long enough to wear down a person’s patience, to erode a person’s will.
Yet no matter how long the road was, there would always come a day when it ended.
Standing atop a barren earthen slope, the young physician came to a halt and gazed into the distance from his elevated vantage point.
The mountain wind stirred his shoulder-length black hair. His refined face was buried beneath the dust of the journey, and between his brows seemed to linger endless fatigue…yet his eyes alone remained clear and bright.
A set of green robes had long since become worn and old.
The clothes on his body looked somewhat aged… though “tattered” would be a more fitting description.
The right sleeve hung in ribbons, fluttering in the wind. It was torn when he had once carelessly snagged it on a branch. On his left leg, at the knee, there was a hole the size of a fist, worn through from a fall.
There was much more besides that. Every tear and shred marked the path they had traveled.
And now, after fifty-seven days of a long journey, it seemed the end was finally drawing near.
Gu Qing stood atop the earthen slope, gazing as far as his eyes could reach. At the very edge of his vision, a streak of crimson glow seemed to appear out of nowhere.
The glow of the clouds was so brilliant, so vast, that it was almost blinding.
Looking more closely, one realized it was the fiery sunset clouds reflected upon an immensely wide river.
The river surged and roared against its stony banks, sending up countless waves. The sound was like thunder, the form like crimson clouds, the momentum grand and unending, stretching for a hundred li without a break.
Gu Qing thought to himself, “So this is the Red River.”
From the bamboo basket on his back, the girl poked her head out, resting it lightly on his shoulder as she took in the magnificent scene with him.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, “The apricot blossoms in the courtyard have bloomed.”
Gu Qing paused for a moment, then quickly understood.
Indeed, they had walked for so long….though it was actually three days faster than the two months Gu Qing had originally expected.
But regardless of the outcome, it was far longer than Qiu Niang had imagined.
They had journeyed from the depths of winter into early spring, walking for a full fifty-seven days.
Naturally, the apricot blossoms in the courtyard had long since bloomed.
Gu Qing smiled and replied, “Mhmm, it must be a beautiful sight.”
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