Yuan Jue didn't know what he meant at first, but when he saw Shui Yichen slowly reaching out his hand towards him, he realized what he wanted.
A slight displeasure stirred within him, but for a moment Yuan Jue didn't know how to refuse. Or perhaps it wasn't even a matter of refusing; he was merely helping to bring Shui Yichen onto the boat, but Yuan Jue had a gut feeling that if he did so, he might find it difficult to easily get rid of Shui Yichen.
"Mingfeng, bring Shui Yichen up. I'm going to find a room to rest for a while." With that, Yuanjue turned and left.
He was just trying to be kind, so there was no need for him to worry too much.
Mingfeng listened to Yuanjue's words and took Shui Yichen to the deck of the large ship to find Yuanjue.
Shui Yichen stood blankly on the deck, staring in the direction Mingfeng had left, her expression changing several times. Finally, lost in thought, she slowly walked into the cabin.
The large ship moved slowly and smoothly, as if traveling on flat ground.
Yuan Jue finally put his unhappiness behind him and looked out at the scenery from a place on the ship where people could eat and drink tea.
Because of the surrounding water, all the houses shimmered brightly. And it was precisely these reflections that made the entire water town even brighter, as if there wasn't a trace of darkness.
There is no darkness? Not necessarily.
When Yuanjue looked out at the scenery, he suddenly noticed that the sky above the north side of the water town was covered with light shadows. If it weren't for the light refraction on this sunny day, Yuanjue would never have been able to see anything.
With a quick glance, Yuan Jue summoned the crew member who was greeting guests in the cabin.
"I wonder what's to the north?" Yuan Jue asked the crew member, pointing to a shadowy area in the sky.
Only Yuan Jue noticed the shadow. Ming Feng followed Yuan Jue's finger but couldn't see anything amiss. Although she didn't know what Yuan Jue wanted to do, she knew he wouldn't do anything without a reason, so she curiously looked at the crew members in cooperation.
The crew member looked in the direction Yuan Jue pointed, thought for a moment, and replied, "That area is our water town's 'gentle haven'! Years ago, many women from other places had nowhere to live in the water town, so the oldest of them bought a piece of floating duckweed there as their home. These women from other places all seemed to have some talents, so they performed in the houses on the duckweed. At first, it was just a place for people to have afternoon entertainment, but I don't know when it turned into the 'gentle haven' it is now. And of the original group of women from other places, only one remains."
"Oh, by the way, the place is called 'Gentle Water Town.' It wasn't originally called that; it was changed later. The mayor once hoped Gentle Water Town could change its name, but for some reason, he was always refused and powerless to resist, so he eventually resigned himself to it. Are you interested in going there? However…"
The crew member glanced at Mingfeng, his expression hesitant.
Chapter Nine: Traveling in Disguise
Yuan Jue smiled and said, "Speak freely."
The crew member, looking reckless, surveyed the surroundings before leaning closer and whispering, "If you're going to the Gentle Water Village, please don't take this young master with you. Although it's called a 'gentle village,' everyone in our town knows it's actually a cursed place. All the children who have approached or entered it have disappeared!"
"Oh? What's going on here?"
The crew member scratched the back of his head, blushed, and took a step back: "I don't know either. I only told you because you seem kind, sir. The people who come from outside are either families who come to enjoy the scenery or merchants. Merchants naturally don't bring children, so we don't need to remind them. And it's not appropriate for families to go to that place, so this is the first time I've mentioned this to an outsider. Please keep it a secret for me, sir!"
The crew members all had honest smiles on their faces. Yuan Jue looked into their eyes and remained silent. Only when the crew members looked a little flustered did he chuckle and say, "Of course I won't tell anyone, don't worry."
Having received Yuanjue's confirmation, the crew chuckled twice and then took their leave.
Yuan Jue watched the crew members' departing figures, lost in thought.
"Mingfeng, what do you think of this matter?"
Although Yuanjue was asking Mingfeng a question, he did not intend to get any information from Mingfeng.
The boat stopped after traveling for a short time on the river, and when it left, two figures, one large and one small, appeared where it had stopped.
"It's good to take a look at some things..."
The young man's voice drifted out softly, and a gust of wind blew by, blurring everyone's vision. When they opened their eyes again, there was no one there; it was as if everything before had been a hallucination.
...
Inside the inn, Feng Fei rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the scenery outside the window.
For some reason, she'd been feeling constantly uneasy lately. When had it started? Well, probably from the moment she stepped into the water town. But what was wrong with her that made her so uneasy, to the point of sleeplessness? If it weren't for the seal beside her, she might have already succumbed to this growing unease.
"What...what happened? What...something's wrong..."
Suddenly someone knocked on the door.
"who?"
"It's me..." Only Xue Tuan could utter such a warm and soft voice.
Feng Fei sighed. If Yuan Jue hadn't been around recently, she definitely wouldn't have been able to get along with Xue Tuan in a good mood. Although... she had experience taking care of children before, she didn't like having Xue Tuan with her.
A strange anger welled up in his chest. But Feng Fei could only forcefully suppress it: "Come in first..."
Xue Tuan shuffled in, and upon seeing Feng Fei's face, which held a hint of anger, her little body trembled involuntarily. After a long pause, she finally managed to say in a trembling voice, "Sister Fei Fei, have you been unhappy lately? I...I..." Xue Tuan hesitated for a long time before finally finishing the sentence, "I'm so worried..."
Feng Fei was taken aback at first. Then he gave a wry smile.
Unexpectedly, at this point, only this child could see his unhappiness, and only this child would still care about him, even if he was scolded and driven away... Thinking back to the three months in Warrior Town, Feng Fei felt guilty towards Xue Tuan for the first time.
"Snowball..." Feng Fei's voice suddenly rose, but then fell extremely low: "I'm fine..."
Xue Tuan seemed to sense Feng Fei's vulnerability at that moment, and boldly walked up to Feng Fei and hugged one of her arms: "Sister Fei Fei, don't be sad. Xue Tuan is with you."
Feng Fei sighed softly, not rejecting Xue Tuan's approach. At this moment, what she needed was comfort and warmth.
For a moment, the whole room felt extremely peaceful and cozy, and Feng Fei even wished that it could stay like this forever.
But the next moment, the familiar figure that once made her heart tremble suddenly appeared in Feng Fei's mind. Feng Fei subconsciously shuddered, thinking of all the things she had experienced in the past, and a violent aura slowly surfaced in her eyes.
Just as Feng Fei was about to explode, the door was suddenly pushed open again.
Feng Fei glared at the newcomer, intending to teach them a lesson, but upon seeing who it was, she instantly transformed into a gentle and considerate person.
"Yuan Jue? What brings you here?"
The newcomer was Yuan Jue, but Ming Feng was not with him. Feng Fei seemed surprised that Ming Feng was not there, tilting his head to look behind Yuan Jue, but he did not see Ming Feng: "Where is Ming Feng?"
The moment Yuan Jue opened the door, he saw the ferocity in Feng Fei's eyes clearly, and a slight chill ran down his spine. He didn't know how much longer the Feng Fei he knew could hold on, or if he would suddenly be assimilated into the Feng Fei he had just witnessed. It seemed the plan had to be accelerated.
Yuan Jue kept a straight face, but his mind was racing with calculations.
"Mingfeng said she saw someone she knew and then left me behind."
Feng Fei didn't believe Yuan Jue's explanation, but he couldn't refute it either, so he asked instead, "Did you find anything after going out for a walk?"
Yuan Jue smiled mysteriously, "Of course, there will be great gains."
"Oh?" Feng Fei pretended to be interested, stood up and pulled Yuan Jue, who was standing at the door, into the room to sit down. "What kind of harvest did you have? I'm a little curious."
"Ha, I won't tell you." Yuan Jue smiled reservedly, but did not answer directly.
It was rare to see Yuan Jue so playful, and Xue Tuan's eyes widened immediately. Yuan Jue didn't want to say, but she really wanted to know: "What did you gain?"
Yuan Jue remained the same as before, smiling calmly, but his hands moved without hesitation, pinching Xue Tuan's little face until it turned bright red: "Xue Tuan wants to know?"
Seeing Xue Tuan nodding her little head, she smiled mysteriously and said, "The gain is that I discovered a great place, and the biggest gain is that that place is extremely beneficial to us, but as for the benefits—"
Yuan Jue drew out the last syllable, not immediately explaining the benefit, but instead looked at Feng Fei with a bright smile.
At this moment, Yuan Jue finally piqued Feng Fei's interest, and seeing Yuan Jue's expression, Feng Fei immediately asked cooperatively, "What kind of benefits are they? Please tell us, Young Master Yuan Jue."
As he spoke, he stood up and bowed deeply, then made a face at Yuan Jue.
Yuan Jue was momentarily dazed, as if he had seen the Feng Fei he knew best, but the next moment he saw the gloom in her eyes that did not belong to Feng Fei, and he immediately came to his senses.
"The benefits—I don't want to tell you right now. I plan to wait for Mingfeng to return tonight, and then the four of us will sneak over together. You'll all find out then. But I have to make one thing clear: how much each person earns will depend on their own abilities~"
Without waiting for Feng Fei's reaction, he patted off non-existent dust from his robes, laughed a few times, and strode away.
Only Feng Fei and Xue Tuan were left staring at each other in bewilderment.
After dinner, Fengfei was left alone in the room again.
She didn't take Yuanjue's words from earlier that day to heart, and she wasn't curious about the benefits he mentioned—she had been somewhat curious when Yuanjue spoke of them, but not much now.
The quiet night only amplified Feng Fei's restlessness and unease.
She paced back and forth in the room, looking slightly anxious, with a feeling that something bad was about to happen.
Suddenly, Fengfei slumped down at the table, thinking of that person from back then, the beautiful times they had shared, and the child they had together. But then Fengfei's heart calmed down.
"Sister Feifei!"
Xue Tuan's voice suddenly came from outside the door, but Feng Fei remained seated.
Seeing that Feng Fei hadn't reacted for a while, Di Yuanjue, who was outside the door, called out, "Feng Fei, are you ready?"
Upon hearing Yuan Jue's voice, Feng Fei was startled, as if something was about to burst out of her body, but this feeling was so fleeting that she couldn't catch it at all.
Upon opening the door, one sees Yuan Jue Mingfeng and Xue Tuan, fully prepared and ready to depart.
Feng Fei didn't make any preparations, and in fact, there was nothing she needed to prepare. Her things were always stored in her storage ring.
"Walk."
Having received Feng Fei's message, Yuan Jue smiled slightly and took a step forward towards the entrance of the inn.
On the river outside the door, there was a small awning boat, and the oars were being rowed by the very same boat that Yuanjue had tried to avoid during the day.
"Young Master Yuanjue." Upon seeing Yuanjue emerge, Shui Yichen quickly bowed and then lowered his head, avoiding looking at Yuanjue.
Yuan Jue nodded slightly, and then stepped onto the small boat after Feng Fei and the other two had boarded the boat: "Thank you for your help tonight."
The water level dropped, and he said he dared not, so he rowed the small boat away.
Feng Fei seemed surprised by Shui Yichen's attitude towards Yuan Jue, but she was not the same Feng Fei as before, and only showed surprise without paying much attention.
Yuan Jue stood at the bow of the boat, seemingly admiring the scenery on both sides of the river. His slightly excited voice quietly reached Fu Zhong's ears: "I remember there are a few sets of men's clothing in my storage ring. Take this opportunity to change into them. It's not convenient for women to appear where we're going later."
Feng Fei was stunned, then his face turned red, and he said angrily, "Why didn't you say so at the inn? How am I supposed to..."
The words abruptly stopped, and Feng Fei's face was somewhat blank. While she was speaking, Yuan Jue, who had his back to her, waved his right hand behind him, and a dense curtain of water surrounded her and Xue Tuan. From her angle, she could clearly see the scenery outside, but from the outside, it was just pitch black. Xue Tuan even curiously ran out to try it out, and seeing that she really couldn't see, she urged Feng Fei to change her clothes quickly. She quickly put on the boy's outfit that Ming Feng had given her earlier.