Meanwhile, Nan Zhi took advantage of the chaos to call out the Taoist's glamour. Watching him try to steal a chicken only to lose his rice—getting surrounded and thoroughly beaten by the crowd—she lost no time in searching for a vessel heading to Dongjingfu.
—Exposing someone's magic in public, even if she did not yet fully understand the rules among cultivators, was clearly enough to forge a feud between them.
If he were magnanimous, perhaps they would merely hash it out the next time they met.
If she ran into a petty and narrow-minded cultivator, however, today's affair would mean a fight to the death.
No matter how she looked at him, Nan Zhi did not think that Taoist was a gentle, soft-hearted, or peace-loving sort.
After all, her most pressing matter right now was delivering Wanniang to Kaifeng Prefecture; she had no time to tangle with that Taoist.
Fortunately, renting a boat went smoothly. That very afternoon, Nan Zhi located a cargo ship bound for Dongjingfu.
The vessel's owners were a couple past fifty, kind-hearted and hospitable. Hearing that Nan Zhi did not have enough silver, they offered her an unoccupied room.
“Lady Nan, this vessel of mine was originally meant for hauling cargo, so there are only a few passenger rooms, and they are quite rustic.
“If you don't mind it, you can stay here. As for the silver, I'll only charge you half the fare. What do you think?”
The owner led Nan Zhi into a room on the boat and showed her the furnishings inside:
“I don't know why, but there are so many people going to Bianjing (Dongjingfu) this year, packed like carp in a river! Even the few rooms on my boat were rented out early on.
“To tell you the truth, if the guest who originally booked this room hadn't been delayed, I wouldn't have been able to rent it to you at a discount.”
Nan Zhi naturally did not mind. Instead, she marvelled that her usual bad luck debuff had surprisingly failed to trigger this time.
Since the boat was set to depart the next morning, Nan Zhi bought some fresh fruit and vegetables in Shouzhou, stocked up on dry rations, and returned early to rest on board.
Walking on a boat felt entirely different from walking on dry land.
Fortunately, though Nan Zhi felt a faint illusion of floating as the boat swayed with the water, she did not get seasick.
Master Wang and his servant, on the other hand, had been vomiting non-stop ever since boarding. Even the home remedy provided by the boat owner—a concoction of fermented grain water—was of no use.
The two were so weak they could only lie in their room. Moving even half a step felt like torture, and they spewed sour stomach fluid continuously.
This saved Nan Zhi a great deal of trouble.
—Though she still worried a little about whether the two of them could survive until they reached Dongjingfu.
Having safely boarded the vessel, Wanniang's mood improved considerably. She poked half her head out from the oil-paper umbrella to chat with Nan Zhi:
“Sister Zhi, did you buy any wine?”
Although Wanniang was an ancient ghost and did not fear sunlight, as a spirit, she naturally disliked it.
Furthermore, with all kinds of people gathered on board, Nan Zhi could hardly explain her presence to the boatmen. She had no choice but to ask Wanniang to hide inside the umbrella for now and only emerge once they reached their destination.
“I bought some, I bought some! Although it isn't any top-tier liquor, the woman selling it told me it's called ‘Hundred Days Spring,’ and it can only be found in Shouzhou City.”
Nan Zhi pulled out a jar of wine, then took Wanniang's skull from her bundle and submerged it whole into the jar.
The cabin was narrow and pitifully small, containing nothing besides a bed and a wooden table facing the window.
Having been dried up for days, the wine worm caught the scent of alcohol and twitched its body eagerly, manipulating its hair worms to sip the liquor from the jar bit by bit.
Before long, an entire jar of fine wine was drained completely by the wine worm. A faint flush appeared on Wanniang's normally pale, corpse-like face.
She stretched lazily, floating over to tease the wine worm in the jar with her finger:
“Mmm... It really is good wine. Doesn't taste like it was sweetened artificially either; it's crisp and refreshing, with a touch of bamboo fragrance.
“They must have buried the wine lees at the roots of bamboo trees and distilled it using aged rainwater. But the yeast wasn't made quite right, so it inevitably carries a slight earthy taste.”
“Drink less. I only bought this one jar. Don't get drunk and lose control, then wander onto the deck in physical form and terrify everyone.”
Nan Zhi chanted an incantation and formed a hand seal, summoning a handful of clean water to soak the skull in:
“I really can't tell whether this bug is addicted to alcohol or if you are. Going three days without wine makes you look like you have ants crawling all over your bones.”
“When I was alive, I was a thousand-cup drinker! This tiny bit of wine isn't even enough to quench my thirst.”
Wanniang leaned limply against Nan Zhi's shoulder, wailing sorrowfully:
“In the past, I always thought I would compile a 《Wine Classic》 to record all the fine wines of the world.
“Regrettably, that book had barely gotten started when I became a hanged ghost. Now, if I want to drink wine, I can only taste it through this little bug.
“Sob, sob, sob...”
The beauty covered her face, weeping softly with pitiful grief.
“What's the harm in that? You can just compile a new one.”
Nan Zhi pursed her lips, realizing she had spoken out of place, and pulled out another jar of wine, placing it on the table:
“Wang Fugui could steal your wine worm, but he couldn't steal the talent in your mind. Decades have passed, and he still only knows how to brew a single type of wine—that says it all.
“Once this matter is resolved, you can take this wine worm and go taste all the fine wines under heaven—”
Before she could finish, Wanniang's sorrowful expression vanished, replaced by a successful, mischievous grin:
“Hahaha! Sister Zhi really was hiding more wine! Wine Immortal, drink up, drink up!”
The wine worm surfaced from the liquor, extending its hair worms to wrap around Wanniang's fingertips. On its chubby little insect face, a clear expression of flattery could actually be seen.
Nan Zhi: “...”
You even gave the bug a name?
You actually faked crying just to trick me into giving you more wine?
Give back her heartfelt sympathy, you bastard!
A terrible choice of friends!
She must have made a terrible choice of friends!
...
...
That night, the market was brightly lit and bustling with clamorous noise. The dock remained as lively as during the day.
The shouts of laborers, the calls of vendors, the loud haggling of sedan-chair porters, the parting advice of friends and relatives, and the splashing of oars as ships set sail all blended together, drawing attention away from the figure lurking in the darkness.
“‘Today, my young nun's heart stirs; seeing his handsome grace, I hurry to drop my silk handkerchief, calling three times for my young master's tender love...’”
Herding his livestock, the green-robed Taoist hummed a tune as he strolled through a narrow alley.
The doors of the households whose members had eaten the pears earlier that day were wide open. Men and women walked out with vacant, dull expressions, following silently behind the Taoist.
“One pair, two pairs, three pairs... nine pairs, ten pairs. That's enough, that's enough.”
Beaming with delight, the Taoist pulled out a small gourd, took a large gulp of water, and spattered it entirely over their faces.
By some evil magic he performed, those struck by the water collapsed onto all fours. Their limbs transformed into four hooves, their heads into sheep heads, and their clothes into thick, soft wool—
In just a few breaths, the spellbound people were transformed into mute livestock, mindlessly following behind the Taoist.
“Fine treasure, fine treasure.”
Patted his small gourd with satisfaction, the Taoist pulled a giant hedgehog out from his sleeve to lead the way:
“Now that the main business is taken care of, let's see how this Dao Master settles the score with that troublemaking little wench!”
Rate on N.U.
