“Master, the river has a foul temper today. It's enraged. We can't haul anyone up using hooks or nets like this; someone has to go into the water. But look at these waves—diving in means never coming back. We've got whole families of young and old to feed, so we're truly sorry.”
The corpse retrievers' departure left Bai Shuyuan weeping without tears. Grown man that he was, he sat right on the riverbank wailing in front of County Magistrate Yu.
“Little Sister, your brother has come to take you home! Are you angry with me? Is that why the waters are surging so fiercely? Are you mad that I didn't recognize you?
“I didn't mean to! After that imposter Bai Zhu'er married into the He family, she barely ever visited home, and whenever she did, it was only to demand silver. She wouldn't even speak with me! Your brother was a fool not to realize she wasn't you!
“Little Sister, if you truly are here, please calm these waters. Let me send people down to bring you back up! I haven't dared tell Father and Mother about what happened to you yet, fearing they wouldn't be able to bear it.”
Strangely enough, as his wails rang out one after another, the river actually began to settle, gradually returning to normal until it flowed placidly downstream, as though the roaring tempest just moments ago had been an illusion.
Everyone who witnessed this gasped in unison, feeling that even the breeze blowing across the riverbank carried an eerie chill.
Shivers ran down their spines, and they involuntarily stepped back several paces to distance themselves from the water's edge. At the same time, everyone grew even more certain that Bai Shuyuan was likely telling the truth.
Watching everything unfold right before his eyes, County Magistrate Yu felt deeply unsettled. Hearing about such supernatural occurrences was one thing, but actually seeing it firsthand was an entirely different matter.
Caught completely off guard by the sight, he could hardly stomach it. Spotting Gu Qingyun not far away, he waved her over.
“Constable Gu, come here for a moment.”
Gu Qingyun quickly stepped over to County Magistrate Yu and cupped her hands in a respectful salute.
“Your Honor.”
County Magistrate Yu motioned for her to lean in closer and whispered,
“Lass Gu, is this Bai Zhu'er ferocious? Can you keep her in check?”
Gu Qingyun widened her eyes slightly and gave a gentle smile.
“Your Honor, Bai Zhu'er was a kindhearted soul in life and is merely an ordinary ghost. These waves were likely caused by her benefactor. Furthermore, Your Honor is an imperial official, upright and frugal. With the official aura you possess, foul things would not dare approach you.”
County Magistrate Yu breathed an inward sigh of relief. Straightening his back, he gave a dry cough and waved his hand dismissively.
“Very well, go on about your duties.”
Gu Qingyun was left speechless. The daytime was supposed to be her off-duty rest time; what duties did she have to attend to? She was working unpaid overtime here.
Standing by the riverbank, she listened to Bai Shuyuan's ceaseless wailing. Seeing that he had no intention of stopping, she had no choice but to cut in:
“All right, stop crying. The river has already calmed down. Aren't you going to call those corpse retrievers back?”
Bai Shuyuan's crying hitched. Scrambling to his feet, he chased after them along the path they had come from, only to come jogging back a short while later with a crestfallen face.
“What did those corpse retrievers grow up eating to run so fast? I ran all the way out, but they were already nowhere in sight! Forget it, I'll go down myself. My sister cares for her brother; she'll surely protect me.”
Gu Qingyun watched him from the side and asked casually,
“Can you even swim?”
Bai Shuyuan shook his head sheepishly, his voice quiet as a mosquito's hum.
“No.”
Gu Qingyun was speechless.
“I heard from the corpse retrievers that you offered a hefty sum. How much silver?”
“Ten taels of silver.”
Wang Hu and several others stood nearby with pricked ears. Hearing Bai Shuyuan mention a full ten taels, their interest was piqued. Yet looking at the eerie river, they had no choice but to abandon the idea—one had to be alive to spend such money.
Hearing ten taels, Gu Qingyun's fingers twitched involuntarily. She tested the waters,
“How about... letting me earn this silver?”
The moment the words left her mouth, Bai Shuyuan shoved ten taels of silver into her arms.
“Deal!”
Gu Qingyun's expression stiffened slightly. After exchanging a brief word with Wang Hu and the others, she traced an incantation with spiritual power, chanting inwardly: 【Water shall not wet my flesh, the river shall not soak my clothes, the River God makes way, the Yin waves recede!】
An invisible barrier formed around her, and she leapt toward the river's surface, vanishing from sight in an instant.
Several constables' eyes widened in shock. Wait, she just plunged straight in without any retrieval tools? And once she went under, she sank like a stone—completely vanishing without a trace!
County Magistrate Yu happened to see Gu Qingyun jumping in. Frightened, he shot to his feet, his voice trembling slightly.
“Did Constable Gu just jump in? What on earth did she jump down there for?”
Hearing his shout, Wang Hu trotted over and whispered the whole story into his ear.
County Magistrate Yu's eyes widened in dismay, and he paced back and forth.
“Nonsense! How can she be so reckless? If she fails to retrieve the body and ends up getting herself killed instead, what then? Once that girl returns, Head Constable Liu, you must give her a proper scolding!”
...
Gu Qingyun dived steadily toward the center of the river. As she descended deeper, the sunlight gradually failed to penetrate the murk.
She opened her palm, and a surge of spiritual power condensed into a soft, pale-white glow. The light was not particularly bright, yet it easily pierced through the turbid river water, illuminating everything around her with crystal clarity.
The light seemed to possess an innate suppression against Yin entities; the spirits lurking in the shadows and observing her slowly retreated into hiding, vanishing into nothingness.
Gu Qingyun swiftly navigated to the river's center and spotted Bai Zhu'er's corpse wedged in a crevice between two massive boulders.
Even after an entire year, the body remained remarkably lifelike. Whenever fish and shrimp passed by this spot, they seemed completely oblivious, swimming away as if unable to see the corpse at all.
As Gu Qingyun swept her gaze across the area, her eyes suddenly narrowed. She sensed a delightfully soothing spiritual energy, as though it didn't belong to this world.
However, the priority right now was still Bai Zhu'er's corpse. Gu Qingyun had no choice but to pull her gaze back and step toward the body.
Water rippled around her. She turned around, only to come face-to-face with two gigantic eyes—it was a shimmering golden carp.
“What are you looking at?” With a swish of its tail, the golden carp swam right up to Gu Qingyun. Under the glow of her spiritual light, its scales glittered even more brilliantly.
Gu Qingyun was rather surprised. This large carp didn't appear to possess profound cultivation, yet it was surprisingly bold. Moreover, the voice didn't seem to originate from its mouth.
“Are you talking to me?”
It flicked its tail.
“Of course! What were you looking at just now?”
Gu Qingyun felt a little embarrassed to say,
“I just sensed a very soothing spiritual energy and thought I'd come back for another look next time.”
The big goldfish stiffened abruptly. It spat out a fist-sized luminous pearl from its mouth.
“Human, if you take this, you can't go to my abode, okay? I found it first! It's my and Zhu'er's dwelling now.”
Gu Qingyun: “...” So it turned out what she had set her sights on was this carp's home.
Tsk, forget it. Seeing that the little carp was on the verge of tears, and being a human who couldn't easily live underwater anyway, Gu Qingyun tucked the luminous pearl into her robes and pointed toward Bai Zhu'er's corpse.
“Did you do this?”
The big goldfish swished its tail with no small amount of pride.
“Of course! Although I don't have many other skills, keeping a corpse from rotting is well within my power. I can even summon clouds and rain, though my abilities aren't great—it only covers ten li around the Huai River.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingyun nearly laughed out loud. This region was a land of fish and rice; its ability hardly served much purpose here.
Fearing the people on the bank would grow anxious waiting, Gu Qingyun took hold of Bai Zhu'er's corpse and headed toward the surface. As she broke through the water, wary of others noticing anything amiss, she dispelled the Spirit-Guarding Charm. In an instant, the river water soaked her entire body.
Rate on N.U.
