“We can’t stay in Jiangyin County any longer. After returning the Bai family’s dowry and paying the compensation, our family’s assets have shrunk by half. We have no choice but to start over somewhere else. What a pity for such a fine house—it’s truly hard to part with it.”
The He family’s courtyard was situated in the middle section of Ping’an Street. Approaching the front gate, one could see the compound enclosed by blue-brick walls—a small, three-entry courtyard residence.
Passing through the main gate brought one into the first courtyard, flanked by a row of reverse-facing rooms beside the main gate and three wing rooms on both the left and right sides. Passing through a festooned gate led to the second courtyard, which held the principal building and three wing rooms on each side.
The layout of the third courtyard at the very back was similar to the second, totaling sixteen rooms—more than enough for a large family to live comfortably.
At this time, Gu Qingyun had no idea the He family had conceived the notion of leaving Jiangyin County. On the day after the matter was settled, after finishing her patrol of the first watch, she took Bai Shuyuan to the banks of the Huai River at his request.
Standing by the riverbank, Gu Qingyun briefly spoke toward the river surface, recounting what had transpired.
Moments later, ripples spread across the river’s surface. Bai Zhu’er floated over slowly sitting atop a golden carp, her face bearing a smile Gu Qingyun hadn’t seen last time.
Hearing the movement, Bai Shuyuan, who had been burning joss paper by the riverbank, turned around. Seeing Gu Qingyun speaking as if someone were there, he stood up excitedly.
“Constable Gu, has my sister come?”
Gu Qingyun nodded.
“Do you want to see Bai Zhu’er?”
A joyful gleam burst in Bai Shuyuan’s eyes.
“Can I?”
“You can.” Gu Qingyun gathered magic power at her fingertips and pointed toward his eyes from a distance, sending motes of white light sinking into Bai Shuyuan’s eyes.
“All right. Now you can look at the river surface and see Bai Zhu’er. However, this will only last for half a shichen; once that passes, it will fade.”
Gu Qingyun’s voice sounded beside his ear. He opened his eyes wide and blinked a few times, feeling nothing out of the ordinary. He turned his head and looked at the river’s surface, and an intimately familiar figure appeared before him.
It was the sister he had protected and doted on since childhood, wearing the new clothes he had just burned for her. She looked utterly beautiful.
Sometimes Bai Shuyuan thought that if only his sister had merely suffered a change in temperament while remaining alive, how wonderful that would have been. As long as she was alive, nothing else seemed to matter.
“Zhu’er.” Looking at his sister, who appeared no different from how she was in his memories, his eyes reddened with tears.
“Brother, I’m so happy to see you again. I know everything that happened. Thank you, Brother. Now that I’m not around, Father and Mother will have to rely on you to look after them. You all must live well.” Bai Zhu’er revealed a smile.
“Brother, I’m doing quite well now, not lonely at all. Xiaojin accompanies me every day. Every day, I can follow the river current, traveling around and sightseeing. It’s quite nice, really no worse than being alive.”
Bai Zhu’er lightly raised her hand and gently patted Bai Shuyuan, then pointed toward the glint of gold concealed beneath the water.
“Look, that’s Xiaojin. Brother, do you remember the carp I saved a few years ago? That’s Xiaojin. If not for it, I don’t know if I would have turned into a vengeful spirit back then.”
Tears streamed down Bai Shuyuan’s face.
“Sister, I’m sorry. I failed to protect you.”
Bai Zhu’er let out a sigh. It seemed that after everything she had said, her brother hadn’t absorbed a single word.
“All right, if you keep crying like this, I’m leaving.”
Watching the brother and sister, Gu Qingyun felt a wave of emotion. Fortune truly made fools of people. Such a harmonious family had been separated by life and death all because of a marriage alliance.
There were too many greedy people in this world, wanting everything, never stopping to think that these causes would bear fruit that must be repaid a thousandfold.
Just like Zhang Xiaoxiao, loving someone to the point of madness. In the end, she probably couldn’t even distinguish whether it was love or obsession anymore.
She was simply unwilling to accept that she had lost everything because of him. In this entire affair, the most innocent was Bai Zhu’er, who had lost her life for no reason.
Not wanting to disturb the siblings, Gu Qingyun walked over to the other side and beckoned to the golden carp.
“Big golden fish, come here a moment. There’s something I’d like to consult you about.”
Xiaojin, hidden beneath the water, gracefully surfaced. With a flick of its tail, river water surged toward Gu Qingyun’s face, only to be stopped less than half a meter before her, dispersing into a fine mist.
Gu Qingyun narrowed her eyes, her hands itching to strike. As if able to read the room, the fish darted over rapidly, its two black eyes staring at her.
“Human, you’re so powerful, blocking the water I splashed without even budging.”
Gu Qingyun was at a loss for words. Remembering she needed a favor, she forced a smile.
“Big golden fish, how long have you lived in this river?”
“At least twenty years. Well? Isn’t my true form handsome?”
Gu Qingyun nodded.
“It looks good. But you’re so weak, yet you swim around so blatantly on the river’s surface—aren’t you afraid someone will catch you to make soup? A fish over twenty years old ought to be quite nourishing, right?”
Tsk, it was only because this fish could communicate with her through consciousness; otherwise, upon seeing such a spirit fish, her own thought would have been to heat up a pot of oil and stew it for nourishment as well.
Gu Qingyun fetched a steamed bun from her robes, tore it into pieces, and fed it to the big golden fish. Once it had nearly finished eating, she spoke.
“Say, Xiaojin, can that technique you use to communicate through consciousness be taught to others? I’m raising a cat. It has a bit of spirituality, but its cultivation isn’t deep enough. I can’t understand its meows. I wanted to communicate with it using consciousness, but I was afraid of harming it.”
“No can do. That cat hasn’t become a demon yet and hasn’t formed divine sense. Even if you communicate via consciousness, it won’t be able to reply. Once it becomes a demon, you’ll be able to communicate with it just like with me.”
Gu Qingyun rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“Fair enough.”
“However, I do have a breathing technique specifically practiced by us demons. You can have that cat give it a try. Maybe one day it’ll awaken its intelligence.”
Gu Qingyun said, “Thank you so much then. Next time, I’ll bring Little Black over, and I’ll bring you more steamed buns.”
The big golden fish flicked its tail.
“I want five! Don’t be like this time, bringing only one steamed bun, so stingy. Forget it, you clearly have no money. I’ll help you out a bit.”
Opening its mouth, the fish spat out several pearl-sized nuggets of gold that hovered in the air.
“Well? Is this enough for you to buy a basket of steamed buns? Keep the change.”
Gu Qingyun asked, “Why do I feel like you’re pitying me?”
The big golden fish was baffled.
“Do you want it or not? You humans are truly unbelievable. Obviously poor, yet you still insist on saving face.”
Gu Qingyun pinched her brow, somewhat amused.
“Thank you.”
Accepting the gold gifted by Xiaojin, she retrieved a talisman from her robes and offered it.
“This is a Voice-Transmitting Talisman. If you encounter a formidable enemy you cannot defeat, you can activate this talisman, and I will come to your aid.”
The big golden fish carefully stowed it away, a few tears welling from its eyes.
“Human, you’re so good to me. Not like that person I ran into before. That person started shouting and trying to kill me the moment they saw me.”
Gu Qingyun grew curious.
“What kind of person?”
The big golden fish slapped its pectoral fins against the water’s surface with resentment.
“I couldn’t see their face. Pitch-black all over from head to toe, clearly not a decent person. That look in their eyes showed they just wanted to eat me! Good thing I escaped quickly, or I might have been eaten.”
Gu Qingyun gave the big golden fish a few more looks.
“I didn’t expect your escape arts to be so good.”
“Of course! Although I’m a carp, my family has a deep heritage. A thousand years ago, an elder of our clan even transformed into a dragon!”
“Hmph, don’t you look down on our carp clan.”
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