Chapter 7

They reached the river dock. Shen Anzhi conjured a small, pale-blue glowing insect in his palm; in the blink of an eye it slipped into the water and vanished.
"Gurgle gurgle."
Milky-white bubbles churned; when they burst on the surface they gave off a pungent, unpleasant smell. A black plank rose from the riverbed, a carp flipped, and then a waterlogged boat came to rest before them.
"Where does this boat take us?"
The old wooden boat was thick with moss and algae; it looked like it would disintegrate under a person's step, far from safe.
"Are you scared, Senior Sister?"
"W-well... what's there to be afraid of?" She feigned composure and looked up at him, one cannot be seen as weak.
Jiang Yu put a foot down cautiously; it didn't crumble.
But as she stepped the other foot aboard and brought her feet together, the boat lurched violently, as if deliberately opposing her.
Jiang Yu's eyes caught Shen Anzhi behind her, and afraid of his mockery, she let the momentum tip her backward onto the deck.
Shen Anzhi hooked his little finger casually into the back of her collar and smirked. "Senior Sister, are you preparing to give your junior brother a grand gift?"
"I wasn't." Jiang Yu kept a straight face, shook water from her long hair, used his momentum to stand, patted the droplets from her hands, and settled at the bow while he took the stern.
"What favor does junior brother want me to do?" A dozen thoughts flickered through her mind as she lifted her eyelids to look at Shen Anzhi, who lounged against the boat's rail, and pondered silently.
Shen Anzhi crossed his arms, raised a slender forefinger and traced the air. The boat moved as if by itself. "Senior Sister, be quiet. You mustn't make a sound while we cross here."
Ripples spread across the water; it felt steadier than riding in a carriage. Trees shaded the far bank, which didn't seem far. They must have been sailing for a good ten minutes or so, long enough to make a round trip.
Something strange happened.
White mist rose from nowhere, and a silhouette shimmered a meter away. She could at most make out a dark figure sitting there with an air of serene contentment, not at all flustered.
Jiang Yu, who was initially afraid of the unknown, felt a little relieved, and she didn't even know why she had developed a sense of trust in him.
She watched the water with interest. How fascinating, if you ignored the fact that she'd transmigrated into this story, it would pass as an immersive theme-park performance.
"We're ashore." Shen Anzhi stood, and the boat rocked twice.
When the boat came to rest, Jiang Yu stepped off and, with hidden caution, scanned the surroundings. They were on a tiny islet no more than ten square metres.
Shen Anzhi flicked a copper coin between his fingers and tossed it. Wind rose and stung Jiang Yu's eyes.
When she opened her eyes again, a passage wide enough for two appeared before them; beyond it, everything opened up into clear light.
A steady stream of hawkers' cries poured into their ears. From somewhere Shen Anzhi produced two red fox masks and glanced at Jiang Yu with casual eyes. "Put it on. But if you refuse, I'll be happy to collect your remains free of charge..."
Jiang Yu snatched the mask and put it on. "Got it."
With the fox mask on, Jiang Yu's face drew his gaze as he looked her over a few times. Then he said softly, "Senior Sister, I want you to help me find a few choice medicinal herbs."
Jiang Yu froze. Blank, she looked up at him. "Huh?"
She certainly couldn't identify herbs, after all, she didn't have the original owner's memories.
In the original story the Crane Sect's Qingxin Institute had described the original host's rare talent in pill refinement, her herb-knowledge was as if Heaven itself had handed her rewards. But she hadn't been one to endure hardship; she wasted that gift chasing pleasures. Her alchemy and talisman-making had been only half-hearted passions.
And she wasn't even half as competent.
Jiang Yu swallowed nervously.
She raised a hand as if voting, and in a small voice said, "I'll provide the funds and the work."
"Senior Sister, did you think the spirit stones you gave me before were insufficient? As the Qingxin Institute's top disciple, you can't even recognize a single herb, unless, Senior Sister, you're merely amusing yourself at my expense."
The coin still twirled at Shen Anzhi's fingertips. He lifted the corner of his mouth in his habitual careless smile at her.
"Uh... I'll try." She knew there was a tiger on the mountain but headed straight in anyway. What else could she do...?
Masking their faces, they walked one behind the other. Jiang Yu, in the rear, scratched her head with the back of her hand.
The Ghastly Market was wildly bustling; both humans and demons wore grotesque, oddly shaped masks.
For example, some had horns and wore asura masks, bargaining endlessly; others hid behind veils to seem mysterious, grabbing passersby to show the treasures slotted into their sleeves.
Compared to them, their outfits were relatively plain.
But Jiang Yu, whose brain had momentarily frozen, couldn't study them closely, because this wasn't the strangest thing.
"Come take a look at my premium-class bone flute! An immortal family's treasure, honest to all ages!"
"A broken flute, what's so special about that?" a passerby scoffed.
The stallkeeper snorted and looked up with an air of pride. "You don't know good stuff."
Jiang Yu drew a deep breath and rubbed his left eye, feeling conflicted.
On the middle-aged man's stall, a bone flute he was loudly hawking had a translucent, blue-and-white striped spirit bird slowly circling it. Beneath the stall, a bone tile lay curled around a coiled white snake; the other items, some gave off a faint glow, others were dull.
Jiang Yu halted. "Stallkeeper, this is made from the bone of a bird spirit."
"The customer has an eye for it. This spirit flute is made from the blue-feathered bird that grows around Jinling. See how the joints are clear as glass and brimming with mana. The wielder needs no mana, one blow and it will release three strikes."
Having confirmed his guess, Jiang Yu suppressed his excitement and took the flute, turning it over in his hands. It was a lovely, lightweight green.
"I'll take it."
"Three hundred spirit stones."
Jiang Yu's hand froze as he reached for his money. Shen Anzhi stepped in before her, holding up a hand between them. Following his gaze, Shen raised an eyebrow. "This artifact needs no mana support, true, but after three strikes it becomes useless."
The stallkeeper flushed, bristling. "Three strikes can stop attacks from monsters below the fourth rank!"
When Jiang Yu heard "fourth rank," she paid without hesitation and bought it. Then she passed the flute to Shen Anzhi. "For you."
Shen crossed his arms over his chest, his body instinctively turning elsewhere. He lowered his eyes to meet her lovely gaze and took a long stride forward.
"Keep it, Senior Sister. Don't forget why we're here."
She couldn't tell if it was just her imagination, but there was an odd, awkward note in the way he treated her.
Jiang Yu didn't bother with formalities, she shoved it into his arms, and, remembering the candies she'd bought, handed over the storage pouch as well.
"Don't thank me. I don't exactly need the money." He might as well have stamped the words "plenty of money" across his forehead.
Seeing the chestnut candies in the pouch, Shen Anzhi's lips curved soundlessly; he pinched one between his fingers.
"Won't you have one, Senior Sister?"
Jiang Yu took one and popped it into her mouth. "Mm."
After confirming it wasn't poisoned, Shen Anzhi popped a candy into his own mouth. The sweet chestnut flavor lingered on his tongue; he licked his lips and glanced sideways at the girl by his side.
Her earlier "I like you" kept replaying in his head. He scoffed softly and looked back ahead.
They asked a passerby and found an herbal stall. Shen Anzhi pointed to a pile of the same serrated-leaf herb with red berries arranged there.
"Senior Sister, take a look, this one is excellent."
Jiang Yu cast a quick glance. To her left eye, the otherwise ordinary herbs glowed faintly in varying degrees, some a hazy shimmer, some almost dim. She pointed to the brightest one. "Pick that one."
Shen picked up the herb and examined it. The leaves didn't look very full; he cast a skeptical look at Jiang Yu.
"Are you sure, Senior Sister?"
"Sure. Positive."
"One herb, five hundred superior-grade spirit stones." The stall-keeper grinned, showing big front teeth beneath a mask shaped like a squinty white cat, he looked every inch the unscrupulous hawker.
"Bought." Jiang Yu reached for the spirit stones, but Shen Anzhi pressed them back.
"No need." Shen finished the payment, then placed the herb into a wooden box for safekeeping.
After that, Shen led Jiang Yu from stall to stall; she pointed and he bought, paying in silence without a word.
Individually the herbs seemed unremarkable; together they were meant to help suppress his unusual constitution. Sadly, before they could collect them all, Shen Anzhi had already slipped into darkness and become a fiend.
When they'd finished buying, Jiang Yu's legs were aching and she trailed after Shen Anzhi with little energy.
Shen Anzhi glanced back at her. "Senior Sister, already tired?"
Jiang Yu lifted her eyes a little. "Of course, I've been walking forever and haven't even had a drink."
Shen Anzhi withdrew his gaze. Jiang Yu noticed he slowed his pace. Passing a tea stall, she brightened. "Wait, let's get some water, rest a bit. I can't walk any further."
She hurried ahead and took a seat, waving to the waiter for a pot of tea and some snacks. After downing two cups she sighed, "I'm alive again."
Shen Anzhi propped his head up lazily with one hand, chewing his chestnut candy. His fingertip, dipped in tea, drew a pattern on the table, which he quickly wiped away with his sleeve.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Jiang Yu nibbled at a pastry while Shen Anzhi tapped the tabletop with his fingers.
"Are you done yet?"
"Finish this piece first." Jiang Yu shoved it into her mouth.
Suddenly a ripple of spiritual energy rolled through the market and everything shook violently. Jiang Yu staggered to her feet and grabbed Shen Anzhi's wrist.
Shen Anzhi frowned slightly and, with a barely perceptible sweep of his sleeve, flicked her hand away.
A sharp cry pierced the air, half anger, half lament.
Jiang Yu followed the sound with curiosity. Behind a collapsed building, a massive three-headed bird tore through the sky. Its body was covered in hard black feathers, the heads were eagle-like with beastly talons, and waves of magical energy pulsed out from it.
No one could say which disaster would arrive first.
Jiang Yu had a bad feeling. The beast dove straight for the tea stall where she sat; one head lifted to cry to the heavens while the other two leered like predators. Wherever its black wings brushed, chaos followed, people were thrown about and scenes of havoc unfolded.
"That's it, it's coming for us! Don't just stand there, Junior Brother, run!"
Panic flared in Jiang Yu; she instinctively grabbed Shen Anzhi's sleeve and fled toward the narrow alleys and dense clusters of buildings.
Shen Anzhi kept pace easily, a faint puzzlement in his expression, and a dim gleam of something unreadable hiding under an ambiguous smile.
The three-headed bird zeroed in on the two of them, intent. Jiang Yu, breathless, dodged the falling debris. In the corner of her eye she saw Shen Anzhi running after her, his face calm as always, if anything, there was a hint of excitement.