After coming down the mountain, Nanxi wandered aimlessly through the mountain paths and woods outside Huaniang Town, like a boat that had lost its rudder.
In the end, he was nothing more than a child who had fallen out with his “mother” and could not bring himself to go back and admit fault.
Deep in his heart, there lingered a childish hope: perhaps if he lingered a little longer, the familiar lazy-toned call would ring out from the woods behind him.
Then he could huff once, turn around reluctantly, yet quicken his steps unconsciously, return to the familiar thatched hut, and climb onto the bamboo bed he was used to sleeping in.
After a night of chaotic dreams, when morning light filtered through the window, yesterday’s argument would evaporate like dew, and everything would return to normal.
But this was, after all, self-deceptive fantasy. A youth had a youth’s stubbornness.
Having blurted out “What did I do wrong,” turning back now would feel like slapping himself across the face.
What weighed even heavier on his heart was that if he truly calmed down and weighed right and wrong, his master’s words were reasonable in every point.
What angered him was perhaps not the interference itself, but the cold reality behind it.
The heroic dream his hot blood had painted was, in his master’s mouth, so fragile—even somewhat laughable.
If even this dream shattered, what could an orphan pauper like him look forward to in the rest of his life?
Was he truly to bow his head like most people in this world, squeeze into the cage already woven for him, calculate rice and salt, and gradually grind his youthful spirit into smooth worldly sophistication?
The thought made his chest stuffy, his breathing gradually heavier.
His steps, following his turbulent thoughts, unknowingly veered from the usual mountain path.
Deep and shallow, they carried him into the famous peach grove at the heart of the town.
It was deep winter; the branches no longer bore lush green.
Only sparse leaves remained, along with a few unharvested old peaches, looking rather forlorn in the wind.
Yet even so, the peach grove still brimmed with vitality.
The scent of earth mingled with the lingering clear fragrance of fruitwood, easing the knot in his heart bit by bit.
Seventy percent of Huaniang Town’s fame rested on this grove.
Without this forest—blooming like brocade year after year, branches heavy with fruit season after season—there would be no sweet, fragrant peach blossom honey, and naturally no “Huaniang” brew that even a drunkard like his master could never forget.
The town would likely be nothing more than an obscure, remote little village.
Perhaps drawn by the lingering life in the grove, Nanxi unconsciously walked deeper into the quieter parts.
Until a tranquil, bottomless pool of water appeared before him.
“Strange. How can there be a pool in the middle of the peach grove?”
Seeing this peculiar sight, Nanxi could not help but wonder.
He had lived in Huaniang Town for twelve years, after all, and had even worked picking fruit in the peach grove, yet he had never seen or heard of this pool before.
Finding the matter suspicious yet inexplicably curious, Nanxi picked up a nearby stone and tossed it toward the center of the pool.
Plop—
The sound was deep and muffled. The pool must be astonishingly deep.
While Nanxi was still marveling at the depth, the spot where the stone had fallen suddenly churned.
In an instant, the pool took on the momentum of a vast sea.
Then a girl with black scales on her body and twin horns on her head leaped out of the water.
Her skin was the cold white of one long deprived of sunlight.
Soaked ink-black long hair clung to her neck and shoulders, water droplets still dripping from the ends.
She wore what seemed to be mysterious black shark gauze, faintly shimmering, accentuating her graceful figure.
Of course, the most eye-catching were the pair of small dragon horns atop her forehead—carved as if from jade, elegantly curved, glowing with soft luster in the dappled light filtering through the trees.
Her eyes were an unusual golden-brown, pupils vertical, now fixed unblinkingly on Nanxi with a gaze sharp as a blade.
“Kid, was it you who threw this stone?”
The girl questioned Nanxi.
But the beautiful youth had been struck speechless the moment she leaped from the pool.
“Hey, mortal, what are you staring at? Speak. Don’t tell me you’re mute.”
Only then did Nanxi slowly open his mouth.
“Sorry, this…”
Nanxi truly could not think of how to address the woman before him, so the second half of his sentence stalled.
The twin-horned girl noticed the boy’s awkwardness and answered for him.
“I am surnamed Ao, named Xian. I am the master of this peach grove and the river god of Huaniang Town. What is your surname and name?”
Seeing that the girl before him was polite enough and harbored no malice, Nanxi bowed and introduced himself.
“This boy has no surname, only the name Nanxi. I live on the small mountain nearby. I truly apologize—I only wanted to test the depth of the pool. I meant no offense to the dragon god. Please forgive me.”
“Lives on the nearby small mountain, a boy, name Nanxi…”
The girl fell into thought.
The name seemed deeply familiar to her.
Soon after, she roared at the boy.
“So it’s you, you little rascal! These past few years, plenty of water folk have come to complain to me.”
At this, anger grew on the girl’s face.
“They spoke of a boy living on the mountain who, regardless of spring, summer, autumn, or winter—day or night—loves to mess with the little fish and shrimp in the river. He doesn’t even spare the ones not yet of age. Today, I’ve finally caught you!”
“…”
Nanxi, who usually refused to lose in a verbal spar, now fell silent.
Because with the wars raging these years, aside from great households, common folk tasted no meat at all.
To satisfy his own cravings, Nanxi had gone to the river in Huaniang Town every few days to catch fish and shrimp for himself.
Only this harsh winter had he held back somewhat—turning his attention to the brocade carp in the Zhang mansion pond instead.
Of course, silence did not help.
The girl’s anger did not diminish in the least.
“Watch me teach you a proper lesson!”
The girl roared in fury, her fist flying straight at Nanxi’s face.
But just as it was about to touch that beautiful countenance, several chains emerged from the depths of the pool and wrapped tightly around her, rendering her immobile.
Then the chains yanked hard, pulling the girl straight back into the pool.
The enormous splash from her fall drenched the nearby Nanxi like a drowned rat.
Before Nanxi could step farther away, the pool stirred again.
Boom—
Another massive burst of water exploded.
A five-clawed black dragon suddenly appeared, struggling to break free of the chains and soar into the sky—yet the chains binding the black dragon did not allow it.
The dragon in midair was dragged back into the pool, sending up another huge splash.
As the black dragon entered the water and transformed back into the girl, she appeared once more.
This time, however, chains far thicker—three or four times the girth of her slender waist—bound her hands and feet.
Unwilling, she roared toward the heavens.
“Dead old hag, you’ve trapped me for two hundred years already—isn’t that enough?!”