Sailing on the river offered infinite scenery, but as dusk gathered, the setting sun sank into the water's surface, reflecting a powder-pink glow like rouge.
“Ever since that fellow finished talking to you, he hasn't come out again. Meanwhile, those beasts he brought aboard are making enough noise to give anyone a headache. Sister Zhi, do you think this person is good or bad?”
Wanniang glanced out the window before floating back to Nan Zhi's side, watching her draw intently on a sheet of paper. “What are you drawing... a kitty? It looks pretty adorable with that tiger-headed look.”
Nan Zhi held a brush in one hand and pinched the paper with the other. Curled up on the sheet was a pitch-black little beast whose outline was completely indistinguishable.
Wanniang stared for a long moment before barely discerning the crooked, caterpillar-like pattern on the beast's head. Her praise had been quite against her conscience, so she had no choice but to avert her eyes.
“How can anyone tell if someone is good or bad after meeting them just once? Still, caution is key.”
Nan Zhi calmly tossed aside the paper, refusing to admit she had actually been drawing a tiger. “That Ma San is a cultivator, yet he toyed with the pear seller over a minor slight. That proves he's petty and vindictive. I broke his glamour in public—how could he not harbor a grudge against me in secret? Did you see that hedgehog following him? That was clearly the shop hand who led us from the foot-shop. My guess is Ma San owns that foot-shop. He knows full well we came from outside the city, yet he feigned ignorance.”
“You're saying this Ma San has malicious intentions?”
Wanniang grew anxious. “Then why did you agree to meet him tonight? Isn't that walking straight into the tiger's den?”
“Who says agreeing means I actually have to go?”
Nan Zhi gave her an odd look, shaking the half-dried ink from her brush as she spoke. “Talk is cheap. It was just an offhand promise—let him stand out on the deck and freeze in the wind. I keep feeling those animals he brought aboard are strange. I wonder if they're little demons he subdued. Once night falls and the boat settles down, I'll sneak into the cargo hold to inspect them. If something is truly amiss, I can prepare early.”
“Then I'll keep watch for you.”
Hearing that Nan Zhi already had a plan, Wanniang grew thrilled and eagerly volunteered to act as a lookout. “Send the Wine Immortal. In recent days, its mind and mine have grown increasingly attuned. With its help, forget about Ma San—even if the Lord City God stood right in front of us, he wouldn't see through my ghostly shroud anytime soon.”
Nan Zhi thought it over and agreed, telling Wanniang to play it by ear when the time came.
...
...
Nan Zhi waited until dark before taking action. To prevent Ma San from spying on her from the shadows, she slipped directly out the window, clinging close to the vessel's gunwale as she crept toward the lower hold.
The hold was at the very bottom of the vessel. Aside from sailors and cargo inspectors, almost no one came here.
The dozen-or-so sheep and big blue donkeys Ma San brought aboard were kept in one of the cargo compartments. Before Nan Zhi could even draw near, a series of noises echoed from inside:
“Baa! Baa! Baa!”
“Baa-baa-baa-baa-baa!”
“Hee-haw! Hee-haw!”
The animals inside seemed extraordinarily agitated. Even standing above on the hatch cover, one could hear heavy thuds crashing against the compartment walls.
A large bronze lock hung from the hold door. Nan Zhi gave it a brief glance, chanted an incantation, and formed a hand seal, heating the lock till it glowed cherry-red with fire before summoning a handful of fresh water over it—
With a loud clack, the lock cracked open and fell away.
“Sure enough, learn physics and chemistry, and you can travel anywhere without fear.”
Tossing the lock aside, Nan Zhi squatted down and lifted the wooden cover. Instantly, an unbearable, sour stench blasted into her face.
She leaned in to peek. By the bright moonlight, she saw over a dozen sheep crammed together in the narrow hold, their bleats dripping with terror.
Four big blue donkeys lay limp on the ground, clinging to life.
The stench of animal musks, manure, and urine hit her in waves, mixed with the sour tang of fermented grass trapped in the sweltering air.
It was not a pleasant smell by any stretch.
Nan Zhi wrinkled her nose and patiently scanned the space once more.
And this time, she really noticed something amiss.
High piles of fodder sat untouched in the stone feeding troughs, while the water troughs were spotless, without a single drop remaining.
Having been locked in the pitch-black hold for days, the sudden moonlight threw the animals into a frenzy, and they began braying and bleating frantically:
“Baa-baa-baa-baa!”
“Baa-baa-baa!”
An exceptionally emaciated blue donkey even struggled to its feet, extending its tongue to desperately lick the few drops of water Nan Zhi had spilled on the deck while casting her spell. “Hee-haw!”
But that tiny bit of moisture was a drop in the bucket. Even after exhausting all its strength, it only managed to lap up a single droplet.
Driven wild with thirst, the donkey desperately stood upright on two legs and gestured at its throat with its front hooves. “Hee-haw! Hee-haw!”
Seeing this, its companions followed suit, standing up and walking on their hind legs. Their round eyes overflowed with longing and eerie, human-like pleading:
“Baa-baa-baa-baa!”
“Baa-baa-baa!”
“Baa-baa-baa-baa!”
Under the moonlight, more than a dozen animals walked upright like humans.
They stared with wide eyes, braying and bleating nonstop, their voices growing raspy as though someone were pinching their vocal cords.
The sight was truly unsettling.
For some reason, Nan Zhi was suddenly reminded of a strange tale she had once heard.
Supposedly, in ancient times, there was a sorcerer who engaged in human trafficking. His method was quite peculiar: if he draped a sheepskin over someone, that person would transform into a sheep and meekly follow him wherever he went.
But tyrannical as this sorcery was, it had a flaw—the people turned into sheep could not be given water to drink, or the spell would break on its own.
“Do you... want water?”
Nan Zhi tentatively conjured a ball of clear water. The lead blue donkey nodded frantically in response. “Hee-haw!”
Without further hesitation, Nan Zhi cast her Water Shield Art, summoning a great shower of clear water that rained into the stone troughs. The animals in the hold swarmed forward, opening their mouths to gulp it down greedily.
For a time, the sound of ravenous gulping echoed continuously.
A sudden gust swept across the river surface, and dark clouds quietly veiled the bright moon. Nan Zhi's shadow stretched long across the deck—
—and inside the hold, the animals underwent a transformation.
Sated with water, the sheep crowded together and jostled one another as fluffy white wool peeled continuously from their backs.
Several small lambs rolled across the floor with soft bleats. As their sheepskins vanished, they turned into five- or six-year-old children.
“Waaah! I want Mommy! I want Mommy!”
“Daddy! Daddy!”
“Waaah...”
“It’s so dark here, waaah...”
As for the big blue donkey that had begged for water earlier, the donkey skin slowly peeled back from its body. Its cloven hooves softened into rough, large hands, and its fur receded bit by bit, transforming back into clothing.
Its furry donkey face shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, reshaping into a human face, while its long ears shortened into human ears tucked against the sides of its head.
Eyes wide with shock, the pear seller sat squeezed right there inside the cargo hold.
Small, pitiful, and helpless.
Nan Zhi felt an urge to ask him, in all sincerity:
How do you manage to run into every piece of bad luck out there?
Rate on N.U.
