Chapter Thirty-Five: The Request

Chen Yushu’s heart skipped a beat. He knew that such beings, though retaining a faint trace of their former consciousness, were in essence malevolent spirits—often beyond the reach of reason. Once they set their minds on something, they would stop at nothing to see it done.

This one had decided the young man had failed to help her find the faithless man, and immediately resentment began to fester. When she saw the youth enter the water, she simply tried to drag him down as well.

Moreover, he dared not converse with her for too long, lest she see through him. If she realized he was merely a novice who had only just learned to walk the paths of the dead, her resentment might explode and turn against him as well.

Therefore, he did not hesitate further, but barked out, “Enough. He was indeed at fault first, but people need time to do things. I believe he never meant to wrong you. Give him a few days, and I’m sure he’ll give you an answer.”

The drowned woman fell silent. The face floating on the water trembled, bubbles rising and bursting, as if she were weighing the matter. Those venomous eyes swept coldly over the youth. After a long pause, she finally spoke again, “Very well. For your sake, Immortal, I’ll grant him one day. If by this time tomorrow he still hasn’t delivered, then he’ll find my ‘gift’ is not so easily claimed.”

With that, the drowned woman, whose face had surfaced, slowly sank back beneath the water, drifting with the current to the depths of the river.

“At last, it’s done.” Only then did Chen Yushu let out a long breath, withdrawing from that peculiar state. Not until now did he realize he was drenched in sweat from head to toe, his clothes nearly soaked through—he felt more exhausted than after a round of the Medicine King’s training postures.

Still, the feeling of successfully walking the path of the dead and truly intimidating the vengeful spirit was immensely satisfying. He could finally understand why Li Chao had recorded every instance of his own encounters with ghosts. Beyond warning those who came after, perhaps it was also to praise himself and invite admiration. The sense of accomplishment was simply overwhelming.

During all this, the youth had not dared to move, his face utterly drained of color. Only when he saw the drowned woman release his leg and sink beneath the water did he finally straighten up, and without a moment’s hesitation, he dashed for the shore, scrambling up in two or three swift steps.

But his sudden movement seemed to startle the prized fish in his net. With a powerful flick of its tail, the fish leapt clear of the net, aiming for the water.

“My fish—!” the youth cried in alarm, but he dared not go back into the water to catch it.

Thwack!

Just then, a stone whistled through the air, striking the fish squarely on the head. With a splash, it landed in the water but quickly floated belly-up, drifting lifelessly.

At the critical moment, Chen Yushu had acted. As soon as the fish had leapt, he’d pulled out a stone and tossed it with practiced ease.

Since he’d achieved proficiency with throwing, he always kept a few stones in his pocket, just in case. With his skill nearly at its peak, he could hit anything within thirty feet, and this target was barely ten feet away—there was no chance he’d miss.

Throwing +3

Then he stepped forward, grabbed the youth’s net, and scooped the prized fish out of the water.

“Th-thank you, big brother… If not for you, I’d have been dragged under…” the youth stammered, relief flooding his face. He had truly been terrified. The grip of the drowned woman—this time, unlike his first fainting spell—had been chilling to the bone. He’d nearly thought he wouldn’t make it back.

“Just be more careful next time,” Chen Yushu said, waving it off, and handed back the net, fish and all.

Earlier, during his communion with the dead, the drowned woman had made it clear: the prized fish was her payment to the youth for helping her in a dream. It was just as Li Pei had once commissioned him in a dream for a rite of passage—whatever inheritance he gained was his rightful reward.

This fish belonged to the youth. Though Chen Yushu had been the one to haul it out in the end, it wouldn’t be right to keep it—not only as a matter of principle, but also because it was a gift from a vengeful spirit.

It was not wise to take what belonged to such a being. If things went awry, and she finished with the youth, she would surely come after him as well. He might have managed to intimidate her this time using his necromantic skills, but he couldn’t count on it again. An enraged spirit would hardly listen to reason.

He’d bluffed about his powerful backers, and though there truly was a so-called Dragon King in the Blackwater River, whether that entity could actually restrain this drowned woman, Chen Yushu did not know.

“May I have your name, brother?” the youth asked, bowing respectfully before quickly introducing himself. “I’m Shi Hao, from Tianhe County. I have little ability, but I know to repay kindness. If not for you, I might have lost my life today. Please, you should take this prized fish. Besides, I know you have the skill to handle what’s to come. Although the spirit has retreated for now, I’m sure she’ll return. You’ll surely be involved again, so…”

He bowed again, desperation plain on his face. Though he could not hear the drowned woman’s voice during Chen Yushu’s ritual, he had caught everything Chen Yushu himself had said.

Naturally, he knew his troubles were far from over. Though the spirit had been persuaded to withdraw, her commission remained unfinished. If he failed to fulfill it, trouble was sure to follow. The worst part was, even if he managed to find the man, he had no idea how to inform the spirit. Would she come to him in a dream again? Did he have to return to the riverbank and call out to her? He was truly frightened and dared not face it alone.

“My surname is Chen, given name Yushu. But this matter shouldn’t concern me—it’s better handled by Granny Sun. As the saying goes, one task to a single master. Since you’ve already hired someone, it should be up to her to resolve it,” Chen Yushu replied after a moment’s thought, ultimately refusing.

He was indeed tempted. Especially now, when he was short on silver—thirty taels for the prized fish had been hard to hand back. But this wasn’t the way things were done. In the business of dealing with spirits, rules mattered most. Some rules he didn’t fully understand, but since Li Chao’s “Records of Ghost Encounters” mentioned them, he had to respect them.

He knew that Shi Hao had already hired Granny Sun, so he had no reason to interfere.

“I can’t hire Granny Sun anymore,” Shi Hao replied hastily. “She left early this morning. After she told us to make offerings for the spirit, that was the end of her involvement. I didn’t dare mention the dream, and my grandfather doesn’t know either. I’d planned to take the fish and then complete the spirit’s request, but who knew she’d be so impatient… Please, Brother Chen, help me…”

There was another reason he didn’t mention: Granny Sun’s services were expensive. Yesterday’s ritual alone had cost ten taels of silver. Asking her to help again? He was still living at his grandfather’s house and couldn’t even bring himself to ask.