Early September, the acme of yang.
There was a monumental event that shook the world.
On the Jiang River, five thunderbolts descended from the skies, and the Empress of West Qin disappeared mysteriously!
The grand river running through the northwest was named Jiang, spanning the length of Qin and Wei, and pouring into the sea after eight thousand miles, it was ranked amongst the top three rivers in the world.
This day, five world-shaking lightning bolts connected the heavens and the earth, directly striking the Qingfeng Gorge of Jiang River, causing the water flow to cease for ten miles, and ten mountain peaks subsequently collapsing. This spectacle, akin to the fury of heavens, astonished the world.
The northwest hosted a mighty nation called Qin, one of the five warlords, whose armored cavalry intimidated all four seas. The ruling Empress of Qin governed the land with an iron fist.
This day, the Empress vanished mysteriously, causing chaos in the court and shock across the world. The Empress Dowager personally took over the court and honored Gao Qi with the title of National General, as well as the position of a regent, to stabilize the throne.
And on the same day...
A young man, dressed in a straw raincoat and looking like a drenched rat, with a shattered hat, disheveled long hair, stood by the river cursing heaven and earth.
"Darn it! Just because I caught a golden carp and didn't let it go? Is that necessary? Struck by lightning? Sky Fathers, what is your problem!? Do I bear a grudge against you or what? This is the second time, I've been struck here! What else do you want from me? Huh?"
...
Spit flew as the boy ranted, then he let out a heavy sigh and slumped down, "I'm screwed, even the fishing boat is gone, how am I going to make a living now..."
The boy's countenance was disheartened. After muttering a few words, he finally pulled himself together, looked around, and decided to see if there were any fish that had been stunned to death by the thunder. After all, dinner had to be prepared.
"The Sky Fathers do have some conscience." After collecting seven or eight large fish, presumably dead from the thunder and washed ashore, the boy quickly forgot about his grievances and began to cheer up.
However, at this moment, the boy was astonished to find a swaying white robe amidst the rocks by the riverbank.
"Is anyone there?"
The young man strode forward, only to see a woman lying face up on the gravel, her eyes tightly closed, as if she had fainted.
Upon close examination, he was greatly astonished. This woman was no more than twenty-five or six years old, and although her clothes were ragged and her black hair was disheveled, her appearance was breathtakingly beautiful.
However, her eyebrows, which resembled elongated sharp swords, slanted upward, giving her a very resolute look.
The woman who fell into the water? The boy checked her breathing, glad that she was still alive.
Driven by a common sympathy of those who had fallen into similar misfortune... He carried the unconscious woman on his back. Holding a fish in one hand, he made his way along the riverbank, stepping in and out of the water.
"I'm just a little youth who hunts and fishes, I don't envy the lovebirds or immortals, my heart has no desires or demands, I'm carefree and at ease between heaven and earth..."
Humming a little tune, he walked for about half an hour until he saw a thatched cottage under the mountains ahead, and a raggedy dog was barking joyfully, running towards him. The boy grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Home sweet home, no place like your own little hut...I'm home..."
Soon, smoke rose from the thatched house. The boy, quick with his hands and feet, scaled, gutted, and cleaned the eight big fishes in no time.
Seven of the fish were salted and hung for drying, preserved for later. Finally, picking up a large grass carp weighing over six pounds. The boy examined it with satisfaction, hand on his hip. "Well done, you're today's dinner. Hmm...What's it called back home... stewed fish?"
"Hey, Gua Song, how was the day's catch? I'm starving!"
Turning his head, a skinny, skeevy looking old man in a hemp robe walked into the yard pushing the door with his back.
"Old man, all you know is how to eat. Weren't you off picking herbs? All day picking herbs, but I never see you bring anything valuable back."
The boy complained nonstop, but his hands never stopped moving. He lifted the lid of the pot to turn over the large fish. The rich aroma dispersed instantly, filling the entire yard.
The old man sniffed his finger, appreciating the aroma, "Good fish, it's so fresh."
The young man rolled his eyes, "That's because my culinary skills are excellent, you're lucky, old man."
"Indeed," the old man nodded, "Where did you learn to cook like this, you rascal? Even the renowned chefs at Linjiang Pavilion can't compare."
Seeing the praise, the young man snorted in satisfaction, "The chef at Linjiang Pavilion is my apprentice. Do you think their business would be so good otherwise?"
The old man snatched the soup ladle, "You're talented. You can even eat at Linjiang Pavilion without paying. Let me taste it."
The young man snatched it back quickly, glaring at him, "Go! Wash your hands first."
The old man cast a longing look at the fish in the pot, grumbling, "You're just a fisherman yet you stay cleaner than nobility, bathing twice a day and washing your hands countless times. Whose habits are you learning?"
"Who else but you, insisting on having me take medicinal baths daily? Go away, you're filthy. Makes me wonder how you even practice medicine."
"Even after the medicinal bath, you still wash twice...obsessed with cleanliness..."
Despite the mumbling, he trudged grudgingly into the room to find some water.
Suddenly, there was a loud shout from the old man, shooting out from the house.
"We're in trouble, there's a demon!"
"What?"
The old man came running swiftly, his hand gripping the young man's arm, pointing inside the room, "There’s a demon, a white-dressed female demon in the house!”
Annoyed, the young man kicked him, "Stop shouting nonsense. That's a drowning victim I rescued by the river."
The old man was suspicious, "Is there really such a beautiful girl? She's most likely a mountain spirit or a transformed demon. I think probably a fox spirit..."
"A fox, your head! You old man, you know some medical skills, see if you can prepare some medicine soup."
"Is she really not a demon?" The old man rubbed his head, then suddenly looked at the boy. "If she's not a demon, it would be good for her to marry you, since you're also a kind of demon."
"You're the real old demon!" The boy raised his foot again, and the old man quickly covered his butt and darted back into the house.
The boy squatted by the stove, chewing on a piece of grass, boredly waiting while petting the scruffy dog's head.
Not long after, the old man poked his head out from a window and waved to him.
"Come, come, you come see."
"What's the matter now?"
The boy lazily got up, entered the house.
"Kid, take a look, something's wrong with this girl."
"What's wrong?" The boy wondered, turned his head and had a little shock when he saw the woman lying on the bed.
The woman's original flawless white skin was now covered in a blush that covered half of her cheek. The once unparalleled beauty was now ruined, it was impossible to recognize her.
"What happened?"
The boy asked, puzzled.
The old man shook his head, "I don't know, it suddenly became like this. I told you she was a mountain spirit or demon, you didn't believe it. See, she's about to reveal her true form... Maybe we should just throw her out, I've never married a daughter-in-law..."
The youth kicked him unamusedly, "Stop fooling around, take a look, aren't you known for your superb medical skills? Perhaps she's been poisoned."
The old man reluctantly walked over, sat by the bed, extending two fingers to rest on the woman's pale wrist, "My medical skills are indeed superb, and I'm not boasting to you. Initially, it was I who saved your little ass..."
"Enough, enough, I got it, you've repeated that a gazillion times, aren't you fed up?"
The old man squinted his eyes, shaking his head and wagging his tail for a while, before finally withdrawing his hand, gropling a few sparse strands of his beard and smacking his lips.
"Did you figure anything out?"
"Ah... well... this girl has turmoil in her inner channels, disordered Qi and blood, and she seems to have suffered a severe injury to the head, a strange wound indeed..."
"Is there a cure?"
"This... won't be easy..."
"I knew you were nothing but a quack shamming the public!"
The youth pointed at his nose and said.
The old man jumped up suddenly, "Quack? I'm well-versed in medicine, in the field of healing, I dare claim the second, no one dares to claim the first, and you little nincompoop dare to call me a quack?"
The youth sneered, "Anyone can brag, but you can't heal anything. Back in our hometown, shysters like you are usually swindlers!"
The youth was sharp-tongued and disparaging, not giving any face at all.
