With Ji Yuan accompanying Wang Li, Zhang Rui felt very reassured about Wang Li's safety. Now that Wang Li has been released from prison, she feels even more relaxed.
"Well, besides drugging you, have they ever harmed you in any other way?"
The three of them talked as they walked, and Zhang Rui's tone was a little jumpy. She hadn't been to the prison to see Wang Li for some time, and she didn't know what happened next.
Wang Li showed a look of fear when he thought about this.
"Of course there is! You don't know, they actually wanted to fake an accident where I failed to escape from prison and was killed!"
"ah?"
Zhang Rui looked Wang Li up and down.
"Tsk... Just you? Prison break? They think so highly of you, you have to be trusted by the people above you to do this!"
"Oh, several vicious prisoners in the cells around me were also released. They wanted to fake a prison break and kill me too. Fortunately, Mr. Ji was here, otherwise I would never have been able to get out of this Changyang Mansion prison!"
Zhang Rui subconsciously looked at Ji Yuan on the other side. The latter had a calm expression on his face and just shook his head and smiled.
"Hey, hey, hey, aren't we going to the restaurant to eat? Or should we go somewhere else?"
Wang Li suddenly realized that the three people did not stop in front of the two restaurants they passed by. The smell aroused his appetite and he looked back frequently. If Ji Yuan and Zhang Rui had not stopped, he would have been unable to walk.
"Eat, eat, eat. All you do is eat. Don't you ever think about what you look like?"
Wang Li was stunned for a moment, then he realized that he had been in prison for so long, and he had not even washed up when he got out. Of course, he did not look presentable. He also realized that people around him looked at him strangely, and he felt ashamed and wanted to cover his face.
…
Two days later in the morning, a small boat set out from the Changyang Prefecture Water Port and sailed slowly along the Tongtian River towards the direction of Gyeonggi Prefecture.
It is a very cold season now, and cargo ships are rare. There are only a few ships on the river. Soon after leaving Changyang City, you can see the white snow on the river bank.
It is still the first month of the lunar year, but the Lantern Festival has passed. Ji Yuan really spent the New Year in prison this time. He can certainly feel the change from the old year to the new year, but Wang Li and other prisoners don't feel anything. In the prison, they don't even add extra meat to the meals.
Zhang Rui, wearing a white velvet cape with a hood, stood alone at the bow, looking at the scenery of the river and the snow on both sides. In the cabin of the boat, Ji Yuan was revising the essay "Dream Travel" at one end of the long table, while Wang Li was thinking hard at the other end, writing a story about a scholar in jail.
Originally, Ji Yuan did not plan to bring Wang Li along, but Wang Li really wanted to see the true ending of the story of "White Deer Love" in order to truly complete the story, and this convinced Ji Yuan.
At the stern there were two boatmen, two brothers, one was rowing the boat, and the other was boiling water on the stove for making tea.
After Ji Yuan corrected the few incoherent parts of the book, he felt that "Dream Travel" was smoother than before, and he felt better. He put down his pen and looked up. Wang Li was still writing, even correcting his previous words on the draft. Looking at the paper, Ji Yuan felt "terrible". Looking at the bow again, Zhang Rui stood there like a sculpture, and no one knew what she was thinking.
It was obvious that although Zhang Rui cultivated the way of gods and her cultivation level had improved a bit, she did not attach much importance to her own cultivation level. She had no psychological burden when she frequently left the territory under her jurisdiction. She felt that even if she lost her spiritual power, it would be fine to be a ghost. Ji Yuan admired Zhang Rui's seemingly unmotivated mentality. She dared to love and hate, and would not regret her choices. She was more free and easy than him.
"Mr. Ji, there seems to be something under the river."
Zhang Rui's voice reached Ji Yuan's ears, but the people around her were unaware of it, and Zhang Rui did not turn around.
Ji Yuan picked up a piece of rice paper on the table. It was covered with tiny handwriting. As he picked up the paper, smoke was dragged out in his sight.
"Don't worry about it. It was the patrolling Yaksha in Tongtian River who noticed that you, who looked like a god or a ghost, were standing on the bow of the boat, so he was a little cautious."
It is not surprising that Zhang Rui was discovered by the underwater yaksha. In terms of Taoism, any yaksha in Tongtian River is more powerful than her.
At this moment, under the water, there were two Yakshas with green steel spears and slightly ferocious faces following the boat, their long hair spread out in the river, feeling the changes in the river current.
The oars of the boat stirred up the water behind, and from the bottom of the river it looked like the light was stirred. The water in the pot on the stove was already boiling, and the boatman quickly scooped the boiling water into the teapot with tea leaves. They didn't have any particulars and didn't know how to wash the tea. After pouring the boiling water, they arranged the tea sets and sent them forward.
The Yakshas had keen hearing and could hear clearly the sound of water being poured into the pot on the boat underwater.
"Haha, Mr. Ji, Mr. Wang, the tea is ready. Please enjoy it slowly. The water is boiling hot and needs to be cooled down a little!"
"Okay, thank you, boatman. Go on with your work."
"Hey, sir, call me if you need anything!"
"Um."
The two underwater Yakshas were refreshed and looked at each other.
"Is it Mr. Ji?"
"There's no mistake. It's Mr. Ji's voice. Follow the boat. I'll go and report it!"
A Yaksha then left, as if he had merged into the water but was much faster than the water flow, and soon disappeared from Ji Yuan's perception.
Zhang Rui on the boat looked back at Ji Yuan, who was pouring tea and didn't have any special reaction, but she didn't believe that Mr. Ji didn't notice.
Around dusk, a boat twice as big as the one Ji Yuan and the others were on came towards them. Zhang Rui could see smoke rising from the boat from afar, while Ji Yuan could already smell the fragrance with the wind.
The ship on the opposite side seemed to be moving quite fast. It was visible from far away and approached us in just a moment. A man and a woman in brocade robes stood side by side at the bow. When the ship was still more than ten feet away, they had already saluted us.
"My nephew Ying Feng!" "My nephew Ying Ruoli!"
"Meet Uncle Ji!"
This scene seemed familiar, but Wang Li couldn't remember it. However, Zhang Rui remembered it after thinking for a moment. Ji Yuan walked a few steps out of the cabin and nodded to the two of them.
"No need to be so polite."
As he spoke, Ji Yuan looked around their cabin.
"What's delicious?"
Ying Feng smiled and made way, revealing the scene in the cabin at the rear. Two water spirits that had transformed into human forms were arranging things on the table. There were pots and plates, and steam was everywhere.
"Uncle Ji, there are a few more people. It's freezing cold, and there's nothing more comfortable than having a warm meal. We have fresh fish from Tongtian River and hot pot."
"Yes! That's good progress!"
Ji Yuan praised Ying Feng, saying that this idea must have been thought up by this dragon boy.
So, Ji Yuan boarded the opposite boat alone, while Zhang Rui and Wang Li stayed on their own boat with the two boatmen to eat, but they were also served sumptuous dishes, including hot pot, and even a packet of spicy powder left by Ji Yuan.
"Hehe, thanks to Mr. Ji, we have a really sumptuous meal tonight!"
"Yeah, there's such good wine, tsk tsk!"
The tables of the two boatmen and Zhang Rui were separated. Except for clinking glasses with Wang Li at the beginning, they never came over again. As for the cold Zhang Rui, no one dared to talk to her much.
Wang Li chewed the food in his mouth, looked at the boat that was also anchored on the side, and whispered to Zhang Rui.
"Hey, I suddenly remembered that we have met these two before. I was wondering why they looked familiar. It has been many years. They look so handsome and young. Isn't that amazing?"
Wang Li looked at Zhang Rui, who was just like Miss Zhang in front of him. After so many years, he, Wang, already had gray hair on his temples, but Zhang Rui remained unchanged.
Zhang Rui symbolically picked up a piece of vegetable with chopsticks and put it in her mouth to chew, then spit it into her palm, nodded and whispered to Wang Li.
"I know, that woman is Lady Ying from Tongtian River!"
"Mrs. Ying?"
Wang Li was stunned for a moment and didn't react, then he suddenly widened his eyes and took a deep breath.
"this… "
Wang Li held back his words after being glared at by Zhang Rui, and then asked carefully again.
"What about the man? His last name is Ying too!"
"Who are you asking? It's pretty amazing anyway!"
On the other side of the boat, Ying Ruoli and Ying Feng looked a little more serious. It was basically Ying Ruoli who was talking and Ji Yuan who was listening. They were not talking about trivial matters, but the news that Old Dragon had ordered people to bring back a while ago.
"Are the Dragon Lords unable to find the exact source of the dragon corpse worm?"
"Yes, but when they were clearing the last batch of dragon corpse worms in the desolate sea, one of the dragon corpse worms had some Taoism skills but was still unconscious. My father cast a spell to pinch out a ray of divine light of longing, trying to use it to continue to trace the source, but this divine light had no sense of connection, and it was not in the shape of a worm, but in the shape of a strange monster that had never been seen before. Although it collapsed and dissipated immediately, it brought a brief sense of depression to the several dragon kings."
As she spoke, Ying Ruoli cast a spell to gather a ball of water, and used it to transform into the shape that was embodied in the old dragon's magical object.
Ji Yuan looked at the changing shape of the water and found it a little strange. It had fur and wings, long hind legs, a big mouth and fangs, but its specific shape was unclear.
"Uncle Ji, several Dragon Lords are somewhat concerned about this matter, and my father thought you might know what it is."
Ji Yuan frowned as he looked at the water-shaped object that the dragon girl transformed into. He really couldn't tell what it was.
"I really can't tell. If I was there at the time, I might be able to guess based on my feeling. But now the water ripples are just shapes, and so blurry, I can't tell."
Hearing this, the Dragon Girl was at a loss as to what to do and was about to withdraw her spell, but Ji Yuan suddenly had an idea.
"Perhaps Ji can try another method."
Ji Yuan suddenly remembered that he had something in his hand. Although it might not give him accurate results, it could give him an idea. However, the new method was not suitable for use on the ship.
About half an hour later, Ji Yuan followed the dragon son and daughter to the water palace. After a while, a series of majestic voices came from the main hall.
"Roar... I am Xiezhi, who dares to disturb me? I am Xiezhi, who dares to disturb me?"