Upon hearing her Master’s questioning, Li Yanyan finally reacted, covering her mouth forcefully. She belatedly rembered the words her mother and Grandma had repeated countless tis: "Li Suisui is already dead; she’s no longer in this world. No matter who you see, or how much they resemble her, you must not acknowledge her as Li Suisui, the one born in the sa year and month as you."
"Yanyan! You are my personal disciple. In this world, aside from blood relatives, we are the closest people to each other. You shouldn’t hide things from your Master!"
Li Yanyan tightly pursed her lips, not daring to say another word to the National Master.
"Yanyan!"
The National Master waited for a long ti, but seeing no intention from Li Yanyan to speak, he calmly called her na again.
Li Yanyan bit her lip, her large eyes welling with tears. Under the National Master’s piercing gaze, she turned and fled with a WAH!
Seeing his disciple in this state, the National Master sighed, got off the bed, left the room, and went out onto the deck, where Xiaosuisui, Ji Youzhi, and others were strenuously hauling in an enormous fish.
"Wow! This fish is enormous! Careful, pull slowly, watch out, don’t rush! Eldest Princess, mind your hands! The fishing line is thin; don’t let it cut you," Xie Pan’Er cautioned from the side, constantly reminding Xiaosuisui.
Ji Youzhi and the Emperor flanked Xiaosuisui, vying to help her with the fishing rod. Princess Ata was off to one side, preparing a large fishing net, intending to use it to scoop up their catch.
Seeing Xiaosuisui being doted on by everyone like a cherished star, while his own disciple stood aside wiping her tears, wanting to join in but too timid to step forward, the National Master sighed. He walked over and called out, "Yanyan! Co with your Master!"
Seeing the National Master erge, Li Yanyan assud he had co to seek justice for her and happily stepped forward.
"Master! Are you here to help deal with that jinx?"
The National Master didn’t respond to this. He led her back to the room, then produced a sutra book, along with a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone.
"You are to copy all these sutras. You are not to step out of this room until you have finished!"
Upon hearing these words, Li Yanyan was dumbfounded.
"Copy... copy sutras? Master! Isn’t... isn’t this too much?"
The National Master ignored her and closed his eyes to ditate.
Outside, Xiaosuisui had caught several large fish that day, astounding Fat Aunt. "This is incredible! I’ve been sailing with all sorts of boatn for decades, and this is the first ti I’ve ever seen anyone catch fish this big! And so many of them! You all must truly be blessed with great fortune." Fat Aunt chuckled heartily. "Perfect! The weather is cooling down too. These big fish are just right for salting and sun-drying. We can have cured salted fish!"
"Wonderful, wonderful! Cured salted fish! I’ve never had it before!" Xiaosuisui clapped her hands, absolutely delighted.
"Alright, everyone, tidy up. After a bit more travel, we’ll reach Black Water Ridge. The fog there is dense, and it’s easy to strike reefs on the seabed. Everyone should stay in their rooms and not move about. I’ll inform you all once the ship has passed Black Water Ridge!" The boatman suddenly appeared and announced this to everyone.
Xiaosuisui didn’t mind. Having fished to her heart’s content, it made no difference to her whether she stayed in her room or on deck.
However, Ji Youzhi, Princess Ata, and the Emperor all grew sowhat tense upon hearing the na "Black Water Ridge."
"Miss Xie, please take good care of the Eldest Princess in her room," Ji Youzhi requested.
Xie Pan’Er understood as well. Princess Ata had previously ntioned that a Mr. Wu would try to ambush them at sea. Therefore, she nodded emphatically. "Rest assured, I will definitely take good care of the Eldest Princess."
Princess Ata quickly stepped forward to stand with Xiaosuisui and said to Xie Pan’Er, "I’ll stay with you all!" It was no joke; the Eldest Princess was her protective talisman. With danger lurking everywhere, she naturally had to stay by the Eldest Princess’s side.
"Alright!" Xie Pan’Er took the Eldest Princess and returned to their room.
The sky outside gradually darkened. This was their fourth day at sea. They were now sailing through the central part of the ocean. In the distance, they could discern several islands. Although the islands appeared deceptively close, they couldn’t ascertain their actual distance.
"Gentlen, the sky is growing dark. Crossing Black Water Ridge at night is very perilous. From our current position, there appears to be a small island to our port side. How about we stop there for the night and cross Black Water Ridge tomorrow in daylight?" the boatman suggested, pointing to a small dark speck to their left as he spoke to Ji Youzhi and the Emperor.
Ji Youzhi didn’t respond, instead turning his gaze to the Emperor. The Emperor pondered for a mont and was just about to speak when the National Master’s voice interjected, "A strong wind is coming tonight. Find a safe place to anchor quickly!"
The Emperor and Ji Youzhi were both quite surprised to see the National Master. After all, following the incident where Xiaosuisui and Li Yanyan had fought over the fishing rod, the National Master had taken Li Yanyan back to her room and hadn’t erged since. Fat Aunt had even been delivering his als. Unexpectedly, he had now stepped out.
"Will the wind be very strong tonight?" the Emperor asked.
The National Master nodded. He affird it would be very strong but added that their ship wasn’t small and they should be safe from danger.
Hearing this, the boatman imdiately chuckled. "You can rest assured on that point! This ship is a third-class vessel from the guild. As long as we don’t encounter a tornado at sea, there’s no danger of her sinking."
"The last tornado passed less than half a month ago, so there shouldn’t be any more for the ti being. Please rest assured!" Fearing Ji Youzhi and the others might worry, the boatman hurriedly added this reassurance and then ordered the sailors to alter course.
Sure enough, before long, a strong wind began to howl across the sky.
Fat Aunt hurried over to consult Ji Youzhi. "Master Ji, the wind has picked up, and the boat is becoming a bit unsteady! Those people tied up in the hold—their ropes need to be untied so they can brace themselves. Otherwise, I’m afraid there’ll be an accident!"
Fat Aunt’s reminder made Ji Youzhi and the others recall that they had tied up a few governnt runners when they boarded. How could I have forgotten about that! Ji Youzhi slapped his forehead. Initially, he had planned to wear them down a bit first, to break their spirit, before finding a chance to interrogate them. Now...
"You don’t need to worry about those people; I’ll handle it," Ji Youzhi said. He, the Emperor, and the National Master exchanged a look, then the three of them headed towards the cabin where the governnt runners were confined.
The sea wind howled, and the boat pitched and rolled violently. The governnt runners, with their hands and feet bound, were thoroughly disoriented and dizzy. They cursed inwardly, but with their mouths gagged, not a single sound could escape.
For days, they had been forced to relieve themselves where they lay, and the cabin reeked unbearably.
The mont Ji Youzhi and the others opened the door, even before stepping inside, they instinctively clamped their hands over their noses. "Gods! Why does it stink so horribly?"
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