Fairy Yu

The carved reliefs upon the two magnificent bronze doors presented two entirely distinct artistic moods. The "Sea of Lanterns" on the left door seemed to depict a real ancient city brimming with the warmth and bustle of mortal life. Merely gazing at it for a moment, Li Weiyi felt as though his soul were being drawn inside, walking streets under the shroud of night surrounded by hawkers' cries and the bustling rush of city traffic. The "Yellow Springs Astral River" on the right door, by contrast, exuded an aura of majestic grandeur—a river converged from dense constellations of stars. It was like the Milky Way in the night sky, only this river of stars was not silver, but a murky, twilight yellow. "Is this where the Bronze Ship's master resided? Has He truly passed away?" Li Weiyi reasoned that since celestial radiance and water mist emanated from the garden, there might be spring water and mysterious treasures within. On this ship, water was in desperately short supply. Golden Crow blood and Black Flood Dragon blood clearly could not be drunk lightly; they were exceedingly dangerous and no fundamental solution to the problem. *Rustle!* The moment he stepped onto the stone stairs, a gust of wind swept in from nowhere. With supernatural power at his command, Li Weiyi was bold and fearless, continuing upward. He reached the top of the stone steps. First, he peered through the gap between the two doors. The gap was a good two fingers wide. In his field of view, the area behind the doors was vast and open. Below a screen wall constructed of black stone lay a black-and-white Taiji Lake. At the center of the lake stood a soul-stirring colossal sword, its blade forged from two starkly contrasting materials: grim black and crimson red. Li Weiyi extended both hands, channeling the scalding currents that welled from the sole of his right foot, intending to push the doors open. *Boom!* When his hands were still half a foot from the bronze doors, an earth-shattering force surged forth like a tidal wave, blasting him backward like a fallen leaf until he landed lightly on the ground below the stone steps. "New bearer of the Daozu Taiji Fish, this door is not for you to enter yet. You are one who bears karma, not the one who forged it. Go now..." An ethereal, faint voice drifted out, sounding as though it echoed directly in Li Weiyi's mind, yet also as if emanating from the bronze doors before him. "Who are you? What karma are you speaking of?" Li Weiyi asked. There was no response. *Whoosh!* The air vibrated as a translucent curtain of light rose along the courtyard walls, enveloping the entire garden. It lingered for a long time before dissipating. A dismissal! Li Weiyi retreated immediately, fixing his gaze on the immense bronze doors. He could not shake the feeling that the voice had not existed in this time and space, but had sounded more like a conversation between an ancient from millennia past and someone of today. It was a bizarre sensation. Without question, the voyage of the Bronze Ship—including their fall into the Microverse—was inextricably linked to the Daozu Taiji Fish. *Master, oh Master, you must know something.* *Just what kind of terrifying karma must one bear to become the master of the Chan Sect?* "Li Weiyi!" Cai Yutong's voice came from behind. "Senior..." Li Weiyi let out a long breath, quickly sweeping away the stray thoughts in his mind, and turned around... only for the smile just forming on his face to freeze instantly. In utter disbelief, he looked Cai Yutong up and down. *Is this Senior Cai?* Cai Yutong was wearing Qi Shanshan's white doctor's coat, which reached barely half a foot below her waist, leaving a pair of straight, impossibly long jade legs almost completely exposed. What was more, her skin was even whiter than the coat she wore—delicate, lustrous, as if carved from celestial jade, crystal clear and faintly glowing. Her jet-black hair fell naturally, forming a striking contrast against her pale jade skin. Her eyes seemed to have been cleansed in a divine spring, far brighter than before and brimming with spiritual vitality. Her lips wore no gloss, yet were lush and rosy, like carved rubies. She was already exceptionally beautiful, but now... It was no longer merely a matter of looks; she seemed to have ascended into something ethereal and celestial. There was not a single flaw left on her. She seemed to embody all the beauty in the mortal world; just by standing there, she made her surroundings feel like an immortal realm, even with the grim, horrifying Soul Sea outside. Li Weiyi considered himself largely immune to female beauty, dedicating his focus instead to martial arts. Yet Cai Yutong in this moment shook him to his core. How was this still Senior Cai? This was Fairy Yu! If one were to strip the red robe off the skeletal fiend inside the tomb's ice coffin and dress her in it, wouldn't she be the very image of a celestial fairy descending to the mortal realm? "Staring at Yutong like that... don't tell me you know she's not wearing anything underneath?" With Cai Yutong present, Qi Shanshan's fear of Li Weiyi had lessened somewhat. Li Weiyi hastily pulled his gaze away, quietly circulating the Yuxu Breathing Method to steady his racing heartbeat. Then he took off his jacket and held it out. "Wear mine for now. Do... do you need pants too?" Cai Yutong said, "If I walk back wearing your jacket and pants, what do you think the expedition members will assume?" Li Weiyi thought about it; she had a point. So he shifted his gaze to Qi Shanshan. Qi Shanshan said, "It's not that I couldn't take off more, but then I'd only be left in..." Li Weiyi said, "What I mean is, Doctor Qi, you could head back to the cabins at the bow first and bring some clothes over." "All right, then!" Qi Shanshan dared not complain and walked toward the deckhouse passageway. Having seen Cai Yutong shed her mortal husk after drinking the Golden Crow blood, breaking from her cocoon to gain a flawless, fairy-like physique, someone as fond of beauty as Qi Shanshan naturally felt envious. Yet at the thought that she could also drink Golden Crow blood, the envy in her heart dissipated. As long as Zhao Meng recovered, there was still hope for the future. *Li Weiyi, you may act formidable now, but who knows who will come out on top later.* ... Cai Yutong seemed completely unbothered about whether she wore anything underneath, showing none of the affected bashfulness one might expect. "She told me everything just now. She really... she just sensed a life-or-death crisis ahead of time, felt insecure, and wanted to find a way to survive." "Are you pleading on her behalf, Senior?" "She saved me." Li Weiyi said, "Do you know what happened on the ship, Senior? Hearing someone tell it and witnessing it with your own eyes can feel entirely different. Besides, I'm not sure you truly understand Doctor Qi as well as you think!" "She saved you too," Cai Yutong replied. A breeze blew in from the sea, lifting a wide flap of the white doctor's coat. Li Weiyi hurriedly looked away and sighed. "It's precisely because she saved me that making a decision earlier was harder than ever... Senior, you really should put on my jacket first. I'd even suggest wearing a hat and a veil. If you return to the expedition team like this, I'm afraid chaos will break out all over again." He felt that few men could resist Cai Yutong's beauty now. It was practically an invitation to sin, enough to drive people to reckless extremes. The quintessential femme fatale—a beauty that could bring ruin. "Fine. Everyone should take responsibility for their own mistakes; make your own decision." Cai Yutong looked up at the sky. "It seems dawn is breaking... The light is coming from the bow." Calculating the time, dawn was indeed due. Yet one had to remember: on the Soul Sea, there was no day or night, only the starry sky. How could light appear in the sky? Not only had light appeared, but clouds had as well. "Dawn?" Li Weiyi found it unbelievable. In the direction the Bronze Ship was traveling, light indeed shone ahead. The stars were rapidly thinning and dimming, and the darkness was receding. Just like morning arriving. Looking out past the bulwarks at the sea, the water—once ink-black—now rippled with broken golden gleams. No undead spirits lingered in the waters, and cloud masses had actually formed in the sky. Only, the clouds were immense and hung low, and they were golden. "Wonderful! Those eerie, terrifying hordes of dead souls are finally gone. I have a feeling this world definitely has shores." Li Weiyi was in high spirits, a radiant smile spreading across his face. Lately, both the harsh external environment and the internal turmoil had weighed far too heavily on everyone. Having waited nearly an hour, the darkness and the starry sky had vanished completely. Sea and sky were both bathed in golden dawn glow. The wide, open expanse refreshed the spirit. Yet Qi Shanshan had still not returned with any clothes. "Something happened. We can't wait any longer." Cai Yutong tied Li Weiyi's jacket around her waist and took the lead toward the deckhouse passageway. Li Weiyi believed Cai Yutong's judgment was sound. Something had certainly happened to Qi Shanshan; otherwise, she would not have stayed away for so long. But what danger could possibly remain on this ship? Li Weiyi and Cai Yutong walked all the way to the bow without running into Qi Shanshan. Outside the medical tent, they ran into Qin Ke. Qin Ke called out in delight, "Brother Weiyi, where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you. Hurry and go look past the nether mist at the bow—a miracle! A miracle has appeared!" "Brother Weiyi?" Cai Yutong gave Li Weiyi a questioning look. She clearly remembered that Professor Xu's students were all graduate students, several years older than Li Weiyi. Li Weiyi asked, "Sister Qin, have you seen Doctor Qi?" Hearing him call her "Sister Qin," Qin Ke blinked in surprise before answering, "No. Everyone thought she was with you last night." Li Weiyi and Cai Yutong exchanged a look. It was hardly possible that Qi Shanshan had fled to escape punishment—where could she possibly run to? Besides, Li Weiyi believed he had made it abundantly clear that he would not expose her and would give her a chance to redeem herself. Once Qin Ke moved her eyes from Li Weiyi, they fell upon Cai Yutong and remained glued there. What was more, Doctor Cai had Li Weiyi's jacket tied around her waist. *So the two of them were together last night.* "Doctor Cai... you..." Even as a woman, Qin Ke was struck dumb by Cai Yutong's breathtaking beauty. She lowered her head, suddenly drowning in self-deprecation and insecurity, wanting nothing more than to flee the spot at once. "I'll go check a mirror first and change into some clothes." Cai Yutong felt that her looks might really have gotten a bit out of hand. What good was beauty to a scientific researcher? Could it win her the Priestley Medal? Li Weiyi stepped out of the nether mist and walked to the bow. When he finally saw the miracle Qin Ke had spoken of, his scalp instantly tingled, and shock left him breathless.