Chapter 4: Three Witches City

"My name is Qin Sang. I work as a shop assistant for a merchant. While we were out on a supply run, we were captured by a group of bandits. Yesterday, those bandits ran into their arch-rivals, and I managed to escape in the chaos, but I lost my way. My leg was injured, so I had to drift down the river on a wooden raft. I never expected that after falling asleep, I would drift all the way into this great river. It is fortunate that you kind benefactors saved me..."

Qin Sang sat on the deck, surrounded by a circle of burly men with swords and blades at their waists. Wrapped in an old cotton coat, he felt a bit of warmth returning and spoke softly, recounting his background.

The man who had stepped off the boat to save him stood right before him. He was around forty years old, with a gaunt face that made him look like a scholar. He was dressed like the other burly men—wearing cloud-patterned boots and a set of cyan-colored martial attire, with a precious sword hanging at his waist. His posture was upright, and he appeared highly capable.

Despite having walked on water for some time, the man remained completely dry, with only the soles of his boots showing any trace of moisture.

The other men treated him with great respect, calling him "Boss Bai." He was clearly their leader.

A man of this caliber could not be a river pirate. Judging by their tone, they seemed more like bodyguards for some noble house, which made Qin Sang breathe a little easier.

While explaining his situation, Qin Sang subconsciously omitted the part about encountering the immortal. Now that he had calmed down, he realized that while this Boss Bai was no ordinary person, he was far from being an "Immortal Master" capable of flying on a sword.

"Meeting in the middle of the river is fate, and lending a hand is only right. There is no need to call us benefactors! My surname is Bai, given name Jianglan. I am a few years older than you, little brother Qin. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Bai..."

Boss Bai’s words carried a touch of chivalry. He crouched down, his gaze sweeping over the large patch of blood on Qin Sang’s chest, and smiled. "When we saw you, you were lying motionless on the raft. We thought it was a corpse, but fortunately, you sat up yourself... Come, let me look at your leg injury."

As he spoke, Bai Jianglan placed his hand on Qin Sang’s lower leg and closed his eyes slightly.

A moment later, Qin Sang suddenly felt a warm current seep from Bai Jianglan’s fingers into his leg. It traveled up his blood vessels and eventually spread throughout his entire body. Under the infiltration of that warmth, the cold, damp chill in his body was swept away.

The warm current circled his body once before gathering back at the injury on his lower leg. At first, a tingling sensation came from the painful area, and then the pain subsided by more than half.

Qin Sang feigned surprise: "Brother Bai, are you one of those legendary Immortal Masters? Is my leg healed?"

The surrounding men burst into laughter. "Kid, you managed to kill bandits, yet you don't know what 'True Qi' is? You’re lucky you ran into Boss Bai, who was willing to expend his True Qi to heal you. Why don't you thank him!"

Qin Sang’s eyes flickered as he thanked him repeatedly.

Bai Jianglan withdrew his hand, steadied his breath, and opened his eyes. He looked at Qin Sang and said, "It seems you truly know nothing of martial arts. I am merely a martial artist, not an Immortal Master, and I do not possess the methods of one. This True Qi is also called 'Internal Energy.' While it can help alleviate your pain, it is difficult to fully heal your injury. Your leg bone isn't broken, just fractured in a few places. I have used my internal energy to disperse the stagnant blood; you only need to find a physician after we disembark and get a few decoctions for bone healing. Within a month, you will be as good as new..."

"Lady Chuntao is here!"

A soft call interrupted Bai Jianglan.

The crowd fell silent and parted to both sides. Bai Jianglan also stood up and turned to look.

Qin Sang was finally able to see that they were currently near the stern of the ship. The row of cabins in front had no lights, except for the one in the middle, which had been set up as a parlor. Candlelight shone through the decorative windows, but the windows were covered with gauze on both sides, making it impossible to see inside.

The door to the parlor was half-open. A slender figure carrying a lantern approached, and only when she got close did Qin Sang see it was a young girl of seventeen or eighteen.

The girl wore a thin, water-green dress of high quality. Clearly unable to withstand the late-night river breeze, her hands trembled slightly from the cold.

The burly men seemed quite afraid of her. Seeing her approach, they stepped aside one by one, bowing respectfully. "Greetings, Lady Chuntao."

*Perhaps she is their employer,* Qin Sang thought to himself.

"Commander Bai, the Young Lady asked me to inquire why you stopped the ship here?"

Chuntao looked displeased, her brows knitted as she walked up. She was a head shorter than Bai Jianglan, and she struggled to lift the lantern, nearly shoving it into his face. She glared at him with almond-shaped eyes, questioning him with clear annoyance.

Bai Jianglan cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Please tell the Young Lady that we saw a raft in distress in the middle of the river. There was someone on it, so we stopped to rescue him. Now that he has been saved, we are about to set sail."

Hearing this, Chuntao glanced down at Qin Sang and lowered the lantern, shoving it into his face.

Qin Sang, being a guest under someone else's roof, dared not be negligent. He straightened up and nodded with a silly smile.

Before he could thank her, Chuntao snorted coldly, "Someone, throw him overboard!"

Qin Sang was startled. He hadn't expected such a pretty young girl to be so ruthless, and he hurriedly looked at Bai Jianglan.

Bai Jianglan frowned slightly and waved his hand to keep his subordinates from moving. "Lady Chuntao, you must not..."

Chuntao’s delicate brows shot up, and she pointed at Bai Jianglan’s nose, scolding him sharply, her voice shrill. "You, Bai! The Prince ordered you to escort the Young Lady; is this how you guard her? This little thief has shifty eyes and is covered in blood—he’s clearly no good! How dare you let him on the ship? If he turns out to be an assassin and disturbs the Young Lady, how many heads do you have to lose?"

"Please calm your anger, Lady Chuntao," Bai Jianglan said, his temper remaining even as he explained calmly, "I have already questioned him carefully. This brother Qin knows no martial arts; he is a poor soul victimized by bandits who luckily escaped with his life. The blood on him is from the struggle. There was no reason not to save him. Furthermore, brother Qin has a leg injury and cannot walk well. With us watching him, I guarantee he will not disturb the Young Lady."

Seeing that Bai Jianglan was insistent on saving him, Chuntao’s eyes rolled, and she said, "Doesn't this ship have two small boats in tow? Give him one and let him get lost!"

Qin Sang gasped. Looking at the vast, boundless river, the autumn tide was at its peak—even more treacherous than the Yangtze of his past life. Both banks were filled with heavy mountain shadows, devoid of any lights, and from time to time, strange roars of beasts echoed, making it feel like a ghost realm.

If he were to go down the river in a small boat, he wouldn't even know how he died.

*What a ruthless heart this little wench has!*

Bai Jianglan said, "Lady Chuntao, you may not know, but we have just entered the Nine-Fold Gorge of the Wuling River. Both banks are high cliffs and dangerous mountains with no human habitation and rampant wild beasts. We can only drift down the river. However, the Nine-Fold Gorge has the swiftest and most dangerous currents in the Wuling River; if we put a small boat down, it will surely capsize. How about this: let brother Qin stay in the stern cabin. We will set sail now, and by tomorrow morning, we will have passed the gorge. We can drop him off at Sanwu City. I will personally guard the deck tonight to ensure nothing goes wrong."