Not far away, the golden light of the setting sun gradually spread across the calm river surface. An ancient, massive sharp-nosed sea vessel was moored at the ferry dock. A purple-robed man in his fifties gazed into the distance, as if waiting for someone.

Beside the purple-robed man stood a young maiden of remarkable age, her features delicate and captivating. When she glanced around, her eyes held a concentrated radiance that was dazzling to behold.

The maiden followed his gaze and asked, “Father, who exactly are you waiting for?”

“Him? He’s a master I met three years ago in the Holy City,” the purple-robed man replied with a hearty laugh.

“A master?” The maiden seemed quite curious.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a green-robed traveler slowly approached from outside the ferry crossing.

His green robe was already worn, yet it remained neat and clean. His face showed traces of exhaustion, but this could not conceal his bright eyes, which were like two stars twinkling in the night—once you gazed upon them, you would unconsciously be drawn in deeply.

As the maiden stood in a daze, the green-robed traveler had already walked up to them.

The purple-robed man cupped his hands in salute: “It has been four years since we parted in the Holy City. Has Lord Li been well?”

The green-robed traveler was none other than Li Si, one of the Four Great God-Catchers of the Great World. Li Si smiled faintly, his slender eyebrows relaxing gently: “Thanks to Brother Yue’s auspicious words at Yantai four years ago, these past years have been fairly peaceful. Has Brother Yue’s business been going smoothly?”

“Indeed.” The purple-robed man was Yue Tianhong, a silk merchant and an old friend of Li Si from the Holy City. This time, Yue Tianhong had just taken in a goddaughter and wanted to bring her back to his ancestral home in Weicheng, Guiyun Province, to acknowledge her ancestry. It so happened that Li Si also had official business in Guiyun Province, so Yue Tianhong sincerely invited him to travel together on the sea vessel to Guiyun Province.

“Xue’er, this is Li Si, Lord Li, one of the God-Catchers of the Great World.”

“Lord Li, this is the daughter I just acknowledged, Jin Xue’er,” Yue Tianhong announced in his booming voice.

“This humble girl greets Lord Li.” The maiden Jin Xue’er performed a graceful curtsy. Li Si extended his hand in a gesture of support: “Miss Xue’er is truly well-mannered and proper.”

“It’s getting late. Let’s board the ship and continue our conversation,” Yue Tianhong said.

The three of them boarded the sea vessel. This sea vessel was a sharp-nosed, three-sailed ship built in the south. Its bow and stern were shaped like shuttles, and the square keel at the ship’s bottom stabilized its speed and direction.

“Set sail.”

The sea vessel slowly weighed anchor and sailed along Qingzhou’s Jinbo River into the East Sea.

Li Si stood on the deck, gazing at the empty, deserted ferry crossing. Another departure with no one to see him off. In this vast heaven and earth, it seemed he would forever remain just a stranger on the road, solitary and alone.

The close friends and beloved companions who once stood by his side—were they doing well now?