That night, by the Small Merchant River, as Yi Wansan drew, sweat began to form on his forehead.

The reason he dared to draw blindfolded was because an artist doesn’t just use his eyes—he carries an image in his mind. With each stroke, even if not precise, he generally knows what he’s drawing.

Each stroke, each line, sketched a form he knew all too well.

His hometown was by the sea, but with few waves, more like calm mudflats. When they built the ancestral hall, there was hammering and chiseling all day long. He was only seven or eight then, wearing tattered pants with a hole worn through the seat, exposing skin. When walking, he had to hold the fabric together with his hand.

The Immortal Pointing the Way, the immortal riding a phoenix, the xiezhi beast that could devour tigers and leopards, the fighting bull and pressing fish that could summon clouds and rain—he recognized none of these. But when they carved the final beast, he shouted: “Sun Wukong! The Great Sage!”

He was disappointed to discover it wasn’t. Sun Wukong didn’t have wings.

The ancestral hall was completed in March, just in time for the sea god festival. Living off the sea for generations, the seafaring people held incense, bowing again and again. The brisk sea breeze blew past, and the Immortal Pointing the Way on the high ridge looked like a row of lonely, huddled little figures.

His gaze fell on the sacrificial altar, where the three sacrificial animals—an ox head, a pig head, and a sheep head—lay with blood-stained necks, their eyes still open in death.

The old clan leader held incense, smoke seeming to float above his head, mumbling about pearls forming in clam bellies reflecting the moon. The salty sea breeze brushed against faces so rough they felt like they had grains of salt on them.

Yi Wansan thought grumpily: This godforsaken place! I won’t stay here.

Indeed, he never stayed there again. While wandering about elsewhere, people often asked where his hometown was. Depending on the situation, he’d give various answers—sometimes Beijing or Shanghai, other times Shenyang or Changchun.

He never imagined that one day, he would honestly speak these words: “Guangxi, Hepu.”

It wasn’t Hepu, but rather an obscure and isolated village along a hundred-mile water belt. But the place was so unknown, he thought they wouldn’t even know where Hepu was.

Unexpectedly, Luo Ren nodded: “The two prefectures of Lei and Lian, two great pearl pools. And you built an ancestral hall. Were your people in your hometown pearl divers?”

Yi Wansan nodded, quite surprised.

Lei and Lian were ancient names. The Lei Prefecture referred to Haikang in Guangdong, and the Lian Prefecture was Hepu in Guangxi. Both places were rich in pearls and were known in ancient times as China’s two “pearl pools.”

In the vast land of China, these two bright pearls filled one with pride just thinking about them.

Of the two pearl pools, Hepu was especially precious. An ancient saying went: “Hepu and Khotan are twenty thousand li apart, pearls dominate here, jade stands tall there.”

This meant that Guangxi’s Hepu and Xinjiang’s Khotan were about twenty thousand li apart—pearls reigned supreme in one, while jade stood proudly in the other.

The fact that Hepu pearls could rival Khotan jade without losing luster showed their high value.

Yi Wansan took out a folded drawing paper from his inner pocket and handed it to Luo Ren.

The creases on the paper were deep, and the corners had become fuzzy. It must have been carried for some time. Luo Ren unfolded it and saw that it indeed depicted the Immortal Pointing the Way, with beasts arranged irregularly, but the final figure was missing.

“Ridges with ten beasts on them are rare to begin with. Even if some places copied it, they wouldn’t be everywhere. Especially when the last figure is missing… so as soon as I drew it, I knew where it was.”

Luo Ren stared at him: “Then why did you hide it and not say anything?”

Yi Wansan smiled sarcastically: “That godforsaken place.”

Then he changed to an indifferent expression: “I didn’t want to talk about it, okay? What’s it to you?”

He had his reasons for not wanting to speak of it, but for Pin Ting’s sake, he gave up his secrecy. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late to mend the fold after the sheep had been lost.

Luo Ren quickly made a decision: “Tell me the exact location of the village. I need to go there.”

It was a simple request, but Yi Wansan hesitated for a long time. Mu Dai urged him: “Give it to him already. It’s just a place, isn’t it?”

“Little boss lady, it’s not what you think. It’s very difficult to enter.”

Mu Dai kept pressing him: “How difficult could it be? Are there wolves and tigers guarding it?”

Yi Wansan ignored her, seeming to weigh something: “How about this, Luo Ren—I’ll go with you, but I have conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“Guarantee my safety. Absolute safety.”

Mu Dai’s heart skipped a beat: Yi Wansan’s expression didn’t seem feigned. In broad daylight under the open sky, returning to his hometown, could someone harm him?

Yi Wansan then turned to Mu Dai: “Little boss lady, this counts as a business trip, right? You can’t dock my pay.”

The implication was: You already pay me so little, if you dock my wages, it would be a complete waste.

Luo Ren nodded: “Time waits for no one. Go pack your things first. Once everything here is arranged, we’ll try to leave tomorrow.”

“We?” That “we” didn’t include her, did it? Luo Ren wasn’t planning to invite her? Mu Dai felt empty inside, feeling like she was being left out.

She thought for a moment and said, “Well, be careful on your journey. I’ll come over to take care of Pin Ting.”

Given Pin Ting’s condition, Uncle Zheng definitely couldn’t handle it. With Luo Ren away, Mu Dai felt it was only natural that she should care for Pin Ting.

Luo Ren gave her a strange look: “Regarding how to care for Pin Ting, I’ve already explained.”

Yi Wansan was growing impatient: “You still want to keep her locked up?”

“What else? Can Mu Dai watch Pin Ting twenty-four hours a day without blinking? What if she can’t? What if Pin Ting is more dangerous than we imagine?”

Luo Ren laughed coldly: “Don’t forget, inside her body is a d**n thing that’s been alive for who knows how many thousands of years!”

Yi Wansan fell silent.

Luo Ren’s approach was indeed hard for him to accept, but after thinking it through, he couldn’t come up with a better solution.

This was the only way. One day at a time. He didn’t want to waste any more time and hurriedly went back to pack.

Mu Dai didn’t leave. She bit her lip as she watched Luo Ren pull down the red threads stretched across the room. Gathering her courage, she said, “Luo Ren, I can go with you too.”

She hastily explained: “Didn’t Yi Wansan say he wanted his safety guaranteed? Maybe it’s dangerous there. He doesn’t even know martial arts. If I’m there, it would be much better. At least…”

At least, if another situation like tonight’s occurred, she could climb a wall and help, unlike Yi Wansan, who was helplessly stuck outside the door.

Luo Ren shook his head: “No need.”

Mu Dai couldn’t describe her feelings. What was it like? Like that time she joyfully held the peach, waiting for her mother to take the first bite, but her mother never came; like when she worked desperately on math problems to be selected for the Math Olympiad class, only to find her name wasn’t on the final list.

That feeling of being left out, excluded.

She persisted: “At Small Merchant River, you let me go too.”

Luo Ren didn’t understand Mu Dai’s persistence: Was this some desirable opportunity that everyone was fighting for?

He patiently explained, “Small Merchant River was different. At that time, Huo Zihong was involved, and you were indirectly connected. Besides, I admit, I had selfish intentions to use you. You’re good at martial arts, and I just wanted your help.”

She only heard what she wanted to hear: “This time, I can still help.”

“This matter has nothing to do with you. Pin Ting is in trouble; she’s my family, and I should be the one running around for her. If it’s dangerous, I don’t want to involve you as well. Besides, you have your things to do. You just returned from the Small Merchant River not long ago, and now you’re running around. Zhang Shu won’t be happy.”

So what if Zhang Shu wasn’t happy? He was often unhappy anyway.

Mu Dai stood with her head lowered, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Even her hair strands seemed to spell out the word “stubborn.” With others, he could put on a stern face and say harsh words to drive them away, but not with Mu Dai—she would cry.

Besides, the handkerchiefs he bought last time had all been used up at once.

He had to compromise: “How about this, Mu Dai, I’ll think about it some more. If Zhang Shu agrees, you can consider it a trip for fun…”

Hepu should have quite a few interesting places, right? Might as well take her out for fun. China’s pearl pool—buying a pearl would be nice too.

Mu Dai looked up at him: “Really? You won’t secretly drive away with Yi Wansan, will you?”

Her eye rims were slightly red, her eyes bright. The aftermath of feeling wronged hadn’t passed, yet there was a small hint of secret joy. He wanted to hug her, or pat her head, or flick her nose.

He seemed to like her more than he had imagined. What should he do about this? Take her along and be together day and night?

Luo Ren felt he needed to seriously consider the feasibility of sneaking away by car with Yi Wansan.

Yi Wansan quickly packed his luggage. He didn’t have much—perfect for leaving at a moment’s notice. All material possessions could be bought with money, and money could be obtained, whether earned or scammed.

Throughout the long night, watching over his packed bag, what else was there to do?

He lay on the bed for a while, then got up and groped his way to the bar counter in the dark. When he returned, he had half a bottle of liquor tucked under his arm.

Whatever the flavor, however expensive, just drink it.

He gulped down a large mouthful as if drinking water.

The village was called “Five Pearl Village,” a name that sounded silly but had its origins. Back then, the old clan leader was surrounded by children, pedantically swaying his head as he explained the village’s origins: “They say dragon pearls come from under the jaw, snake pearls from the mouth, fish pearls from the eyes, shark pearls from the skin, and turtle pearls from the feet—these are all false. True pearls only come from old clams! But our village is called Five Pearls because we have all kinds of pearls, whatever the type, whatever the quality!”

According to legend, pearls could be found in a dragon’s lower jaw, a snake’s belly, a fish’s eye, a shark’s skin, and a turtle’s foot. This was, of course, just conjecture. Nowadays, even three-year-olds know that pearls come from clam shells.

It was also said that Five Pearl Village was among the oldest villages in southern China.

“When Emperor Qin unified Lingnan and established Xiangzhou, our Five Pearl Village was already there. For generations, we’ve harvested pearls. No matter how chaotic the times, we never starved! But those people from other villages harvest too frequently, their eyes only seeing money. The clams in this area are almost exhausted! Draining the pond to catch all the fish—in the future, this sea will no longer produce pearls!”

The entire village went mad for pearls—worshipping the sea god, fighting over sea territories, and battling bloody on pearl-diving boats that were wider and rounder than ordinary boats. In the melee, many people fell into the sea like dumplings, plop after plop, then climbed back up the sides of the boats, cursing and swearing, to continue “participating in the battle.”

This finally alarmed the township police station. Several police cars wound their way to the outskirts of the village. The officers jogged over and fired a shot into the air, intimidating everyone.

All were making a living from the sea, yet fighting so disgracefully. People from the two villages, like defeated roosters, lined up on opposite sides to listen to the lecture from the police station officers. Women came to watch. Yi Wansan’s mother suddenly became anxious, shouting: “Jiang Zhao, Jiang Zhao, where’s your father!”

She searched everywhere, finally thinking to check the water. No one thought his father would drown. People who had harvested pearls for years could descend hundreds of feet underwater to collect clams—how could they drown?

His father’s body, pale from being in the water, was fished out. The best riders fall, the best swimmers drown. A man who had spent his life making a living from the sea had his life taken by the sea.

His father’s death brought an unexpected gain—it helped Five Pearl Village win a major victory in the territory struggle.

But there was no explanation for his father’s death. Faced with his mother’s tears, the police officer was helpless: “Auntie, there were dozens of people fighting over territory, jumping from boat to boat. Who knows if he was pushed down or if he tripped and fell? It’s hard to determine responsibility.”

The day the urn with his ashes was brought back, his mother cried as if dying and coming back to life, muttering: “Poor thing, a seafaring man, burned to ashes by fire. He should at least be buried at sea.”

She took the urn and went out.

Yi Wansan wasn’t paying much attention, engrossed in watching television. Suddenly, he heard the dong-dong of a gong. The old clan leader rushed in, twisting his ear in agitation: “Quick, call your mother back! How can a woman enter the sea?”

It was a rule that women from Five Pearl Village could not enter the sea. It was said that a sea dragon was guarding the pearls. Every March, they would sacrifice to feed it well, and it would sleep comfortably at the bottom of the sea for a year, allowing pearl divers to safely collect clams. But the dragon didn’t like women—a woman entering the sea was an offense to it.

Villagers gathered at the seaside with torches. The water surface was so flat, moonlight spilling on it like silver coins. In the distance, they could see his mother’s small figure, rowing slowly out to sea.

Several anxious men hurriedly untied the pearl-diving boats and pushed them into the water, preparing to chase after her. Yi Wansan called out by the seaside, one short cry after another, like shouting until his throat was raw: “Mother, come back! Women can’t enter the sea…”

At that moment, with the moon shining like water, torches flickering, and countless specks of gold seeming to scatter on the black sea surface, before everyone’s eyes…

That small boat suddenly capsized.