Yi Sa let out a long breath and walked out as if nothing had happened.
Zong Hang was truly a treasure trove – within three questions, she could dig out something useful. All of this traced back to that slight moment of compassion she had shown not long ago. She hadn’t believed in karma before, but now that it suddenly proved true, she felt somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.
She sat down on the small sofa and resumed her notebook: “When you woke up at the hotel, were you completely recovered?”
Zong Hang shook his head: “No, K said my condition was unstable, and he found someone to take care of me…”
His expression suddenly changed, and he jumped up: “Oh no! Jing Xiu!”
With so many things happening and his nerves being highly strung, he had forgotten about Jing Xiu.
His heart pounding violently, he could barely speak clearly: “Yi Sa, I have a friend on the ship. What if Ding Xi goes after her…”
Zong Hang instinctively moved to walk out, but stopped himself in time: “While Ding Xi hasn’t been discovered yet, could I… bring her here too?”
Yi Sa remained seated and gestured toward the edge of the bed: “Sit down first.”
“What did you say her name was?”
“Jing Xiu. The ‘Jing’ from ‘ancient well’ and ‘Xiu’ from ‘long sleeves dance gracefully.'”
“This Jing Xiu, is she a prostitute… a masseuse?”
Zong Hang was both surprised and delighted: “You know about her too?”
He had originally thought he and Yi Sa were worlds apart, but as they talked, he discovered that when he mentioned this person, she knew them, and when he mentioned that person, she knew them too.
This feeling was indescribable with a hint of sweetness, like using the same merchandise as your idol and fooling yourself into believing it wasn’t a coincidence but rather the legendary fate and meeting of minds.
However, Yi Sa had just used the word “prostitute,” and she seemed to have some misunderstandings about Jing Xiu.
Zong Hang wanted to clarify: “Jing Xiu… she’s not what you think. She just occasionally… dates her clients.”
Yi Sa gave him a sideways glance: “Is that so? Including dating Ding Xi?”
Zong Hang was startled: “No, no, she doesn’t know Ding Xi. Tonight when Ding Xi was checking rooms, he even checked mine. They… don’t know each other.”
Seeing Zong Hang’s expression, it seemed he truly didn’t know about this. Yi Sa frowned: “Is Jing Xiu such a common name? Two masseuses, both called Jing Xiu, both Chinese people in Cambodia.”
“I had Dragon Song help me investigate. Ding Xi stayed at two hotels in Siem Reap. The first time was at your place, where he booked Jing Xiu for at least three days. The second time he changed hotels and called for her services again – once familiar, twice intimate, staying together day and night. You still think they ‘don’t know each other’?”
Zong Hang’s lips felt a bit dry.
He suddenly remembered that night when he couldn’t sleep due to disturbance, he had called the front desk asking who was staying next door, and the front desk replied: “It’s a single male guest, Chinese, twenty-seven years old, named Ding… couldn’t recognize the character.”
The next day, he met Jing Xiu on the terrace.
So, Jing Xiu’s client was Ding Xi?
He had been neighbors with Ding Xi, separated only by a wall, for several days.
Zong Hang muttered unwillingly: “But tonight when they met, they acted like strangers…”
Yi Sa said: “Two people who know each other greeting each other isn’t strange, but both pretending not to know each other – don’t you think that’s very unusual?”
Zong Hang remembered then, after that, the supervisor suddenly came to send him to the empty kitchen to peel potatoes.
Was it Ding Xi deliberately getting him out of the way to catch up with Jing Xiu?
Then afterward, Ding Xi came into the kitchen and attacked him after barely two sentences.
His disguise had fooled even Yi Sa, so how did Ding Xi see through it? Had Jing Xiu said something?
Yi Sa carefully watched his expression and had a rough idea in her mind: “You and that Old K both died at Ding Xi’s hands, and Old K even brought his woman to keep by his side – I don’t understand this logic.”
Zong Hang’s mind was in complete chaos, and his words became somewhat jumbled: “No, it’s not Old K’s fault. I knew Jing Xiu first, but I didn’t know about her relationship with Ding Xi, and Old K didn’t know either. Old K just asked me if I knew any friends who could take care of me, and I just…”
He suddenly became bewildered.
Once, to comfort Jing Xiu, he had earnestly told her “We’re friends, we’re on the same side,” but Yi Xiao said, “she’s not on your side, I’m the one on your side…”
Who could be on the same side? The old saying goes “Heart for heart, eight ounces for half a jin,” but when he offered his heart in exchange, why did he only get back these things that were half-true and half-false, shrouded in clouds and mist?
Yi Sa lowered her voice: “What other secrets of yours does this Jing Xiu know?”
Zong Hang felt somewhat relieved that he had listened to Yi Xiao’s words and hadn’t revealed too much to Jing Xiu: “She doesn’t know that I died and came back to life. She only thinks I was drowned in the lake by Su Cai’s people and was rescued by Old K from under the lake…”
Yi Sa unconsciously asked: “Wasn’t it me who rescued you?”
“Didn’t you tell me not to say that?”
Yi Sa realized and felt quite pleased inside.
“But she knows I can sleep in water, and she’s seen my abnormal physical condition…”
“Is she tight-lipped? Reliable?”
Zong Hang wasn’t sure in his heart and didn’t know how to answer.
Yi Sa sneered: “Just this one thing is enough to give you trouble. This woman, if you can handle it, find an opportunity to take care of it, otherwise she’ll cause problems sooner or later.”
She had never killed anyone, but she could casually talk about having others handle this person or that person.
There wasn’t much more to say after that: K had him taste food, fight an alligator, reminded him to keep secrets because the Three Families wouldn’t tolerate people like them, arranged for smuggling, rushed for this opening of Jin Tang, saying he wanted to come investigate the reason for the physical abnormalities, then paid money to have him work as a substitute on the ship…
He said: “After getting on the ship, she never appeared again, never contacted me, and I don’t know how to find her. That’s… how things are.”
After finishing, Zong Hang’s back was slightly sweaty, but his heart was at ease.
For his part, he had “spoken all he knew, and spoken completely.”
Regarding Yi Xiao’s involvement, he had kept it as brief as possible, only revealing that she was female, in the same situation as him, seemed quite knowledgeable about the Three Families, and had arranged everything before he boarded the ship.
That was all.
He stole a glance at Yi Sa.
Yi Sa was staring at her phone.
During the latter half of listening, she had only written two lines:
– Zong Hang is like me.
– K knows the inside story.
She too had experienced black blood vessels bursting, and it was periodic.
The first time this abnormality appeared was when she was fourteen, shortly after the second round of the “Female Seven Trial.”
The Three Families had the “Female Seven Trial” and “Male Eight Test,” but the “seven” and “eight” didn’t refer to the number of test items, but to age.
Ancient Chinese Yin-Yang theory believed that women’s life cycles were based on “seven,” while men’s were based on “eight.”
For example, girls lost their baby teeth at seven, “at twice seven the heavenly river arrives,” meaning physiological maturity at fourteen; while boys lost their baby teeth at eight, “at twice eight the kidney qi flourishes,” having nocturnal emissions at sixteen and being able to father children.
For women, “four times seven” at twenty-eight was when the body reached its peak, “five times seven” starting at thirty-five was when “the face begins to wither, the hair begins to fall”; for men, “four times eight” at thirty-two was when “tendons and bones flourish,” and only at “five times eight” at forty did the “kidney qi begin to decline.”
This cycle difference became even more pronounced later in life – women at “seven times seven” (forty-nine years old) reached “heavenly river exhaustion,” considered the time of menopause, beginning to gradually lose fertility, while for men it was “eight times eight” (sixty-four years old), a difference of fifteen years.
Of course, this referred to general circumstances; those who took good care of themselves were a different matter.
This Yin-Yang theory had no scientific basis, yet it influenced Chinese social marriage structures for a very long time: The Chinese preference for marriages where the husband is older than the wife partially originated from this theory, including how in feudal times, men over fifty could still righteously take concubines to bear children. In modern society, many couples who marry young find that by middle age, the husband appears younger while the wife, worn down by hard work, looks like she’s more than a decade older when they stand together – some attribute this to this theory as well.
The Three Families were ancient clans, continuing generation after generation, traceable back hundreds or thousands of years. This Yin-Yang theory permeated every aspect of life: The “Seven Trial Eight Test” followed the life cycles of men and women, testing women at seven and fourteen, and men at eight and sixteen – it wasn’t about women taking seven tests and men taking eight.
More interestingly, among the thousands of Three Families members, there wasn’t a single case of an older sister dating a younger brother, probably also influenced by this theory.
The “Female Seven Trial” first round determined the seed candidates; the second round determined the Water Ghost title.
All Three Families members were considered Water Grapes, while others, according to their different abilities, were called Water Shakers, Water Eight-Legs, and Water Ghosts in ascending order.
Water Shakers referred to fish, as fish seem to shake while swimming – such people could run errands underwater.
Water Eight-Legs, with eight legs moving sideways, referred to as crabs – such people could work independently underwater.
Water Ghosts needed no explanation – rarity makes things precious, and for years, they maintained the structure of “Eight Water Ghosts of the Three Families.”
As the “number one” and “hot prospect,” Yi Sa desperately wanted to become a Water Ghost.
This was determined by the Three Families’ internal structure.
Like any industry, only a small group at the pyramid’s top earned good money and lived comfortably. The remaining majority of average-talented Ding, Jiang, and Yi surname members merely rushed about, managing internal and external affairs, contributing their strength to family matters, and hoping to earn a living.
There were two paths upward.
One was the professional route, starting as a Water Grape and striving to advance to Shaker, Eight-Legs, and Water Ghost. However, this path depended on ancestral gifts – a natural talent that couldn’t be compensated for with mere diligence.
The second was the auxiliary route, joining the steward ranks.
Stewards were to Water Ghosts what managers were to celebrities in some ways. Water Ghosts only needed to focus on improving their professional skills and collecting money, while stewards handled all other matters, big and small, internal and external.
Loosely speaking, they were like two ends of a seesaw – neither could function without the other, but the perfect balance was hard to maintain. Inevitably there would be friction, with either the east wind overwhelming the west, or vice versa.
However, stewards were more stable, because Water Ghosts changed over time – you might be one, but your children might not be. Once you died of old age or accident, the halo and privileges disappeared.
Stewards were different, relying on connections, relationships, and management. They arranged marriages, became sworn brothers, and created intricate networks. In prosperity, they flourished together, giving them more confidence.
After Yi Jiuge and Yi Xiao’s deaths, Yi Sa became just an ordinary Yi family girl. Ding Changsheng couldn’t pursue action against her, not only because there was no concrete evidence but also because of unanimous opposition from the Water Ghosts and stewards meeting.
Yi Yunqiao had just given birth then, her maternal instincts overflowing. Being from the Yi family herself, she spoke with tears in her eyes: “The little girl is so young, with no family left, and you still insist something’s wrong with her. Have you no shame?”
Ding Changsheng argued forcefully: “Yunqiao, you weren’t at the scene. Some people were still barely alive when we arrived, torn apart, barely human anymore – we had to cremate them secretly. If Jiang Jun hadn’t been trapped in his overturned car, accidentally ‘isolated,’ he probably would have met the same fate. She was covered in blood and found miles away – what if she’s infected too?”
In the 1990s, most of China was still very clean. Even AIDS, which now strikes fear into people’s hearts, was then just called “foreigner’s disease” or “bad disease,” and for a long time hadn’t spread from coastal and border cities into the interior. Most people had no concept of infection, germs, or incubation periods.
Ding Haijin hadn’t had his heart bypass surgery yet and spoke with full vigor: “A child with such weak immunity – if she were infected, she’d have shown symptoms by now. How could she still be so active and lively?”
The final decision was: to foster her for now, with regular medical checkups.
Foster life wasn’t easy. No more smiling uncles and aunts bringing oranges and canned drinks. No new clothes. Getting scolded and made to stand as punishment for dropping rice grains while eating. She lived each day grinding her teeth, pasting a sticker of Guanyin from “New Legend of White Snake” at her bedhead, praying dozens of times daily, even kowtowing when alone, because the TV said sincere prayers were answered.
She had only one thought: Let me become a Water Ghost! Let me become a Water Ghost!
The Bodhisattva must have heard her.
In the first round of the “Female Seven Trial,” she shone so brightly it dazzled everyone’s eyes.
Yi Yunqiao was overjoyed. Among the Eight Water Ghosts of the Three Families, the Yi family had always produced fewer. The Ding, Jiang, and Yi families had a “three-three-two” composition, which became “three-three-one” after Yi Xiao’s death, leaving her as the Yi family’s only female pillar, feeling very lonely.
So she focused on training Yi Sa.
Yi Sa didn’t disappoint, passing the second round of the Female Seven Trial at age fourteen with an absolute advantage.
But it wasn’t over yet – the Water Ghosts and Stewards meeting still needed final discussion and decision.
This discussion continued for several days.
During this time, she was extremely anxious, almost wanting to climb onto the meeting room door to listen for news.
The day before the announcement, they still hadn’t concluded. When Yi Yunqiao came out, she eagerly offered her a cup of tea.
Yi Yunqiao took a sip to moisten her throat, then said in a low, angry voice: “That stubborn mule Ding Changsheng, bringing up things from so many years ago! And what’s this about only one Water Ghost per generation – what era are we in, can’t we innovate? Before the Jiang family, the Three Families had never had a father-son Water Ghost pair, so why can’t we have sisters?”
She thought there was no hope and turned pale.
Yi Yunqiao consoled her: “But don’t worry, they’re short on Water Ghosts now, those people won’t give up on you. Besides, Jiang Xiaoguang has always looked after you, after all, your sister almost became his daughter-in-law… They’ll stand on your side, just wait patiently.”
Easier said than done – how could she be patient?
Back in her room, Yi Sa tossed and turned, unable to sleep. These past two days, her temper had grown increasingly volatile. She thought it was just the stress of waiting for the results and didn’t pay much attention to it.
In the late night, she dozed off and had a dream.
In the dream, she was so angry she bit through her gums until they bled, viciously whipping Ding Changsheng: This bastard! Just wouldn’t let her have peace!
As she whipped him, suddenly the world turned dark and upside down. Each whip mark on Ding Changsheng’s body raised, becoming writhing black worms, crawling towards her in dense masses. She couldn’t move her feet, watching helplessly as she was completely wrapped up…
Finally waking up, she sat bolt upright, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily in the darkness for a long time before raising her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
Halfway through wiping, she suddenly froze.
Then, almost frantically, she began touching her face, neck, arms…
Impossible, this was impossible!
A teenage girl’s skin should be smooth as water – how could it be rough and uneven like dried earth ravines?
After the initial panic, she found the switch by her bed, turned on the light, and then slowly turned her head to look at the nearby full-length mirror.
What was… that thing?
Just as a hysterical scream was about to burst from her throat, Yi Sa suddenly raised her hand and firmly covered her mouth.
She couldn’t scream.
She couldn’t let anyone know.
The Water Ghost title was within reach, she had a bright future ahead – one scream would ruin everything.
She walked barefoot to the mirror, looking at her face and head covered in black horror.
Go down.
Please go down quickly.
If it didn’t go down before sunrise, she would be finished.
…
The next day’s weather was exceptionally good, sunlight shining brilliantly everywhere, making the room radiantly, dazzlingly white.
Yi Yunqiao came to knock on her door, and when it opened, her face was full of joy, her freshly curled hair bouncing with excitement, eager to share the news.
Then she said: “Sasa, it’s done!”
She raised her face in a smile, saying: “Thank you, Aunt Yunqiao.”
This smile dazzled Yi Yunqiao, who praised her: “Oh my, look at you – just hearing good news has made you even more beautiful.”
Yi Sa discovered for the first time that someone harboring an enormous secret could smile so beautifully.
That the determination to guard a secret at all costs could make one’s eyes shine so brightly.