In the night filled with clamor, engine noise, and all kinds of river seafood smells that he could never touch again in this life, Zong Hang felt like fireworks were exploding across the sky.
He saw Yi Sa.
He thought he’d never see her again, thought she was just a minor character – a locally-born member of the Yi family in Cambodia. He had even secretly thought that if he had a daughter or granddaughter in the future, he would name her “Yi Sa” to commemorate this benefactor. He would tirelessly tell them about his experiences in Cambodia, and in these stories, Yi Sa would be an unfading legend, forever young, beautiful, kind-hearted, and possessing extraordinary skills.
Was she the one who just called out “Brother Xiao Jiang”? She called it so sweetly – that man was blessed.
Jing Xiu looked at him strangely: “Let’s go, Zong Hang, what are you looking at?”
Oh right, they were still on the deck, shouldn’t block other people’s way.
Zong Hang came back to his senses, and hurried a few steps to catch up with Jing Xiu, but couldn’t help looking back again. Just then, another wave of people was boarding and disembarking, and amid the shifting shadows of people, she was already gone.
The top floor of the passenger ship housed standard cabins.
When Yi Sa came up, Jiang Jun had already opened the door: “You’re the one with the biggest attitude – my father was just saying today that you must be waiting to make a grand entrance.”
Yi Sa grinned: “Am I grand? Nobody’s beating drums or gongs to welcome me.”
As she spoke, she looked Jiang Jun up and down.
Jiang Jun must be… in his forties now, but he had good features – handsome brows and eyes with a hint of refinement. Plus, men don’t show age as much, and with good maintenance and fitting clothes, he easily looked only in his thirties, still able to captivate many young girls.
Yi Sa had a moment of daze.
After growing up a bit, she learned that Jiang Jun had been dating her sister Yi Xiao back then – it made sense that only an outstanding man could make her radiant and proud sister become tender as water.
Yi Sa wasn’t close to Jiang Jun, seeing him only once every few years, but with the relationship from the previous generation, and having almost called him “brother-in-law,” plus her deliberate sweetness and effort to be likable, pulling this superficial relationship closer was as easy as turning her hand over.
She looked into the room: “Where’s Uncle Jiang, isn’t he sharing a room with you?”
Jiang Jun invited her in: “He was invited to dinner by Ding Changsheng’s side, they thought the outdoor restaurants were too simple, and probably went to a proper restaurant.”
Yi Sa’s face immediately fell: “That old ghost! I just don’t understand, Ding Changsheng isn’t a water ghost himself, doesn’t have a water ghost father, and even his son is an adopted orphan – how come all three families, up and down, still treat him as someone important… What gives him the right?”
Jiang Jun smiled: “It’s like building a ship – some draw the plans, some build it, some sail it. Among the three water ghost families, the old and young generations combined have less than ten water ghosts – now that the three families have grown big in business, they can’t do without people who can arrange things both internally and externally.”
Whatever, she hadn’t come to see Jiang Jun about Ding Changsheng anyway: “Brother Xiao Jiang, I heard you’re leading this trip. You… probably haven’t opened Jin Tang before, right?”
The Jin Tang opening dates were set by the clients when they placed their orders – whatever year, whatever day they wanted. Sometimes two orders were only one or two months apart, sometimes fifty or sixty years, with no pattern to follow.
The Jin Tang register recorded the location, order date, duration, and expiry date. Yi Sa remembered that the last Jin Tang opening was in the 1970s – forget about her, even people like Jiang Jun weren’t born yet.
Jiang Jun nodded: “That’s right, but I’m lucky – some people never encounter it once in their lifetime.”
“Aren’t you worried?”
“Worried about what?”
Yi Sa let out a long sigh: “I’m worried. After ‘7.17’ comes ‘12.3’, it’s our Yi family’s turn, with the youngest water ghost leading – that would be me, right? Brother Xiao Jiang, what if when the time comes, I don’t have the map in my head?”
For the three water ghost families, while the Jin Tang register was important, losing it wouldn’t matter much because the content recorded was simple – like letting people know Zhang Xianzhong’s sunken silver was at the river mouth – go ahead and salvage it, you might not get results even after hundreds of years.
The most crucial Jin Tang map was in the newest water ghost’s mind.
Moreover, it wasn’t always there but suddenly appeared after the Jin Tang opening ceremony.
It sounded a bit like Tibet’s mysterious “divine artists”: they were usually illiterate, perhaps had never even seen writing, just ordinary highland shepherds, but after a serious illness or waking up one day, they could recite the Epic of King Gesar word for word – this epic is considered the world’s longest, reportedly containing several million words.
So even if someone got greedy now and kidnapped Jiang Jun to force him to open Jin Tang, it would be futile: before midnight tomorrow, even Jiang Jun himself wouldn’t know where to go after entering the water.
But Jiang Jun wasn’t worried at all, and poured her some tea: “How could there be such a possibility? Generation after generation, it’s always been like this.”
Yi Sa said: “But there have been several consecutive failed attempts…”
Jiang Jun smiled: “That’s a different matter. The failures happened only in the final step, watching treasures slip away when they were right there – it doesn’t affect your ability to lead everyone to find Jin Tang. If you truly couldn’t find the exact location of Jin Tang, could you even be called a water ghost? Must be an imposter.”
Yi Sa picked up the teacup: “That’s true…”
She lowered her eyelids, her gaze suddenly becoming heavy as it fell into the rippling tea, then gathered itself again, quickly returning to normal.
When she raised her face, her smile was particularly bright: “Well then, Brother Xiao Jiang, tomorrow night we’ll see you display your divine powers.”
The ship’s staff quarters and guest rooms were separate, located at the end of the first floor.
The dormitory room was very narrow – had to enter sideways after opening the door, with only train-style upper and lower single beds inside. Personal hygiene needs had to be taken care of in the public bathroom.
Zong Hang went to wash up first, only then discovering that the public bathroom was divided into left and right sides when entering – left for toilets, right for showers, but not separated by gender.
Obviously, this area was inhabited by casual and even somewhat crude men – Zong Hang’s sense of responsibility exploded, and when Jing Xiu showered, he placed a chair outside the bathroom to guard. If someone came to use the toilet, that was fine, but if anyone came to shower, he would definitely follow them in like watching for thieves, to the point where one man asked him puzzledly: “Are you the bath attendant?”
Jing Xiu, hearing this from the shower stall, laughed until her stomach hurt.
Zong Hang waited for her to finish and come out, then accompanied her back to the room, not forgetting to remind her on the way: “It’s all men here, and so remote – when I’m not around, you must make sure to bolt your door. If someone sees you’re pretty and gets bad ideas… anyway, you need to stay alert at all times…”
Jing Xiu was a few years older than Zong Hang and had more social experience, always seeing him as a younger brother. Suddenly seeing him with such a mature face reminded her to be careful about this and that was both amusing and heartwarming.
This feeling continued until she lay down and the lights were turned off. After tossing and turning in the darkness for a long while, she suddenly felt melancholic.
Why couldn’t Ding Xi be more like Zong Hang?
The night before Ding Xi left Siem Reap, he called her using the hotel’s landline. She thought it was a regular client and just brought her bag over.
The moment the door opened, she was suddenly dumbstruck.
Ding Xi looked at her and smiled, saying: “What’s wrong? Don’t recognize me? You asked if I would call you again, and here I am, calling.”
Just that, those few words, and she softened, even imagining many things: feeling it was heaven’s arrangement, an unavoidable fate, that he still thought of her, and when he had said she was “so naive for someone in your profession,” maybe he was just teasing her…
That night, Ding Xi was in a good mood, as if he had completed some big task, his whole person relaxed. She was also tender and affectionate, and that recent awkwardness, added to the romance. They were fully invested, indulging in the pleasures of intimacy.
After their encounter, knowing he was returning to China, she got up to help him fold his clothes.
Ding Xi lay sideways on the bed watching her.
Her face was still flushed, her hair half-loose, in that kind of dishevelment that stirs desires, the strap of her camisole half-slipped, that side of her shoulder round, delicate and full.
Halfway through folding, she noticed a button on one of his shirts was half loose. With no needle and thread at hand, Jing Xiu used her fingertips to pinch it, but the thread was too short to grip with her nails, so she brought it to her mouth, gently biting with her teeth.
In the ambiguous atmosphere, certain scenes become particularly moving.
Ding Xi suddenly spoke: “Actually, if you’re willing, you could come find me in China.”
Jing Xiu’s heart trembled, and she turned to look at him.
Ding Xi lit a cigarette: “I don’t have a fixed woman by my side, and I think… you’re pretty good.”
“Your massage technique isn’t bad either, it’s comfortable when you give a massage.”
“Of course, this is up to you.”
That’s it?
Jing Xiu felt her heart grow a little cold: “And then?”
Ding Xi looked puzzled: “What do you mean ‘and then’? Then we can meet often, isn’t that good?”
Jing Xiu’s heart continued to grow colder.
— He had compared various women and felt that those who came and went like flowing water by his side weren’t quite to his liking, not as good as her, because she was not only young and beautiful but also had massage skills – higher value for money.
— Just a pity she was abroad, it would be better if she could return to China, preferably not far from him, so it would be convenient when he wanted to find her.
It seemed fine at first listen, but thinking carefully made her grind her teeth in anger: Ding Xi was playing his cards well, not putting down any capital, not making any effort, just moving his lips, waiting for her to foolishly pack her bags, travel thousands of miles, and dedicate herself selflessly.
Jing Xiu laughed sarcastically: “Ding Xi, let me say something self-deprecating – in ancient times when clients wanted to redeem a prostitute, they at least had to spend some money.”
She threw down the shirt, hastily put on her long dress, grabbed her bag, and left without looking back. As she walked, she gritted her teeth, pushed open the hotel’s main doors, stepped into the bustling street, and fiercely spat out four words through her clenched teeth, each word trailing a breath of anger.
“Son of a bitch!”
Zong Hang was quite right.
True friends are hard to find anywhere in the world, and in this profession, it’s even harder.
When you attach your heart to a player, who knows when it will be played away – how can you expect it to be carefully treasured?
Jing Xiu sighed dejectedly.
There was the sound of turning over from the lower bunk, and Jing Xiu thought she had disturbed Zong Hang, so she peeked down to look.
The cabin had a window, and with moonlight and artificial light mixing outside, it wasn’t very dark inside: he was lying with both hands behind his neck, his eyes sparkling, corners of his mouth occasionally turning up, and who knows what he was happy about.
Seems this insomnia had nothing to do with her.
Jing Xiu felt a bit envious of him: after suffering so much, his thoughts could still be so pure – when he was happy, even others could feel it.
She bent her fingers and knocked on the bed frame: “What are you thinking about?”
Zong Hang couldn’t keep things in his heart, so he scrambled up, holding onto the upper bunk’s railing as he stood: “Jing Xiu, I just saw someone, she saved me before, she’s my benefactor.”
Jing Xiu made a sound of acknowledgment: “A woman, right?”
Zong Hang asked in surprise: “How did you know?”
Jing Xiu burst out laughing: “Just look at your silly expression, tossing and turning… if Li Kui had saved you, would you be lying in bed secretly smiling?”
Zong Hang said: “No, she’s very good.”
Jing Xiu rolled over, propping her chin with her hand: “Did she save you like you saved me that time?”
Zong Hang thought for a moment, slowly shaking his head: “No, I saved you because we’re friends, and you were somewhat caught up in trouble because of me, I had a responsibility. But she didn’t know me at all, the matter had nothing to do with her, she had to take quite a big risk to save me, but she still did it, it’s really precious, anyway… she’s just… really good…”
He stopped talking, paused for a while, suddenly realized something, and embarrassedly lay back down.
These feelings were complex and contradictory: wanting to tell the whole world about her, yet wanting to carefully hide it away, to savor it alone, to smile foolishly alone.
Instead, it was Jing Xiu who leaned down again: “You just saw her on the ship, right? So she can recognize you now? This… won’t there be problems?”
Zong Hang was stunned.
This reminded him.
If Yi Sa was on this ship, then… what about Ding Xi? Would he be here too?
Zong Hang’s spine slowly grew cold.
He felt foolish about his earlier excitement: Yi Xiao had said that the three families wouldn’t tolerate “strange creatures” like them, and would deal with them at any cost. He had boarded a ship full of enemies, and even Yi Sa might turn against him, yet he had been overjoyed at being able to see her again…
Seeing him not responding, Jing Xiu thought she had hit the mark: “It’s okay, you’re working as a kitchen assistant, most of the time you’ll be in the back kitchen, you won’t see people. If you wear a face mask, it shouldn’t be a big problem. I’ll help you with some makeup too – even your parents might not recognize you if they were standing right in front.”