That Dream, That Sea, That Crow

The young man had leafed through that mysterious tome countless times, had dreamed a thousand nights of wandering the arcane sea, yet never once had he sensed the presence of any arcane force. But now, something utterly extraordinary had visited him.

He struck the target—unbelievable! He even managed to deflect the arcane weapon! Not only that, the weapon rebounded fiercely, crashing against the side of the ship without windows, leaving a gaping hole behind them.

The crowd was astonished, staring in utter disbelief!

Moments later, a series of shrill cries echoed from the distance.

Arcane weapons were the constant companions of arcane weapon masters, who spent countless hours attuning themselves to these tools so that, under the guidance of heaven and earth’s arcane force, they could unleash their fierce attacks.

Yet now, his arcane weapon had inexplicably lost all connection with him. For a master, it was as painful as losing a limb.

Zheng Fanren wasted no time seizing the rare opportunity. He swiftly scooped up the two girls dressed as men beside him and leapt into the river. When the sound of water splashing reached the guards, they finally reacted, stomping in anger to pursue them.

“Stop! He’s a friend of the princess!”

Zhou Ziwen did not realize the scent of Heavenly Eye Incense had clouded his judgment, but Zheng Fanren knew full well that he desperately needed this female scholar to protect him. Whether princess or noble, such empty notions of honor meant nothing to him.

…

Night had fallen in the reed thickets.

Familiar with the romance of wuxia tales, Zheng Fanren was well aware of the allure of life outdoors, especially with two peerless beauties beside him. Yet, at this moment, romance seemed harshly out of place—the effort needed to procure firewood and fish, those simple comforts of warmth and sustenance, was anything but simple.

Otherwise, one would never witness the suffering of those cold and hungry; indeed, many had perished for lack of these. Tonight, the three had only fallen reeds for seats, fish without salt, a biting wind, and a dim fire.

The newly joined female scholar’s face shone with excitement, as if she had forgotten her ordeal altogether, and certainly showed no awareness of her status as a hostage.

“Do you know you’ve been kidnapped?”

“I do. I’m willing!”

“I take back what I said earlier and change it to… be my woman! Would your answer remain the same?”

The female scholar was clearly unable to respond to such words, looking helplessly to the other girl dressed as a man.

The latter smiled faintly, replying, “Just say you’re unwilling. He’s an unreasonable chatterbox.”

The female scholar nodded, then added, “But I want to follow you!”

Zheng Fanren spoke decisively, “That’s a must! What should we call you?”

The female scholar seemed a little afraid of him, replying softly, “You can call me Dongmei.”

In truth, this was the name of her personal maid.

“I’m Zheng Fanren, she’s Qiuxiang, and you’re Dongmei. You two are now my maids—that’s our relationship. Now your master has a few questions for you.”

“Master? Can’t it be friend?”

“That’s for another time. You answer only my questions!”

Zheng Fanren continued, “You might not have the awareness of a hostage, but you must have the awareness of a maid! Qiuxiang, what about you?”

The girl, accustomed to her new identity, nodded indifferently, then recalled that this wretched fellow seemed to have forgotten she herself was but a servant.

“Dongmei” was powerless, having been easily defeated by Zheng Fanren earlier, which spoke to his prowess.

“Why has no one come after us?”

Dongmei pondered, “Uh… I don’t know. I’m just a maid, so they probably wouldn’t pursue us.”

Zheng Fanren realized he would get no clear answers. “Where are you headed on this journey?”

“I heard we’re going to Wind City to buy Heavenly Eye Incense.”

Wind City lay downstream from the Wei River, over four hundred li away.

Zheng Fanren asked, “We smelled Heavenly Eye Incense on the boat—why do you need to buy more?”

“I heard the noble lady I serve say she cannot be without the incense; apparently she suffers from some illness!”

“Qiuxiang” exclaimed, “Loss-of-sense syndrome?”

“Dongmei” lowered her head, silent at first, then slowly nodded.

Zheng Fanren sighed inwardly, realizing that Dongmei’s “noble lady” was herself. Loss-of-sense syndrome was an affliction where one would frequently lose consciousness. Kidnapping someone so ill hardly seemed a noble act.

“So the noble lady you serve has never gone out before?”

“Mm, this is said to be her first outing, and only with the second young master of the Zhou family accompanying her was she allowed to leave.”

“The second young master of the Zhou family? That arcane master?”

“Yes, that’s him.”

Zheng Fanren sighed again—not only was she gravely ill, she was a complete novice to life. Clearly, his own morals were questionable.

At this moment, Qiuxiang grew curious, “I heard sufferers of loss-of-sense syndrome can completely sever their sensitivity to arcane force. Is that true?”

Dongmei nodded silently, suddenly subdued; her earlier excitement likely sprang from escaping her monotonous former life. Now, the painful memories of her illness flooded back, and her mood darkened.

So many times she had hovered between life and death. Zheng Fanren was moved with sudden sympathy and draped his long robe, freshly dried by the fire, over her, urging her to rest. In matters within his reach, Zheng Fanren retained a touch of the old-fashioned masculine protectiveness from his previous life, caring for women came naturally to him.

He did not realize that under the familiar robe, with the lingering—though faint—scent of Heavenly Eye Incense, she felt much more at ease. A smile curled at her lips, knowing that someone who wrote was nearby.

Qiuxiang paid no mind, lying down to rest among the reeds.

…

The afternoon thunderstorm had long vanished beneath the moonlight. Adding more wood to the fire, watching the two scholarly girls, there was finally a hint of romance drifting on the gentle night breeze.

The tome, brought up from the water by Qiuxiang, had yet to be attended to.

Now, it had returned to its original appearance. Zheng Fanren mused, “It truly is different, its quality is astonishing. Even after all my abuse, it still retains its elegance.”

He leafed through it slowly, for a long time, yet found nothing unusual. It remained a common volume of Arcane Sensation and Perception—a staple in every household of the Great Han Empire!

The youth tried again to sense the arcane force, but after a long while, still felt no mysterious power entering him, and unconsciously drifted into sleep.

He dreamed of a sea—a dead sea, devoid of life.

It was pitch black, with only the occasional meteor falling, granting intermittent streaks of light.

The light reached nowhere, revealed nothing. Meteors fell, but no stars shone above, nor was there a moon.

Suddenly, a flock of ravens descended, exactly ten, no more, no less, plummeting at tremendous speed.

The sea seemed terrified, raising powerful watery hands to strike upward.

The ravens reacted even faster, circling and forming phantoms, and in an instant, plunged into the sea.

The dead sea raged, waves surging to the sky, as if roaring and crying out in pain…

Zheng Fanren awoke with a start. It had been a dream, yet the ten arcane points in his body throbbed with a dull ache—still a sea of death, unable to sense any arcane force.