Chapter 116: 111 Crane's Cry

Senior Brother Li and Tang Zhao rowed a boat upon the lake and marsh.

To reach the Manor Master's Sword Hut, one needed to take a boat; behind the registration hut was a wild ferry crossing with several small boats moored horizontally. Senior Brother Li untied one and took Tang Zhao toward the deeper waters.

Tang Zhao had originally thought this water surface was a lake, but once sitting in the boat, he felt it was more like a swamp.

Compared to a lake surface, the swamp water was clearer and shallower. On the water, reeds grew in clusters, and yellow-green reed thickets connected in all directions, entwined with soft white mist, partitioning the swamp into a maze of twists and turns.

The depth of the marsh varied; where the water was deep, boats could pass, and where it was shallow, one could reach the bottom by hand and catch passing carp. In the center of the water, a white sandbar was exposed, and a small, stranded boat lay across the white sand.

Li Zhihai looked at him strangely and said, "If you can manage to invite Master, that would of course be best." He thought to himself: Are you sick in the head? I'm afraid you wouldn't even be able to speak a word once you saw the Master, and you dare to disturb him with these trivial matters? How could the Master possibly care about these petty affairs from below? Apart from what he explicitly orders, he would have chased you out before you could even say a word. This kid is truly indulging in wishful thinking.

As they spoke, the small boat came to a stop, having already approached a pier.

Calling it a pier, it was actually just a spacious wooden platform on the water. The platform connected to a wooden boardwalk that extended far out like a bridge.

Standing on the wood was a puppet, very similar to the Talisman Puppet Tang Zhao had seen at the Xue Daxia Mansion, but the carving was more delicate, the posture flexible, and it was lifelike.

But for some reason, perhaps because it was too delicate and too close to a Human, it looked a bit terrifying instead. Tang Zhao glanced at its stiff face, and goosebumps rose on his back.

Li Zhihai cupped his hands and said, "This Disciple has brought Tang Zhao."

The puppet nodded, a slit opened below its face, and it emitted a sound like clashing bells, which was very much like laughter.

Tang Zhao immediately felt even more uncomfortable.

Li Zhihai nodded at Tang Zhao and said, "This Talisman Puppet is the Master's servant; it cannot speak and only knows how to laugh, so it is called A Xiao. We must also be polite. Follow A Xiao inside; I will wait for you here for a while. If you return early, we shall go back together."

Tang Zhao followed the Talisman Puppet onto the creaking wooden boardwalk, rounded a few clusters of reeds, and suddenly the view opened up.

At the end of the wooden boardwalk, it was vast and open; the white water was boundless, meeting the white clouds, and the view stretched to the distant horizon.

By the water sat an old fisherman wearing a bamboo hat and straw cape, holding a bamboo pole and fishing. In the distance, a red-crowned crane stood alone in the water, its neck curved as it looked at its reflection, as if standing within the white clouds.

So quiet.

Except for the slight ripples caused by the trembling of the fishing float, the sky, water, person, and crane were all quiet, as if inside a painting.

Tang Zhao could not bear to break such tranquility; he stood to one side with his hands folded, eyes fixed on the fishing float, as if watching that tiny bit of movement could last until the end of time.

*Chi—*

After an unknown amount of time, the fishing line was flicked up—an empty hook.

The fisherman turned his head; his appearance under the bamboo hat was only about thirty years old, five parts similar to Xue Yeyu, with two small mustaches that were groomed to be distinct, strand by strand. They looked like feathers. Under his straw cape, he wore a black and white crane cloak, the hem fluttering, also resembling that crane in the water.

Tang Zhao suddenly thought: Truly worthy of being father and daughter, their style of dress is both bird-like...

He hurriedly suppressed this disrespectful thought, straightened his expression, and bowed, saying, "Student Tang Zhao pays respects to the Manor Master."

Xue Xianyun's gaze was like an arrow, extremely sharp, no longer as leisurely as a preening crane. If he resembled anything, it was a water bird staring at its prey before fishing. He said, "You are Tang Zhao? For this past month, I have heard your name until my ears have grown calluses."

Tang Zhao felt a bit embarrassed and said, "I have troubled Xue Jiejie with her concern and disturbed the Manor Master's peace; this student is ashamed."

Xue Xianyun said, "It is not only she who speaks of you."

Tang Zhao immediately reacted and said, "Is Xue Daxia doing well?"

Xue Xianyun said, "Naturally not. She is merely still alive. I fear she will not recover unless she resorts to some crooked, unorthodox methods."

Tang Zhao nodded. Beyond his worry, he also felt a sense of relief. Being alive was always good, and if she could mention him, her consciousness should be clear; it was likely her body that could not recover.

Xue Xianyun looked him over and said, "I am actually curious, why do one after another think highly of you?"

Tang Zhao replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This student is just an ordinary person; the several seniors all possess a heart that pities the weak and cherishes the young."

Xue Xianyun said, "They are precisely saying that you are not ordinary. Whether you are raw jade or a stubborn stone, I must see for myself." He said to the Talisman Puppet A Xiao, "Go and fetch my key."

A Xiao laughed *gu-gu-gu* and left the wooden boardwalk.

Xue Xianyun waved a hand, and the white crane opposite flew up silently, circled the sky, and drifted down a single feather.

The feather drifted down into the water, yet it was as if a heavy boulder had been thrown in; the calm marsh rippled, the water waves parted to the sides, revealing a Blue Stone beneath the water. In the center of the Blue Stone, two blade-like characters were carved.

"Attack Jade!"

Immediately following, the Blue Stone moved, revealing a downward staircase.

Xue Xianyun took off his straw cape and said, "Follow me. What you see below, you must remember carefully and think about carefully."

Tang Zhao hurriedly followed. The two walked down the stairs, and the Blue Stone moved again, covering the entrance. The water flow rose bit by bit, submerging the large stone. The white crane in the sky landed on the water surface again, standing on the large stone beneath the water, the water only covering its claws, as if it were standing on the waves.

The crane cries in the nine marshes, its sound heard in the heavens. The fish are in the shallows, or lurking in the deep abyss. Happy is that garden, where there are sandalwood trees, and beneath them are the valley trees. The stones from other hills can be used to polish jade.