Chapter 22: Uncle-in-Law Lord
"Who is it?"
"It's the old boatman who was poling the boat. I don't know his full name, but everyone on the docks calls him Uncle-in-Law Lord with respect. This man's swimming skills are extraordinary; he dares to dive into waves several meters high."
"Uncle-in-Law Lord?" Xu Su had never heard such a strange title before.
"It means the son-in-law of the River God, who is the deity of the river. Ancient books record the River God's name as Feng Yi," Yang Xiao explained simply.
Hearing Yang Xiao's words, the old coolie puckered his lips and put on a smile, "This lord is indeed knowledgeable; that's exactly right."
"Where can we find this Uncle-in-Law Lord? Take us to him," Yang Xiao said, not wanting to waste words. If they could find a witness to the capsized boat incident, the matter would be much simpler.
Upon hearing this, the old coolie's expression turned subtle, and then he shook his head, "He no longer poles boats here. After that incident, he quit his job. It's said that he swore a deadly oath to the Dragon King Lord, vowing never to go into the water again."
Through the old coolie's story, Yang Xiao was convinced that this Uncle-in-Law Lord definitely knew some secrets unknown to others. The current priority was to find him and then figure out a way to pry his mouth open, "Where can we find this Uncle-in-Law Lord?"
"This..." The old coolie looked troubled, squinting his shifty little eyes, "This Uncle-in-Law Lord has a relationship with an old man like me; you're putting me in a difficult position."
Yang Xiao directly took out a piece of broken silver.
The old coolie's breathing quickened at the sight of the silver, but he still resisted the urge to reach for it, "The main issue is that it's been a long time, and, as you can see, my memory is not so good momentarily..."
Yang Xiao took out another piece of broken silver, much bigger than the previous one, "No rush. If you can't remember, I'll just ask someone else. There are so many people around the docks; surely there are one or two with good memories."
"No, no, no, now that you mention it, I suddenly remember!" The old coolie immediately reached for the silver, clutching it tightly in his hand, "He lives in Li Si Alley; the third house from the west end of the alley. I delivered liquor to him a long time ago and visited once."
"I don't mind parting with some silver, but if I find out you're feeding us lies, the consequences will be ugly," Yang Xiao said, leaning in close to the old coolie with a forced smile.
"Not dare! Absolutely not dare!"
After giving the man a stern talking-to, Yang Xiao and Xu Su were ready to head back; it was almost time to meet up with the coachman. But just as they started to walk away, they heard footsteps behind them.
The old coolie, who caught up with them, swallowed his saliva nervously, looking at the two with a tense face. It took him a good while to speak, "Lords, since I've taken your silver, there are some things I must say. Regardless of the reason, take my advice—you better not delve too deep into this matter."
"I heard an old buddy at the docks say after he got drunk that when the Uncle-in-Law Lord escaped to shore that night, he was halfway to death, breathing in less and out more. If it hadn't been for a wild doctor there, who force-fed him several vigorous prescriptions to keep him alive, he wouldn't have made it through the night."
"Do you know the first sentence that Uncle-in-Law Lord shouted when he woke up?" The old coolie's breath was ragged, "Don't grab my feet, there's driftwood in the water!"
On the way back, Yang Xiao was still pondering the words of the old laborer, he knew what a "water floater" was, just a dead body in water, but what Uncle-in-Law Lord had encountered was not just an ordinary floating corpse, it must have been a Water Ghost.
While he was thinking, suddenly a piece of pancake was offered in front of him. He turned his head and was met by Xu Su's face, "Eat it while it's hot, after all this hassle, you must be hungry."
The pancake was bought by Xu Su near the dock, several of them, but she insisted on tearing one in half to share with him, both of them eating from one piece, half for him and half for her, really playful...
As he ate the pancake, Xu Su leaned over, her admiring gaze fixed on Yang Xiao, "Hey, what exactly do you do, how do you know so much?"
"What are you referring to?" Yang Xiao took a bite of the pancake.
"All those weird things, the River God, the Water Dragon King, and… and the stuff in Feng Mansion, it's terrifying," Xu Su said, feigning fear as she patted her chest.
"It's nothing, you'd also know if you read more," Yang Xiao seriously started to educate Xu Su, "In books are girls as fair as jade, and houses of gold."
"You're quite the joker, you know. The books also talk of romance and heroes unable to resist beautiful women! Why don't I see you learning that?" Xu Su leaned forward in a teasing manner, backing Yang Xiao into the corner of the carriage with an intense gaze.
Yang Xiao couldn't help but marvel that this woman, who appeared cold, was actually willing to invest so much. But he had gotten used to parrying blows, and showed a bashful, reluctant demeanor. After all, he was only 24, looking even younger than his peers, like a college student lacking sufficient life experience. It was normal for him to be awkward when a beautiful member of the opposite sex made an advance, regardless of his knowledge.
Seeing she had achieved her goal, Xu Su didn't pursue it any further, instead coaxing, "Then tell me honestly, how do I find you after we get out of here?"
Ha, she's trying to ferret out my real identity... Yang Xiao looked at Xu Su nervously, blushed, and blurted out, "I... I work at a history museum, working there while preparing for my graduate studies."
"Then we can do it together." Xu Su's eyes and eyebrows softened, "Actually, I'm also a university student. I lied about being a professor to them because I was worried about running into bad people. It's too rare to find reliable good people like you in the world of scripts."
"That Kuang guy is so fierce; he feels like a murderer from a TV legal channel. Every time I see him, my heart feels incredibly uneasy."
"Ah, don't get me wrong, I'm just saying. Kuang could also be a good person; I just don't want you to be deceived."
You really play a lot of roles, huh? If Kuang Hongyi knew you were speaking ill of him behind his back, he'd probably drown you in a pig cage... Yang Xiao sighed, going along with it, "No worries, I know you mean well, and I'll be careful with the rest of our team."
"Yeah, then I'm relieved." Xu Su melodramatically expressed her concerns, then suddenly shifted the topic, "By the way, back in Master Feng's room with the paper effigies, I saw you staring at the embroidered shoes on the floor, the pair with the toe part cut off. It was so strange."
After schmoozing, now she wants to pry for information. Yang Xiao played his role thoroughly, answering earnestly, "Those embroidered shoes by the bed were indeed odd because they weren't meant for wearing by people, they were prepared for a Ghost."
"It's said that at night Ghosts cannot see people sleeping above them, but they can see shoes, and by standing on tiptoe on the shoes, they can see the person in the direction of the shoe tips."
"If you cut off the tips of the shoes, it's like covering the eyes of the Ghost. So, in the trade of yin and yang, there is an old saying: 'Snip the shoe tip to blind the Ghost's eyes.'"