Chapter One: The Shock of Falling into Water

  At the beginning, heaven and earth were mixed like a chicken egg, Pangu was born in between. Since Pangu opened up the sky and the earth, the clear air in the chaos rose to become the sky, and the turbid air sank to become the earth. After Pangu's death, his essence, energy, and spirit transformed into Fu Xi, Shen Nong, and Nu Wa, three great gods, known as the "Three Sovereigns". The spiritual power originally contained within Pangu's body dispersed, decomposing into the five spirits of water, fire, thunder, wind, and earth scattered throughout heaven and earth. Pangu's flesh and blood fell to the ground and transformed into mountains and rivers. Only Pangu's heart remained suspended between heaven and earth, connected to the clear air cherished by heaven and earth, and from the intersection of clear and turbid air, a divine tree was born.

  Fuxi used the fruit of the divine tree as his body, infusing himself with spiritual energy to create gods. Because the divine tree bears fruit only once every ten thousand years, the number of gods is extremely small. Also, because the fruit of the divine tree is formed by absorbing the pure air between heaven and earth, the gods cannot tolerate the turbid air of the mortal world and reside in the heavens to form the realm of the gods.

  Shennong used the earth's soil, rocks, grass and trees as his body, infusing them with his own vital energy to create animals. Although beasts and insects were spread all over the earth, they had not yet opened their spiritual intelligence.

  Nüwa combined earth and water, adding her own blood and spiritual energy, to create humans in her own image. Although human lifespan is short, they inherited Nüwa's spiritual power and considered themselves the leader of all living things.

  Gods dwell in heaven, beasts and humans live on earth, and there is also a ghost realm where the souls of humans and animals reincarnate. For tens of thousands of years, they coexisted peacefully. Later, one of the Three Sovereigns, Shennong, died suddenly on the human earth, and a unifying ruler, Chiyou, appeared among the beasts, leading the beasts to invade the human tribe. The gods were moved, and they sent the god general Xuan Yuan to lead the human tribe to resist Chiyou's army. When Chiyou was defeated, he used his own strength to tear through time and space, sending the remnants of his forces to another realm, where they cultivated into demons and became the demon realm. The rift opened by Chiyou was later called the Well of Gods and Demons, the only passage between the two realms, guarded by gods throughout history, strictly prohibiting creatures from both realms from passing through.

  In the mortal realm, some beasts occasionally ignite the divine energy of Shennong and transform into demons. Humans also have those who cultivate spiritual power in mountains and rivers to become immortals. Demons respect the strong and gather to form the demon realm. Cultivators visit numerous mountains, and after a long time, there are also ten great grotto heavens, thirty-six small grotto heavens, seventy-two blessed lands, and other immortal realms. Those who achieve immortality ascend to heaven and form an immortal realm, but these two cannot be mentioned on the same day.

  Thus, the six realms were formed.

  The human world is vast and boundless. The Central Plains are fertile for thousands of miles, with a thriving population and great prosperity. Between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, there is a place where humans live, and there is a lake called Chaohu because it looks like a bird's nest. According to legend, during the Shang Dynasty, Chaohu was originally solid ground, with a small country called Ju Chao on top of it. One day, the people of Ju Chao angered the gods, causing the entire city to collapse, and underground water flooded in, eventually becoming a lake.

  Time passed, and the wind and water changed. One day, a water monster swam along the underground water flow to Poyang Lake, saw that the ancient city under the water was very beautiful, so it settled down here. The spirits gathered together, and the ancient country of Poyang gradually became a demon city. The monsters were grateful for the water monster's contribution to building the city, so they built a temple in the city to worship it, calling it the Ancestor of Poyang.

  One day, a floating island drifted from afar and hovered above Chao Lake. At the center of the island stood an ancient mulberry tree with luxuriant branches and leaves, but no flowers. The tree was born with the power to gather the wind spirits, attracting a group of eagle demons who made it their home. Due to the numerous birds that inhabited the island, it came to be known as Baifeng Island.

  Bai Ling Zhou and Ju Chao Guo's Jing Guai well water did not invade the river water, they had always been at peace with each other. In a flash, several hundred years have passed.

  This morning, the sun shines brightly, and the golden light pours down from the clouds, making the emerald-like water of Chao Lake sparkle even more. It's early summer, and the warm breeze gently sweeps through the sparse woods along the lake shore, rustling the leaves with a soft, soothing sigh. A skylark spreads its wings and soars into the sky.

  Ruan Ci sat at the bow of the boat, lazily blowing a long and narrow willow leaf, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't learn to play the tune as naturally and freely as the young boatman. She puffed out her cheeks and only managed to produce an off-key sound, which brought a gentle laugh from her mother and wet nurse.

  "Ah Ci, haven't you lost that leaf yet? How can a girl's family be so mischievous." Madame Ruan said with a smile, shaking her head slightly as she scolded. Just then, the young man at the bow of the boat used all his strength to push off with the long pole, and the black awning boat swayed slightly. Suddenly, only the sound of Madame Ruan's hair ornaments and wrist jade bangles jingling loudly could be heard.

  Ruan Cui's small hands outside the ship's side also got a little wet due to the tilt of the boat, she was delighted and ignored her mother's call, making faces at the lake reflection.

  The girl leaning against the boat's side in the lake smiled at Ruan Ci with her mouth open, revealing a row of small white teeth. If her grandmother saw this, she would have to teach her how a woman should be reserved and smile without showing her teeth. Thinking of her grandmother's house where she had just left, Ruan Ci suddenly lost interest and stirred the lake water, then lay on the boat's side and started to sulk.

  Ruan Ci was the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Shouyang City. In late spring, she accompanied her mother to visit relatives and took a boat across Chaohu Lake, then rode a horse-drawn carriage for three days, sitting until her buttocks were as flat as the carriage board. She arrived at her maternal grandfather's mansion after that. Having stayed there for less than half a month, Ruan Ci was eager to fly back to Shouyang immediately, even if it meant facing her father's cold and hard face every day, which was better than being forced by her maternal grandmother to learn needlework and wifely virtues.

  It's easy to be soft and hard, Mr. Ruan finally satisfied his daughter's intention, took her and set foot on the return journey again, and will return to Shouyang in less than a day. Ruan Ci rubbed her chin on her arm for half a day, then looked around with her eyes for half a day, there was nothing interesting, so she had to listlessly twist her own braids.

  It's strange to say that last time I passed by Chaohu Lake, there were many fishing boats coming and going on the lake, but why is it so deserted today?

  "Miss, why don't you come in and rest for a while? Staring at the lake water like this will only lead to strange thoughts." Just then, Wet Nurse Ji Niang called out from beside Ruan Shi's side, specially taking out a package of osmanthus flower rice cakes from her bundle and opening it up, "Come have some refreshments."

  "What a strange thing!" Ruan Ciman carelessly lowered her body, crawled into the quilt, leaned on the wet nurse's knee and grabbed a piece of cake to put in her mouth. Her lazy appearance made Ruan Shi sigh helplessly at her side.

  The girl smiled and took out a wooden comb from her bundle, helping her to untangle her braid and recomb it. As she slowly spoke, "That's all rumors from almost twenty years ago... Don't move, have another piece of cake... It's said that over ten years ago, also in the summer, people fishing outside Shouyang City suddenly ran into the city gate, crazily saying they saw a dead person in the lake. Ah, it really shocked everyone in the city! The county magistrate even sent yamen runners to follow the fisherman to Lake Nest, and at that time, the captain was Old Li. He was so scared that he never dared to go fishing by the lake again!"

  "Seasoned mother, what did he see?" Ruan Ci turned her head back and asked curiously, and was corrected by the wet nurse to face forward again.

  "Ah yo, sit well, little ancestor!" Ji Niang hastily called out, her hands moving nimbly as she styled a delicate ringlet. "What else can be seen, you dead person! I heard it's still a girl, wearing crimson clothes, floating in the whirlpool..."

  "Whirlpool? Where is the whirlpool in Chaohu?" Ruan Ci couldn't sit still again.

  "Who knows, anyway, those who went to Chaohu Lake that day all said there were whirlpools on the lake, big and small, not just one. That girl was floating in a whirlpool, with dozens of eyes staring at her, saying she was gone!" Ji Niang tied a pink ribbon around Ruan Ci's head, looked left and right for a while, and let go of her hand with satisfaction.

  However, Ruan Ci refused to leave this time. She turned around and pushed the wet nurse's legs, asking repeatedly: "You haven't finished speaking, what happened to that girl, where did she go?"

  "Alas..." Ji Niang sighed, "Where else can we go? We'd better sink into this lake! Later, the people of Shouyang spread a rumor that the girl had turned into a water ghost and would never float to the surface. If you stare at the lake for a long time, you'll see someone's shadow floating beneath the surface of Xi Hu... That's the water ghost coming to find a substitute."

  Ruan Ci's eyes widened in shock, her small face turning pale with fright.

  "My mother quickly pulled me over to comfort me, saying: 'Qiniang was just scaring you, don't be afraid. Sit quietly by my side, and once we pass the lake, we'll see Shouyang City.'"

  Ji Niang said in a low voice beside him: "Isn't that whirlpool just next to the strange island in the middle of the lake..."

  "Qī niáng!" Madame Ruan scolded, and Qī niáng immediately fell silent.

  Ruan Ci clung tightly to her mother, but couldn't help stealing glances at the lake. The dense green ripples spread out from the side of the boat, and the sunlight drew circles on the waves, yet for some reason, it was unusually quiet, even the sound of water splashing against the stern was barely audible.

  The awning boat slowly sailed into the center of the lake, and the shore of Chao Lake suddenly became blurred. It turned out that I didn't know where to draw the line, but a layer of thin fog had actually covered the center of the lake. The hull opened up the mist, gradually drifting towards the depths, and the faint white color at the stern merged into one body, as if it was unclear and intangible like a cocoon silk, wrapping the small boat around in circles and layers.

  Ruan Cixi still remembered the story that Qiniang told, and seeing this scene, she couldn't help but squeeze into her mother's arms again, asking: "What's going on? Can't tell anything apart... The fog wasn't this thick last time..."

  The young man poling the boat at the stern heard this and laughed, saying: "Miss, you probably haven't traveled far from home many times? Every year around this time, our Xi Hu is like this. The closer to the center of the lake, the thicker the fog barrier. On the island in the middle of the lake, it's always foggy all year round. Some fishermen who have passed by while fishing say that there are strange sounds and shadows in the fog. Later on, unless you're crossing the lake, nobody comes through here. However, on ordinary days, the fog usually disperses around noon."

  As they spoke, the mist had turned into a dense white fog that swirled and curled in front of them, resembling cotton, light as smoke. Ruan Ci was enchanted, reaching out to touch it, feeling only a coolness on her palm. She played with abandon, forgetting her fear, laughing as she chased after a wisp of mist towards the bow of the boat.

  "Ah Ci!" Mother Chen frowned and called out, turning her head to instruct the wet nurse, "Ji Niang, quickly follow Miss."

  Ji Niang hastily followed orders and went out.

  Ruan Cike ignored the repeated calls of her mother and wet nurse behind her, looking around at the white mist beside her with wide eyes, carefully making out their shapes: "Hey, this is a small dog... that's the stone lion in front of the county government office!"

  Just then, the awning boat suddenly shook, and then heard the loud cry of the boatman, his voice was extremely frightened, with a hint of coolness.

  "The boat! The boat is moving on its own!"

  Ruan Ci's foot had just taken a step, and she was still holding onto the ship's railing to steady herself. When she heard this, she let out a startled "ah" and lifted her head to look around, but all she saw was fog in every direction - how could she tell which way the boat was moving?

  "This...this must be a water ghost..." Ji Niang began to tremble and chant Buddhist scriptures behind her.

  In the midst of the wet nurse's murmured chanting and the mother's astonished questions and answers, Ruan Ci seemed to have heard other sounds. It was as if it were the gentle lapping of water, but much more intense. She lowered her head to gaze at the lake, gradually making out something - this boat, why was it going faster and faster?

  The boat shook again, the waves at the bottom of the boat surged, and the awning boat floated up and down in the lake water, just like a goose feather in a strong wind, a grain of dust in a rainstorm, completely drifting back and forth without control.

  At last, the people on the boat saw something strange in the lake water, but they wished they had never seen it. Ruan Ci exclaimed, pointing at the lake surface: "Look, a whirlpool!"

  Only on the surface of the lake, a huge black shadow gradually emerged from the thick fog, which was the legendary island in the middle of the lake. On the small piece of lake water visible between the island and the awning boat, the water was swirling around and rushing towards the sinking center. The awning boat that Ruan Ci was on was being slowly drawn into this whirlpool that had appeared at some unknown time.

  The water flow in the whirlpool was even more turbulent, as if even the white mist was sucked into the dark green lake water, the black awning boat was almost capsized, and the people on the boat were all frightened and at a loss, the boatman grabbed the side of the boat with one hand and the top of the awning with the other, his eyes bulging out in shock, the long pole had been taken away by the lake water who knows where.

  Suddenly changing direction, it was at this moment! All that could be heard was Ruan Ci's loud cry, followed by a splash, and in an instant, the bow of the boat was empty except for Ji Niang.

  In the whirlpool, a force suddenly emerged, pushing the awning boat out gradually. The fog on the lake water collided and dispersed, reassembled, and the three people who had barely escaped crouched at the bow of the boat, panting constantly, but their faces were devoid of any smile.

  "Ah Ci!" Mother Yuan's face turned pale as she called out in a low voice, and then fainted.

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