[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 25
“Ugh.”
Shiliu vomited all the snacks she had secretly brought onto the boat.
Although she was a southerner, she had grown up in the mountains and never been on a boat. At first, seeing the vast, misty waters excited her.
Moreover, this was an incognito trip. Li Xuanci had brought only a few attendants, keeping a low profile. They boarded an ordinary passenger ship, and she changed into common male attire, which felt novel.
Once aboard, she found the rocking motion quite amusing. They had set off early, and Shiliu sat by the bed, admiring the magnificent sunrise while sneakily enjoying some pork jerky.
She had mastered the art of covert snacking since childhood. From behind, others might think the Taoist was absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, deep in meditation.
The pork jerky was delicious, but before it could be digested, the waves began to toss it around. Instantly, sweet no longer tasted sweet, salty no longer tasted salty—everything churned together, gurgling upward.
At first, Shiliu didn’t realize this was seasickness. She stuffed a few more thick, glossy pieces of jerky into her stomach until her insides rebelled violently. She barely made it to the railing before vomiting everything up.
Though relieved after vomiting, she inadvertently subjected Li Xuanci, who happened to step out of the cabin, to the full sight of her mess.
As Shiliu weakly turned her head, she saw Li Xuanci’s mouth pulled down as if weighed by an oil jar. She lowered her eyes sheepishly, about to apologize, when he flicked his sleeve and returned to the cabin.
Shiliu felt a bit wronged. It wasn’t as if she wanted to vomit. Though she had indeed offended his eyesight, he always had to make such a face—where was the camaraderie of sharing life and death?
A short while later, while Shiliu was still on deck getting some air, Jin Zhan approached. Seeing her lethargic, he brought her motion sickness medicine and thoughtfully included some pastries to settle her stomach, worried she couldn’t handle the medicine on an empty stomach.
Shiliu felt touched. Guard Jin Zhan was truly a good person.
Unlike a certain someone.
Watching the little Taoist, who had just vomited terribly, rest for a bit and then immediately forget her suffering as she stuffed pastries into her mouth, Jin Zhan sighed inwardly. Sometimes she was clever, but other times she was just like a child.
He recalled how, after returning to the cabin, his master had instructed him to prepare medicine and snacks so she would “stop embarrassing herself outside.”
He even added, “Make it red bean-filled.”
Jin Zhan was surprised. His master never cared about what others ate or drank—he couldn’t be bothered to spare a glance. It seemed the Fate-Link had truly made Shiliu one of his own.
But watching Shiliu devour the red bean pastries one after another, Jin Zhan felt his master’s behavior wasn’t entirely inexplicable. The little Taoist really enjoyed her food—it was oddly satisfying, like feeding a rabbit.
Just then, the boat jolted as if hitting a hidden reef, tilting sharply. Shiliu stumbled, bumping against the railing, and the red bean bun in her hand fell overboard.
Jin Zhan quickly grabbed her elbow to steady her. As he checked if she was hurt, Shiliu dashed to the railing and stared at the pastry floating on the water, bobbing with the waves.
Shiliu smacked her lips regretfully—that was the last one.
Suddenly, her gaze sharpened. She watched as the pastry, tossed by the waves, sank into a sudden whirlpool, then looked back at the ship’s hull, frowning slightly.
As Jin Zhan was about to ask what was wrong, the boat rocked again. Shiliu turned to him and said, “Something’s strange. Go get Prince Ding.”
Jin Zhan reacted swiftly and was about to leave, but asked if she wanted someone to guard her first. Shiliu shook her head firmly, plopped onto the deck, and clung tightly to the nearby railing. “I value my life. Don’t bother with extra trouble—just go quickly.”
Watching Shiliu’s determined death grip, Jin Zhan secretly found it amusing but felt reassured. He hurried back to the cabin.
On the way, he ran into Li Xuanci and briefly explained the situation. Sensing something amiss, Li Xuanci quickly headed to the railing.
Shiliu was still there, clinging to the post like the steadfast Wei Sheng. When she saw him, her eyes unconsciously lit up. At such a critical moment, Li Xuanci privately thought, Still so conspicuously foolish.
He strode over and asked, “The hull was struck—something’s wrong?”
With Li Xuanci, this formidable presence, by her side, Shiliu dared to release her grip. She scrambled up from the deck, no longer clinging to the railing, and pointed at the ship’s hull. “Look here.”
Li Xuanci leaned over to see a thick, slimy mucus clinging to the hull, oozing slowly downward. It looked utterly repulsive.
“Is this left by a water spirit?” he asked.
“Yes, probably a Dog-Headed Eel. That mucus on the hull is from it. It loves coiling around boats—if it tangles with us, we’re in trouble. It even stole my pastry.”
The last part sounded like a complaint.
Li Xuanci ignored her and was about to ask more when the ship suddenly lurched violently, as if an unseen hand were tilting it from below. The deck swayed and pitched, making it impossible to stand steadily.
Water splashed everywhere, and panic immediately erupted onboard—children wailing, women screaming, cries for family members, all mingling with the sounds of shifting cargo and creaking wood. Chaos reigned like boiling gruel.
Shiliu couldn’t even steady her horse stance and was about to tumble like a rolling ball when Li Xuanci, with a look of disdain, grabbed her by the collar and handed her off to Jin Zhan, ordering him to keep an eye on her.
Dangled by the scruff like a rabbit, Shiliu still managed to calmly advise, “Dog-Headed Eels love to coil. Wait for it to show its head before striking. Whatever you do, don’t let it drag the ship away—if it pulls us into a whirlpool, we’re done for.”
Li Xuanci paid her no mind, focusing intently on the water. His feet were firmly planted, unwavering even as the ship rocked. He watched as a whirlpool churned below, dark and gaping like a bloody maw waiting to devour any living thing that fell in.
This was a test of patience, but Li Xuanci had little to spare. He turned and ordered, “Find someone and draw blood to lure it.”
He said it so casually that Shiliu’s heart raced with fear. She hurriedly added, “Animal blood works just as well!”
Li Xuanci shot her a faint, indecipherable glance. Jin Zhan, reading his expression, swiftly headed to the ship’s kitchen and returned with a live chicken. He slit its throat and collected a bowl of thick blood.
Just as a wave surged, Li Xuanci snatched the bowl and, riding the crest of the white foam, flipped his wrist and poured the blood directly into the whirlpool’s center.
Amid the black waves and white spray, a sinister crimson spread before being swallowed by rising bubbles. Soon, a deep, resonant vibration traveled through the deck.
“It’s coming,” Shiliu whispered, her eyes fixed on the water as she issued a quiet warning.
Li Xuanci needed no reminder. He waited, fully focused.
Suddenly, the sound of a child crying pierced the air—clear, immatue, and impossible to ignore. The sobs carried far, stirring an inexplicable sense of dread.
Splash! A massive spray of water erupted into the sky, falling like fine rain. An enormous black figure leaped into the air, casting a shadow over the ship that blotted out the sun, plunging everything into darkness.
It was a colossal Dog-Headed Eel. Shiliu had read that the largest specimens were only a few meters long, but this one was at least two meters wide and dozens of meters long—large enough to drag this sizable passenger ship underwater.
The eel charged straight toward the crying infant, moving with terrifying, unstoppable speed. All that could be heard was the heart-wrenching scream of the mother clutching her child.
Note:
The Dog-Headed Eel is a massive creature often regarded in Japanese folklore as a “water demon,” frequently depicted in Edo-period art. When encountered during fishing, larger specimens can coil around and capsize boats, even dragging them away, leaving mucus on the hull—hence its reputation as a aquatic monster.