Chapter 622: When Fate Arrives, You’ll Meet Even Without Seeking
Outside the city of Luchuan, the river surged swiftly. The little girl crouched by the riverbank and reached her hand into the water.
“Splash...”
The current flowed around her small, pale hand, swirling through her fingers and kicking up faint sprays of foam.
The river carried fine sand, which was vermilion and dark red. The sand was swept along by the water's force. It was this sand that gave the water its unusual color. As the current circled through her fingers and began to settle, the sand gently sank into her palm. Soon, the water in her hand cleared, transparent to the bottom. No trace of dirt or turbidity remained; if not for the sheen reflecting off her delicate skin and the layer of crimson sand resting in her palm, one could scarcely tell there was any water there at all.
“...” The girl nodded in satisfaction.
Just as she was about to stand, the river surged once more, lapping toward the shore. It was icy cold, and felt somehow both hard and soft. With a sudden splash, a wave bumped into her foot, slipping into her shoe before she could react.
“Tap tap tap...”
Startled, the little girl quickly stood and retreated a few steps, looking down at her soaked shoe and then up at the river with a frown of accusation. Only then did she pull out her “Water-Fetching Blade” from her pouch and got to work. Though, it had many names; whenever she used it to draw water, it always became her Water-Fetching Blade.
First, she drew water to let off some steam, then she drew water again to cook the rice.
By the time she’d filled the water pouch and carried back a half pot of rice water to the bank, the Daoist was already sitting calmly on a rock, reading from a piece of paper. Nearby, the jujube-red horse had been relieved of its pack and was grazing peacefully. The green mountains and flowing water made for a serene scene.
Lady Calico set the pot down and tiptoed closer to peek.
“Luchuan is south out of the city. We need to follow the official road for eighty li. At the sixteenth earthen-something marker, take the side path up the mountain. If you can’t find it, go to Liu’s Cloth Shop in town...”