Drifting Down to Hangzhou
Thump, thump.
Two sets of footsteps climbed the stairs of the inn in the dead of night, when every soul inside was fast asleep.
"Are... are you sure this is all right, sir?"
"Shh. You mixed the drug in properly, didn't you?"
"Yes, sir..."
"Then you just open the door and get going."
The innkeeper and a man were whispering to each other. Clearly, they were up to no good.
"Hello? Anyone here?"
"Open up, and be quick about it."
"Yes, sir..."
Apparently the man was either high-ranking or strong, one of the two — the reluctant innkeeper began fishing keys out of his ring.
Jangle, jangle. Click.
"There you are."
"Then lead the way."
"Yes, sir..."
The man scowled at the innkeeper's sluggish shuffling.
"Ugh, fine! I'll come too. You owe me one after this."
"That's not what I meant..."
"Hmph!"
"Haah..."
Clunk.
The two men reluctantly opened the door and stepped into the room. What greeted them was an empty jar and a woman sprawled across the bed.
Haneul was never one for sleeping gracefully. Her robe sash had come undone, her skirt hiked up.
Even just the glimpse of her chest and bare legs exposed to the thigh would have been scandalously provocative in this era.
"Whoa!"
"Gah!"
As expected, the two men nearly jumped out of their skins.
"She drank an entire jar by herself!"
"Then how much of the drug did she swallow?!"
They flinched once at the sight of the empty jar, then flinched again at the thought of how much sleeping draught must have been inside it.
"Do you think she's still alive?"
"Who knows?"
Thump, thump.
Their footsteps crept closer and closer to Haneul, when—
"Hoo-"
"Hm?"
"What?"
Flap-flap.
The sound of wings beat through the air before them, and a pair of gleaming eyes lit up in the dark. The great horned owl that had played with Haneul the night before.
An absolutely enormous bird of prey — and it was nighttime, no less.
"Hiihk!"
"Gahk!"
The two men scrambled backward in terror, not daring to raise their voices.
"A de— a demon!"
"A mountain spirit! It's a mountain spirit!"
"Move! Get out of the way!"
"Aaaargh!"
The owl glared after the two men as they fled headlong, not even managing a proper shout.
"Mmngh... so loud..."
"Hoo-"
And so the owl stood guard over Haneul in that room for a long while, until the sun rose and it flew out the window.
Flap-flap.
It was time to go home, after all.
* * *
"Hmm-hmm..."
What on earth? Why did the room feel like something had happened in it?
"And the owl's gone too, huh?"
It was nocturnal, so it'd probably sleep somewhere during the day. Might as well grab breakfast and hit the road again.
As she descended the stairs, the first floor was positively bustling.
"Oh! Miss, how was your night? Everything all right?"
"A-hem!"
Was he fishing for a good review about the room?
"Yes, it was comfortable and lovely. Thank you."
These things deserved a five-star rating, after all.
"Er... about last night, the ow—"
"HAHK!"
What on earth was wrong with that man, coughing so violently he couldn't even finish a sentence?
"Yes?"
"N—nothing, miss."
Suspicious, sure, but hardly worth pressing.
"I'll take a light breakfast. Also, is there anywhere around here worth sightseeing?"
"Hmm, is there anywhere like that, I wonder?"
Do they just never travel for fun around here? No idea how people find this place entertaining.
"Oh! There was a merchant once who told me I simply had to see Hangzhou."
"Hangzhou?"
"Yes. A city built around West Lake, over in Kuaiji Commandery."
Oh? West Lake? That rings a bell!
"Ooh! Is there a separate road there?"
"You could go by carriage, or simply follow the river downstream from here until you find a boat headed to West Lake."
"Oh! Thank you!"
Back in the old days, hadn't she been kidnapped by her own bandit kids while on her way to West Lake? This time, she'd go quietly.
The capital of the Zhou dynasty, it turned out, lay deep in the west. She'd been drifting down the Yangtze for a solid month already.
Well, the river did flow with stately grandeur, and the sheer cliffs lining it were a sight to see — for a day or two, anyway.
"Haah... boring."
"Haha. Traveling alone again, I see?"
The real problem was that one particular good-for-nothing had latched onto her.
While drifting downstream, she'd been looking for a boat to West Lake.
Maybe a week ago? Some seemingly decent fellow had come up and asked if she'd like to travel together.
She'd agreed, and what did she get? An absolutely enormous boat. He looked like a simple, honest country farmer, so she'd assumed he was rich — turns out he was just the servant of a wealthy household.
"West Lake truly is far, isn't it?"
"Is that not part of the charm of travel, hm? Though I suppose one needs the leisure to travel in the first place. Haha."
This chatterbox of a dandy was the young master of that wealthy house. Perhaps because his face was so utterly plain that money was his only claim to fame, every single conversation somehow circled back to money.
"Still, I'm starting to catch a whiff of the sea. The river must be nearing its end."
"Sniff, sniff? Is it so? I can't tell myself."
Once they hit the ocean, she hoped the waves would give this guy a wicked case of seasickness. She was sick to death of looking at him.
Dum-dum-dum.
"Hm?"
Drums? In the middle of the river?
"Hm. Looks like river pirates, I'm afraid."
"River pirates?"
"Indeed — the sort who collect tolls on the river. Slip them a bit of coin and they'll move along."
Hm? Right, of course — it's a river, so river pirates. Bandits, river pirates, sea pirates, highwaymen, field raiders... were they all technically specialists, when you thought about it?
Her kids didn't work these waters anymore, so did that make the locals here the neighborhood residents?
Wait, though — if you were a river pirate, surely you'd sail around in a big ship. Why were these guys paddling around in flimsy little skiffs that would split in half the moment anything bumped into them?
Jingle.
The skiff drew alongside, tossed a rope up to the big boat, and its crew came clambering up, groaning and wheezing the whole way.
This was embarrassing to watch, honestly.
"Ha-hahaha!"
Buddy, you're panting so hard your laugh has a leak in it...
"Huff... huff..."
"Hrk... hurk..."
Could he not hear his underlings gasping for their lives behind him? She stole a glance — the boat wasn't even that high up, and they'd climb one rope and come up looking like that?
"We are brothers of the Flood Dragon Stronghold. We manage these waters, so we'd appreciate a show of good faith."
"Ahaha! No wonder you cut such an imposing figure! Men of great enterprise, clearly!"
This was the part where the servant uncle stepped in, apparently. Fair enough — with a face that honest, the pirates probably felt awkward roughing him up.
"Here, we've prepared a modest token of our respect. A bit of travel money and some wine."
"Ha-hahaha! Then I shall pray for your safe voyage on your return!"
The money pouch must have pleased him — the laugh got even louder. The pirates were straining to lower the wine jar down. Straining, poor things.
There was nothing worth looking at, so why was he craning his head around like that? Just go already.
"Oh!"
Ugh. Why, again? I was minding my own business!
"And what might your name be, young miss?"
A hairy, unshaven river pirate was sidling up to her. Practically a monkey — thick fur from face to arms, the whole body.
"I'm Ha-eun."
"Won't you cruise the Yangtze with me, then?"
Have you seen your own skiff? Which do you honestly think is the better boat?
"No thanks."
"Ugh..."
Huh? Did that bruise his ego? She'd only said it after surveying the rich young master's boat and glancing at their little skiff. His face was turning crimson.
"GRAAH!"
Hm? He looks about ready to pop.
"Boys!"
"Yes, Boss!"
"We're commandeering this ship!"
Oh, boy... does he think the loudest voice wins? He's bellowing his head off. Time for me to get off this boat.
The skiff was empty now, so she could just take that. All she had to do was undo the mooring line. Easy.
Twang.
"Hm? What do you think you're doing?"
"You said you're taking this ship, right?"
Ugh, his breath. Nobody let this man talk! I'm leaving, that's what.
"That's right! My brothers and I are commandeering this vessel!"
"Then I'll be taking the boat I came on. Bye."
"Huh?"
Whoosh. Splash.
Maybe it was just a skiff thing, but the whole thing wobbled when she hopped onto it. She couldn't row and had no idea how to rig a sail, so she'd simply push it along with telekinesis.
"Huh?"
"Wh-what?"
"What is that?!"
The ship's owner and the pirates all stared in perfect unison as she drifted away from the rich boy's railings. What was with those dopey faces?
"Going on ahead! Get along nicely, you two~"
Hm, this is nice? Should've bought a boat ages ago. Traveling alone — how roomy and peaceful is this?
"Hey! Hey! Grab that woman!"
"Where do you think you're going alone?!"
Were they seriously arguing that she couldn't go alone? There was no way all of them were fitting on this little skiff.
"There are a few more boats right there! Use those!"
Take the leftover boats! There were two more just sitting there! Why did they all need to pile onto hers?
"Ah— no! Wait!"
What was wrong with them? Did they want to sail off together with a bandit crew?
"You idiots! Raise the sails and row, NOW!"
"The wind's far too strong — we can't raise the sails!"
And now a full-blown squabble had broken out between the unreasonable pirates and the ship's sailors.
"I'm telling you, it's dangerous!"
"Chase her down, now!"
Billow.
So they'd raised the sails after all? Did the warnings just not register? Wow, the speed — it shot up incredibly fast. And here she'd thought this was just a slow boat all along!
"They'll catch up at this rate, huh?"
Should she speed up too? That might look weird, though?
"Ah! Ahh! No, no!"
"Furl the sails, quickly!"
"Quiet!"
Chaos had erupted on the boat behind her.
A bend in the river appeared up ahead — but was that a problem? Not for her. With telekinesis, she could simply glide around the curve, following the water.
"Uh? Uh-oh!"
"AAAAH!"
CRACK-SPLINTER-CRASH.
Oh my god? The ship just plowed straight ahead and smashed into the cliff! Honestly, that's what happens when you do what the grown-ups told you not to do.
Whew. Though really, can a boat shatter to splinters like that?
"Glub... s-save me!"
"GYAAA!"
What the—? Weren't those sailors? Pirates, sailors, all of them — could none of these people swim? Well, grab a plank and figure it out yourselves! I've got places to be!
"You heartless witch!"
Grrrgle.
Was that an insult she just heard? Or was she imagining it?
Still, she'd been out this way once, ages ago — if she just headed out to sea and followed the coastline, she'd reach the place eventually.
What a ridiculous country this was! She hadn't even slept, pushing her boat day and night without pause, and it still took her a whole week.
"WAHAHAHA! Finally, I'm here!"
How was the land this vast? Though she supposed that was rich, coming from her.
"The biggest inn in town, then!"
Hm? Something? It was a big building, sure — but she couldn't read the characters!
"Welcome to the Phoenix Inn!"
Ah, a phoenix! That was the sign, then. A dianxiao'er, was it? The server girl?
"Yeah, thanks. Give me the most expensive, best room you have."
"The room first?"
"Yep."
"Th... that will be quite expensive..."
"Don't worry about money. I have plenty."
"Right away, miss!"
Following the server girl, she climbed all the way up to the floor just beneath the roof.
An eight-story wooden building? That was genuinely terrifying. What was the plan if it collapsed?
Ordinarily, her heart would've been pounding too hard to sleep up here.
Clatter.
Since she planned to stay a while, she tossed over an entire pouch of coins.
"What... what is this?"
"I'll be staying a while, so I'm just giving you the whole pouch. What if it runs short, though?"
"Gasp!"
Was it a lot? Or too little? The girl opened the pouch and looked utterly staggered.
"You must intend to stay a very long time!"
"I do. Bring meals as usual — and above all, bring the wine by the whole jar. Tell me if the money starts running low."
Wine was essential! Nothing more irritating than stingy little bottles!
"Yes, miss! Leave it all to me!"
"The journey was long, so I'll rest today. I'll be counting on you starting tomorrow."
"Shall we bring up bathwater as well?"
Huh? We're on the seventh floor? Is that even possible?
"Sure, if you can manage it."
"We'll have it ready!"
Hm... that must be brutal work, though? Was the money in that pouch really enough to cover something like that? There hadn't been any gold in it...
Well, even cold water would be fine. A wash was a wash.
Was this what they called a special suite? The building was bigger than she'd expected — even with the seventh floor split into four rooms, it didn't feel cramped.
If anything, it felt extravagantly oversized for one person?
Clunk — whoooosh —
Being riverside, and this high up, a fierce wind rushed in the moment she opened the window.
"Ooh. So this is Hangzhou, huh?"
All in all, the scenery looked pretty good. Islands floating on the lake, mountains ringing it like a painted folding screen.
No wait — at this level, wasn't it just perfect for leisurely afternoon naps for the foreseeable future?
There was even something like a veranda, too. Sitting outside with a drink or some tea would be absolutely divine.