Calabash Fairy

Under a large tree by the river, a figure dressed in a magnificent white robe with gold patterns and wearing a jade crown sat alone at a stone table, looking at him.

Their eyes met, and in the next instant, Fang Yan's mind was inexplicably drawn to the figure with black hair and beard, and a full, round face. A sudden feeling of insignificance, as if facing the heavens and earth, filled his heart...

When Fang Yan came to his senses, he found himself sitting opposite the figure, surrounded by complete silence. The river, the wind, the entire ancient ferry city, even the moonlight shining from the sky seemed to have frozen...

Fang Yan's expression grew slightly serious...

The last time this happened was when he faced Wei Zheng, the judge of the Rewards and Benevolence Division, one of the four judges of the underworld.

Although the differences between them were all immeasurable, this person in front of me... was completely different...

Before Fang Yan could speak, a smile appeared on the face of the person opposite him, and a deep and authoritative voice slowly rang out.

"There's no need to be so formal; this isn't the first time we've met."

Fang Yan was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, but he couldn't recall ever having met this person before.

"Senior, you..."

But the next moment, he heard a familiar voice coming from the wine glass in front of him.

"White clouds drift aimlessly for a thousand years..."

"Yu~Yu~"

Fang Yan's expression froze, and he quickly looked down, only to see a familiar scene reflected in the wine glass.

That was Qingfeng Mountain many years ago...

Soon, the image in the cup traveled through a lush, verdant bamboo forest, arriving at its deepest part.

Just then, a purple-gold cloud-patterned gourd hanging from a gourd vine swayed back and forth in mid-air like a swing, and the sounds of reciting poetry came from this gourd.

"Yu~~~Yu~~~"

In his excitement, the gourd spun twice in mid-air like a whirlwind using the gourd vine!

Fang Yan blushed, his inner solemnity and restraint vanishing instantly, replaced by a rare sense of embarrassment...

He's now a local mountain god, worshipped and revered by the people...

Seeing Fang Yan's appearance, the person opposite him smiled and, without making any move, a small, exquisite gold and jade pillar appeared in front of Fang Yan.

"This is given to you as encouragement. Someone will come and teach you how to use it in the future."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan quickly looked up, only to find himself back on the small boat, surrounded by a cacophony of sounds. In a daze, the world seemed to come alive again.

And that small golden pillar was held quietly in his hand...

Fang Yan quickly stood up, cupped his hands towards the sky, and said loudly:

"This junior is deeply grateful for your generous gift, senior!"

"good."

Hearing the authoritative voice of the senior from before, Fang Yan finally felt at ease.

Although he was still puzzled and didn't know the name of this terrifying being who had suddenly appeared, he could clearly feel that sense of kindness...

"Young master? You were just now..."

Seeing the boatman's surprised expression behind him, Fang Yan simply said:

"I just met a senior on the shore."

"Speaking of which, Brother Shi just mentioned there's some kind of festival coming up in a few days, isn't that right?"

Upon hearing this, the boatman immediately forgot about Fang Yan's earlier actions and laughed:

"In a month, it will be the birthday of our City God of Gudu City, which will be the most lively time of the year in our Gudu City."

"Under the guidance of the city lord and his wife, every household comes to the riverbank to release lanterns, also to pray for blessings for their families."

"If you have enough money, young master, you should stay in Ancient Ferry City for a while longer. The scenery there is absolutely breathtaking!"

Once the man surnamed Shi started talking, he became quite talkative, while Fang Yan sat down again, looking at the wine in his glass but suddenly losing his appetite.

These people are really too frightening...

Whether it was Wei Zheng, the judge of the underworld, the one who passed on the Yin-Yang Bagua diagram to him in the Heavenly Palace, or this senior who suddenly appeared and is still shrouded in mystery, they all caught him somewhat off guard.

Especially that senior from just now...

She even showed him pictures of herself swinging on a swing in the bamboo forest back then...

"However, this person said that this wasn't our first meeting, but I have absolutely no recollection of it..."

"I've heard that truly powerful beings can survey all the heavens with a single thought, and travel the world with ease. Could it be that this senior once took notice of me, or is there some other reason...?"

Fang Yan stared at the wine glass in his hand, lost in thought. For some reason, he suddenly recalled the Heavenly Palace Realm of yesteryear...

One is a reward, the other is encouragement...

.....................................

"This gourd doll is really interesting."

Above the ancient ferry city, in the clouds, the Kitchen God, dressed in a long red robe, with white hair and beard, and looking like a kind old man, stood respectfully bowing behind that majestic figure.

"His cultivation period is still short, his vision is still limited, and he has a long way to go in the future."

"I am quite looking forward to the day when I will see him in the Heavenly Realm."

The imposing figure's tone clearly carried a faint hint of amusement.

....................

Half an incense stick's time later, as the wooden boat slowly came to a stop, Fang Yan also disembarked, holding the small golden jade pillar in his hand. Standing on the shore, he looked at the object in his hand with considerable curiosity.

His innate talent didn't even register with this thing. Since he was in the Ancient Ferry City, he couldn't just casually channel his spiritual energy into it, lest something unexpected happen.

It seems we can only wait for the person mentioned by this senior to arrive, or return to the Ten Thousand Mountains, before we can conduct further research.

"Young master, is something troubling you all of a sudden?"

Fang Yan turned his head and saw the boatman surnamed Shi looking in his direction from the small boat.

He quite liked this forthright man and then smiled and said:

"It's not really a problem, it's just that I'm a little confused about some things."

Upon hearing this, the man leaning on his oar grinned and said:

"Don't let my rough appearance fool you, I've been on the boat for over twenty years and have seen many distinguished guests, but I've never met anyone with such an extraordinary air as you, young master."

"I believe that if it were you, young master, you would certainly be able to resolve these doubts!"

After the man finished speaking, he pushed off with his oar and gradually sailed away from the shore. However, the determined look in his eyes under the moonlight left a deep impression on Fang Yan.

He watched the small boat recede into the distance, then took a silver coin from the cloth pouch at his waist, which vanished in a flash of light.

Fang Yan smiled and slowly left, intending to find an inn to rest for the night and then wander around again early the next morning.

He's starting to like this ancient ferry town quite a bit now...

Meanwhile, not long after, the man surnamed Shi was preparing to return home when he noticed a small silver ingot in the wine cup the young master had left on the boat. He wondered when it had appeared there...

.............................

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the atmosphere in the ancient ferry town became increasingly lively.

Inside the City God Temple, the millennium birthday banquet for City God Zhang Zhengyan is about to begin...