The turtle slave greeting the guests was taken aback and, after some thought, shook his head and said,
"Today, indeed no Taoist master has boarded the ship!"
Old Second let out a snort of derision,
"Lao Wu, you are such a fool. If that old Taoist priest wants to hide, of course he'd disguise himself. How could he still be dressed as a Taoist?"
During this conversation, the five men headed upstairs. On the second floor, the hall was alive with music and dance, with men and women frolicking in a boisterous bunch. As the five men ascended, girls from the boat came forward to greet them. They found a table with cold expressions and sat down. Drinks were brought to them. Four of the men ignored the girls by their sides, but Lao Wu reached out and pulled one to him, sizing her up,
"Tch... Mediocre beauty and vulgar powder. Her qi and blood are already muddled beyond help. It's just that mortals can't tell the difference. Even if you offer such a woman to Master Five for free, I wouldn't want her..."
But at that moment, since there were none of the female cultivators from within the sect to toy with, he settled for embracing the girl in his arms and began to grope her...
Meanwhile, Gu Shi Yi was hiding in the bottom cabin of the boat, concealed within a compartment for storing wine, quietly speaking with Li Yanyan,
"Didn't you say that these boats are always moored at the dock to take on passengers? Why has it set off? I've even left Big Boss on the dock!"
She had been waiting on the shore, but to her sudden surprise, she saw the flower boat pushing off and appearing to leave Li City. In desperation, without a second thought for Big Boss, she ran across several nearby boats with a few leaps, took advantage of an unguarded moment to climb up the side of the ship and onto the boat. Amidst the bustle of people coming and going, no one scrutinized her, and Gu Shi Yi stealthily hid herself in the bottom cabin, squeezing behind the half-human high wine jars, waiting for dawn.
"Wondering how far this boat will go!"
Big Boss is still on the dock, right? Hope no one has taken him!
Li Yaner thought for a moment and said,
"Big Boss doesn't look like any precious species of tree on the outside, and it's just a small sapling, hardly worth the effort to carry home for firewood. Even if someone took it, they are likely to just plant it at home. As long as it doesn't reveal its True Body, ordinary people won't notice it!"
Gu Shi Yi thought about it and nodded,
"I hope it can be smart on its own!"
As the two were speaking, the hatch not far above their heads opened, and two people came down to fetch wine, talking as they did,
"Those five guests are really odd. They boarded the flower boat and aren't playing with the girls; they just sit there with grim faces, looking around... They've finished with the second floor and now they want to go up to the third. Steward Geng and his men are blocking them, and there's quite a fuss!"
The other person replied,
"I think they are probably here looking for someone. Could they be here to catch adulterers?"
"It's hard to say. It happens a few times every year. But catching adulterers without seeing any wives, with only men... Are these younger brothers-in-law taking matters into their own hands?"
The two of them just laughed. At a glance, those five men looked troublesome. To have such brothers-in-law, whoever married into that family would be unlucky!
As the two of them murmured, someone called from above,
"What's taking you so long? There's a commotion upstairs; watch out or Steward Geng will come down looking for you!"
The two of them hurriedly acknowledged, and as they carried the wine upstairs, one laughed and said,
"These brothers-in-law wouldn't wrap up their adultery raid that quickly!"
"What brothers-in-law arresting adulterers? Those five came up here looking for a man and a woman!"
"A man and a woman?"
"Yeah, they said they were looking for an old man and a woman. Strange indeed. Steward Geng isn't stopping them anymore, and the madam isn't calling anyone either. They are just allowed to search room by room..."
Gu Shi Yi, tucked in a corner, felt a wave of panic,
"Five men, searching room by room for an old man and a woman?"
Why did she have the feeling that something was amiss!
A chill ran down her back...
She reached behind her neck and felt that the hairs on her skin were standing on end,
"Shiyi, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing..."
Gu Shi Yi smoothed down the fine hairs on the back of her neck,
"I just feel like those five men seem to be here for me..."
A notion suddenly sprang up in Gu Shi Yi's mind, and the more she thought about it, the more panicked she became,
It can't be! It can't be! It can't be that, right?
But an old man and a woman... My master is indeed an old man, but how did I become a woman?
Li Yaner, being a ghost, could see clearly in the dark corner the changing expressions on her good sister's face and quickly asked,
"Shiyi, what's wrong?"
Gu Shi Yi bit her lip and shared her guess. Li Yaner too felt a chill down her spine,
"Although my master's cultivation isn't all that impressive, his divination skills are accurate nine out of ten times. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to lead me in evading pursuit for so many years... He insisted that we leave within three days, he must have foreseen that someone would track us down..."