Gu Shi Yi rose to her feet with great joy upon hearing these words and gave a formal bow,
"I am greatly indebted to Sixth Master Huang for his kindness," she said.
Sixth Master Huang returned the courtesy,
"You're too polite, miss!" he replied.
After the matter was settled, Gu Shi Yi said to Sixth Master Huang,
"Now that I have arrived at Blue Moon City, I wish to visit Blue Moon Lake. I plan to leave the city today and return after five days to await news from Sixth Master..."
She then graciously declined Sixth Master Huang's offer to send guards to escort her and only took a few silver notes. Carrying a small bundle, she left the Huang Residence on her own.
Guided by memories of her childhood, Gu Shi Yi walked out of Blue Moon City towards Blue Moon Lake. When she reached the secluded part of the road beyond the city gates, Li Yaner finally popped out and asked Gu Shi Yi,
"Shiyi, are you planning to go to the Gu Family?"
Gu Shi Yi remained silent for a long while before responding,
"I want to secretly return to have a look before going to the Sun Family..."
She was determined to uncover the true identity of the Eldest Young Madam of the Sun Family!
Even average families who lost their children could find them through birthmarks or similarities in appearance, but a Great Cultivation Family like the Gu Family, though not a particularly formidable sect, would imprint a mark on every child at birth to prevent the confusion of lineage. How then, did the Eldest Young Madam of the Sun Family deceive everyone in the Gu Family?
Gu Shi Yi was deeply puzzled,
"I want to find out the truth!"
She might not care for the title of the Gu Family's eldest daughter, but having someone else impersonate her and enjoy the honors that were rightfully hers was another story altogether. Ignorance was one thing, but now that she knew, she had to find a way to uncover the truth.
Gu Shi Yi walked alone on the spacious road for a while, spotting a group of young men dressed in coarse clothing up ahead. She quickly caught up with them and followed at a distance. To any passerby, it appeared as though she was part of their group.
The road was the main thoroughfare from Blue Moon City to a small town near Blue Moon Lake. The traffic was mostly carriages pulling Blue Moon Stones from the lakebed. The coachmen were tall, stout, and brawny men with imposing whiskers. A few carriages also carried commoner craftsmen working by the lake. There were a handful of people like Gu Shi Yi on foot, all heading to Blue Moon Lake in search of work.
The five young men with bundles on their backs, walking ahead of Gu Shi Yi, were chattering non-stop,
"I've heard from Third Brother that you can earn eight Qian in silver a month by quarrying at Blue Moon Lake. That's not a small amount, much better than farming at home!"
"Right? And they provide meals, three times a day with meat in one of them..."
"Who told you there was meat?" asked a scrawny little fellow whose eyes lit up at the mention of it. His mates laughed and said,
"Feng Gouer, you really must be a reincarnated dog, drooling at the thought of meat!"
Feng Gouer wasn't offended and laughed,
"You know my family's poor. We only eat meat during New Year's. If I could have meat every day there, it would be like living the life of an immortal!"
His friends burst out laughing,
"You really have no ambition, to think eating meat is living like an immortal?"
"Well, I heard from my Second Uncle that ordinary stonemasons get meat every three days. If you want it every day, you need to be the ones diving underwater for stones..."
"Really? Then I'm going for it. I can swim, and I'm pretty good in the water!"
Feng Gouer's face was alight with excitement. Gu Shi Yi, who was following behind, frowned upon hearing this.
Born into the Gu Family, although she left home at a young age, she was precocious as a child and had heard the elders casually mention the family business several times. The stones in Blue Moon Lake were said to be easy to quarry—just dive into the water, find them, and bring them up. The stonemasons would then crack open the ordinary-looking rocks to reveal the fist-sized Blue Moon Stones.
It was also said to be difficult because the water of Blue Moon Lake was unlike ordinary lake water—it was undrinkable and anything entering it would sink. Although it wasn't as deadly as the legendary Weak Water where even feathers would sink, it was still extremely taxing for a young man like Feng Gouer to re-emerge from the lake.
Moreover, when they dived, each person had to carry two large bamboo baskets on their waist, filling them with stones underwater, making it even harder to swim back to shore. As a result, countless people drowned in the lake every year while diving for stones. Over thousands of years, the lake had become filled with the ghosts of the unjustly dead. Gu Shi Yi remembered hearing the elders in her family talk about this,