The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 244 Enlightenment (4k)

Du Yuan smiled and said, "I see, thank you for clearing up my confusion, boatman!"

After they finished speaking, the two said no more. The boatman calmly steered the boat, the bamboo pole splashing up tiny droplets as it broke the surface of the water; Du Yuan stood idly at the bow, her gaze slowly sweeping over the mountains and waters on both banks—lush green hills and rippling blue waves, quite content.

After the boat had traveled for about half an hour, the boatman seemed to suddenly remember something. He paused with the pole in his hand, turned to Du Yuan, and tentatively asked:
“Young master, judging from your appearance, I know you are a man who has read the classics and seen the world. I have something on my mind that I would like to ask you about. Would it be convenient for you to answer me?”

Du Yuan turned around upon hearing this, her smile unchanged:
"Why not? But if you ask me something I don't know, please don't take offense."

Seeing that Du Yuan was so easy to talk to, the boatman's initial restraint vanished considerably, and he said with a smile:
"It's nothing major, it's just that I've been encountering some strange things these past few months."

As he said this, a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes, and the pole in his hand slowed down a beat, clearly indicating that he was still somewhat doubtful.

Du Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly and asked:
"Could it be that we encountered something unclean?"

He had just observed the boatman's complexion; although his face looked somewhat weathered, it did not appear gloomy. However, upon further reflection, he realized that his own cultivation in the Confucian tradition was still shallow, and he was not capable of discerning all anomalies. Therefore, he could not completely rule out this possibility.

The boatman quickly shook his head and said carefully:

"Well, it's not so easy to say. It's just that I always feel uneasy, like something's not quite right."

"What do you mean?" Du Yuan pressed.

The boatman stopped rowing and looked at the water as he recalled:
“I’ve been making a living on this water for decades. I know exactly what season and weather it is, and how fast the boat should go, even with my eyes closed. But in the last few months, I’ve noticed that sometimes the boat suddenly becomes much faster—not because it’s going with the wind or the current, but just inexplicably, the speed increases.”

He paused and added:
"At first, I thought that my mind was finally failing me, but after it happened three or four more times, each time in such a strange way, I dared to be sure that it was not my imagination, but that it really happened."

Du Yuan was slightly surprised upon hearing this: "Is that so?"

The boatman nodded emphatically, his tone resolute:
“Young master, you are a discerning man. You should know that if you do something for a long time, even if you can’t pinpoint exactly what has changed, you will surely sense something different in your heart. I will never mistake the strangeness on the water.”

But after saying that, he said, still puzzled:
"I have carefully inspected the hull. There are no leaks in the planks, no loose keel, not a single problem. Later, I even went to the temple in town to pray to Buddha and asked for a good luck charm to carry on the boat, but it didn't work."

"Although the boat's increased speed isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it saved me a lot of effort, I still have a lingering worry in my heart that I can't shake off!"

He sighed, his tone tinged with worry:

"After all, who can guarantee that this good thing will last forever? What if things suddenly turn around one day and the boat runs into trouble? That would be a real problem on this water!"

Du Yuan nodded:

"Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch. But boatman, think about it carefully, don't you really have any clue? For example, have you bumped into anything unusual recently, or done anything different from usual?"

The boatman shook his head vigorously.

"No, really! Every day I just row the boat, dock, and rest. My life is no different from what it was decades ago. However," he changed the subject, frowning as he thought carefully, his tone both uncertain and resolute, "if I had to say what I felt that was special, it was that every time the boat sped up, I always felt as if the boat beneath my feet was lighter, as if it was carrying half less cargo."

The boat felt lighter?
Du Yuan frowned slightly, repeated a sentence in a low voice, and then turned to look at the river surface thoughtfully.

To the average person, at this moment all they could see were the reflections of the green mountains on both sides of the river in the water; but although Du Yuan's understanding of Confucianism was not yet profound, she had at least gained some skill.

Therefore, when one looks closely at this moment, the underwater situation is much clearer than what others can see—the next moment, a large blue-scaled fish about three zhang long suddenly comes into view beneath the clear water.

The big fish was also staring straight at him, but their "gaze" was completely different.

Du Yuan knew clearly that it was observing him, but the fish was probably still the same as before, thinking that people on the water couldn't see it, and so it just openly displayed itself under his nose without any intention of hiding.

The moment Du Yuan saw the big fish clearly, she gradually came to her senses.

The boatman said that the boat speed had inexplicably increased and that the boat felt lighter. He thought that the big blue-scaled fish must have been secretly helping him. It must have been quietly supporting the bottom of the boat and using the current to push the boat forward, which made the boat feel lighter and the speed faster.

As he looked away, a hint of understanding flashed in Du Yuan's eyes. He turned to the boatman, who still wore a worried expression, and said in a softer tone:
"Boatman, don't worry. In my opinion, this may not be a bad thing. You said that you felt the boat was lighter every time it went fast. Perhaps there is some intelligent creature in the water helping you in secret, and it has no ill intentions?"

The boatman was taken aback, clearly not expecting this response. He scratched the back of his head and muttered to himself:
"The water is sentient? Is it the River God manifesting himself? But I've never made any special offerings to him, how could I dare trouble the River God to show himself?"

Du Yuan didn't directly point it out, but simply raised her hand and lightly placed it on the side of the boat, her fingertips barely touching the water, and said in a soft voice:

“Everything has a spirit. Perhaps you helped it unintentionally when you were sailing in the past.”

These words, once spoken, seemed to have struck the water, causing several small eddies to appear on the surface of the river.

Du Yuan looked down and saw the large blue-scaled fish underwater flick its tail fin as if startled. In its straight eyes, there was a hint of timid curiosity—it had probably finally realized that the person in front of it could actually see it.

Seeing this, Du Yuan couldn't help but chuckle to herself: 'This big fish really is intelligent; it can even understand what we're saying.'

Even the boatman himself was unaware of the origins of this good fortune, so Du Yuan was unwilling to explain it directly.

After all, the reason was still unclear. This fish was both intelligent and extremely timid. If the truth were suddenly revealed now, it would probably panic and sink to the bottom of the water. In the future, when encountering a boat, it might not dare to secretly support it like this.

Moreover, although it has become sentient and can understand human speech, it still feels like just a big blue fish. Not to mention compared to the various monsters I've seen before, it's probably not even as good as the horse demon with the pure and unblemished Red Stone.
Thinking of this, Du Yuan asked with a smile:

"Boatman, do you remember if you've ever done any good deeds like releasing animals back into the wild?"

Although the act of releasing animals has been tarnished in his hometown by a group of foolish and ignorant people, it is fundamentally still an act of accumulating merit.

Du Yuan guessed that this azure-scaled fish might have received such kindness in the past, and thus came to repay it.

The boatman shook his head repeatedly, his tone simple and honest:

"No, no. I'm just a rough old man who makes a living on the water. I don't have such leisure time. At most, when I have extra food, I'll just throw a handful into the water to feed the fish."

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan felt that she had grasped something.

Then she glanced at the large bluefish underwater. Although it had been startled, it was now obediently following the stern. After thinking for a moment, Du Yuan asked the boatman:
"Boatman, do you have any food left?"

The boatman smiled and replied:
"Yes, definitely! When traveling, it's always good to have extra food. It's just that I only eat coarse food, and I'm afraid your delicate body won't be used to it."

"I can eat delicacies from land and sea, and I can also swallow simple meals." Du Yuan waved her hand and changed the subject, "But today I'm not asking you for food, I want you to throw some food into the water."

Although the boatman was full of doubts, he did as he was told. He took out a cloth bag from his pocket, pulled out a hard coarse grain cake, broke it into pieces, and threw it into the water.

Du Yuan saw it clearly: the big blue carp happily flicked its tail fin, then swam forward and swallowed all the broken pieces of cake in one gulp.

Immediately afterwards, it instinctively swayed its body, trying to come closer to lift the fishing boat, but it stopped abruptly halfway through the movement, its clear eyes staring straight at Du Yuan at the bow of the boat, as if asking for her opinion.

Seeing this, Du Yuan couldn't help but chuckle. She pointed at it with a smile and gently comforted it:

“It’s a good deed, don’t be afraid, just go ahead.”

With Du Yuan's nod of approval, the big bluefish finally relaxed, happily wagging its tail fin and resting itself against the hull of the boat again.

The boatman was still wondering what the young man meant by speaking to the water when, in the next moment, that familiar feeling of lightness returned to his heart.

The fishing boats without poles were even faster than when they were poled, steadily moving forward with the current, and even the water seemed gentler than usual.

"Oh dear! Young master, what... what's going on?"

The boatman's eyes widened in astonishment.

Du Yuan didn't answer him directly, but slowly began to recount what she had heard in the past:
"Boatman, do you know that in the deep mountains, those spirits and monsters with no specific origin are called 'mountain demons'? Among these mountain demons, some are extremely fierce, eating raw meat and drinking blood. When they see a living person, they wish they could pounce on them and devour them alive."

Upon hearing this, the boatman shuddered and subconsciously glanced at the mountains and forests on both sides of the river—the forests that had seemed lush and green just moments before now looked as if they were hiding some kind of ferocious beast, and even the familiar mountain scenery seemed to have a sinister quality to it.

"What...what do you mean by this?"

The boatman's voice softened, clearly startled by the words "the mandrill eats people."

Seeing his expression, Du Yuan smiled and waved her hand:

"Boatman, don't be afraid yet. Although some mountain demons do evil, many are kind-hearted. Take western Henan for example. Woodcutters who go up the mountain to chop firewood always bring an extra steamed bun and make a point of chopping some coarse firewood that they can't normally carry."

"Do you know why? You know perfectly well that you can't carry it or transport it, yet you insist on doing this hard work?"

The boatman looked completely bewildered: "I don't know, I really don't know. Aren't we just asking for trouble?"

“It’s not like they’re asking for trouble.” Du Yuan continued with a smile in her eyes, “Because they’ll deliberately put the extra steamed buns they brought behind the woodpile. When they finish chopping wood and are ready to go down the mountain, they’ll find that the heavy load that used to weigh them down has suddenly become light as a feather, and carrying it on their shoulders feels like carrying a bundle of hay!”

"They didn't look back, they just carried the firewood and kept walking. Only when they got out of the mountain and saw the flat road below did they regain that sense of weight."

"At this point, they could turn around, but they couldn't see anything special. The steamed buns that had been placed behind the firewood were nowhere to be seen!"

"Oh!" The boatman's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh, finally realizing, "Could it be that the mountain demon helped us all this time? It ate the steamed bun and then secretly helped carry the heavy load?"

Du Yuan smiled and nodded, her tone resolute:
“Exactly, exactly! ‘Mountain demon’ is a general term for unpredictable spirits. Among them are evil ones that harm people, and of course there are also kind ones that are willing to help people. There are actually many like this that help the people of western Henan.”

Du Yuan changed the subject, her gaze sweeping lightly across the water at the stern of the boat before returning to the boatman's face:
"The situation you're facing today is the same as this!"

Upon hearing this, the boatman suddenly realized:

"That's right! I remember now! I was wondering why I sometimes found rowing easy and other times it was just like usual. It turns out I wasn't throwing food into the water during those times!"

Isn’t this right?
As he spoke, the boatman couldn't help but look down into the water, but with his mortal eyes, he couldn't see through the deep green water.

After scratching his head helplessly, the boatman turned around and asked:
"My lord, do you know exactly what I encountered today?"

Du Yuan suppressed a laugh and patiently explained:

"Didn't I just say that the woodcutters in western Henan, even if they know the truth perfectly well, will never look back? In the end, although these spirits have some skills, they are very timid and thin-skinned. Once they are seen through, they will probably never dare to help again."

The boatman nodded vigorously, responding hastily:
"Ah! I understand, I understand! I will certainly not ask any more questions, nor will I look into the water again!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help rub his hands together, his eyes full of anticipation, and asked again:
"Young master, do you think I could talk to the other boatmen about this in the future? After all, we who make a living on the water, who doesn't hope to encounter such good fortune!"

The boatman became increasingly convinced that this young man must be extraordinary, so he subconsciously consulted him on everything.

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan paused for a moment, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the water.

The big bluefish stayed close to the bottom of the boat, obediently carrying the fishing boat forward.

Du Yuan thought to herself: In this river, there's probably only one creature that seems to have a mind of its own. If all the boatmen really come to feed it...
Thinking that this silly fish might be fed until it's round and plump, making it difficult to even lift the boat, Du Yuan couldn't help but twitch her lips, forcing a smile as she slowly said:

"Of course it's possible. But, well, I don't think so in this river."

Du Yuan wanted to say that there's probably only one river in the river, and that you shouldn't feed people so much that they can't even swim anymore.

But on second thought, this is a good thing, a mutually beneficial coexistence between underwater spirits and fishermen on the water.

My own skill lies in refining the fake into the real, so there's no need to limit myself to this!
Du Yuan suddenly realized that this was an opportunity to make something of herself!
And he's still holding onto the kitten's watermark!
Thinking of this, Du Yuan smiled and said to the boatman:

"Boatman, are there many people in the county town?"

(End of this chapter)