The woman looked at her as if she were a fool. “For the sake of our shared womanhood, I spared your life, but do not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.”
Gu Qingyun raised her hand and traced a talisman in midair. In an instant, spiritual energy enveloped the entire pleasure boat.
“Release them. You wouldn’t want these sisters of yours to get hurt, would you? Had I not seen that you refrained from taking these men’s lives, I would never have come to negotiate peacefully with you today.”
The woman wiped the smile from her face. She scrutinized Gu Qingyun for a moment before letting out a cold scoff.
“To think a tiny county seat like this harbored an expert. Fine, consider this my defeat today. I, Hua Niangzi, admit it. But I’d like to see just how long you can protect them.
“These men are all fickle, heartless hypocrites. With wives and children at home, they still lust after beauty and wallow in bestial desire. They delivered themselves right to our door, so my sisters and I merely took a bit of their spirit essence. It was entirely consensual, yet you insist on poking your nose into our business.”
Gu Qingyun’s gaze turned icy.
“Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. These men never harmed you, and no doubt everyone who truly wronged you has already been drained dry of spirit essence by your hands.
“As for your current cultivation, who knows how many people you had to drain to achieve it? Using evil techniques to harm others while offering slick excuses—you truly show no remorse.”
Hua Niangzi let out a sinister, cackling laugh dripping with venomous hatred that echoed over the deserted river.
“Why do you think we became like this? If not for men like them, how could there be pleasure boats in this world? How could there be wretched women like us?
“Because these so-called patrons ruined our lives, what is wrong with me taking their spirit essence now?”
Gu Qingyun understood. These were women of the pleasure boats who had lacked autonomy over their own lives and deaths. After ending their bitter existences, their lingering resentment had coalesced into monstrous entities.
They were the physical manifestations of those deceased women’s obsessions, taking the forms of alluring beauties on the pleasure boat year after year to entice men aboard and drain their spirit essence.
Gu Qingyun sighed.
“Enough. After all these years, you have already exacted your revenge. When you harm these men, have you ever considered how their families will survive? Without a man, an entire household’s livelihood collapses, and even more wretched women like you will be created.
“Release them. Their wives and children are still waiting for them at home.”
Gu Qingyun reasoned with earnest sincerity. She was reluctant to resort to force; the existence of this pleasure boat served as a sobering warning to the world.
Just as she was about to say more, the woman seemed to sense Gu Qingyun’s thoughts. One after another, the men aboard the vessel floated out from within. Gu Qingyun hastily dispelled the barrier, and the men plunged into the river like dumplings dropping into boiling water, instantly snapping to their senses.
Looking back at the pleasure boat, which had now turned eerily ghostly and sinister, the men swam desperately toward the riverbank.
The women emerged from the vessel and surrounded Gu Qingyun, fixing their gazes intently upon her.
“Daoist Master, this world is so bitter.
“Why do parents give birth to children only to abandon them? Why do husbands sell their wives and children? Why did we have to suffer so much?”
Gu Qingyun lowered her eyes.
“That life was not of their choosing, but they were kind by nature. I believe they must have reincarnated into a peaceful, prosperous era.
“There, men and women are treated as equals. There are books to read, clothes to wear, and one can earn one’s own living. If parents are cruel, one can leave home and never return. If a husband is wretched, one can divorce him and start anew. Monogamy is practiced, every meal has meat and vegetables, and one can live however one wishes.”
Gu Qingyun’s words struck them all into silence. After a long pause, Hua Niang spoke wistfully:
“Daoist Master, does such a place truly exist?”
“It does.”
Hua Niang sighed softly.
“Daoist Master, you truly are fortunate. I never imagined a woman could become a constable. In this world, over the past hundred years, you are the first female constable I have ever seen.
“Of course, I’ve also seen female generals and female soldiers. We women are quite remarkable, aren’t we?”
“Naturally,” Gu Qingyun replied. “We also have female officials, and there are more than a dozen female generals, every one of them valiant, skilled in warfare, and great heroes.
“Times are different from a century ago. The realm is at peace and the people prosper now. Many women can go out to conduct business, and they can even establish independent female households. It is far better than in the past.”
Hua Niang offered a smile.
“You are the only one who didn’t strike at us the instant you saw us. In the past, whenever other Daoists saw us, they immediately tried to exterminate us. Unfortunately for them, their skills were lacking, and in the end, my sisters and I sent them running with their heads in their hands.”
They had lured men onto this pleasure boat for so long, but truth be told, they had grown weary as well. It was not as though they had never given those men a chance.
If only one man—just one single person—had resisted temptation, they could have let it all go. Regrettably, there had never been anyone. Not a single man had withstood the test.
Hearing this, the corner of Gu Qingyun’s mouth twitched.
“Have you ever considered that the ones lured here were weak-willed to begin with? As for those with firm resolve, why would they ever come to this place in the first place?”
Hua Niang was struck by sudden enlightenment.
“Indeed! Indeed... Why didn’t I think of that? Those who couldn’t be tempted were never here at all!”
Hua Niang let out a long sigh. The only reason she had never degenerated into a mindless monster that knew only slaughter was that she still held onto a final shred of faith in humanity.
“In truth, I grew tired of this long ago. How wonderful it would be if I could truly see that world you spoke of. I want to live freely, rather than being trapped on a pleasure boat in life, only to remain trapped on it in death—drifting wherever the vessel goes.”
With that, she glanced toward the river.
“Daoist Master, we must depart. If fate wills it, we shall meet again in the future.
“Besides, if you keep talking with us, those few men who don’t know how to swim will probably drown.”
Having let go of their resentment, Hua Niang and the others became calm and serene. The seductive air about them faded considerably, replaced by an understated grace.
“Rest assured, Daoist Master. We will no longer seduce men indiscriminately. From now on, only the truly wicked and vile will become our guests. Consider it our way of cleansing some filth from this world.”
Spiritual power circulated gently in Gu Qingyun’s hand. Unseen by ordinary eyes, it struck the drowning men, causing the river currents to form water palms that hoisted them onto the bank.
Looking at Hua Niang and the others, she said solemnly:
“Worry not. Those who sell, abuse, or mistreat their wives and children will face the cycle of karmic retribution. Even if they escape punishment now, they will face their reckoning in the underworld after death.
“As for this pleasure boat, it was born from the remains of those deceased women. Wherever your heart desires to go is where it will take you. It granted you your freedom long ago.”
Hua Niang bit her lip and stared at Gu Qingyun for a long time, both crying and laughing.
“I understand now. How wonderful it would have been if I had met you sooner, Daoist Master. Even so, I am endlessly grateful. Thank you for showing mercy, Daoist Master.”
The pleasure boat brought Gu Qingyun back to the riverbank. Hua Niang and the others curtsied to her, and the vessel darted toward the distance. A heavy mist rose over the river without anyone noticing, and the pleasure boat dissolved into the fog, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
Once the pleasure boat was gone, Gu Qingyun looked at the half-dead men. She uncapped the signal flare in her hand and pulled the cord toward the sky—this was the highest level of emergency signal for reinforcements.
In less than half a shichen, the County Magistrate arrived with more than thirty constables. Seeing the riverbank packed with bodies, his face turned livid, and he roared in fury:
“What on earth is going on here? Why are there so many people out here? Our county seat has a curfew! What were the gate guards doing? Did they fail to notice so many people leaving the city?”
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