The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 416 - 246: Pulling the Firewood from Under the Pot (Big Promotion Plus Update)
Ruishui River is actually an upside-down river! The surface is below, and the riverbed is above. Everyone standing on the bank sees the riverbed of the river. The true body of water, in fact, lurks beneath this thick layer of Black Water; hence, the buoyancy of this river naturally pulls downward.
"How did you know?" She found it unimaginable when she learned this secret.
"Years ago, my True Body personally went down." Changtian chuckled lightly, "This layer of Black Water is a hundred miles thick, but the water below is clear as a spring, with beautiful scenery. However, the currents there surge fiercely—ten times, a hundred times more ferocious than what you see from the shore."
She was silent for a long while before asking, "Why did you jump into Ruishui River back then? It wouldn’t be for the sake of a beautiful girl, would it?" This thought suddenly flashed through her mind, then she quickly realized how absurd her idea was.
He coughed lightly, "In my youthful exuberance, I heard about the strangeness of this river and wouldn’t believe it, so I went down to see for myself."
He said "in my youth." Ning Xiaoxian thought, yes, even Changtian could not have been born with such an indifferent nature. "Why does it flow in reverse?"
"Below there is an unfathomable fissure. This fissure is a weak point of convergence on this continent; such places always witness strange occurrences. Probably the Ruishui River is influenced by it when it flows here."
As she was contemplating, the cultivators at the ferry got on board and it was comfortably busy, just about to leave. But having just paid the ferry fare, someone dissatisfied said, "Wasn’t it supposed to be half-price? Why are you now charging thirty Spirit Stones?"
Ning Xiaoxian turned and saw the person in charge of the ferry looking towards Jin Manyi as if seeking approval, which slightly angered her. "This ferry is now my property, even he is under my command, yet he still peeks at Jin Manyi’s expressions."
Without causing a scene, she asked Miss Jin with a smile, "Since the ferry now belongs to me, everything here is mine too, right?"
Jin Manyi rigidly said, "Naturally, the dealings of Jishi Building would never go back on their word."
Ning Xiaoxian was greatly satisfied and slowly walked to stand in front of the man in charge at the ferry, examining him from head to toe. This Posthouse Chief’s surname was Cai, a forty-year-old middle-aged man with a prosperous appearance, who bowed his head immediately upon seeing her coming, daring not to look at her.
"Chief Cai seems to carry quite the prestige, just now you were still preventing the immortal friends from crossing, weren’t you?" she said lightly, but her comment was heavy enough to almost crush Chief Cai to the ground.
He sneaked another glance at Jin Manyi, seeing that she didn’t even look his way, he quickly kneeled down and said, "Miss, Cai Chao was wrong!"
Behind Jin Manyi, a servant woman also stepped forward and bowed to Ning Xiaoxian, saying, "Miss, it was an unintentional mistake by Posthouse Chief Cai, please don’t take offense." She had the cultivation of the early-stage Foundation Establishment.
As if unheard, Ning Xiaoxian asked slowly, "How long has Chief Cai been managing the Ruoshui Ferry?"
The woman herself dressed as a servant woman, and even though she had the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Stage, Ning Xiaoxian paid her no attention.
Cai Chao replied in a trembling voice, "As of... as of tomorrow, it will have been exactly five years!" He originally relied on Jishi Building, the big tree; transactions at the Ruishui River were trivial for Jishi Building, but he had skimmed quite a bit of profits from this business and thus elevated his status in his clan. Now, Ning Xiaoxian was taking both the ferry and its people, and his heart was greatly tangled. Moments ago, he could not help but look towards his former master; now, he suddenly realized that Ning Xiaoxian was also a cultivator, a cultivator who mortals like him could not afford to offend, especially now as he needed to make a living under her.
"Hmm, five years." Ning Xiaoxian then raised her voice, "Is there a deputy chief here?"
Cai Chao said, "No, there’s only one Ferry Captain."
Upon hearing the new master’s call, the Ferry Captain hurried over; he was a robust man in his thirties, surnamed Lin. Ning Xiaoxian looked him up and down and suddenly said, "Chief Cai has been managing here for five years and is now exhausted. From now on, you are the new hostel manager."
The pie that fell from the sky stupefied the robust man. Reacting quicker was Cai Chao; kneeling on the ground, he pleaded bitterly, "Master, I know my mistake, please give me another chance." After speaking, he crawled a few steps, attempting to cling onto Ning Xiaoxian’s calf, but it seemed as if an invisible wall in front of her prevented him from coming closer, forcing him to keep pleading.
Tu Jin frowned and said, "Too noisy." With a gesture, Cai Chao’s mouth was sealed, unable to utter a sound. At that moment, the newly appointed Lin Yizhang had also come around, joyfully bowing profusely and thanking her, then hurried to the ferry to return the extra collected Spirit Stones to the cultivators. It was clear that though he was bulky, his mind was quite sharp.
