A fine spring rain began to fall in the middle of the night.
Good rain knows its season, arriving with the spring. However, Tongluo Alley in the southern part of the Capital City was muddy year-round. During the rainy season, it was only natural for water to accumulate in the alley.
Ying Xiaoman, wearing a waterproof oilskin coat, carried an empty net bag as she waded through the puddles into the alley. After just a few steps, her Adoptive Mother heard the commotion and opened the narrow door to greet her.
Ying Xiaoman shook her head at her Adoptive Mother, who was leaning against the doorframe and peering out.
The river's water level had risen sharply, and the fish catches had been poor for the past few days. With the endless rain, the number of customers buying and cleaning fish at the market had decreased by five or six tenths.
Her Adoptive Mother's laundry business had also slowed compared to sunny days.
The mother and daughter closed the courtyard gate, took down the hanging basket from under the eaves, and sat side by side on two small stools, carefully counting the copper coins in the basket.
"After deducting this month's rent of 300 wen, we still have two guan and forty copper coins left," her Adoptive Mother said contentedly. "It's fortunate that fish prices are high in the Capital City, so we've saved quite a bit lately. With just the two of us, if we're frugal with our meals, this should be enough for two months' expenses."
Ying Xiaoman looked a bit troubled. "We haven't accounted for the doctor's fees."
Her Adoptive Mother waved her hand dismissively and hung the basket back under the eaves. "I've had this old ailment for so many years now. Seeing a doctor won't cure it, and I can manage without one. No need to waste money on that."
The sound of bustling activity came from the stove area. Ying Xiaoman sat by the door, raising her head to gaze absently at the swallows flying low in the rain. She discussed with her Adoptive Mother:
"I think this rain won't stop for two or three days, and it'll take another two or three days for the river to recede. It seems we can't rely on the fish market business year-round. We need to find another way to make a living."
Her Adoptive Mother spoke while chopping vegetables, "It's just as well that you're not going to the fish market. You've been going there so often lately, you might have taken business from others. I've heard some unsavory characters gossiping behind your back. They're calling you the 'Fish-Gutting Beauty,' saying that street ruffians come specially to buy fish from you and have you clean them, and other such idle chatter."
Ying Xiaoman laughed upon hearing this, her beautiful eyes curving into crescent moons. "Fish-Gutting Beauty? That's not a bad nickname. I don't care who comes to buy fish or have them cleaned, as long as they pay, they're all customers."
"No, that won't do," her Adoptive Mother put down the knife. "Once you're smeared with the dirty water of 'using your looks to attract business,' a girl's reputation is ruined. How much money would it take to wash that clean? You should go to the fish market less often and do some other business instead. I've noticed that people in the Capital City love to eat. I could sell the tofu pudding from our hometown, set up a breakfast stall to sell it."
"Mother, you should rest," it was Ying Xiaoman's turn to object. "To run a tofu pudding business at the morning market, you'd have to get up at the third watch to grind soybeans. What if you overexert yourself and your dizziness acts up? There must be less strenuous ways to make money in the Capital City."
Her Adoptive Mother suddenly became anxious. She quickly sat down opposite Ying Xiaoman and grasped her hands:
"I heard about the matchmaker trying to persuade you the other day. Some jobs, no matter how lucrative, just can't be done. Think of your father. We didn't come all the way to the Capital City to sell you off as a servant in some wealthy household!"
Without a second thought, Ying Xiaoman blurted out:
"Don't worry, Mother. I remember Father's words very clearly. I came all the way to the Capital City to avenge him and kill that corrupt official!"
Her Adoptive Mother's eyes were filled with approval as she heard the first half of the sentence, but upon hearing the latter half, she couldn't help but burst into an excited cough.
"No, no, no, your father is long gone. You don't need to remember his words so faithfully—"
Ying Xiaoman had already stood up to get her oilskin coat.
Come to think of it, it had been almost half a month since she last went to the north of the city to gather information about her enemy. With the rain leaving her with nothing to do, it was a good time to make a trip.
But today was destined to be a day full of unexpected events.
Ying Xiaoman was startled as soon as she walked out of Tongluo Alley. The scene by the river was very different from usual.
Officials in bright armor stood in two rows guarding the riverbank in the rain. Several officials wearing vermilion robes were rushing back and forth, shouting loudly. Layers upon layers of onlookers holding umbrellas craned their necks to peer into the river.
Ying Xiaoman stood on tiptoe to look into the river as well. Oh, it was the "water ghosts" again.
More than twenty "water ghosts" wearing black water-resistant clothing were diving repeatedly into the rapid river current, searching for something. The familiar double-decked official boat was still anchored in the middle of the river, its lanterns lit brightly even in broad daylight, illuminating the surging white waves that reflected the light.
"What's happening now?" she edged closer to the crowd of onlookers. "Are they still looking for a body?"
"Indeed they are," a woman in the crowd said excitedly. "I heard that this time it's an official who fell into the water!"
A more knowledgeable bystander chimed in, "If the Imperial Guard has been mobilized to seal off the river, the person who fell in must be a high-ranking official."
Another even more informed onlooker said, "Not necessarily an official. There are plenty of important people in the Capital City. It could be the son of some wealthy family, or someone from a noble or royal household. But they must be either rich or powerful, just look at this spectacle."
The onlooker nodded towards the two rows of Imperial Guards by the riverbank. "The report said 'missing' and 'possibly fallen into the Bian River.' This means they just can't find the person, not necessarily that they fell into the water. Yet it's already bypassed the Shuntian Prefecture and alarmed the Imperial Guard, deploying such a large force to search along the river."
As Ying Xiaoman was listening intently to the knowledgeable onlookers analyzing the situation, the crowd by the river suddenly let out a collective shout.
The commotion sounded familiar. Ying Xiaoman looked towards the brightly lit large boat and saw several "water ghosts" lifting a bloated body to the surface.
The lamplight illuminated the scene clearly, and the onlookers let out gasps of shock and disgust.
The body was entangled with water weeds and had decomposed to the point where the facial features were unrecognizable.
"Ah, a sunken corpse has surfaced. It might uncover an old case of injustice, but unfortunately, it's not the important person they're looking for," an onlooker sighed regretfully. "If someone had fallen into the water just last night and been submerged for only one night, they wouldn't have decayed to bare bones like this. They'll have to keep searching."
Sure enough, the "water ghosts" didn't stop. They all dove back into the river again.
Ying Xiaoman's eyes showed a thoughtful expression.
She turned to ask the most knowledgeable onlooker, "If they find the body of the missing important person and return it to their family, will they receive a large reward or be sent to the official yamen?"
The onlooker gave her a surprised glance.
Ying Xiaoman's conical hat and oilskin coat covered most of her body, but he could see she was a slender young woman wearing plain cloth clothing.
"Young miss, from your accent, you must be from out of town. If they can successfully return the important person's body to their residence, needless to say, they would certainly receive a generous reward. It might be enough to live on for half a lifetime."
The onlookers laughed mockingly, "But the Capital City is full of nobles. We common folk don't even know their backgrounds or appearances, so how can we determine a noble's identity from a corpse? What if we make a mistake? Deliver it to the right place, and you'll get a fortune; deliver it to the wrong household, and you'll get a severe beating. Young lady, even if the corpse was right in front of you, would you dare?"
Ying Xiaoman hissed, "This business doesn't sound good." After a moment's thought, she asked, "What if it's not a noble family? Would I still get beaten badly?"
"If it's not a noble family, it doesn't matter. At worst, you'd get scolded for delivering the wrong corpse. Can't you run away?"
"Oh, I see. Thanks for the advice."
Among the crowd gathered on the riverbank, she wrapped her oilskin coat tighter and struggled to squeeze out of the throng, still heading north.
This trip to the north of the city proved quite fruitful.
While walking through an unfamiliar street, the rain suddenly intensified. She ran to take shelter under the eaves of a nearby teahouse. On such a rainy day, the teahouse had few customers, so the tea master, with nothing else to do, chatted with Ying Xiaoman for about half an hour, unexpectedly providing her with a wealth of new information.
It turned out that among the high-ranking families in the Capital City, besides the noble Yan Family, there was another famous Yan Family.
This Yan Family was known for their literary and ceremonial traditions, having lived in the Capital City for generations. Their ancestors had produced a prime minister, and their residence in the north of the city stretched for miles.
Unfamiliar with the character for "Yan," Ying Xiaoman only understood when the tea master wrote it on the door panel with water. Feigning a humble desire to learn, she asked in detail about the Yan Family's situation. The more she heard, the more it seemed to fit.
It matched the description of the "insidiously evil scholarly family" her Adoptive Father had mentioned through gritted teeth.
As the rain eased, the sky gradually darkened. Ying Xiaoman walked back slowly.
The second unexpected event of the day occurred at this time.
In early March, with short days and long nights, the people of the Capital City loved to eat, emphasizing breakfast and dinner. As dusk fell, street vendors began to set up their stalls, their calls echoing back and forth, filling the alleys with the warm, aromatic air of cooking.
Passing by a stall selling fried lamb skewers, Ying Xiaoman overheard the vendor chatting with a regular customer, "Have you heard that the fish market in the south of the city is flooded?"
"It is! I just waded through it. Everything was fine this morning, but in the afternoon, the river suddenly backflowed, flooding a large area. Don't go to the fish market for the next couple of days."
Ying Xiaoman stopped in her tracks and turned back to ask, "If the fish market is flooded, is Tongluo Alley nearby flooded too?"
"They're in the same area, how could it not be?" the customer replied between bites. "Tongluo Alley is completely flooded, with pots and pans floating everywhere in the water. Young lady, do you live in Tongluo Alley? You'd better hurry back and salvage what you can."
Ying Xiaoman felt a tightness in her chest. She wrapped her oilskin coat tighter and hurried back at a jog.
Sure enough, Tongluo Alley was flooded inside and out. The water level had suddenly risen significantly, with river water flowing back onto the shore. The official boats that had been moored in the Bian River were nowhere to be seen. The center of the river channel was pitch black, with only the rumbling sound of water rushing against the banks audible.
Tongluo Alley was waist-deep in water. The entire alley was submerged.
The sky had completely darkened. Wooden pots and basins floated about in the water, amid shouts and the cries of children.
As Ying Xiaoman waded through the darkness, something unknown struck her leg hard. She struggled to move along the wall towards the deeper part of the alley, calling out, "Mother!"
It took a long time before her Adoptive Mother tremblingly came to answer the door.
The courtyard gate was submerged in waist-deep water. With effort from both inside and out, they managed to open a small gap. As soon as Ying Xiaoman squeezed through, they hurriedly closed it.
The small courtyard was pitch black, with only a faint light from an oil lamp hanging high, casting a weak glow on her Adoptive Mother's pale face.
Seeing her mother's terrified expression, Ying Xiaoman tried to comfort her as she waded into the house, "Did we lose anything? Out with the old, in with the new. We can save up and buy replacements later."
"It's not about losing things," her Adoptive Mother said. Her face, pale with fright, only regained some color under the sheltering eaves. Wringing water from her clothes, she struggled to say:
"There's... there's something outside our door."
In the dim lamplight illuminating the area outside, her Adoptive Mother continued haltingly, "When the flood came in, I quickly closed the courtyard gate. Something outside kept knocking on our door. Thump, thump. It was pitch black, and I didn't dare open the door to look. Xiaoman, could it be... could it be a water ghost? Could it be the ghost of someone who drowned in the river, floating up to our door looking for a substitute to die in its place?"
"Listen, listen!" her Adoptive Mother suddenly grabbed her. "It's here, it's here again!"
Thump. Something hit the courtyard gate.
The two under the eaves held their breath. After a while, another thump.
"I'll go take a look," Ying Xiaoman said. She took the oil lamp and waded into the house, rummaging through the chest to find a twenty-jin iron door bolt they had brought from their old home.
Holding the oil lamp in one hand and the door bolt in the other, she didn't forget to reassure her Adoptive Mother, "It's probably just wooden buckets or basins floating with the water, hitting against the door. If it's our neighbors' belongings, we might as well bring them in."
Having grown up hunting in the mountains with her Adoptive Father, she wasn't very superstitious. The more she thought about it, the more likely this explanation seemed.
Her Adoptive Mother lit a candle she usually saved for special occasions, holding it high to illuminate a small part of the courtyard.
Ying Xiaoman waded through the waist-deep water in the small courtyard. With the oil lamp occupying one hand, she switched to holding it in her mouth, gripping the iron door bolt firmly in her hand. She yanked open the courtyard gate in one swift motion.
Thump, the object floating in the water gently bumped against the door with the rippling waves.
Eight feet long, about two feet wide, human-shaped, with hands and feet.
The oil lamp wasn't very bright, its dim yellow light faintly illuminating about half a foot around, revealing the outline of the object hitting the door—
A pale face, long black hair tangled like water weeds, eyes tightly closed, ghastly white hands clutching the edge of the doorstep.
Blood-stained clothes soaked in the water, the hem swaying gently like aquatic plants.
Ying Xiaoman's face turned pale as well.
She opened her mouth in shock.
Splash, the oil lamp fell from her mouth into the water.
The light went out.
In the pitch-black night, apart from the pitter-patter of raindrops falling into the water, all Ying Xiaoman could hear was the violent pounding of her own heart.
She had only seen it a few times in the river, never expecting... to stumble upon it herself so soon!
"Child, what's wrong?" The candle had been extinguished by the rain, leaving the night so dark one couldn't see their hand in front of their face. Her Adoptive Mother asked tremblingly from the main room's doorway, "What's out there?"
Ying Xiaoman waded through the accumulated water, her back to the house door, trying to move the heavy object from outside into the courtyard.
As she struggled to move it, she said, "It's a... big business opportunity... for those who travel by water in the Capital City."