Turquoise Pool asked about their mission and shared each other's identity information.
"You really became part of the Zhao family now," Li Changzhou laughed as he picked crab meat into the crab shell.
Turquoise Pool's identity turned out to be a Princess of the Great Song Royal Family, though her name was hardly known, and she cultivated Daoism by the West Lake.
"Being a Zhao counts for nothing," Turquoise Pool said smilingly, "aren't you a Li too? A descendant of the Tang Dynasty, a person of noble descent."
Li Qianxia suddenly laughed out loud.
Li Changzhou, Turquoise Pool, and Yang Qinglan, who was reading a brochure, all looked at her puzzled.
Although it had been a tease, what was there to laugh about so much?
Li Qianxia gasped with laughter, "Do you think Qing Lan's 'Yang' could be the 'Yang' from the Sui Dynasty?"
The three of them paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Come, come, come, the descendants of three dynasties together on one boat, such great fate, we must drink to it!" Li Changzhou filled wine for everyone, "After drinking, we are in the same boat through thick and thin, life and death together."
All four downed their drinks in one go.
Li Qianxia let out a "Ha" sigh, as if she had drunk a bottle of cola.
Yang Qinglan put down his wine glass and gently wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
Turquoise Pool held her glass upside down, showing that she had finished her drink, her eyes smilingly fixed on Li Changzhou.
"I was thinking," Li Qianxia said as she ate a piece of charcoal-grilled matsutake mushroom, "what if Bai Suzhen, taking Xiaoqing with her, directly seeks out the Bodhisattva Guanyin to detoxify?"
"There are some things that are harder to remove than poison," Turquoise Pool replied with a smile.
"What?" Li Qianxia curiously stopped eating.
"That thing is the mortal world's disputes. Once tainted, neither demon nor fairy can escape. Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing by simply talking with us have roped themselves into these disputes," Turquoise Pool said as if referring to something formidable.
Li Qianxia paused, "Is it some kind of skill?"
"It is a kind of skill," Turquoise Pool replied with a smile.
Yang Qinglan set down the brochure; Li Qianxia quickly picked up one, starting to pry into the idol's private life.
"How is it?" Li Changzhou handed a filled crab shell to Yang Qinglan, which contained crab meat and crab roe he had picked out.
"Indeed we met Guanyin, but it was three days ago," Yang Qinglan held the crab shell in his left hand, taking a small spoon with his right hand, drizzled a bit of vinegar on the crab meat and roe.
Turquoise Pool glanced at it, then secretly sent a voice message to Li Changzhou—When we are together in the future, I want you to give me two crab shells! Otherwise, don't think about touching me!
—You just wait and see if that day comes.
Turquoise Pool gave him a meaningful 'wait and see' glance, pointing outside the cabin, said:
"Over there lies the famed Su Dike. Speaking of which, Su Shi was known as 'East Slope Layman,' and also 'Iron Crown Daoist.' I wonder if he had any connections with Daoism."
From the boat, one could see the six bridges in the middle of Su Dike: Reflecting Waves, Locking Waves, Gazing at the Mountains, Pressing the Dike, Eastern Banks, Crossing the Rainbow; ancient yet beautiful, with the dike's edge blossoming in competing flowers, their fragrance overwhelming.
Among the smoky willows of the six bridges, people bustled to and fro.
"Splash!"
"Someone's fallen into the water!"
"Quick, save them!"
Li Qianxia, with a slice of matsutake mushroom in her mouth, craned her neck to see.
Around, almost every boat had people watching the excitement.
A woman in her sixties, walking by the bridge, fell into the water; she was quickly rescued, drenched from head to toe, except for the "Diamond Sutra" in her bosom which surprisingly remained dry. She immediately kneeled and kowtowed north towards Lingyin Temple on Beishan.
"Is that for real?" Li Qianxia sipped some wine, still staring at the shore.
Already, many people around were discussing going to Lingyin Temple to pray for blessings.
"Since we plan on dealing with Jigong Monk of Beishan Lingyin Temple first, what's your plan?" Turquoise Pool asked Yang Qinglan.
Yang Qinglan, having just finished a crab shell's worth of crab meat and roe, set down the shell and spoon, and said, "Rain."
"Rain?" Li Qianxia asked curiously.
"Jigong likes wandering the Four Seas and may not be at Lingyin Temple. If it continues to rain over West Lake, causing a flood, and every random 'Diamond Sutra' in the temple remains dry, people will likely go up to Lingyin Temple for help. Inside Lingyin Temple, only Jigong has the ability to contest with me in the art of 'Calling the Wind and Rain,'" explained Yang Qinglan.
"You big shots really do... casually place the lives of the masses on the chessboard," Li Qianxia commented.
Yang Qinglan, content with food and wine, picked up 'Fairy's Ruyi.'
In that instant, there was a huge roar, and a thunderbolt suddenly resounded in the clear sky!
Visitors at the West Lake trembled all over.
Then a gale arose, creating shimmering waves on the lake surface; willows on the shore danced wildly, and thick, dark clouds quickly amassed over the southern expanse, swiftly covering the blue sky.
The wind whined, darkness enveloped the day, and the splendid spring West Lake turned as black as a demonic pond!
Another roar boomed as if the Thunder God had grabbed a handful of thunderbolts from the Thunder Pond and hurled them onto West Lake.
Heavy rain clattered down, pocking the water surface with countless holes, looking like a honeycomb.
People along the shore screamed and ran frantically, some periodically howled into the sky, while others burst into laughter; this sudden spring thunderstorm seemed to amuse them instead.
Boom!!!
It felt as though the Earth itself might shatter.
This strike left everyone terrified, too frightened to speak out loud.
The carriages of the nobles sped towards the nearest Qiantang Gate in a trail of smoke.
Raindrops smacked against the tourist boats like countless arrows falling from above, and the passengers, no longer daring to linger, urged the boatmen to pull ashore.
The boatman, who had apparently been eager to leave, began rowing frantically towards the shore.
The tourist boat moved through the gale, massive waves, thunder, and torrential rain, shrouded in pitch darkness, visibly invisible; what was usually familiar West Lake now felt like sailing on the vast, stormy sea.
The passengers in the cabin kept asking how long until they reached the shore, but the boatman couldn't hear anything over the noise of the rain and thunder.
Only when they touched shore did the boatman wipe the rain from his face, his heart finally settling a bit.
Those with umbrellas quickly ran for it, those without hesitated before some dashed ashore to find shelter, while others simply hid inside the cabin, hoping the storm would end soon.
Yang Qinglan took out the "Invisibility Lantern," hung it inside the cabin for light and concealment.
"Continue drinking, keep dancing, Turquoise Pool, it's your turn," Li Changzhou said.
"Still singing the White Snake series?" Turquoise Pool, unembarrassed, asked with a smile.
"Never mind that, just sing... whatever you feel, but it must fit the scene."
Lightning danced, and consecutive explosions of thunder filled the sky, as if the world was shattering.
In the midst of the earth-shattering thunder, Turquoise Pool's singing began: "When will the moon be clear and bright? With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky. I do not know what season it would be in the heavens on this night. I'd like to ride the wind to fly home. Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me. Dancing with my moon-lit shadow, does it not resemble life amongst mortals?"
Wang Fei's "Wishing We Last Forever," sung tenderly and enthralling, and her voice was beyond reproach.
Li Changzhou, Yang Qinglan, and Li Qianxia, all experienced the joy of drinking and appreciating songs and dances from Turquoise Pool.
One must say, Turquoise Pool truly lived up to being the Favored Concubine.
"Sister Yao's singing could keep me from eating or drinking for a whole month," Li Qianxia admired and marveled, claiming that if she were the Emperor, the kingdom would undoubtedly fall.
"Thank you," Turquoise Pool smiled, her eyes shifting as she looked at Li Changzhou, "but don't say it's over; I haven't heard you sing yet."
Li Changzhou looked at Yang Qinglan: "A duet again? She sang Wang Fei, shall we sing Wang Fei's 'Because of Love'?"
"I sang 'Moon in a Thousand Rivers' because of Su Dike, not 'Because of Love'!" Turquoise Pool objected.
"As long as it fits the scene, does it matter? It's all Wang Fei anyway."
"It doesn't, and why do you two get to sing a duet? Everyone should sing their own song!" Turquoise Pool said with a playful and slightly imperious smile, impossible for any man to refuse.
"Agreed!" exclaimed Li Qianxia as she started on grilled squid again, the golden-browned tentacles dangling enticingly from her lips.
"Today, you big brothers are going to realize just how amazing I am!"
"Alright," Turquoise Pool poured him a drink, smiling, "Quick, let the three sisters see just how great Brother Changzhou really is."
"Just remember, I'm the younger sister here," Li Qianxia asserted.
Li Changzhou revealed his trump card—"Crazily Faithful."
With just a soft beginning, Turquoise Pool applauded, Yang Qinglan's eyes sparkled with laughter, and Li Qianxia cheered proudly.
The sky darkened for three days, and torrential rain fell for three days, submerging everything around West Lake.
That day, Bai Suzhen came with Xiao Qing, who looked as pale as a corpse, back into the cabin.
Li Changzhou glanced at the two, and before Bai Suzhen could speak, he chuckled:
"Lady White, take your sister back for now."
The pitch-black Lin'an West Lake, North Mountain's Lingyin Temple, South Mountain's Jingci Temple, the Buddhist light shone broadly, and the bells tolled resoundingly.