Chapter Thirteen: May All the World Be Free from Illness

Qin Xiaomo looked up and saw that the sky had already taken on a blue-violet hue, and the stars along the horizon had begun to glimmer. At that moment, a traveling medicine peddler dressed in earth-yellow coarse cloth, carrying a bamboo basket on his back and holding a white lantern marked with the word “medicine,” approached them from afar, chanting, “If only all the world were free from illness, I’d rather my basket of medicine went unused.”

As he drew nearer, Qin Xiaomo saw that the medicine peddler had a round belly and stroked a small mustache, his eyes squinting with a cheerful smile as he sidled up and asked, “Miss, would you like to buy some medicine?”

Qin Xiaomo felt inexplicably uneasy; if Qian Mubai hadn’t been sitting nearby on a large rock sipping tea, she might have thought she’d run into a ghost.

“What kind of medicine do you have?” Qin Xiaomo took a cautious step back, uncomfortable with his proximity.

The mustached medicine peddler glanced at Qian Mubai, then at Qin Xiaomo, seemingly understanding their purpose. “The young lady must be here with your employer to seek the Amethyst Spirit Pearl, am I right?”

Employer? Well, it was close enough. Qin Xiaomo replied awkwardly, “Yes, that’s right.”

“Then meeting me is your fortune amidst misfortune.”

“Misfortune? What misfortune?” Qin Xiaomo wondered if all medicine peddlers were this fond of mysterious talk.

“Everyone knows the treasure of this Deserted City is the Amethyst Spirit Pearl, but dealing with the land eels is another matter entirely.” The mustached peddler adopted the air of a walking encyclopedia.

“I know that much. So what are you saying… you have a solution?” Qin Xiaomo lifted the corner of her mouth, as if to say, “I have money.”

“Miss, you’re a sharp one. I’ve been trading here for twenty years, sold countless medicines, and in this Deserted City, no one knows the weaknesses of the land eels better than I do.” With that, he produced a white medicine bottle from his basket. “Inside this bottle is a single pill, the very thing the land eels fear most. If you’re lucky enough to encounter a land eel king, simply open this bottle and the beast will be at your mercy.”

“Amazing!” Qin Xiaomo’s eyes widened; her heart had been pounding with anxiety, but with such a treasure, what was there to fear? “How much? I’ll take it!”

“Ten taels,” the mustached peddler said with a grin.

“Only ten taels? That’s fine by me.”

“Miss, I mean ten taels of gold.”

“One tael of gold equals ten taels of silver… a hundred taels? That’s robbery!” Qin Xiaomo did the math on her fingers.

“It’s worth every coin. Once you try it, you’ll know the power of this medicine. If fortune smiles and you meet the land eel king and win the Amethyst Spirit Pearl, you could easily sell it for a hundred taels of gold. So buying this pill is as good as getting the pearl.”

Strangely, Qin Xiaomo found his words persuasive, though something felt off and she couldn’t quite argue against him. Gritting her teeth, she drew out a hundred taels from her pouch—money she’d tricked out of Qian Mubai as travel funds. She clutched the medicine in her hand as if holding a lifesaving charm, her confidence restored.

The mustached peddler packed up his things, ready to leave. He turned back and deliberately stepped closer to Qin Xiaomo. “Miss, you seem straightforward, so let me share a secret.”

“What secret?” Qin Xiaomo loved secrets.

“I’ve traveled far and wide, and from heroes who have defeated the land eel king, I’ve learned it has a weakness.”

“A weakness?”

“The land eel king’s head is vulnerable—its skull seams are very thin. The rest is up to you.” He gave Qin Xiaomo a meaningful look before leaving.

“The skull?” Qin Xiaomo was bewildered. Since when did fish have skulls?

After a long silence, Qian Mubai couldn’t hold back a laugh. The mustached peddler turned to look at him; though the dusk was deep, the sharpness in his eyes was unmistakable. He addressed the woodsman’s face clad in coarse linen, “Young hero, why bother with such a disguise?” With that, he turned and left, reciting his poem as he went: “If only all the world were free from illness, I’d rather my basket of medicine went unused.” His voice faded into the distance.

Qian Mubai watched the peddler’s receding figure, deep in thought.

“Qian Mubai, what should I do now?” Qin Xiaomo was at a loss.

“The hoe’s over there.” Apparently tired of tea, he had begun tending a campfire.

“Where should I dig?”

“Anywhere in this patch of wild grass is fine. Just don’t go near the boundary glowing blue.” Following his pointing finger, Qin Xiaomo saw a patch of shimmering blue light at the far edge of the desert, its source unknown.

“Alright, got it.”

Wrapping cloth around her hands, Qin Xiaomo grabbed the hoe and began to dig.

She dug and dug—two feet down and still nothing. She was about to give up when suddenly, from the pit, came a faint metallic clatter, growing louder and nearer. Curious, Qin Xiaomo was about to dig with her hands when Qian Mubai called from not far off, “Don’t use your hands!”

Her hand froze mid-air. Looking down, she saw a pair of blood-red eyes, each the size of a pomegranate seed, glaring up at her. Startled, she stepped back, holding the hoe before her chest, and peered carefully into the pit.

She had no idea what it was, but whatever it was, it twisted and writhed, trying to emerge from the earth. After much effort, its true form was revealed: a fish less than a foot long, glowing red like pomegranate seeds, its jagged teeth exposed. The metallic clatter had come from its upper and lower jaws clashing—a sound that set her skin crawling.

The creature slithered across the ground in an S-shape like a snake, heading away. This must be the legendary land eel.

“What now?” Qin Xiaomo called for help from Qian Mubai.

“Catch it for me to roast,” he replied.

“What? Is it safe to eat this thing?” No sooner had she spoken than the fish, as if it understood, turned and accelerated toward her. Qin Xiaomo’s first instinct was to run.

“He wants to eat you, not me! Why chase me? Even you creatures pick on the weak!” she yelled as she fled.

As she ran, she suddenly remembered the white bottle the peddler had sold her, which was supposed to subdue the land eel when opened. She fished it out, yanked the stopper, and turned the mouth toward the eel. To her surprise, it worked—the fierce creature stopped abruptly and backed away, its jaws snapping faster and faster.

But instead of fear, its posture seemed to suggest it was… preparing to strike!

Seeing this, Qin Xiaomo bolted toward Qian Mubai. “Qian Mubai, I’m scared!”

“Don’t you have the Xuanli Blade?” he said, unconcerned.

Right!

She called mentally for the Xuanli Blade, and a faint white light flashed in her right hand, outlining the blade’s shape. Glancing over her shoulder as she ran, she saw the land eel suddenly leap toward her. In a panic, she closed her eyes and swung with her right hand. A piercing shriek rang out, like fingernails scraping a chalkboard.

Qin Xiaomo quickly clapped her hands over her ears. When she looked again, a deep gash had opened on the land eel’s body, oozing green blood as it writhed on the ground.

She pressed the eel down with her hoe, raising the Xuanli Blade to finish it off. But before she could, the metallic clattering grew rapidly louder, and from the sand all around, pairs of blood-red eyes emerged, encircling her.