Yenisei: Let me go! Where are you taking me?!
Yenisei: You ...
???: If I let go, you will fall, and death will be your end.
???: Hold your life dear. You are a lot more vulnerable than you can imagine.
Yenisei: Quit threatening me. It's a river down there.
???: Yes. But you don't know how shallow it is. Even a lantern can't float on it!
???: It's dying, unlike the other branches you saw outside the city.
Yenisei: So what? Does that explain why you captured me?
Yenisei: Fine. The river is dying; I'm held by a bird man in mid-air; I'll fall and die if I struggle. There's nothing I can do.
???: ...
???: Yes. It's a rare wisdom for a girl of your age to know her limits.
Yenisei: ...
???: But I am not a bird man. I'm a Yāo.
???: My name is Gětiān.
Yenisei gives up on her midair struggle, pondering over his name and identity.
Yenisei: You can use arcane skills. You're an arcanist.
Getian: If you say so, then it is so.
Getian: We have gone for miles. I will leave you here. Beyond the ford, you will see the steppe.
Gětiān slows down, just as he said he would, and after a moment, he gently places Yenisei on the ground.
Given her situation, she had not anticipated such gentle treatment.
Yenisei: I don't understand. What on earth is your purpose?
Yenisei: Why did you turn humans into horses? I believe you can commit much worse crimes if you want to.
Yenisei: Are you doing it for fun?
Gětiān stops to the side of a curved tree growing like a bridge over the vines of a shallow stream, face heavy with a look of contemplation.
Getian: The more you ask, the more mistakes you make.
Yenisei: There's no such thing as a wrong question.
Getian: I will answer one of the questions, regarding ... why I turned people into horses.
Getian: The answer is, I didn't do it. Neither did I have that intention.
Yenisei: Hah, interesting. Who did it then?
Getian: The lady owner of the tavern.
Yenisei: Jiǔ Niángzǐ?
Getian: Precisely.
Yenisei shakes her head, not believing his words.
Yenisei: If that's the case, why did you leave Madam Bessmert there alone? Do you really think I would buy your nonsense after I saw you take my teammates away?
Getian: You saw the "horse" in the yard, with the red tail and the red mane. Did you not?
Yenisei: Yes, I saw ...
Getian: It's not a "horse." It's a Lùshǔ, or at least, it looks like one.
Yenisei: Lùshǔ ... I have never heard of it before. It sounds like an arcane creature native to the East.
Gětiān doesn't respond. He only continues to contribute yet more astonishing information.
Getian: It is a Lùshǔ, and also Jiǔ Niángzǐ herself.
Yenisei: What? That thing is Jiǔ Niángzǐ?!
Getian: What you saw tonight was not real Lùshǔ. Those "horses" merely resembled half of them.
Getian: I speak of the fact that Jiǔ Niángzǐ might be a Lùshǔ, a kind of Yāo, or, as you would put it, an arcane creature.
Yenisei: sighs Your words sound even more complicated than those in the city.
Yenisei: Is it because you are also an arcane creature like the Lùshǔ? Or, you have a thing only the pure-blooded can understand?
Getian: We are nothing alike. Lùshǔs are Xiángruìs, born with red manes and white faces, covered with tiger's markings.
Getian: In the books, Lùshǔs are capable of casting an arcane skill named The Shape of Will. It could be the same skill that Jiǔ Niángzǐ uses to turn others into Lùshǔs.
Getian: Do you understand?
Yenisei: Yes ... I'll try.
Getian: The Shape of Will is a dangerous and secret skill, as written in the books. The Lùshǔs use it to transform blood into fire and stone into gold.
Yenisei: So ... it's like alchemy?
Getian: I'm unfamiliar with what you said, but ...
Getian: Jiǔ Niángzǐ's power seems to be restricted. She cannot fully transform into a Lùshǔ like a Yāo could, nor does she possess great power. She's closer to a Half Yāo.
Getian: Unlike other Lùshǔs, she requires a certain medium to cast her skill, The Shape of Will. This is also why people did not recognize her. She's harder to identify.
Yenisei: Jiǔ Niángzǐ ... "Half Yāo" ... Is that another name for the mixed-blood?
Yenisei: Anyway, even if you're telling the truth, how did you know that?
Getian: It is within my bloodline. Like you find your direction through the water, I read people through their bones.
Yenisei: ...! How did you know my ...
Yenisei: Wait, you mean you can read people through their bones? That makes no sense. What can one's physical condition tell you?
Getian: Many. Many stories, many sounds. Even if I was never there with them.
Getian: Such as you. The markings on your bones resemble an open net, yet it captures nothing. You are away from the waterless land where you once lived, and to this day you're still wandering.
Yenisei: What ...
The girl's eyes widen with astonished disbelief.
Getian: You will travel far many times in life and turn homeward, like the migratory birds.
Getian: Until you find your lake.
Yenisei: What on earth are you talking about ...
Getian: Have I mistaken anything? I should hope not.
Getian: Forgive me. I have long since stopped reading others' bones and put them into words.
Getian: Perhaps I did not tell it in the most precise way, but it should be generally accurate.
Yenisei: Alright, stop.
Getian: Hmm?
Yenisei: I need ...
Yenisei: I need some time to digest your words ...
A bizarre spectral sound cuts off Yenisei's reply.
Getian: Careful!
Strange creatures that resemble balls dragging long tails suddenly leap out from the trees behind the two of them.
They shriek and charge towards Yenisei, who is most evidently their target.
Zhuye the Monster: Squeak!
Zhuye the Monster: Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Yenisei: Ugh!
Yenisei: These things again ... They already attacked me once in the street!
Zhuye the Monster: Squeak!!
Yenisei: sighs These stupid birds!
Following closely behind is a mysterious creature markedly different from the other feathered balls.
Yenisei: This one is shining bright! Get out of my way, out!
It is indeed exceptionally bright and long, illuminating the shallow stream in front of them on both sides.
COMBAT
Gětiān stares in the direction the scattered Zhúyè ran off, his mind burdened with thought.
Getian: Have you drunk the liquor ... offered by Jiǔ Niángzǐ?
Yenisei: No, but I had the water from her. Why?
Getian: These Zhúyè might be attracted here by the scent of liquor. They feed on the flowers of Zhúyè, which can be used to make liquor and smell of lees.
Getian: They could be here because they smelt the liquor. But you only had the water. What else could attract them?
Yenisei thinks back to the preceding events.
Yenisei: If they were attracted by the scent of liquor, I think it was the wooden dolls' fault. They soaked themselves in the liquor before they attacked me. I might have gotten their scent during the battle.
Getian: The scent of liquor stains is not strong enough to attract them here. It would have taken a proper consumption of liquor for them to notice.
Getian: I worry that liquor is the medium for her transformation skill, but that is only my speculation. If the water you drank also exerts the same effect on you ...
As though his words hold the power of execution, the change happens the very moment he speaks.
Yenisei: Emm ...
Getian: What? You ...
Yenisei kneels down and her body transforms, just as her companions transformed on the steppes before her.
Getian: How so ...!
Although Gětiān had already anticipated this moment, he cannot help but be startled by this strange process and flaps his wings involuntarily.
His instincts tell him to flee.
Night falls. The rain has stopped, and the riverbank is moist and soft.
Fǎcáo leads his team in search of the red-haired horse's trail, finally arriving at the edge of the river.
The exact spot where Gětiān and Yenisei stayed the night before.
Guard: ...
Facao: Find anything?
Guard: Someone was here. Seems like a horse, with a female, tall and thin.
Facao: Not a horse, but a foal. Look carefully. The footsteps are smaller and shallower than a horse's.
Facao: Where are the ends of the tracks?
Guard: The river beach ahead. The tracks stopped three meters away. We couldn't tell where they went.
Facao: That can't be.
Fǎcáo strides over to inspect the traces near where the trail of footprints ends.
Guard: It rained a couple of times. The rain could have washed away the footprints.
Facao: If that's the case, there shouldn't be other tracks here.
Facao: Like this. A bird's claw marks at the edge of the rotten wood.
Facao: It was a bird of prey. And judging from the size and the sharpness, it's quite strong.
Guard: It's true ...
Guard: Hey, I found another two sets of footprints!
Guard: They are shallow and narrow, possibly from the same person, a young woman.
Facao: The wood lies on the ground near the river. It's not a good spot for birds of prey to roost on.
Facao: What stopped here was something even bigger.
Facao: A young woman met a huge bird of prey here, yet there is no bloodstain at all.
Facao: Perhaps the truth behind the foreign merchant's disappearance is different from the feather man's statement.
Facao: We need to go back to the Zhící.
On the steppes, a Lùshǔ stands in place of a girl. The fright of this transformation sends Gětiān up into the air.
Lushu: neighs
Getian: Too late.
Getian: So it seems her tea can also transform people. I must report this to the authorities.
Getian: Stay here.
Yenisei: No, no. You must not leave!
Getian: You ... can speak through the water?
Yenisei: You know what my arcane skill can do! But I can't maintain it for long. I spent too much energy fighting the Zhúyès ...
Getian: I must take leave.
Yenisei: Where are you going? You need to save Madam Bessmert!
Yenisei: Please, please, I'm begging you! Please save her. She can't see, and she's still alone in the tavern. She must be in great danger now ...
Getian: I have thought about it, given that my wand was also left in that tavern. But should I return, Jiǔ Niángzǐ might be alerted.
Getian: I sense kindness in that girl. She hasn't done anything evil except for turning people into Lùshǔs. Your friend should be safe with her for the moment.
Getian: The more urgent matter is to spread the word before she further repeats her mistake.
Getian: I must go find someone to handle this properly.
Yenisei: Please take me with you.
Yenisei: They believe you are the one behind the missing persons cases now. You'll be turning yourself in if you go alone.
Gětiān is startled, having never thought such an outcome might occur.
Getian: I see. The world outside the mountains is indeed not meant for me to step into.
Yenisei: But you are already involved. Besides, we gave Lǐzhèng a drawing of you when I was not clear of the truth ...
Getian: No matter. I will reason with him.
Yenisei: Even so, you will need me there. Look at my arcane skill. It will be the best proof, right?
Yenisei: So they will know that Jiǔ Niángzǐ is the real culprit who turned the people into horses, I mean, "Lùshǔs."
Getian: Is that really needed?
Yenisei: You need to know that you are a suspect! Even though I know you are innocent, you need something absolutely persuasive to prove it.
Yenisei: All in all, you must take me with you. My arcane skill will vindicate you.