Jin Zijin disgustedly threw the sweat-drenched clothes onto the ground, climbed onto his horse, and said, "Let’s head back to Rucheng first!"
While he was already seething with anger on this side, over there, Gu Youyou and Jin Ziyuan were still hurrying along on their journey. After several more days, they finally arrived safely at the border of Dongzhou.
The journey was quite smooth, as they hadn’t encountered any dangers along the way.
Upon entering the city, Gu Youyou noticed a familiar figure.
Gu Youyou remembered him holding a post in Beijing. When had he come to the East Sea, and even become a guard in Fusang City?
Thinking how she had been fleeing for her life all the way here, Gu Youyou carefully led her horse by the reins, keeping her head lowered as she passed behind him.
Once inside the city, Jin Ziyuan asked, "You were so cautious just now, could it be that you ran into someone you know?"
Gu Youyou nodded and said, "Yes, the son of the Left Principal Minister. I have no idea why he’s working as a guard in Fusang City."
"Jie Huanzhi?" Jin Ziyuan raised his eyebrows and said, "Jie Huanzhi’s elder son has always been stationed in Dongzhou, serving under Che Xiangyuan as a high-ranking general."
"I meant his younger son, Jie Zhonglin," said Gu Youyou.
"Oh, Jie Zhonglin?" Jin Ziyuan understood and looked back, adding, "The one who divorced his wife?"
Had he become that well-known?
"Yes, Lord Jie has just those two sons," Gu Youyou said.
They said no more and found a modest inn to stay in.
At the inn, Gu Youyou started asking Jin Ziyuan about the matter of the meteorite.
"I’ve heard a legend in the East Sea about two mythical beasts, Zhuzhao and Youying. Have you ever heard of it?"
Jin Ziyuan looked solemn and said, "You’re also talking about the Zhuzhao Pearl and the Youying Pearl?"
"Yes, we still need the Zhuzhao Pearl to cure the poison in our bodies, don’t you want to find it as soon as possible?"
He replied, "I’ve been searching all along. I’ve even found some clues about the legend of these two beasts. It seems they fell on Fusang Island in Dongzhou, creating a huge crater where their inner cores emerged."
Overwhelmed with excitement, Gu Youyou had thought it would take more effort to locate the place. It was fortunate that Jin Ziyuan had also been searching and had already found some clues. She said, "Then let’s go to the island and see, perhaps there’s something to discover!"
Jin Ziyuan sighed in resignation and said, "It’s already been taken. The Zhuzhao Pearl isn’t there."
Gu Youyou was quite embarrassed; she obviously knew it wasn’t there.
"Let’s go and see, I mean there might be other discoveries."
"It’s been a thousand years; there’s nothing there but a big pit."
"We still have to go and see," Gu Youyou insisted.
Jin Ziyuan sighed helplessly and said, "Alright, alright, we can go and check. But if we’re going out to sea, we need to consider the weather and borrow a boat from the fishermen. It would be best if we could persuade them to take us with them. We need to plan this carefully!"
Gu Youyou nodded and said, "Okay, let’s go this afternoon."
There were many fishermen by the seaside, and nearly every household there went out to sea to fish.
Since Jin Ziyuan said fishermen don’t take women to sea because it’s considered bad luck, Gu Youyou had been dressed as a man all along.
To make her disguise more convincing, she even applied a thin layer of pale yellow ointment to make her skin appear darker and rougher.
Gu Youyou and Jin Ziyuan each with a basket on their backs, approached a fisherwoman who was drying nets and asked.
"Ma’am, may I ask if you have plans to go out to sea soon?"