The blue fireflies were less insects than fragments of captured starlight. They darted ahead of the punt, their cold, azure glow cutting through the absolute blackness of the Ghost Current channel. The sighing reeds of the main marsh had fallen away, replaced by utter silence and water so dark it seemed to absorb the fireflies' light rather than reflect it. Ancient, gnarled roots, pale as bone and slick with slime, arched overhead like the ribs of a drowned leviathan. The air hung thick, cold, and utterly still, smelling of deep decay and stagnant time.
Mei Lin poled with silent, powerful strokes, her movements precise in the near-darkness. Every splash echoed unnervingly loud in the suffocating quiet. Grandma Xiu lay wrapped in cloaks, her breathing shallow but regular, sheltered by the fragment's subtle, warm resonance radiating from Nian's hip. Nian herself crouched in the bow, her senses stretched thin, the Starfall fragment a watchful presence against her skin. It projected a low thrum of vigilance, intertwined with a profound sense of the *age* pressing down on them. This channel was ancient, a forgotten artery of the marsh, steeped in the slow dissolution of millennia.
*"Deeper. Older,"* the shard seemed to convey, showing Nian fleeting images: layers of silt compressing over centuries, pale blind fish evolving in the dark, the slow creep of luminous fungi on submerged roots. It felt the channel's slumbering Qi, a vast, slow pulse beneath the stagnant water.
Suddenly, the fragment pulsed a sharp warning. Not the cold blade of the Shadow-Silk, nor the grinding Rockbreaker presence, nor the metallic Imperial sting. This was different. A *presence*, vast and alien, stirring in the profound depths below them. It felt like the slow opening of an immense, lidless eye in the abyss. A ripple, not of water, but of *awareness*, brushed against the punt's hull. The water itself seemed to thicken, becoming viscous.
Mei Lin froze mid-pole, her knuckles white. "Spirits below…" she breathed, her voice barely audible. "Something… wakes."
The fireflies flickered erratically. The oppressive silence deepened, charged with a terrifying sentience. Nian felt the fragment's consciousness snap into focus, radiating not fear, but intense *curiosity* mixed with protective resolve. It projected an image: not an attack, but a greeting. A complex pattern of light, woven from its own emerald-and-silver essence, designed to resonate with ancient, non-hostile intelligences. *Harmony,* it seemed to say. *We pass in peace.*
Nian understood. She placed her hand over the pouch, opening her Whisper fully, becoming a conduit. She poured the shard's projected pattern of light and peaceful intent into the dark water, amplifying it with her own focused will. *"We mean no harm. We are passing through. We honor the deep sleep."*
The emerald-and-silver light, visible only as a soft glow emanating from Nian's hand and the pouch, pulsed downwards, penetrating the ink-black water. It spread in gentle waves, illuminating the pale roots, the drifting silt, and… something vast below. For a fleeting second, Nian glimpsed a smooth, curved surface, dark as the void but shot through with veins of faint, bioluminescent blue – like constellations on a scale beyond comprehension. Then it was gone, sinking back into the abyssal dark.
The crushing pressure of awareness lifted instantly. The water returned to its normal viscosity. The fireflies steadied, resuming their steady glide forward. A profound sense of… *acknowledgement* washed over Nian, a feeling as deep and ancient as the bedrock. The presence receded, returning to its timeless slumber, satisfied.
Mei Lin let out a shuddering breath, slowly resuming her poling. "What… by the Earth Mother… was that?"
"A guardian," Grandma murmured weakly from her nest of cloaks. "Older than the marsh. The Ghost Current has its sentinels. The star… spoke its language." She looked at Nian with awe. "The bond… it deepens beyond mere power."
The fragment pulsed warmly against Nian, radiating quiet satisfaction and a new layer of profound connection. It had communicated. It had protected. Not with force, but with understanding. The journey through the Ghost Current became a silent communion. The shard shared its perceptions: the intricate network of mycelium glowing faintly on the roots, the delicate balance of microorganisms in the silt, the slow, rhythmic heartbeat of the marsh far above. Nian felt its growing awareness of the world, its fascination with life in all its forms, tempered by the deep, ancient wisdom it had touched in the abyss.
Hours bled into a timeless passage. Just as the oppressive darkness and silence threatened to become a new kind of prison, the fireflies winked out. Ahead, a greyish light filtered through a curtain of hanging roots and thick moss. The air changed, gaining a faint freshness, carrying the distant murmur of… voices? The cry of gulls?
Mei Lin poled the last stretch, pushing through the root curtain into blinding daylight and a cacophony of sound. They emerged into a wide, bustling river bend, startlingly vibrant after the Ghost Current's tomb. The main river – the Azure Serpent's mighty artery – flowed broad and powerful here, its surface churned by the passage of numerous craft. Broad-beamed cargo junks laden with rice sacks and pottery, sleek passenger ferries with colorful awnings, humble fishing skiffs, and even a few ornate Imperial patrol boats were all navigating the busy waterway. On the left bank sprawled a sprawling river port town – **Liangshui Wharf**. Wooden docks thrust into the river, teeming with laborers, merchants, and officials. Sturdy warehouses lined the shore, backed by a maze of streets climbing the low hills behind, packed with timber and plaster buildings. The air buzzed with shouts, the clang of cargo, the bleating of goats, and the ever-present smell of fish, spices, and damp wood.
The transition was jarring. From primordial silence to the roaring pulse of human commerce. Nian blinked, shielding her eyes. The Starfall fragment pulsed rapidly against her hip, not with alarm, but with intense curiosity. Its resonance surged, drinking in the chaotic symphony of life – the thrum of hundreds of heartbeats, the clatter of carts, the rush of the river, the cries of birds. It felt… excited. Overwhelmed, but fascinated. Nian quickly focused, pulling its energy inward, weaving its signature back into the dense, vibrant Qi of the port. *Blend. Observe. Be a reed.*
Mei Lin steered their battered punt towards the outskirts of the docks, away from the main Imperial patrol boats. "Liangshui," she muttered, scanning the chaotic scene. "Busy. Good for hiding. Bad for attention. Keep your head down. Grandma, can you walk?"
"With support," Grandma affirmed, pushing herself up, her eyes sharp despite her fatigue, taking in the bustling port. "We need passage downriver. Away from here quickly."
They tied up at a rickety pier used by fishermen mending nets. The fragment pulsed another warning, softer this time. Not an immediate threat, but a dissonant note in the town's hum. Nian followed its subtle pull, her gaze drawn to a large wooden board near a bustling tea house on the dock. Crowds gathered around it. Pinned to the board were Imperial bulletins – stark characters on thick paper, bearing the Eye-and-Flames seal.
Nian edged closer, keeping her face shadowed by her straw hat. Mei Lin stayed with Grandma near the boat. The top bulletin showed a crude but recognizable sketch: a young woman with intense eyes (Nian), an older woman (Grandma Xiu), and a figure in practical leathers (Mei Lin). The description beneath was chillingly accurate: *"Wanted for Grand Theft of Imperial Property (Celestial Artifact) and Treason. Extremely Dangerous. May possess unnatural arts. Reward: 100 Gold Taels per fugitive. Information leading to capture: 50 Gold Taels."* Another bulletin offered a similar reward from the Rockbreaker Clan, promising "Jade and Earth's Favor" for the shard's recovery.
Panic fluttered in Nian's chest. One hundred gold taels was a fortune beyond most peasants' wildest dreams. Enough to turn neighbors into informants, beggars into hunters. The fragment pulsed reassurance, its warmth steadying her. It projected an image: their humble clothes, the punt, the teeming crowds. *We are small. We are many.*
They needed to disappear. Fast. Nian turned back towards the boat, catching Mei Lin's eye and giving a slight, urgent shake of her head. Mei Lin's face hardened. She began helping Grandma to her feet.
"Oi! You three!" A rough voice cut through the dock noise. A burly dockmaster in stained linen, flanked by two bored-looking port guards with cudgels, was striding towards them. He pointed at their punt. "Dock fee's two coppers. Pay up or shove off. This ain't a charity pier."
Mei Lin stepped forward, pulling a few grubby coppers from her pouch. "Apologies, master. Just resting the elder." She held out the coins.
The dockmaster snatched them, but his eyes lingered on Grandma Xiu's pale, distinctive face, then flicked to Nian, trying to look small beneath her hat. Suspicion dawned in his small, piggish eyes. He glanced towards the bulletin board, then back at them. "Elder looks poorly. Where you hail from? Ain't seen you on these docks before."
Mei Lin opened her mouth, ready with a lie about fisherfolk from upriver, but before she could speak, the Starfall fragment acted. Not through Nian, but *directly*.
A subtle wave of pure, harmonious Qi radiated from the pouch. It wasn't an attack, nor a compulsion. It was a projection of profound *calm*, of *unremarkableness*. It washed over the dockmaster and the guards. The dockmaster's suspicious squint softened into momentary confusion. He blinked, shook his head slightly as if clearing cobwebs, and looked at the coins in his hand. "Right. Well… don't linger all day. Dock's busy." He grunted, turning away, already shouting at a group of laborers unloading a nearby junk. The guards followed, looking bored again.
Nian stared, stunned. The shard hadn't just masked itself; it had subtly influenced perception, making them seem utterly unworthy of further attention. It pulsed softly, projecting an impression of satisfaction: *Like water flowing around a stone.*
"Move," Mei Lin hissed, urgency replacing her momentary shock. "That won't last if he looks at the bulletins again."
They melted into the bustling throng on the docks, Grandma leaning heavily between them, the Starfall fragment a warm, watchful secret against Nian's side. The Ghost Current had delivered them past one snare, but Liangshui Wharf was a new kind of labyrinth, paved with greed and Imperial ink. The mended star's light was hidden, but its journey through the roaring heart of the empire had just begun, every step a whisper in the shadow of the loom. The river's current beckoned, promising only the next bend, the next peril, and the relentless echo of the hunt.