Chapter Three: The Curse of Mountains and Seas, Escaping with One’s Life

This half of the Mountain Spirit coin had lain dormant in Wang Cheng’s mind for sixteen years, fusing completely with his being. As soon as the mist of the Cangming Sea revived, Wang Cheng instantly understood its abilities. Through the coin’s hole, he could wield a unique power: “Treasure’s Market—Universal Exchange.”

With this, he could peer through the coin to observe the world’s spiritual movements, discerning the secrets and values of other people or artifacts, knowing what counted as true treasures and what was mere refuse. The closer the distance and the more intimate the relationship, the more accurate the assessment. At the same time, he could perceive the owner’s deepest desire for trade, allowing him to complete exchanges through buying and selling. The objects of trade were not restricted to tangible wealth; even intangible things like fate and destiny could be exchanged. In short, as long as one had money, anything was possible!

“To sum it up: this power unearths the obsessions of the heart and completes the transaction. Water is wealth, and the Four Seas Currency serves as the medium of exchange—how fitting. The bone weight listed must come from the Golden Bone Divination method, which calculates one’s fortune based on the pillars of destiny. The lowest is two liang one qian, the highest seven liang two qian. I now possess only two liang eight qian—good luck without fate—destined for a life of hardship. If nothing changes, today I will not escape disaster.”

But having grasped the abilities of his treasure, Wang Cheng’s first thought was of escaping and, perhaps, saving his father, the Sea Pacifying King. Two crucial problems remained. First, the divine ritual binding his father to the sea’s maw was unbreakable, forcing him to play by the officials’ rules. Second, Wang Cheng himself was shackled by the Thousand-Pound Anchor of Mount Tai, a burden dragging everyone down and ensuring they could only lose, all to be sacrificed at the sea’s maw together.

If Wang Cheng could break free, those who wished to save him, including his father, would still be trapped by the ritual, but they’d have the strength to resist, not face utter doom. This was their last sliver of hope!

“Conveniently, the suppression against me relies on my birthdate and destiny. If I can alter my fate—even by a single qian—I can overturn my predicament. Now, I need a ‘seller’ to trade me... their fate!”

Wang Cheng suddenly looked up at the boatful of sinister ghosts and demons. In that moment, he seemed more like a wicked spirit himself, tempting others to ruin.

The obsessions of these evil spirits were the foundation of their existence—far simpler and purer than any human’s. Gazing through the coin’s hole, a flurry of trade offers flashed through Wang Cheng’s mind:

“I’m starving—I want the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys of a virgin boy.” This was a hungry ghost, desperate to devour Wang Cheng—he couldn’t afford this price.

“I want to be better than everyone, to be the richest in the world!” A poverty-stricken ghost, but Wang Cheng and his family were now worse off than it, so he couldn’t afford it either.

“I want unrivaled beauty—give me your face!” A hideous hag of a ghost, but Wang Cheng considered his face not something to part with and refused.

These spirits’ appetites were insatiable; after perusing over a dozen, he’d found no one he could afford to trade with. As time slipped by, white mist began to swirl around the two royal ships, making it seem as if they were gliding not on the sea, but along a ghostly road to the underworld.

“Wei—Wu—!” With a thunderous boom, the sound of a cudgel’s might rang out. A speck of golden light appeared in the sky ahead, swelling into a vast, shadowy, ethereal government hall. Its doors stood wide open, revealing two rows of towering figures in crimson robes embroidered with beasts, seated in judgment. Their faces were indistinct, only their indifferent golden eyes visible, casting a cold gaze that made Wang Cheng’s breath catch.

A chief official on the dais barked, “Wang Zeng, you scoundrel! You and your band of water merchants and mountain thieves dared defy the sea ban, crowned yourself King, called yourself the Sea Pacifying King, and rallied the East Sea! You dare petition the court for pardon and an open sea? The Empire of Great Zhao is vast and bountiful, self-sufficient—what need have we for foreign trade? The court’s mercy in not forcing evacuation from the coast is grace enough. You lowly water gatherers dare ask for more; your crime is unforgivable! Since you claim to ‘share profits with the people and defend the borders for the nation,’ I’ll grant your wish—let you die as you lived. Guards! Invoke the Mountain and Sea Prohibition, open it!”

No chance for Wang Zeng to defend himself—a token was cast down, and the ethereal government vanished like a mirage. Though they spoke harshly, the officials knew full well that the Sea God cult’s “King” was now sending the royal ship, patrolling on heaven’s behalf. Children along the coast dared not step outside all night for fear their souls would be carried away by the King. The officials valued their lives too much—even monitoring from ten miles away, they fled as soon as the verdict was delivered.

Wang Cheng lifted his head, witnessing a scene ordinary mortals could never see. From the horizon of the Cangming Sea ahead, a thread of golden light leapt skyward—a sprawling golden Great Wall, winding from north to south across the East Sea of the Great Zhao, like a mountain, a forest, a dragon, a serpent. Its ramparts were piled with incense bricks, yellow banners, shrines, altar-cities, and temples, stacked into mountains. Spirits, deities, officials, boys, guardians, monks, kings, lords, and dragon kings sat in their shrines, each suppressing the Mountain and Sea Prohibition, exuding divine might. Some formed seals, others brandished whips, scepters, or ceremonial boards.

Beneath this illusory wall, another reflection shimmered—a bloody, foul world under the sea, also suppressed by spirits. Wang Cheng glimpsed the once-notorious pirate chiefs: General Xu Hai, the Twin Islands King Xu Dong and his brothers, the Tiger Serpent Jin Zhi Lao, Sea Yaksha Li Guangtou, and more—proof that many of these spirits and kings were once “rebels” crushed by the court, now all used to fill the sea’s maw. Even those powerful enough to suppress an entire province’s evil, if not sacrificed, were forced to devote most of their strength to this wall—both jailers and prisoners, as if bricks in the wall itself.

A westerly wind swept by, and the two royal ships, laden with the province’s sinister spirits, lurched towards the maw at the base of the prohibition wall. Wang Cheng grew desperate. Fortunately, after a few more moments, he finally found a suitable “seller.”

“I want to stand out, to be admired by all.” Spotting a young scholar in azure robes, Wang Cheng’s eyes lit up. This was the one.

He signaled to Wang Duo, “Third Uncle, bring him in.”

The veteran at his side immediately obeyed, turning the hilt of his blade and shoving the recently deceased, still human-looking scholar toward him.

The evil spirit lunged. The three fires of fortune, prosperity, and longevity atop Wang Cheng’s head flickered wildly; one eye remained normal, the other turned an oily, ghostly green. Yet his face showed no fear—only relief. He shouted again, “Third Uncle, go help my father. I can escape on my own—trust me!”

Wang Duo hesitated but, seeing Wang Cheng spoke the truth, gathered the surviving Five Peaks Guards and surged into the crown prince’s banner, using its connection with the great royal banner to return to the Sea Pacifying King.

With his wings restored, the King was no longer alone—the royal ship steadied, ceasing its descent. The deck beneath Wang Cheng, however, was sinking rapidly, on the verge of capsizing. Without hesitation, he wielded the Four Seas Coin and shouted at the possessing spirit, “I’ll grant you the admiration of the masses in exchange for your appearance and fate. The bargain is struck—you cannot renege!”

The scholar felt as though he stood before the God of Wealth in life, making a solemn vow—the same awe and authority. He nodded eagerly.

A golden light flashed from the Mountain Spirit Coin. Wang Cheng was instantly draped in the scholar’s azure robe, his features transformed, possessing two entirely different destinies. Another man’s rough life story flickered through his mind, and his “bone weight” quietly changed. There was no time to review it; shrinking his body, he slipped out of the python robe, leaving the heavy anchor undisturbed—it detected nothing amiss. In his place remained the robe-clad, overjoyed scholar spirit.

Since the spirit’s obsession was the admiration of the multitudes, Wang Cheng left him this stage—the “patrol on heaven’s behalf.” Among countless ghosts, he would have all the attention he could ever want.

Wang Cheng had literally conjured something from nothing, giving up nothing in return. Swiftly, he snatched the paper effigy from beneath the paperweight, cloaked himself in the spirit’s fate, concealed his living aura, and slipped through the throng of spirits, leaping into the sea.

Feeling the royal ship’s pull on the spirits, he switched back to his living fate as he sped away, then turned to fix his eyes on his father’s ship.

At that moment, both ships, filled with spirits, surged toward the sea’s maw.

Bang! A signal cannon fired.

Command banners, clearing flags, the White Ze Banner, staves, drums, great halberds—the full ceremonial retinue of the “King” opened the way. A jade palanquin, borne by twenty-eight men, and a host of guardian ghost soldiers soared into the sky.

Wang Cheng clenched his fist in excitement. “They did it!”

Freed from being a hostage, the others managed to break the cage at the last moment.

Atop the jade palanquin sat a figure, half-dragon, half-human, clad in silver-scaled armor and a white robe embroidered with dragons, gripping two silver dragon-scepters—his whole being an incarnation of earthly divinity.

This was the greatest water-gatherer of the age, the newly anointed “King,” the Sea Pacifying King Wang Zeng!

The surviving Five Peaks Guards, clad in armor and brimming with fierce energy, their eyes once more shining with human light, followed behind. Clearly, the “Send the King’s Ship” ritual was not without benefit. If survived, it meant fulfilling one’s duty unto death, merging with the Dao—becoming a true spirit, a deity of the land!

The King’s grand retinue descended onto the wall of prohibition, vanishing into a ship-shaped temple that rose from nowhere.

In that moment, Wang Cheng saw his own status change through the coin’s eye—fixed eternally as the first direct descendant of the Sea God cult’s “King,” favored by the water office, protected by the Cangming, never to drown!

His body grew light, an invisible force buoyed him; he floated upon the sea as effortlessly as driftwood, no effort required. Before he could marvel at this newfound power, the prohibition wall on the horizon faded, its mission complete.

He heard, for the last time, a familiar, guilt-laden voice: “Cheng’er, if any of the old Five Peaks Banner men come to find you, trust no one—hide yourself, survive at all costs.”

A wave crashed over him, hurling him into the sea.

When Wang Cheng surfaced, the sea was empty, the night passed, and dawn’s pale light crept across the horizon. He stared impassively at the deep blue expanse, then turned and swam toward the shore.

Now, separated from his father by life and death, he could not communicate until his cultivation succeeded—further worry was pointless. Inwardly, he vowed, “The ritual is over; the authorities may return at any time. My sudden disappearance as the crown prince won’t go unnoticed—I am not yet safe. I must reach land, find a secure place to practice, and earn my rank in the shortest time. Only with power can I survive and avenge my father!”

He also understood his father’s hidden warning. “Most likely, there are traitors among the old guard; returning would be walking into a trap. Even if not betrayed, among the Five Peaks Banner are adopted sons, nephews, twenty-four generals, thirty-six champions—all master helmsmen, and three thousand elite guards not to be underestimated. If I am used as a pawn, paraded about, one day I may find myself transformed from ‘never drowning’ to ‘easily dissolved in water,’ dying a silent death.”

As for the authorities, if he showed his face, they would hunt him to the ends of the earth. Within and without the Mountain and Sea Prohibition, there was no place left for the “Crown Prince of the Sea Pacifying King.”

Once, Wang Zeng dreamed that Wang Cheng would pass the civil service exams, earn an official post, and join the ranks of the empire’s promising officers. But now, Wang Cheng had neither the chance nor the intention to try.

“The authorities say we who toil from the lowest rungs, fighting for survival, are bandits. But to us, those landlords, nobles, officials, and gentry who bleed the common folk dry are the true predators—arrogant, and blind to the coming catastrophe. Three years ago, a fleet of Franks already seized Haojing to the south; others advanced on Luzon. Their firearms and warships have long surpassed the Great Zhao, yet our so-called leaders cling to the dream of heavenly supremacy, refusing to lift the sea ban.

“Now, with my father gone, chaos on the East Sea is inevitable.”

“I don’t know why the city officials insist on destroying my family, ruining the southeastern coast. Nor do I know what lies hidden in the depths of the Cangming Sea, feared by generations of emperors. But I do know—when controlling the water, blocking alone is futile. No matter what, to prevent the destruction of our nation, to honor my father’s sacrifice, the sea ban must be lifted!

“I may never reach the capital, may never even enter the provincial city, but—”

Lifting his head high from the water, gazing north towards the city, he pronounced each word with resolve:

“I want to try—can I break through?”