the ship plunged down, dipping into the hollow of two waves that blocked out the sky.

  They hung there at the bottom for a precious moment, a moment that grew ponderous with potential as the wind slaked and the water compressed, gathering energy until the water rose once more, lifting them over the next wave.

  Water that was all around them, both above and below, in front and behind. It whipped about on the winds, obscuring the waves from his vision. He only knew what was coming when the prow of the ship began to ponderously tilt, rising until she was nearly vertical, rising until surface tension and habit were the only things that kept her from falling backwards and capsizing.

  Lightning crashed through the sky as they crested the next wave, seeing more and more of the gigantic pillars of water rising on every side, stretching up until they threatened to block the sky. It was a giddy feeling to be so high above the world, but also humbling, as Yu Chen sensed his fragility and insignificance in the chaotic milieu around him.

  The incessant lightning was the only thing that lit up the scene. Without it, it was impossible to tell what was happening in the darkness around them. Yu Chen felt grateful, despite the danger, as they were tossed around on the waves like a child’s plaything.

  The misty light in the distance grew in intensity, as the river pushed them towards it in its chaotic fury. The wind howled, sleeting rain pouring down in sheets around them, drenching the crew as they raced around the deck, securing things.

  Yan Ziqi appeared as they rode to the bottom, his head bowed beneath the rain that pelted around them even in a lull. He stomped up the quarterdeck to approach the helm.

  “Have you seen that fog in the distance?” The man yelled out, gripping the railing as the ship rose up to ride another wave in the storm.

  It was a fog, Yu Chen realized in surprise, squinting his eyes as he stared at the misty light. Or was it, he wondered. Normally, fog didn’t glow in the night.

  “Of course!” Sun Yuan yelled back; his voice euphoric as they sailed through the riverstorm.

  “Shouldn’t we avoid it?” Yan Ziqi hollered back, tightening his brows.

  “Can’t!” Sun Yuan replied cheerfully, “The river is flowing the wrong way, and the wind is blowing the wrong way.”

  “Besides,” He yelled, his tone conversational. “It’s moving towards us!”

  Yan Ziqi’s turned, his mouth dropping open as he looked towards the fog. It appeared closer this time, as they crested the next wave. It was hard to tell in the midst of the waves, but perhaps Sun Yuan was right, the fog did appear to be moving towards them.

  It had first appeared in the distance as a small light, gradually growing into a larger one. It wasn’t until Yan Ziqi had approached that Yu Chen even saw it as a fog at all.

  The volume of the thing was becoming apparent, the closer they sailed towards it, and Yu Chen realized that what he thought he saw was still a faint, hazy thing.

  The storm raged around them, unleashing nature’s fury, and it was all they could to subsist. It was obvious why the Golden Core cultivator had fled, it would be tempting fate, risking heaven’s wrath, to soar around in a storm such as this. Long, jagged bolts of lightning struck out from the sky to mar the waves all around them as they fought to stay level.

  They’d long since given up on anything beyond survival as the storm raged around them, and they couldn’t even summon the energy to feel fear, as the luminous fog rose before them, stretching endlessly in every direction.

  There was a brief moment, as all on board took a deep breath. Then, the fog came upon them, and all was quiet once more. It was as though the surrounding storm had suddenly vanished, the river beneath their hull growing quiet and undisturbed as though there had never been a problem.

  The glowing mists around them illuminated everything, or at least what little they could see, with a soft light. Yu Chen frowned as he looked around, before running over to the side of the ship and staring down at the yellow waters below as they moved about in hypnotic patterns.

  They danced entrancingly, same as they always did, but any signs of the storm that had been crashing down upon them just moments ago had vanished entirely.

  “Where are we?” Yu Chen asked, his voice hushed.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Dunno.” Sun Yuan replied honestly, looking around. “What happened to the storm?”

  “No idea.” Yu Chen said with a sigh.

  He looked around, relieved to see that everyone was still aboard, although they appeared worse for the wear, haggard and drenched to the bone. They paused for a moment, catching their breath after their harrowing escape.

  The ship continued sailing forward, drifting through the dense fog without guidance. The mists stretched endlessly, even blotting out the sky, leaving no way for Sun Yuan to tell where they were going.

  It was impossible to see more than a few feet beyond the ship, let alone the sky above, and Yu Chen began to fear they might accidentally run aground.

  They had no choice but to rely on Sun Yuan. Sweat beaded the young man’s brow, but his hands held the wheel in a firm grip as he navigated through the mists based on the slightest of changes taking place in the river below.

  Yu Chen left him to it, checking in with the others now that they had escaped from the battle.

  Yan Ziqi had finished his earlier repairs or left them for now. He was currently standing at the prow, looking in interest at the mist around them.

  “What do you make of it?” Yu Chen asked as he walked up beside him.

  “I don’t think it’s natural.” The artificer said, rubbing his chin.

  “Of course it isn’t.” A voice said, coming from behind them.

  Yu Chen turned, seeing Xue Lan standing there with a hand on her hip.

  “It’s a formation most likely.” She said, looking around them with a frown. “Although I can’t tell whether it’s intended to obscure something from sight, or to confound intruders."

  Yu Chen nodded. “A sect then?”

  It wouldn’t be the worst thing to accidentally stumble into a sect’s territory. Unless they turned out to be some demonic sect of course. The worst they’d receive from a righteous sect would be a stern warning and a point towards the borders.

  “Perhaps.” She said with a shrug.

  Yan Ziqi tilted his head. “Wasn’t it moving towards us?”

  “That’s what Sun Yuan said.” Yu Chen replied.

  “So it’s not an island then,” Yan Ziqi began speaking.

  “Unless islands move.” Xue Lan muttered.

  Yan Ziqi regarded her for a moment before continuing. “Unless islands move.”

  “But could you inscribe a ship with a formation this powerful?” He asked.

  Xue Lan muttered to herself as she calculated under her breath.

  “I doubt it.” She finally said. “Perhaps, if it's somehow keeping pace with us. But from what I saw before it seemed gigantic. Way too large for a ship.”

  They fell silent as they considered the strange fog around them.

  Yu Chen frowned, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath of the moist air. Somehow the mist felt familiar, his body reacting as though it recognized the qi-rich water.

  “There’s something up ahead!” Sun Yuan yelled out from the quarterdeck behind them.

  Yu Chen looked forward, but he couldn’t see anything through the mists ahead. Turning around, he shot the navigator a quizzical glance.

  “The current’s changing.” The boy said, responding to the unspoken question. “That means there’s something large ahead, massive even, if it’s large enough to split the flow of the river.”

  Yu Chen looked ahead; his interest piqued as a faint sound rose up around them. It crept up so slowly that he thought he’d imagined it, but it continued growing, building into a thunderous roar that shook the air around them.

  “What if it’s natural?” Yu Chen asked suddenly, as the once calm river began to churn beneath them. Something unseen was agitating the water, creating a current that pushed them away.

  “Natural? Yan Ziqi replied, shouting to be heard over the thunderous noise. “What about this is natural?”

  Yu Chen didn’t reply as the roaring noise became all consuming, brooking no competition. Even if he spoke, they could no longer hear one another, leaving them unable to communicate.

  He had his reasons. The familiar feeling only continued to increase the closer they came to the source of whatever had formed this strange fog. The current grew stronger, pushing against them more forcefully, but they persevered. Whatever secret lay at the heart of this fog lay in the direction of that strange current, smaller and more forceful than those found on the river.

  The inscriptions on the Lady’s prow were strong enough to press against any current of the yellow river, but the resistance continued building until it became too much for even her to handle.

  Yu Chen looked towards Sun Yuan and pointed at the sails. The other boy nodded, before sending a quick jolt of qi into the wheel. The inscribed sails flashed to life, summoning an invisible wind that pushed them forward once more.

  The thunderous sound in the air threatened to deafen them as the current pushed them away. The Lady would no longer be denied, however, sailing across a frothing river that churned about in a foamy mist that had thickened considerably.

  Blue waters had begun to appear, streaking the yellow waters that swirled beneath the ship. They neared the center of the mists, but even with the sails, their pace slowed to a crawl as water sprayed up all around them, showering the ship with rain.

  It wasn’t long before they saw the source of the mist, only a few dozen feet away.

  A solid wall of deep blue water filled their vision, radiating so strongly it threatened to overwhelm everyone aboard. It seemed to fall from the very heavens themselves, smashing into the yellow river with overwhelming power. A reaction occurred as the blue waters struck the yellow ones of the river, creating a dense mist that covered the world around them in a fog of spirituality so intense it bordered on divinity.

  It was a stupendous sight, and it filled every person aboard with awe.

  Energy crackled to life around them as they watched, the space where the blue and yellow waters mixed combining into a swirling vortex that emitted a startling suction force.

  “Turn around!” Yu Chen yelled, but his words were ripped away from him, drowned out by the noise of the waterfall beside them.

  Sun Yuan didn’t need to be told, however. He was more than passable as a navigator, having already begun to turn the ship, even as the vortex was spinning to life.

  He pushed the Lady hard, but even he could do nothing to stop that whirling vortex from greedily sucking them down.