0044: Drifting Across a Thousand Miles

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Azi’s words suddenly reminded Jiang Mingzhe of a short video he had seen in his previous life where centipedes were used to feed fish. The centipedes’ many legs moved swiftly in the water, but they couldn’t breathe and would inevitably drown if kept submerged too long. Inspired, Jiang Mingzhe tugged at the centipede’s antennae, trying to drive it into the Zhaqu River.

However, his right hand was slashed repeatedly by the centipede’s antennae, each movement sending sharp pain through his body. Twice, they barely skimmed the riverbank. Azi saw his plan and exclaimed joyfully, “Big Ginger, you want to drown it? Let me help!” Swiftly, she grabbed the young ginger root and a bamboo tube, stuffed them into the layers of her backpack, then leapt forward with lightness skill. As Jiang Mingzhe stepped onto the giant centipede, she jumped up and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

The force was considerable—Jiang Mingzhe shuddered in pain, loosening his grip slightly, and drops of fresh blood splattered onto Azi’s face. “Big Ginger!” she cried upon seeing his bloodied hands, slipped under his arm, and grasped the centipede’s antennae firmly. “Let go quickly.”

Jiang Mingzhe gradually relaxed his grip as Azi adjusted her strength. Soon, the two of them, hands joined in tacit understanding, pulled together. The flying centipede suddenly leapt, plunging into the rushing waters of the river.

Waves crashed around them. Jiang Mingzhe immediately held Azi’s shoulder, and she clung tightly to his waist. Each wore a glove, gripping one antenna each, inhaling deeply, prepared to abandon the centipede and escape the moment it sank.

Yet unexpectedly, the massive centipede’s flattened body and dozens of legs paddled powerfully, creating buoyancy that was astonishing. Carrying the two of them on its back, it floated steadily on the water’s surface, racing southward with the current.

In no time, the Centipede Mountain was far behind them.

Now they were caught in a dilemma—the giant centipede walked on water as if on solid ground. How could they simply let it go?

Jiang Mingzhe forced a wry smile. “We’re done for. Drifting with the current, no telling when we’ll reach shore. I’ll probably walk myself lame before we get back.”

Azi, however, took it lightly, grinning, “What’s there to fear? We were planning to play for ten days or half a month anyway. Heehee, what could be more fun than riding this centipede boat? Only worry is, if we eat up all our rations before we reach shore, that’d be terrible.”

With that, she tugged on an antenna. The centipede’s body swayed, startling a large fish that landed on its back.

Quick as a flash, Azi stepped down on it, laughing, “Thank heavens, thank the water spirits! They heard we’re afraid of hunger and sent us food! Big Ginger, help me hold it down!”

Though floating on water, the centipede was steadier than on land, not tossing wildly. The two of them crouched slowly; Jiang Mingzhe reached out to catch the fish, but Azi saw his hands covered in wounds and couldn’t bear it. She grabbed his hand, “Wait, let me bandage your hands first!”

From her backpack, she pulled out clean clothes. Biting through the fabric with her silver teeth, she tore off a long strip, then sprinkled some medicinal powder evenly over the wounds. Using her mouth and hands, she carefully wrapped his palms.

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Then the two worked together—Jiang Mingzhe held the fish’s head, Azi stepped on its tail, and with a short knife in her left hand, she sliced through the spine, scraped off the scales, and cut thin fillets. She fed them to Jiang Mingzhe, “We’re lucky—it’s a bass. This fish isn’t fishy at all, perfect for eating raw.”

The so-called bass was a slender fish speckled with black spots all over.

Jiang Mingzhe had briefly worried about parasites but then remembered he had absorbed centipede venom into his body. Even if parasites existed, his internal energy would surely kill them.

He opened his mouth to catch the slices, gently chewing. The flesh was firm and fresh. Though unseasoned, it was quite tasty.

Seeing him enjoy it, Azi smiled softly and fed him several more pieces before beginning to eat herself. They shared bites back and forth, quickly devouring more than half of the fish, which weighed four or five pounds.

Azi put away the knife, picked up the fish skeleton, and placed it near the centipede’s mouth. Though their grip on the antennae dulled its senses, it could still distinguish food nearby. Its mandibles opened and closed, crunching the remains clean.

Jiang Mingzhe exclaimed in surprise, “I’d rather it starve to death—why are you feeding it?”

Azi laughed cheerfully, “Why starve it? This centipede boat is so much fun—I want to see where it takes us.”

She added, “Besides, this flying centipede king is ten times rarer than the six-winged iron centipede. Once you absorb its venom, who could stand against you?”

Jiang Mingzhe glanced at the creature’s massive jaws and sighed, “With those two big teeth, if it bites down, my hand’s gone. How am I supposed to dissolve the venom?”

Azi frowned, thought for a moment, then her eyes sparkled with triumph. “Don’t worry now. I have a way to help you dissolve the venom later.”

They drifted for quite some time as the sky gradually darkened. Surrounded by mountains on both sides and waves around them, everything slowly vanished into the night.

Once the sky turned as black as ink, stars lit up one by one, seeming to hang just above their heads, close and bright.

The starlight reflected on the river’s surface, shimmering with the ripples, flickering like a dream—blurring the line between illusion and reality.

Azi occasionally looked up at the sky, then down at the water, whispering softly, “Big Ginger, have we floated up to the heavens? Will we drift all the way to the moon? If we get to the moon, that would be terrible.”

Her words were filled with childlike wonder. Jiang Mingzhe’s heart softened, and he gently said, “What’s wrong with going to the moon?”

In the darkness, Azi seemed to shake her head and murmured, “Master said there’s a fairy named Chang’e on the moon. You want to seek immortality, right? Once you stay there, you won’t want to leave. Then I’d be left all alone. What would become of me?”

Jiang Mingzhe smiled faintly, about to comfort her, when Azi continued, “If it were a mortal woman, I might poison her or scar her face—whatever it takes to make you lose interest. But Chang’e is a fairy. Big Ginger, I’m telling you, I can’t handle her. I might have to poison you instead.”

Her tone was gentle as she confessed her harsh thoughts. Jiang Mingzhe was startled but forced a smile, “Ah, then I’m doomed.”

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Then Azi spoke softly, “Don’t be afraid. If I poison you, I’ll poison myself too. Otherwise, in the underworld, those little ghosts would bully you—who would protect you or stand up for you?”

Jiang Mingzhe fell silent.

Perhaps Azi herself never realized the deep affection hidden beneath her seemingly ruthless words.

But Jiang Mingzhe understood perfectly.

He recalled Azi’s background—taken from the cradle by Ding Chunqiu to the Star Sect, likely never truly respected, cared for, or loved, and never had even the slightest sense of security.

Perhaps that was why, when she felt kindness and warmth, she grasped it desperately, throwing all her passion and hope into it.

But a girl who had never been loved could hardly know how to love others.

Even when Azi liked someone, she only knew how to express it in the ways she knew—poison and killing—to dispel the unspeakable unease in her heart.

Sigh...

Jiang Mingzhe sighed silently and stroked the girl’s hair. “Don’t overthink it. We’re the Azure-White Twin Demons, roaming Kunlun for thirty thousand miles. We don’t know where we’ll go next, but life is so good. I’d be crazy to stay on some broken moon. Wherever you go, I’ll go too. That’s how loyal the Azure-White Twin Demons are.”

“It’s the White-Azure Twin Demons!” Azi gleefully corrected him, then asked, “But what if Chang’e insists on keeping you there?”

Jiang Mingzhe laughed heartily. “Let me see if I can shake her off. Who does Chang’e think she is? She hogged the elixir that Hou Yi sought. She isn’t a good woman—only that oaf Zhu Bajie would like her.”

“What? She hogged the elixir? Who’s Hou Yi? And who’s Zhu Bajie?” Azi quickly forgot her earlier worries, eagerly asking.

Jiang Mingzhe thought the old star sect immortal wasn’t a good storyteller, leaving out so much. Looking up at the starry sky, he began, “Well, that’s a very, very long story...”

Beneath the vast river of stars, the unlucky flying centipede king drifted weakly southward, its long legs moving listlessly.

Jiang Mingzhe’s flowing tale and Azi’s frequent gasps gradually faded into the night’s quiet.