The Black River was wide and slow and the colour of ink, and the pilgrims were tired, and when a small boat came sculling out from the reeds with a courteous boatman offering to carry the holy party across, it looked like the first easy thing the road had offered in a long while.
did not like it — his eyes prickled at the boatman the way they always prickle at what is not what it says it is — but the river was wide and the master was weary and the boat was right there, and against his own instinct he let and board first while he and Sha Wujing waited for the return trip.
🔒
Chapters 13–78 are for readers
Chapters 1–12 are free. Unlock the rest of the journey—every chapter now, and every new one as it is written—for a single payment.