Chapter 46: Verdant Mountain Hues 3

Chapter 46: Mountain Colors 3

Li Yu stood by the railing on the second floor, the morning breeze carrying the damp river air blowing over from the far bank, tossing the ends of his still-damp hair.

He had woken up long ago—while Jiang Huanyun was still wrapped in his blanket, dead to the world, he had already gone downstairs and walked every path around the inn.

In the early morning at Xinjiang Ferry, the fisherwomen were cleaning fish by the riverside, scales flying and glinting like silver coins strewn across the ground.

He stood in the wind watching for a while, then returned upstairs.

Jiang Huanyun was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hair a messy tangle from sleep, his eyes not yet fully open.

He looked up and saw Li Yu, his voice thick with sleep: "Carp, when did you get up... why didn't you wake me?"

"You were out like a light—waking you would've been pointless." Li Yu set a bundle of steaming rice cakes on the table.

Jiang Huanyun rubbed his face, about to retort, but the moment he caught the aroma of the rice cakes, his body beat his brain to it.

He shuffled over to the table, slippers dragging, tore open the paper wrapper, and took a bite. The steam from the sticky rice drifted off in the morning breeze, the red bean filling so hot it made him hiss through his teeth, but he still managed to mumble around it: "Delicious."

Li Yu had already taken a seat by the window, looking down.

Shen Qingge stepped out of the alley, carrying a bundle of medicine, her moon-white robes fluttering slightly in the wind.

She wasn't walking fast, as if she was mulling something over as she walked.

Li Yu looked away and took a sip of the tea on the table. It was last night's leftover, already cold.

When Shen Qingge entered, she looked just like she always did—she even let out a laugh at the sight of Jiang Huanyun with his cheeks stuffed full of rice cake.

She set down the medicine bundle, poured herself a cup of water, and knocked back half of it in one go before saying, "I bought the medicine, plus two rolls of new bandages. Xiao Yun, Xiao Yu, you two need to get your bandages changed today."

Jiang Huanyun, his mouth full of rice cake, mumbled: "I'll do it in a sec—Carp first."

"I've got it." Li Yu picked up the medicine bundle and headed to the next room.

Jiang Huanyun shoved the last bite of rice cake into his mouth and brushed the crumbs off his hands.

By the time Li Yu came out after changing his dressing, Jiang Huanyun had already shrugged half his outer robe off, plopped down on the edge of the bed, revealing his right shoulder still wrapped in bandages—totally forgetting Shen Qingge was still in the room.

Li Yu stopped mid-step, then walked over and silently planted himself in front of him.

He was a good half head taller than Jiang Huanyun, and with this block, he blocked Shen Qingge's view completely.

Shen Qingge was pouring herself some water, glanced up, shrugged, unbothered.

To her, there wasn't much difference between the living and the dead, let alone some guy taking his shirt off.

Still, she carried her cup over to the window, not looking at Jiang Huanyun's direction, watching the boats drift by on the river.

"Jiang Huanyun." Li Yu spoke without turning around, his voice even.

"Hm?" Jiang Huanyun had already unwound half the bandage, craning his neck to look around him. "What's wrong? You're in my light."

"Hmph." Li Yu didn't move.

Shen Qingge snorted with laughter, not bothering to turn around.

Jiang Huanyun blinked, then let out a delayed "Oh," and lowered his head to continue unwrapping the bandage, muttering: "I forgot Qingge and the others were still here—thought it was only you."

As he spoke, he slipped the outer robe off his shoulder. Morning light slipped through the gap in the half-closed window, landing right across one side of his neck and shoulder.

His skin, always hidden under white robes, was so pale it was almost see-through, like fine mutton-fat jade soaking in a thin wash of warm light. His shoulder was lean but not frail, and as the bandage loosened, it showed a fresh, pale-pink scar below his collarbone, like a single peach blossom petal dropped onto snow.

Li Yu froze, turning his head to look at him, his gaze landing right on that bare shoulder and the side of his neck.

Jiang Huanyun's neck was long and slender; as he tipped his chin up to unwrap the other side of the bandage, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, a few stray strands of hair stuck to his ears, and the cinnabar mark between his brows blazed a startling red in the morning light.

Li Yu felt like he'd been burned, and whipped back around.

With his back to the room, he muttered under his breath: "Jiang Huanyun, hurry up."

"Why are you rushing me?" Jiang Huanyun blinked, confused.

Shen Qingge leaned against the windowsill, waiting until the rustling behind her stopped before turning around and saying, "By the way, let's go check the boat schedule at the ferry later. From Xinjiang Ferry, heading west with the current, the water route only takes us as far as Zhangshu Town. After changing boats, we'll need to travel overland for a stretch before reaching Luxi Town.

We'll rest there, then continue south by land, and we'll enter the Xiangxi region. From there, heading toward Chenxi, we'll arrive at Rhino Horn Village."

"That's still quite a distance from Luxi Town to Chenxi, isn't it?" Jiang Huanyun said as he tied his sash. "I heard even the official roads don't reach your area—you have to cross a suspension bridge to get in, right?"

"Yeah, there's only one suspension bridge," Shen Qingge said. "On the other side of that bridge is Rhino Horn Village."

Jiang Huanyun perked up with interest, leaning forward: "So are there lots of gu worms? I heard everyone in Xiangxi knows how to cast gu—is that true? Do the people in your village also soak venomous snakes in liquor?"

Shen Qingge curved her eyes, smiling like a fox that had just woken up: "What, little Yunyun, are you scared?"

"I'm not scared." Jiang Huanyun straightened his back. "I'm immune to all poisons!"

Li Yu furrowed his brow slightly, about to say something, but when he looked up and saw Jiang Huanyun smiling, he shut his mouth and said nothing.

When Shen Qingge heard that phrase "immune to all poisons," her smile paused at the corner of her mouth for a moment, and something faint flickered deep in her eyes, so quick that no one saw it.

She quickly returned to her usual playful demeanor: "Well then, when we get to Xiangxi, I'll treat you to the strongest snake liquor in our village, and we'll see if you end up face-planting into the Yuan River beneath the suspension bridge."

Shen Qingge picked up the medicine bundle, saying she'd wait for them downstairs and ask the ferry if there were any spots on a boat.

After she left, Li Yu closed the window and turned to look at Jiang Huanyun.

"Jiang Huanyun, haven't I told you many times not to casually reveal your constitution in front of others?"

"But I think since we're friends, there's no need to hide it," Jiang Huanyun said.

"You treat them as friends, but they may not treat you the same," Li Yu said flatly.

"So what?" Jiang Huanyun smiled, tossing his bundle strap into Li Yu's arms. "I treat them with sincerity—if they deceive me, that's their business, not my fault. I can't turn myself into a hedgehog just because I'm afraid of being tricked, right? That would be no fun at all!"

Li Yu looked at him for a moment and said nothing more. People like this either lived very well or died very young.

Jiang Huanyun suddenly reached out and patted his shoulder, then casually ruffled his hair: "Mm, Carp's a good boy—I know what I'm doing!"

Li Yu: "..."

He stood there, his expression not yet able to retract, like someone had popped a candy into his mouth.

Jiang Huanyun had already walked past him toward the door with a grin, saying as he went: "Let's go, Carp—they're probably waiting."

Li Yu watched his light, carefree back, slowly turning his face away, but the corner of his mouth betrayed a smile he couldn't suppress.

Whatever—as long as he was around, no one would bully Jiang Huanyun.

The three of them left the inn and headed toward the riverside dock.

The morning at Xinjiang Ferry was even a bit livelier than the night. Fishing boats and merchant vessels packed the river, crowded and jostling, while the boatmen's chants and the vendors' cries from the shore mingled in the river breeze, carried sometimes near, sometimes far.

Jiang Huanyun walked at the front, taking in everything with fresh curiosity. One moment he crouched by a stall watching someone gut fish, the next he tilted his head back to count the flags on the masts.

Li Yu followed a step behind him, like a thread neither tight nor loose, always tethered to him.

Shen Qingge slowly brought up the rear, clutching her medicine bundle to her chest. Her moon-white robes puffed and swelled in the wind, like a cloud drifting in from the river.

The ferry was easy to find. A passenger boat heading downstream was set to depart in the afternoon, so the three returned to the inn.

Li Yu went to pay the bill with the innkeeper, while Jiang Huanyun went upstairs to pack his things.

Shen Qingge stood at the inn's entrance with a bamboo hat on, gazing at the sky. She murmured, almost to herself, "It's going to rain."

Jiang Huanyun came down just then, his bundle on his back. Hearing this, he too glanced up at the sky.

The sun was still bright—it didn't look like rain.

But he didn't question it. He simply placed a bamboo hat on Li Yu's head, then reached for another for himself, saying, "If you say it'll rain, then it'll rain. Can't hurt to bring one."

Shen Qingge ran her fingers along the brim of her bamboo hat and gave a soft smile.

The three set off toward the ferry. The afternoon sunlight still lay bright across the water, yet the mountain shadows on the opposite shore had already begun to lengthen.