Chapter 47: Verdant Mountain Hues (End)

Chapter 47: Mountain Hues (End)

The passenger boat cast off right on schedule that afternoon.

The river wind blew across the water, swelling the sails taut, and the rigging hummed faintly in the breeze.

Jiang Huanyun leaned against the railing at the stern, watching the green hills on either bank slide slowly past.

The boat chugged along at an easy pace, water slapping against the hull. Every so often, a white egret burst from the reeds along the bank, skimmed low over the water, then vanished into the green shadows on the far shore.

He watched, spellbound, his robes and hair streaming behind him in the wind.

Li Yu sat on a bench outside the cabin, leaning against the cabin wall with his eyes closed. The river breeze stirred the loose strands of hair at his forehead, then let them drop.

Shen Qingge sat not far from him, settling her medicine pouch on her lap. She fished out a few dried mint leaves, passed one to Jiang Huanyun, and popped another into her own mouth.

Jiang Huanyun took it, chewed, and squinted. "So cool."

"Cool's right." Shen Qingge's eyes crinkled into a smile. "Riding a boat is the surest way to get queasy. I used to puke on every boat I got on, until I figured out mint leaves help. Now I always keep some in my medicine pouch."

"You used to get seasick?" Jiang Huanyun asked, intrigued.

"Not anymore." Shen Qingge paused, then added, her tone light, "Now I can't feel a thing."

Jiang Huanyun didn't push it. He knew that between Shen Qingge and Shen Qingshuang, there was too much that couldn't be summed up in a few words.

Like the waterweed at the bottom of the river—he could see it, but he wouldn't go yanking at it.

After about an hour of sailing, the sky did indeed start to darken. The mountain shadows on the far bank grew heavier, as if someone had gone over them again with a wash of ink.

A chill crept into the river wind, and the water, once bright, turned a deep green.

The boatman dug out a few straw rain capes from below and tossed them to the passengers, warning that rain was coming and telling everyone to get inside the cabin.

Just as Jiang Huanyun straightened up, the first drop of rain landed smack on the bridge of his nose.

Then the rain came down thick and fast, pattering on the awning like a million pebbles dumped from the sky.

Li Yu opened his eyes, got up, and steered Jiang Huanyun toward the cabin. The two stood shoulder to shoulder at the cabin door, watching the curtain of rain sweep in from across the river, blurring both banks into a wash of green.

The wind had blown the mountains green, and now the rain washed them green again. They rode through it all on a single passenger boat, like three fresh tea leaves drifting downstream.

But Shen Qingge didn't go inside. She stood alone at the bow, face tilted up, letting the rain pound her cheeks and her moon-white robes.

Her hair was soaked in no time, strands plastered to her face, water beading on her lashes. Jiang Huanyun started to go pull her back, but Li Yu grabbed his wrist.

Li Yu jutted his chin toward the bow, signaling him to stay put.

Shen Qingge stood in the rain for a long time. The boatman shouted a few times, but she didn't answer.

The rain came down harder, until all that was left between heaven and earth was the gray-white curtain of rain and the endless roar of the river.

Her silhouette in the rain looked like a sheet of paper soaked through—one good gust and she'd be swept into the river.

Then she suddenly threw her arms wide, as if trying to hug all the wind on the river.

"Qing Ge!" Jiang Huanyun couldn't help himself and shouted.

Shen Qingge turned around. Rainwater streamed down her face, and her mismatched eyes—one bright, one dim—blazed with startling intensity through the mist.

She smiled, then ran back to the cabin door, stood before them soaked to the bone, and grinned: "So cool."

Li Yu grabbed a dry cloth from inside the cabin. Instead of handing it to her, he tossed it to Jiang Huanyun.

Jiang Huanyun blinked, then got it. He shook the cloth open, draped it over Shen Qingge's head, and rubbed it around every which way.

Shen Qingge laughed, tucking her chin in, not dodging as he mussed her hair up into a bird's nest.

The rain kept falling, lighter now, pattering softly on the awning.

The wind off the river turned colder, and everyone was half-soaked. Seeing this, the boatman bent down and fished a small jar of wine out of his bamboo basket. The mouth was sealed with a yellowed oilcloth, and when he peeled it off, the smell hit you right in the face.

"Since you got caught in the rain, have some wine to warm up. Homemade 'burnt knife' liquor—if it ain't strong, it's free."

"Oh yeah? Then I've gotta give this a proper taste!" Shen Qingge took it, downed a mouthful, and her eyes lit up. "Now that's strong!"

The boatman passed a small jar to Li Yu and Jiang Huanyun too.

Li Yu hesitated, opened it, sniffed, hesitated again, then took a tiny sip.

The liquor was fierce. His face didn't change, and he set the jar down slowly.

Jiang Huanyun opened his and took a sip. The liquor burned all the way from his throat to his gut. He coughed hard, tears streaming from the sting: "Cough, cough, cough..."

Li Yu took the jar from his hand and handed him his own waterskin instead: "Drink some water. Don't drink that."

Jiang Huanyun grabbed the waterskin and gulped down a few mouthfuls before he could breathe again.

He wiped his face and gave a sheepish grin: "I've never had anything that strong. Back home, the strongest I ever had was some osmanthus wine, sweet as sugar water."

Jiang Huanyun leaned against the boat's planks, staring at the misty, rainy river, and said out of nowhere, "But I should still build up my tolerance. After all, when you roam the martial world, you drink the strongest liquor, walk the longest roads, meet the toughest people, and stay true to your heart. When I've seen every mountain hue turn green, I'll know this trip wasn't for nothing."

He spoke with real sincerity, his eyes reflecting the rain and green mountains, as if he'd already walked the whole road ahead in his head.

Li Yu smiled, offering no rebuttal.

Shen Qingge sat beside him, resting her wine jar on her knee. Her hair was still dripping, but her eyes crinkled in a bright smile.

She turned to look at them and said, "Then it's settled. No matter where we go from here, you're both my friends—Shen Qingge's friends."

Jiang Huanyun nodded hard: "Of course."

Shen Qingge turned to Li Yu, smiling: "Right, Little—Fish?"

Li Yu went quiet for a moment.

The wind blew in from the bow, lifting the damp strands of hair off his forehead, revealing those pale amber eyes.

He stared at the mist-shrouded mountain shadows, as if weighing the word "friend."

Shen Qingge didn't rush him. She just tilted her head and waited, her mismatched eyes flickering in the gray rain like two little lanterns veiled in fog.

After a long while—so long that Jiang Huanyun figured he wasn't going to answer at all—Li Yu gave a small nod: "Mm."

Shen Qingge burst out laughing, leaning against the planks, her shoulders shaking.

Jiang Huanyun laughed too. Only Li Yu kept the same face, but he picked up the jar of burnt knife liquor that Jiang Huanyun had barely touched and tucked it into the bamboo basket beside the medicine pouch.

The rain pattered softly on the awning. The mountains were green all around, folding the laughter of their journey into the scene.