The whole situation is clearly understood after one look at Ning Cheng, with cabbage on his head, seaweed around his waist, and boots covered with lard.
No wonder this guy was so full of resentment that he didn’t let out a peep even when he saw that she had mistaken the cook for him and had almost attacked Gu Nan Yi.
Ning Cheng was still clutching his stomach, laughing gleefully. The more he thought about how Feng Zhi Wei had almost accidentally killed Gu Nan Yi, the more delighted he felt. He was laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath, “Hey…oh…haha…if you had reacted…just a bit slower…my master’s…love rival would be gone…haha…”
He abruptly stopped laughing, because he saw Feng Zhi Wei’s expression was no longer one of stunned surprise but had changed into a calm smiling one. Her expression was now one admiring a monkey performing tricks.
Ning Cheng instantly realized something.
He had offended the world’s most cunning person!
In a flash, he remembered his master’s repeated warning before his departure: “You can offend anyone and everyone, but must not offend Feng Zhi Wei. If you do offend her, you must apologize. And the apology needs to be quick and sincere. If you not only offend her but gloat in it— then don’t blame me for being too far away to save you.”
He then also recalled his master’s nagging reminder of concern, “…when Feng Zhi Wei smiles at you during the moment she should absolutely not be, you must be very careful.”
Ning Cheng belatedly recalled his master’s two warnings. In a flash, he jumped a full three meters back.
Thankfully, Feng Zhi Wei only smiled briefly before turning away and pointing at the small boat and said, “Push it down and let’s go quickly.”
Ning Cheng kept stealing glances at her, wondering inwardly, is it a problem if she only smiled briefly?
There were already faint sounds of movement from above. The three of them wasted no more time untying the ropes and pushed the small boat into the sea.
The boat was already stocked with food and fresh water. The little boat drifted gently out from under the shadow of the larger ship. After making sure there were no problems with the boat, Gu Nan Yi reached out to help Feng Zhi Wei get in.
As Feng Zhi Wei stepped onto the boat, she suddenly paused. She turned back and glanced at the ship’s hull where the small boat had been stored. Something vague seemed to be calling her attention. Just as she was about to turn around to take a closer look, at that precise moment, heavy footsteps thudded above, filling the ship hull with dull echoes. Someone shouted in alarm, “Your Highness!”
The ship was instantly flooded with light. As lights shone down from afar, Gu Nan Yi picked up the oar without hesitation and pushed the boat carrying the three of them out by 30 feet. Those on the ship noticed them right away, and arrows flew down like a swarm of locusts in the next instant.
Unfortunately, both Gu Nan Yi and Ning Cheng are among the top martial masters in the world. With both men exerting their full strength, the small boat shot out like an arrow, slicing through the sea surface like a blade, leaving a line of white through the waves. Clanking sound came continuously as the arrows struck, but they all missed their mark, falling on the boat’s tail.
In a blank of an eye, the small boat was beyond the archer’s range. They rowed a little further still, and soon even the voices on the ship could no longer be heard.
Feng Zhi Wei stood at the boat’s bow, and stared at the big ship through narrowed eyes. Suddenly, a figure dashed to the ship’s bow. The figure was clad in an apricot colored brocade robe, and a white cap flapping fiercely in the wind against the ship’s darkened bow. It was none other than Jin Siyu.
His hand held onto the bow of the boat, as if he was calling out. His voice, amplified by his internal force was scattered by the wind. By the time it reached Feng Zhi Wei’s ears, she could only discern a faint, “…boat…”
Feng Zhi Wei stared at him, sensing the anxiousness and urgency in his expression. She couldn’t help but laugh and said, “This guy. Is he upset that I took his boat? Didn’t I leave him another one as a backup?”
Feng Zhi Wei waved her hand casually, and made an apologetic gesture to Jin Siyu without much sincerity in it.
Jin Siyu gave up shouting and instead, let out a helpless sigh.
With a hand holding onto the ship’s bow, he gazed across the distance at Feng Zhi Wei, who stood at the stern of the small ship with her hands clasped behind her back. Her sleeves fluttered, as if she might ride off into the wind. Her posture was poised and serene, unshakable like a mountain.
Beneath her feet, the small boat rose and fell among the waves, appearing and disappearing from view before finally disappearing beyond the sea’s edge. Behind her, the morning light is about to rise. A faint colorful ray of lights descended from the sky as if a heavenly maiden had cast a celestial ribbon down. It swept across the vast sea and fell gently over her shoulders. Bathed in golden light, she sailed against the tides, her boat skimming the waves, her robes dancing in the wind.
And he alone, stood at the bow of the ship. His white cloak lifted high by the fierce sea wind, like a large white flag fluttering in the blue sky. His warm and dark eyes looked down upon the vast ocean, reflecting the red sun in the sky, filled with her figure that was getting smaller and smaller like an arrow shooting away.
Gazing across the sea, getting further and further away.
The little boat will disappear. Across river and seas, in the reminder of their lives, it is unlikely they will ever meet again.
A bitter forlorn smile slowly appeared at the corner of Jin Siyu’s lips. Last year, she leapt from the city wall. Now, she rides off on the sea waves. Between her and him, their encounters are always so short, and the partings are always so decisive.
This complex and mysterious woman, always dealt him a heavy blow each and every time, making him struggle within his convoluted emotions time and time again. He wants to kill her but also wants to control her life. It was within this labyrinth of hesitation that he failed again and again…because he could not be as ruthless or decisive as her.
Now, just when his hatred for her had reached its peak, she had given him a big gift. A big gift that left him confused and puzzled.
Did she really point out the crucial hidden old path out of guilt?
In her position, she could have sat back and watched Dayue’s battle for the throne tear itself apart. She could have even use the opportunity to add to the chaos until Dayue is wakened so she could reap the benefits. This way, it would benefit Tiansheng’s interest and a fitting action for a court official like her to do. But instead, she had pointed out a clear path for him, and pushed him, the strongest of the princes, down a path of blood and battle, the quickest and most decisive way to the throne.
She was, indeed, a riddle, shrouded in a thick mist. Even if an occasional glimpse was revealed, it was difficult to know if that glimpse was real or not. Perhaps that slightest glimpse was just something she had deliberately chosen to expose.
Jin Siyu gazed into the distance. The small boat has become just a speck, carried off by the waves, seemingly sailing straight into the sunlight.
In a daze, he felt, maybe that’s truly where she should be heading.
From this day forward, he will no longer try to guess her. Nor is she for him to guess.
From now on, we will gaze at each other from either end of the earth, not forgetting.
Jin Siyu slowly turned around, leaning his back against the ship’s railing, leaving that small boat, far across the sea.
He suddenly said, “Bring wine.”
The deep red cup was soon filled with the clear wine and lifted before his eyes. In the clear liquid, he saw his own eyes, saw the woman who smiled lightly, broke the glass, and walked away with indifference. The woman who did lightning-stormy deeds with a gentle manner.
She swayed in the clear liquid, like a mirage, shattered at the first touch.
He smiled slightly, raised his glass, and toasted. Just like that night when he was sleeping beside her, he had toasted to the empty air, he toasted again.
“To myself.”
“To you, from this day on, eternal loneliness.”
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