Ning Cheng stared blankly at the scene unfolding in front of him, wiped away the seawater on his face as if he was wiping away his own bitter tears— this is too much! Dang it, this is too much! Just now, I was chained up and dragged along in the seawater, but now the boat broke, he is worried about getting separated from Feng Zhi, so he just took it and put it on himself Ahhhhhhhh, he is too much!
The words “Too much, too much, too much!” churned within Ning Cheng like claps of thunder exploding in his chest. If it wasn’t the fact that he was without pen and paper right at the very moment, he would’ve rolled out a scroll, dipped a brush in ink and scrawled furiously, “The guard acted in duty and righteousness but the villain repaid kindness with enmity.” or maybe, “The shocking incident of Feng Zhi Wei and Gu Nan Yi shamelessly pushing somone into the sea.”
Unfortunately, he had nothing at all in his hands and couldn’t find a single person on this vast sea to hear his complaints, since neither of the two people in front of him would bother to listen to him complain. Thus, he could only swallow his bitterness and grip onto the boat plank as he silently went over all the ways he would roast, boil, steam, and fry these two once he returned to the capital.
To be fair, Gu Nan Yi didn’t treat him too badly. He had taken off a length of thin rope from his waist and bound Ning Cheng’s plank to his own. As long as they weren’t hit by a particularly large wave, they wouldn’t drift apart.
The seawater was very cold as they were already near the end of autumn. There was nothing around them other than an endless expanse of seawater. The ports near Xiliang coast didn’t open as early in the year as those in the South Sea, so they would have little chance of encountering merchant vessels. Feng Zhi Wei sat on the wooden plank, gazed out at the vast ocean, sighed, and said, “Now this is troublesome. I hope we don’t go ten days or half a month before we see a ship. I was timing it so I could return in time for Xiliang’s upheaval. Now that I can’t get back, what will Zhi Xiao do?”
Gu Nan Yi remained silent, seemingly a little worried too. After a long pause, he finally said, “She has people protecting her.”
“My guards are no match to you two…” Feng Zhi Wei didn’t dare to mention her shadow guards in front of Ning Cheng, so she could only mumble vaguely, “Shouldn’t have let you come with me.”
Ning Cheng rolled his eyes— you think I want to come? If it weren’t for my master threatening to send me off to some country estate, you think I would bother?
“It’s okay.” Seemingly not too worried, Gu Nan Yi refused to say more and took off his coat and draped it over Feng Zhi Wei’s shoulders, “The wind is strong, don’t catch a cold.”
Feng Zhi Wei smiled, tightened the coat around her, and thanked him. Ning Yi glared, eyes red, and muttered in his best sinister tone, “Men and women should keep their distance…ah!”
Master Gu guided a small jellyfish to drift near him.
They drifted a whole day without seeing any boats. Fortunately, they all were carrying some dry rations and fresh water, but it was inconvenient to start a fire, so they had to just swallow everything raw. Gu Nan Yi kept paddling toward Xilaing during the day, but the boat planks were no boats after all. Not to mention they were still dragging a Ning Cheng thus their speed could not be counted as fast.
At night, the moon rose, and the sky was as clear and pure as if it had been washed clean. The silver snow-like moonlight spread across the sea for what seemed like miles. As far as the eye can see, the water shimmered under the moon. A lone wooden plank drifted in the moonlight.
Feng Zhi Wei sighed under the huge golden moon and said with a sense of relief, “Fortunately, it’s not like in the storybooks where anyone who falls into the sea will inevitably encounter a storm. Judging by the sky, it should be sunny for the next few days.”
Besides her, Gu Nan Yi said nothing and put the oar to the side. Feng Zhi Wei looked at him with concern and said, “You won’t let me row, but then refuse to stop rowing yourself. You have been rowing the whole day, take a break.” But as she glanced over, she caught Gu Nan Yi hiding his hands in his sleeves. She turned her eyes away calmly, then suddenly pointed toward the sky and exclaimed, “What a beautiful sea bird!”
Gu Nan Yi raised his head to look. Feng Zhi Wei’s hand shot out and lifted his sleeve. Even though she had already taken care to make sure not to pull too hard, Gu Nan Yi still instinctively flinched, seemingly as if startled by pain. Feng Zhi Wei’s sharp eye already saw that his long, slender, pale fingers were densely covered with blood blisters. Some of the blisters had popped and some had not, so dark they were almost purple in color, a frightful sight.
She gripped Gu Nan Yi’s hand, her lips pressed tightly together, inwardly cursing herself for being too obtuse. Gu Nan Yi was not like those seasoned boatmen who had been rowing all year round. It was impossible for him to master all the techniques of rowing, so how could his hands not be torn and bruised after a day of rowing?
Seemingly a bit uncomfortable, Gu Nan Yi tried to pull his hands back, but Feng Zhi Wei wouldn’t let him. Taking off her hairpin, she lit the waterproof flint and heated the hairpin before she carefully picked the blood blisters for him one by one.
Her hair was loose, her long black hair was spread all over her body, with some of it falling on Gu Nan Yi’s shoulder. Gu Nan Yi leaned over to smell it, causing Feng Zhi Wei to chuckle lowly, “Don’t…” Ning Cheng, who was clinging to the boat plank, glared at them with a ‘you shameless couple, get out of my face’ expression. Feng Zhi Wei pointed at Ning Cheng’s eye with the hairpin, and Ning Cheng promptly ducked his body back into the seawater.
With the noisy troublemaker finally silenced, only Feng Zhi Wei’s soft breathing and the long, low singing of the sea wind remained. A faint fragrance spread out in the air, mingling with the mist rising from the sea. Even though the scents had mingled and were hard to distinguish, but Gu Nan Yi felt he could clearly separate them— everything that belonged to her, in his world, would always come first, always the clearest.
He lowered his eyes. Feng Zhi Wei, with her half-damp clothes, was kneeling in front of him. Her long lashes lowered slightly, her expression serene. Behind her, the moon seemed as large and round as a plate. Reminding one that this is right about the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mid-autumn, Gu Nan Yi vaguely remembered that it was a day of reunion. His lips curved slightly in satisfaction— hmm, reunion, very good.
Feng Zhi Wei popped the very last blood blister, then found a small piece of inner clothing that had not been soaked by seawater, and carefully wrapped it around Gu Nan Yi’s hand. Suddenly sensing that he seemed to be in a good mood, without looking up, Feng Zhi Wei asked with a smile, “What did you think of that made you so happy?”
A warmth suddenly landed on her shoulder. It was Master Gu’s arm gently wrapping his arm around her. His movement was light and gentle, almost cautious as he carefully put his arm around her. With a slight tightening of his fingers, Feng Zhi Wei found herself leaning on his shoulder.
Feeling a bit awkward, Feng Zhi Wei glanced back at Ning Cheng, who was now half lying on the plank, seemingly almost asleep. She thought of struggling, but then heard a sigh from Master Gu.
Gu Nan Yi rarely sighed. His sigh was not like other people’s. Instead of long and drawn-out sorrowful sound, it was light and faint, like the lonely sea wind wandering beneath the moon of reunion.
Feng Zhi Wei’s back stiffened. She suddenly remembered that day in Xiliang Palace and the conversation between the father and daughter. Her heart gripped with a stab of pain, she stayed put, leaning against Gu Nan Yi’s shoulder.
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