“Didn’t I?” Ning Yi said with a laugh, “I pushed him into the river.” 

Feng Zhi Wei shot him a sidelong glance, smiled, and turned her head to look at the rain outside. She was a little afraid to turn around, afraid that Ning Yi could read more things from her eyes. 

Only today did she realize with shock how well Ning Yi understood her. Perhaps far better than she had ever imagined. The whole little performance on the small boat today was completely tailored to her temperament and her habit of handling things. First came the carefree boatman singing merrily to draw her attention. Then the seemingly innocent boatman was knocked into the water by her ship’s wake, making it impossible for her to remain a detached observer. The masterstroke was, of course, the mother and child leaning on one another while calling out from the shore. Her conscience was stirred until she could no longer ignore it and decided to go see for herself. During this whole time, the small skiff maintained the appearance of being completely harmless, convincing even someone as suspicious as her to get off the big ship. 

It all seemed so simple, almost like a joke. Yet it could only have been accomplished by someone who understood her cautious nature to the very core.

This raised an even more crucial question. He seemed to know that she had been avoiding him? He knew that if he had come to see her off formally, she would never have allowed herself to be alone with him. Otherwise, why would he have gone to such elaborate lengths just for a meeting on the small skiff? 

Feng Zhi Wei had been confident that since that night, she had not shown the slightest hint of anything being off. But then again…who could ever completely understand Ning Yi. 

She gazed into the curtain of rain, lost in thought only for an instant. She then stretched out a hand to catch a few drops of rain before drawing it back and said with a smile, “The rain is getting a bit heavy.” 

She turned around only to see that Ning Yi had, as if by magic, produced a small table. Upon it were several delicate porcelain dishes, each covered with an intricately designed silver lid. Through the fine gaps of the silver lid, a faint, enticing aroma came drifting out. 

“What’s this?” Feng Zhi Wei lifted a brow, “Where did it come from?”

Leaning casually against the cabin wall, Ning Yi only smiled without answering, gesturing for her to help herself. 

Feng Zhi Wei smiled and lifted the lid, then immediately let out an “Oh—-” The final note rose in surprise, her voice carrying an unmistakable hint of astonishment. 

On the snow-white porcelain plate sat a piece of translucent green bamboo shoot jelly that was as clear as jade. Around the jelly was an arrangement of pickled ginger shoots in a delicate shade of lavender. The colors were so harmonious and beautiful that it could be a painting. 

“Winter bamboo shoots from Nanyang.” Ning Yi said as he set out two pairs of silver chopsticks and pointed at the dish. He added with a trace of regret, “It’s a pity that it isn’t spring. Otherwise, we would be having Yanlai bamboo shoots– the first shoots to emerge after Jianhuai’s first spring rain. They are crisp, tender, and even finer in flavor.” 

“Nanyang winter bamboo shoots are already among the finest of their kind. In the winter, they sell for a tael of silver per tael of shoots,” Feng Zhi Wei exclaimed in admiration, “You shouldn’t set the bar so high.” 

“Bamboo shoots are remarkable things.” Ning Yi said lightly, “Wrapped in countless layers, hidden beneath shell after shell. Unless one’s willing to painstakingly peel each layer one by one, who would ever discover the endless flavor within?”

Feng Zhi Wei felt a jolt in her heart. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a hidden meaning to his words. Looking up, she smiled and said, “Humans are greedy to satisfy one’s craving for food. People are forever finding ways to make more and more delicacies. Just look at those bamboo shoots that are as thick as a person’s arm, but after all the peeling, what’s left to eat is barely the size of a fingertip. When you think about it, it’s rather pitiful.” 

Ning Yi laughed, and with a move of his chopsticks, placed a piece of bamboo into her bowl. “Just eat. If you are even pitying the bamboo shoots, then what about chicken, duck, and fish? Are you going to eat them? You might as well starve.” 

Seeing the dish that was so beautiful that it could be counted as art was promptly ruined by a sweep of his chopsticks, Feng Zhi Wei exclaimed with regret. Ning Yi shot her a glance, then simply lifted the rest of the silver covers. Feng Zhi Wei’s attention was immediately captured. On a pale pink, fish-shaped platter lay several steamed silver fish, their flesh tender and delicate. The fish was topped with pale yellow ginger shreds and emerald green scallions, while a clear broth shimmered like a mirror beneath. Ning Yi explained, “This dish is called Separated by a Stretch of Water, They Gaze at Each Other Without a Word.” 

In a sky-blue glazed glass plate sat a roast pork knuckle, its skin baked to a rich golden crisp. It had been arranged into a perfect circle atop a bed of lotus leaves, emitting a mouthwatering fragrance. Around it were fluffy white clusters of whipped egg white, circling it like clouds. Ning Yi pointed to it, “Its name is ‘Better Not to Scatter Easily Like the Clouds, but Rather to Be Full Like the Moon.” 

In a purple clay soup bowl, countless thumb-sized dumplings in a milky broth were each perfectly round and white as jade. Silvers of emerald seaweed and tiny pink shrimp floated among them. The bright colors of all the ingredients swam gracefully together in the clear soup. Ning Yi picked up a delicate lotus leaf-shaped porcelain bowl and ladled some soup for Feng Zhi Wei and said, “This dish is called Rolling Up the Curtain, Gazing at the Moon, then Letting Out a Long Sigh, the Beauty Like a Flower, Lies Beyond the Cloud.” 

“Are we eating food? It looks like we are eating poetry.” Listening to those dish names, Feng Zhi Wei lowered her lashes, but instead of asking more questions, she changed the subject, “Which master chef made all this? Their skills are exquisite.” 

Ning Yi simply smiled without answering. Feng Zhi Wei looked from one dish to the other before saying in astonishment, “Don’t tell me you made this?” 

“How could I have this kind of skill?” Seemingly momentarily lost in thought, Ning Yi then took out an exquisitely crafted wine flask, “Guyue Mountain wine. A celebrated vintage from Jianghuai. Give it a try.” 

Feng Zhi Wei didn’t refuse but said with a laugh, “If you get drunk today, I won’t be carrying you back to the big ship. You will just have to drift with the stream on this little skiff.” 

“That’s good too.” Holding his wine cup to his lips, the gaze in Ning Yi’s eyes was shimmering like the wine itself as he looked at her, “If one could truly drift wherever the current takes him, free of every attachment, that might not be such a bad thing.” 

Feng Zhi Wei rolled up the cabin curtain, and the wind immediately swept the fine drizzle inside. Winter rain fell softly on the water. The skiff drifted in a hazy world of grey. In the distance, the unbroken mountain ranges cast faint indigo silhouettes against the pale sky. In the slanting wind and misting rain, the black-canopied boat drifted leisurely onward. At the bow, a green bamboo hat and straw rain cover billowed gently in the breeze, like a painting that had been frozen in time. 

Seeming before they realized it, they had drunk a great deal of wine. Ning Yi had long since become intoxicated, propping his hand on one hand while continuing to drain one cup after another. Feng Zhi Wei made no attempt to stop him. In fact, she drank more than he did. Along with the rich, fragrant sweetness of the wine, she seemed to be swallowing the night river breeze, the lingering rain, and the countless thoughts that could never be spoken aloud– thoughts each believed only they themselves knew. In the cabin, behind each of them, there was a small pile of those delicate little wine flasks. By the end, it no longer looked like they were sharing drinks aboard a rain-drifted skiff, but it looked more like they were dueling out in a drinking contest. 

All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com  

Spoilers ahead!!!

Spoiler ahead!!! 

Ps. A reader asked me a few posts ago if THE scene is coming up soon. I said it wasn’t for a good while. I lied. My memory totally led me astray.

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