I bit my lip so hard that my knuckles turned white from the force.
Impatience is my old friend; it always knows how to choose the most opportune moment to visit. Especially now, amidst the vast expanse of water, I am already like a floating duckweed, adrift and uncertain. This further agitation makes me feel my blood surging and my depression unbearable. Just then, a voice called out, "Sister Qiansu!"
"Young Miss!" I was jolted, as if I'd been doused with a bucket of cold water on a sweltering summer day. A chill ran through me from head to toe, and all my agitation, anxiety, and wild thoughts vanished. Looking up, I saw a sheepskin raft drifting by. One person was rowing with a worried expression, while another sat comfortably.
Needless to say, the person rowing was Xiao Zuo, and the person sitting was Gong Feicui.
While I was still in the water, I asked with concern, "Is Miss hurt?"
"No, no!" she said with a grin as she pulled me onto the raft, pointing at Xiao Zuo. "As soon as the explosion happened, he... jumped onto the raft with me."
I noticed that her face was slightly flushed, and a thought flashed through my mind that she must have been carried into the raft by Xiao Zuo.
She turned to Xiao Zuo and said with a faint smile, "Then, I really have to thank Young Master Xiao for taking care of my young lady."
"Pah! Why are you thanking him?" Before Xiao Zuo could speak, Gong Feicui interrupted loudly, glancing at Xiao Zuo out of the corner of her eye and muttering, "He also said that as long as we don't make a sound, the water ghosts won't make any moves without instructions, but in the end, the ship still sank."
"So quick to abandon us after we've served our purpose..." Xiao Zuo muttered to himself, then smiled bitterly, "You think the explosion was the work of a water ghost?"
Gong Feicui glared and said, "Isn't that right?"
“No,” Baili Chenfeng interjected. “Only an internal explosion could destroy such a large ship in an instant.”
I frowned and looked around, saying, "But the water ghosts are all lurking underwater. Besides Du San Niang, her father, and a few helmsmen, there's no one else on the ship. So who detonated the ship? And where did everyone else go? Why are there only the two of you?"
Gong Feicui pouted and said, "What old man? He's clearly her lover. After the explosion, everyone fell into the water, and the Iron Cavalry are currently entangled with those water ghosts..." Perhaps because I looked at her with some surprise, her face turned red, and she whispered, "I can't swim, and Xiao Zuo was carrying a treasure, so he left first."
Seeing the guilty look on her face, Xiao Zuo changed the subject, saying, "Chenfeng, did you notice the oasis on the water that the boat just passed?"
Baili Chenfeng nodded and said, "That's exactly where we want to go."
"Alright, we'll signal the cavalry to come when we get there. Let's not delay, let's row over there quickly."
Baili Chenfeng turned his gaze and saw me: "Miss Feng was hit by a hard object and got a little injured. Where is your medicine?"
Xiao Zuo looked at me with a meaningful gaze: "Steward Feng... Miss Feng seems to be in a very bad mood."
I was taken aback. Why was he calling me "girl" too? A strange feeling welled up inside me, a bittersweet mix of emotions.
Rolling up the left sleeve, one could see small red spots seeping out from the original bruise. It was naturally fragile, and even the slightest touch could cause injury, let alone such a heavy impact.
Xiao Zuo sighed softly, shook his head, and said half seriously and half jokingly, "Chen Feng, this is not right of you. You actually let Miss Feng suffer such a serious injury."
Of course, unlike you, who protected the young lady so well, not a scratch or bruise on her body, not even a drop of water splashed on her. I smiled and said, "I tripped by accident in the hold, it has nothing to do with anyone else."
"By the way, did you find anything in the hold? I really can't figure out how the ship exploded!" Gong Feicui asked.
I glanced at Xiao Zuo, then at Baili Chenfeng, and decided to reveal my initial discovery: "Well... actually, we found something in the bilge, but I didn't really notice it until after the explosion..."
"What is that?"
I said slowly, "Zhu Ru."
Gong Feicui asked, puzzled, "Bamboo shavings? Isn't that a kind of medicinal herb?"
“It’s an herb, but—” I saw Xiao Zuo’s eyes narrow, and he said in a deep voice, “It’s also gunpowder.”
Indeed, bamboo shavings, an essential ingredient in poisonous smoke bombs. The presence of bamboo shavings in the hold suggests the gunpowder was already buried, but my injury prevented me from finding it.
Upon realizing this, I couldn't help but feel ashamed and looked at Baili Chenfeng rather awkwardly. He looked at me and said in a low voice, "This was obviously all carefully planned. Whether we can see it or not, we are doomed."
“Good. Now let’s think about what to do next.” Xiao Zuo said, standing up. “We’ve arrived at the oasis.”
I turned my head and saw a patch of green coming towards me; the sheep raft had already reached the shore.
Book 1, Chapter 4: A Sudden Storm (4)
The fourth section is really clever.
There are numerous water oases in the Yellow River, varying in size. The larger ones can cover a radius of hundreds of miles, resembling a large island on the mudflats, while the smaller ones are only a few feet in size, like a grain of sand in the vast ocean.
The oasis we landed in was of moderate size; although not very large, it was large enough to accommodate more than a hundred people.
Feng Qiansu seemed to be seriously injured. Even with Baili Chenfeng's help, she almost fell when getting off the raft. Even so, as soon as she regained her footing, she turned around and reached out her hand to me, saying, "The grass is slippery, Miss, let me help you."
Just then, Xiao Zuo, who had jumped off the raft from the other side, also reached out his hand to me... It was as if they had made a prior arrangement.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Zuo and Feng Qiansu were both taken aback for a moment, then Xiao Zuo smiled and said, "Miss Feng has an injury on her hand, so let me do it."
As she spoke, without waiting for Feng Qiansu to pull her hand back, she took my hand and led it away...
The warmth of his touch reminded me of the intimate moment when we were both on the raft. My face flushed instantly, and I shouted, "I can do it myself, don't help me!" as I shook his hand off, afraid that Xiao Zuo wouldn't let go. I shook his hand off quite hard.
Unexpectedly, he immediately let go upon hearing this, while I, having exerted too much force, lost my balance, and the raft began to reverse, swaying from side to side... Although I had practiced light-body skills, I am not a god. In the absence of balance, how could I gather my qi and circulate my energy? I was immediately thrown forward and backward, scrambling and disorganized.
Just as I was in a disheveled state, I suddenly felt a gentle breeze on my face, and a figure flashed before my eyes. In an instant, I was lifted into the air and landed on soft, fragrant grass.
"You said you'd do it yourself, but you almost fell into the river!" Xiao Zuo's calm voice rang in her ears. "Don't be so stubborn next time, okay?"