clergé

Chapitre 59

The girl took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the side of the boat.

"Senior brother, do you want me to row the boat?" She raised her chin at the boy in black, her small shoulders trembling slightly, like fallen leaves in the autumn wind, making her look pitiful. "I'm very tired, you need to let me conserve my energy."

The young man in black frowned, but ultimately withdrew his sword.

Sang Shangsheng lay quietly on the spot, as if nothing had happened.

"Boatman, my brother and I have come a long way and endured many hardships to get here. Could you please make an exception and take us across this river?"

The young girl squatted down and spoke politely to Sang Shangsheng.

She had a pretty face, and her bright red dress clung to her shapely figure, making her look like a flower bud covered in dew, fresh and delicate.

—That's more like it! When you're asking for a favor, you should act like one.

Sang Shangsheng turned his head and smiled lazily, "Little girls, where did you come from, and where are you going?"

Hmm, this is a philosophical puzzle that has remained a mystery for ages.

"Coming from where we came, going to where we are going."

The girl smiled sweetly in return, revealing two playful dimples on her cheeks. As she spoke, she gathered her jet-black hair, and her silk sleeves slid down her wrists, revealing a section of fair and jade-like skin.

Sang Shangsheng's eyes were somewhat glazed over.

"Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out." A chilling voice rang out from above.

Pshaw, they're just fellow disciples, not wives. How petty!

Sang Shangsheng thought to himself, his gaze wandering down the girl's wrist, and suddenly fixed on her waist—where a golden brocade pouch hung.

"Boatman, I have answered the question. Are you going to cross the river or not?" The girl asked anxiously as he remained silent for a long time.

“Go, of course I’ll go.” Sang Shangsheng glanced at the brocade pouch again, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. “As long as you pay me, that’s fine.”

The silver boat drifted slowly on the water, and a cool river breeze blew into the boat's awning.

"This river is so beautiful." The girl in red looked at the shimmering, emerald-like blue waves at her feet, her expression showing a moment of amazement.

"Of course!" Sang Shangsheng rowed vigorously at the stern, his voice cheerful. "Why don't you go down and play for a while, young lady?"

Before the girl could answer, the boy in black had already reached out and pulled her back into the boat awning.

"You dare?" He glared at her, his eyes filled with a strong warning.

The girl giggled and patted his arm, as if to reassure him.

"Boatman, we have no grudge against each other, so why do you want to harm me?" Her clear voice was like that of a nightingale. "The river you guard is clearly a man-eating river. If I were to stupidly jump in, I would be torn to pieces, even if I didn't die."

As soon as she finished speaking, she picked up the half of the hemp rope at her feet and threw it into the river. After soaking it for a short while, she pulled it out and saw that the hemp rope, which was originally as thick as a thumb, had been burned down to just a thin thread.

Seeing this, Sang Shangsheng snorted softly and said no more.

"Rivers without fish are inhabited by ghosts." The girl turned back and smiled sweetly at the boy in black. "Senior brother, don't you think so?"

The boy didn't speak, but simply raised an eyebrow.

The three remained silent the entire way and soon reached their anchorage on the opposite bank.

"I'm sorry, it's getting late and my boat has to return immediately. There's no time to lower the anchor."

When they were still several feet from the shore, Sang Shangsheng stood on the stern of the boat and gave a perfunctory apology to the people in the boat's awning.

Without a word, the boy in black picked up the girl and leaped into the water, landing steadily on the shore without getting a drop of water on him.

"Thank you for your trouble, senior brother." The girl stood up from his arms, biting her lower lip somewhat embarrassedly.

"Hey, young man, your kung fu is not bad," Sang Shangsheng thought to himself, stroking his chin with interest.

What intrigued him even more was the girl in red. No matter how you looked at her, she seemed to have a solid foundation in martial arts, and her unique physique was also a rare sight. How could she not know any lightness skills at all? What a pity.

He shook his head, turned the helm, and said goodbye.

As they reached the middle of the river, Sang Shangsheng's gaze was drawn to a glimpse of turquoise water that suddenly appeared in the corner of the boat's awning.

His beloved silver-awning boat had been slashed open at some point by a sword, and corrosive river water was silently seeping in. The crack was small, but it was enough to ensure that he could not return to the other side and would only perish in this man-eating emerald river.

A glint of light flashed in his eyes.

"Young man, how cruel you are!" He threw down the oar and laughed loudly, his laughter like a startled swan soaring straight into the sky.

Having crossed the Emerald River, the young man and woman walked slowly across the boundless Gobi Desert. In such a vast and desolate landscape, even the proud sons of heaven were but two tiny ants.

"Cough cough!" The girl suddenly stopped and covered her mouth.

"Does it hurt again?" The boy turned to look at her, his brows furrowed.

The girl didn't speak, but took out a pill from her pouch and swallowed it before removing her hand from her mouth.

A faint red liquid seeped out between the fingers.

"...I'll kill that beast sooner or later!" The young man stared at her pale face, his eyes filled with pure darkness.

The girl remained silent and looked away.

"Pang Wan! You better prove me right!"

Seeing her listless expression, the boy's knuckles turned white from clenching his fist, and he was furious.