Chapter Thirty-Six: A First Encounter Across a Thousand Miles, Unaware of the Coming Time
A stir-frying sound could be heard from below the boat, and a moment later, Mu Fei ran up the stairs with a plate in his hand.
The steam from the stir-fried dishes blurred his vision. He placed the dishes on the table, panting, wiped his sweat, and explained to Yang Xiao and Cen Xun, "General, Miss, the ingredients on the ship are really limited, so I can only make something simple. Miss, if you still want to eat, I will cook you a proper meal when we get to Jizhou."
Cen Xun smiled and nodded, bending down to sniff the dish. "It smells delicious. Thank you for your help."
Upon hearing this, Mu Fei chuckled and scratched his head, "I'm glad you like it, Miss."
"Later, I'll have your general give you a bigger salary." Cen Xun smiled and leaned on Yang Xiao's arm.
"Come on," Yang Xiao chuckled and shook her head helplessly. "I don't even have much salary myself each month, so where am I going to give Mu Fei more?"
“Miss Cen, you don’t know this,” Mu Fei sighed with deep understanding, looking at Cen Xun, “General Lingyu’s monthly salary is used to subsidize the military or to help the people, and very little is used for herself.” After saying that, he frowned and looked at Yang Xiao, “It’s already autumn, and General Yang is still wearing only a single layer of clothing.”
"Hey, stop it," Yang Xiao interrupted him with a laugh that was both angry and sarcastic. "I'm not that poor, buying a piece of clothing isn't a problem. It's so hot in Jiangnan right now, isn't it enough to wear just a light shirt?"
Mu Fei chuckled and scratched his head. "Well... General, I'll go cook now. There are still a few dishes I haven't prepared."
"That's enough, just enough to eat, don't be too extravagant." Yang Xiao smiled and patted his shoulder. "Go on, go on."
"Alright!" Mu Fei ran downstairs excitedly again, his footsteps could be heard from afar.
Yang Xiao chuckled and shook her head, rubbing her forehead. "This person makes it sound like I'm some kind of poor person."
"It seems you are still a good general who cares about soldiers and is considerate of the people." Cen Xun smiled and patted Yang Xiao's shoulder.
"Of course." Yang Xiao smiled and looked up, then pulled Cen Xun to the table and peeked over to Bai Ming and Qi Kun by the railing, "Gentlemen, stop chatting and get ready to eat."
Bai Ming nodded, smiled, and stood up. "Coming right away."
Bai Ming, dressed in a white robe, turned around, his robes ruffled by the river breeze. Yang Xiao watched him walk towards her, and unconsciously tightened her grip on Cen Xun's hand.
Cen Xun immediately sensed Yang Xiao's emotions and squeezed Yang Xiao's palm.
Yang Xiao turned around and saw Cen Xun smiling at her with a knowing look in his eyes. She chuckled helplessly and playfully tapped Cen Xun's nose.
She dodged backward, then seized Yang Xiao's finger and pressed it down with a light laugh. "Alright, stop fooling around, let's get ready to eat."
Several steaming hot dishes were served on the table, and someone also brought out a small bottle of wine.
Qi Kun filled Bai Mingcen Xun's glass with wine, then smiled and looked at Yang Xiao with the wine bottle in his hand, "Lingyu, do you want some?"
Yang Xiao glanced at the overflowing cups of the people around her and hesitated. She gently nudged Cen Xun's arm, "Let me smell them?"
“Okay,” Cen Xun couldn’t help but laugh, “Take a sniff.”
Yang Xiao leaned forward slowly, but the aroma of the wine made her choke and tilt her head back. She frowned at Cen Xun, then shook her head and pushed the glass back.
"Lingyu, you... could it be," Bai Ming looked at Yang Xiao in disbelief and asked, "that you have never drunk alcohol before?"
Yang Xiao gave a wry smile and shrugged. "Yeah, I've never had it. Drinking leads to trouble, and it smells incredibly spicy, so it probably can't taste very good."
Qi Kun smiled and looked at her, resting his chin on his hand. "How will you know if you don't try?"
"Oh, no, no," Yang Xiao waved her hand with a light laugh, "What if I can't hold my liquor and I go crazy after drinking? You guys won't be able to handle it."
Cen Xun couldn't help but laugh, "How could that be? What general doesn't drink? Even if he drinks too much, there's always Zhao Qing, isn't there?"
Yang Xiao turned to look at Bai Ming, who was smiling gently, and shook her head with a smile as well. "Among everyone here, it seems that only Zhao Qing can beat me, right?" She stood up and waved her hand. "Never mind, I'll go find some tea and have a drink with you."
"Hey, don't run away," Cen Xun grabbed Yang Xiao's sleeve and smiled at her. "Don't bother looking, I have tea here, a special kind from Yangzhou."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Yang Xiao took the small packet of tea that Cen Xun handed over and gave it to the soldier next to her to brew. "You have too much prejudice against us. Not everyone in the army can drink alcohol, just like some people don't like drinking tea."
Bai Ming, holding a cup, nodded in agreement, "Yes, Lingyu doesn't like drinking alcohol, just like Yude doesn't like drinking tea."
"Yu De? Is that the young general?" Cen Xun looked at the group with interest and listened attentively.
Yang Xiao smiled and tapped her, "Didn't you ask me about this a few days ago? How come you forgot?" She took the tea that the soldier had brewed, "He dislikes the bitterness of tea leaves, so his tea is just for show during every meeting."
"Really?" Cen Xun smiled at Yang Xiao. "Not even a cup of flower tea?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao shrugged and chuckled, "I don't know, but he really likes flowers."
“Yes,” Bai Ming nodded approvingly, “Yu De likes everything that has a strong vitality, and he also likes to play with generous and unrestrained people.”
Yang Xiao turned to look at Bai Ming and couldn't help but laugh, "Zhao Qing, when you say 'play,' do you mean endless fighting, fighting, fighting?"
Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this. Cen Xun chuckled and patted Yang Xiao's arm, "He just wanted to have a friendly spar, right? He's such a dashing and heroic general, how did you describe him as a bandit?"
"Hey, really, how come you're already taking his side before you've even met him?" Yang Xiao crossed her arms and looked at Cen Xun with feigned displeasure.
"Anyone could guess that," Qi Kun said, taking a sip of his drink and smiling at Yang Xiao. "Why did you introduce Yu De to Tong Xi with a personal grudge in mind?"
Yang Xiao waved her hand dismissively and laughed, "He's the one who spars with us every day, I don't have any grudge against him." With that, she picked up her hot tea and took a sip. Instantly, a rich floral fragrance filled her mouth, sweet yet intense. She looked at Cen Xun with delighted surprise, "What kind of tea is this? It even has a natural sweetness?"
"How's the flower tea?" Cen Xun asked Yang Xiao with a smile. "Is it bitter?"
Yang Xiao looked at the steaming tea in her cup and gently shook her head. "I don't think so. It's all floral fragrance, with a hint of sweetness. Not bad, not bad."
"General Yude, he should be able to drink this tea, right?" Cen Xun glanced at Yang Xiao.
"Probably," Yang Xiao nodded in reply, then belatedly looked at Cen Xun and said with a smile, "Tongxi, could it be that you've fallen for him?"
Cen Xun chuckled and waved her hand. "I just got interested in him after hearing what you all said. I'm not like you, Lingyu," she gently tapped Yang Xiao's nose, "You wear your heart on your sleeve but say nothing."
Yang Xiao seemed to understand something, her cheeks flushed slightly, and her palms became slightly damp. "What are you talking about? Why are you bringing me up again?" She clenched her fists lightly to calm her racing heart, then let out a soft sigh and changed the subject. "If all else fails, when you see him later, just give him that tea leaf to chew on."
"What is all this nonsense?" Cen Xun laughed as he looked at Yang Xiao's flustered and confused expression. "They're in Jizhou, and we disembarked in Yuzhou. How can we possibly see them?"
“You will see him,” Bai Ming nodded and smiled at Cen Xun. “Yu De has longed for Jiangnan for a long time, and he was ordered by the lord to pick us up. I’m sure we’ll see him as soon as we get off the boat.”
Yang Xiao nodded, then playfully patted Cen Xun's leg, stood up, stretched, and walked towards the railing.
Everything was no longer the picturesque landscape of Jiangnan, with its towering mountains and vast plains. Autumn had painted the entire landscape red, echoing Yang Xiao's battle robe.
Yang Xiao felt a sense of relief wash over her. She turned to look at the three people at the table who were full and satisfied. "We're almost at the shore, everyone." She ran over to Cen Xun and pulled her up. "Don't sit there. We've arrived in Yuzhou."
Cen Xun pulled Yang Xiao to her feet, looking at the fiery red before them, then at the misty green behind them shrouded in a thin veil of rain. She sighed resolutely, "It's time to put what we've learned to good use."
The warship slowly approached the shore, horns blaring. Cen Xun stood at the bow, looking back at the three men who had finished preparing, and said confidently, "Gentlemen, let's go."
"Alright!" Yang Xiao grabbed a gun in one hand and put her arm around Cen Xun's shoulder with the other. "Let's go!"
As soon as the group stepped onto the side of the boat, they heard a horse neighing. Looking up, they saw a black warhorse galloping about, the red leaves on the ground rustling under its hooves. The general on the horse was also twirling his long saber with great interest, causing the red leaves on the trees to fall like rain.
"Yude!" Yang Xiao waved to Zhong Lishuo, who was strolling on the shore, from the deck. Just as she was about to jump off the ship, she turned back to look at Cen Xun as if she remembered something, and then gently helped her off the warship.
Cen Xun, holding Yang Xiao's hand, couldn't help but chuckle, "Although my martial arts skills are not good, I'm not that weak and frail."
"Don't try to be a hero," Yang Xiao teased with a light laugh. "We'll be riding horses later, can you handle that?"
“Of course,” Cen Xun said confidently, turning her head to the side. “When you first arrived in Jizhou, wasn’t it also your first time riding a horse?” She smiled and walked forward. “If you can do it, so can I.”
Yang Xiao greeted the warhorses that Zhong Lishuo had released with a smile, and reached out to pat Chi Lian's head. Chi Lian had not seen its master for nearly half a month, and it ran around Yang Xiao happily.
She helped Cen Xun onto a warhorse, then pulled on the reins and straddled Chi Lian's back. "This isn't my first time riding. I rode quite a lot when I was a child at my master's house."
The group chatted and laughed as they rode their horses to meet Zhong Lishuo, who was heading back. Fei Mo carried Zhong Lishuo, and bathed in sunlight, lightly treading on fallen leaves, galloping towards them as if flying.
Just as Yang Xiao had described earlier, he was energetic, heroic, and had the fearless spirit of a newborn calf, as well as the imposing aura that came from years of battlefield experience.
A figure stood in front of the crowd, and Fei Mo excitedly raised his head.
"Yude, how have you been?" Bai Ming smiled and clasped his hands in greeting to Zhong Lishuo.
"You're finally back," Zhongli Shuo casually clasped his hands in greeting to the group, waved his hand, and laughed, "I was so busy walking the horses that I didn't notice the warships were coming, so I didn't come back for a while. I apologize for not welcoming you properly..."
He looked up and his gaze fell directly into Cen Xun's smiling eyes.
He had never seen such a person before—exquisitely elegant, gentle and refined, with a face as delicate as the flowing waters of Jiangnan, eyes as tender yet passionate as blossoming flowers on branches, and an aura as sweet and elegant as if he were a figure from a painting.
His gaze lingered on Cen Xun, momentarily at a loss for words. He turned to Yang Xiao, exclaiming incredulously, "Could it be that the immortal from Jiangnan has come to Yuzhou?"
“Yes, you don’t need to go looking for it yourself.” Yang Xiao looked into his eyes and nodded with a smile.
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