Chapter Twenty-Three: Embracing the Wind and Feeling Joy, Ripples Spread
The boats broke through the water, causing the gentle breeze and waves to lap against them. The mountains and water receded slowly like a scroll, with only wisps of morning mist hanging in the air, accompanying the small boats as they drifted south.
Bai Ming stood on the boat, enjoying the view of the clouds and green mountains. After a while, he turned around and saw Yang Xiao leaning casually against the side of the boat, propping her face up and tilting her head, watching the wind and clouds rising and falling in the mountains.
Her hair and the hem of her clothes swayed in the river breeze, and her crimson figure seemed to blend into the scene before her eyes, as beautiful as a poem or a painting.
Bai Ming stood there on the boat, completely unaware of Qi Kun's smiling gaze. After a moment of contemplation, he turned back, smiled slightly, nodded gently to Qi Kun, and walked towards him.
"Sit down and rest for a while," Qi Kun smiled and nodded at him, making room for him. "It's still early, come on."
"Alright, thank you, strategist." Bai Ming nodded with a smile and sat down next to Qi Kun. "Who was the person you mentioned earlier who was meeting us in Jiangnan?"
Qi Kun poured Bai Ming a cup of tea on the boat's table. "There are mainly two people," he said, handing over the tea and turning to look at Bai Ming. "One is my close friend, Xue Chang, Xue Cheyan; the other is Lingyu's friend in Jiangnan, who is also the beloved daughter of Mr. Cen Fei, Cen Xun, Cen Tongxi."
“Oh, actually it’s not just the two of them,” Yang Xiao overheard their conversation and immediately became interested, getting up to sit opposite them. She leaned on the table and looked up at Bai Ming, “Do you know about Lingyue Pavilion?”
“Lingyue Pavilion?” Bai Ming lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then seemed to remember something and looked at Yang Xiao inquiringly, “Could it be from back in Yuzhou…”
Yang Xiao nodded with a smile, "That's right. Lingyue Pavilion and I have a very close relationship, and the Pavilion Master is exceptionally righteous. Moreover," she tilted her head at Bai Ming, "General Bai once saved us?"
"Are they still in Jiangnan?" A flicker of joy crossed Bai Ming's eyes, but it was quickly masked by contemplation. He frowned as he looked at Yang Xiao, who was nodding slightly. "But the theater is caught up in the political strife..."
Qi Kun smiled at him and shook his head slightly. "General Bai, haven't you heard the saying 'more friends, more paths'? Although the theater can't directly enter the officialdom, it can still subtly infiltrate it."
Yang Xiao propped her head up with her hand and smiled helplessly at the two of them. "Why are you already thinking about how to get help from your friends before you've even arrived in Jiangnan?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Kun quickly waved his hand and said, "I didn't do that, I was just giving an example." He shook his head with a smile, "But if Xue Chang doesn't act as an inside agent, I will definitely not let him off easily next time I see him."
“While it’s not impossible for the few of us to confront He Yuan directly, it would be quite difficult without Tongxi’s help.” Yang Xiao rested her head on her arm and reached for the teapot. Bai Ming quickly bowed slightly, took the teapot from Yang Xiao, filled a cup with hot tea, and handed it to her.
Yang Xiao straightened up, smiled and nodded at Bai Ming, "Thank you very much."
"Our lord has already sent a letter to Marquis He Yuan of Yue. If He Yuan is willing to form an alliance with us, he will surely send an envoy to welcome us." Qi Kun lightly traced the rim of the cup with his fingertip, watching the tea leaves that had leaked out of the water.
“Send an envoy to welcome us…” Yang Xiao murmured, holding the cup of tea, following Qi Kun’s words. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she slapped her thigh and looked at the two of them with sparkling eyes. “That’s right, how could I not have thought of that? In Jiangnan, everything related to ‘etiquette’ is handled by the Cen family. Isn’t that how Tongxi and I met? That year, when He Yuan celebrated his birthday, it was Old Master Cen who took charge!”
She put down her teacup, braced herself against the boat plank with both hands, looked up and sighed deeply, "When I said goodbye to Tongxi, I never imagined that in less than a year, I would be back in Jiangnan."
Bai Ming smiled faintly at Yang Xiao, "Perhaps this is fate?"
“Yes,” Yang Xiao nodded gently, looking up at the gradually darkening sky, “It’s truly a predestined fate.” She smiled freely in the gentle river breeze, “I ran away from home and met Lingyue Pavilion, encountered danger on the way and met General Bai, and then met Tongxi in the south, and then fought with Yude when I said I was going north.” She sighed and looked at Qi Kun, “We hadn’t even fought two battles yet, and you came, Master. Don’t you think this is a predestined fate?”
Bai Ming nodded upon hearing this, looked up at the willow branches floating by the shore, and then looked at Yang Xiao with emotion, "To meet you on this arduous journey is truly a blessing for us."
Yang Xiao sighed softly, raised her arm, and let the cool breeze enter her sleeve. "In these past few years, although I have experienced countless hardships, looking back now, I only feel satisfied."
Qi Kun also abandoned his usual serious demeanor, leaning comfortably against the side of the boat, smiling broadly as he looked at the two of them. "I'm afraid that coming to join my lord with Lingyu is one of the most correct things I've done in the past twenty years."
"One of them?" Yang Xiao looked at Qi Kun with interest. "Then what else can stand alongside it?"
Qi Kun looked at Yang Xiao, twirled his fingertips and chuckled, "There are many more, like taking you as my disciple, getting to know Xue Chang, and letting Qi Lu travel around."
"Oh? Letting my martial uncle travel?" Yang Xiao looked at Qi Kun with slight surprise, then laughed heartily, "You've finally changed your mind about this?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Kun chuckled and shook his head, "Isn't this something I recently learned from my lord?"
Yang Xiao's interest was immediately piqued. "What new thing did you learn?"
"Unconditional trust".
Words are like pebbles thrown into water, creating ripples.
"Alright, Master, don't worry about these things," Yang Xiao turned her back, then smiled and waved to Qi Kun. "Take it slow. Whether someone is trustworthy or not, you can experience it for yourself. Why force yourself?"
"Okay." Qi Kun nodded with a smile, exchanged a glance with Bai Ming beside him, and sighed softly, "Lingyu is usually unreliable, but sometimes she's quite right in the head."
"You're only a few years older than me?" Yang Xiao smiled and shook her head, then leaned back on the boat, stretching out her arms. "I told you I have a good eye for people. Besides," she raised her head and looked up at Qi Kun, "Master, you were only talking about titles, not seniority. The way you just said it made it sound like I was a generation younger than General Bai."
"Hey, General Yang," Bai Ming saw Yang Xiao lying directly on the ground and couldn't help but reach out to help him up. Qi Kun stopped him with a gesture of respect, and Bai Ming shook his head with a light laugh. "There's water under the deck. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Yang Xiao lay awkwardly on the deck and nodded, then looked up at the two upside-down figures with interest.
"It's my fault, it's my fault," Qi Kun leaned down and supported himself on his knees, smiled helplessly at Yang Xiao, and then looked up at the darkening sky. "But I really should change my personality."
“What’s there to change?” Yang Xiao smiled lightly with her eyes closed, casually waving her raised hand before letting it fall to the ground. She let out a soft sigh and looked at the night sky that was obscuring the horizon. “It’s only been a few months, and I’m already back in Jiangnan.” She put her hands behind her head, her eyes sparkling in the night. “When we parted, I thought we would never see each other again in this life. I never imagined that I would see Tongxi tomorrow.”
Qi Kun looked at Yang Xiao lying on the ground and teased with a smile, "How come you didn't have this realization when you left Qingzhou?"
“How could there not be?” Yang Xiao turned around and propped herself up on the ground. “At the time, I was just afraid that you and Uncle Qi would worry.”
"Alright, alright," Qi Kun shook his head with a helpless smile, "It's getting late, you should get some rest. You'll be able to see Miss Cen tomorrow."
Yang Xiao nodded, took off the cloak from her neck and draped it over her legs, then looked at the ship's deck that she had taken up most of the space, and couldn't help but turn to look at the two of them, "What about you? Why don't we take turns sleeping?"
Bai Ming smiled and shook his head. "I got up late today, so you can take turns sleeping. I'm not sleepy yet."
"Then what..."
"Okay, okay," Yang Xiao was interrupted by Qi Kun before she could finish speaking. "Du Lun, you go to sleep first. I'll wake you up in two hours."
Yang Xiao yawned and was about to lean back when Bai Ming raised his hand to stop him. "Hey, General Yang, calm down."
"Hmm?" Yang Xiao sat up again, tilting her head to look at Bai Ming, who was squatting down beside her. "What's wrong?"
Bai Ming raised his hand, took off the cloak around his neck, folded it inside out into a small piece, and stuffed it into Yang Xiao's hand, saying, "Put it under your head, be careful it doesn't hurt."
Yang Xiao took the neatly folded cloak and was taken aback for a moment. Then she looked up at Bai Ming with a smile, "Thank you, but..." She frowned and looked into Bai Ming's carefree eyes, "It's windy on the river at night. Won't you catch a cold without a cloak?"
"It's alright, don't worry," Bai Ming chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not afraid of the cold, you can sleep peacefully."
"Ha—" Yang Xiao nodded, stretched out her hands and yawned. "Then I'm going to sleep first. Remember to wake me up to keep watch later."
After speaking, she stuffed the cloak into her pillow and sprawled out on the deck like a loosened ball of cotton, after which even breathing could be heard.
Bai Ming stood up and looked back at Qi Kun. Qi Kun nodded, put his index finger to his lips, and moved to the side to make room for Bai Ming.
The two sat silently in the boat, listening to the cool river breeze and the spray of water stirred up by the oars.
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